Special K

A lot of us are attached to our stainless steel mushrooms because we associate them with our dear, departed eGulleteer fifi (Linda LaRose), who had an ongoing quest to find (and give as gifts) as many as she could. I rarely use mine, but there it sits on the counter, and I smile and think of fifi every time I see it.

Oh - my bad!

I think a wine enthusiast would be very happy with a nicely made Laguiole waiter's corkscrew, for which you could pay as little or as much as you like: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=laguiole+waiter%27s+corkscrew&x=14&y=22. That said, I do keep a Screwpull around for particularly difficult corks. They do fall apart, but if you only use the things every once in a great while, they'll last a long time.

If I have salted the liquid cooking medium (water in my case - I never thought to salt cooking oil)or presalted the item itself before it goes in the pan, I skip the "during cooking" salt and go fairly light on the finishing salt. I believe I have mentioned before that I have been accused of undersalting food, but I have to agree with your family. I think you are oversalting a tad.

People who grow up around good food are lucky, but those of us who grew up eating fast food every night of the week absolutely can "get it" later. Andiesenji is absolutely right about Julia Child, who really, really "got it!" "All my mother knew how to cook was baking powder biscuits, codfish balls and Welsh rarebit," Julia once said. gfweb is right, too, "Ripert makes the classical mistake of assuming that his experience is representative and even definitive." That'll happen when you find yourself surrounded by people who take your every word as holy writ. You start believing it yourself, and you start thinking up profound things to say. ER is only human.

The @#$%&* Turduckhen. It turned out OK, but I will never get that time back. ()

Hit the thrift stores and/or garage sales. Seriously. I see quality kitchen items there all the time.

I have several of the "French White" Corningware casseroles. One reason I like them is that they come with (or you can buy separately) heavy plastic snap-on flat lids (for the freezer or refrigerator) as well as the glass lids. I have a smallish round one and a bigger oval one, and they get a lot of use. I have a pretty blue ceramic Le Creuset dish with lid that I use for company, and when I know I won't be freezing the casserole, but for make-ahead-and-freeze-for-later, those Corningware ones can't be beat.

I saw a new one (to me) this morning: The Pasta Boat Microwave Pasta Cooker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNa--OlH8AA The scenes showing the perils of cooking pasta in a pot are priceless. Hey, it's the red-haired lady!

It seems to me that as long as you sear the breasts first, the only difference between a quick (high oven) cooking method and a slower (low oven) one is time. Macht nichts. I would skip the move from the pan to a pre-heated baking tray and just do the whole thing in a cast-iron skillet, first on the burner, then straight into the oven. If I were making a risotto, I'd certainly use the slower cooking method for the breasts. And save that duck fat!!

Duck eggs (and quail eggs!) are more difficult to peel, especially if they're very fresh. I drain the hot water, shake the pan around so that the eggs are cracked all over, then drop them in iced water and leave them for about a half-hour. Then they're a bit less difficult to peel.

Not sure if I've posted this before ... Another old college friend story. Worst meal was no meal at all, although we were invited to dinner. They weren't surprised to see us - they did remember having invited us, but I guess Mrs. Old College Friend just didn't feel like cooking that evening. Finally, after sitting around for an hour and not even being offered water, we suggested going out and they picked a so-so place. We paid. The wife said, "Well, if I'd known you were paying I'd have suggested a better restaurant!" College Friend himself was completely oblivious.

Oh,yes! With glass doors! That would be wonderful. Hurry and die, clunky LG refrigerator, die, die!

I agree - since we got our Miele dishwasher about a year ago, loading and unloading it is a pleasure. (I never had a Hobart (or a pantry) to spoil me. ) The dishwasher fits under the dish cabinet and the bowl/glassware cabinet and right next to the silverware drawer in my small kitchen, and I use the like-things-with-each-other-so-I-just-have-to-grab-them-all-at-once method, so unloading goes really quickly. (Small kitchens do have that one advantage - the work triangle is never more than two steps!) I love that the Miele is so quiet, and I really, really like the silverware tray (as opposed to basket my old, noisy dw had). Unloading dishes makes me particularly happy! And Andie, I do sometimes use an extra-long pair of tongs to get llightweight things down from the upper shelves, and I have been thinking of getting one of the "grabbers" you mentioned - although the small hydraulic lift sounds great!

Maybe this will help: http://www.hopkinscoloncancercenter.org/CMS/CMS_Page.aspx?CurrentUDV=59&CMS_Page_ID=8345F49E-9814-467C-B7F3-A68FC4C6FE96

I hate having to retrieve things from high places. Well, I just hate being short in general. I have to put things up on the top shelves, because there's no room anywhere else. I try to put only seldom-used things there, but still seem to need something once a week or so, always when my (tall) husband isn't around. This wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't have a little balance problem.

Amazon carries the Chiba Peel S Turning Slicer, also for $235.00.

The Mag Blok IS beautiful!

Like this? http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://foodutensils.com.au/home/images/229T05157_Knife_Rack_Wall_Mounted_SS.jpg&imgrefurl=http://foodutensils.com.au/home/product_info.php%3FcPath%3D363_71_97%26products_id%3D523%26osCsid%3D09f01c2b83cac13d18b3badc25999b34&h=393&w=530&sz=25&tbnid=CJhM_MJ6jPUL6M:&tbnh=98&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dknife%2Brack%2B-magnetic&zoom=1&q=knife+rack+-magnetic&hl=en&usg=__DvSBZGrAkY_TG83mTF8ihECNrQw=&sa=X&ei=KRT5TOK4JIj2tgO1hOTVAg&ved=0CDMQ9QEwBQ Actually, I use a magnetic strip myself, but I just like the looks of the W-S block for those who use blocks.

True, I guess, but if you bake your own bread you get to enjoy the aroma!

I like the looks of this block, but I think you have to buy the set to get it. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/zwilling-j-a-henckels-cronidur-8-piece-knife-block-set/

Or the ez scrambler?

There is a classic 'trick' for frozen casseroles: Line the dish with heavy-duty foil, freeze the food, and then pop it out of the dish. Now, why didn't I think of that? Thanks.

You know, I've never had a problem with already-cooked turkey or chicken being tough and dry. After all, the meat is suspended in the gravy, and I pre-roast the vegetables and pre-bake the crust, so all I'm really doing with the pot pie is just reheating. If you made a pot pie using raw turkey or chicken, you'd cook the meat before you put the pie together anyway, wouldn't you?

Bad decisions: Didn't make enough potatoes - next year there will be mashed potatoes and Janssen's Temptation. Asked a guest to bring the rolls. Made some casseroles for the freezer a week or so before Thanksgiving - so half of my usual casserole dishes were in the freezer! Good decisions: Shopped early! (We were snowed in Monday - Thursday). Bought a few new casserole dishes at the grocery store, because obviously I didn't have enough! Started cooking early - heck, I had those days off, why not use them to put together the JT and the spinach artichoke casserole, and the pies? Made what I thought was waaaay too much dressing - it wasn't too much! Butterflied the turkey - cooked faster and more evenly, and left room in the oven for the sides.