Rebecca263

Rice syrup is very sweet, and has different, milder taste than cane sugar... maybe you can try that and let us know how it works out?

Hi, and Hippo Birdy to Chris! Rachel, those pink glasses were a definite triumph of the thrift, dear! I'm looking at all of that luscious, LOVE filled food, and thinking that if I could have one thing from all of that glory, it would be a biscuit. And then a small pastry. And, some beans. OK, some grapes, as well. May you have a wonderful year, Chris!

I smell a cook off!

Well, I don't know if I agrre with my doctors that all of these new intolerances are 'allergies' but, I ate a 1/2 ounce of blue cheese today during breakfast. I don't know if it's chemo induced intolerance or what, but I'm NOT having fun! Definitely, I'm going to listen to the doctors and avoid the 'offenders'.

Wait, you mean to tell us that MSG is not an acceptable 'enhancement', but sugar is? I don't get this post. Please, explain further, how sugar is somehow acceptable in these recipes but MSG is not.

OK, 1: That chili recipe is DISGUSTING, it's just a mess of sugar and corn syrupy items and ooky things all mixed together- bleacgh! I DO have to commend the guy, though, he didn't add grape jelly to the pot! 2: My daughter and I took one for the eGulleteers and made that Velveeta fudge awhile back- my sister's kids loved it, it had a greasy salty back wash that was hideous- aqnd it coated the tongue in an uncomfortable way, too. 3: SO, we come to my contribution, which now doesn't seem so bad. Behold my father's "Mom's away and I'm a chef!" recipe: 1# ground lamb or beef 1 can of sliced baby potatoes, drained 1 can of creamed corn 3 onions, diced large salt- not to taste, because he's dangerous, like that! Doesn't sound too deadly, you say? Well, it's all in the cooking! My dad had this wonderful cast iron skillet- only used when Mom was away. He would brown the meat in the skillet, then add the onions. When they softened he would add the canned ingredients, and cook this mixture until it congealed together while HOT! Then he would salt it, and serve it to us in pita bread! It was hideous, I tell you! Especilly because, if you note, I did not mention any draining of fat going on! He didn't ever drain fat from cooking meat. "All of the flavor is in the FAT!" he would say! Needless to say, my mother was an angel on Earth, she always left us lots of leftovers when she went on a trip. And, my dad's current wife is an angel, because she does not allow my father to cook a THING! My dad is a real food lover, too. It's weird. He was a horrid cook!

Bouley is my vote. Their lamb is very luscious! It came with truffled potatoes that I could have bathed in, they were orgasmically good. Plus, BryanZ is right, the place makes everyone glow, and the service is wonderful. The only thing missing for me after linch there was a good chocolate rush. I ordered some pineapple fruity thing instead of a chocolate souffle. It was good, but I should have gone for the chocolate. YOU won't need that rush - with your love and your happy occasion!Congratulations and continued good health to you! Edited: linch, hah!

My daughter and her cat BOTH adore Bugles. We haven't had Bugles in the house for 2 years- it's been that long since I've thought to buy some. They are like the crack of junk food to my kiddle, so I don't think that I'll be bringing them home anytime soon- but I will definitely put them in her care package when she's overseas next. Thanks for reminding me!

We buy fruit. Usually oranges. Sometimes an extra banana. In Florida we could buy ANY fruit, because the produce workers are friendly, and they'll wash our fruit for us, so we can eat it right there, but here in NJ, well, that AIN'T happening, dearie! So, we buy fruit, to eat straightaway, with a skin that can be peeled by hand. Kiddle always wants a fancy bottled drink to accompany... lately she doesn't get it. Hey, our food budget (for 2 people, one teen and one cancer patient) is US$135 a month right now. Be assured, fruit is a treasure! edited by me to add: Come over and eat at our house, I guarantee you'll be amazed at how well we eat on our budget!

I really can't stand the words 'allergic' and 'intolerant'! I want my grapes, my fungii, all those good things! And, I imagine that there are a lot of people like me, made 'allergic/intolerant' later in life, and boiling over about it! I am going to have a slice of blue next week, with some fruit. We'll see. Doctors don't know EVERYTHING.

Da Leo is a TRATTORIA. Sardinia is NOT. I'll take a well executed 100 year old recipe any day. For instance, a few months ago, I had a cream of squash soup there. The soup was so silky, so fresh and yet also earthy tasting- I know that they do not use any dairy in their creamed soups, I couldn't figure it out. I have cooked my share of fine soups, but never had I achieved this texture in my root based soups-so, I asked. The waiter explained to me that the squash is cooked, and forced, multiple times, over the course of an entire day, and served the next day. That is excellent trattoria cooking, and the results are delicious. I've eaten all over the world, I've eaten in every kind of restaurant imaginable, and I eat in NY biweekly. There's no blowing out of the water going on, Da Leo is very good at what they do. They're not a red sauce Italian American place, nor are they the FL of Italian food- they're an authentic Italian trattoria. Snooty? No, just not a qualified judge of the particular restaurant we're discussing, and, perhaps, Lincoln Road itself. Oh, and Papillon? Try the omelette, have a glass of red wine, stretch your attitude a bit, it's delicious. Cheap is David's Cafe, a decent glass of juice, burnt espresso- and well, I order french fries* there- I know they keep a clean fryer, at least! *edited to add: that's pommes frites for snooty NY'ers. LOL

What's to be 'impressed' with? Da Leo makes their sauces from scratch, their soups are incredible, not much to be impressed with? Delicious Tuscan fare. Authentic as well. Go to their original location in Lucca, the recipes are the same. The family has been running the business since the beginning of the last century. The waitstaff, the cooks, almost all original transplants from Italy. This restaurant could easily be pretentious and up their prices, and still be busy. That they choose to remain affordable and accessible is just an incredible testament to the family's good souls. Their service is impeccable, tables are well appointed... I'm not one for risotto but I do know that they make an authentic and delicious one. I do not eat Osso Bucco either, but the food critic who eats there with me orders this whenever he is able to visit them. Papillon is what a neighborhood bistro SHOULD be, fresh, from scratch foods. Stay away from the sandwiches, is my motto. Oh, their omelettes, so good! The apple tart is wonderful, too. The wine list is pretty good for a bistro, as well. Very French, so? It's also very delicious. Oh, and you're not 'interested' in American Chinese? Ever? Too bad for you. In my opinion, everything has it's place, if it's well done. When we're drunk and there are ten of us hankering for some salty comfort food, we hit Kim's, San Loco or Puerto Sagua, definitely! I'm not a rarified eater, even if I am considered some sort of gourmande... well, the word gourmande really means one who likes food, and I DO! Regardless, you're really missing something, if you don't even care for Da Leo. Maybe you went to some other restaurant, and mistook the name. Honestly, I can't fathom any other reason for your dismissal of the restaurant. It's that good.

You didn't care for DaLeo, Papillon or even World Resources? And, c'mon, Kim's is great for classic American Chinese! But, honestly, DaLeo- not on your radar? You've got to go- it's fantastic, really.

I am known for eating raw, beef, right out of the refrigerator. My kiddle knows I've got a plan, wen I 'prep' the beef as soon as it enters the kitchen. If I'm slicing the beef up before it goes into the refrigerator, you can wager that I'll be visitng it around 3:00AM, with a little bowl of dipping sauce in my right hand, and a fork in my left! Oh, and brownies, from the freezer. Yeeha! edited because I am trying to foil those pesky 'bot links!

This allergy/intolerance subject is a real conundrum to me. I've been treated with so many drugs over the past few years, and I've developed some terrible 'intolerances'. That anaphylactic shock thing is THE singular worst experience I've had, next to the whole closing of the throat business. So, the doctors and nurses keep adding item after item to my no-no list, and I am left wondering, how did I get here? Actually, my main oncologist seems to have the idea that I find most logical- my immune system is damaged, and it overreacts to certain things. Now, if only if it would overreact to the cancer! I want to wire my immune system a message"Go kill those cancer cells, Dearie, and leave the blue cheese alone!".

A rock of raw sugar (I have 2 in a tiny bottle JUST to look at right now) A packet of any kind of sugar (best when warmed by my #1boy's heart, unavailable for the next 6 years ) A spoonful of tahina in a ramekin, topped with raw sugar and microwaved for 30 seconds- mix with the teaspoon and YAY! Raw sugar, cooked in a tiny pot, until it liquefies and caramelizes, then a tiny bit of butter is added, and stirred in, alongside a pinch of salt. I try to eat it all before it solidifies or I go wild trying to get the remains off of the inside the pot! A heaping amount of cocoa powder mixed with a somewhat smaller heaping amount of raw sugar, a dash of vanilla and a pinch of salt- all thrown into a mug with water, then microwaved for 2 minutes. Stir this well, and thank me after you scrape your eyeballs off of the ceiling.*this covers both the chocolate craving AND the sugar craving in one go.* An immense handful of dried fruits, especially apricots, prunes, pineapple and raisins, with some candied ginger tossed into the mix. Apricot leather, the old fashioned kind- thick and slightly oily, and delicious. I do a lot of sugar jonesing- I'm expert at getting straight to the rush.

Enrobe bite sized morsels in a freezable rich dough, for future appetizers? I can just imagine biting into a warm bite of rich, buttery bread, and having melty foie collide with my tastebuds.

Cauliflower is great, but I also discovered that broccoli AND string beans both lend themselves to a mashing, after you roast them for a good long while.

I think that Gourmet and Bon Appetit are connected, somehow. I do know that they are both featured on the epicurious website together. I'm just assuming that they're both Conde Nast publications.

Hippo Birdy, Dearie! That meal looks delicious. I wish that I could visit now, for the leftovers. I'd just sit with those hard crackers and some goose fat and leftover goose meat and have a nice fatty, tasty snack, acompanied by any leftover wine! Yum!

I haven't been to Lake Worth in over a year, but we used to show at a lot fo places there, and my Kiddle always adored the Bizaare Avenue Cafe's way with fish;they always serve some kind of white fish on a crusty roll that she devours. I usually get soup and a lot of wine, when we go there. The menu is nothing stellar, kind of mid 90's- they have their version of tapas. A bit pricey for the quality of the food.The decor is kind of cutesie, with sofas and such. I don't really care for the seating arrangements, just because I don't like to eat bending over a coffee table. Unless I'm sitting on the floor. Here, you sit on a chair or a sofa, so you have to lean a bit to eat. They're good for coffee and appetizers, just a mixed bag. What I really adore is going along the roads and finding some little Mexican or Peruvian or Ecuadorian place and just ordering. I've had some great crispy whole fried fish, burritos, tacos, mole, stews, so many things! Lucerne Ave and Lake Ave come to mind. Also, I'm not sure if they're still there, but New Seoul Korean is a great restaurant. Have the noodles! They're on Lake Ave. Check the telephone book when you get to Lake Worth, and see if they're around- the food was really fantastic last July, and they had grills for meat, too. The aroma in the restaurant made me hungry, even when I wasn't! If you want Indian, go to Saffron, it's not in Lake Worth, but it isn't far- I like their breads- they have a lunch buffet- good for a group to go and share a fun meal. Actually, I am editing this: I was last in Lake Worth last July- I have chemo brain, sorry!

I don't know why, but it just seems to me that food magazines have become so pretentious over the past few years. I grew up reading Gourmet, and perhaps it WAS pretentious, but I never felt so, until the mid 80's. I really miss the armchair travels I had with those childhood issues of Gourmet. Nothing seems to compare to that, these days. Bon Appetit is kind of faking it, to me. Staged pictorials, yet food that isn't exactly a thrill. Shopping is subtly equated with being a 'quality' cook and having a 'quality' life. I wish that someone would start a small magazine dedicated to stories about places and food. You know, that small cheesemaker, the great cook, the nice lady who bakes pies for local restaurants, the place where you go to help with the grape harvest. Your visit to your parents. How and why you became a saucier. Writing that includes an adventure, or a recipe, something that has a personal meaning. I just really miss Calvin Trillin's old articles, what can I say? Kiddle adores food magazines and she has uber cheap ( and one free) subscriptions to the easy 3- Bon Appetit, Gourmet and Saveur. I'm not renewing either the Bon Appetit or Saveur, only the Gourmet. Even that's going to be a stretch. I unload my old magazines on ebaY. Kiddle has 'graduated' to reading old cookbooks and current art magazines. My home is literally bursting with these, so she's very happy.

I grew up eating yogurt or sour cream on m'jeddrah (with extra crispy onions, thank you) but now I like buttermilk. My eyes aren't good right now, so I can't check my sumac, but I do agree, it smells AMAZING. Za'atar is so sense pleasing, you feel that you could wallow in it. Maybe za'atar is the Middle Eastern version of wasabi- most people grow up on the ersatz thing, and never know the difference, even Middle Easterners. Kind of like Americans and mayonnaise.

My daughter was a vegetarian for a couple of years when she was a tot. Fried chicken did her in. She's never been big on what she calls 'pig butt'.

That's weird. I've never heard of za'atar with parsley OR citric acid. Then again, I get my supplies in Brooklyn, NY, USA. I use thyme, sumac, salt and sesame seeds. One never asks for measurements, you just "use your judgement". My sumac is a more purple kind of red. I LOVE it. Yes, I do. I'm going to marry it. Or else I'll marry m'jeddrah. One never knows, I'm fickle.