jgm

Yes, that's true. My friends have gotten used to some of my activities, so they don't say much anymore. They speak of me as a "picky eater" because I just can't stand the food at certain places they frequent. What never ceases to amaze me is how they tell THEIR friends and relatives about this co-worker they have, who made her husband a birthday cake that had $10 worth of chocolate in the frosting alone. Etcetera. But yes, they call me when they have a food question. And they love, love, love my Korova cookies, which require between $5 and $10 worth of chocolate per recipe. And for those who must defend spending money on expensive restaurant dinners, here's the merit in doing that: You don't have to find a place to keep them. You don't have to dust them. You don't have to spend money maintaining them. You don't have to insure them, board them, or put them in winter storage. And you can still enjoy them when you're over 40 and you have bad knees.

I will never again (except I probably will) do extreme cooking without a little planning first. Mr. jgm and I decided to cook a 22 lb. turkey this weekend, because we wanted leftovers to vacuum pack and freeze for sandwiches. So when it came time to ease the bird into the pan, I pulled out my largest roasting pan, and of course it was much too small. Improvisation saved the day. A few hours later, we pulled a golden, crisp bird out of the oven. We looked at the bird. We looked at our small amount of counter space. We looked at the bird again. We didn't bother looking back at the counter. Fortunately, we are both pretty laid back people, and we don't get excited too easily. We've been married less than 10 years, and all of our holidays have been spent at relatives' homes. So we haven't acquired serving pieces, and other things required for cooking for more than about 4 people. So, the pan juices were sucked up with one of those bulb syringe things (I finally got to use it!), said bird was dismembered, carefully, while still in the pan, and we worked our way through the situation. But boy, do we have a lot of turkey. . .

My dear departed Aunt Hazel called Riunite wine "reunite." Condominiums were "condo-minimums." Ready for this? Back in the late 70's, we entered the cosmetics section of a department store, so that Hazel could buy a certain shade of lipstick made by a company called Etherea . I just about died when she approached a clerk and said, "Where's your urethera?????"

And really, really great style. Balsamic vinegar in the cubicle, eh? I have something to aspire to! The closest I've come is keeping some special honey, for pouring over yogurt.

To my coworkers, I am the class clown, the source of entertainment in the office. I don't mind, I guess. Here's an example. I work for a divorce attorney. A few months ago, I visited a local restaurant, and strayed from the usual area of the menu from which I usually order. And I found nirvana. When I was telling my boss about it the next week, he reminded me that one of our clients works there. So I told him --jokingly, I thought-- that next time the guy comes in, forget getting a retainer, get that recipe! But I'd forgotten all about that. And I would never ask a client for something like that; I would think he could get fired for passing along recipes to outsiders. So in walks the client yesterday, with the recipe , and I nearly kissed him. (If he's in a divorce attorney's office, he's got enough problems with women, so I didn't.) I was ecstatic. And fortunately, I happened to remember an eGullet thread that contained a recipe he said he had been wanting, so it worked out well for both of us. One of the newer staff members looked at me in disbelief. "Do you always get this excited over recipes? Pretty much, I answered, floating off on my own personal cloud nine to tell another coworker of my incredible good fortune. Then I called my husband to tell him about it, and I could actually hear him rolling his eyes over the phone. It was a short conversation. I've been known to return from pho restaurants with herbs in my hand, munching on them all afternoon, because I couldn't let them go to waste. I won't even get started on the stuff I bring to the office for lunch. Sometimes they're envious, sometimes they question me carefully about ingredients... either not believing their eyes/nose, or not wanting to offend me. A recent trip to a fairly new restaurant in town sent me back to work ecstatic over discovering a really well-made reuben. "It's just a sandwich," said one co-worker. Oh, no, it's not. They make. Their own. Corned beef. So do the people in your life stare in wonder at you when you're in some sort of food nirvana?

Yes, mine is darker also. Perhaps the photo doesn't have as much cinnamon? It looks as if it's primarily sugar and orange peel.

Lunch today provided new information: it's great on a peanut butter sandwich. Can't wait to try it on peanut butter toast. Some crumbs fell out of the sandwich and onto my banana... mmmmmmmmm I'm thinking it would have to be good on steamed or sauteed carrots. I'm going to try it in coffee.

Nope. When you get near the bottom of the bottle/can, use your teeth as a screen.

I have mixed feelings about these things. I can respect someone who's made some mistakes, but then paid their debt to society and straightened themselves out. Others, such as a certain individual who made our city famous last summer, I'd resent him receiving anything that was beyond palatable. Guess I'm still missing one of his victims, who was a friend of mine. If he didn't have anything beyond cockroaches and water to consume for the rest of his life, it'd be fine with me.

CONGRATULATIONS! There's a story in the New York Times this week, about how many chef's kids eat very sophisticated foods. I'd put a link to it, but I don't know how to do one that will last more than about a month. Cool story, though, and proof that kids don't have to be raised on junk food. Maybe on this thread you could keep us apprised of your cravings. I just love to hear those stories. One former co-worker's husband was good enough to drive her 300 miles to get some sort of Asian fruit drink she couldn't find here; they also scoured the town a couple of times for wonton soup. I still tease her about the trip for the fruit drink.

I would encourage you to work on your knife skills with a really good knife. I think you'll be surprised at how fast you progress. Watch the pros on TV for pointers; notice how they hold the knife and how they rock it and feed the blade. Go very slowly at first; you'll speed up with experience, and it won't be long before you won't be interested in getting out a piece of equipment when you can just use a knife. I use my mandoline for large batches of things, and especially when I need to slice potatoes, with uniform thickness, for a gratin or for escalloped potatoes.

Neither Targer nor Amazon has this device on the Web yet. A local TV station has a feature called "Does it Work Wednesday." Every Wednesday, they have a viewer try a product to determine whether it works as promised. I think the station buys the product for the testers. I'll suggest it to them, and report back if they do it. Not spending my money on it!

That made my day!

I'm glad you bumped this topic, since I missed it the first time around. Can't wait to try it! Do you find it makes a difference, with the type of oranges/mandarins/clementines used? I have a feeling this would be good in hot tea. And I know I'll like it on baked sweet potatoes. Popcorn, really? I'll have to try that, too.

Cough, cough... From the dusty crevasses of my mind comes a memory of doing this, probably in my teenage years. I think that's what we did... just let 'em soak, and chow down at the end. I don't remember any stories attached with this, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some; stories like the one everyone believed about combining Pepsi and aspirin, which would supposedly make you drunk (hope springs eternal in the heart of a 14-year-old). Man. I never would have remembered this if you hadn't brought it up. Makes me wonder what else is rolling around inside my brain that hasn't surfaced in quite awhile. Wheeze. . .

Yes, but not for soup making. You may use them for anything else you please.

Here's Williams-Sonoma's answer: Vegetable Dicer If that link doesn't work, go to www.williamssonoma.com and search for "Alligator Vegetable Dicer." The description specifically mentions carrots.

I've owned three "less expensive" models, and I love my Oxo. If you really want to spring for something more expensive, there may well be merits in doing so. But the Oxo has met my needs well. There aren't a bunch of blades to switch out and keep track of. It's pretty much a self-contained unit, and for everyday slicing needs, it's an excellent value for the price.

I'm not an expert (by any means) but I've read that many people make rice pudding from arborio and other short grain rices, because they're creamier. If you can't find a highly-recommended recipe, try that last recipe with a short grain rice.

Exactly. The few pre-packaged items we buy, we have no problems remembering to pick up. This gadget also does not tell us that we have only two scoops of laundry detergent left, or whether we are nearly out of plastic wrap. We still have to do a quick run through the kitchen with a piece of paper and a pen.

I should never have started this thread. Now I'm lusting over things I previously did not know existed. And my pets are going to have to have something wonderful. I had not thought of that, either. What else is there? I might as well go totally off the deep end. Oh --I also have a thing for Portmeirion Botanical Garden.

Easy + fancy: Bake a sponge cake, probably vanilla, but flavor depends on other ingredients; it should be thin. Cut it to fit the bottom, top, and two sides of a loaf pan. Line loaf pan with plastic wrap. Put the bottom and side pieces in. Put in about a 3/4" to 1" layer of mousse, your choice of flavor Cover that layer with fruit, arranged; strawberries could be points-up, in rows; kiwi spears laid end-to-end; or pineapple spears laid end-to-end; cover fruit with a second layer of mousse; add another layer of fruit; finish with another layer of mousse. Do a third fruit/mousse layer if you have room. Top with last piece of sponge cake. Chill until set; slice loaf-fashion. Slices should have a mosaic of fruit and mousse. It can all be done ahead, but sliced and served at the last minute.

It's hard to go wrong with cheesecake. Probably a lot of people would appreciate having something simple with fruit; chocolate covered strawberries, or fruit chunks on a skewer, perhaps with a dip. If you have time to do cookies, they're a small portion that's easy for people to control, and the lighter eaters might also appreciate that. I hope you'll consider a combination of decadent items and somewhat-healthy items.

I've grown extremely cynical about dietary "do's and don'ts". St. Julia was right, and always will be: everything in moderation. I have decided that no matter what I eat, there's a reason I shouldn't eat it. I'm going to, then, improve my quality of life by paying no further attention to scientific studies and lists. There is much we don't know, and I don't think that's going to change in my lifetime, no matter how long that is.

I make lots of soups and freeze them. A nice cup of homemade soup can make even the most mundane sandwich worth waiting all morning for. I also look for condiments, or make them. Turkey sandwiches, for me, are always better with some sort of cranberry concoction on them. Sara Lee has a cranberry honey mustard that isn't bad. Look for similar items, or recipes, in flavors to compliment what you make. Also, take cues from Sandwich shops. If you have a favorite at Subway or Quizno's, it'll only be better if you make the same thing yourself, because you'll use better ingredients. If you put certain parts together the night before, and wrap them in waxed paper or plastic wrap, you can just pull them out of the fridge in the morning and put them on prepared bread (i.e., with mustard and mayo, or whatever you prefer), saving a lot of time. Purchase a sturdy plastic container so that your sandwich doesn't get smashed on the way to work. Find a good bread. My husband always uses grocery store bread; I'll do that if I have to. But any sandwich is better on really good bread. Also, it really is little trouble to do your own meat, rather than buy lunchmeat. We have a Foodsaver vacuum system that allows us to freeze meats, etc., and they're in better condition when thawed, then when frozen by "normal" means. (Maybe I just don't know how to wrap things well for freezing.) Buy an extra-large turkey at holidays, and freeze leftovers. If you're roasting a chicken on Sunday, you might as well roast or braise some beef or pork, and then portion it out and freeze it, just as for the turkey. Don't forget about baked potatoes. Sometimes I make beef stew, or the "innards" of chicken pot pie, without potatoes in them, and freeze in portion-sized amounts. I weigh potatoes on our postage scale at work, do the math, and zap for 3 minutes per pound, plus an extra 30 to 60 seconds. Then zap the stew or whatever, and serve on the potato. It makes a filling, satisfying lunch. I happen to like cottage cheese and freshly ground black pepper on baked potato, but I may well be the only one who does. Don't forget dessert; again, it's always better if it's homemade, even if it's just a couple of cookies. Or a piece of really good fruit. I have found, over the years, that if I go to the extra trouble of bringing homemade items, and getting creative with sandwiches, that I always prefer that to anything I can purchase in a nearby restaurant. If I just bring a froze, microwaveable lunch, I usually let it spoil in the fridge and go find something better, which is what you're trying to avoid.