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This might be my contribution to a July 4th BBQ. With less sugar. Thanks!

New and improved TC3: Now with 50% less Gail. I don't read Food & Wine and if Gail is representin', that won't change. Speaking of new and improved, these cheftestants (tm Keckler, TWoP) seem head and shoulders above the Season 2 crew. There seemed to be a slight reduction in the incessant hammering of product placement. A wee bit, anyway. I'm hoping that amidst the anticipated reality show drama, they will feature less gimmicky challenges and so less reason to laugh like a hyena* whenever the VO points out that tonight's recipes are available at their website. *Blessedly not on the protein table.

Mmmmm...crow pie. That oughta be served more frequently in more places.

Hey, I have that Star Wars cookbook. It's right next to the personally autographed John Madden's Ultimate Tailgating. What? It was all work-related.

I bought some in Chinatown, for less than half the price Whole Foods charges (surprise!). I rinsed and par-boiled them before adding to an Asian-style soup. Chewy, as I recall, in a good way. I got some of the satisfaction of an udon noodle. I would use them again in a similar way, good to know they crisp up, thanks Tess. In a tomato or pesto sauce? Uh, no. Fwiw, my system is on the sensitive side and I...didn't have any problems.

The River North location is the only one I know. I'm a big fan. It's the buttery, cornmeal-dusted crust that sells it. I like Pizzano's on State as well, although in my memory, their sauce is sweeter than Lou's. Which, once again, Lou's! [Can't speak for any of the other ingredients, just give me cheese, please.) eta: Another bravo for SN. When they opened, Jonathon said he was importing all of the pizza crust ingredients from Italy. And using less yeast than others used, iho. (Don't know him personally, he had stopped by to ask what we thought.)

Nice to see I have company. The food shelves at Marshall's have kept me in great jams and preserves for years. With "best by" dates a year or more out. I almost felt guilty yesterday buying Casa Guilia Pera Williams preserves at an Italian grocery store. Almost. (Still a better bargain than at the downtown upscale grocers.) edited because best buy doesn't sell jams, well, not that kind.

Every time I look at the overflow on the cookbooks/food-related bookshelves, I think about pruning. Then I think about getting more shelves. I've given several away to people who could use them. I admit none of those were favorites, either for sentimental, entertainment or practical reasons. I should check and see if I've reported into the counting thread

One of my addictions: Costco sells the Costco-sized bag of Ling Ling frozen chicken and vegetable pot stickers. They're damn good and about 10 bucks (Whole Foods is carrying them, too, except their packages have about 10 dumplings and sell for just under $5). I'm raising my hand for the Souffer's Spinach Souffle. I mix one with sour cream (or yogurt), 2 T of pesto, a bit of nutmeg and broad noodles, then top with cheese and bake. And eat.

Tony's rant was a lot more enjoyable to me than the Show, or what little of it I could stand to watch. But I'm more of a fan of snark about a TV train wreck than the actual...wreck, or in this case, dreck. I chuckled over his Irvine reference, although while the concept is pretty much in keeping with Food Network's programming of Food as Drama or Comedy, the execution, like the food, looks good.

We come from downtown to Dixie Bait Shop. Mmmm...bread pudding. (We always split one order, but the servers always bring a piece the size of your head, which both defeats the purpose and is very appreciated.) Someone recommended the Caribbean place next door, but we haven't tried that yet. eta: I'm typing while Tim's posting. Yes, thanks, Calypso Cafe.

This looks a lot like the recipe I've used with the exception of the Sugar Babies. I add a cup of Ginger Baking Chips from The Ginger People. (Ok, sometimes I add 3/4 of a cup and 1/4 cup of teeny tiny mini-chocolate chips. Because...chocolate and ginger.)

It's all about the comfort, isn't it? We know Margy wasn't comfortable eating when she wasn't hungry and she wasn't comfortable eating food she didn't want. We suspect MIL wasn't comfortable having 25% of the table watch the other 75% eat. Either way, not exactly comfort food. I think your 'next time' choice is a good one, Margy. But then, I used to find something to order and eat whenever my Mom wanted to go to this one particular restaurant. It wasn't horrible, just no where I'd ever go without her. She liked the place. It made her feel...comfortable. And it made her happy that we were eating together. Me, too. Since those are my memories now, I'm glad.

Yes and it's the best way to find out. My ricotta is fresh if I've been to the Italian deli, otherwise, it's...not. (Now that I know how relatively easy it is to make, that may change). And there's usually coarse, med and fine grinds of sea salt nearby the toaster oven, so when in need - indeed. I have to add: fresh pecorino and honey. (We hauled a kilo back from Pienza last year and life just hasn't been the same.)

1. Butter. And jam. Cherry, blueberry, peach, mango/pineapple - it matters not a fig. Fig, too. 2. Ricotta drizzled with honey. 3. Johnnybird's dope. Thanks for that new one! **Looking out window at snow. Heading into kitchen looking for bread.**

Ladies, I've enjoyed your blog on many levels. Thank you for taking the time and effort to share. And thanks for the inspiration! That and the freezing temperature resulted in two soups made here this week. An empty-the-fridge minestrone and a roasted carrot, garlic and ginger soup. Had to use packaged chicken stock, but added fresh orange and lemon juices, red onion, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, caraway seed, pepper and, when I tasted too much salt, a little honey. I know, the caraway seed was a little crazy, enough with the Cs, but still, above average.

In Chicago, when you ring CEO Deliveries, they'll bring you pretty much anything you want. Some places, as you can see, will be better than others. I haven't tried it, so I have no idea how they prepare and wrap the food to travel well. If, indeed, they do. Edited for grammar's sake.

Full story. ← I don't believe I fully understood just how weak that opinion was until now. Caught the tail end, sts, of Ilan and Marcel on the Today Show. Ilan's still a weasel, so while I don't have to like him to like his food, I do have to at least hope he'll win to watch. The continuing attempt to sell the mythology that the hair cuts took place after the assault may be one of the most annoying TV things ever. You were busted, Bravo. Try making something out of that besides Lame Stew.

I'd agree that the fun of the reunion shows is to find out what behind-the-scenes hijinks were ensuing. Here? Seeing what we saw on-camera, I've probably had enough of this bunch. Besides, pretty much everyone has the tread marks of a bus all over them already.I've come to like Padme and even in the beginning, saw her as a vast improvement over the KatieBot. All in all, this season has shown me what the show is really about and I find it entertaining on its own demented, desperate, delightful level. Not about who is really a Top Chef, though.

It's an uggghhh either way for me. Unsurprising about the lack of a reunion show. With this bunch? Dignity went out the window some time ago. Good/bad reality TV, though, appears to be thriving. At least that preview shows food. Pretty food.

I also like to leave these things to professionals - sent the clip to snopes.com

Unlike many of you, I only knew Bux from his posts. Those illuminating, opinionated, sometimes humorous, sometimes caustic, always informing, entertaining, worth-the-time posts. He was very inspiring in many ways and will be missed. My condolences to his family and friends.

Top Chef Wrestling was about as distasteful as Ilan's chocolate covered chicken livers. Although they did inspire the best line of the night. (Thanks, Chef Ripert.) "...should not be served, for example, in a restaurant."

I'm betting the undercooked chicken and the Watermelon con WTF? will assure that their respective chefs will not make Top Chef.

I'd agree they're focused on excellent economics. Although I wonder if the Penzy's blends, e.g., might be a little better than the mass brands.