Jaymes

I DO think restaurants overbook. I think they do it primarily to deal with rude, self-centered, ill-mannered people that see nothing wrong with holding several reservations until everyone gets into the car or taxi and "decides" what everyone is in the "mood" for.

That is not MY "argument." My argument is that if you have reserved five different restaurants for a party of four at 8pm on a Saturday night, when you know for a fact that you can only use one of those reservations, you are tying up space at the other four. And so when I am calling around to find a topnotch place for a gracious evening of dining with MY three friends, I am told that, sorry, we're fully booked. THEY may think that they're "fully booked" and I may think that they're "fully booked" but YOU know for a fact that four of them are not. Even if you call each one of your discarded restaurants to cancel 24 hours prior, I, being more responsible and thoughtful, will have already made my ONE reservation at my party's alternate choice, which I, having been raised with proper manners and consideration for others, will keep. And, I'd like to add, if everyone was like you, you wouldn't be able to get YOUR five reservations either. People like you need people like me in order for your self-centered "system" to work.

This reminded me - How about the "watermelon" thing, where you fill the watermelon with something - was it vodka? - and then poke holes in it and stick in straws and drink? I remember it being very big at pool parties and beach get-togethers. Does anyone do it anymore? Or is that soooooo 'last millennium'...?

I hope you do open a taqueria. Maybe you could find a promising location within a block of two of the Mexican embassy. I've found that to be a great advantage for small "ethnic" restaurants half-way 'round the world from "home." A built-in clientele - plus perhaps you could share suppliers. Buena suerte.

A good friend of mine refuses to drink tequila because "it makes her take her clothes off." Which, as one grows older, would be less and less desirable. For all involved.

Excellent suggestions, I think. The enchiladas would freeze well, so that'd be another dish you could make in advance to keep yourself out of the kitchen. And there's a "vegetarian chili" thread here on eGullet that you might want to check out. Sounds like fun!

That sounds just ghastly. Are these places popular??? Edit: This put me in mind of a close friend who spent 3 years in Germany. She'd been there one month and was emailing me in desperation. I sent her a "CARE" package that included seeds for growing her own jalapenos, cilantro, etc., as well as some masa to make tortillas, and an entire box of recipes. It took her a while, but finally she got things to the point that she could enjoy good Mexican food in her home. But there was a disadvantage - it turned out the whole neighborhood wanted to "enjoy good Mexican food in her home" too!

Excellent, excellent advice already.... A few other things I did when catering ski weeks: Bake a nice big ham. In a pinch you can work it into every single meal, as well as snacks.... ham slices for breakfast, sandwiches, dinner, cubed with cheese for snacks, takealongs for picnics or lunch up on the slopes. Get those metal disposable baking pans and cook and freeze such crowd-pleasers as lasagne, stews (add potatoes later - I take a bag of those large-sized frozen French fries - Country Style, I think - for this purpose so that I don't have to peel and chop fresh ones), Greek Beef Stew (someone here was kind enough to tell me the "real name" but I've forgotten it - but you put spices in it like cinnamon that smell wonderful after a day in snow and ice and it freezes beautifully) chili, moussaka, sloppy joes, etc. Cleanup is a BREEZE. Depending on where you are going from/to - I sometimes cooked hamburgers patties on my grill at home, then wrapped them individually and froze. Also good for lunches, improptu snacks. Also, cut fruit before you go and toss it with some kind of dressing or orange juice and honey or 7up or just a little sugar. Take in ziplock baggies. Wonderful to have "all ready" for cold or hot cereal, waffles, French toast, etc. Make caramel corn before you go. They will love you for this. Take popcorn, as well as the stuff to make S'mores in the fireplace. Hot chocolate mixes. Take your crockpot and use it to simmer things while you are out all day having fun. Also to simmer mulled cider and gluwein. My main goal was to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen - either cooking OR cleaning up after - but still have hearty, nutritious meals everyone could enjoy. For the vegetarians, I'd cook up some beans and cornbread and a marinated salad (maybe cucumbers and onions or something else that didn't need to be tossed at the last minute) and some kind of corn casserole that I could freeze and reheat. Again - in a disposable metal pan.

They aren't ready yet.... Am I missing something? Hiya Suvir! I think that they are referring to the new effort to load in a recipe data base. Some people are working on it - loading in the recipes so that then the rest of us can find them. I believe Marlene is one of the "loaders-inners" but I'm not sure. But whatever - HI!!! You're in our thoughts and prayers. Although I've noticed that each time I think of you and your family and your situation, my computer screen goes all fuzzy. Or maybe it's just my tears.

Mike - there are at least two, and maybe three, threads on eGullet regarding Crockpots & slowcookers. Sadly, I'm too "link challenged" to be able to provide one, but a search should pull them up. There is LOTS of wonderful information in them. Really good stuff about why long, slow cooking can sometimes rob the dish of flavor (by outlasting the spices you've put into it), and that kind of thing. If you've missed those threads, I'd suggest you find them. I even printed them out and put them in my "slowcooker cookbook." There was a link to the Bitman article, and helpful debate, as well as many suggestions and recipes. You'd do very well to check them out.

Delight - when you say "coconut milk" are you talking about the water from a coconut? Or regular milk infused with coconut? Or Cream of Coconut that comes in cans? Or something else??? And, now that I think about it, when you say "syrup of caramel," what is that exactly? Something you make yourself or something you buy? Is it thick? Thin?

Katie - that sounds fabulous. AND easy. Two of my very favorite things! Thanks so much for this tip.

Golly, thank you, Colonel. Just like those saucy gals down at the USO, I live to serve our men in uniform.

RE: Texture & uniformity of meat/cooking. I didn't find that to be the case, at all. For one thing, the boned leg doesn't really lie flat, as in "flank steak." It is lumpy and bumpy. And I usually put this outside on the BBQ grill, on fairly high heat. The outside does indeed crisp up beautifully, and the interior of the roast cooks to varying degrees of doneness, depending on how thick it is at just that point - all the way from medium to as rare as you'd like it. And, it is VERY easy to serve this way. Easy to put it on a serving platter surrounded by roast potatoes or whatever and slice against the grain into nice, pretty slices. Just lovely. I really don't think you'd be disappointed.

Katie! Thanks! It's been so long.... I'd given up hope. Now I am the very picture of hope renewed.

While awaiting techie answer from techie eGulleters, I wonder if you've tried taking a bit of the cooked salmon - with the other flavors already baked (or whatever) in - like lemon, dill, etc., and whirling it into paste in a FP, and then folding THAT into the cream while whipping it - maybe along with a little cayenne or that smoky Spanish paprika we're all so gaga about or Tobasco or other hot sauce. I'd think that'd be easier than the heating/cooling thing.... You could make up a fairly big batch at the beginning of the evening, and then serve your salmon with a big dollop of the whipped salmon cream on top, and sprinkle a few capers over - sprig of dill - lemon wedges - thinly sliced red onions. Would be very pretty, I'd think - and easy to do. Also, I'd think it'd be easier to keep testing/tasting as you added salmon paste to your whipped cream to see how much was just perfect. Much easier to control than infusing and heating and cooling each time you wanted to tinker with your proportions. Not to mention that some fish is "fishier" than others -- so that with the infusing method -- what worked one time might be far too strong, or bland, another.

I'd think this might be a good one for a Crockpot/slow-cooker. It's particularly valuable for things like this that have a high sugar content and therefore a high "stickability" quotient, but require long cooking periods.

Jaymes: I agree completely about the Lancer's and Mateus. It did have a good "after effect" on me though. It got me interested in exploring Portugese wines in general. There's plenty there that are delicious and a major league bargain compared to similar Spanish whites, for instance. A glass of Vinho Verde is as tasty as a glass of Rueda, often at a fraction of the price. And as refreshing as a squeeze of lemon with your oysters! You know, you're right - looking back on it, one reason why it felt so "chic" is that it was imported. So, it was like a first step into realizing that there was a huge world out there, and it was full of wine!! A glorious discovery.

Where is it available? Easy to find locally? Price??

Yes. Mine involves an elevator. Speaking of one's curiosity being piqued! And does anyone remember the days of Lancer's and Mateus Rose??? NOTHING was any tastier, nor more sophisticated, nor afterwards better for sticking various colored candles into the empty bottle.

Blue, we're still talking about drinks, right? Because if not, that sounds like a contradiction in terms. And I think it is a "drink" one can only have in one's youth, because in one's dotterage, one's knees would NEVER hold up.

I mainly remember (speaking figuratively, of course) the infamous "Daquiri Parties" of my early years. All that the host/hostess really needed was a house that had electricity. If they had some daquiri "fixin's" that was okay, but not required. Party-goers were expected to bring jugs of rum, cans of limeade, ice and several different "favorite" ingredients, as well as auxiliary blenders so we could have several going at once. The thing was to try to bring the most exotic fruit to throw in. Everyone started off with strawberries, peaches, bananas. But nothing was off-limits. There'd be blueberries and raspberries and pineapples and mangos and kiwi and plums. And then we'd run out of the "normal" stuff, and begin rooting through the pantry, refrigerator and freezer for the "secondary" normal stuff: apples and grapes and canned fruit cocktail. And then things would get desperate. I vaguely remember ending up one evening with "potato daquiris." Ah, the good old days.

Just thought of another one - L'Auberge de Sedona. It's a hotel/country inn type place. They have wonderful little cottages along Oak Creek. If you can afford it, and don't already have a place to stay, it's the best. Some of the cottages have fireplaces, and you can leave your window open at night and listen to the sound of the creek. They also have a lodge that is less-expensive than the cottages, and a fabulous, award-winning country French restaurant.

Obviously there's little-to-no chance that this is the exact same one, but I immediately thought of it. It's how I first prepared leg of lamb some 35 years ago, and never found a method I liked any better. When I began reading your description, I swear I could smell it once again. Butterflied Leg of Lamb 3 to 4 lb. leg of lamb (preferably from a country where the little darling has been snacking on grass constantly misted with salty sea air, like New Zealand) several cloves fresh garlic handful fresh rosemary 2 bay leaves (preferably fresh) zest from one lemon 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp Beau Monde seasoning, or favorite seasoned salt or other all-purpose seasoning 1/4 cup chopped flat parsley 1/2 cup olive oil 2 T soy sauce 1/4 c dry sherry Bone and butterfly leg of lamb (I have butcher do this). Cut off gristly pieces. Poke holes at 3-4" intervals across both sides of lamb. Into each hole shove a sliver of garlic, two or three leaves of rosemary, a piece of cracked bay leaf. Combine lemon zest, parsley, oregano and all-purpose seasoning. Rub well into lamb. Place studded, seasoned leg of lamb into heavy plastic bag. Combine olive oil, soy sauce, sherry and pour into bag. Marinate in fridge overnight, turning occasionally. Barbecue or broil, fat side up initially, turning once. Cook fat side up for about 30-40 minutes, then turn and broil for 10-15 minutes (or to desired doneness).

E-mailed a friend that lives there. She said that she and her husband haven't been out to a "romantic restaurant" in quite a while, but the ones she thought of were: IL Sorrento on Turtle Creek Mi Piaci in Addison And nice but expensive: ($120 & up for two) The French Room at the Adolphous Hotel The Mansion on Turtle Creek (probably most famous & best) The Old Warsaw She says that Mi Piaci would probably be a good choice. Too bad we don't have a larger Dallas contingent here on eGullet. You should be coming to Austin. You'd get LOTS of good suggestions!