Rachel Perlow

Thanks Tony. This is precious. I can just imagine calling a radio station DJ for directions to a restaurant. Hey, you don't happen to have a road map to give or lend me? Is there such a thing? Can't find anything online. Too bad about Michel Royer, sounded good.

I don't remember her recipe being bad, but we all just usually had some with dinner and there'd be a lot left over because she'd make soooo much (have to use that whole cabbage, you know). Buying it makes a lot more sense, because you can just buy a pint or quart of it, instead of having a huge vat of it in the fridge (she usually used a gallon pitcher to store it in). This way we aren't all forced to eat it for a week or two.

Coincidentally, my mom included a Health Salad on Sunday night. It was really good. She bought it instead of making it herself. That may be why. (no one is allowed to email this thread to my mom)

I also thought of Cabrales when I read about the ortolans. If you can get Chef Francois' email you should send him a link to the orlotan thread (or just write down the url), I'm sure he'd enjoy it. "The Mythical Ortolan" started by Cabrales in the General Food Topics forum, forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?act=ST&f=1&t=7796.

Never been, go be our guinea pig and let us know how it compares!

Whether your hosts are kosher or not, I would skip the cheese during an Erev Yom Kippur, presumably meat, meal. Or, at least leave it on the side as suggested above.

I keep reading about being careful not to overmix or the meatloaf will be dense. So? Meatloaf is a descendant of country pate and that stuff is very dense, made even more so by weighing it down during cooking. If it's too airy won't it just crumble and fall apart when you cook it? Just mix the damn thing and don't freak out about over mixing. Oh, and while Taco the Octopus' version sounds good (see link above), he suggested freeform shaping it into a loaf 16 inches long, 5 inches wide and 1.5 inches high. That's the dimensions for mandelbrod or biscotti, not meatloaf. You want to shape it in the loaf pan so it is loaf shaped. The better to fit on the loaf shaped white bread for those sandwiches!

Just curious, but you weren't requested to make "health salad" (as opposed to "a healthy salad"), were you? Health Salad is a specific thing in my area, kind of like a sweet and vinegary coleslaw. And you should have made it a couple days ago because it needs to sit before being served. If you think this is what you are supposed to make email me ASAP and I'll call my mom for the recipe.

Yes, right on the pan. I suppose you could use aluminum foil to reduce cleanup. There's enough fat in a meatloaf you shouldn't need to grease it, but I suppose a quick spray of Pam wouldn't hurt.

Call your mother. You're not going to get something that satisfies a comfort food craving if it isn't like the way it was when you were a kid. I've made Alton Brown's recipe - don't like the coating. Sauces (ketchup, steak sauce) should be on the side, not baked onto the loaf, IMHO. Also, my mom made them in a loaf pan and I've made them in the loaf pan with the raised rack to drain the grease, but if you like crust, the best way is to go with the sheet pan, forming the loaf either freehand or unmolding the loaf onto the sheet. I also like a mixture of beef, pork & veal and sweated veggies.

Re-ordered cabinets are here and in my garage. Work begins again on Monday or Tuesday. Yeah!

I agree with many of the above posters, go to Casa Vasca. Go early or be prepared to wait. We generally don't even try on a Saturday the wait is so long. But it is worth it. Or, you could go at lunch time. Everything is so good there nothing to warn you against or particularly recommend. It is one of those places where the prices are slightly cheaper at the bar, but that area is very smokey, so only sit there if you are cigarette smokers. They have their own parking lot, just before the restaurant (which is on the corner of Elm and Prospect) on Prospect. Click here for driving directions. Spanish Sangria is good, but not good enough for a special occasion. Many of the others listed are places I want to try.

re: prices. A lot of it depends on the price group you look at. You can have very plain Corian or Silestone that would be less expensive than natural stone. Natural stone (granite, marble, limestone, etc.) come in a range of prices but their price is more determined like a commodity - the rarer or more in demand the more expensive, the more common the less expensive. Then there are the fancier versions of man-made materials that can get even more expensive than natural stone. Also, edge treatments add to the cost of all countertops.

Here's a link for the Silestone website's page to fill in your address for more information. Although at first glance it appears to be just the USA, Ontario, but no other Canadian provence, is listed among the states. INTERNATIONAL SOLID SURFACE FABRICATORS ASSOCIATION list of associates, two listings say Ontario.

Remember to let us know about the selection process and the final choice.

That's a shame. You could call a granite cutting company, cause HD contracts out those things anyway, and ask them if they've heard of it and if it's possible to get it. Remember though, unlike granite with its interesting natural looking veins, Silestone is very regular in pattern, kind of like the look of the fancier Corian's speckles (but not plastic). So you have to take that into consideration. Unless, you have a strong opinion (positive or negative) about the irregularity of natural stone, then it's a non-issue.

I want to assume you've called the company and checked with your local Home Depot (do you have Home Depot in Canada?) but wanted to mention these suggestions anyway just in case you hadn't done that.

We discussed them briefly, here.

Thanks. You should have seen us lugging samples around the store holding each piece up to each thing. The pic doesn't do justice to the amount of colors in the Silestone. There's even a little peachy-pink that matches the floor tile.

GordonCooks - Expo offers complete home decorating services, soups to nuts, bathrooms to kitchens (including all the high-end appliances like Sub-Zero refrigerators and DCS stoves). While I don't think they offer beds and mattresses, they do have decorative pillows, drapes, flooring, some interesting sofas, etc. I don't know how complete Home Depot's services are for remodeling kitchens and baths. I know they offer installation and will computer model the kitchen, but I don't know if they have the designers and General Contractors on staff to coordinate entire projects. Priscilla - I was planning on using an undermount stainless steel sink originally, mostly because I hate top-mounts with their germ collecting edges and seams and I prefer the metal to porceline. Then, when we were browsing through catalogs looking for the faucet and other plumbing fixtures, I saw this sink - which was not on display in any store we looked at. Both Jason and I instantly loved it and when our designer realized that by using this sink we'd be saving $600 in countertop cut-outs (they charge for each of those holes they have to make for the sink, faucet, soap dispenser, hot water dispenser, whatever), it brought its 3X a regular sink price down to only 2X the price - still more, but realistic. After the additional sale refund and the cut-out savings, the budget cost of that sink is around $600. The additional style it adds makes it totally worth it. Jon - Yes, that's why we're leaving the blue plastic. Miss J - I agree. The countertop measuring guy came yesterday. Only glitch was having to decide to change the edge of the countertop. We were going to go with the regular (i.e. free) edge to the Silestone, however after looking closely at the sink, he suggested we go with the demi-bullnose edge - that is the top edge will be rounded similarly to the top edge of the front of the sink (see above how we had never actually seen the sink in person before, we ordered from picture in a catalog). This is an additional cost of $19 per linear foot, or around $400. Boo! But, I agreed that the regular eased edge wouldn't have looked correct next to the sink. I asked him about the difference between Granite and Silestone from an installers perspective (his company works with both). He said that granite and other natural stones occasionally break during the installation process. A small bump when being moved may cause a severe break along a natural vein in the stone. He has never seen this happen with Silestone. There is more waste with the natural stones because of the variation in veining. Silestone is also easier to maintain and is more durable for the homeowner. The natural stones need to be sealed on a regular basis, which is not necessary with Silestone, which is also very stain resistant. Here is the color we are using, Rosa Grey. Click it for the Silestone website.

Liberty Science Center requires you to use their in-house caterer, we checked it out during our wedding planning. It is an interesting location though. There are some beautiful mansions all over the state that require you to bring your own caterer. I remember looking at a couple in the Morristown area. Rosie is right, the caterer should have a list of locations they know allow you to bring your own caterer, as not all places you think would, do (many have exclusive relationships with caterers). Here's a link to New Jersey Bride with some interesting locations that allow you to bring your own caterer.

New Pictures added to Kitchen Construction Album. Normally, I don't post the full sized images here (actually these are significantly reduced in size from the original images), but I wanted to show the difference between the original fridge, which stuck out from the counters and also was shorter than necessary, and the replacement. This shows how you can get a built-in-look in a refrigerator without paying for an actual built-in fridge. A visitor (admittedly not someone familiar with modern kitchens) even asked if it was a Sub-Zero, because it looked built-in to him. vs. Also, I just want to show off the sink. We spent more than we had allotted for a sink on this Blanco design; Anthony calls it a modern farm sink because of the all in one construction. There are no seams anywhere from the backsplash to the front edge. Although we spent quite a bit on it originally, we saved $600 on the countertops because there were no undermount or fixture cut-outs to pay for, and when I noticed this sink on sale in an Expo circular ($200 less than we paid), they credited us the difference. Always keep an eye out for price changes on what you buy. A lot of stores, especially, Expo, will match or beat prices. We got that sale credit about 10 months after we actually paid for the sink!

I think Expo has rules about these kinds of things. I offered to get coffee/lunch in the beginning, but they insist on bringing or picking up lunch. Pretty much the only thing they'll take from me is water from the cooler.

My sink is really pretty! I get excited by the silliest things. I'm working on some photos to show everyone.

Like I've said before, the only thing that's making me miserable is everyone else second-guessing everything we're doing. My parents, you guys. Did you read my last post? Things are moving again. Oh yeah, I'm sure Expo has a horrible relationship with their vendors, like they don't order enough stuff from Kraftmaid. You tell me to slip the guy $500 bucks, while on the other hand my mom is saying they should give me some of my money back because of the delays. The only advice I have for anyone else doing a project like this is not to document it publically, because instead of other people appreciating the effort and following along, all they'll do is tell you everything you did is wrong. Good for you that you are your own General Contractor, Gordon. I wasn't interested in doing that. So we didn't. If I had to do it all over again, I still wouldn't be my own General Contractor. In fact, I'd probably do most of the exact same things, except agree to wait to start the project if everything isn't on-site at the beginning. You see, yes, my contractor wasn't available to come back as soon as the cabinets were in, but the super is also qualified to do the work (it's what he did before he became a supervisor), so he did the work himself rather than cause any more delays, because he does care and appreciates that I've been patient rather than nagging, which I really didn't even do that much of last week. Also, there can't be a "littany of mystery problems with suppliers" if everything is on-site before demolition.