jgm

I like to take freshly-baked bread or homemade cinnamon rolls. People rarely, anymore, have a chance to enjoy either one of these, and they are almost always a welcome addition to the casseroles and other things that others bring. If I'm bringing homemade bread, I also will often bring a flavored butter - labeled, so that it doesn't end up as a surprise on somebody's mashed potatoes. Also, don't forget about a fresh vegetable or fresh fruit tray. Even at a regular potluck, I'm always excited to see anything fresh.

I'll be interested to see the suggestions on this topic. No refrigeration? The only thing I can think of is PB&J. How long between the delivery of the food, and when it's eaten? That will make a big difference.

I have exactly the opposite problem. Restaurant food is too salty for me. And I find myself apologizing and explaining to the waitstaff that for the past 4 or 5 years, everything has tasted very salty. I have no idea why, but it's a problem. So far, I've not had anyone complain about my requests to go easy on the salt, but it's probably coming. The bottom line is: scientifically, we know that not all people have the same sense of smell. Some people can smell certain chemicals and others can't. Anecdotally, I know that various friends can taste certain things in food that I can't (and vice versa), so I think it's a pretty safe assumption that the sense of taste varies from person to person. For a chef to become insulted over the issue of salt is extremely arrogant. Especially if that chef's taste buds are compromised because he or she smokes--and I know several who do.

My hat's off to a local Italian fast food chain, Fazoli's. They're currently advertising "pizza style spaghetti"... which is a shallow plate of spaghetti and sauce, topped with what appears to be pepperoni and cheese, and baked until the cheese melts, etc. Their food actually isn't bad at all, and I may indulge this week.

Here's one of my favorite meals. I don't know if it'll work for your setup, but perhaps you could adapt it. I use an electric skillet, with a very heavy extension cord, and put it in the middle of the table. Into it goes about 3 to 4 cans of low sodium chicken broth. Each person is assigned a space in the pan. Have fresh vegetables cut up into pieces - whatever you like. Peppers, onion, mushrooms, slivers of carrot. Here in the States, some of this could come from a salad bar, but I don't know what you have available there. Also have whatever (raw) meat you like, also cut into chunks. The idea is that everybody puts whatever they want to eat, into their corner of the skillet, and it cooks in 2 to 3 minutes. They fish it out with a slotted spoon, and put it on rice. Cooking can be repeated until everybody's had enough, or you run out of food, whichever comes first. The broth that will be left, is heavenly. Tomorrow, throw more meat and vegetables into it, along with rice or noodles, and call it soup. The beauty of this is that all of the prep can be done ahead of time and stashed in the fridge.

This looks like a cake I've eaten at a couple of potlucks, and I think I've seen a recipe or two in locally produced cookbooks (from churches or women's groups). But I don't remember it being called "Texas" sheet cake. For whatever that's worth!

The problem of children being taken to inappropriate places, is more than a restaurant problem. I'm a member of a group of artists who meet monthly and work on projects, and one member often brings her son. Even though he's old enough to behave well, and pretty much does, the other members resent his presence and his use of supplies, since Mama usually insists that the kid participate. At an informal dinner for the members last year, the kid was the first one in line, which was extremely inappropriate, and everyone but Mama could see the steam coming out of the hostess's ears. Whenever this issue is addressed in our (national) e-mail list, the gloves come off and things get really nasty. We haven't found an answer yet, either, although some groups are willing to specify "no children" and just let the chips fall. I think you would be well within your "rights" to approach the restaurant manager and describe the problem. Perhaps the manager would be willing to set aside restaurant hours or sections for people who wish to engage in child-free dining. Or if the hostess or whoever does the seating understands your preferences ahead of time, surely you will receive cooperation for your request to be seated as far as possible from families with children. My heart goes out to you, and I hope you are able to find a solution to your problem. I know you're not alone in your feelings.

How about a riff on classic banana pudding? Vanilla wafers could be upgraded to.... Then sliced bananas, of course Vanilla pudding--lots of variations on that, depending on what you want to do Chocolate's got to be in there somewhere, of course.

You may want to check out the comments on Amazon. I don't know if they are selling these exact models, but the bottom line for many purchaser/reviewers was that they were unhappy with service on their Cuisinarts. The company, in recent years, apparently has been sold to Conair, and many were of the opinion that service has suffered as a result.

I have a question. I do watch the Food Network quite a bit; but come to think of it, I have rarely made a recipe from any of the shows. A couple of recipes that I have made from a couple of shows weren't all that wonderful, quite frankly. Has anybody actually cooked from this woman's cookbooks? If so, whaddya think? To me, that's the bottom line. If the recipes are solid, directions clear, and all that, then more power to her. Is there any such thing as oversaturating a market? If so, Ms. Ray is headed there fast.

It also depends on the financial situation of the diners. Years ago, when I was not making much money, I often had pizza with a couple I socialized with. At one point, the wife suggested we just split the cost down the middle. I was grateful when the husband jumped in and pointed out that since there were three of us, it should be split three ways, and he would pay for the two of them. In those days, every penny was precious and that extra few dollars would have been a strain. Today, I'd probably just pay for the pizza myself and not even think about it. While it's true that people who are sharing fine wines or somewhat expensive dinners are likely to be people who easily have the means to do so, it's not necessarily the case. In these days of uncertain employment, etc., the compassionate thing is to check with each other ahead of time and make decisions before ordering. One never knows what's going on in others' checking accounts, and I think it's worth initiating the discussion to ensure others' comfort, and avoid hard feelings. There have been times when I've been greatly pained because I wanted to treat unemployed friends to dinner, because I wanted to enjoy their company with a good meal, and they would not allow it, even though we all knew they'd do the same for me if the shoe were on the other foot. Their company is just as wonderful over coffee at McDonald's, and I just have had to understand how difficult it is to deal with money between friends.

I've spent the past about 6-8 weeks fighting the same crud everybody else in town is fighting. Recurring fever and fatigue, going on for weeks on end, interspersed with fits of coughing. It's just been this week that I haven't been crawling into bed shortly after coming home from work. Although that's good news, I am now overwhelmed by all of the stuff that didn't get done during that period. Optimistically, I had purchased the ingredients for the Steak Bruschetta featured in the current CuisineAtHome issue. Wednesday rolled around and I still hadn't made it, so I launched into it even though I really didn't feel like I had the energy. It's not a difficult recipe, but it does involve more effort than pouring Cheerios into a bowl, which is what I've been doing for dinner a lot lately. But I was down to the wire with the meat - make the recipe or throw it out. Lo and behold, the recipe was delicious! What an upper! I usually don't make recipes for things like this, so it was especially great that not only did it turn out well, but I've branched out in a new direction. I have energy now like I haven't had in ages. Cooking itself isn't relaxing for me, but having good results is about the best therapy around. And fortunately, I've reached the place where if the results aren't particularly good, oh well, on to the next dish.

If it's gotta be fast, it's either hard or soft boiled eggs with butter, salt and pepper, accompanied by buttered toast. Another favorite is spaghetti with butter and parmesan. (Yes, you do detect a trend here.) Oh, wait, you said healthy! Ease up on the butter a bit. The pasta can be done with olive oil.

My husband and I work different shifts, so I cook for myself most nights, and for both of us on weekends. Before I caught The Crud That's Going Around I was doing a lot of cooking for myself. I think that was in February. This particular viral strain produced symptoms for about 10 days, and incredible fatigue for about 6 weeks after that. So I'm just now beginning to think about cooking again. I find it works best to alternate simple meals with more complex meals. One night, I might have peel & eat shrimp and something wonderful like an artichoke or asparagus. Other simple meals include one of my specialties, "salad bar stir-fry". I just pick up whatever on the salad bar that looks like it would be good in a stir fry, and then stir fry it with beef or chicken. I'm trying to make the transition from using bottled stir fry sauces, to concocting my own sauce, and suggestions or recipes would be welcome. A more complex meal would probably be a two night affair. On a night I cook a simple meal, I might also stew or roast a chicken, with the meat to be used in some other dish on a second night. And on the nights I'm just too tired to cook, it's indulgence city. A couple of nights ago, I ate avocados with lemon juice. Dessert was strawberries dipped in sour cream and then brown sugar. Oink, oink.

Anyone who doesn't like pickles can send theirs to me. The local pickle lady swears she's quitting the business, but every year her pickles keep showing up on the shelves, albeit in small quantities these days. Her pickled carrots are my favorites, but I'm also extremely fond of her Honey'd Green Tomatoes. Fortunately, this wonderful, unselfish woman has published a little cookbook with all of her recipes in it, so if she does go out of business, her fans won't have to be without. I love to put carrot slices in sweet pickle juice for a few weeks. And when the Honey'd Green Tomatoes run out, the beets go into their juice. Oh yes.....

If you go to amazon.com, you can set up an order for it, specifying how much you'll pay, etc. If you really want the book, it might be worth your trouble to do that. You never know!

One of these business has been in existence here for about a year, and it appears to be doing well: Simple Suppers to Go My husband and I tried it during their first month. I wanted to get some ideas, and I did get some! I found that we really didn't like some of her "casserole" type recipes, such as stacked enchiladas, manicotti, etc., but some of the meats, such as salmon and chicken, were really very good. That first time, we made one of everything offered. If we were to do it again, we'd be more selective about which entrees we make. But my husband and I really enjoyed working together on these meals. (The chef did mention that we work together better than most couples.) It was a relaxed setting and allowed us to talk and interact without having to step around each other to get stuff into a pan, etc., which usually is the case if we're cooking together. And I came away with ideas about how to do my own make-ahead dishes with my own recipes. Per-serving cost for this particular service is about $3.00. I like to do prep, but my working hours are a little late sometimes, and it's lovely to just come home, preheat the oven, stick the entree in, and start working on side dishes. Not only is the prep for the main dish done, the cleanup is done also, and that helps. I still have to do some prep and cleanup for the vegetables (but maybe not, if I did the prep the night before), but it just reduces dinner from a major hassle to something definitely doable. My job is fairly high stress, and I often don't have a lot of energy when I get home. I've referred several friends to this service, and they've actually called me back to thank me. One is a single father who's raising two adolescents, and he has no cooking skills, and only limited time to develop them. He uses the option of having the chef prepare everything for him, and just picks up the finished meals. The quality is much better than frozen dinners from the grocery, and so is the selection, since the menu changes from month to month. I definitely think there's a market for these businesses. More people love to eat good food, than have the ability to cook it. And therein lies the market.

I hate to tell you this, but I would advise you to appreciate these days, when crappy coffee is the major problem. With aging parents, it just goes from bad to worse, it seems. We went through the crappy coffee stage, too, without managing to improve the situation any. Then a couple of years ago, my mother was at wit's end because my dad kept forgetting to put the carafe under the filter holder, and the coffee would drip all over the counter and onto the floor. To make it even more frustrating, all suggestions of possible solutions that would at least mitigate the damage, were nothing she was willing to do. Last fall, they cleaned up 1 1/2 inches of water from the basement, after my father didn't mentally connect that a leaking washer hose meant the faucet it was connected to, needed to be turned off. The water spewed all night long, until my mother discovered it the next morning. Total cleanup bill: $3,500. Ahhhhhhh the good old days of crappy coffee! We won't even go into the joys of trying to get the car keys away from them.

I'd just settle for room to store the gadgets I already have, plus those I'd love to buy. But I would like a device to shoot a bite of something to the dog, and after firing, it would say, "Now get out of here." That would free me up to do a lot of cooking, since that's what I spend a lot of time doing. Then I'd also want a device that would automatically dump the cat off the counter. Something that would issue a really loud, obnoxious noise when my husband leaves the pliers and the screwdriver on the counter, would be nice too. It might also say, "Now get out of here." "Sweetie." And I'd like a refrigerator that automatically disposes of food that's getting old, moldy, and out of date; it should also automatically either dispose of the container, or wash out the reusable container and stack it in a special bin for me.

You may be able to check these out from your local public library. If it doesn't have them, they can acquire them through Interlibrary Loan. Quite a few people bring the library's copy of a desired cookbook home for a couple of weeks so they can have time to go through it and see what they think.

When I lived in Dodge City, Kansas, where enormous numbers of cattle are raised and slaughtered, we called 'em "calf fries." They were served cut in french-fry shape and deep fried.

When procuring something like this that was intended for construction or some other purpose, I'd probably have some concerns about the possibility that it might have been treated in some way. I think I'd definitely scrub it well, and would probably soak it for at least 24 hours to see if anything would leach out. As a former geology major (and if there are any real geologists in the group, by all means, jump in here), I can tell you that sometimes rock masses can be porous. And knowing that in some places, groundwater is contaminated, I'd wonder whether any of that contaminated groundwater might have run through those pores. These concerns may be considerably overblown. I'd have to talk to a few local geologists to see what they would think. Also, with a material like marble, it's possible ("possible" being the important term here) that a vein running through the slab could create a weak point, along which the slab might tend to break if it encountered certain types of shock. Again, a real geologist would have a far more valuable opinion of the likelihood of this, than mine. But such a break would be almost guaranteed to happen at a really bad time, causing maximum damage and injury. That's Murphy's law, and I feel comfortable stating it with certainty. Meanwhile, a good pizza stone could be had for under $25.

This just makes me laugh! But I have an idea. In many refrigerators, the filter is fairly quick and easy to change. So could someone keep Mom and Pop busy in another part of the house while you do a quick filter swap-out? Something tells me you've already thought of that, and have found that changing the filter is a 45-minute operation that includes dismantling the entire freezer compartment, or some other such hideous operation.

My parents wouldn't bother to do this. Fortunately, their coffee is drinkable. But people often get into ruts, and they're usually quite happy to be there. My advice, BeJam: invest in a high-quality, large thermos, and bring your own. It's the only way you're gonna get a decent cuppa at their house.

I kind of like my car. It's quiet, and my 4 cats and 1 dog, a/k/a "the beggars" aren't there to offer suggestions on how I might share. Not much table space, though, so there are limitations on what kinds of foods can be consumed there. This thread has kind of awakened me to the idea that there is nowhere in my home that I'm comfortable eating, because of interference from the pets. Sometimes it's entertaining, and the company is always fun... but sometimes it's nice to just have a meal without anything even resembling aggravation. Hmmm. I think I need to work on that.