mizducky

This news story about the Maine Mall Filene's closure indicates that it's not just clearance stores that are closing, but also regular mall-anchor department stores. It appears it's a part of the action following the purchase of May Co., parent of the Filene's chain, by Federated Department Stores, owners of Macy's. Federated's strategy for merging Filene's into their holdings seems to include closing Filene's branches in malls that already have a Macy's branch. Yikes. I hope that doesn't bode ill for the Filene's flagship store in Boston--there's a Macy's right down the street from it!

Okay, there's nothing particularly special about this omelette, except that I thought it came out purty ... ... and it's made with egg substitutes. Other than the flavor being a tad flat, they're pretty decent. And they behaved very well in the cooking process. (I don't even try flipping my omelettes. I simply fold it in the pan, and slide it out onto the serving plate.) ETA: oh yeah, the green stuff is sauteed scallions.

Those are works of art, sir. Bravo! I don't recall the last time I saw chickens that small for sale. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. Could you use Cornish game hens? Those I see all the time. (Here I go fiddling with the concept already... )

I once baked a large number of potatoes for a potato bar to feed a large group, and that's when I discovered one of the many "gotchas" of quantity cooking: a large mass of something takes a lot longer to heat up to cooking temperature than a smaller mass of the same something. I had restaurant-quality ovens available to me, and as soon as I realized what was happening I cranked them to the max, and it still took a loooooong time--I just barely got them all done in time for the dinner. To be sure, I was cooking some 80 potatoes, and you're just doing 25--but still, be aware that 25 potatoes may take your oven longer to bring up to temperature and bake to doneness than 5 of the spuds. If you're just laying the potatoes directly on the oven's shelf racks, I'd say you definitely want to put them on at least two shelves, spacing them as far apart from each other as possible to maximize heat circulation. If you're doing them in a panful of salt as described above, I think the salt might help a lot in transmitting the heat more efficiently than air would, but I confess I'm on much shakier ground here knowledge-wise.

I"m wondering just how one can have both 'no fragrances' and 'no stinky sweat' at the same time?[...] ← Try rubbing alcohol on your underarms after you shower. Seriously. ← Obviously, you've never shaved your armpits! ← Slightly kinder to those of us who shave our pits are those crystal deodorants one can get at natural foods stores, and even some mainstream stores now. It's just a big chunk of, I think, aluminum salts of some sort; you wet it and apply it, and no stink, no perfume--and usually, no sting--for most of a day. So, yeah ... (hauling this back on topic) ... so the existence of products like this means that there's no longer any excuse for food service workers with either BO or fragrance wafting off of them to disrupt your meal. I could forgive a server in a super-casual restaurant having a couple of spatters on an apron that had obviously just happened on that shift. But anything that looks like it dried on last week--euw. I have never, thank god, been assaulted by a server's BO, but I can tell you that in a food service context it would gross me right the hell out.

On a food board I once belonged to, we had a thread dedicated to fattiest foods we could think of. One member submitted a recipe he came up with one night after a night of carousing, in which, if memory serves, he wrapped a corn dog in a slice of pizza and deep-fried the whole assemblage. Is a Monte Cristo any sandwich that is deep fried, or is it a specific kind of sandwich? ← Most Monte Cristos I've seen have contained ham and swiss cheese; some have had sliced turkey instead of or in addition to the ham. And some have been browned on a griddle rather than deep-fried.

Those prices are fabulous. However, unless I'm totally missing it, I'm not seeing any dishware that comes any fewer than a dozen to a package, and I don't have either the need or the storage for that many settings (see below). First off--I'm just looking for super-basics, and just for myself. And I don't have a lot of storage space either. I've already got some more specialized cookware pieces that I'm happy with (i.e. pressure cooker, wok). And I've got a basic 4-setting flatware set that I'm satisfied with. But my other basics are crap--I should have just thrown them in the trash rather than expending energy moving them. It might help to think of my kitchen-equippage position as similar to someone starting their very first household. As to the "lightness" comment: because of my arthritis, hefting hugely heavy stuff is a challenge. So, as much as I love stoneware tableware, I'd rather go with lighter stuff. And no, I'm not too proud to use Corelle or melamine or their ilk--in fact, I could get a lot of laugh-miles out of a really tacky pattern in same (although I'd also be tickled to see some that looked genuinely attractive). Similarly, as much as I love cast iron cookware, I think for my everyday basics I'd prefer something that won't throw my back out to lift. So, even if there's a Le Creuset dutch oven on super-humongo-closeout, it probably wouldn't be practical for me, at least not at this point. So: for cookware, right now I'm looking for just your basic everyday saucepan, saute pan, big skillet, and generic large pot, all with appropriate lids. I can pick up one-offs of other pieces later as needed. I am aware that most starter cookware "sets" can suck, but if I could find a good one at a bargain price I would take it. Oh, and I really want pieces that can go in the oven as well as on the stovetop. As for dinnerware: so far, this set is the cheapest stuff I've found on the net. Can anyone beat it?

As my next step in settling into my new nest, I'm looking to replace some of my rather bedraggled cookware, and to get a smaller, lighter-weight set of dishes for my new lighter-weight dining style. And getting someone else to shlep the stuff to my doorstep for me would also be nice. So--I'm seeking recommendations of good cheap-but-reliable internet stores for these things. It would be nice if I could get everything from one website so I can take advantage of any deals on shipping etc. I also wouldn't mind if the stuff looks really cool, but I'm most interested in good price/performance values. Let 'er rip, folks!

Clams, baby. And not those nasty strips, either. The whole clam, with the belly. Nectar of the gods. Clam fritters are a close second.

I suspect this is the one downside to having forgotten the pound of sour cream in this cheesecake--the additional fat and protein might have made it less crumbly. (Though I'm sure it tastes just fine without it.)

Brilliant shot. But why does it remind me of a promo photo for the latest teen-demographic TV sitcom?

Mashed potatoes is good food. Dunno if this is appropriate to your column, but the swankiest mashed potato add-ins I ever saw were part of a mashed potato bar at a catered party. Among the many tasty mix-ins with which you could decorate your martini glassful of taters was caviar. If you have any room in this column, you could also maybe mention things to make with leftover mashed potatoes. Shepherd's pie is always nice. Or croquettes. Gee, you could do a whole column of its own on making good gravies for mashed potatoes. Maybe a follow-up?

In Yiddish, if you get financially shafted on a deal or job of some sort, you say that you got "bubkes" on that deal--figuratively, the word means "zero, zilch", but literally it translates as "beans." And then there's always the classic making a "gantze tsimmis" -- literally, making a huge dish of that Jewish specialty; figuratively, to make a big huge hairy deal out of some situation or event. Then there was this expression my mother taught me: "hocking a chinik;" she said its literal translation was "chopping a teapot" (!); figuratively, it meant making a huge noise of meaningless jabbering. My mom also knew the one about "may you be like an onion, with your head in the ground and your feet in the air!" She said it was used as a curse! However, she never taught me the Yiddish for it.

Lovely to see you blogging, dear! Sounds like you've got a pretty full week planned.

Cool. I am just beginning to learn how to work with egg substitutes for everyday cooking, so this would be a great excuse to see how many tricks I can persuade them to do. (Don't worry, folks, I am not totally abandoning "real" eggs, but they have necessarily become a special-occasion treat for the time being.) I was tempted to suggest that blintzes could conceivably fit with the "eggs, beaten, with stuff in them" template--okay, so you don't put the "stuff" inside the beaten eggs until after they've been cooked--but as I'm not really up for making blintzes anyway, for me at least it's a moot point.

I'm logging in briefly on a friend's computer, so I haven't had a chance to read all the posts I missed since last I logged in, but just wanted to chime in before the blog closed to thank Susan, Marlene, and Dave for their bravery not only in confronting their tobacco habits, but in going through all this in a public forum. I can totally appreciate how that ratcheted up the stress by several notches, right when the last thing you needed was yet more stress! I hope the experience was ultimately good and positive for all of you, as well as all the other smokers who decided to join in. All strength and good vibes as you continue on with the process, and know that a whole bunch of eGulleteers--certainly this one down here in San Diego--respects you tremendously for doing this.

My participation on eGullet is going to be relatively sparse for the next 24 hours or so, because I'm just about to unplug my computer prior to the Big Move, but in the meantime I want to once more wish all you quitters all strength, fortune, and general good vibrations. It's been tough, but so are you. And what lovely food y'all have been generating! I'll probably get to peek in a couple more times this evening on Fearless (soon-to-be-ex-) Housemate's computer, and then hopefully I'll have my own 'puter set up in my new place just in time to see bountiful mountains of smoked meat. (Hey, there's no calories in just looking. And maybe I'll expend a few calories from drooling. )

Variant of the above: a few tacos short of a combo plate. (I swear I learned that one well before I moved to Southern California. ) And then there's the classic: "Must be jelly, 'cause jam don't shake that way!"

So--I hope that "dive bars" are allowed to play, since those tend to be my favorite. I haven't yet established a personal bar hangout here in San Diego, but the circle of friends I used to hang with in Seattle loved to do so in dive bars, and our all-time favorite was the venerable Nite Lite. This place is 90 years older than dirt, full of kitschy decor, with a clientele of seasoned ol' drunks mixed with funky young punks, and a jukebox full of oldies. The bartending is kind of random--I began to think that "Mai Tai" must be some secret code among their staff for "clean the bar fridge"--but the drinks were always *strong*. A great place to take a bunch of friends to sit around and howl with tipsy laughter all evening.

Cool! And I was wondering where the nearest Henry's-type grocery to my new place was hiding ... Terrific recipe name! And I'm intrigued by the concept of matching bourbon with the Moro flavor. Which bourbon do you usually put in this recipe?

My mandoline is not an OXO, but it is another inexpensive plastic model. It does allow you to use the slicer blade and the julienne blades simultaneously, so that you can just slide a whole potato across and cut a whack of french fries with each pass. Does yours have some way to get both the regular slicer blade and the julienne bladelettes deployed simultaneously? If so, you're all set.

Thanks, folks. This is very helpful. As a matter of fact, I did buy these blood oranges at a local chain grocery--a natural foods chain, to be sure, but still a chain (Henry's, which has been bought up by Wild Oats). And they did bear Sunkist stickers. While I did enjoy them, yeah, I guess some of the flavor undertones could easily be described as "musky," and I could well imagine how that might become unpleasant if it became the dominant flavor. So I'll keep my eye out for additional varieties in the other places I shop for produce, and see what I can turn up for a taste comparison.

Oh good, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was afraid someone would revoke my Foodie License.

I don't know quite how, but somehow I managed to miss the whole blood orange thing. Until last night. First impressions: 1. Wow--the flesh of the ones I bought wasn't merely blood-colored, they were *dried congealed blood* colored. I'd seen pictures, of course, but the reality of a nearly-black orange interior is pretty startling. 2. Wait--I thought these things were supposed to be super-sweet. A bit of Googling informed me that while most varieties are really sweet, it seems I must have gotten a type that's more in the grapefruit range of things. No worries, as I love grapefruit. And in fact I wound up loving these blood oranges too--their flavor, while tart, wasn't the same as a grapefruit at all, but a more complex thing, with a fleeting touch of honey in the finish. (On-line descriptions suggest berry overtones in the flavor, but I couldn't pick that up.) Anyway, I wound up eating all three that I had. So--now that I've dispensed with my blood orange virginity, anyone want to tell me more about this fascinating fruit? Including which varieties are meant to be sweeter and which more on the tart side? (Duh--forgot to take pictures of the durned things!)

Well, HQ used to be in a town in the suburbs of Seattle WA named Kirkland (thus the name for Costco's house brand), but on checking their website I see that they've moved their official address a few towns over, to Issaquah. Still suburbs of Seattle, though.