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I know half of them are deceased, but since this is imaginary .... .... The Two Fat Ladies! SB (I'd watch!)

I hard cook eggs for 16 minutes in boiling water taken off the heat. (ala Shirley Corriher) Since pasta, shrimp etc take less time to cook than eggs, I don't know why a well insulated and accurately shaped and sized vessel wouldn't be able to transfer enough heat to cook them? SB (every cooking method was new once upon a time)

I think the World will be okay. As long as we don't sail too close to the edge, fall off, and get eaten by dragons! SB (wondering what the Secret Ingredient will be?) How about lollipops?

They might all have fun? Oh, sorry. SB (can't have that)

I remember my Mother used to run a few slices of dried bread through her old hand grinder when she finished with the meat, which was perfect if she was making meatloaf. My KitchenAid's instructions doesn't recommend doing this, but if you take the plate out first, (the piece with the different sized holes), it should be okay. SB (wishes his KA had flames like AB's!)

The grinder disassembles completely for cleaning. I just let it soak a while and use a bottle brush on the case. SB (will use his tonite to grind pork scraps for meatloaf)

#1 I don't know what her secret eating "vice" might be, but her family is blessed with the type of metabolism that allows them to eat just about anything and remain healthy without gaining any weight. (Her dad was a football coach, her mom a phy ed teacher and her brother, my friend, was an all-state athlete in several sports) #2 That was the "bet". The other girls challenged her to do it because they knew she loved eating chips and other snack foods. #3 It is an amazing example of self control. I suppose knowing you can do it is enough of a prize? SB (likes, and eats many, potato chips)

I recently had an exchange of emails with my sister's oldest friend, whose brother happened to be an old friend of mine. In the course of discussing "Old Times" the subject of my parent's house came up. My sister's friend recalled a New Years Eve when she, my sister, and several of their classmates had a sleep-over at our house. Lay's Potato Chips was using the slogan, "Bet you can't eat just one" in their advertising, and the other girls had challenged her to do just that. She had eaten just one chip that night, and as a matter of principle has never eaten another potato chip since. This was on New Year's Eve 1966! I can certainly understand why my sister has kept her as a friend all these years! SB (MFK Fisher, an inveterate potato "crisp" lover, would have been astonished)

Excuse me for asking a question that may have an obvious answer, but I'm stuck out here in the Upper Midwest with no prospect of ever visiting the restaurant. Is the name, "Colors", supposed to have any special significance? SB

Vertically Challenged (ie: short) Crust I'm admittedly "Rolling Pin Challenged", so I like to use this "short" (crisp cookie-like) crust recipe. I found it's especially well suited to making quiche. 1-1/2 c AP Flour 1 tsp Salt 1/2 c Vegetable Oil 2 T Milk Mix together the Flour and Salt (you can do this right in the pie plate you intend to bake in, but I find it easier to use a separate bowl) Whisk together the Oil and Milk (beat in as much air as possible to make the finished crust less oily) Mix wet & dry ingredients with a fork and press the dough along sides and bottom of a pie plate with your fingers Blind bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes Options: 1.) Substitute part whole wheat flour or cornmeal for AP Flour 2.) For use with a sweet filling, omit Salt and add 1-2 t Sugar 3.) If you have a youngster around the house who likes packaged Mac & Cheese, but sometimes prefers it sans fromage, (usually with ketchup instead), save the dry cheese powder add about one-half the packet to your pie crust. (omit Salt) Keywords: Easy, Pie, Tart ( RG1571 )

Jacques Pepin's recipe for Pommes de Terre Soufflees is also included in Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home. SB (hasn't had the nerve to try it)

The situation is similar around here. Several times over the years pasty shops have opened and closed. I think the problem is that up until recently everyone's wife/mother/grandma made the "best pasties", so they were kind of a tough sell. Some of the local bakeries offer pasties, and church and social organizations make them for fundraisiers. Oddly enough. two of the best places are the Italian Bakery and the Slovenian Home. SB (talk about culinary cross-pollinization)

I'll bet Chocolate Mice would love Velveeta Fudge! It's discussed on a recent eG Thread. SB (resisting using the old Mice en Place joke)

What he said.... ← I'll "third" that motion SB (likes it for using up left-overs)

I like to use a "short" (crisp cookie-like) crust for quiche. Here's a real quick, easy one: Mix together 1 1/2 C AP Flour & 1 t Salt Beat 1/2 C Vegetable Oil & 2 T Milk Mix wet & dry ingredients with a fork and press dough along sides and bottom of pie plate with your fingers Blind bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes SB (substitute part whole wheat flour or cornmeal and/or add cheese powder if desired)

Quick breads are nice. You can make several varieties. They can be made a few days ahead and keep very well. I have a linked 4-loaf pan that make 4 loaves from a two loaf recipe, perfect for such occasions. SB

I use a full pot of 50/50 vinegar/water mix. Let it sit 30 min, then run 8-10 pots of clean water through before turning the machine back on and using it. Here in Hibbing, on Minnesota's Iron Range, we have really hard water. (big surprise) My Bunn will plug up solid with calcium deposits within a couple months if I don't keep it cleaned. SB

We use china that GF got as a gift from her brother. It's a few pieces short, but we rarely have many guests. When I eat alone I like to use the little blue plastic plate and bowl we have for her 2-yr old grandson. If it were up to me, I'd collect a complete service of old brown Buffalo restaurant ware. SB (or ... railroad china)

And her website has ADJUSTABLE SIZE TYPE for those of us with "old eyes"! THANX SARA SB (trifocaled)

WOW! Sara! Cool! SB (big fan)

Or maybe just because they didn't like eating dirt? SB (suspects underground miners rarely lived long enough to die from metal poisoning)

This story probably won't help with your current plight, unless you can travel back in time, but Livingston, Montana, has long had a prominent place in my panoply of food stories. Many years ago my friend Lightning and I were giving our friend Leo a ride back to college in Spokane, Washington, after Easter break. We left Minnesota on Saturday and had driven all day and all night, stopping only for gas, and to pick up a traffic ticket in Glendive. The sun was just coming up behind us as we caught our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains. We were pretty hungry as we pullled into Livingston. We asked a guy at the gas station where we could get something to eat on a Sunday morning, and he suggested the dining room at the train station. The depot and restaurant were right out of the late 1800's or early 1900's. The huge dining room was lavishly appointed and the tables had full linen, china and silver service. Hippies from "out east" weren't exactly welcomed with open arms anywhere in Montana in those days, so we didn't feel any more out of place there than anywhere else west of the Mississippi. Not having slept, we weren't in the mood for traditional breakfast fare, and we fortuitously decided just to have pie and coffee. Lightning had cherry, Leo had the apple, and I had a slice of coconut cream. The pie was fabulous! We each had another slice of a different flavor, and took some more to go. Thereafter, for many years, every time somebody I knew was traveling west I insisted they make a point of stopping at the Livingston train depot for pie. To a person, they all returned with rave reviews. I understand the station is now a railway historical musuem, and if it includes an eating area I doubt if they still serve the same wonderful pies, but maybe it would be worth your while to check it out? SB (likes pie)

NO! SB

Another story was that the crust, (always made with lard), had to be strong enough to withstand being dropped down an underground mine shaft! SB (My mother/grandmother's crust was short, but not that tough. )

Pasties came to Northern Minnesota's Iron Range along with the miners from Michigan. Local bakeries still make them, and they're offered "with or without", referring to rutabega. My mother learned to make them ("with") from my father's Scots/English mother, and hers are shaped like half a football, with a beautifully crimped seam running along the top. SB (never even tried to make them myself)