sadie_siamesecat

And...SUCCESS. That smilie isn't quite big enough. So relieved. Bought flexible silicone spatula, slipped it in, and somehow maneuvered the knives around. Took about 15 minutes--easier without panic and agita. I feel really really happy. And my knives seem in OK shape, too. Going to eat ice cream again--celebratory, raw milk strawberry ice cream! Then I'll find something to slice up with my new-found knives. Thanks again!

I slipped in a silicone drying mat on top of the knife, but couldn't find something suitable to push down the knife handle...thanks again for your suggestions--glad I am not alone!

Thank you ALL for your suggestions. I am going to give up for the night and then look for the feeding tongs and/or an offset spatula (I need one anyway). If these don't work, then the saw!! (I can't open the drawer up enough to take the front off, alas...) Going to make ice cream to soothe my nerves. And drink. Will update when the Drawer Opens.

OK, let's see if I can set this up. I have the kind of knife block that sits in a kitchen drawer. The knives sit in individual slots. Unfortunately, I obviously wasn't careful enough when I put my 10" wusthof back into its slot--because the handle is no longer lying flush (i.e. lower than the top of the drawer) and is preventing me from opening the drawer more than 1/2". The knife handle is sticking up. Since the knife is in its little slot, I can't just push it down or out of the way--it's effectively stuck. Any suggestions on how to get my drawer back open? Long thin but incredibly strong tong suggestions? Preferably ones that can be threaded through a 1/2" opening. I prepared our meal tonight using a steak knife. Help!! (I know this is a long shot, but thought I would ask the kitchen experts) Thanks so much...

Have truly been enjoying reading about your adventures...I don't really have anything pithy to add--but thought I should at least quit lurking and let you know how much I look forward to your updates.

I just bought a giant pot roast on sale at FreshDirect--I'll be trying the V8 recipe, thank you! Also--I made the Am Test Kitchen pot pie yesterday. Added diced carrots to the onions in the beginning and eliminated the peas as my spouse believes he is allergic to peas (he is allergic to a number of things, but I know he is not allergic to peas. But I humor him anyway.) Somehow, though, this did not take me 30 minutes--closer to 45, to be honest. But I like cooking so there's no harm in a bit more time. Sorry this is all off-topic--but I do read this thread pretty regularly and wanted to let you know that you are not alone! The lazy-daisy cake sounds wonderful!

My list will in no way compare to those above--but coming out of a conversation with my husband, our top meals: L'Espalier, wild game tasting menu at Picholine, first dinner at EMP under Daniel Humm. Of course Thanksgiving dinner in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, complete with Turkey, stuffing, and all the sides also ranks up there!

woot! A restaurant in my hood--can't wait to try it once my liver recovers from Xmas excess (Picholine, EMP, and Fiorello's all in one week. Yes, I know which restaurant "doesn't belong" in that list, but I didn't make all these reservations, ok?) Sweetbreads rock.

But the sandwiches at the Met are surprisingly good (IMHO)

That's so funny--we were there at the same time as you and your girlfriend: You might have missed us, we were the couple in the corner table to your left hand side (so only 1 other corner table available). Our dinner started around 6:15 (I was late) and we left probably midway through your savories (around 9ish). I don't have anything to add to your description of the food--though I think in total we loved the desserts somewhat more than you two did. Overall we can't wait to get back to EMP. Regarding the service level, respectfully, I'll say that I think we felt fewer bumps than you did. We, too, look fairly young relative to our age and I didn't notice our service being appreciably different from the other people in the restaurant, though I have felt this way in other establishments so I totally get where you're coming from. The waiter did not show up to describe the food to us at any time, either. In yet another example of how everyone's mileage varies--this just felt relaxed to us, and allowed us to enjoy the pacing of our meal a little better. (Not a slam on your opinion, of course!) We were quite pleased with our server, though, for giving us more time between our savory course and our dessert so that we could finish our bottle. Speaking of our bottle of wine, like you, I did think the sommelier was a little underwhelming. He did not immediately come to us either--our server called him over when we had a question about a particular wine. Luckily, we were very happy with our selection, feeling that we had taken a chance without any real substantive input. I think he could have been a little more helpful in describing the New York Madeira that we selected for dessert--i.e. in offering any description whatsoever. I wonder if he is new or just having an off-night. Just my few thoughts. Happy culinary travels wherever your next move might take you.

Kinda off topic, but just so you can eat more easily...my friend swears by Rembrandt extra gentle toothpaste (for canker sores). It has reduced her canker sores by 90% or so. And no, I don't work for the company! Just feel your pain, that's all. I saw it on drugstore.com... ...pulling myself back to topic. Uh, loving the food! I just saw my own mommy and ate so well!

OOOH, Munchos! I think of them as a vending machine snack...but they've recently been taken OUT of our vending machines, alas. As if we really wanted the Butterscotch Krimpets.

Found Volume 1 and Volume 3 of the 1965 Good Housekeeping Encyclopedic Cookbook for $4 total. Oh, where is Volume 2? I love reading these!

Marrying my husband meant combining book shelves including his two prize Star Wars cookbooks that live next to Mark Bittman, The Joy of Cooking, Martha Stewart and the rest of my tomes. Wookie Cookies anyone? I haven't made anything from them yet...

I'm reading, too...I was hoping to read more on your cooking for senior citizens adventure since I read your specific thread on that endeavor. Didn't that start as a twice-a-month gig? In any case, any blog that features Canadian milk-in-a-bag is always going to make me happy--a nice picture from my past! [edited to correct typo]

#173--Terms of Endearment? That movie reduces me to a small bawling lump every time!

AMAZING thread. Thank you so much for taking the time to write and post all these pictures. Loved it.

Those breakfast pictures made my sad little yogurt container even sadder. This food all looks so delicious! And the layer cake is amazing, too! ::Delurking because I don't want you to feel as if your blog has "failed."::

Tasted fabulous, too. I had breakfast (for lunch) there the first week they opened and had the eggs benedict. With ice cream for dessert, no less.

Oh, this has taken quite the serious tone. I can't believe after all this...poor little food bunny. Your subject topic was quite prescient, no? I'm sorry for bunny, your son, for your poor household that has taken quite a bunny-beating! Looking ahead to a possibly bunny-less future--I don't think there are any "food hamsters."

Uh, I hate to interrupt this discussion, but I had dinner last night at M restaurant and wanted to swoop in to say how much I (and my colleagues) enjoyed it. It is a small dining room, narrow, but not crowded. As someone observed "it's just perfectly thought out." I would call M one of the best date restaurants--too bad I was with co-workers! The bar scene seemed convivial from where I sat, clearly led by Ms. Katie Loeb! The drinks: I told Katie what I liked--and got the perfect cocktail. No joke. I usually get sweet cocktails and then feel like I'm drinking syrup. But the stronger ones are too much for me. The Vanilla Lavender Martini--I highly recommend it. Fruity and fresh but not cloying. Delicious! A co-worker got an orangey martini (can't remember the name)--he liked it very much (as I did) but his second martini was the Vanilla Lavender. The food: Starters included two arugula salads, the risotto, and the scallops. I can't comment on the others, but the scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned. They came with slices of hearts of palm. So much better than the scallops I had eaten at Morandi! Entrees included the duck, the risotto, the hanger steak and a fish dish that I think was the striped bass. I loved my duck--especially the duck liver ravioli on the side. The hanger steak I didn't try, but I ate a LOT of the polenta that went with it. What we noticed the most about our meal were the perfect portion sizes--we didn't feel gluttonous, but totally satisfied. Desserts: two molten chocolate cakes and one banana tarte tatin. Fabulous! My only observation would be that the bread could have been served warm--it was a cold night and a chilly room (which they fixed for us) so warm bread would have been perfect. But that's a small thing. We stumbled out of there pretty darn happy. Glad I found this recommendation! I think my co-workers might have thought I was crazy introducing myself with my screen name, but the meal more than made up for their concern over my mental well-being. The internets rule!

#155 = Mary Poppins! Tuppence a bag!

"Bombolino" or "Bombolini" were the fried doughnuts that they had about a year ago--they came with dipping sauces and we were truly dismayed when they left the menu!

Morandi's last night with 4 girlfriends--the perfect place to catch up (or yell at each other across the table). While I'm kind of medium on the food, I was in the mood for this kind of atmosphere--tons of energy, a restaurant that was full and bustling but not so packed that you couldn't find space at the bar to order a drink. The people-watching is truly second-to-none. Prada snakeskin bag? Check! Christian Louboutins? Check! Large diamond rings? Check and Check! Couple full-out making out at the end of the bar--alas, Check!. That wasn't so good. People-watching is not a noble pursuit, but I got there early and had some time to kill. Plus, how can you resist with this kind of crowd. Funnily, it didn't seem too scene-y or hipster, but it was still fun to watch. During that time, I also had two cocktails: Pimm's Italiano and Prosecco/Pere. Both were light and refreshing. The prosecco was also quite strong. Our table was not a "prime" table, next to the "Vino" door and kind of busy with the sommelier(s?) rushing back and forth beside us, but it wasn't a big deal. Also not big--the water glasses. You know when you get an orange juice with brunch and the large is just teeny? That's the size of the water glass. In a nod to the service--we never had to wait for refills, but that poor guy refilled them about 7-8 times over the course of a 1 1/2 hour meal. I guess we're just a hydrated group of people. Other hydration: I don't remember the white wine that we ordered (sorry--see two cocktails above). Appetizers: Octopus, Grilled Fennel, Bruschetta. Of these, the octopus was by far my favorite--fabulous texture and flavor. I'm going through an Octopus phase, I think--I loved the preparation at Del Posto as well (though not much else there in the enoteca). Dinner: Buckwheat pasta with speck and some kind of cheese. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was quite heavy and rich. I love heavy, rich food but even I couldn't put a dent in this thing! It was delicious, almost verging on the cloying side with all that cheese and fatty speck--but it wasn't quite what I was looking for that night. My own fault in poor ordering, not in the preparation. This was everyone else's favorite dish. Other entrees: Branzino, brought to the table whole and then fileted. Light, clean tasting--probably my favorite. Sea bream (didn't get to try this). The Meatballs (my second favorite). Sea Scallops--not the best, not the worst ever, but definitely not that good. Kind of oversalted as the lemon/caper ratio seemed off to me. Dessert: Rice Pudding special, Crespelle with Vanilla Gelato, and Tartufo. The Tartufo overpoweringly tasted of espresso powder--too much for me, but the table polished it off quite quickly, though not as quickly as the crespelle, probably our favorite. Simple flavors done well. The Rice Pudding was kind of meh to me, but I prefer a creamier version, and this was a little more dry to my taste. Overall? I'm not running back there, but I wouldn't be upset if my friends wanted to go back. It was perfect for the kind of evening we wanted--not a fine dining experience, but a place to have a lively, unserious conversation with good friends in a lively, unserious atmosphere.

First meal: Our second date at 'Cesca. I can't tell you what we ate, but I do remember the drunken girl at the table next to ours. Before she left, she slurred..."I just have to tell you--you are the cutest couple EVER." Well, after that, we just had to get married right? I don't remember what the first meal I made him was--probably some sort of stir fry. The first special meal was foie gras with a port reduction. The house smelled of smoke for a week (maybe longer)--my kitchen didn't have a very strong hood. His first meal for me--his specialty: Grilled cheese. Made on Wonder bread with Kraft White American Cheese and a lot of butter. It's pretty darn good!