MelissaH

I keep Goo-Gone in my kitchen for exactly this purpose. MelissaH

Both emannths and jackal10 describe what I do. But I'll add that after we cut off the cheeks and then take off the prime meridian/international date line, what's left on the pit is the cook's treat, to lean over the sink and slurp. MelissaH

You guys are really making me wish this were going to happen on a weekend when I could come over. I guess I'll have to console myself with the thought that on Wednesday morning after the conference, I'll be arriving in Belgium, where even inexpensive supermarket chocolate is wonderful. MelissaH

I have a copy. Or rather, half of our copy is mine; the other half is my husband's. But keep in mind that one line in our wedding vows was that we promised to share the kitchen. Since the books arrived, our bedtime conversation has been rather interesting, each of us reading nuggets from a volume to the other. I <3 my husband. And I'm very very lucky that he was just as interested as I in dropping a substantial chunk of $ on yet another "cookbook." MelissaH

My parents installed a faucet in their kitchen that infuriates me every time I go to visit. The problem is that I keep on thinking it's the handle end pointing to the right (for cold) or left (for hot), but the way the faucet's designed, it's actually the other end of the thingamajig, where it's pointing. So when I think it's set for full-blast cold, it's actually set for full-blast hot. I suppose I'd get used to it if I lived there, but I wouldn't have bought the darned thing. MelissaH

Could you make pasties filled with a lamb stew? MelissaH

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to back out. Something else has come up, and I need to be in Ithaca on Friday afternoon/evening. While I could still come to Buffalo for the morning events, by the time I drove to Buffalo, then to Ithaca, and then home again, I'd be putting nearly 400 miles on the car, which is more than I can manage alone (and still be able to do what I need to in those places). Unless someone wants to hire me a limo and driver for a very long day? MelissaH

I wish that would work—but unfortunately, I'm not even going to be able to make it over to Buffalo on Friday. Unless someone wants to hire me a limo with driver? MelissaH

I take it you now have a milligram scale? Where did you find one, and did it cost you an arm and a leg? The only ones I've found are more expensive than I'm willing to spend at the moment. MelissaH

The "accessories" I use most are not dedicated grilling accessories: my leather welding gloves, my Thermapen, and the long-handled tongs. But I very much like Paul Bacino's grilltop griddle with handles! MelissaH

I'm with many of you: if they're for something I'd need anyway, I'll use them. But I don't go out of my way to find coupons. As far as the time factor, I figure that everyone has something to delay the checkout process. For some people, it's check-writing (even though the cash registers can print those up for you so all you have to do is sign away) or haggling. Some people clip coupons. I'm in the Produce Identification Derby group, although when I shop at Wegmans it's not a problem because there, you sticker your own. MelissaH

We have a Fagor Duo and have been happy with it. Based on what I've seen, it doesn't seem to release steam at pressure, but it does release steam on its way up to pressure. When it gets up to pressure, a little button-indicator pops up and that seems to block the hole the steam was escaping from. MelissaH

Yes, they wanted a signature. FedEx is generally more hardcore about signatures than UPS. I'd actually had plans to go out this morning, but decided to only dash out and get home before the FedEx guy usually gets here. It's a wet day here, and the last thing I wanted was the box sitting outside in slop. The box is still sitting down by the door, so I don't have to look at it and think about it and wish I weren't exercising such restraint. Nothing like work to keep your mind off something fun.... MelissaH

I'm upstairs, book is downstairs. But if you visit Amazon, bring up Paris Sweets, and then search inside for Korova, you'll find the recipe in all its glory. MelissaH

I just had a visit from the FedEx guy, who for some unknown reason parked down the street and WALKED half a block to me rather than just pulling into my driveway. The only reason I haven't opened the box yet is because I want to wait till my husband gets home so we can do this together. MelissaH

No need to convert, Chris. The original recipe from Paris Sweets, back when they were called Korova Cookies, is already by mass. The volume recipe is actually the conversion. MelissaH

The ones they liked: a Kenmore, an Oster, a Cuisinart, and a Black and Decker. The ones they didn't like: a Sunbeam, a Farberware, and a Toastmaster. MelissaH

Dishwasher. When I didn't have a dishwasher, I rarely used the processor because I so hate cleaning it by hand. I'd rather throw it in the dishwasher and need to replace the various pieces and parts a little sooner than wash the beast by hand. MelissaH

Chris and Kerry, That's what I'd thought: you need to get the steam going to get the pressure up with good heat transfer capabilities. I may need to try this myself! MelissaH

Has anyone figured out yet whether it's literally just a jar, oil, and flour in the pressure cooker? Or is there some water in the cooker as well? Someone asked in the comments on that blog post, but there's no answer yet. MelissaH

And I agree with Maggie. MelissaH

Guilty confession rant here: I love seedless raspberry jam. I love it because the texture is so perfectly smooth, and contrasts so nicely with extra-chunky PB. I most emphatically do not like having seeds left behind to get caught in my teeth. I will go so far as to strain out the seeds from otherwise perfectly good raspberry jam. I am not a big fan of most strawberry jam because I do not like the way the seeds crunch and leave behind a bitter flavor, and the chunks of fruit destroy the silky velvety smooth texture of the jam. If I want crunch or other texture in my PB&J sandwich, and most of the time I do, I will get it from the extra-chunky PB. MelissaH

I was amazed a couple of years ago, visiting friends in Phoenix, to find rosemary bushes used as shrubs in a shopping complex. It smelled wonderful. MelissaH

I won't go to the one bagel place in my town for exactly that reason: same gloves handle money and food. Ew. MelissaH

Is the public transportation in the Twin Cities good enough to get to most of these Twin Cities locations, from the area around the University of Minnesota campus? MelissaH