emilyr

Am I the only one who makes egg salad different every time? Usually just mayo and some yellow mustard, but I do a curry version, one with tarragon, one with capers and red onions. This reminds me of the potato salad thread. I never make that the same every time either. I just throw in what ever I have on hand. Although, I do have to say, I do like my eggs just a bit warm. I cook them and toss them in ice water, then peel once they're cool enough to handle. Usually by the time I eat it, only the yolks are still warm. I do only eat egg salad on whole wheat or rye bread. I just don't seem to like it as much on white.

Nutmeg if they're creamed. Almost any herb, fresh or dried, and olive oil if they're steamed or simply cooked.

I've only had starfruit once, but didn't it have a texture somewhere between a plum and a grape? If so, couldn't it be made into a pie a lot like a stone fruit. I made a stone fruit and strawberry pie last night, and I don't think much of a recipe is needed. I tossed the fruit with some brown sugar (Maybe 1/2-2/3 C.?), a little lime juice (1 T.?) and nutmeg (1/4-1/2 t.?), and cornstarch. Thrown into a pie crust with lattice and sugar on top, and bake at 350 for about 30 min. I just eyeball measurements, but it makes a nice sauce without being too juicy or overwhelming the fruit with sugar.

When my mom was on Atkins, we made meringue cookies with Splenda. I think large, gradually smaller layers of this piled with fresh fruit, would make a great "non-cake cake." It would still be sweet, but not sugar-y, so it would feel like a wedding cake, and it could still be cut like one too. You could also maybe do some sort of vegan, splenda instead of sugar, whole wheat and fruit muffin tree (instead of the oh-so-trendy cupcake tree).

I was planning on making my dad a pie last weekend for Father's Day, but life and work intervened and said "uh uh." I dropped my little sister off at the grocery store where she works last night and went in to look for something quick for my lunch today (working a bone-achingly early shift) and saw that stone fruits were on sale as were strawberries. The Missouri peaches aren't ready yet, but I got a nice selection of other peaches, nectarines, plums and strawberries and made my dad a pie. Very simple: pre-made pie crust (I can't always get them to work, and since I decided to do it last minute, I decided not make one) tossed into a tart pan, the fruits tossed with a bit of brown sugar, cornstarch, a couple of splashes of lime juice and nutmeg, lattice top and sprinkled with sugar. I wish I could post a picture, the color was just brilliant, pink-y/reddish/orangey/peach. My mom and I both commented that a dress would be pretty in that color. I made a topping with sour cream, brown sugar and lime juice (and used it to dip the extra peaches in in the middle of the night ). It just tasted like summer! (And Dad liked it too!)

They're not an exact match (IIRC - I've only had Munchos once), but the TGI Friday's brand "Potato Skins" chips have a very a similar texture. Unfortunately the vending machine at work only has the bacon and cheddar variety, and the fake bacon is fairly unappealing (unless I'm having a very certain, hormonally induced craving).

It could be that they're only brewing in a large urn and don't have smaller pots to bring around to the tables. If you get a refill on drinks at chains, they bring you whole new glasses because they can't have the dirty cups near the drinks fountain, so maybe they can't have the dirty coffee cups near the coffee dispenser. Or maybe people ask for fewer refills if they know that they have to wait for a whole new cup rather than if a witress is waiting there with a pot.

It's unpressed curd, so still full of bubbles. You only get the squeak in "raw," not fried cheese curds, and only in real curds, not just crumbled cheese.

I like Marie Callender's deep dish turkey pot pie. More dark meat. Good sauce. Easy to eat at work.

My former roommate did one with currant jelly and mustard. She uses French's yellow, but once I used some whole grain mustard instead and it was quite tasty. A little sweet, a bit tart, and mustardy.

I think fresh flowers are always a good addition. They add a lot of pop with minimum work. Picking several in the pink color range always looks pretty. Add them between layers if there's room or just stick them into the side of the cake so that they make "polka dots" (I did this for a "dot" themed party for a friend). Just ask a flower shop to get organic or wash the stems with a mild detergent before pushing them into the cake.

Ruby Tuesday is about the only chain restaurant that i like. THey do great burgers. I don't know if their Prime burger was just a limited time thing, but it was really good when I had it. That being said, I've never had anuthing other than the burgers and appetizers, and I don't think that I would. Too easy to screw up and rely on pre-made, frozen stuff. Is it the height of culinary adventures? No. Is it better at what it does than other places that do the same thing? Yes.

If you like other flavors with the banana, I make the Joy of Cooking ('70s edition) peanutbutter cookies, but sub half of the peanutbutter wtih mashed bananas. Yum! And if they're for my little sister, I add choclate chips. Also yum!

Are those Queen Anne's Lace? My dad told me about something like these, but I've never had them. He had them while travelling through Germany.

I am going to be decorating (very, very simply) the cakes for my best friend's wedding shower next weekend. I'll be getting 2 carrot cakes from the bakery and as the theme is purple (purple potato salad and mixed berry lemonade are some other things we'll be eating), I was thinking some candied violets would be nice on them. I've never tried them before, but I'm not really worried. I've done rose petals this way, so I think I've got it down: 1) Whisk an egg white til light and slightly foamy. 2) Brush washed and dried violet blossoms with a light coat of the egg white. 3) Put the blossom into a bowl of granulated sugar and coat thoroughly, shake off the excess. 4) Lay flat on a parchment lined cookie sheet til dry. Does this sound right? Should I use superfine sugar, or will regular granulated work? The main thing I'm worried about is how far in advance I can make them. The shower is on Saturday, and I'll have time to make them either Tuesday or Saturday morning. Tuesday would be preferable; can I do store them for 4 days? If so, how? I know I've seen then in tins and little plastic bags. Do they just need to be in an airtight dry container? One last thing: My back up flower is lavender if my violet source doesn't come through (she was worried that the last cold snap might have damaged them beyond repair. I won't know til Monday night). Can I do the same thing with them? I think the candied lavender I've tasted was boiled in a sugar syrup. It was almost a light hard candy consistency. I think that's it for my questions for now. I'll let you geniuses get to work!

I have this mini-muffin/tart pan from the Pampered chef. It's smaller than a small cupcake pan and you don't need liners (the non stick works very well). I use these for cheesecake bites on a regular basis. For a friend's shower, I wanted something slightly bigger, so I did a sheet pan full of cheesecake and cut with a round cookie cutter - they were the diameter of a cupcake, but only about an inch high.

I love the Sangria-on-a-Stick idea. I'm going to steal this for my best friend's graduation party next weekend! (And I'll probably do the BLT one too, just so we don't fall over from the sangria goodness).

I've had the mango one and the berry one, and I agree, they're good, but not phenomenal. A few kids I know like them better than regular chips (probably becuase they're sweet), so I guess that's good and what they're going for.

I really love all these ideas. Peas are one of the veggies all 6 members of my family can usually agree on as a side dish, so we eat a lot. I've been experimenting with spreads for sandwiches and wraps to cut down on using so much mayo (I have to wear a bridesmaid dress this summer ), and last week I defrosted some frozen peas, lightly salted and peppered them, added a bit of dill (just a pinch) and pureed with sour cream. I think I used about a cup of peas and about 2 T of SC. It was really great with turkey and my sister liked it with roast beef (but I didn't try). It's also pretty great on an all veggie wrap (cucumber, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, frisee and marinated artichokes) or just with cheese (cheap, grocery store deli provolone).

Here's my favorite way to make BBQ sauce. Even my onion-hating brothers like this one. It's very tomato-y and sweet, so I usually use it on pork (I like tomato-y but vinegar-y for beef and chicken). In a blender, puree one peeled and quartered red onion with between one-half and one cup of orange juice. Cook this over medium-low heat with dark brown sugar and molasses (about a 2:1 ratio), vinegar (about the same amount as the molasses), a can of tomato sauce and one of paste, dry mustard, granulated garlic powder (around 1 T of each), salt and pepper (I usually use a mixture of white pepper and cayenne) to taste. I just let this simmer an hour or two when I'm jsut making a batch to have around, but when I'm grilling or smoking a big hunk of meat, I put it in an aluminum pan on the corner of my grill and let it absorb the smokiness. It makes a large-ish saucepan-full. I have no idea on actual measurements because I just toss them in by eye. ETA: I meant to say that this is a great base to add many different flavors to. I like to add a head of roasted garlic instead of the garlic powder, grainy mustard sometimes, and when vidalias are in season, I make a super huge batch (but I use 2 vidalias to each red onion to get a similarly onion-y flavor).

Are you really eating false morels? You know these are toxic? ← Some people are more susceptible to them than others. It's not exactly an allergy, but more of a personal reaction. For example, my grandmother can eat them any way that's cooked, but not raw; my dad can't even eat one. I've never tried because there's no real way to tell if you can handle them or not, and there's no way I want to 'enjoy' the horribly long bathroom visits that can occur . I do know of a few people that sell them at farmers' markets and things around here. I think also, if you have weakened immune systems, the're bad (kids, old people and those with other illnesses), but the average person might not react at all.

What are oat groats? I've never heard the term. But it sounds great with the fruit and yogurt.

I've had Smokin Chicks a few of times and generally really like it. I've never eaten at the restaurant, though. I had it a couple of times from their mobile cart at outdoor events, and they've catered a few events my company's hosted, so I've never really gotten the whole experience. Chick himself is from my hometown and his family is friends with some of mine, so I've had some of the sauces before. I like his not too spicy one. I'm not a chile head, so I don't try anything too hot, but my friends seem to like them.

I made several pork, sweet potato, red onion and apple pasties to stick in the freezer in college. These go great wtih a mustardy sweet sauce. I always did the sauce after and put the filling in raw, but I'm sure you you could cook the filling in the sauce too. I also did a curried fruit sauce/almost chutney/compote to put on top of these (simmered overripe fruit with curry powder, leftover wine and brown sugar).

Here's the link to the Columbia, MO Farmers' Market. I've never been, but I keep hearing great things. They start their Wednesday afternoon service at the beginning of May, so I may be able to stop in before I go into work for the night; since no one else is here when I am, I can hog the whole break room fridge . The problem with my schedule is that I never want to get up early on Saturday since I work late nights, so I always miss Farmers' Markets.