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Brownies, and most bar cookies ship well, and are always well recieved. Home made candies would be good too. SB (in any case, the thought will be greatly appreciated)

Okay, how many l's in Phil(l)adelphia? SB

Being a great bartender is about more than just making a good drink. Handy books to have behind the bar are: The Guinnes Book of World Records The Farmers Almanac Hoyles Rules of Games Websters Dictionary The Bible (you'd be surprised!) SB

You cheated and used bunny meat? SB

The fat content of Miracle Whip has been lowered from 4 grams to 3.5 grams. It was replaced by water, making that the primary ingredient. (As recently as 1990 it had a whopping 7 grams of fat! ) If you want to register a complaint, contact Kraft (800-847-1997) If enough people complain, this could be the new New Coke!

I guess they must put stuff on tv that lots of people want to watch so they can sell ads to sponsors and make money? Those Bastards! SB (psst)

Around here, (Northern Minnesota), blizzards are the dominant weather emergencies. With modern snow removal equipment, unless you live in a very remote location, traffic is usually moving again in 24-36 hours, and people in rural areas have gasoline generators for backup. This wasn't always the case though. Snow, and the accompanying high winds and cold temperatures are rarely life threatening themselves, but surviving until roads were cleared used to be the critical period, especially if electrical power was out. Some friends and I had the experience of being stranded in "The Blizzard of the Century" on Superbowl Weekend many years ago. Even though we were amazingly ill prepared, the old adage about Heaven watching over fools held true, and we made it through no worse for the wear, and with a good tale to tell. Burkey, QO and I were partying on Friday night at a place called the Phunny Pharm when snow began to fall. By early Saturday afternoon we realized that there had been no traffic going past on the highway for quite some time. In fact, upon closer examination, we couldn't exactly tell quite where the highway ran, even though it was only about 100 yards away. The snow continued to come down, and the radio advised us this was being called "The Storm of the Century". Since our available firewood was buried beneath the snow outside, we moved all necessary furniture, (ie: couch and stereo), into the kitchen and utilized the electric oven for heat. Luckily the REA's electricity, not always reliable in the best weather conditions, stayed on the whole time! We probably could have gotten by without the oven by burning furniture in the wood stove in the living room, but we really would have missed the stereo. Still, taking into account our physically and mentally depleted state at the time, things weren't looking all that bad, except we had virtually no food! As it grew dark Saturday evening we joked about National Guard helicopters dropping bales of hay to us while Nosie our neighbor's doagies on the adjoining forty dined on beer and pizza, but in truth we were getting a bit hungry. About 7:00, to our amazement, there was a knock on the door! It wasn't the Guard, but QO's older brother and his friend who were stranded at a farm about 5 miles up the road. They had come down on cross country skis to see if they could trade food for any extra drugs or alcohol we might have. What luck! We were well supplied in that regard, with plenty of Blatz beer, Canadian Club whiskey and one last hit of windowpane, reserved for a "real emergency". (Well, if you have to ask...). We managed to cook up oatmeal crusted perch filets with canned creamed corn and canned peaches for dinner, and slept that night in the kitchen. By Sunday morning the snow had stopped. We couldn't even see the roofs of our cars, but a county road grader came by about 11AM and opened up one driving lane. We were thus able to hitch a ride to town in time to watch the football game. SB (older and wiser) (but duller)

I should be so "impaired"! SB (happy to be camera "impaired", and thus unable to show my latest results)

The Minnesota State Fair is reputed to be one of the venues food-on-a-stick affictionados make pilgrimages to. One popular item, which is really pretty good and well served upon a stick, is lightly breaded deep fried walleye. That particular fish might be expensive where you live, but any similar fish would work. SB (on a lighter note, what's more appropriate than fish sticks on sticks? )

Rodents do indeed travel well. Accustomed to confinement, the where or how of travel matters little to them. The reason for my enclosing theie aquarium in a cardboard box was subterfugue. I figured the maids would ignore a covered cardboard box in the closet when they cleaned the the room. My Guinea Pig's regular diet was puffed corn breakfast cereal and the very green outer leaves of lettuce heads normally provided by friends who owned a restaurant. I was already supplied with a large economy sized bag of generic puffed corn, so it was simply a matter of ordering a large garden salad with no dressing from room service every night to complete the menu. (This being the Southwest, and neither the animals nor I having had much experience with hot, spicy fare, I was careful to pick out the peppers.) As a bonus, the mice had a nice selection of fancy crackers to nibble on. SB (I suppose I should written Hilton a nice thank you letter complimenting them on the fine service! ) PS: I should add a caveat that while guinea pigs and mice are indeed good companions when traveling by car, they can cause problems when it comes to commercial airlines. My day spent running back and forth between the Hilton and Albequerque Airport without ever getting aboard a plane, (which could have been taken from a Marx Brother movie), was precipitated by my call the previous evening to book a flight to Los Angeles. When I inquired whether the particular flight could take pets, I was assured it would, and asked if the pet was a dog. When I replied in the negative they guessed cat, and after another negative response from me the agent said, "Well, what is it?" I answered, "A guinea pig." Considering discretion the better part of valor, I didn't bring up the mice. I was told that as long as the pet was in a suitable container it would be no trouble. While this didn't turn out to be the case, which wasn't entirely the fault of the rodents, I think, in retrospect, I should have lied and appropriated "a small dog" as my flying companion?

Thanks. That makes sense. Guess the only way I'll know for sure is to buy some ghee and do a few taste tests? SB (always looking for excuses to use butter)

How about This One?

About how large we they? Batter bowls have tall sides (and pour spouts) but are usually only 2-2.5 qts. SB

After reading this thread, and checking Google, I'm still confused about the difference, or lack of same, between Ghee and Clarified Butter. Most sources use them interchangably, a few claim Ghee has a sour component, etc. Odells offers both, but the specs appear the same. What gives? SB (confused)

Get her a Left Handed Knife. SB (Champion of Left-Handedness)

Stud Muffins? SB (biting tongue )

My Mother, although she's now "retired" from the kitchen, has a remarkable breadth of cooking knowledge. From the basics she taught by my Grandmother, who herself aquired skills over an open hearth in pre-WWI Croatia, to her Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics from the University of Minnesota post WWII, very little was beyond her scope and abilities. Maybe because of her instilled appreciation for the hardships endured by housewives of the early part of the last century, combined with knowledge of the science and technology that developed the conveience foods of the 50's, 60's and 70's, she wasn't shy about using these new products despite the fact she could do much better herself working from scratch. The most egregious example I can think of was her devotion to aerosol Reddi-Whip, and later the tubs of Cool Whip. Except for lavish dinners on major holidays she never bothered to make real whipped cream. Of course, the fact that she wasn't much for eating desserts herself, and nobody ever complained, may have had a lot to do with it? SB (it was said that my Uncle Carl would happily eat carboard if you put whipped cream on it)

aka: Pigs in a Blanket, albeit pretty fancy ones. SB (maybe Pigs in a Silk Purse? )

How about these for a Halloween Party! SB (or freak out the Trick or Treaters )

Those are Moshe b'Tayva, the kosher version. SB oops! Forgot The Link

I also would expect an egg (or two) in a recipe with those proportions. And 8 bananas is quite a few for 4 cups of flour and two of sugar. Maybe the fact that your bananas were so ripe they just overpowered everything else?

These are the Original Style Pigs in a Blanket, (around here aka sarma), and they're still standard fare at all weddings and funerals. There's a perpetual argument, based on your heritage, whether or not they should use any tomato product. SB (whose Serbian Grandma was of the NO-tomato school)

I didn't mean to hijack this Thread, so I initiated a discussion over at the Coffee & Tea Forum on the subject of refills. THANX SB

A topic on another thread branched off into This Discussion which I thought might be of interest here? We're not talking about the "bottomless cup" at the Country Kitchen, or a Maple Macchiato at Starbucks, but good coffee as an after dinner beverage in a fine restaurant. This question is, should a free refill be offered/expected? I feel it's a nice and appreciated gesture, while another opinion is that it somehow cheapens the experience. (pardon me if I didn't state that position clearly) While we're at it, what would you expect to pay for a cup of coffee in this circumstance? Also, could you please identify whether you speak from the trade or a customer's perspective. SB

Sexiest food word ? Velveetaly! SB (maybe you had to be there? ) edited for grammar