CaliPoutine

It's interesting that you say this. I recently read an article stating that McDonald's is considering raising its prices on their Dollar Menu. The article said that menu accounts for 14% of their revenue, which, if you do the math, is quite a lot of money. It goes on to say they're testing higher prices in some markets for the Double Cheeseburger, the anchor product of the Dollar Menu. My guess is that they'll find some customers balking at paying the higher price but, overall, it'll fly because consumers tend to resign themselves to price increases. They've done this before. They used to run specials like 2 Egg McMuffins for $2, which eventually became 2 for $2.22 and then 2 for $2.50. The last special I saw was 2 for $3. Regarding the economy, what's also interesting is the $5 barrier for fast food that has appeared. Subway started it with their Footlong sandwiches for $5. Quiznos responded with their $5 sandwiches ("with more meat!"). El Pollo Loco has their "double the chicken" in their Family Meals for $5. KFC has been touting a $2.99 2-piece meal so they're under the $5 barrier. I am sure they're are more examples out there. It's just not Fast Food places trying to drum up business. The Sizzler has been advertising a "Buy one steak dinner, get another for one dollar" special. And I was amazed to find coupons for the Elephant Bar, definitely not a fast food restaurant, in my junk mail. It will be interesting to see how many other chain restaurants start sending out coupons or advertising specials in order to drum up business. How can local mom & pop places compete with that? ← Did you know that most things on the dollar menu in the US cost 1.39 in Canada? Oh, except for a breakfast burrito and a fruit and yogurt parfait. Those are both 1.99 each. *sigh*, I really miss El Pollo Loco. IMHO, it was one of the better fast food chains. After eating at Jimmy John's( any large 8" sub is 5.25), I wouldnt touch Subway with a 10 ft pole.

Really? Was it the all butter kind? I heard great things about it.

Before I met my spouse, she bought her Pizza stone at Wal*Mart for 10.00CAD. It came with a rack to rest the stone on after removing it from the oven and a pizza cutter.

Ha! I was going to back out of making my beet dishes because my husband and I are away from home right now. We will be returning home the day before we leave to drive to Chicago. In fact, we would have made this a longer trip but we wanted to get back in time for the gathering. Anyway, I was thinking that I might feel a little overwhelmed and even though beets are not a big job to make I was thinking maybe I would decline on making a dish but you have guilted me into sticking with my original plan of beets three ways ← I've been told I do Jewish guilt really well And, your dish last year was soooooooo goood.

Wiki says that a mistake on the FN site already anounced the winner. I'm not going to say it here, but if you're interested, go check Wiki.

There's always Zingerman's. An Ann Arbor institution.

I always say I'd rather cook 100 meals than clean up 1 meal. I hate to clean as well!! Of course I appreciate everyone who does the set up and clean up. Its so rare( especially considering where I live) that I'm around a huge bunch of food lovers. It makes my heart sing when I see lots of people cooking (because usually its just me)

There is only 20 people cooking out of 70 attending the dinner? Come on people, we can do better than that!!

No its not a CI recipe. Its from Everday Food( if you can believe it) I was planning on making this for the eG gathering( along with a nectarine tart). eta: I made Kim's choc. chip banana muffins. I used regular helman's mayo instead of miracle whip. I also used part white whole wheat flour and they were fabulous. Really simple to make too( one bowl, no mixer)

I have Kim's banana choc. chip muffins in the oven. I made this almost fresh( part of the berries are cooked) blueberry tart.

I bought a dorm fridge to store my water and soda because I found there isnt enough room in my kitchen fridge. Its similar to this one, but its made by Chefmate. When I first got it, the manual said turn the dial to 7 then down to 4. Its still really cold. I imagine if I turned it all the way down to 1, it would act more like a wine fridge. Its still big enough for me to store extra butter and other condiments.

Kim, The muffins look so good. I have tons of frozen nananers in the freezer. I checked out the recipe but I have a question. Does it have to be miracle whip? I NEVER buy that.

Ever since being diagnosed with diabetes, I'm ultra aware of the amount of carbs I eat. When I made this dish at home a few weeks ago to try it out, I didnt even make the potoatoes. I'm going to make it again when I cook at a smaller program( 18ppl) in 3 weeks. When I make it again, I'll just cook the rolls off separately instead of adding them in( they kinda melted away anyway). They did love your dessert. I forgot the maraschino cherries, but I dont think it mattered.

Rachel, Can you believe I've actually had that? I have a friend in Michigan who is originally from Indiana. She made it for me( there was corn in it too). My first thought was " Oh, my look at all the carbs". It was good though and I rarely turn down a meal when someone is brave enough to cook for me.

I am often asked the same... although no-one asked for rolls when I served Paula Deen's French Toast Casserole for dinner One guest commented about our Turkey Pot Pie... that unless there was actual pastry on top, it was not "pie". I had used bread stuffing for the topping. Oh well. Good to hear you've had your food budget increased! Yay. I'm gonna say the 50 cents can made a big difference. Are you getting much local produce yet? We have a group who are farming just to donate to food sharing projects here ← I made that french toast casserole for my catering job( is that where you found it?). My seniors would NEVER go for breakfast for dinner. We're getting tons of local produce in the supermarket( no corn yet, but I made that mistake last year of doing corn on the cob and they couldnt eat it), but no one donates anything to the dining program.

Damn, I was just reading this and thinking - I hope Randi is paying attention to all this - so I can just follow! ← And I was thinking..... I'm sure Kerry is good with directions. Maybe we can just follow Alex and Rona.....

Brocolli salad. Broccoli and red and green grapes were on sale for .99. Bacon was on sale for 2.99. I added some sunflower seeds and made a dressing with light mayo, vinegar and sugar. They enjoyed the chicken and dumplings, but wanted to know why they didnt get any rolls. The dumplings were added after this pic was taken. Its just refridgerated biscuit dough thats cut into strips. They just didnt understand the concept. I served this was ever present mashed poatoes. They loved the dessert. Some even asked for seconds.

Omg, I'm drowning in all these transporation details. Apparently, I've been stuck in my small town for way too long. Hopefully, someone else staying at the Hyatt( hint, hint) will take the lead and I'll be more than happy to just follow.

I havent seen any local corn yet. All I've seen is horrible looking( and expensive) stuff shipped in from the States. Huron county( where I live) is a very large corn producer. Ihope a good portion is meant for human consumption and not just for cattle!!

Um... ← um what? I dont eat red meat, but I do eat chicken.

The Senior agency has a house charge, so I dont deal with money, etc. I fully plan to go there this week and let them know the mistake. I was just in too much of a rush yesterday.

Last night I made a main dish southwestern type salad. I used iceberg( the only time I use it is in this salad), corn and blackbeans dressed with the dressing I make. Cukes( no tomatoes because we both can't stand them raw), avocado, shredded cheese and some leftover grilled chicken. I also threw in some crushed tortilla chips. The dressing was all made in the food processor. A handful of cilantro, evoo, white wine vinegar and about 6 canned jalapeno rings. I love the tanginess of the dressing, a nice change from creamy dressings normally found on SW type salads. Btw, I notice a lot of people like bagged mixes. I really hate them( except the ones from Trader Joes). The ones we get here( dole?) have a weird smell when I open the bag.

I made the NYT dough 2 days ago. I scooped it into balls and stuck it in the fridge. I baked off a few today and they're really great. I used half white lily flour and half Bread flour.

I made Kim Shook's faux ice cream tort today for the Seniors dessert on Thursday. I wanted it to get really firm and I wont have time to make it on Thursday. The only thing I left out is the cherries. I went to the store to buy these ice cream sandwiches that are on sale this week. Ice cream is really a misnomer, since the first ingredient is water and the second is "modified milk ingredients". Anyway, the store didnt have the brand that was on for 1.99. They subbed out nestle brand and when the stock person told the cashier to ring it up as 8 @ 1.99. She accidentally rang it up as 8 @ .19 cents. I noticed this as I left the store, but shame on me, I was running late so I just let it go. Anyway, I suppose I'll make my budget this week. I was told today at the budget is going up to 3.50 a person instead of 3.00. The rest of the meal is Chicken and dumplings brocolli salad w/ grapes and bacon The dumpling part of the chicken/dumpling is really a refridgerated biscuit dough that is cut into strips and added to the stew. The whole mess is made in the crock pot. I picked this meal because the kitchen is about 90F and I dont want to use the ovens.

Can someone tell me what an R & C certificate is?