ladyyoung98

forgive my ignorance on this one...but what exactly is an emsa perfect beaker and what is it used for?

great article brooks...even if your hair does look like you just woke up.....

ok i know this sounds silly but have you ever tried contacting a liquor store?.. im thinking that with all the special liquors that many carry for cooking and other things...they may be able to provide you with a good lead...just a thought...worth a shot

fif...just had a thought for you...they may have a toll free number you can call.... in which case all you need to do is contact the watts info operator...1-800-555-1212....if they have a toll free number they can give it to you even if you dont know where they are located...if you take a miss on that the next best thing to do would contact a kitchen stroe that carries theri current products and get the town off one of the boxes..only two things i can think of off the top of my head... and though i did try the watts number myself all i got off the automated system was AAMCO..which hardly qualifies here....lol...however they do have real people you can possibly talk to monday through friday..when prompted for inormation just say operator and you should be able to get a live person

fifi i got that same error message

one other thing that id like to add to the list is a zester.....i never thought id have need for one even when my fiance bought one for me..(oxo..hope thats spelled right)..but lo and behold one day i was fooling around with a recipe and decided to use lime zest ...and ive been using it ever since

fif..i looked at the link you provided..who knows...with a little luck and some heartfelt prayers one just may turn up....do you remember how much you paid for your ss mushroom?

mother is from upstate new york...dad is from kentucky...but i was born in san angelo...raised in san antonio.... and have lived in the dallas fort worth area for awhile now...in years past there have been a selection of pies gracing the thanksgiving table..apple...cherry...blueberry..pecan...pumpkin...mom basically used to do the fruit pies and the pumpkin pies but i dont recall that she ever did the pecan pies...thats something i started doing on my own after i grew up ..i was addicted to them as a child...you could buy the little pecan pies at the stores and i got hooked at an early age...so being the texan that i am..had to learn how to bake them on my own...i did do one last year...but not this year...mainly since both my finace and myself are diabetic and as yet ive not figured out how to make them with splenda yet...but im working on it...this year i used the splenda in our pumpkin pie and it came out great..perhaps not as sweet as it would have been had i used real sugar...but well worth effort..and one happy little accident i discovered in the process is that a wonderful side benefit to using the splenda as opposed to the sugar we can no longer have is...the pie doenst burn and if you accidentally get filling on the outer crust..that too does not burn

now there are two kitchen gadgets id love to see in my stocking this year.....the silcone pastry brush and the cherry pitter...i do have a microplane that my fiance bought for me a few minths ago and for a while it sat in my kitchen drawer untouched because i just didnt know what id use it for....then one day i bought some fresh ginger for a recipe i was creating and used it for the ginger ..and ive never looked back since...wonderful gadget...id lov e to also be able to get some kitchen gagdets for him as stocking stuffers as well as he too is a wonder in the kitchen ..only problem is that he seems to have eveyrthing so im kind of challenged on that front...but am hoping to be able to come up with even one thing he doesnt have...last thing i actually purchased for him for the kitchen was a copper skillet..which i purchased for his birthday in may and he uses it a great deal...too bad i couldnt fit another copper something into his stocking this year......and so far the only kitchen thing ive purchased for him is....oops cant really say since he is also a member here and might run across this.....lol and fifi...love your mushroom shaped garlic smasher...i found out today that a meat pounder will also do the same thing to garlic quite effectively...but i do like yours...wich you could remember where you got it...any chance it might have been in one of the kitchen stores in the outlet mall in san marcos?..i dont live near there but weve got one up here in the dallas fort worth area that has some of the same kitchen stores

im curious to know..once you plant these banana trees...does anyone know how long it is before they begin to bear fruit?

actually ive been to the mcelhaney tabasco company and took the tour and yes they do keep to the strict standards quoted in your piece...and even though you cant really verify it for yourself..one must think about all the bad weather that louisiana has gone through over the years with the hurricanes since the company was founded...and then ask yourself if in that time has there ever been any shortage of their tabasco products?

i agree with melissa completely...while its nice to make them feel welcome in your home by fixing some of the things they like...dont negelct your own personal tastes either..while every day is for sharing..the holidays are extra special...the time when most of us pull out the big guns and really go to town with our culinary efforts on the mor e personal homefront level..this is not to say that the professionals dont do it on a daily basis for their customers..but we are talking about the holiday home front here..the time for family and friends...a time to really share with those we love so go ahead and fix some of their "comfort" foods as it is part of their family traditions...but dont give up your personal taste either....who knows...at soem point they just might get it... but if they dont...dont worry about it overly much...

i agree...lose the maple syrup..the problem i think i can see with using it even in the limited amount you are using is that its not going to help firm it up...i myself have never used maple syrup in the icing for a carrot cakenor have i used maple flaovrign either...but im thinking if you really want that flavor for the icing..you would be much better off using the flacoring for it in place of the vanilla extract...it ust stands to reason that when using pwodered sugra..the more liquid ingredient you use the better your chances are for a runnier icing that wont firm up

i think it would be much better to get past any embarrasment you feel right now and ask yourself how you would feel in a room full of people if it wound up that you should have provided the things you needed and wound up not having all you needed simply becuse you were too embarrased to ask the question.....ive always lived with the principal that there is no such thing as a stupid question other than the one that didnt get asked when it needed to be asked..... the most they can say is..no...they dont provide it and at best yes they do...but until you ask you wont know for sure until u walk into that room...and wouldnt it be better if you were already prepared and ready to go when you do?

i dont think ive ever had pepper offered to me ebfore i tasted th food on the plate..so im guessign that thus far ive been very lucky there...do i feel put on the spot when asked how everything is...no that doesnt bother me.....however what bothers me is the timing of the question...no matter where you go for that nice dinner that question always comes at the same moment everywhere....ya'll know that moment... its that time just after you have put a forkful of food in your mouth and are busy chewing when the waiter or waitress comes to your table and asks with that overly eager smile....."how is everything"..or "is everything ok" what id like to do is request that they come back when ive got no food in my mouth......i cant tell them that though let alone tell them how everything is since ive got food in my mouth..or had they not noticed? i realize they are trying to be courteous and its their job...but seems to me that a more opportune moment can be chosen for the question...like when you have no food in your mouth.....

a few months back somebody told me that you have to use a powdered dye in candy making....but im sure there are other things as well

only for holiday parties or really special occasions...and what they are filled with pretty much depends upon my mood

when i cook yams i do it one of two ways...i either boil them or steam them..skins on...then remove the skins....cut them in chunks...put a little butter in a skillet...let it melt...add some brown sugar.....stir until the sugar dissolves then add your cut up yams..the purpose is to get a nice sugar coating,,,then cook as patti suggested......

much as u may not want to hear this one..im a big fan of spice racks..currently i own five of them and i still have herbs and spices that need to be put away...i know u said nothing glass and gave reasons why....however for the size requirement u r lookign for..the only thing i can think of is mason jars..which to my knowledge r all clear....but im thinking that if u store them in a dark pantry that might soelve that problem to some degree.....if there is another solution to ur dilema...then perhaps there is another answer out there

Mabelline...sound like u met my baby sister........

...i guess i forgot to clarify....i was talking about a cake that is lying down...not standing up....hence the suggestion of a full sheet cake box for packaging...though i have to say i do like the other ideas as well

how about a very large cut out....posterboard size.....cut out the shape of a wine bottle the size u want or need the cake to be...bake your cake or cakes and use the board as your cutting guide for the bottle...if you have to use more than one cake you can set the end to end...lay out the posterboard and that will also give you an idea of how to put it together as well (if more than one cake is needed).....a fairly simple idea...as for the label decoarting the cake bottle..im guessing that if you take a look at a real wine bottle you can momic tthe idea onto your cake when u decorate it...as for packaging... a full sheet cake box might be big enough...if not....perhaps someone else here may have another idea

the relish tray of course..though some of the things were different..we had the black olives and the green olives...dill pickles...sweet pickles...carrots...stuffed celery (stuffed with walnuts and cream cheese) radishes...ive taken to adding tomatoes cut into quarters

once upon a time i didnt know how to make fresh whipped cream either....but i have this wonderful aunt up in montana..who back in the early 80's....was getting fresh milk from a neighbor lady who had a dairy cow...and she would get these big wonderful jars of fresh milk with the cream still floating on the top...she showed me how to seperate the cream and not only did we make home made whipped cream but we also made fresh butter....the process is not real hard to do... most of us dont have access to a dairy cow...but we have grocery stores that carry heavy cream...and ive experimented with that too...got woderful results..no big surprise all things considered...though it does floor me that in the past...my own children were shocked that mom knows how to do certain things they supposedly only do on a farm .. oh and about being volunteered to do something just because you enjoy doing it....i used to get roped in that way and discovered that when i wasnt asked before hand...i didnt enjoy it nearly as much as if i had offered....once i figured that out...next time i was volunteered without being asked...i said...no.....now im asked first ...sometimes the word no has got to be a firm part of your vocabulary...doing what u love should be a joy and should never feel like its an obligation...

of course there is always the potato