suzilightning

beginning usually in october/november we take turns making soup and bringing it into work. and then pig out on it for lunch.since i was hawkwatching till the end of november i was off the hook until now so january 19 i'll be bringing in soups for all and bread. somebody last year(our assistant director/marketing person) coined the phrase and so far this year there has been a lentil, chicken and rice, bacon and potato, harvest vegetable, chili, minestrone and a few others i don't remember. this is what you get for being a librarian - we tend to be very food friendly

last night was vegetable soup. on the menu in the next two weeks will be scotch broth(when john is away since he can't abide the smell of lamb), split pea and vegetable beef. the last two are for our soup daze at work. i'm making two kinds since one of the people i work with won't eat "green soup" and i really do like her

i am about to move into my second workout shoe box. i keep a small number of cookbooks and transfer any recipes from the discard pile to cards and file them by type - breads - quick; breads - yeast; chicken; chicken - breasts; desserts; desserts - chocolate, etc.(ok so i'm a librarian - it's that training ). do the same with my magazines then pass them on - to friends, people i work with, egulleters. will pull out the recipes i need for stocking the fridge or for a meal and i love it. i get to pull recipe for a main and sides and then just move them around till i have a composition i like - wow, kinda like what i do with fabrics for quilting now i think about it. would go to word files but i love to practice my penmanship and it would deprive my in-laws of a cheap present for me - recipe cards edit to say i do have to keep up my place as the semi-luddite of my workplace though i am far and away ahead of most of the people in my in-law and friend circle -scary

oh my goodness beautiful food, y'all johnnybird just had a blue tasting : maytag,saint agur, and colton bassett stilton with a wee glass of luxe a sparkling wine from domaine ste. michelle dinner is in my new dutch oven : beef stew using leftover beef, potatoes, mushroom sauce, beef stock, and beans paired with fresh garlic, onion, a bottle of porter, carrots and parsnip with a bundle of tarragon and rosemary from my indoor pot plants. will serve with some salad and some rolls. munch on...

ok- i did my own reception years ago as well. do not panic and put as many people to work as you can . 50 people end of may tennessee and semi-non-adventerous eaters(one of the women i work with is from morristown, tn and we have coached her through a few new adventures) plenty of sweet tea maybe bbq instead of pasta for the rehearsal dinner? there probably is a place fairly nearby known for it's bbq and with the sides it can be a fun local thing. dinner looks good reception - i'm guessing the 50 will be at the reception not at the dinner. deviled eggs - usually overlooked but loved by most non-adventurous eaters baked filet thin sliced and served on small pieces of baguette and daubed with a mustard horseradish sauce or some herbed cheese small quiches but keep it simple - ham and cheese, bacon and onion wrap the shrimp with some local smoked bacon cheddar biscuits filled with local ham small filo tarts(you can buy these in the freezer section) fill with chocolate mousse and top with a cherry or some raspberries congratualtions, enjoy and remember the wedding is one day - the marriage is for your lifetime (22.5 years later and i still haven't killed him though he isn't retired yet )

saffron china 46 restaurant nicholas hot rods bbq (if they ever open) cooper fish house, cape may

i have done something similar to melissa's first recipe but without the tomatoes. you won't need the toothpicks if YOU DO NOT OVERSTUFF THE CALAMARI. 1 - 1 1/2 tsp is all you need for most of their little bodies.

linda- at christmas all my mil kept saying was how moist it was - and i had only cooked half of one!! the people i buy from have a very large farm in the hudson valley of new york and have been raising chicken.capon, turkeys, etc for several generations. i treat it more like a chicken than a turkey. as i type there is the other half in the oven. it rests on a bed of aromatics and was seasoned with salt, pepper and some ground sage. roast at 325 for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. i'll carve the breast for us and keep the leg and bones to do soup. i really prefer them to chicken or turkey - maybe because they are free range. hmmmm..... note to self - try their turkey later this year and do a comparison. you might also check out the area to see if anyone raises them locally. since i know where these guys come from and how they are raised i buy them and bring them back home for use.

Shame on Rachel for not knowing where Newburgh is! I mean it's got a Hudson River bridge half-named after it! ←

maggie - when do your tomatoes come in? late august/september? i'm currently testing a recipe for a tomato rice soup i hope to have worked out to submit to a contest here in nj. i'll post or pm it to you to make with the best of the summer fruit. what kind of squash soup are you interested in? i have several for pumpkin or butternut squash. i also have a recipe for hot and sour soup with shrimp from ming tsai that i've played around with. will pop that off to you if you're interested. interesting because at work all fall/winter we take turns making soup or chili and bring it to work for lunch one day during the week. a fellow worker saved me her ham bone from christmas and i'll be making pea soup with it in two weeks. i'm toying with combining split peas and frozen added at the last minute for an interesting texture contrast. will serve this with country rye bread and cheddar beer cheese.

we had a good time exchanging our presents and eating. course the best part was the side by side taste test of the 100 year old and 150 year old grand marniers. getting ready to head to warren county and bird for the day. happy and healthy new year to all!!!!

we celebrated our christmas last night and i got from john a bottle of veuve clicqot ponsardin, a bottle of nicolas feuillatte brut, a set of 3 cutting boards for our condo down the shore, a thin cutting board for this house, 2 cork backed place mats with a cool wine bottle motif, a neat piece of pottery from the kongsberg jazz fest by hanne englunds and still to come a wooden wine rack for the basement. i also received a small thank you of some truffles from a fellow egulleter out of which john promptly ate the dark ones

new years eve is when john and i celebrate our christmas so it is champagne and opening the stockings in the late afternoon. we are going to do a cheese plate to have during this time. dinner will be a shrimp cocktail, filet mignon with a mushroom port sauce, roasted white and sweet potatoes, and a salad of winter greens. dessert will be chocolate mousse and more champagne - maybe in the jacuzzi if it isn't raining. new years day looks to be good weather so we will be out early to bird. i'll take cinnamon rolls and thin slice the filet to make sandwiches. i'm making some bean salad as well as a large thermos of coffee. when we get home we will have the other half of the capon from christmas, dressing, some wild and brown rice with broccoli. have a 2003 eroica (not erotica like john kept calling it at the dinner)to chill.

braised short rib raviolis at the eg wine dinner at an american grill

new years eve is when john and i celebrate our christmas so it is champagne and opening the stockings in the late afternoon. we are going to do a cheese plate to have during this time. dinner will be a shrimp cocktail, filet mignon with a mushroom port sauce, roasted white and sweet potatoes, and a salad of winter greens. dessert will be chocolate mousse and more champagne - maybe in the jacuzzi if it isn't raining. new years day looks to be good weather so we will be out early to bird. i'll take cinnamon rolls and thin slice the filet to make sandwiches. i'm making some bean salad as well as a large thermos of coffee. when we get home we will have the other half of the capon from christmas, dressing, some wild and brown rice with broccoli. have a 2003 eroica to chill.

i ordered a capon about the same size but had my butcher cut it in half. roasted just half for christmas day and it was done in just about 2 hours at 325F. this gave me plenty of time to let it rest and degrease the pan drippings for gravy. will do the other half new years day....

from a dear friend and johnnybird's family we have gotten: a dried fruit and nut basket a bottle of Taylor Brut and 4 flutes assorted bags of lindt's truffles maple sugar candy for john a small casserole dish decorated with cherries 3 sets of recipe cards <YEAH - i was almost out> a decorated vinegar bottle 2 year subscription to Intermezzo wine bottle night light gift card to linen's 'n things - i need either a new blender or a dutch oven john and i don't celebrate our christmas until new year's eve so i have no idea what he will be getting me. he is getting a bottle of 150 year old grand marnier edited to add the box from french feast has arrived(about 2 1/2 weeks late) so there are: a package of black winter truffles dried morels dried ceps dried chanterelles dried mixed forest mushrooms a bottle of verjus fleur de sel de guerande i see the makings of new year's eve dinner and new year's day in this

Francesca's (waits for the smack in the head from suzi) SMACK [size=1so when are you bringing pott's dogs?

oh...oh...oh..... how could i forget martini beach in cape may?? (sorry karin)

john tells me the sweet and sour meatballs went quite quickly. someone else brought meatballs in tomato sauce and were left with most of them when the party cleared out. we had a local restaurant cater it - ziti, chicken francaise, an italian meat platter,eggplant rolitini, stuffed mushrooms, bread. had some of the ziti and chicken for lunch today(didn't make it for the party). it was ok but i miss the days when we would meet up at someone's house and all bring appetizers or desserts and have a graze.

rosie- la dolce vita moved to rt 15 wharton next to shoprite about a year ago. it had been on 46 in dover for years. byo which you will like. white cloth red sauce place with good portions and reliable italian/american food. really good lasagna made with fresh pasta and fresh tomato sauce which i really love.for me if i'm not going to make it this is where i go - much better than charlotte's web down the street. warehouse has become my standby place to grab a burger or steak sandwich. a neighborhood joint where i feel comfortable popping in by myself. good grill man here.

definitely An American Grill Zoe's by the Lake La Dolce Vita, Wharton Warehouse Grille, Jefferson Cloves, Mount Olive East Cafe, outer part of Rockaway Mall and of course the Kitchen at 31 Croft

well, if you're cooking southern-ish food and you have a deep fryer there is only one thing to do: corn dogs here's a recipe: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/corndogs.htm

no kids but i loved blue cheese as a toddler. my afternoon snack would be two ritz crackers smeared with it. also grew up eating game in all forms. i remember for my 8th birthday i wanted to go to this french restaurant in east hampton and have frogs legs for dinner and that was my birthday present from my grandfather. ohhhhh.... and lima beans, i adore lima beans. then there was my sister who would only eat campbells' chicken noodle soup or peach jam sandwiches and would not touch mashed potatoes.

leftover meat hash, scrambled eggs and hashbrowns tea breads(cinnamon raisin, cranberrry orange, banana nut) that you cut, toast and serve with flavored butter or cream cheese denver or western sandwich - ham, peppers and onions on toast yoghurt and fruit or cottage cheese and fruit - i've been having vanilla soy yoghurt with orange or cottage cheese with pineapple lately breakfast wraps toad in the hole - i'm going to be making this for johnnybird one day when we are both off the next two weeks french toast with bacon and real maple syrup cream of rice cereal made with milk and topped with real maple syrup - this is actually what john will eat as a snack late at night damn. i ate at 430 and now i'm craving that western sandwich with ketchip and miracle whip