hathor

That is so nice to hear. Brought back memories... That's the sort of thing we did for our boys and their friends when they were young. They all loved it, and we had quite a reputation for it. Everybody wanted to be invited! Even on regular week nights, the friends would casually ask what we were having for dinner, because they knew (1) that we cooked a good meal almost every night, even if it was after the ball games and practices, etc. -- only once in a while did we order pizza -- and that we sat at the table to eat no matter how late and (2) it was always something different than they were used to. It was amazing to me how few kids had dinners cooked for them. Often in their families, it was each person on their own, take out or eat out.Congrats to you. Thanks for the post. Great sounding dinner menu, too, BTW! that about describes what goes on at our house! Now that everyone is back from college, I usually call my son around 8:00 to get the head count for dinner!

We had a birthday celebration for our son last night. Its sort of turning into a tradition...a big, lavish meal for teenagers. Amuse: cold watercress soup finished with some sweet red onions marinated in fresh orange juice Rhode Island Bay scallops served in an orange beurre blanc sauce. Must of have been good, people were drinking the sauce! Pistachio crusted crown roast rack of lamb with roasted herb potatoes. "Winter Cauliflower": roasted in a white sauce and finished with some parmigiano cheese to brown the top. Have you ever seen teenagers fight over cauliflower? Just because it was on your plate did not mean it was not fair game. Sauteed green beans. (at this point, they were so content I was able to put on some Dinah Washington music and they were happy) Fresh Greenmarket leaf salad with excellent cheeses! We ate the cheeses on slices of ripe pears. A mild blue sort of cheese (carephilly), a really goaty goat cheese (the nice guy at Dean & DeLuca described it as just like they sliced the goat), and this runny, oozy Italian 3 leche cheese, that I do not want to remember the name of because then I would get it every day! Fruit platter with rainer cherries, gooseberries, figs, strawberries and bing cherries Cranberry cheese cake. (by now we were listening to the Doors, turned up very loud) Warning: do NOT try this on a Wednesday night...it's nearly suicidal.

Any large Hong Kong dim sum restaurant. An Italian trattoria that makes all of its own pasta A good tapas bar

How about some freshly made potato chips with salt and pepper? Salt, fat and starch all in one crispy bite.

Ms. Hesser's review is dead on about breakfast...but clearly she has not sniffed out the donuts yet. I don't care if its not 'hip', it's great to have around when you HAVE to have a plateau, and a trip to Bofinger is out of the question.

Beef liver with your hands....and you didn't take any pictures?? shame! Wasn't there a thread around about what you eat when you are alone? My mother and I terrorized my sister with sneakers in the dryer..you know...tha-thump tha-thump....We still will sing to her "The sneakers are coming tra-la tra-la"

For those of us perplexed by the Shrodingers cat reference. Is there more to this???

OH... were the meats extra bloody by chance?? And surely there is a tale to be told with tete de veau. I love a good scary story..or, as my grandmother would say, "schpooky story". When the kids were little and we would go camping with friends, one person would start the story, and then hand it off to the next person. "Icy Joe" lived in a cave at Snowbird, and everytime we go by, we still are on the lookout for "Icy Joe"

Lucy...that was 'no fair'. You left me hanging like a dried sausage. "....and then..." please continue. (Did you ever play scary stories in the round?)

The Pugliese bread looks really, really, really good. How do you dimple? Just by pinching it? That must be fun....sure the kids enjoy 'dimplin' with dad'! Have you ever had or made the hard, dry, bagel shaped Puliese bread? It gets dipped in water before eating, then a little olive oil and salt? Its kind of an 'acquired' taste, but very good. And with the crummy weather today, left over short ribs would be just fine!

Enzian: what great fun to do an experiment like that. My suggestion: repeat the same experience every few months. It would be great to see if the reactions are consistent, but I'm betting they change. Its so cool the way kids evolve.

While there may be a serious shortage of Japanese chefs... I sincerely hope there are plenty of psychiatrists! I'm sure this will go down in the oral family history books...

We will go back...but not sure when...

I did send off a letter to Jack and Grace Lamb describing our experience there. Last night I got a lovely response letter with a sincere apology. The most impressive part of the letter was "Needless to say, we have all read it-every member of the restaurant-and are working to address all weaknesses in service and quality". What more can anyone ask? To address and try to correct a problem is the best course of action. They also very generously credited back to us the cost of the meal. In fairness, we will have to go back again. Regards.

I have eaten Milo's cole slaw and can attest to its perfection!! And I'm lusting for that cutter!

I learned about 'suckering' from DoverCanyon...but what's verasion? The ground in the vineyard is looking more 'baked'. As always...so glad you are doing this! Thanks.

Yeah, how did it end? and where is the random act of kindness?

Roasted potato salad: roast small red potatos until they are crusty (puncture first, or they will explode in the oven). When the potatoes are done, crush them by hand, then toss in EVOO with fresh herbs, some salt and basalmic vinegar.

Check out this month's Vogue Magazine's Jeffrey Steingarten article...he goes to Orlanda to investigate fast food. The statistics he quotes are impressive. I tried to get a link to it, but was not successful.

This cannot be emphasized enough. No color. We only wear black. Stilettos, of the OWTD (Only Wear To Dinner) classification. Must have manicure (pale pink) and pedicure (wise choice of color is acceptable). Current facial is also required, we must appear moist, not sweaty. Ponchos are the 'in' wrap. Poncho can be colorful, but none of this summer fur trim unless you are really tall and thin. Legs should be bare and bronzed. One bare shoulder instead of two. Yes, yes, I'm kidding!!!

If you bake in ceramic, there's no worries about sticking. You also get a more consisent, enveloping heat in ceramic. I like to make lasagna bolognese with fresh pasta, very thin layers. Its actually quite delicate and very delicious. Cover for most of the time, and then uncover for brownig.

We've had some fantastic wine from Andrew Rich.

Pate was my son's lunch of choice as well. We always subscribed to the you must taste it first, before you can reject it doctrine, and what's good for the goose: I was required to taste pineapple and bbq chicken on pizza. OK, I tasted it, and I dont' have to eat it anymore. Our son grew up helping out in the kitchen, then he went thru a I'm not going near the kitchen phase, to a ramen/mac and cheese phase, to perfecting his Tuscan style steak dinner. Which means, lead by example and give the child room to grow in their own way. Respect your child's instincts (within reason!), and then you can expect some respect and trust in return.

What made it Moroccan? Spices? Cooking Technique?

Saturday night: grilled red snapper. I stuffed the snapper with some herbs from the garden (parsley, basil, rosemarry, oregano, thyme) and 2 orange slices. Served with an orange beurre blanc sauce. Very delicate flavors. The cat thought it was excellent!