Special K

Perhaps I've led a sheltered life, but I've never seen these before. Got them at Top Banana today. What do I do with them? Thanks K

OK! Apparently that's the way it's done! Take out the batteries, wait until the top of the hour, put the batteries back in, push the" hour" button until it hits the right hour, and you're done. All set now. Not that it really mattered. All of the functions worked just fine without the clock being set to the right time. I'm just a little OCT that way . . . K

So, nobody has one, huh? Oh, well. Out come the batteries!

I have recently purchased a couple of reusable totes from my local QFC. They only cost about a buck and a quarter, and they're very sturdy. All of the area grocery stores have been carrying them recently. I think it's a great solution.

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11794751...9_4660_5822.jpg Can anyone help me figure out how to change the clock on this baby? I guess I could take out the batteries and put them back in when "my" time matches it, but that would be admitting defeat. Thanks.

Nope. But when somebody gets tired of lifting one of these pans, or inherits it and doesn't want it, I'll nab it at Value Village or Goodwill and give it a whirl. If I'm still able to type after using it, I'll report back!

Thank you. I see your point. I don't mean to be argumentative (and I'm not going to run out and buy one right away), but it does seem to me that if the nickel layer is as indestructable as they claim, you really wouldn't be ingesting much if any. Just my nickel's . . . er, two cents worth.

I just ran into another "improvement" of cast iron - nickel-dipped! Of course, it ain't cheap - $74.50 for the 10-inch skillet (Frontgate catalog). Anybody seen/heard of/tried this? They say it's nonstick and prevents odor absorption, and the finish will not melt, burn, crack, or chip. Guess I'll be looking for one of these at Value Village, too! (Yesterday I picked up a nice animal puzzle pan - for shortbread, I think. Will play with it this weekend).

Back to the Lodge Signature pans - well, I want one! I like the longer handle and the nice helper handle, and I think they look great. And maybe the handles would cool a bit once out of the oven, diminishing somewhat the grab-the-pistol-hot-handle-barehanded syndrome? BUT I won't be paying top dollar for it. I figure the same impulse that leads people to give the original cast iron pans to Goodwill, etc., will lead them, eventually, to give these away, too. I'll pick one up at a yard sale or GW or Value Village - same as I have all of my many other cast iron pans (except the first one, which was a wedding gift 35 years ago). I just feel it is my duty to rescue them - my latest acquisition is a lovely Swedish platt (pancake) pan - make that Norweigan ("Tojul - Made in Norway" is stamped on the back). I'm patient. I can wait.

I just heard from a friend who still lives in the Tampa area that the Branch Ranch closed recently. But she told me about another place (new?) called Buddy Freddy's, in Brandon, I think. Ah, lots of memories of the Branch Ranch - always, always remember to wear loose clothing!!

Andi, did you soak the Romertopf first?

I put the eggs (straight from the refrigerator) in cold water (salted to keep the eggs from exploding in the water if a crack develops), bring to a boil, take off the heat, (I have @#$&* cast iron burners, so they stay hot forever) lid, and then just leave them alone until they're cooled a bit, cool enough to handle. Then I pour the water out, put the lid on the pot and shake like crazy to break the shells. Under cold running water, they peel easily.

If you go to Google and type "cookin with google" (no g in cookin), it'll send you to just the very thing I think you're lookin for.

My first mouthful of rosemary ice cream with a reduced balsamic vinegar syrup is the most memorable. Absolutely, a taste of heaven! I've learned not to tell people what this is - otherwise I get, "Ewww, rosemary in ice cream? With VINEGAR?!" So I just say, "Here, have some ice cream" and watch them as they totally bliss out. Then I tell them what it is. After that, they trust me to feed 'em anything! Also memorable - and NOT in a heavenly way - a big old lick of garlic ice cream, years ago at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. It was the first thing I ate (it was about 100 degrees that day) and I couldn't get that taste out of my mouth for days. Totally overpowered everything else there.

Have some baked beans! Please!!

I will never again let myself get so involved in conversation with my guests that I put the tenderly marinated, lovingly stuffed pork chops in the oven and neglect to switch it from "Preheat" to "Bake" AND forget to set the timer! Umm! Smells good! Pork jerky.

Worst meal NOT eaten at someone's home - We were invited to the CEO's home for what was clearly advertised as the "New Grill party." We show up, with about 100 other chosen ones, and sure enough, there's the grill. It's beautiful! Like a really nice outdoor kitchen - I'd kill for it. But there is no food in sight. Ever. We smiled through a (very, very bad) guitar solo by our host, put up with the behavior of his atrocious brats ("My father OWNS this company" - now where did he hear that?), wandered around the fantastic back lawn (waterfront property, nice view of the boat) -- we weren't allowed in the house. . . no food, no drinks . . . After a couple of hours people started coming up with inventive excuses to leave and go get some FOOD -- actually, the party *after* the party was memorable! Shortly thereafter there was a huge layoff - everyone was so relieved. Our friend in Finance told us later that the CEO submitted a huge bill for food and drink to the company for this party.

Haven't moved in a while, thank goodness, but over the years we haved picked up and put down new stakes 19 times. (Got one more to go, I think - from Seattle to Phoenix in a few years). We'd always throw a big goodbye party at the old place, and give away whatever perishables were left afterwards. The people who actually helped us pack and move got the good stuff (but we had the wine shipped and stored until we got settled). In the new place, we'd set up one room (the one with the stero and the TV and the bed) as completely as possible, and then, while we were waiting for the kitchen to become operational, we'd order pizza from every place within walking (or delivery) distance. That way we learned which one would be The One in the new town.

Yes, Extra MSG, we like the Portland El Gaucho better than Seattle's, and we had a gift certificate from some dear friends (which we forgot all about - I think we'll use it to check out Chez Gus here, or maybe we'll go back to Waterfront, which we liked). The meal at El Gaucho was really wonderful. I don't know if they pulled out all the stops for us because it was our anniversary, or just because. We also lucked out with the cigar room - had the place all to ourselves (last time we were there, for our 30th, we shared the place with a frat party). I want that Gerald Murphy-style poster to hang over my bar! K

Oh, I have waited so long to tell this tale to people who would truly understand! June 20, 1998, Lyon, France. The restaurant Paul Bocuse. My husband and a whole bunch of other biotech types from around the U.S. were invited by some French government officials to meet with French biotech types to discuss possible business collaborations. We traveled first class all the way, stayed in a very fine hotel, went on some nice day trips, etc., even got to see the U.S. get whupped by Iran at the World Cup Soccer finals. The hightlight of the trip, of course, was dinner at Bocuse. We arrived by boat, were ushered in with great ceremony, met the Chef himself, and were treated to a wonderful meal. Unfortunately, this was also my worst meal in memory. You see, I'd gone off exploring by myself during the day and found the open air market - an experience I wouldn't trade for anything - but, since I have absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever, I got lost and ended up wandering around for a bit before finally finding my way back to the hotel. July. France. Hot. Heat-stroke hot. I really shouldn't have gone to dinner with the group, but, you know, wild horses . . . Anyway, I didn't exactly disgrace myself, but since I was the oldest, er, most mature woman in the group, I was seated in the place of honor at our host's right, and my being slightly green and sadly, heart-breakingly unable to eat much of anything was noticed. Everyone was full of kindness and treated me so well, though, that I still remember this is one of the greatest experiences of my life. But dang, it was also the very definition of Hell! To be there and not be able to eat! Aaarrrgggghhh!

We just got back from five lovely days in Portland. Special D had a class, and I went along for the eats (and the shopping). We had dinner Friday night at Daily Grill, Saturday at Ringside, Sunday (our 32nd anniversary) at El Gaucho, Monday at Red Star, and Tuesday rooooooom service at the Hilton. We usually ate breakfast at the hotel's Bistro 921, and one morning I walked down to the waterfront and got a nice omelet at Little River cafe. I can recommend them all - great food, top-notch service every place we went. (Maybe because we're just such darned enthusiastic eaters?) Also, we accidentally timed our visit to coincide with the Bite! As for the shopping, I visited the nice, big Safeway near the University campus one day for lunch makings, and also Whole Foods in the Pearl District, for wine, cheese, bread, and chocolate for a nice picnic on the train headed back home. Of course, I also came back with a nice big stack of books from Powells and In Good Taste, a few goodies from Sur la Table, AND the cutest pair of yummy sushi pajamas you ever saw from urbane Zen! Now back in Seattle, trying to adjust back to no air conditioning. K, who LOVES Portland

Kaspar's is about five blocks from McCaw. C'mon, the walk will do you good! Also, I'd very much prefer my fellow opera lovers smell like garlic than like the lady who used to sit next to me, who insists on dousing herself with what must be an entire bottle of perfume! We changed our seats this season to get away from her, but it's all-too-common. Are you going to see Lohengrin? Oh, boy, are you in for a treat! You'll want to take the swan home with you! K

I just got my food handler's permit last week, after a short lecture and a couple of videos before the test. The instructor's take-home message: "It's NOT OK to kill your customers!" He did mention the county website.

Well, I'm glad things have improved! Do you think you could have gotten the "special" 25 for $25 dinner? The place certainly wasn't stuffy and formal Friday night! We actually felt like the "oldsters" there - but that's OK; I find that the older I get (I'm 52) the better service I get. I have to agree with you about the desserts; the last minute save by our waiter probably was better than anything actually on the menu.

"It's the man, not the pan."