nan

Oh my gosh, Ann_T - that looks fabulous! How did you like the bread pudding? It sounds really interesting... nan

Oh wow, thanks everyone for such helpful information!! I'll have to print this thread out or at least bookmark it so I can refer to it - it's a lot to absorb right now. BrentKulman - I noticed when we were in Upstream that a table next to us had gotten a sampler of their beers - they brought them all out in small glasses. I may have to try that next time I'm in. I'm also hoping to go to Lincoln for the weekend sometime soon as we're trying to visit all of the Nebraska wineries and there are three over near Lincoln. So I'll make sure to add the microbrewery to our visit list. Thanks again everyone!

Well, this is what happens when I don't feel like eating the leftovers we have and at the same time don't feel like cooking anything new. I get frozen pizza. I probably shouldn't admit that here, but the picture turned out reasonable (in focus is reasonable these days). I'm experimenting with beer, so I picked this up spur of the moment, but didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. But that's a different thread... nan

Thanks for all the replies so far! I've got lots of beers to try now! Of course, despite all that, I didn't bring a copy of these ideas to the store with me last night and spur of the moment I picked up Pete's Wicked brand Strawberry Blonde. I thought to myself that this was Strawberry flavor, so I should like it. While I could definitely taste the strawberry in it, there was a pronounced bitter flavor to it. The description says it is a golden blonde lager. Was this just the brand/type I bought or the style of the beer? I'm thinking perhaps I should read up on the basic styles of beer - lager vs. ale vs. whatever.... if only so that on these spur of the moment purchases, I have a better idea of what to pick out. Anyone got a suggestion? I'll have to go look in the eGCI area - maybe there's a course in there for me? :) Anyway, thanks again for all your suggestions - I read a few of them off to my non-beer-drinking-German husband and he was familiar with most of them, so that gives me hope that I'll be able to try them out while we're there. nan

Thanks! I'm looking forward to trying these out! sladeums, I'm out towards 168th, but there is a world market near me as well, and coincidentally, I'll be in that shopping center tomorrow, so I'll definitely go check it out and see what I can pick up. nan

Thanks for the input! I will certainly look these up next time we go shopping. We'll be in Rostock most of the time, which is on the northeastern coast. I'm pretty sure I've seen a local beer there called "Rostocker" but I couldn't tell you any more than that. I'd also welcome recommendations for beer from anywhere that happens to be a bit on the sweeter side... nan

I never thought I liked beer. But it occurred to me recently that I had never really had any good beer. I think perhaps I might have had a sip or two of someone's beer in college, but that's about it. Last weekend we had company and went out to a local microbrewery here in Omaha (Upstream, for those familiar - I'm new to the area, so I'm not). Anyway, they have a beer called Honey-Raspberry Ale and it sounded good, so I tried it and much to my surprise, I enjoyed it!). The description says they use raspberry puree when making the beer. So now I'm on a mission. I've recently learned to appreciate and enjoy red wine. We're headed to Germany (northeastern if it makes any difference) in late August to visit the in-laws. I would really love to be able to drink some local beer and enjoy it, if only to impress my father-in-law. :) I tend to prefer sweeter drinks - I like hard cider quite a lot as well as the Mike's brand hard lemonade, etc. But as I said, I've learned to enjoy red wine as well, so I think I can learn to enjoy a good beer as well. Here's where the question comes in -- I've heard that German beer is quite a bit different (in what sense? I don't know). I'm looking for suggestions on beers I can easily find around here to sort of work my way down on the sweetness level. But I know nothing about picking out beers... Can anyone offer suggestions? Does this make any sense? thanks! nan

Bourbon-glazed Salmon over Wild Mushroom Pilaf, served with a romaine salad with Sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. Recipes from Cooking Light, of course... I'm still trying to work on my photography / Photoshop skills...

Here's dinner from last Friday... Chile-Rubbed Grilled Scallop Salad and tonight's dinner... White Beans with Smoked Sausage. It called for flageolets, but I couldn't find them in the couple of stores I had time to check this weekend. In any case, both recipes turned out really good, better than my photos. nan

Chicken Oaxaca, based on a Cooking Light recipe - it called for the chicken to be stuffed with avocado and cheese, then breaded and fried, but I just cooked the chicken on its own, then topped with avocado, cheese, and the VERY spicy sauce. Not the prettiest as far as color goes, but an interesting dish. This is day #2 for this dish, which is why the avocado is not so nicely green as it was the day before. In my new quest to learn more about wine in general and especially food-wine pairing, we tried this dish the first night with a Sauvignon Blanc and last night with a Dancing Bull Zinfandel. I enjoyed both but think the Zinfandel worked better.

I'm looking forward to this blog! I'm especially eager to learn more about your business - how do you decide what to teach? How are the classes run - in someone's home or do you have a kitchen classroom type of thing where you hold them? This sounds like the perfect kind of thing for someone like me... How do you manage to fit in time to work in two restaurants and still run your own business? Oh yeah, one final question - how did the parents of the noisemakers react to the disgruntled gentleman's outburst? I'm always surprised when parents allow their children to act this way outside of fast food places. I am the mother of a 3 year old and would have taken him outside if he'd acted like that... but perhaps that's just me.

Inspired by this thread, I made some Strawberry Buttermilk Gelato this morning. I apologize for the blurriness of the photo, but at least it gives you an idea. I also found a recipe for an Earl Grey Gelato that I intend to try this week, just because it sounds interesting. I have a tiny Panasonic ice-cream maker, so it took a couple of rounds to make the whole batch. Both mr. nan and I thought it was pretty good. nan

Last night I tried Baked Catfish with Olive-Crumb Coating and served it with a green salad and Carrot "Souffle". I'm trying to learn more about wines and pairing, so after some browsing around online for suggestions, I served a 2002 B&G Vouvray (France). I thought it was a very nice wine, especially with the meal. I think it was a bit sweet on its own for my husband's tastes, though. No dessert, I was too tired by the time we got the toddler to bed. :) Anyway, we'll repeat the dinner tonight to finish up the carrot dish and the olive topping for the fish.

Last night we went to a wine-tasting dinner - unlike the last one we attended (same restaurant) which featured Cline wines, this one featured the wine glasses - a rep from Riedel was there and walked us through the different glasses, etc. We tried the following wines: - Lava Cap, Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, Napa Valley Cabernet/ Merlot Riedel glass - White Haven, Pinot Noir 2003, New Zealand Pinot Noir Riedel glass - Nobilo, Sauvignon Blanc 2004, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Riedel glass - Newton unfiltered, Chardonnay 2003, Napa Valley Chardonnay Riedel Glass I'm definitely a wine novice, but would really like to learn more. This particular dinner was especially nice because it spent so much time on tasting wine, what to look for, etc. But I'm wondering what all of you experts out there think of the Riedel glasses. We got to take our set of four glasses each home with us and chose to buy some additional sets. The price seemed pretty good, and it was a noticeable difference (though moreso to my husband than to myself). Anyway, I'd love to hear thoughts on these glasses, just out of curiousity. Oh yeah, the wine was good too. I didn't really like the Chardonnay as much, but really liked the Pinot Noir, which is surprising, since I tend to be a white-wine sort of person. But as I try more out, I think I'm learning to enjoy red wines... I hope this is the appropriate place to put this topic... nan

Last night was a quick dinner night - shrimp stir-fry. I tried to take pictures but they came out blurry. Tonight, though, we're going to a nearby restaurant for a wine-tasting dinner. They offer them every few months. We've only been to one before and that was featuring the Cline wines, which suddenly seem to be everywhere (or perhaps I just never noticed before). This time the stemware is featured, not the wine itself - we get to try the Riedel glasses and will get to take our sample glasses home with us. I'm not sure what the dinner will entail - the info I got via email says a buffet style dinner afterwards, which is completely different than the last one. It's a French restaurant so we'll see...

Tonight was yet another recipe from Cooking Light, which is my source of choice these days... I'm not quite brave enough to do much creation on my own... Anyway, the items are pictured separately because I forgot to take a picture before we started eating, so this is the leftovers (tomorrow's dinner). It was really delicious and the pork came out perfectly, which is always a nice thing... Apple Adobo Pork and Couscous

Leftover Aloo Gobi last night, served with the same green salad with tropical fruits and a curried yogurt dressing. nan

my first post to this thread.... We have some company leaving today so we had a special breakfast (special to us, at least - we don't eat it that often). Italian bread with smoked salmon and hard-boiled egg slices nan

I've been reading and drooling over this thread for a while, but have just learned how to get my pics off of my camera without having to wait for my husband to do it. Anyway, I'd like to share a few recent dinners of mine if you don't mind... Tilapia with Coconut Mint Relish (Cooking Light) and Mango Salad (thanks Chris!) Tilapia with Creamy Mustard Sauce (I think... CL), mixed wheat berries, and Spring Peas with Pancetta (also CL) with Sparkling Fruit Gelees (CL) for dessert... this is made with champagne - very good! Sweet Orange Salmon (CL) with green salad and rice mix Last night was Aloo Gobi. Green Salad with Tropical Fruit and Creamy Yogurt Curry Dressing served on the side. I forgot to take pictures, but we'll have the leftovers tonight, so I'll get a picture then. nan

Okay, reporting back in - I did make the mango salad as suggested. However, grating the mango seemed to result in a big mushy mess, so I chopped up the rest. It was really tasty and everyone else at the table seemed to like it as well. So thanks very much, Chris! And thanks to everyone for their ideas... I'm still going to try the rice biriyani one day. Here's my pic - I'm still working on my food photography skills... nan

I'm in Omaha, NE. The trouble probably would not be in finding one, but rather in determining which one is unripe. Sounds interesting though! I'll certainly have to try it, though perhaps not tonight. thanks!

Thanks Bob & Chris! I really like both ideas, but am leaning towards the mango salad - it sounds really different and would help use up some of the extra coconut and mint/cilantro... Chris, what kind of fish sauce would I look for? I'm normally a recipe type of girl, but am trying to break out of that... I know I've seen fish sauce before but want to make sure I pick up the right stuff.

I'm usually a lurker, but enjoy everyone's expertise here. I hope this is an appropriate forum for this question... I'm not very good with figuring out good menus, and am struggling with what to serve with tonight's main dish of choice. It's Tilapia with a coconut, chive, and mint relish - see the recipe here. Any ideas? I am trying to get back on track with eating more healthy, so nothing too extravagant. But we're all fairly adventurous eaters. I don't want to spend too long on it though as I'm also trying to get dinner on the table before my son's bedtime, which is usually a challenge. :) Anyway, I was thinking I should do something red or orange since the main dish is green and white. I'd appreciate any ideas you all can provide! And I'll try to take reasonable pics and report back! thanks! nan

I did the bread-butter-sugar thing, except I stuck it in the toaster oven...especially good with those colored sugars in the plastic containers with the pink lids. Oh yeah and also good with brown sugar instead. It gets all nice and gooey and yummy.

Well, today it was fast food (my downfall of choice). But usually, I have Creamy Banana Couscous - couscous mixed with cinnamon, splenda, chopped up banana, and evap. skim milk, then microwaved. Yummy! Even better if you add in a spoonful of peanut butter. nan