pam claughton

Sole is a nice mild fish, dip it in a little flour and egg, and saute in butter and lemon for a quick picatta, top with slivered almonds for a nice almondine. Mmmm For a super easy, delicious way to cook salmon, mix a tablespoon of honey with a teaspoon of dijon mustard, spread over the salmon and top with slivered almonds or pecans and bake for about 20 min, it's delicious. To make it even more low-fat substitute a splash of balsamic vinegar for the nuts. One of my favorite ways to serve haddock or cod is to top it with a mix of crushed ritz crackers, butter, parsley, and a drizzle of sherry.

I'd also strongly suggest getting a part-time (or full-time in the Summer) job in a restaurant. Either the kitchen or serving, or both at different times. Both jobs will give you great hands on experience in understanding food and service, and will add depth to your food writing. I learned more about cooking just from being friends with the kitchen staff, and watching and learning by osmosis. Pam

This is a little different, as it's not Tamarind paste, but I received a bottle of Stonewall Kitchen's Tamarind sauce for Christmas, and I have been using it on everything! It has the great sweet tart flavor of tamarind with some Indian spices and is wonderful on seafood, pasta, etc. It's almost time to get another bottle. Pam

Are you a fan of the slider? Admire the concept? ← Next time I go to NY, I will make a special trip to Bloomingdales to try one of these...they sound so amazing as described in this article. Of course, I am on a diet. So everything sounds amazing to me right now. Pam

This sounds amazing. Where do you get Mexican hot chocolate? Pam

Foods that have been added to my comfort food group include, Risotto Tortelloni with alfredo sauce, proscuitto and peas Nachos with chicken, sour cream, and fresh guacamole Escarole bean soup with Italian sausage Lobster Newburg or casserole Thai curries Thai spicy soup with shrimp and lots of cilantro Veal Milanese Andrew's Outrageous Clam dip, which we eat with potato chips while drinking cheap chardonnay and playing cards. Comfort food at its best. Pam

I didn't think I liked salads with fruit in them, until I had one at Thanksgiving, and am now hooked. Lots of mixed greens, sliced fresh strawberries, blueberries, diced dried apricots, slivered almonds or walnuts, tomatoes, lots of crumbled goat cheese, and this dressing, which is amazing, and pulls it all together. Equal amounts of real maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil, blend until well emulsified, and drizzle over salad. Pam

Ling, this looks amazing, but can you explain what is in the sandwich? What is porchetta? My brother lives in Seattle, I will have to send him there! Pam

I've only had conch fritters in Key West, at the Sloppy Joe's takeout window, but I still remember how amazing they were, with some kind of a spicy tartar dipping sauce. The ones I love and have over and over again, are either clam fritters or lobster fritters, which are sometimes also called clam cakes. They are all over Cape Cod at just about any place that sells fried seafood. I like mine with cocktail sauce or maple syrup. Pam

I don't like chains, but I adore Panera. I like everything about the place. The one near me has a roaring fireplace, and I'll always grab the seat right by it if it's open. They have free wifi, and the service is great, people are always coming around to take away empty plates or offer free samples of different things. But, the quality of the food is what I like most. The bread is made fresh and is the best I've had anywhere, especially the country white. I also like that they use organic chicken. Pam

A bone-in chicken breast that I roasted/braised in a shallow pan with red wine, and leftover spaghetti sauce, heavy with onions and fresh basil. It came out amazingly tender and flavorful. Pam

Melissa and Michelle, Thanks so much, these both look great! Pam

There's a lot of recipes online for this, but I wanted to check to see if anyone here has actually made this and what recipe they use? I know it involves mayonnaise and maybe sour cream and lots of cheese, and it bakes in the oven until bubbly. Thanks for any suggestions. We tried winging it, and it didn't quite work. (to put it mildly). Pam

Yes, he certainly does. I immediately thought of the old I Love Lucy episode when Lucy and Ethel visit a winery and stomp grapes in their bare feet. Pam

Two forks works well. One holds the potato down while the other smashes it. This is a little trick I learned years ago in a restaurant where we had to make the caesar dressing tableside. We used two forks to crush the garlic and smear it along the bottom of the wooden bowl. I often do this when I'm going to saute garlic in oil, as it really releases the flavor into the oil. Pam

I ended up going with a hummus dip I've made before and forgot all about. It's a blend of roasted red pepper hummus, feta cheese, sour cream or greek yogurt, chopped artichokes, and you can also add cheddar or mozzarella (I didn't though this time). You mix it all, and microwave or bake until it all melts a bit, and stir to let the flavors blend. If you are serving it with the cheddar or mozz, it's best to heat before serving, so it gets all gooey. I'm just serving mine cold, and did the heating ahead, so the flavors would blend. Happy Thanksgiving! Pam

Thanks everyone! Lots of great ideas...now the problem is how do I decide? They all sound good. Pam

Every Thanksgiving, we gather in the oversized kitchen at my sister's mother-in-law's house, and sip champagne or prosecco and nibble on appetizers while the final cooking wraps up. We always have two very rich appetizers, stuffed mushrooms with a buttery bread filling, and brie, baked in puff pastry with apricot or raspberry jam. I said I'd bring a third dish, something light, and thought a veggie tray would be good, with some kind of an interesting dip. Any suggestions? I could do the old standbys, a ranch or onion or leek sour cream thing, but wanted to see if anyone has something a bit more interesting? Thanks! Pam

"I'd have been thrilled even if he'd just comped that champagne and given us the menus--it was above and beyond to send out 2 extra courses and the glasses of wine and sherry, and the chocolate bars. The only explanations I can imagine for this is a desire to provide good service and a once-in-a-lifetime experience (which one's wedding night ought to be), or to reward us as customers for being so obviously thrilled to be there- Whether or not this system would work for the average restaurant I can't say, but I can attest that it is working at the FL (or at least it seemed to that night). ←

This looks great...cheese looks especially interesting. Pam

Yes, I found this out the hard way one year, when I waited too long to get the Turkey, and they were all out of Butterballs, which my Grandmother said was the only kind acceptable. I ended up with a 23 pound brand I'd never heard of, and decided to brine it, so it might be moist enough for Gram. I couldn't find anything big enough to hold the turkey and brine, and go in the fridge, so I ended up using two trashbags, put the turkey in, dumped the brine over it, tied it up, and threw it outside on the porch (it was quite cold). I used the Cook's Illustrated recipe too, and that turkey, which was ridiculously cheap, and not a Butterball, was the best one I ever made. Brining made a huge difference. Pam

I actually just blogged about this the other day. My favorite super simple, elegant meal is tortelloni soup. Just pour your favorite chicken broth in a pan, bring it to a boil, drop in a handful of plump cheese tortelloni, lower heat, cook until done, add a squeeze of lemon, and a pile of freshly grated parmesan which will melt into the broth and give it the most wonderful flavor. Takes less than ten minutes. Pam

This sounds like a wonderful way to spend a Friday off. I love to get into town and meet up with friends for lunch, but we all work, so it's never that leisurely. The newest favorite place in Boston is Juries, the restaurant in the hotel. It gets a mix of ladies who lunch, tourists, and business people. We like it for the relaxing, yet hip environment, and the lobster bisque. Pam

I was fascinated by food at a ridiculously early age. My first word was 'cookie'. When I was really young, we lived in Gloucester, MA, near the water, and my dad introduced me to lobster as soon as I could eat solid food. He used to buy bags of lobster bodies from the fish market, and we'd sit there digging out bits of sweet meat, sucking the juice out of the legs, and I thought the green tomalley was the most delicious thing. I think I was about 5 when my dad taught me how to cook. We made popcorn, cooked in oil in a big saucepan, and then drizzled with lots of butter and salt. I've been addicted to it ever since, and even worked in a movie theater for years as a teen, making and eating popcorn, and never got sick of it. My grandmother was a great cook, especially her spicy spaghetti sauce. I used to stand on a stool and watch carefully as she added a pinch of this and a pinch of that, stirred in the tomato paste, browned the garlic and onions. She did it by feel, and never measured anything, said if I just paid close attention, mine would come out just as good. She was right, sort of. Hers was still the best. Where I really learned about cooking was waitressing at various restaurants on the Cape, and having friends in the business. I sort of learned by osmosis, by watching them put it all together, asking questions, and trying do the same at home. Most memorable meal growing up was my other Nana's raviolis. These were a magical thing, larger than life in our family. Every Easter and Christmas, we had raviolis if we went to Nana's house. They were made from fresh, soft pasta and filled with a blend of spinach, sausages, and cheeses. The 'gravy' served with it was a smooth puree that had simmered with beef until the meat fell off the bone, and the seasoning was perfect. It used to take her hours to make everything, as there were no food processors in her day, and if there were, she probably wouldn't get one anyway. Pam

A web site is key for me. I love to check out a menu before I go somewhere, especially if it's a new place. Web sites can be very simple, and inexpensive. I hate flash sites that take too long to load. Some of the best sites I've seen have lots of great info on them, directions, events, news, recipes, reviews, etc. Here's one that I think is great....except for the somewhat slow opening. http://www.radiusrestaurant.com/main.shtml Pam