Special K

Lettuce and anything that rolls to the back of the crisper drawer. My fridge sits in a niche - seemed like a good idea, until I realized that I can't open the doors all the way, which means I can't open the drawers all the way . . .

If you don't mind traveling for about an hour (beautiful scenic drive), you could head to Big Sur and hit either Ventana or Post Ranch Inn, or my favorite, Nepenthe's (a little bit further south).

1. Janssen's Temptation 2. Hash browns with caramelized onions and a ton of butter 3. Oven-baked thick fries, coated with duck fat and sprinkled with rosemary & S&P And, of course, the humble baked potato, loaded with butter, sour cream, chives, and bits of bacon.

Mmmmm . . . egg salad! I usually just make it as Fat Guy does, but sometimes I use chipotle mayo. I've never tried it with duck eggs, but I will! Oh, man, I want some egg salad NOW!

But the story behind the story is so sad. Adrienne Shelly, the writer/director, was murdered just as the film was wrapping up. It may not be your cup of tea, but it has won a couple of awards. I'll probably buy it when the DVD comes out. Pie - reminds me of the pie song in "Michael," with John Travolta, written and sung by Andie MacDowell's character. Pie Pie Me oh my Nothing tastes sweet, wet, salty and dry all at once o well it's pie Apple! Pumpkin! Minced an' wet bottom. Come to your place everyday if you've got em' Pie Me o my I love pie

I asked my husband, the high school chemistry teacher, about this. He said that brass is a zinc/copper alloy, and he certainly wouldn't cook anything acidic in it.

Well, I "make my own," but it's strictly White Trash Cooking night. Filling: Meat picked from a rotisserie chicken, one large can cream of chicken soup, one regular can cream of mushroom soup, one package frozen peas and one of frozen carrots, some sliced mushrooms, some of the caramelized onions I always have on hand, some tarragon, salt and pepper. There's enough filling to make one to eat tonight (which now I probably will!) and one to freeze for later. Using store-bought crusts, of course. Yes, lazy, lazy, lazy, but mighty yummy!

Oh, Lord. I guess I really AM OCD (and not OCT). I completely forgot that I'd already posted this!

In case anyone's been wondering, that IS how you set the clock - just take the batteries out and hit the "hour" button at the top of an hour. I really like this little timer/scale. It's small, lightweight but sturdy, very accurate, has a tare function, counts up and down, and uses regular AA batteries, not the fancy special batteries that were hard to find and used to fall right out of my old scale. Plus, I fee really smart because it retails for $30 and I got it for $2.99. Score! It only does lbs and oz, not grams, but I can live with that. K

Thanks, HYoungJoo, Beebs and Crouching Tyler. I'll try all of your recipes. I think I'm going back to Top Banana today to load up! I also found a recipe for pesto and another one for a fritatta. I think we have a tasty, (mildly)garlicky weekend ahead of us! K

OK, dumb question: Do I eat the flower buds? K

Yes, those are them! Oh, boy! Thanks again. K

I dunno. The label says "spears." I'll go check out your suggestions and let you know. Thank you. 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.