hillvalley

I forgot about my herb garden that grows all year. Basil, parsley, oregano, cilantro, sorrel. Maybe a roma tomato plant as well. Edited to add that Moopheus beat me to it while I was writing

Does L'Academie still do their camps? I took a bunch in the mid '80's that were amazing! Helped shaped me into the foodie I am today.

I'm inhaling a bag of Utz's "The Crab Chip" (their quotes, not mine). Bought it because of this thread. It's my third bag of chips in a week

Susan beat me to it, except mine would be in the form of a man. I like the never ending caviar jar too, but it would have to change variety every few days. There would be a window overlooking the beach. And it would have a door that led to the porch, that had a hammoc, but that's another fantasy. And an amazing sound system.

Let me know if you want me to send you one. Here in DC shucked oysters are quite common. Most grocery stores and fish mongers carry them. I have bought most of my oysters over the years from one of two or three fishmongers. Having gone through 'a bad oyster' before, it's not worth the risk.

I am surrounded by people on the South Beach Diet. I am so f#*% sick of low carb, low sugar everything. And I don't need to see sugar free jello for a long, long time. When I am feeling particularly mean I buy a box of donughts "for the class" just to torture my coworker. Then again, I have to listen to her whinning about bread all day long.

went through the same thing during my blog Maybe we should have a "The week after my blog" thread to 'fess up to what we really eat. From one nice jewish girl to another, pass the bacon. Where in the UK are you? Who are the "we"? I'm a wipe the plate with my finger and lick it clean girl myself

Hurray!!!! Enjoy your success. Here's to many many more

Now I'm craving oysters........ Will the kids try them? The more you shuck, the easier it gets. Keep slurping!

I don't buy rotisserie because the skin isn't crispy. Why miss the best part?

One of the sweetest sounds I know

Throw them in the fridge and put the sake on ice. I'll come shuck for you! They are beautiful. Yes, scrub your oyster. Get all the sand and grit off of it. Have you ever eaten a dirty oyster at a restaurant? But as Susan said, Do Not Wash An Opened Oyster! Make sure you have a heavy glove or lots of towels wrapped around your hand that is holding the oyster. Hold the oyster in your non-dominant hand. Towards the narrow end there is a "sweet spot". It's different on every oyster, but if you can find it they open easily. It takes a few dozen, but eventually you start to get a feel for it. Oyster purists, please skip next part. If you put them in the microwave for about 10-25 seconds they are easier to open. The down side is that they are on the warm side. We combat this by serving them on a bed of ice (which is a good idea anyway). When you are shuking your third dozen, any little bit helps I expect a full report Have fun!

How so? They will work with you to make a vegetarian meal. Give them a call. Depends on what kind of vegetarian you are. Sounds like they have done it before. They also work with dietary restrictions of other kinds. Sorry about the shots. My hats off to vengroff for his amazing pics above. Here is the only half way decent shot of the cotton candy foie gras.

Even if they are only half as good as they were at Mini Bar, they would still be unbelievable. Oh my lord they were good. I am daydreaming of them right now........

Finished product

The eggs a few hours into cooking The pictures of the eggs 10 hours later is too blurry. Sorry

Mojitos and gaucamole

NONE You know, there might be a barbeque place or two out near Warrenton that could be worth working into a trip to Wegmans. That's what I was thinking......a good trip out for BBQ and stopping at Wegman's on the way home. Does this warrent an eGullet eVent? Like perhaps on the 29th? Or in a couple of months when the weather is warm, the parking lot is less crowded and I am not in mid term and report season?

Welcome littlebear! I worked with a guy who drank a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi One a day. I didn't know it was still around. This thread is making me crave a regular coke.

NONE You know, there might be a barbeque place or two out near Warrenton that could be worth working into a trip to Wegmans. That's what I was thinking......a good trip out for BBQ and stopping at Wegman's on the way home.

Living in NW I can't imagine I will get there all that often, which is probably a good thing for my wallet. On the other hand, on days like this, where I want to drive somewhere, this will be the perfect destination. 45 minutes to get there, good reason to go, good reason to come home and cook. Now, what restaurants that I would never go to becuase they are all the way out there -breathe-do I need to hit?

(Smacks self on forhead) Oh my god!!!!! This is what I had in some restaurant in FLorence. I have been searching for this for three years!!!! COuld never describe it well enough for someone to realize what it was. I didn't realize that it was Bagna Cauda.

My father was a mess of socio/political/religious contradictions, but somehow he was able to put them aside when it came to good food! He didn't "get" the whole EV oil thing, but hey, it was the 1950s. Sorry for the diversion. I do that. Please continue on topic. I had to accept a long time ago that my grandmother would never understand why I spend my Hannukah gelt (money) on over priced vegetable oil made from olives or why I have 4 types in my cabinets but no Liptons Onion Soup mix

LOL! I haven't found this to be so true at my local Costco but you make a valid point and I absolutely dreaded checking out at Sam's Club--in fact, that's the main reason I switched to Costco. I suppose eventually the wait times will rise at Costco too but so far, so good. FWIW, the store's been open a little longer than a year. I guess "Express" lanes are just not part of the warehouse club paradigm. As for dates, I'll go with the flow but I'm not available to do this the last week of March. =R= Shhhhhhh, don't tell. During football season, go during your local game. The place is empty!!!!

Back when Costco was Price Club we used to call it the $500 Price Club