Angela Alaimo

That's the Filipino way too! ← That's my preferred way of eating, though the utensils are switched because I'm left-handed. I had no idea it was anything other than, "Mmm. This is not only useful but gets the good food in the maw without it ending up on the clothes." Mabuhay! <sp> A

Sandy, you are the spelling bee of food winner! Thank you. And we aren't too fancy (that word again) here, but one dinner my son Eli and I wanted some barbecue sauce for something, didn't have any, whipped out the CIA school book (6th edition) and made our own. Turned out to be really good. Well, what do you know. Rest of the time we use Sweet Baby Ray's Original. A

There are only a few actual dishes or recipes I remember from my Grandma, but all her food was delicious. She cooked Country food, and I still do, because of her. Perhaps she is watching over me, somewhere? One thing she made that I have and love and is awfully simple--her version of hoecakes. You take self-rising cornmeal, mix it with enough milk so it's a not too thick not too thin batter, fry them like pancakes, and eat. Oh, and you nibble the little crispy crust edges off first. I think of her every single time I either make them, or whoo, write about them. She was 92 when she died (about 15 yrs ago) and she was hard core and kick ass right 'til the end. And funny, to boot. I want to be like her....except for the part where she had 11 kids... I'm sorry you lost your Grandma, eJulia. There really is no age someone you love can live to that doesn't hurt. A PS: Almost forgot! I know how to wring a chicken's neck because of her! And to not play in the pig pen with the mean ol' sows.

Diva! Two things: First, you are still young and should remember that when you date someone you either break up or you marry them. Think of all the reasons why you are grateful for the former. Second--I've made chicken and dumplings and they have been met with cheers when I do it this way: Take your whole chicken (~4 or so lbs) and cover it with water. Put any flavorings you like in there and poach/simmer it for about 40 minutes. Take the chicken out, dry it off a bit, and roast it in a medium hot oven to finish cooking--really, to brown and crisp up. Make your dumpling mix and 20 minutes before you want to eat you spoon the mix into the bubbling broth and simmer 10 minutes uncovered, then 10 minutes covered. You get a juicy, tasty chicken (and prettily browned, too) and Yum O! (sorry) tender dumplings. The children request it, and they are good critics. PS: The hard times I've had makes me aware and grateful of the good ones--shoot, even neutral ones look pretty enticing, too! Take care. A

Hummus is very popular with my kids, and I even have some frozen mashed chickpeas in the freezer. Thanks, Rachel, for the suggestions! ← Susan, just as a reminder, my name is Russell, not Rachel. I understand ... You can call me whatever you want, but don't call me late for dinner. I wouldn't mind trying some of that venison. ← Russell, I'm not quite that fuzzy. What I should have said was "and Rachel, thanks for all of the suggestions you made"! But, I need more help for tomorrow. Diana has declared that she wants two kinds of wings. Buffalo and honey garlic. So, for the former, I think I need to just bake the wings (in deference to my dad) and then toss them with some Frank's hot sauce (mixed with butter????). For the honey garlic, do I just mix together some honey and garlic? Add some soy? Bake them ahead of time and use the stuff as a glaze? Marinade them in something? Add some soy? Time for a tag team recipe! ← This is supposed to be the Authentic! Buffalo Wing sauce. I don't know about that, but it is good. When I made it, I roasted the wings in the oven, rather than frying them, and they were great. You cook the wings first, and then dump them into a bowl containing your preferred amounts of the following ingredients: Frank's Hot Sauce Heinz Chili Sauce Ketchup Lea & Perrins Wooster (if I tried to spell it out properly I'd have to go to the fridge) Dijon mustard Melted Butter Mix the wings in the sauce and serve. Mine were pretty hot but I like them that way. Obviously you can tone it down somewhat via more ketchup and butter. PS: I smoke, but not too much. Since a little over a year ago I got an indoor, office job where there is no smoking. If I keep busy, I don't feel the urge to smoke for 8-9 (!!) hours, save after lunch. I have cut down on # of cigarettes smoked considerably because of this. OTOH, every time anyone mentions a cigarette in this blog, I want one! Definitely a head game. You all keep up the good work and the incredible effort and I will keep trying to not want to smoke more. A

This is the funniest thing I've read all day...

Did you ever give any thought to coating the walls with a high-gloss polyurethane? That's one idea we've been tossing around, although we would definitely want to do some test panels to see if it works and if it will hold up to cleaning. MelissaH ← No, I didn't, for reasons of ease of repainting, should that ever become a want or need. And it was just so darn easy to do!--rub it on, wait a bit, give it a little buff, and your walls are protected from whatever you happen to fling at it. Keeps the paint from washing off, too, obviously. Angela

>>So we've also come up with the possibility of just painting it onto the wall (borrow an overhead projector one evening, to get the design up there, maybe?) and then somehow seal it in so we can sponge the wall down without a problem.<< Melissa, I have painted walls in the kitchen and what I did was this--I got some butcher's wax and waxed the walls that need frequent washing/wiping down. Works great, it's inexpensive, and gives the walls a bit of shine that looks rather good, esp. since our kitchen is a little bit dark terra cotta-ish color. Angela

One reason why they don't get it is because you consume dinner, food, wine. You can't add it to your pile of accumulated stuff in order to impress the others who are as shallow and superficial as you. Not You as in any of us, You as in Them...or, You know who You are. That's what I think. The only thing you have to show for your wonderful time is a charge on your credit card, an empty bottle, dirty dishes, and poo in the pot the next morning. And some great memories, hopefully. Guess some people know how to live in the moment and make the most of it and some just wonder how much crap they can fit into their garage before they'll have to leave the car out in the driveway. Sign me up for the Nutpile, please. It's just too much fun living this way, esp. when I eventually get some jeans that fit...

Would you believe just yesterday my son emailed me the same article and wants us to open our own Speakeasy? So my questions would be: *Wonder what would be popular dishes? *Where do we park the cars? PS: One possible answer to your #3 is be friends with the Speakeasy-runner or one of his/her good friends. A ← I think I should do this -- smack in the middle of suburbia Maybe you could only do parties of 8-10, and have a car service drive the people. One of those enormous stretch Hummers with a hot tub. I am irritated in advance, though, about the number of people who will demand vegan, kosher, or Atkins/Zone meals when they get there. ← Hey! The car service is a great idea. Everyone can meet at a Park and Ride and get picked up there. Don't be irritated--just don't invite people like that. You have the luxury of being selective, according to the story.

We recently got an 11 cup Cuisinart food processor with our American Express Reward points. That really didn't stink at all, come to think of it.

My sweet little Sammy (age 18) got some of that cinnamon+sugar mix from his grandma, and it came in a shaker shaped like either a football or rugby player. From then and forevermore cinnamon sugar is Football Pepper. His older (and also sweet) brother Eli named those ice pops in the long plastic that are liquid in the store and you freeze them and cut off the plastic tip and squeeze out the iced treat Kibbies, and the bit you cut off is the Nip, and you make sure you eat/drink that part out, too. Stephen, stepson (and also a sweetie) called ketchup Cat Butt, and we still call it that. A

Would you believe just yesterday my son emailed me the same article and wants us to open our own Speakeasy? So my questions would be: *Wonder what would be popular dishes? *Where do we park the cars? PS: One possible answer to your #3 is be friends with the Speakeasy-runner or one of his/her good friends. A

Sounds as if you blow your entire year's liquor budget on New Years! You have to budget yourself and build up your strength all year long.

Gallons of water, ibuprofen, and champagne. I keep feeling as if I'm having a relapse of the cold that started last week, and it seems the liquor has antiseptic properties.

I am sorry about that Angela. I checked both recipes (the one in Recipe Gullet and the one in the thread), and the proportions are right, and it's the exact same recipe I used in the pictorial. Did you convert to other measurements, maybe that's where it went wrong? If you would like to discuss it some more maybe we should do that in the Dutch Cooking thread. ← No, I used exactly the measurements in the US recipe. They were pretty and brown and shiny like yours, just all flat. <g> Tasted really good, in spite of their looks. Angela

I made them on Sunday and something must have gotten lost in the recipe translation. They spread 'til they were flatter than pancakes--didn't hardly look at all like Chufi's picture, save the almond and glaze on top. Not sure, but I think more flour is needed. Or something else. Or both. If anyone knows, please let me know! Angela

Another vote for Bosch here...Even though I did not know I was having a difficult time loading it.

www.vermontcountrystore.com Has all kinds of candy and stuff like real Ovaltine from back in the day. Actually, they've got lots of cool retro stuff that you won't believe you forgot about, since it was so popular once upon a time.

Yes and yes. One of the best things about doing this is your refrigerator smells like meat for the time it's in there. <Yay!>

Good news, Bob! They are one and the same. One pepper, two names. Make sure you wash your hands after handling your peppers, etc. etc.

My son made it a few years ago. The whole procedure took quite a while, but it was fun to watch the turkey turn black and ruined-looking while it was cooking. When the shell was broken off, the turkey within was beautiful and golden. Sadly, it was dry. Perhaps since he picked such a big turkey it just came dry? Or, maybe since you can't see the actual turkey it's difficult to judge? If it intrigues you you should go for it. In spite of the dryness, it tasted good, and again, the process of preparing it was as much fun as it was work.

I am planning on getting Mario's panini press, and from Italian Kitchen, as it's $10 less than, I think it was, Sur La Table. It's a press! It's a grill pan! The lid's a fly swatter! It's practically Ron Popeil. Not to mention it's orange--we haven't got a single orange thing in the kitchen but squashes.

It said "AYBABTU"? In Nihonjin, English, or PukePanovitz? ← In Nihonjin. There is a sneaking suspicion that one of the lumps in that pan may be Domo-kun.

It said... ...All Your Base Are Belong to Us...Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb.