Katie Nell

This is the problem I am running into... I want to make something where people will say "wow! I can't believe you actually made these!" But, my extended family and most of my friends sometimes think the things that I think are perfectly "normal" and exciting, are weird!

Good wine helps!

What are these cookbooks, in your opinion? I bought one at the book fair at my work because it was for a good cause, and well... it is a cause in itself!

The apple pie at Yia Yia's in Overland Park... it's no longer on the menu and everytime I go in, I ask them to bring it back! It was a sad day in my life when they took it off the menu! Wrapped in a phyllo crust with a cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce... apples just the right texture too!

We just went to Oklahoma Joe's for the first time, and I really enjoyed the pulled pork with the spicy slaw. I thought their fries were excellent, the sausage was great, and the ribs were okay. The beans were okay too. We've always liked Jack Stack's the best, but I'm a sucker for garlicky, cheesy corn dishes, so I'm biased! I thought the quality of meat at Arthur Bryant's was terrible and none of the sauces were good, and they have 3!!! I can't recommend Gate's to anyone anymore... It's just awful now, in my opinion! Everyone I've ever talked to loves L.C.'s, but we haven't gotten to try it yet. Actually, we were going to try it the other day, but couldn't find the location that Pitch Weekly published, in Lenexa, so we ended up at Oklahoma Joe's!

Could you remove the label and frame it? I think that could be a kind of cool, kitschy piece of art, if the label is retro like you say! Plus, it's a fun memory! Not the point of the thread, but just a thought! I think the oldest thing in my pantry is a box of taco shells that I'm sure are beyond cardboard!

Went to Michael's and finally found plain old cellophane bags without smiling turkeys or pumpkins on them! (I can't believe they are so difficult to find!) I also picked up some really fun cylindrical wine boxes with handles for $1.99 that I thought I would use for cookies this Christmas! They come in really graphic patterns and colors... very fun! Thanks for all the ideas again! Edited to add: Is there a thread for candy making? If not, I might need to start one! My caramels failed miserably!

We did this last year and it was a lot of fun, but I got carried away as usual, so it ended up being pretty expensive! Part of the gift basket for my parents... the beer sampler (American variety) from World Market, and my dad proclaimed it the best gift he's ever received! I paired it with bleu cheese for him, gouda for my mom, crackers, salami, chocolates, etc. It really was a lot of fun! I think I'm going to get my boyfriend's dad the PB&J gift box from Zingerman's because he LOVES peanut butter... http://zingermans.com/Product.pasp?Categor...oductID=G%2DPBJ And I think I'm going to get my grandma the Gingerbread Cookie Bus from the Dancing Deer Baking Co. (thanks to another egulleter) because her name is Ginger and she loves it all! http://www.dancingdeer.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CO-GBOYBUSSES One year we got a variety of chocolate covered cherries and nuts from someone and it was awesome! I wish someone would buy me a salami variety pack!

You're not the only one! It's a never ending cycle!

Fun! I love these! What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Really pretty gourmet at the time, especially in comparison to other people we knew. But, when I read about what people on egullet eat, especially the kids, it doesn't seem so gourmet! It was good whatever it was! When I was born, my mom was a total health nut and hippie, especially for the times (1980)... she did yoga everyday, made all of my baby food, had me in cloth diapers, wouldn't let me eat sugared cereals, etc., etc. (I had a baby tee that said "Breast Fed and Proud!") I used to go to my dad's work after school and he had Frosted Flakes and those little glass bottles of coke for me there... mom never knew! Was meal time important? Very important... it was never really stressed to us or forced upon us, but we ALWAYS ate dinner together. I never realized how uncommon that was until I got a bit older. Was cooking important? Yes, but I didn't always take advantage. I was mostly the sous chef and I did some baking. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? No penalties... not that formal. Who cooked in the family? Mom and Dad equally. Didn't realize this was uncommon either, until I met my best friend! Were restaurant meals common, or for special occasions? I'd say pretty common... the older we got, the more so. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? Depends on whose house we're eating at... at my great aunt's, yes, but it ends up being more of the "fun people" table! My dad always ate at whatever table my brother and I ate at, so I guess he's considered a "kid" too! (He always said, and still does say, that he liked us better!) Was there a pre-meal prayer? Sometimes, depended on the stage of life we were in. My grandpa always prays when we have get-togethers. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? Nope... didn't have too many repeats. In fact, this is what my boyfriend complains about sometimes... that I never make the same thing twice! It's not intentional, it just happens! How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? A lot... we eat out too much, we always eat together, and I'm always calling my parents for this recipe or that recipe!

Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper... thought to myself, "everyone else likes it, so I'm going to give it a try! this might be a good, cheap meal for a poor college student like me!" Conclusion: I'm not that poor or that desperate!

I can honestly say that the Savoy was the most awful eating experience of my life. I don't know what went wrong, but the food was horrible, the service was horrible, and I will never go back! Very strange, considering everyone else seems to like it, but honestly, my food was inedible. There were 6 of us, and we all thought it was terrible! Is that unusual?

Well, we went, we saw, we ate... it was... good. Just to give you an idea, I rate restaurants in my head this way: poor, okay, good, very good, and excellent, so I guess it was right there in the middle. I had North Atlantic Salmon stuffed with dungeness crab, bay shrimp, and brie and it came with mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. It was good, but I'm not so sure there was even any crab or shrimp in it, maybe one piece. I've had much, much better. The asparagus was awful... mushy and flavorless. The mashed potatoes were mashed potatoes. My boyfriend had the shrimp and scallops Newburg and it came with steamed broccoli and I think it was supposed to be a rice pilaf. It was okay, mine was better. The broccoli was along the same lines as my asparagus, and the rice was bland. Oh, we also got the crab cakes for an app... The Bristol blows them out of the water on this one, so does Yahooz for that matter! Then dessert... he got the complimentary apple pie for his birthday and I had tiramisu... they were both good, and for once, a dessert kicked my butt! It was huge! The service was not very attentive, but I think she was genuinely friendly, so not great, but not awful. They were busy and it definitely was not an intimate experience, so that part could have been a lot better. You were right... it's not a lot of bang for your buck as far as quality goes. We probably won't be back, but it was fun to try a new place and it definitely wasn't the worst eating experience of my life! The wine was good, the company was good, and we had fun! As far as your recs go, we love Pachamama's... it's our favorite, and Piropo's for that matter! His parents are taking us to Piropo's tomorrow night, and then my parents are taking us to Potpie next weekend... so, not a bad week for eating! I was not impressed with 40 Sardines when we went last year, but I think it might of been circumstance and it's not going to stop me from trying again! We just moved to KC last December and are just now being able to not care so much about what we're spending on food, so we will be trying some of your recs soon, I'm sure! I can't wait to try bluestem! Thank you everyone for your input... I'm so glad to see there are some other Midwest people out there besides Chicago! We need to discuss more on this board, I think! Anyway, thanks again!

I got my 5.5 oval oven yesterday!! It is beautiful! It is just the right size... all my fears went out the window! I don't know what I was thinking, but I was expecting this monstrous thing, but it is just right! I'm so glad I didn't get the 2.75 round. And.... it's a beautiful color! I was expecting a truly awful color, but it's actually the granite color and I think it's gorgeous! Thank you for all the encouragement! So happy and will be braising away this weekend!

Now you're making me dread it!!! Other recs for seafood in KC then?

There's a recipe in the latest Bon Appetit that uses honey, almonds, and ginger. They used ground ginger, but I think it would be even better with crystallized. They also used Fuji apples, and they look gorgeous in the picture.

That's too bad... we've never been there, so I hope it's not just okay! If it is, the one redeeming thing is I'm making dinner tomorrow night for him and I know that will be good with some trusty old recipes! Maybe someone has some other ideas for seafood in KC? I know that sounds like an oxymoron to some of the coast people, but surely there's some decent seafood around? We've tried the Bristol...

Bierocks!

We are going to McCormick and Schmick's for my boyfriend's birthday tonight and just wondered if there were any must order items. I know it's late notice, but feel free to chime in for future reference too!

Thanks for all the ideas! Sometimes you just need someone to look at it from a different angle! I didn't even think of Hobby Lobby or Michaels for some reason... I'm definitely inspired!

Sounds like a great price to me! Mind sharing where you got it? ← Not at all! I actually heard it about from someone else online. They had gotten a flyer in the mail that all of the Le Creuset outlets were having a big sale. Since there's not one near me, she gave me locations and phone numbers that were the closest to me. Aurora, Il 630-851-3100 Michigan City, In 219-873-0090 Osage Beach, Missouri 573-302-4600 I called the Osage Beach one on Saturday and ordered... I think they only have both sizes in Dijon, but I didn't care. I wanted one that I could use as an all-around oven, and I was concerned that the 2.75 was too small and the 5.5 was too large (for me.) I guess that was what I was most worried about. That, and whether the oval would conduct heat as well on my electric stove. I guess we'll see! That's all the info I know, so I really kind of ordered blindly!

I was wondering what you guys package your candy and cookie give-aways in? I would like something a little fancier than just waxed paper or parchment, but haven't been able to find anything worth using. I'm not a professional, so I don't want to order 500 cellophane bags or anything like that. I'd also like it to be something pretty readily available... like something I could stop by on the way home from work and grab. Does anyone have any inventive ideas or anything I haven't thought of? Thanks!

Yup... did that too, as the booklet suggested I won't be making any machine-mashed potatoes again until I return from holidays. I did however try the mixer for pastry crust yesterday and it worked fine, but I find the processor faster and more efficient. ← I think it's probably just what a person is used to or what they adapt to. For instance, my future mother-in-law loves to cook but as never owned a food processor or a whisk. I gave her a whisk and there it sits in her junk drawer! I could not live without a whisk or a processor, but she's done just fine without them. I hope that you don't regret your decision to buy the mixer though!

Also, use the whisk attachment instead of the paddle if you didn't already.

Okay, so I need some reassurance that I did the right thing! I bought the 5.5 oval Le Creuset over the phone from one of their outlets this weekend for $69.99. It was between that or the 2.75 round oven for $49.99. Did I make the right decision?