divalasvegas

Oh Dear God Kris I don't know what to say except that I hope that you have a strong constitution and had taken all of your shots! I have to say also that I have no patience for people who won't try stuff because it falls into a category as being too whatever: weird, foreign, "ewwwwwww, what's that, etc. But, back to scratchy/diggy, I must ask: what did it taste like?

As this whole thing is up in the air so to speak, I have a very naive question. What would prevent someone from opening a dining establishment, declaring it a private club, charging a nominal fee for membership, and making it an establishment open to both smokers and non-smokers alike? Wouldn't this establishment be exempt from the smoking ban since one would be notified upfront that a) it's a private club/joint and b) if you join/want to work there, you understand that smoking is permitted? I wonder if this will lead to "speakeasy" type places, where smokers, wanting to be free from derision and snark could knock on the door, say the magic words and step into smoky nirvana? BTW, although I'm a DC girl born and raised, but am glad not to currently be living in the People's Republic of Washington, DC. Viva Virginia!

Sweet Jesus saskanuck! And I do mean sweet, considering the ingredients your boss uses in his "salad." I'm not being snobbish, since there are some things I've used Miracle Whip in, but that combo sounds pretty gagtastic to me and he probably used those fake bacon bits too. BTW, I like a nice egg salad sandwich as much as anyone, but don't think I've ever seen that offered on a holiday potluck buffet.

Bless all of you wonderful, industrious people. I, on the other hand, being a completely lazy, sellout, crave this: Hot Chocolate From the Dark Side Actually, someone bought this back to the office for me and several coworkers last year, and I was instantly addicted to this hot steamy cup of chocolate crack. I never go to Starbuck's; generally they're not my cup of tea (or coffee) but I would be willing to crawl on my hands and knees to get a cup of this.

Okay tryska how someone would get their pink oil hair sheen--and I know exactly which product you mean--near banana pudding is now giving me a gaggy lump in my throat. For real. Yes, those folks who never think of washing their hands ever aren't just a problem because of what they bring (like you, I avoid their dishes entirely) but these are invariably the same people who like to double dip, squeeze chocolates or doughnuts brought to the office to "see if they like what's inside," or as one person did to an entire crock pot of curry chicken I brought, asked me "what was that," I told him and then he proceeded to run his finger through it for a "taste." Since he was an executive vice president, I resisted the urge to end his life right then and there. I did however anal-retentively removed all traces of where his finger touched the food as well as a substantial portion of food that surrounded it. Wow, getting even more nauseaous and ticked off as I write this. ← OMG you are absolutely right - they do like to poke and prod and double dip and all sorts of stuff. now i'm skeeved out too. I can't believe anyone would stick their finger in curry chicken meant for a crowd of coworkers. family maybe, but the folks you work with? gross. ← Excellent point tryska. That's exactly how I feel. What's amazing are the clueless blank stares I get from people when I say that I prefer to ingest my food by someone who washes their hands and preferably without their saliva! As for Mr. Squeezy, being that he was an overpaid, inside the beltway, executive vice president, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised. Oh, and I have another one from my brother. He was at a recent potluck where a similar type of person was assigned the duty of cutting cake. Well this skank, er uh, woman each and every time she sliced a piece or two of cake, instead of using a glass of hot water and paper towel to remove the excess frosting/cake crumbs or even just scraping it she would run her fingers down the dull side of the knife, LICK THEM, and continue cutting the cake! Needless to say, my brother passed on that one.

Unfortunately for me, no, not even close to getting it, at least with cookware. Recently I informed a family member how impossible/difficult it is to cook without decent pots and pans, how, at least for me it, takes the joy out of cooking (pun intended) and how I had to get some really good new stuff before Christmas. Well, he just looked at me quizzically and blank faced, as if I had said that I couldn't possibly put together a good meal without the addition of human flesh or something. I won't even tell anyone in my family about me lusting after my first piece of Le Creuset; I mean paying $100, $200 or more for ONE piece of cookware? They would have me institutionalized.

Thanks for the report Faboo. Is this restaurant considered vegan? If so, then obviously no eggs, butter, cheeses, cream, etc. I'm an omnivore but I truly enjoy vegetarian fare. I prefer straight up vegetarian, not "mock" meat, bacon, eggs, and so forth. Let us know if you conduct any further research. Best to you and your family.

Okay tryska how someone would get their pink oil hair sheen--and I know exactly which product you mean--near banana pudding is now giving me a gaggy lump in my throat. For real. Yes, those folks who never think of washing their hands ever aren't just a problem because of what they bring (like you, I avoid their dishes entirely) but these are invariably the same people who like to double dip, squeeze chocolates or doughnuts brought to the office to "see if they like what's inside," or as one person did to an entire crock pot of curry chicken I brought, asked me "what was that," I told him and then he proceeded to run his finger through it for a "taste." Since he was an executive vice president, I resisted the urge to end his life right then and there. I did however anal-retentively removed all traces of where his finger touched the food as well as a substantial portion of food that surrounded it. Wow, getting even more nauseaous and ticked off as I write this.

So...I would like to take this opportunity to say good bye you have all been wonderful....Yes I am assuming a slow and painful death coming on Potluck lunch was today. I brought in my giant vat of baked ziti and promptly refridgerated it. Enter the carved turkey, the roast pork, the rice and beans, the tossed salad, the potato salad and an armada of pies, all carefully placed on the table in the back of the office, AT 8 AM. Fast forward 11:30am the turkey is hauled off down the hall to the microwave...I wait about 15 min and head off to nuke the ziti...at some point the pork has joined the ziti and turkey on the microwave line. 10 min in the nuker...stir well add more cheese to the top, punch in another 10 min, sneak out for a cigarette. By the time I got back all was on the table with a line of 20. I joined the line took my plate of salmonella soufle and ate it all. Washed down with Pineapple soda, apple pie, cheesecake, and ice cream. So food poisoning? probabley. oooh but what kind? It was all very tasty tracey ← Hi tracey. Glad to see that you survived the Thanksgiving office potluck. You know I'm usually rather uptight about eating stuff that hasn't been properly refrigerated; however, somehow I believe that the potluck faeries magically descend and sprinkle their hygienic faery dust over those various asundry containers of food. Actually I've always been pretty lucky to have work alongside some very good cooks. With that many people cooking and usually just one refrigerator, I expect that certain items are going to be left to linger so I just don't think about it, which of course makes perfect medical sense.

I like to puree the peppers, garlic and basil before adding the cheeses - but you could do it all at one time. I think you get a smoother puree doing those items first... but there's no reason why it wouldn't work if it was a little chunkier. I'm never been able to find sherry wine vinegar that's kosher so I haven't tried it - but I think it would work well. Why not? Now in RecipeGullet ← Thanks so much Pam R. I didn't do a relish tray for Thanksgiving. I just like having dips and raw vegetables around in general for munching. Hope you and everyone else had a great Thanksgiving.

Hi Pam R this sounds so delicious. I've been looking for an easy red pepper dip. May I ask is this basically a "dump" recipe or is there a specific order to pureeing the ingredients? Also, have you tried a splash of sherry wine vinegar? Do you think it would work?

I know it's old school, but how about Green Goddess dressing/dip? Here's a recipe from the food network chefs: Green Goddess Dressing Or this one from Tyler Florence: Tyler Florence's Green Goddess Dressing To make them both thicker for a dip, I would probably lower the mayo and increase the sour cream.

For God's sake MarketStEl stuff that turkey! I love Alton Brown and I saw the rebroadcast of the show you mentioned and thought it was excellent. I may even do the high heat thing too. And like him, I never baste, ever, haven't for years long before I ever heard of Alton Brown. But for the life of me I do not understand this phobia about stuffing the turkey. I've always stuffed my turkey, as did my mom, my grandmom and so on. One year I stuffed the bird with the regular/traditional breadstuffing and made a cornbread-sage-sausage dressing in the oven. Well the cornbread dressing was good, but the one regular one that cooked inside the turkey was better, especially the parts at either end of the turkey, you know in the front where it gets all crispy and in the back under a crispy layer of turkey skin. If you use a thermometer--again something else that I have never used--I suppose that you could use that to make sure it was hot enough. I do remember an Alton Brown show where he relented a bit about his prohibition on putting stuffing inside of the bird by doing this really convoluted thing where he put the stuffing inside some kind of cheese cloth bag and tied it and then put it in the bird and then took it out and then............................. who knows? Anyway, the result IMHO was kind of creepy I thought since the damn thing resembled a giant tampon. Not appetizing in the least. So just stuff it man, stuff it. And have a happy Thanksgiving.

How about making a ganache (or just melt the chocolates) with each and tasting them on something rather neutral like Pepperidge Farm shortbread or Chessmen cookies? Not a lot of work involved at all. I'd be happy to volunteer for the tastings any time.

OMG, I can't believe I didn't remember this one. It was a company potluck, same company where the "alleged" hambone thievery took place. Anyway it was a crock pot creation of pre-made, store bought "meat"balls. I don't even want to think what was actually used to make those meatballs, all identical and perfectly round, simmered in a mixture of grape jelly, canned cream of mushroom soup and barbeque sauce. Yes, just as tasty as it sounds. I have no words....................................

Hello Kim. I've had success removing rust with a product called CLR. The only caveat is that it does have a heavy chemical smell. I did find a discussion on rust removal using Barkeepers Friend. Here's the link: Discussion of Rust Removal I use a cast iron skillet as well and my gut feeling would be to use this product, then repeat the whole greasing/oven process. I hope this helps.

Still LMAO over your line about "Maybe we should start a thread called "strange hambone stories". Why not? ← Heh, you two, I am in the middle of making split pea soup with a very big smoked ham shank. Not EVHS, but I guess it might be deemed Pure Ham Shank. You want? ← Okay Pontormo I have to know, what the Hell is EVHS? BTW, I always hated green pea soup because of that well known (red can) national company whose green pea soup was Exorcist vile, but I'd love to have a taste of yours; sounds delicious.

Perhaps this would be too much trouble depending on how many people you're feeding, but how about just oven roasting whole sweet potatoes and offering a variety of toppings so people could "customize" their own? Offer butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, spices, pecans, etc. I really love sweet potatoes served like that.

OMG Carrot Top that is just too hilarious and creepy as well. Please, please tell us that you never cooked for this basket case again. WTF is wrong with people anyway? To focus on an unobtrusive hambone after someone has cooked you entire Thanksgiving meal is beyond bizarre. Maybe we should try to introduce her to the flake I used to work with. Still LMAO over your line about "Maybe we should start a thread called "strange hambone stories". Why not?

Yes ditsydine and estherschindler as I publicly confessed upthread, the hambone thief was me. And, God help me, I'm still not sorry I did it. The great thing was that it really wasn't just all bone, but had quite a bit of spiral sliced ham attached, so not only did I get to use the bone for bean soup or greens, but the ham for sandwiches, breakfast, etc. Come to think of it, why would a woman who brought a low fat/low sodium/taste free beige casserole to a holiday potluck be so covetous of a hambone and ham anyway? BTW, for more insight into her character, during lunchtime once in the company lunchroom it was this same woman who, after I had sprinkled a few drops of Tabasco sauce on something I was eating, began coughing and making choking sounds after asking me "what was that?" After, I said "Tabasco sauce" she jumped up, fanning her face and dramatically left the room, muttering something about its "overwhelming" odor...................... What an effin pill she was.

This stuff always simultaneously fascinates and repulses me. One of the people that absolutely fascinates me is Takeru Kobayashi. He is the undisputed master of this "sport" and weighs something like 125 lbs., I think. I remember seeing a food network special on this (surprise?) where he shared his explanation as to why he can beat guys 2 to 3 times his size. As I recall, his theory is that the larger the person, the less space for their stomachs to expand while the opposite is true for the much smaller person. They showed him eating positively inhuman quantities of food and beer while he was in "training." Here then, are words from the Master: Kobayashi's Words of Wisdom

divalasvegas: that dessert is most likely semiya (=vermicelli) kheer. kheer can also be made with rice or grated carrots, or lots of other things.. milagai ← Oh thank you so much milagai. I've tried to describe it to various people but could never get a name. It was dessert perfection and as you can see, unforgettable. When I think vegetarian, that's the kind of delectable food I think of.

Okay sparrowgrass I have to ask, what exactly was so heinous about you bringing an ambrosia salad with marshmallows to the vegetarian "blowout" I described (post #11) above? I think I know, but I'd like to hear it from you. As an aside, while in Massachusetts at that time, I also had probably one of the most delicious, memorable vegetarian meals in my life at a small restaurant run by a Hindu couple (we all worked in the college's student dining hall; I was a student, they were regular staff). They kept bringing out dish after dish of flavorful vegetarian fare to me and another student, concluding with an amazing dessert (don't know the name) of some kind of vermicelli (?) noodles in a creamy sauce, golden with saffron, some other spices, nuts and raisins (yeah, it was so good, I remembered the ingredients). At the end, because we all worked together, they refused to take our money. I don't know how "natural" or "pure" their food would have been considered by the aforementioned vegetarians but I will never forget them, their hospitality and their delicious food. Peace.

And apparently snowangel they were allergic to FLAVOR!

Geez, the memories keep flooding back; how could I have forgotten this one: Flashback to when vegetarianism was becoming more popular and a somewhat unknown territory to me. I was pretty young then and really didn't know much about vegetarian cuisine, so when I was invited to a vegetarian potluck, I said "sure, why not?" Little did I know what horrors lay in store. Let me preface by saying that this was back in the day when a there was a lot of extremely bad vegetarian "cooking" especially in the U.S. that didn't seem to take advantage of all the wonderful vegetarian dishes from other cuisines. Anyway, this was during the fall, somewhere in Massachusetts at some sort of group residence for mostly college students, and I was merely a guest and not expected to bring anything. Finally we arrive and there are already a fair amount people there. There's a long table laid out with various bowls and dishes. Sorry but I can't really remember the names (if those dishes actually had names) of any of the dishes. The one thing that stood out was that I kept waiting to get hit in the face with that "wow, something smells pretty good" kind of aroma, the kind I could expect whenever my mom or any other good cook had been cooking. Alas, no such smell. I approached the table to find a couple of salads, some beige casseroles, raw vegetables, a bean dip maybe and lots and lots of plain steamed vegetables. It did not look to promising, but I got a plate and began to eat and: nothing. No flavor, no enticing aromas, no nothin'. I later found out that the reason for this was that everything had to be "natural" and "pure" so no salt, no sugar, no discernible oil or spiciness, I'm not even sure there was even pepper. I remember sheepishly asking one of the people I came with if there was any salt, butter, anything and being looked at as if I'd asked for a medium rare steak. Damn, even the house was cold; I guess heat was deemed to be "unnatural" as well. Being raised Southern, I tried to be as polite as possible and since I was hungry, I did try to eat the food. BTW, I forgot to say that there was wine and pot. Yeah lots of that and boy did I need it! So there I am trapped in this cold hippy-dippy house, with lousy food, wine, pot, the munchies, and no ride outta there, fantasizing about my momma's home cooking. Dante himself could not have imagined this ring of Hell. Unfortunately, I think it was this approach to vegetarianism that gave that way of eating an undeserved reputation as being bland and tasteless which this stuff was. When I finally got out of there, I believe I remember buying several subs at a great sub shop near my school, amongst them a gigantic lobster salad sub, like a lobster roll, but on steroids and reminding myself of one of my mother's hard and fast rules: never, ever go anywhere hungry unless you have a pretty damn good idea of what's waiting for you on the other end. Edited for spelling and grammar.