Jake

Thank you for posting about your trip, ComeUndone. It has been a great read and your photos are wonderful.

Jaymes, you say that so eloquently. I'm reading this as I make up a few things for a friend who just lost a family member. Exactly right.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks -- Tater Tots, the universal food!

Thank you, Maggie However, in the interest of full disclosure I should add if someone had walked in and asked for a peanut butter sandwich last night I couldn't have done it!

Rudeness. It floors me! The complete lack of consideration for another person. It makes me so angry I could spit! To keep this on topic, I mean specifically that of patrons in a restaurant, guests in ones home, the guy picking up a take-away order at the local sushi place. I'm not naive, I've travelled a fair bit, but I am still often floored at the behaviour I witness. andisenji's post is an excellent example. What the hell happened to treating people with common courtesy? Even if you're served a poorly cooked meal in a restaurant it doesn't take any more energy to politely request that the server replace it. As for being a guest in someone's home? If you don't like it, shut up and be polite. The person who placed the food in front of you worked hard to put it there. Respect them and thier intentions, and if you need to grab a take-away on the way home, fine, do so. End of rant.

This blog just keeps getting better and better, Susan! Thank you so much for posting pictures of your son, I love that he's been eating oysters since he was small. I was lucky enough to be introduced to things like oysters, clams and lobster when I was a child and loved it all from the start. My parents were genuinely surprised as it was not food I came in contact with regularly as we didn't live anywhere near the ocean. One of my fathers favourite stories takes place in a restaurant when I was about 7 (we were on vacation) and the waitress handed me a kiddie menu. I politely handed it back and ordered a dozen raw oysters and a steamed lobster. She stood there flabergasted until my father laughed and told her that I knew what I wanted. Do you have just the one son?

Friday night, tired, a little cranky, a bit hungry, glass of scotch in hand. Open fridge: caviar? check. sour cream? check. tater tots? check. Turn oven on, get ready to enjoy crispy bits of gourmet pleasure

Ah, yes... being helpful. In my house, this often takes the form of "cleaning up for you," as in, Chris: "Where's the butter that I'm softening?" Andrea: "Back in the fridge. I was cleaning up for you." ←

A bowl of utter sadness, homey. ← A cheeseburger is always a good remedy for anything that ails one!

What a great topic! I could go on for hours about this one but I'll restrain myself to saying that there never used to be any real arguments about technique/style until I began to teach my SO more and more about cooking. At first, it was fun and he really enjoyed it. Then he got a bit more comfortable. And we both have VERY strong personalities which led to some heated discussions in the kitchen. Now there are only two areas that get me really ticked. The main one is his INSANE habit of changing the temperature on something I'm cooking (usually up if he's in a hurry, can you say pancetta fire?) or his habit of walking into the kitchen and making "helpful" suggestions on how to do something when it is not only something he has never made, but something he has never tasted either As for flavour, all those discussions are allowed and encouraged as the SO has a great palate and is very helpful/happy to experiment. I am thinking of removing all the knobs from the stove

Alex Farms at the St. Lawrence Market or the location on Bayview in Leaside. Good Quebec cheeses too, and excellent hand trimmed proscuitto (at least at Bayview).

We're glad to hear we're not the only ones, too! For us, it's the romantic dinners (with the kids ) watching NASCAR. ← ← Ah yes, we also have the romantic brunches watching Formula 1. Weekends are kind of quiet now with no hockey!

Can't wait to see what you're able to eat tomorrow, Pumpkin Lover I can, however, feel your pain. My appetizer tonight: 2 cigarettes and a cup of tea. Main course: Bottle of Peter Lehman Clancys, some cheese and more cigarettes. Not cooking tonight.

Great info, thanks Brad. I've been drinking the reserve lately as that's what's in the house and haven't bought any for awhile so I'll keep that in mind.

Anything that looks that delicious cannot make you a heretic, Eunny!

Veuve. Not cause there's anything wrong with Pol Roger, just that Veuve is my favourite everyday champagne! Enjoy the champagne and the victory!

What a great trip, and your pictures were beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

I loved Campbells soups as a child but I never liked Chef Boyardee. My brother loved Spaghetti-O's and Alphaghetti, but I couldn't stand the stuff. When he got that, I got beans on toast.

Oh, I am so glad you're blogging Susan, and Russ too! I have learned to love the real Florida in the last 10 years as my parents spend most of the winter there now and November was always one of my favourite months to go. Sadly, it will have to wait until January or February this year, but perhaps will involve a side trip to the Daytona 500. Ah romantic dinners in front of the ball game -- glad to hear we're not the only ones! Thanks for blogging, I look forward to the week. It is Stone Crab season now, yes? edited cause I can't type when excited.

I was thinking of you this morning Jaymes! In a hurry to get to the office, but hungry so I shredded up some leftover carnitas, dumped some salsa on top, some extra cumin, heated quickly in micro. Warmed a tortilla, shoved the meat mix in with some cilantro, crema and jalapeno out of the fridge. Best breakfast in a long time! Unfortunately, none left for the SO's lunch. Oops.

I second Suzanne, more please! Sounds like a great trip.

Delicious homemade cheeseburgers....... ....with a side of TATER TOTS!!!!

Thanks for the recipe, bleachboy. I will try it -- even if it does have sugar in it!

Care to share your "sainted grandmothers perfect recipe" for cornbread? I have a favourite recipe, but if hers is perfect....

Q being far superior to Ruth's Chris. You're talking specifically about their beef, and/or whole dining experience? Not many people would argue that Queue de Cheval has great beef. The other things concerning Queue de Cheval, some people have problems with. The prices they charge are overpriced(in particular their wine list), & some of their staff have attitude. -Steve ← I guess that wasn't really clear, Steve, sorry. I have never had any service problems at Q, or attitude. No attitude at Ruth's, but service was only so-so. Beef was better at Q by far, but not anything I'd call the best steak ever. As for Q's prices, they are high and there are some ridiculous markups on their wine list IMHO. However, it's been 6 or 8 months since I last ate there. I find Ruth's overpriced (food) as well, but I could be said to be somewhat biased as I have never had a really good meal there.