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Dan's idea sounds really good to me; if you have a premade sour mix, you could offer whiskey and scotch sours. If you decide to go with the Bloody Mary idea and the weather turns chilly, you could batch the base and some beef broth (add citrus AFTER serving) and warm in a crock pot, adding booze on request. (I personally prefer a Bloody Awful, at least to start...) I believe that there's a product on the market called "Foamy Head" or something similar, to help avoid the use of raw egg whites. Pros, please correct as needed!

Ya mean toothpicks?

At what time are the nuptials scheduled for, and what time of year? A proseco (sp?) cocktail or Bloody Mary would be good for an early afternoon warm weather setting, whereas a hot toddy of some type might be better for a late afternoon cooler weather affair.

My thumbs don't work so well anymore , so tweezers are not the easiest thing to use , for me. I like a small pair of spring loaded needle-nosed pliers, which I purchased to use in a jewelery making attempt. Just washed well, and VIOLA ! ( ) Great little bone grabbers, sprinkle placers, garnish spotters, etc. Don't have the tendency to cut soft stuff the way tweezers might, either. HTH!

My late husband would not accept a main dish without animal protein, so I have put cubed ham or flaked tuna fish or scrumpled up, browned breakfast sausage or chopped up hot dogs or kielbasi in my mac and cheese, all depending on the state of the $ and/or leftovers. Also love the stewed tomatoes as a side with it. I, on the other hand love it any way it's served!

LindaK, I love both of the above, but for the turkey, please toast the bread on one side only, then create sandwich on the untoasted side, 'k? Now I'm hungry, and BROKE! I guess IHOP is out of the question!

A loaf of plain old el cheapo white bread, store brand, went from 89 cents in April to $1.49 in June. This MUST be a bad dream!

You mean Octaveman, I think. By George, I believe that's it!

Does the next blogger happen to play in a Big Band, too? I'm wracking my brain; and can see the sig line, about the Coronado Big Band, but can't recall the person's NAME! Damn a swiss cheese memory! That's the kind with holes...)

Soba, feel better soon, please! If you can take Vitamin C, I suggest you up the ante by a factor of at least 2. If you take more than you can absorb, it "comes out in the wash" so to speak. Since you're staying home anyway...

I have read a number of pieces about Hillary Clinton and others traveling with their hot sauce Example: One newspaper reported that, “She likes hot and spicy food. Back home she travels with a bottle of hot sauce to pep up her food wherever she goes; she believes it keeps her healthy.” They're even putting Tabasco Sauce in MRE now, just to assist in edibility. Personally, it's a bit too much for me, I prefer something tamer, like Texas Pete or Crystal. I do LOVE fresh ground black pepper, though, and have been known to keep a McCormick bottle of black pepper with the built in grinder in my purse, or desk drawer at work. Boy, does it help out a breakfast sandwich! Preground, in a can? GACK! Oddly enough, I LIKE lemon pepper blends, though.

Soba, you're most welcome/ Please note that the idea is a guess, not a tried and true tip, per se! Thanks for this blog, it's good to see ya!

(/snip)Please tell; how in the WORLD did you get those gorgeous "grill marks" on that steak? Do you have a branding iron, or did you do it freehand or what? Inquiring minds want to know!

My sainted grandmother, God be good to her, was born in the very late 19th century, and totally believed pork had to be cooked until dead. She could roast a beautiful piece of pork to a lovely golden brown, but the interior was never juicy. Pork chops had to be thin cut, and fried (pan broiled actually) until they were like poker chips. No big surprise, I always thought I disliked pork! Turned out, of course, that I just disliked it the way Nana cooked it!

Soba, in re: the light fluffy gnocchi, have you tried using self-rising flour, rather than plain? The extra baking soda may be just what you need, but cut down on any additional salt until you have tried it once or twice. Those light bulbs caused quite a double-take on my part; I thought "WTF, shelf stable eggs?", then I had a second look!

Clark, what's the sauce on the bread, if I may ask? Looks like thousand island without the relish, but I'm sure it's more than that! Not that it matters too much to me, I'd certainly eat that in a NY minute! (Edited for edibility factor)

Ummm, Lactaid? Just sayin'.

Then again, it brought to mind my mom's expression "That's strong enough to curl your hair". I guess it's all in the regional dialect...

I dearly love either Marmite or Bovril on buttered toast, and have rescued many a blandish beef stew or pot roast with a dollop of Bovril, which I now can only find at British grocery stores here in S. Florida. Does any know any local sources for it here?

I would recommend Bagel Snack, in the shopping center on Powerline Rd. and Gateway Dr. in Pompano Beach. I have eaten there and ordered takeout and delivery from them many times, but not in the past year, as I do not work in the area any longer. The food was always excellent, but the delivery time was long. In house, the service is good, and the restaurant area is fairly large. The shop is tucked into a corner, and is a bit hard to find from the street. Bialeys, though are meh. There was also a place in Delay Beach called Brooklyn Bagels, where they treat the water to duplicate the New York water quality. A bit of a haul from Ft. Lauderdale, though.

David Ross? I hope, I hope!

Congratulations! Who ran the contest, if I may ask?

An open book shape, defined by icing. Apple cake with a cinnamon frosting? (Apple for the teacher...)

What's too many shrimp? I didn't know such a thing existed!

OK, on AVERAGE, how much water will a given weight of pasta absorb? I have managed to figure it out by trial and error, using relatively fresh grocery store dried pasta (Mueller's Elbows) and an eyeball, but has anyone does the actual measurement?