I_call_the_duck

As I understand it, there's no evidence at all that eating the Cholesterol contained in shrimp contributes to blood cholesterol, so enjoy. Same with eggs. ← Actually, I read that shrimp has the "good" cholesterol.

...and a partridge in pear tree... That sounded like the Thanksgiving of my dreams.

Percyn, I love the way your eggs come out so creamy. I felt domestic this morning (it usually hits me later in the day). In my neverending quest to clean out the fridge--food just keeps regenerating in there-- I made leftovers strata with black beans, fresh salsa, and jarlsberg. Topped with more salsa and served with coffee and a little frothed milk.

Beautiful, percyn!

I've been reading this forum with much amusement and some horror. Our holiday parties at my current place of employment have been pot-luck. People that don't or can't cook have enough sense not to bring in any food. People have also been careful about storing and reheating the food. So I've been lucky--the food has been pretty good as far as pot-lucks goes. This year, they decided to have the party catered. Looking at the menu, I'm uninspired, as it's not very exciting--seafood, salads, pasta, devilled eggs, meatballs, hot wings, cold cuts, and assorted pastries. A sampling of last year's menu: tortilla roll-ups, crab dip, apple/cheddar bread mac & cheese, Kielbasa & sauerkraut, tofu/pork, chili, Jambalaya, meatballs & sausage, mesquite chicken, chicken stir-fry, sesame noodles, Swedish meatballs, Spinach & lentil soup, cous cous, pasta salad, lasagne German chocolate bars, eggnog cupcakes, pound cake So I'm a little disappointed. Instead of getting a nice Smorgasbord, we're getting this. OK, someone knock some sense into me. Why am I sad that I'm missing this pot-luck party?

A-hah! So it wasn't my imagination. When we were there on Tuesday, I commented to my husband that the bar looked like a pick-up place. He didn't think so, so I started to doubt myself.

I'd question the spoon in the dip. One of my best double dipping stories happened when I was visiting my husband's family. His cousin brought out a nice crudite platter, which included a big bowl of guacamole. His cousin, like ruthcooks, put a spoon in each dip. His uncle, who was sitting next to the guac, took a nice spoonful of guacamole, put it in his mouth, and put the spoon back into the bowl! I think he actually did this a couple of times before someone noticed. This happened a couple of years ago, but we still get a good laugh out of it.

Irwin, that sounded delicious. But no pictures?

So does being pregnant mean that I can have THREE dinners?! Cool. Rochelle, congrats. Susan, that lamb looks great (I love Israeli cous cous). Dinner tonight was a big spinach salad with tomatoes, bacon, and a hard boiled egg with garlic bread on the side. Not attractive, but good and almost healthy.

I'd love to try to make beef cheeks. Count me in.

I agree with Sandy that Starr restaurants aren't on the romantic side. "Scene" and "loud" come to mind. I've been to Morimoto, Buddakan, Alma de Cuba, and Jones, and I'd recommend Morimoto. But since I don't think Buddakan's chef is a NY transplant as Morimoto and Doug Rodriguez are, they may want to try that instead. Then again, Buddakan was not nearly as good as Morimoto. One word about Morimoto: the Kobe beef, though very good, is not really Kobe beef, but Kobe style beef raised somewhere in Texas.

Thanks, Megan. I (or usually Mr. Duck) uses fresh avocados and adds the jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, etc. This time, I used Trader Joe's frozen guacamole (trying to clean out my freezer), added fresh salsa from Whole Foods, some tabasco, and some jalapenos. TJ's guac is pretty good, and a great price esp. when you can't get a good deal on fresh avocados. ← We need a TJ's in Manhattan! Sounds very yummy... ← Thanks. Turned out pretty good. TJ's is great, but like Whole Foods, I wouldn't do all my shopping there. But you have Fairway, Gourmet Garage, and Zabars. (I miss that!) While we're talking wish list, I'd also like a Stew Leonards.

I can usually avoid it for the rest of the month, but I need Coca-cola. And fruit (don't always get my five per day). Dockhl, now that you've mentioned that Creamsicle, I think I need to get one now.

If I don't have butter wrappers handy, I put my hand in a plastic sandwich bag (secured with a rubber band or piece of tape) when greasing cake tins. When I need to do an egg wash, I beat the egg, divide it in half, and use one half for the wash now, and freeze the other half for another use. I'm really thrifty (OK, I'm cheap!). I stamp the date of purchase on my canned goods so I know which ones to use first. I also store them upside-down--I find that things don't stick to the bottom as much.

Thanks, Megan. I (or usually Mr. Duck) uses fresh avocados and adds the jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, etc. This time, I used Trader Joe's frozen guacamole (trying to clean out my freezer), added fresh salsa from Whole Foods, some tabasco, and some jalapenos. TJ's guac is pretty good, and a great price esp. when you can't get a good deal on fresh avocados.

We're the same way. My brother and I practically get into wrestling matches to get the rest of the sauce. And once we asked for an extra bowl of rice just so the sauce wouldn't go to waste. The waiter also brought us a bowl of soup. My mother was mortified because (as she later said) she thought the waiter thought my mom didn't feed us properly. Even my husband doesn't waste sauce.

Daniel, Megan, Susan, and Monavano...that all looks so good. Tonight we ate the last of Thanksgiving, Part 2. Turkey quesadillas sauteed with a a bit of tequila. Added black beans and a cheddar-jack combo, topped with semi-homemade guacamole, salsa and sour cream. A bite. Out of focus, but this is what it looked like inside. (If you squint really hard, you can almost see it clearly! )

Lucky you! Around here, it's at least twice as much, if not more. I don't even think I can get the small size for that price. If I could get large head-on shrimp for $3.99/lb., I'd have it every night.

Daniel, Great suggestions above. I agree with herbicidal—StudioKitchen is definitely a place you’d want to experience, because it is a great example of what you are trying to do. The Bowery is definitely a great place to get supplies, though I’d look into the IKEA/Target/Pottery Barn route for furnishings. Before you decide on furnishings, you may also think of the format of the restaurant. If you’re doing separate tables with a few seatings a night, you’d need several tables as opposed to one long table, so that may change where you decide to shop. And on a related note…set menu or a variety of choices? If it’s the latter, you may need extra help in the front of the house so to speak, esp. if you and your girl are going to be sharing the cooking. That’s what I can think of for now, and I must pretend to do some work. One last thing…the only thing about using a linen service is that if the restaurant is underground, you may not want to arouse suspicion of a truck coming to your apartment x times a week. I’ve been hoping you’d start something like this! Good luck. Sign me up. OINK!

Make this engagement a very long one. Be sure you want to marry this woman. A lifetime is a long, long time not to share food lust. You don't want to find yourself cheating on her with the Eggplant Queen. And divorces are much more expensive than weddings. ← Hmm...a little harsh, but there's a ring of truth there. My brother went out with a woman, who was a VERY picky eater. One of the things on her vast laundry list of things she wouldn't eat happened to be Chinese food. Which would be alright if he didn't like it either, but since that is his favorite type of food to eat and cook, it was a little weird. Oh, did I mention that we're Chinese? We never could figure that relationship, which lasted much longer than it should have.

Some loved ones do, others don't. My brother and I discuss recreating the recipes we ate while growing up. The pros of making congee in a rice cooker vs. stovetop. Braising chicken wings until they fall off the bone. My sister sending me various articles about food. My friends who gave me a gift certificate as a wedding present to any Steven Starr restaurant. Another friend who gave us a gift certificate to our favorite wine store. And of course, my husband. I would not have married him if he didn't understand. Though he doesn't quite understand my love for cooking shows, he's wonderful in every other food way. He loves everything I cook despite my constant self-criticisms. He'll insist on going to the farmers market on our Saturday sojourns, or detour by the Halal butcher for fresh meat. Stop so I can look at restaurant menus even when we've just eaten. And he also didn't blink an eye when I said I wanted to spend some of our wedding money to buy the set of All-Clad cookware that nobody got us from our registry.

Carrot Top, Truly memorable story, but it probably was not a wise thing for me to read right after my lunch!

A few years ago, my husband and I were in San Juan, Puerto Rico and wanted to taste the island's authentic cuisine, and not go to places that tourists go to, or would be in some restaurant guide. So we asked our cab driver to take us where he liked to eat. He took us to a perfect place--some diner that looked to be in the middle of nowhere--and did not look to be a tourist in sight. Mr. Duck ordered the mofongo (mashed plantains stuffed with shrimp), and I ordered the serenata, which is a bacalao (salted cod fish) salad. I was curious about bacalao, because a co-worker and I once dicussed the similarities of that with hom yee, a salted Chinese fish, so I decided to try it. Well, what I didn't know was that serenata was served cold. With raw onions and vinegar and other stuff I can't remember. It tasted a lot like salmon from a can, only much saltier than I imagined. I found it absolutely unpalatable. I pushed it around on my plate, and for some strange reason, asked to take it home with the intention of leaving it for some of the stray cats around. Well, when we left the restaurant, we found a cat and opened the box of leftovers. Even the cat didn't like it! On a good note, the service was fine and the mofongo was delicious.

You and me both. My brother and I always fight for the skin. I've mentioned this on other forums, but one year, my sister was in charge of carving the turkey, and SHE THREW OUT ALL THE SKIN!!! Punishment? She's not allowed to carve the bird anymore. Payback? I've trained her kids to love the skin. It's a hard thing to do, but I sacrifice some of the skin and sneak them some every year.

Sorry, late to post, but here is what we had. Thanksgiving, Part 1 (Thursday) at Mr. Duck's cousin's. There were eight of us. turkey & gravy cranberry sauce, string beans with garlic, stuffing, biscuits. dessert: chocolate cake and truffles Thanksgiving, Part 2 (Saturday) at my mom's house. Thirteen of us. turkey & giblet gravy sticky rice, cauliflower, zucchini, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with ginger, cranberry chutney, chestnuts, pearl onions dessert: apple pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin bread, ice cream