Genny

Wait for it....wait for it.... It looks like we're trying to move into a new house at the first of the year! It isn't JUST the new kitchen, there are other issues at hand but it is a bit funny to think of. I'm still saving the links from Megan (thx!!) and on the pedals too just in case I need to re-do the new kitchen or should I say, in case the DH lets me make adjustments! Tragedy regarding the floors! At this point do you laugh or cry? Ugh!

Jamie Lee, good luck on the chemo!! Doritos, Funyuns, M&Ms, and a greasy ol' Sonic Burger with rings and a Limeaid. Oh, and for dessert, some concotion to suit my whim at Cold Stone.

Absolute fact. We get a pound of yeast from King Arthur's, keep it in the freezer, (once for well over a year) with no loss of umph. We once worked out the savings over the .25 ounce packets and came up with the 20X cheaper formula too. ← OK OK OK, I'll buy the bigger size and keep it in my freezer already! Maybe it will force me to bake more, um, then eat more of my baked goods and gain back some of that weight I've worked so hard to lose!

Family of 2 - 6. I've always passed up on the olive oil thinking it was a second pressing or inferior quality, now I'll have to pick some up. Likewise on the chicken broth! We always get meats there, break up the packages and re-seal using our Food-Saver. Great beef and lamb. I also love the Philips Lump crabmeat. At $14-$16 a pound, its a great deal and I try to keep a couple in the fridge for last minute entertaining. We miss the Talking Rain sparkling water! And I LOVE the dried mango strips.

OMG, I think I get the Fairy Spread thing though! You know when you cream butter and sugar for cookies? And you just have to taste it? (C'mon, you know you do it!!) I have never thought to put that on Wonder Bread but it would be amazing and something kids would adore. Why does the store cut regular size carrots and shove them in a cup of water and sell it for 3x the amount of baby carrots and 6x the cost of full size carrots. Who buys these??? They are inferior and less convenient to a bag of "baby" carrots. Or rings of red onion? 1 knife + 1 onion= rings. Its not magic! And when you do it yourself, they are not dried out or water clogged. Haas avocados were on sale here this week so I bought 2 and one lime and smashed a quick guacamole up for my women's group. Someone asked incredulously, "You made this?!?" ummmmm, yep. How freakin hard is it to cut open an avocado, squeeze 1/2 lime and sprinkle some salt and fork it together?? Bagged guac is just gross. In the season isle: mixed sugar and cinnamon. WTF? Other items mentioned: Water: nope, here in AZ, we keep a fridge stocked outside with both still and bubbly to grab-n-go. Yeast packets: recipes often specify the number of packets rather than the weight or measure so I recently purchased these too! Convenience microwave foods: get them for the MIL who lives on her own and can't really cook for herself too well anymore and doesn't want to eat much. They may be gross but if she's eating this over the stuff I prepare and freeze for her then at least she's eating something! Whipped Cream: OK, I buy this when I'm going to someone's house with dessert. I admit it! And the can in the mouth thing never gets old, no matter how old I get. BUT, I do have the isi CO2 whip cannister and use it at home. Equally fun! I just don't want to leave it at someone's house.

Hi KristiB50, Of course I remember you!!! Tammy has told me the complexion of the group has changed and I'd like it a lot more now, I've been thinking about visiting if I can fit it into my schedule. Thanks for the rec for Radda, we'll have to try it! Although we live in the south valley, we do seem to be up that way more and more these days!

Thanks chefadamg, that is incredibly helpful! Any other suggestions on how to properly thaw this when ready to cook? I was thinking I should babysit it in a water bath (in it's sealed packaging, of course). Also, cooking suggestions. I've read the "screaming hot pan" method, are there others you can recommend? I'll have a few opportunities to experiment it seems. wallchef: come on over! we'll make a party of it!

I have 2 lobes of Hudson Valley foie gras that are frozen. Solid. And I need to cut them into managable sizes and freeze (using my food sealer) and cook some too. Thoughts on how to cut the buggers up? I'm thinking I need to keep them frozen. Then, best way to cook? How thick should I slice it, etc. I've only eaten it out and the portions are generally pretty small so I'm working from scratch here. ANY info and tips you can give me will be great! Thanks in advance! Genny

With all these rave reviews I'm thinking we must have gone on a very off day. He had the waffle, a couple eggs, and bacon with potatoes. The waffle was dry, the eggs were great and the bacon and potatoes were both way over done. I had the burger with blue cheese and it was just meh. The DH does a far better job with keeping them juicy at home. I dunno, we weren't inspired to go back, especially since it took over 30 minutes to get in the door. Maybe we'll have to give it another shot sometime.

I just went to http://www.tapino.com/restaurant.html this week for the first time and really enjoyed sitting on the patio noshing some yummy food. I'd definitely go again, its worth the trip up to Scottsdale for me.

The funny thing is it all really depends on the moisture content of the meat. Generally the final pieces are between 1/4" and 1/2" I would suppose. Being a "girl" about measurements though, I could be off a bit. The final pieces are meaty and chewey- not leathery or coarse. You can feel the strands of muscle providing a very satisfying texture and chew. The flavor hits you with the sweet of the teriyaki at first and as you continue to chew the heat develops. By the time you are on your third bite you have a satisfying warmth but keep adding the sweet to it. The jerkey really is amazing Hmmm, I think I need to go buy some flank steak now and pursuade him to start a new batch. 10 pounds of meat yields 1-2 pounds of jerkey.

There are so many factors that go into making jerky: 1) the type of meat 2) how you cut the meat 3) the marinade/ seasoning 4) drying method 5) degree of dehydration desired/ achieved My husband has been experimenting for years and has developed an amazing sweet/hot jerky that is chewey and complex. He uses flank steak and cuts it about 1/2 to 1" thick against the grain and marinates it for 3 days in a teriyaki sauce that has chili oil and other spices added to it. Once the marinade process is done, he pats each piece dry and pops it into the dehydrator which is put either in the garage or on the back patio (never left in the house, too fragrant!). He takes paper towels and pats off the excess oils and moisture that develops every 12 hours or so. We use an electric dehydrator, the circular kind that has stacked trays. The trickiest part is to dry the meat enough, we have found that it may seem dry at one point but if you seal it up (food saver) it may have too much moisture. It should seem just a little crispy at the edges and it seems to soften up just a bit once it hits room temperature. This stuff is so good that my brother-in-law traded a pound of it for a mixed case of very fine wines!

Ah the foot pedal, how hard was that to find and get done? Its been on my wish list for YEARS. Your cabinets are absolutely gorgeous!!! I'll have to show my husband the pix. We have put of doing anything, some other stuff has come up yet again so I'm not sure if its a new kitchen or a new house I'll be getting. Laughing until I cry! Ha ha. I've seen a lot of lovely glass options in the kitchen lately like counter tops, floating bar tops and even mixed with metals as a decorative element for the range hood. Ah, I just keep seeing dollar signs $$$$$$$$$$$ add up more and more!

You said it, sistah! I feel for you, with the faucets. Some days I think I should have built the kitchen around the sinks and faucets, instead of the range and work-space. ← ROFL... Thanks! Now I have a graceful opt out. Thanks Bekki!

Hell, if we finish by Christmas I'll pinch myself too!! We spent much of yesterday planning. Found some great materials that we need to research. Ugh, its all so much, I'm so glad I get to cop out on any of the nitty gritty brain hemmoraging details - it's all DH I'm just responsible for yay-ing and nay-ing his ideas and putting together the wish list details. I'll also be the daily supervisor once things get rolling too though. Hmmmm, I guess I'm a brain hemmorage candidate as well after all. I totally hear you on the "mission creep" when it comes to redoing one part of the house. The kitchen will be fabulous and that will mean other parts of the house will need to be improved. One of the reasons why we got to this point is because we have a painting company and keep getting razzed that our walls are allllllll dirty white and so we have to paint. As long as we're painting, we should just re-do the kitchen! Ha ha ha. sick. More pix please!!! And, YES, I would see your flour and baking storage too please!

Fabby, as I just posted on Bekki's "Thanksgiving" was a serious typo, I should have said Christmas. But even still I'll be shocked if I have a whole new kitchen done by then, we haven't even had our first meeting with the contractor. OYOYOY. We are in the initial stages of this and although we have planned our kitchen out 2 times over the last 5 years, I'm not certain it will end up being what we used to want. Time changes opinions, material availbility changes and as it turns out, what seemed to be a fairly unique selection previously no longer seems such as we know of at least 2 others that are using exactly what we had originally planned. I hate being like the crowd . And I'm thinking more on the detials now like spice storage. I'm going to start a thread if I can't find one already going. I want to see what others have done to get ideas for effective ways to control my storage. Your windows are making me JONES for a great wall of windows and a fabulous view!!! I love the wood and all the colors you have, its just beautiful.

Bekki, your mosaic is amazing! You have such patience I couldn't even imagine. Like you, I'm often one to need things to be exactly so and can't always trust others to do the same quality that I insist upon. I don't know that I wouldn't get sloppy towards the end of such a large project but I am dying to see the finished product installation!! Did I say Thanksgiving? Ha ha ha. I mean Christmas! But even then I think it would be an absolute miracle.

wow oh wow oh wow. I'm so excited for you (and Bekki M, I just finished her pages too) and am scared whitless now about my own reno! We're just starting talks but DH thinks it will be done by Thanksgiving. I have my doubts. I am so hopelessly clueless when it comes to envisioning layouts and what surfaces to choose for cabinets, floors, counters, etc. that I am committed to trusting my DH - he really has an amazing eye and knows my asthetic. Nice job! I look forward to seeing the counters next! Genny

I certainly wouldn't mind having it in my neighborhood. That being said, the quality of Kevin Binckley's cooking is more worthy of being a destination restaurant rather than a neighborhood one. ← I certainly agree the category is an odd one and the food really doesn't appear to be of the "neighborhood haunt" variety, but we'll take it!

It is a little confusing to me why he continues to receive product endorsements with such a lack of fan base. Being human, it was interesting to see the choices Rocco was making in The Restraunt but the constant embedded endorsements made it virtually unwatchable. It was an hour long commercial for beer, vehicles and other products with some idiot falling on his sword between product shots. But he's still schilling cars and it looks like he's making another stab at TV so who knows? Maybe the Sandra Lee crowd has latched on to him. I'm not a chef, but from all I've heard, being in the kichen is HARD work. Who can blame a guy for not wanting to work that hard? But there are other ways to keep your respect for your self and from others, especially when you have the hard skills and seemingly innate talent that he has. I have his award-winning cookbook and every recipe I have made is amazing. Additionally, he has organized it in a way that is brilliant for the home cook. Here's hoping that he can become known more than than an endorsement himbo and do what people know he can do well...create great food.

:the crowd stands and cheers, someone from the back whistles and roses rain down on the stage: Brava! Brava! Encore!! Well done, especially considering the hectic schedule you fit this into! Thanks so much for sharing yourself, your friends and the home you have found. Hugs, Genny

Congratulations to Binkley's for being named one of the Bon Appetit Magazine reader's favorite small neighborhood restaurants! A recipe for the chef's Black Bass with Baby Bok Choy and Ginger-Lemgrass Sauce is featured on page 64.

Thank you Jennifer. I'll be able to find the mercado just fine then, it sounds like the one in Guatelajara. I've just seen many (on tv) that are for much smaller communities and appear to be tucked away more.

Jennifer, thanks so much for sharing! We're getting ready for a trip down there and plan on stopping in Cabo so this is very timely! Is Rossy in the mercado as well? Could you PM me with general streets or address information for the mercado, La Fonda, Rossy and Don Emiliano? Also, what is Huitlacoche? It looks like black cheese .

I could just shake people who say Boar's Head is the best anything. Ugh.