Suzanne F

Sam -- so the dilemma of whether to attend K's concert or the potluck has been decided by an act of, um, something exteral. And Rachel, I was so looking forward to the little phyllo things. Oh, poo. Get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids (especially hot, spicy ones), and get better fast, both of you. Uh oh, there goes one of the best cameras! Sherribabee, forkandPen, anyone else, HELP!!

As long as the cans are in good shape -- no bulges, no breaks, no rusting -- the food in them is probably "fit for human consumption" (as they say, even if we disagree ) I would only toss high-acid foods in cans, because those are REALLY suspect -- the acid eats right through the lining and the can. Your idea of using the stuff up bit by bit sounds reasonable. Are they #10 cans of "soup"? And do they hold as much as you would need for a given dish? If not, how about augmenting it with some REAL bechamel or veloute? That way at least you'll cut the yucky taste some. Strawberry Jell-o is so retro. Maybe the girls will like it as is? As for the mousse mix: if it's the Nestle European-Style stuff, it's only about half bad. It would work all right as a cake filling. Is there any way you can make up a small sample? Then you could determine just how usable it might be, and deal with it on that basis.

Welcome, MRX! Is Hamburger Harry's still around? The one in midtown, I guess? We used to like them well enough when they first opened on Chambers Street (long since closed), but the service was always horrible. They had some interesting toppings and buns, as I recall. I recently was at Burger Heaven, and thought that for a broiled burger, it was not bad. Nice beefy flavor. Should be less expensive, though, for the whole thing. Remember Bun and Burger?

Cross-cultural (as ever) vegetable couscous: a pint of ratatouille from the freezer, plus fresh carrot and boiled green plaintain, with extra spice from smoked paprika, zataar (sumac), and preserved lemon, served over instant couscous with raisins, topped with roasted blanched almonds. Mixed leaves with balsamic + rosemary vinaigrette Dr. Konstantin Frank Riesling

I will start preheating the oven for re-heats at 2:00 pm (350 degrees okay, everyone?), assuming I have it clean by then. The starting gun goes off at 3:00 pm. But nobody cuts a thing until the first pictures are taken. Remember, please, to bring cameras, as we have none. As this point in time, we are up to about 20 or so. Folks who said earlier they might come, but have not yet been in touch for directions: don't forget to PM me!

As the sun sinks in the west, the Sabbath is rolling in. So we probably won't hear from the rotund Reb until later tomorrow. But I'll bet it wouldn't have mattered to his mother. Maybe to her, what THEY did was anti-Sem ... while what she did was prudent. (THEY/THEM is how all others were referred to during my childhood, capitalized even in speech, to make the distinction unmistakable.)

Susan, we drink that one at Azafran, a local tapas restaurant. Yes, it is 100% tempranillo, and we love it -- it goes very well with a variety of foods. Keep trying it, and if you don't come to like it, well, try some of the others people have mentioned.

Of course, the solution to the unseasoned iron pot problem is to do a lot of deep-frying in it before you cook anything the iron might react with.

Once again, I'm going to remind customers -- male and female -- that not even the best service staff can read minds. If you want to see the list, ask for it, or ask for two copies. If you want to be the one to taste, tell the person pouring; and if s/he has already poured a taste for someone else at the table, ask him/her to pour for you, too. This should not be a gender issue; it should be an issue of the customer requesting and the service person responding appropriately. (And if anyone sitting with me at the table asked for White Zin, I would politely but firmly ask that person to please leave. Unless s/he were the one paying. )

Nu, so can you be a foodie and keep kosher? Oy! it's not easy to learn food when you're told that everything you aspire to is . . . TREYF!!! Chomp here if you dare! Then come back here and we'll have a nosh and talk. Okay, mein susse kinderlach (sweet little child)? *** Be sure to check The Daily Gullet home page daily for new articles (most every weekday), hot topics, site announcements, and more.

agnolottigirl -- while I feel your pain, I hope you mess up more because I LOVE the way you describe the screwups!

Not a thing wrong, as far as I'm concerned. If it's good, a lot of us will get to enjoy it; if not, we'll have fun saying how awful it is and how you should never take that salesperson's advice again. And yes, there will be a goodly number of savories. So bring it, please! And if it's a Banyul (which I doubt), HOO BOY! (We've got some Beaumes de Venise we plan on breaking out.)

Q: How many paralegals does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Two: one to change it and one to do all the research for the lawsuit. Sorry, Soba, but I couldn't resist. Get well soon.

Dumpling, hope you won't mind that it's just me, not HWOE as well. But oh yes, those lambchops!

Whatever meat(s) and cheese(s) go on, it's just not right for me if it doesn't have marinated artichokes as well.

Blatz beer!!! Haven't thought about that crap, er, stuff in ages! Drunk by the case upon case. (signed) Suzanne F, Beloit College (Wisconsin), class of 1970. In spite of that, I like beer.

What state? The state of (holy ) matrimony? The state of the Union? Solid state?

The updated list as of now: SuzanneF + HWOE: (hosts) X-Cultural flatbread pizza; non-alcoholic beverages (teas, coffees, seltzer) elyse: Pecan Pie alacarte: Vinegar pie; Nana's smashed potato pie, plus Tagamet?? MHesse: Lemon Souffle pie Jason and Rachel: Little fillo pies bloviatrix: Sorbet (even eGulleers cannot live by pie alone) sherribabee: Potato Pie Picaman and KirkL: Apple and onion Tart; TBA jeunefilleparis: Grilled Cheese Pie forkandpen: Chicken Pot Pie David K.: coconut cream pie JosephB and Donna (late in afternoon?): Meyer Lemon Tart baw: beverage; mushroom pie/tart ?slkinsey sans BergerK? ?Pan ?wawairis ?megc ?Fat Guy and Ellen Shapiro ?R Washburn and his wife ?Bond Girl ?Moopheus and spousal unit Oh, poo. I mean, that Al Dente and Soba won't make it. You will certainly be missed. Soba, yeah, you don't want to try to get around, especially if this snow gets worse. And I don't think we'll be able to hold any leftovers to drop off at your place when some of us go to Amma for lunch on the 30th. Hope you are not so badly hurt after all, and recover soon. And Al Dente -- ain't it a shame that we have to work for a living? Another time. Check the SADC thread for dates; I think the next BC is not until the 31st.

Isn't Terrace in the Sky in Flushing Meadows Park, on top of one of those faux-rocket ships (if you saw Men in Black, you'll know what I mean)? I thought that's basically a catering hall. Ooops, no; Terrace in the Sky is indeed up near Columbia University. Zagat says it is "a great place for kissing" -- one's dining partner, presumably.

I love my LeCreuset stuff, but I want to have an affair with Staub. Those are SEXY pots!

Some of us -- particularly yours truly -- exercise our mouths more than any other part.

The updated list as of now: SuzanneF + HWOE: (hosts) X-Cultural flatbread pizza; non-alcoholic beverages (teas, coffees, seltzer) elyse: Pecan Pie alacarte: Vinegar pie; Nana's smashed potato pie, plus Tagamet?? MHesse: Lemon Souffle pie SobaAddict70: Lamb Shepherd's Pie (depending on availablity of really fresh shepherds); or Quiche Jason and Rachel: Little fillo pies bloviatrix: Sorbet (even eGulleers cannot live by pie alone) sherribabee: Potato Pie Picaman and KirkL: Apple and onion Tart; TBA jeunnefilleparis: Grilled Cheese Pie forkandpen: Chicken Pot Pie Al_Dente: Beverage David K.: coconut cream pie JosephB and Donna (late in afternoon): Meyer Lemon Tart baw: beverage; mushroom pie/tart ?slkinsey sans BergerK? ?Pan ?wawairis ?megc ?Fat Guy and Ellen Shapiro ?R Washburn and his wife ?Bond Girl ?Moopheus and spousal unit Savory pie or pie equivalents: 8 Sweet " " " " 5 Other: Beverages: 2 Sorbet: 1 Shaping up quite nicely and diversely.

I don't actually know the title of the book; just that it's about 500 low-carb recipes, put out by ACP Publishing, a publisher of many different magazines. But I will let you know when I find out.

We in NYC are blessed with some of the best water in the country, with the least foreign matter and the best taste. But even NYC water, as good as it is, has minerals in it that can build up -- just look at my humidifier sometimes. And much of the piping under the streets is still pretty old; they just replaced 100+-year-old pipes in my neighborhood. When the water main to the building has been off for a while, once it comes on again we get "brown water." So if the gunk in water can be a problem here, it must be really bad in other places.

He Who Only Eats is not a big fan of steak. He will be out of town Friday, January 23rd and Saturday, January 24th. Who's up for a trip to Luger one of those evenings? I'll be lonely.