goldie

How about a regional themed basket with consumable goods (ie. a New Orleans theme with coffee, beignets, etc or a carribean rum theme)? If you poke through back issues of Saveur they do regional articles frequently and you could find unusual items through their sources. Then compile a small group of recipes to include. I really appreciate food related items that can be consumed because I don't have to store them forever and I can share them with others. Happy hunting!

When my reflux acts up I eat a lot of soup- chicken and rice, beef and mushroom, bean. Those work well for me. Roasted meats work well, but might not fit your time constraints. Light meat (turkey, chicken, ham) in sandwiches are ok, just watch the condiments. Another thing I do when I have had reflux for a day or two is to start eating yogurt everyday. I eat plain Greek yogurt for breakfast for a few days and feel much better. Three of my big trigger foods are chocolate, nuts, and cheese- so you might want to avoid those, too for a few days. Cutting down on saturated fat helps me, too. Good luck. I know it is the pits but you won't believe how rotten you have been felling until you feel better.

I second no 9 Park- just ate there a few weeks ago and it was simply divine. That is definitely in the special category, though. I also think Rialto can have strokes of brilliance, but sometimes the servers are a bit pompus. We have done L'Espalier for anniversaries a few times and it is lovely and will remind you that you are an adult. Ditto for Anjour 'd Hui. Of, course none of those are particularily new, just really wonderful. For taking the kiddie along, Boston has some good choices. We take the boys (11, 8, and 4) into the North End frequently. We like to go early for dinner in order to avoid people who scored a sitter that night Early in Boston means 5:30 - 6:30. Another good place to bring along kids is Chinatown, although it is not nearly as good as San Francisco. We really like Chau Chow on Essex. I know it is a chain, but if you are over near the Aquarium, Legal Seafoods is good. If you have a car, Jasper White's Summer Shack is better. I highly recommend using the opentable.com site for reservations. We have had really good luck with it. The have the full write ups and almost all of the restaurants I'm anxious to try are on it. Have a great visit!

Ok, Chris, that looks incredible. I almost (almost, mind you, but not quite) hate to ask, but can you buy this in the Asian grocery? I have one in Quincey that is related to Super 88. Which section? I think my kids would totally groove on this. I've been using sausage with sticky rice, which they love, but to their minds- bacon rules. Goldie

Double check to make sure to see if it is a "no sodium added diet." Many unprocessed foods have naturally occuring sodium (fish comes to mind). If it is indeed a no sodium diet, then I would check with the American Heart Association cookbook or website and the FDA stuff to see what you can serve. This is not to make you anxious- a pertinent question would be, "How many mg. of sodium are you allowed in a given day?" He may have been given information like not to eat foods that exceed x number of mg of sodium per day. Having said all that, I would shoot for minimally processed foods with low amounts of naturally occuring sodium prepared in beautiful and creative ways. Certainly you have the advantage of the season in choosing vegetables. Use fresh herbs, do neat tricks with lemon juice and wine, and as usual go for high quality. Watch, he'll want to be your guest all the time! As per the pork, what other ingredients are in the recipe? Best wishes! Goldie

I had sliced apple with cheddar for lunch today- heavenly. How about pairing apple with cheese- perhaps even a slightly tangy cheesecake (chevre?) with apple sorbet? Our neighborhood ice cream place makes apple crisp ice cream which is to die for.

I'm in a book group that is really a wine group. We broke the alphabet in half and alternate who brings appetizers and who brings the wine. Sometimes among the wine group we break it into regions (then we actually have it coincide with what we are readin ie. Allende and Chilean wine). Other times we break it into groups. One thing I wish we had started eariler is an online log of what we had tasted and why it was good and what foods were really good with it. Now it is sort of hit or miss. One thing you might want to think about is your objective: do you want to get together just for each other's company and to enjoy wine or are you trying to learn about and experience many different kinds of wine? On some levels I'm assuming it will be both, but you might want to decide the focus better because it will affect the way you organize it. On the education front, we have visitors from local wine shops, a person who distributes wine from Chile, and a cheesemaker. It is really interesting and a lot of fun. Good luck to you!

I know I'm on the wrong coast for you, but we get our seltzer from our milk man (yup- glass botttles for both, fresh butter and eggs, the whole nine yards). If you have milkmen who deliver in your area, you might see if they have any leads for you. Here's hoping you find it (as I raise my nice cold glass full of seltzer)!

As you are trying the different olives (because I agree this is the best way to go), you might want to think about what it is that you like about the canned olives. For example, if it is the texture then a an olive such as the nicoise or the piccoline might do the trick. If you enjoy the tinnish taste (let's call it minerality because that is oh so nice ) then try an oiled cured (they look like the raisins on steroids). But to be honest, I think if you like something then there is no problem and you should eat what you enjoy. Yes, it is good to try new things that might expand your taste buds, but at the end of the day (after experiencing new things) go with what gives you pleasure.

In addition to the other possible problems mentioned, did you add the stems? I only use the leaves of the basil because I think the stems are bitter, especially on older plants. Also, if the basil isn't recently picked or has been refrigerated it can taste bitter. I try to use all ingredients at room temperature (I, too, follow the Hazan ratios). As for the salt, it sort of depends on your cheese asa the saltiness in cheese can vary.

When we got married at 23 we registered for everything- we just didn't own much of anything and none of it was very good quality. Basically we did the traditional thing- went to the nicest department store in town and picked out nice stuff. I got 16 sets of everyday, 16 sets of formal, a ton of crystal and a fair amount of silver. My mom has purchased serving pieces and filled in my silver as gifts over the years. I really love setting my table- it reminds me of our wedding day. If I had to give future registerees some advice I would suggest picking classsic patterns that you can build on over the years (also they are less likely to be discontinued). Over the years I have picked up interesting antiques to incorporate into myh settings. Also, I chose not to pick very expensive stuff so that none of it would be too dear to use regularly- stuff breaks, especially crystal! Also, if things are reasonably priced people are more likely to purchase more for you. My sister picked extremely expensive things and received very little. A trend that I think is kind of interesting is women "registering" without being engaged. One of my sister's friends wanted to get some nice stuff, had no man in sight, and opted to register so that her (very large) family would stop getting her sweaters and stuff she wasn't remotely interested in and she could start building up her nice things. Interesting topic!

In this month's (July, actually) Food & WIne there is a recipe for "Fennel Cake with Anise Syrup" on page 116. Essentially it is a ground nut (almond and pistachio) cake with fresh fennel cooked to a carmel brown, fennel seeds, and cooked in a springform pan (no flour, btw). The recipe describes it as being "puddinglike." Perhaps you could take this recipe and work in dill seeds and perhaps even the leaves in the glaze. I'm thinking you could do zucchini, pine nuts and pistachios, lemon zest, and the dill seed in the cake part. Then for the glaze perhaps lemon and dill seed and weed. It might turn out kind of pretty- tan with light green and yellow flecks. I think I might fool around with this a bit. Too bad I'm the only one in the house who likes dill!

Timh- So sorry for all you are going through. I hope the transition is relatively easy for you. Can you share the name of the restaurant you are going to? I'd love to check it out. Take care of your self.

I have a book called "A Food Lover's Guide to Boston" which has what you are looking for. Unfortunately, my cellar flooded and we boxed up all the books and I can't get to it right now. However, I checked on Amazon and they do have it. Also, you might want to shoot an email over to the Globe to see if they have any thoughts. They run those short bits on Wednesday's food section showcasing new products. I'd also call the extension service. Does Herrell's still make their ice cream on site? That might be a nice trip- you could compare it to Brighams. Also, what about one of the bakeries? Marino Lookout Farms in Wellesley is an interesting place for kids. We get our milk from Hornestra Farms in Hingham, but their cows moved up to VT a few years ago. You might want to see if Crescent Ridge Dairy has some cows locally. What a cool class. If my boys were a little older they'd be all over it.

Save back a few and toss them into a glas of champagne-yum. We have a bush in the backyard and munch the warm berries while drinking the cold champagne. Also, make some shortcakes or biscuits and top with marscapone and blackberries sprinkled with a little sugar. I also like to toss them into a regular chess pie.

I find that I do much better with Terrior brand (they sell it at Whole Foods). They have descriptions of the beans on the bag and I focus on the mild or mellow types. I also like Barrie House brand (they sell it in the bins at my local market). Decaf is much gentler on my stomach (although it lacks the flavor of regular). In terms of technique to improve the acid response, I find that my stomach likes coffee made using espresso (just make a shot of strong espresso and cut it with almost boiling water) or French press made coffee much more than percolated or drip coffee. I have no idea why that would make a difference but it does. I would speculate that there is less caffeine in those processes but I'm not sure. Good luck and happy testing.

My quick and dirty is Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing, chicken, minced red onion, toasted pecans, and diced peaches or nectarines. Another fast one is chicken, green apple, mayo, a pinch of sugar, and enough curry to make it yellowy. I also have made a ton of Martha Stewart's tarragon chicken salad. To my mind, chicken salad is something that should be easy to make on a hot summer day. I'm enjoying reading everyone's rifs on it.

My mother always said to eat it with your hands if it makes more sense that way (unless you are at a very important dinner and the host is using a fork for the item in question). Truffles are not generally messy and I'd think they'd be much harder to eat neatly with a fork than out of hand. IMHO, you were correct. I hope they were really good.

I made a pork roast a few weeks ago. I used the method for chicken marbella in the Silver Palate (it basically has vinegar, white wine, olive oil, garlic, prunes, and green olives- you can google it). I just cooked it low and long in my oval roaster. It was divine and the sauce is heavenly.

When I think of any regional cuisine the first thing I am interested is what foods are grown or produced in that area. In my garden I have good success growing the trinity of squash, beans and corn (I know there is a Native American term for that but I can't think of it). Also, greens do beautifully and tomatoes. Also, the apple orchards are a staple. I think pork products play a big role in New England cuisine. And don't forget the beautiful dairy products out of Vermont (and of course other states in New England). The ocean is right here as well as fish yielding lakes and rivers. Maple syrup, blueberries, and those terrific potatoes from Maine all are influencial. In many ways I think New England cuisine is what many people consider (in a good way) American cuisine. Clean, clear flavors. Not over sauced and best when not too complicated. Fresh, seasonal ingredients. How could anyone say that a perfect steamed lobster with fresh drawn dairy butter, corn on the cob, tomato slices, and homemade ice cream is boring? Baked beans and brown bread? New England has had so many ethnic groups settle here over the centuries that sticking to any one style is unfair. Rather, I think it is the combination of the different styles and techniques that makes our food sing.

I buy jarred sauces for when the kids have babysitters or I am in a time pinch and don't have the time or energy to make my own (or don't have any in the freezer). My favorite is Rao's. They are fresh tasting and consistant. I think the marinara tastes the most like my own homemade. I've only had one type of the Rustichella, but it was palatable. Scarpetta is not bad but I would purchase Rao's first. Muir Glen is good but I think it needs a lot of parmesan or maybe some salt. Barilla is fine for doing a quickie lasagna but I wouldn't serve it on a plat of spaghetti because it is too sweet and too thick. The benchmark when I was a kid was Prego- now I think it is gross. My mother never served us Ragu or Hunt's because she thought they were awful (which says a lot because we ate Hamburger Helper on a regular basis ). I look forward to seeing the results of you taste tests.

Root beer really worked for me- with a lot of ice. I ate a ton of plain whole wheat toast. I also found that plain yogurt seemed to go down and stay down. When I felt like I could cook stuff, I made chicken and rice soup. I, too, ate many potatoes and sweet potatoes. Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!

The caterer I use has mini Beef Wellingtons. They are terrific and pretty simple- about an ounce of beef with duxelle in puff pastry served with a bernaise mayonaise (which is a bit much in my opinion). People love them at my parties. I also do variations on the two crostini mentioned. On rye rounds I do sliced tenderloin, horseradish and a sliver of red onion. I've also made arugala, sliced roast beef, and boursin on toast (a bit messy, though). One night I made grilled skewers with chimchurri served as a dipping sauce but I think it was too filling. Sunday we had steak and eggs for breakfast- what about deconstructing that into poached quail eggs served on beef carpacio with brioche points or something along that line? I know my husband would order that in a heart beat.

I have Boni and Hazan. My eleven year old has cooked out of both (with a fair amount of help) and had far fewer questions with Hazan. I just looked at both of them and I think Hazan's directions are better, too. However, the pictures in my Boni are really beautiful and her write ups of the regions are very informative. I'd check out both from the library.

The food you have done in the past sounds amazing. I love my Rick Bayless cookbook and use it often. How about doing a unified theme? For example, you could do street food (aqua frescas, the grilled meats, etc.- I'm pretty sure that the Bayless cookbook has several recipes). Or perhaps you could pick a region and focus on food from there. Best wishes!