zeffer81

my mom has a huge stack of gourmets from the 60s and 70s. I've convinced her not to get rid of them. i can't wait to cuddle up and see how it's changed and stayed the same. on another note, do you think they're worth any money? i mean, I'D probably pay for them...

does anyone have a good recipe for apple butter and/or mango chutney? those are two of my parents' favorites and I'm having trouble finding recipes. Thanks!

Wow, I'm covered! Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep you posted.

My boyfriend and I make settlement on our first house next week. We're excited to be taking this step in our lives but realize that we're going to have to make some adjustments in order to make our mortgage payment each month. First and foremost, we'll have to majorly tone down on our usually lavish holiday gifts (we celebrate Christmas and Hannukah.) We're leaning towards homemade gifts this year and I was hoping to include some yummy edible options. Any suggestions for holiday cheer from the house-poor lovebirds?

how to make a good casserole. my mother, you see, raised us on healthy food like broiled chicken, salad and brussels sprouts. sometimes a girl's gotta have a lasagna or, heaven forbid, a (vegetarian) shepard's pie. mom's a wonderful cook. she's just got more coq au vin than tuna casserole in her!

I did this at a party for my mom. Two varieties of gazpacho--green and red. It looked beautiful. Unfortunately, people couldn't figure out what to make of it and kept trying to eat it with a spoon! I gave up trying to explain myself and had another glass of sangria

Thanks for the tips, all. I'll keep you posted

I'm in the process of buying a wonderful house with many lovely features. To my despair, the stove has electric burners. I can't stand electric but will probably have to live with it for a couple years (or until I win the lottery!) Any tips for an electric virgin? Thanks!

Black Bean Burritos -2 cans of black beans (on hand, thanks to BJ's) -1 onion (on hand) -chopped mushrooms -tortillas Optional: Sour cream, corn, salsa, cheese, sauteed spinach I make this often, even when I'm not in a rush. It's healthy and absolutely delicious!

For the price of an Inquirer, you could see a photo of the sign with my column in Tuesday's paper. Not posted online. ← So I'm a little late to the game. Eh, the price of a week in New England and lobster rolls galore!

has anyone been by her place recently? on my way to the acme this morning i noticed two LARGE signs in her window stating something along the lines of "If you've got the cash, Carman speaks any language." Atta way to stick it to Joey Vento! I wish I had a camera. What a woman.

Finally made it to Raw tonight and was not disappointed. We walked in around 8pm and were promptly seated, even though the 3rd member of our party had not yet arrived. The food, simply put, was phenomenal. We began with the spider (soft-shell crab), capital (i forget, but it was crunchy on the outside and absolutely divine) and tuna and avocado rolls along with a few orders of a la carte toro, salmon and king crab. I admit, I'm usually a ginger and wasabi afficianado but I just couldn't bring myself to mar the clean, fresh taste of this fish with any of that. Both the maki and the sashimi were amazing--each in its own special way. The toro, specifically, absolutely melted in our mouths. The only disappointment there was when we tried to order more, they were all out! We held onto the menu and continued with the asparagus tempura roll and the butter poached lobster with corn flan. Now I'm a fan of lobster but this dish didn't even need it (and it was a touch chewy.) I could have drank the flan with a straw! In fact, I'm sure I'll dream of it tonight. The asparagus tempura rolls were fine but just didn't hold up next to the flan. As noted earlier in this post, service was friendly but a bit slow. We didn't mind because we were enjoying our time with friends but it could have been bothersome under different circumstances. However, I go out for the food and this was the best dining experience I have had in a long time. Thank you, Greg, for our lovely meal tonight. I'll know to ask for you next time!

i'd add the calamari and a rich and creamy fettucine alfredo that you can have for lunch the next day too. definitely be sure to venture to one of south philly's authentic byobs. l'angolo on 15th and porter(?) and mr. martino's on passyunk ave (inexpensive, limited hours of operation) are just two of many. radicchio on 4th and wood, near the hip olde city section of the city, is another one of my personal favorite byobs. i would second the recommendation to check out the "dangerous" baltimore avenue eateries, specifically dahlak, which has excellent ethiopian/eritrean food. vientiane is good too, but i wouldn't quite call it a destination spot. tria is a fun wine and beer bar (and there are a few more in town, but i can't vouch for them.) you might want to check that out for lunch. they have nice cheeses, sandwiches and bruschetta. besides, it's right off rittenhouse square, which is right in the center of town. you have to visit dinic's in the reading terminal market for a roast pork sandwich. if he's not too busy, chat with tommy dinic for a few minutes--a great guy. salumeria hoagies at the terminal are great too. enjoy your visit and happy eating.

I had never been to Tre Scalini, but it's long been on my (long) list of restaurants to visit. Having recently moved to the neighborhood, my boyfriend and I decided to go there for our annual nice, walking distance holiday dinner. Overall it was fine, however I just wasn't impressed. Hopefully we just went on a bad night, however... When we walked in the door, we hovered awkwardly over other diners as we waited too long to be greeted. We were not even given a nod or "I'll be right with you." I tried to ignore it as we were eventually ushered upstairs to what seemed to me to be the equivalent of the children's table at a fancy dinner, away from everyone else. Although it was nice to have the quiet of being upstairs, the service definitely suffered. We had to ask for water refills and parmesan cheese. In fact, they had to take the parmesan off the adjacent diners' table for me. A bit tacky, I thought. Usually I can take so-so service if the food makes up for it, but tre scalini left me dry. They started us of with complimentary bruschetta in which the onion flavor was way too pronounced and the tomatoes were mushy. The bread basket held cold, hard, burnt bread. Their soup special was a vegetarian split pea, which was definitely the highlight of my night. It was thick and creamy, although the amount of soup given was obscene. I def could have stuck with that and an app. Luckily, our entrees took so long to come that I was a little less full. I didn't mind, although the table next to us was starting to get antsy. When our entree came (veal scallopini for him and capellini w/ jumbo lump crab meat for me,) we were entirely underwhelmed. Mine was drowned in tomato sauce such that I could barely eat it. I don't eat veal but my boyfriend said his was fine, ok, just not great. We finished with my weakness, tiramisu, which was again, just fine. I'm a little disappointed. Can someone please tell me that we were just there on an off night? I obviously know to request a downstairs table next time I'm there, but what about the food? Help!

Salumeria makes one of my fav hoagies. But it's closed on Sundays, just like the rest of the Reading Terminal Market. ← damn!

salumeria hoagie trays. excellent italian and even better veggie (although i am a vegetarian ) my mom got a couple trays for my bro's graduation party and they were a big hit. people even liked the marinated lima bean one, as long as they didn't know what it was.

i can't believe nobody has mentioned lidia's italian kitchen! what a fabulous older woman who brings her entire family (including her son, sommelier Joseph Bastianich, Mario Batali's partner) into the kitchen. she's just so darn cute.

yummm....i think i'll go with that, the mini turkey sandwiches, individual servings of pumpkin mousse, cranberry daquiris (from an old gourmet mag)...any thoughts on making a cocktail-sized twist on coleslaw? thanks for the suggestions so far...the wheels are turning!

You don't want your fish to taste like fish? What do you want your fish to taste like? Red meat? ←

thanks for the suggestions, y'all. ended up with a 10:30 res at Bliss. Never been high on my list (or on it at all...) but it was absolutely fabulous. I started with the tuna carpaccio--miso glaze, wasabi and some caviar, although i scraped that off--can't make myself like the stuff. The carpaccio was so buttery, it melted in my mouth. My boyfriend and I both had the specials--his was some sort of steak (don't know the cut, I steer clear of red meat) with sauteed spinach, all drenched in a red wine reduction. Buttery whipped mashed on the side. He said it was fabulous, but couldn't hold a candle to Marigold's. I had the roasted halibut over lump crabmeat risotto with a lobster tomato broth. It's hard to make a fish that doesn't taste fishy, but this was the absolute best fish I have ever eaten. It was so meaty and tasty. i looked at the dessert menu, but decided to leave with memories of the fish. in summation, food was fabulous, service was great. it was nice not to feel rushed, as late as it was. and, the lateness merited the two of us a booth! not the best restaurant i've ever been to ( i prefer byobs) but definitely at the top of my list. what a shocker, but thank you bliss!

To make a very long story short, my dad was in the intensive care unit for over a month. it was a cliffhanger for a while, but he made it out ok and it doing great now. we're having an "early thanksgiving" themed party to celebrate his combo 60th birthday/welcome home from the hospital/thank you to all our friends. we want to have a thanksgiving menu with a twist. we were thinking make your own carved turkey sandwiches, but i'm open to suggestions beyond that...cranberry relish instead of sauce? potato pancakes instead of mashed? help a girl out! thanks a lot...

i would check out radicchio at 4th and wood for dinner. it's a byo, so you can grab a bottle of wine during your gallery tour at the liquor store in old city (2nd or 3rd st--forget which one) that should definitely cut costs. good, straightforward italian food. they don't take reservations, however, so you might want to swing by for an early dinner before first friday. my choice for drinks would be nexus gallery--grab some cheap wine or beer there and bring it with you as you peruse the other galleries. 222 market (another gallery) has mixed drinks sometimes and the gallery itself is pretty funky. continental is good for reasonably priced food too--it's the drinks that start adding up. if you go there, definitely get the lobster mashed--probably my favorite food. yum! good luck and have fun! hope you don't get rained on.

I'll be getting out of the theatre around 10:00-10:15 tomorrow night. where can we have a nice meal without being surround by bar goers? we prefer byobs, but i know 10:30 is rather late for them. any suggestions? avenue of the arts/south street area thanks!

Where y'all going? I always find it so hard to decide, although I tend towards the places that let you choose one app, one entree and one dessert. Also, I try to steer clear of BYOs, cause they're all I can usually afford. Where and why?

there are also Indian markets up west of Penn's campus in West Philly. I seem to recall one at 41st & Walnut and another at 44th & Chestnut. I believe you're thinking of the one called something like International Food and Spices, which is right next to the 7-11 on Walnut Street. They have a great variety of spices and frozen Indian dishes. They also have fresh Indian food made right upstairs. The samosas are cheap and delicious!