Katie Nell

Can I come over for pastries sometime?!? I love Wheatfield's... definitely my top pick for lunch in Lawrence! I still have not been able to go to Bluestem, but I will soon! We ate at Pachamama's on Saturday for my parent's birthday, my treat, and it was wonderful! Bluestem sounds similar in some of the dishes you were telling us about, so I'm sure I'll love it!

Thank you... very interesting! Does anyone have any preferences? This page gives some information on the various types of extracts. I think most commercial extracts are made from the species Vanilla planifolia (aka Bourbon vanilla), since the other common vanilla species, Vanilla tahitensis (aka Tahitian vanilla), has very little vanillan, which is the major flavor compound in vanilla. I'm sure differences in climate, curing and so on make even genetically identical vanilla plants taste subtely different (i.e. by encouraging or discouraging the formation of different flavor compounds), but I'm not in a position to say what those differences are or how apparent they are to the taste. ←

I am really disappointed with all of the choices on tv she is making. I haven't seen any of the shows, but The Apprentice... puh-lease (yuck!) I was hoping she would just go back to doing her regular shows! I just subscribed to her magazine again, and for the most part, it seems like "normal." Hopefully, the shows will fail and she will go back to the norm!

Still wondering about the extract... (see my previous post) What are the differences between the different kinds and is one superior?

While I hate to be an advocate of it, The Home Depot (or Lowe's... it's pretty much the same thing!) has some pretty cool, funky cheap stuff sometimes! I also love West Elm for reasonably priced decor: http://ww1.westelm.com/index.cfm?src=hme

I think their prices have gone down even more! Just started reading this thread and now I want some! What about the vanilla extract? Are any of the different kinds superior to the next? Recommendations?

Do you use baking soda for the rise? ← yes, we do

Are they looking for donations in exchange for a subscription? You have to enter an amount in PayPal, but the website says it's free, so I'm assuming that that's the case?

Same here.

Our family uses a recipe that has sour cream in it! It makes a very moist chocolate cake, and I'm sure that's just what the mayo does... you definitely can't tell that our cake has sour cream in it by the flavor.

I had planned on making these ones, just because they sounded good to me!

For years now, (I'm 25) my mom and dad (and my brother and I) have had to eat mediocre food at my Grandma's house on Thanksgiving. I like some of her food, but Thanksgiving is particularly awful... dry turkey, doughy stuffing, bland mashed and extra lumpy (not the good lumps!) potatoes, etc. Luckily, my mom has always made the pies! A few years ago my Grandma had had some health problems so we offered to do Thanksgiving at our house and actually, at the time, she was thrilled! We didn't do anything really "weird," but we just kind of flavored it up a bit: we made turkey with an onion and garlic jam, stuffing with dried cranberries, homemade cranberry dressing, roasted brussel sprouts, cream cheese and garlic mashed potatoes, etc. My grandparents and my aunt and uncle barely ate, but afterwards, my immediate family agreed it was the best Thanksgiving meal we'd ever had, if we did say so ourselves! The next year, my Grandma announced that she would be having Thanksgiving again because she just wanted to have "regular" food! How horrible is that?!? So, now we have our own Thanksgiving meal on a different day and just look forward to that! Who says you can't have more than one Thanksgiving meal?!?

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As I posted in the cookie dough discussion, I do a Cookie of the Month Club for my boyfriend's grandma and my little brother. I started in December and have run out of ideas! I had it all planned out from the beginning, but then discovered that grandma had dentures and truly only liked my chewy cookies! So, I need your help! Here's what I have made so far: Jam Thumbprints, Black and White Cookies, Brownie Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter Cookies, No-Bake Cookies, Kitchen Sink Cookies, and I can't remember what the other one was! I'm planning on making carrot cookies, but will save those for more into the fall. I think I'm just tired of cookies, so I need your help to re-interest me! They need to be: 1. Chewy 2. Not too unique 3. Somewhat easy to mail Thank you SO much in advance! Katie

Okay, question about the Korova cookies... I have been wanting to make these since I first saw this thread, but it is time for the Cookie of the Month Club! Every month I send cookies to my boyfriend's Grandma and my little brother, so I was thinking about the Korova cookies. One problem... Grandma has dentures and only raves about my chewy cookies... in the recipe, it says they are crumbly, but that last picture makes them look chewy. Any thoughts?

I'd love this recipe if you have time to type it out. ← Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip tortilla chips 2 pckgs. (8 oz. ea.) low fat cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup low fat mayo 3 T. combination of southwest spices, i.e., cumin, chile powder, etc. to taste 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 cup diced red pepper 1 can (3.25 oz.) pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped fine 3/4 cup salsa 1 garlic clover (I use 2!) minced 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained Beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, and spices until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture in the bottom and up sides of a 9x9x2 dish or equivalent. Combine sliced green onions, diced red pepper, olives, salsa, garlic, beans, and corn and spread over cream cheese mixture. Serve with tortilla chips. The original recipe calls for piping half of the cream cheese mixture on the top of the salsa mixture and garnishing with part of the green onions, but I never bother! It never lasts long enough to look pretty anyway! It makes A LOT! Hope you like it... I plan on making it next Friday for a dip contest at work!

I wasn't sure exactly what you met by "Italian Beef," but I like this recipe for Stracoto with rosemary... http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_28425,00.html

I really like this appetizer, Fried Artichoke hearts on prosciotto chips with carmelized onions: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_27917,00.html Can't stand the show, but the recipe is good! I have a recipe for Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip with a cream cheese layer that's really good... if you'd like the recipe, let me know! It's super easy and even my Midwestern grandma will eat it! I also have a Fruit Salsa recipe with cinnamon chips that's more of a sweet appetizer, but yummy! Skewers of meats, cheeses, and veggies is always a good option and excellent at room temp. I've seen people do cherry tomatoes, bocachini, (sp?) and basil leaves, a take on that salad I can't remember the name of right now!!! (Too long of a day at a boring job!) edited to add: I just remembered this recipe for White Bean Dip with cumin that everyone loved: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/2042

Something what I do for myself a lot is make Stromboli. I usually use a store bought dough of some sort and fill it with whatever I have on hand... sometimes it's roasted red peppers, salami, and mozzarella, and then sometimes it's just whatever leftovers we had... roasted chicken, corn, cheddar, etc. Then, I bake them off and wrap them up. They're good warmed up or at room temperature.

I thought I was the only one... eating off a wooden stick makes me gag! I've perfected the skill of eating a popsickle entirely without ever touching the stick with my tongue, lips, or any part of my mouth! I don't know why people call me compulsive....

Is Kielbasa ghetto?!? I'd eat in anytime, not just when I was feeling like "slummin" it! My good friend and I, in college, used to have ghetto night, where I called her Shanikwa and she called me Shenaynay, and we drank Boones farm wine!

Waldrug---Is that some sort of "green"-less pharmacy with a counter? You did such a good job with the others...please expostulate. ← http://www.walldrug.com/ I don't even know if I can describe it... it's kind of like a Chuck E Cheese meets the old west! People dressed up in bad pioneer costumes, bad American Indian "artifacts," bad old-fashioned soda fountains with bad old-fashioned milkshakes... I could go on and on! Believe it or not, people go out of their way to go there... we were just passing by!

Oh boy... have I got some good ones! I don't know if I can do them justice in writing, but I'll attempt! The first being in our hometown of Kansas City... we had just moved here (in December) and we've visited it a lot and know good restaurants, but wanted to try a place recommended to us by my boyfriend's co-workers. Everyone in the office recommended a chain called Cinzetti's (didn't know it was a chain at the time) with "great" Italian! We were excited to try because we love Italian! Well, when we walked in, the hostess or maybe I should say tour guide asked us if we've been there before, and had I known, I would have screamed "YES!" to avoid what was coming. She proceeded to show us around the three Italian buffets, yes, I said Italian buffet, and speak to us like a tram conductor on a Disney World ride, but she didn't need the microphone! "And over here on your right is my personal favorite, the blah, blah, blah.... and then next, on your left is our bruschetta bar..." My boyfriend and I looked at eachother and wanted to run away as fast as we could, but we thought surely the food must be good if everyone else likes it... verdict: the most bland and oversalted food I've ever had in my life and horribly expensive to boot! I found myself wondering how the family with 5 kids to the right of us could afford to eat there! YUCK! Rule of thumb... don't trust the co-workers anymore! Another sad time... Branson, MO... yes, we should have known better! We went to a local winery there, can't remember the name, and took the free tour with wine tasting. I am telling you it was the most cheesy experience of my life and the wine was awful! This was another tour guide and I really can't do him justice in writing, but he must have given us the thumbs up and said "woo-hoo!" thirty times in a matter of 15 minutes! And he had his speech down to the tee... my brother and I were red-faced from trying not to laugh! And the worst part was that no one else but us seemed to think it was odd! I almost had to excuse myself from the tour! One more... Waldrug in South Dakota... enough said, if you've been there!

All of these hotdogs, and nobody's mentioned pigs in a blanket?!?

I would agree that it does look hazy over time, especially with dark colors. You can usually combat this by polishing, but in my experience, it doesn't take long for it to look dull, so break out those biceps!