emilyr

Yep - chocolate cookies with super sweet choclatey icing!

Kent - I'm loving this blog. I, too, hold a soft spot in my heart for Galveston. It was the first place I realized you could get all-you-can-eat seafood that actually tastes good in places that are next to the ocean! Duh! I have family in Waco and Beaumont and we have visited a couple of times. Very much looking forward to more of this blog!

What are you talking about - 'not so photogenic'?! It's beautiful!

I should probably add this in the PMS thread, but those Lofthouse cookes are super for certain weeks of the month when you really need something too sugary to actually consider in real-life. The chocolate ones are fantastic and occassionally make it into my non-menstrual shopping lists! Very soft and cake-like

wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds. check and repeat til warm enough for you.

The only time I ever worked at a restaurant was one summer I worked at McDonald's. One particularly crazy lunch day, the lines were actually out the door. I don't remember why, but I think there was a carnival or soccer tournament in town. And this was only my second week there. Anyway, I was working one front register and every couple of customers, I'd go over and re-fill drinks for people who stood down by the soda machine. I thought I felt something hitting me on 2 of these trips, but wasn't sure, but on the 3rd trip a big chunk of soda covered ice hit my face! I turned around and finally saw this woman and her friend and they both just had the most pissed off faces I've ever seen. I said "EXCUSE ME?!" in my most I-have-to-respect-the-customer-but-that-doesn't-mean-I-have-to-like-them voice and she proceded to cuss me out in some of the most vulgar language I've ever heard (and I went to Catholic school ). It seems she'd waited in the regular line to get refills on her drink. I looked over at my manager to see what I should do, and she just looked away. When I took the cup, the woman said, "and you better f***ing replace the ice since I had to stick my hand in it." I just refilled the drink and told her that she didn't need to stand in line when she wanted her next refill. She started to walk out, but decided she needed to tell everyone in line that I was slow, to skip my line, and better yet just don't eat at this restaurant at all. A few people did leave. To make matters worse she came back a few weeks later, and to get her refill, she did just go over to the area by the machine, but she threw ice at me again, "just to get my attention." Neither time did my manager say anything - even after. One of the many reasons I quit and didn't eat there for another 5 years.

Farm raised versus wild might have something to do with it. The diets would probably have something to do with what's in their digestive tract. Opr maybe some shrimp were caught and held alive longer, so had more time to digest. Or do you mean different kinds of shrimp, like tiger shrimp versus prawns?

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.