judiu

</snip> YEA, KATIE!!!! Are you sure the fellow in question isn't a lurker here? Hope he has a good sense of humor; seems like he must, though, or he wouldn't have posed for a picture like that, right?

Potato kugel always fills the house with marvelous aromas! Noshtalgic really! You did FedEx me the crusty edges, no?? ← I dearly hope that you intentionally invented a new word here, oh Gifted one! If it's a typo, it's one of the most fortuitious I've ever seen! A few of my favorites: any meat baking in the oven, particularly a good garlic-y roast pork butt; fresh raspberries, perfectly ripe; peach cobbler, nutmeg on top; more others than I could possibly remember. Worst: The rancid curry smell in the lobby of small motels owned by people who cook curry EVERY night. YUCK!

Mmmm, paper coffe filter in strainer, margarita goes into bowl beneath, dead wood stays in filter? (ducks for cover)

A buttered parchment round, cut to the size of the pot, pressed down onto the surface of the ragout, then the lid put on upside down to minimize air space inside the casserole? HTH!

I'm sure I've posted this before in a different thread, but here goes nuthin'. My step-father was a vegetarian who would eat dairy, so Mom invented a clean-up-all-the-little-bits-of-cheese mac and cheese for him. She died without ever giving me the recipe and this is my aproximation. Cook 1 pound of Barilla Penne Rigate to package directions. With your hands, tear and break up about a pound of sharp cheddar, some decent Swiss-type cheese, a bit of gouda and/or whatever cheese is around. DO NOT GRATE! Mix chunks of cheese in a huge bowl with drained pasta. Melt one stick of butter and saute a yellow onion minced fine until onion is translucent and almost a goo. (technical term,that!) Throw in 1 - ~ cloves of garlic either minced or pressed, depending on tolerance and cook for about two minutes. Add 1/2 cup Wondra flour,whisking to remove lumps. Pour in about a quart of half & half, whisking well. Add at least a half teaspoon of Coleman's dry mustard powder, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.Simmer until thickened and the raw flour taste is cooked out. Pour into huge bowl with pasta and cheese and fold in well. The cheese will start to melt around the edges, but will not completely blend in. At this point, I've added chopped drained tomatoes, chunks of ham, green onions or whatever else you've got handy. Dump into a 9x13x2 pan (carefully; it gets REAL full!) Top with Panko, or buttered bread crumbs or Ritz crumbs or what ever crunch factor you like, and a bunch of grated Parmesan. Bake at 350* for about 45 minutes, or (sorry, Alton) golden brown and delicious! Dammit, now I'm hungry and am off carbs until Easter! By then it'll be too hot down here to make it!

I'm from Pompano Beach, just north of Ft. Lauderdale, and have heard of this cruise on the radio. I'm sure it'll be more of a cooking demonstration than a class; after all, who wants to go to school on their vacation? Please, let know how much fun you had!

Thank god/ess I have a boss who doesn't mind if I surf the web, and is used to hearing odd snarky laugh sounds coming from my desk, otherwise I'd be in sheep dit! ROTFLMAO, indeed!

Wow! Eating my way across Hong Kong has always been a dream of mine; thanks for helping me plan for a fantasy trip! Glad all is well for you guys, and that you were well away from all the problems of the tsunami!

Lobster cassoulet? Brrrr! What's "couennes?" It sounds like it might be French for "cojones", but I don't know if they'd go in a cassoulet! Lovin' your thoughts on the garlic!

Indeed, yes, many thanks for taking the time to share! It's made a lonely Christmas season much, much nicer!

At the risk of making myself cry, I will say that the best thing I got for Christmas was from Florida Daschund Rescue; they found a foster home for Max. I'm moving to a "no pet" condo, and was traumatized about what might happen to the dog, but I contacted FLDR, and within 48 hours they had a place for him! Now I'm lonesome, but happy! (smiling thru my tears...)

Four more for me! 3 "varietal" printed in Australia, and a cooking history that I'd been wanting for ages!

Just don't like the texture, and it's only a bitsy piece on top of the beans. Has no flavor factor, really. I've even done this with sausage meat if I didn't have hamburger.

"County Jail" a.k.a Beef & Beans 1 jar B&M baked beans (either vegetarian or with pork removed) 1 lb ground beef 1 large onion, diced 2 cloves of garlic minced fine (or to taste) More oregano than you've ever put in anything S&P (fresh ground pepper,please) Brown meat until 90% done, the drain most of the fat. Add chopped onion to beef in skillet,stir gently until translucent. Toward end of onions cooking, add garlic and saute for a minute. Dump in beans, stir again, season to taste with oregano & S&P Cover, simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently.Bean juice is high sugar and will tend to scorch if ignored. Serve with buttered noodles. NOTE: if you get too much oregano in this, tame it with a dollop of molasses or better yet, a shot of real maple syrup. YUM!

Oops! Forgot that one, since I don't get there much at all. There's also King's Deli, which has awesome chopped liver! (moan) I don't get to eat that anymore; too much natural sugar(/moan) King's isn't kosher, but says "kosher style". edited for kashrut

Hathor, I'm sure some other people can help you more than I, but I can tell you this: there'a a Whole Foods on Glades Rd. in Boca Raton, just east of I-95. Two towns south of Boca, in Pompano Beach there's an excellent butcher shop called Vinnie's Prime Meats. It's on Sample Rd, just west of US 1 (a.k.a. Federal Highway). There's also a fish monger called Seafood World on Federal Hwy, about six blocks north of Sample Rd. that has a good reputation, but I'm not a big fan of fish, so I really am not sure about this one. Also a place on Hillsboro Blvd called Pop's that's been there forever. Edited for the fish...

I can remember when I was about three getting a tiny bottle of creme de cacao in my Christmas stocking. My "Christmas drink" consisted of a quarter inch of c.de c. in a miniature goblet, topped with about three-quarters inch of heavy cream. I was told to make it last "all day" (snark!) My grandmother also gave me the bread-butter-sugar thingie, open face with hot tea. My mom started me on raw hamburger; also guacamole (which she regretted when she had to fight me for it!) and artichokes. Great treats all!

Pumpkin cheesecake, or pumpkin mousse pie come immediately to mind.

The dog?

I don't top, I stuff. Scoop out the innards, mash with butter, sour cream,s&p and chives, then fold in chunks of ham and shredded cheddar. stuff back into shells, broil briefly to melt the cheese to a goozey golden brown and chow down. I haven't done this in a long time; this thread is torture for a carb counter!

I usually use only beef in my meatloaf, and have found that it tends to get a bit dense. To alleviate this, I have used a can of drained waterchestnuts, blanched for about 30 seconds to ward off the dreaded "essence of tin-can", and chopped in a mini processor, not too fine. Adds lightness, and an interesting crunch. Works well in meatballs, too!

Gastro, the glaze works really well! Have tried it also with apricot jam and mustard on chicken breasts. YUM! Raspberry jam is another good candidate, as is peach preserves!

If all else fails try this:http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysjuniperberries.html (Gawd, I love Google...) Sorry, you'll have to copy & paste that link... edited because the link wasn't linking...

I share your pain. Ugh. I really, really use my hands alot: household chores, hauling buckets of gravel, soil and barkdust, use shovels and rakes, bathroom remodel and did I mention lots of COOKING? . The cracking around my thumbs has resisted all creams, oils, gloves, sweet-talk and massages. And my cure is the same as yours...rest those hands! But with no one standing in line to complete my tasks... ← I used to work in retail and handled money all day long. The paper will suck the moisture out of your skin in no time flat, and I developed the above mentioned finger cracks . The product that I found to work best is Blistex! The creamy ointment, though, not the waxy stick stuff. Rub it into the cracks generously before bed, and by the next day they will have healed. The stuff is nothing short of wonderful!

That's not "chaff" Fifi, it's the good stuff! Skinny little pretzel sticks, chow mein noodles, canned onion rings, Crispex cereal, real homemade bacon bits and mix the some of the fat with the butter-spice-worcestershire blend. Any thing crispy is fair game; my mom used to make "clutter & stuff" that had cheerios, Kix and a bunch of other stuff. I've even experimented with using Nam Pla in the butter mix instead of Worcestershire sauce (not bad, but not great!) You're right about the nuts, though; peanuts are not the way to go here, nor are walnuts. Pine nuts on the other hand... edited because I can't spell worth a damn...