suzilightning

i am in the process of minimizing and have some cookbooks that i can no longer use. if anyone would like them, please pm me with your snail mail address and i will drop them in the box. right now i have 4 available: Lancaster County Cookbook My Own Cook Book - Gladys Taber Peter Hunt's Cape Cod Cookbook The Luchow's Cookbook I would rather send them to a good home with one of you than drop them in the local library book sale.

it is hot and sticky in northern nj... when john got home(early since he was at work till almost 1 am last night) we shared a chilled bottle of a 2002 e. guigal cotes du rhone rose i picked up for about 7.00 a bottle in a mixed case. it was very light and tasted of grapes and raspberries. chilled was the way to enjoy this appertif wine. and we sat and talked... since it was so hot and my appetite(s) are not back quite yet i had two pieces of toasted semolina bread with fontinella cheese. john had grilled shrimp marinated in lemon and fresh tarragon over spinach with green beans in a sherry vinagrette along with a piece of toasted semolina bread. for lunch tomorrow he will have a cabernet bison burger with a side of macaroni cheese and for dinner the remaining beans, spinach and grilled shrimp.

when it gets this hot and muggy here i like to start my day with a blended coffee milk - 4-6 ice cubes, 8 oz of low fat milk and 3-4 tbsp of coffee syrup. whizz in the blender and drink for breakfast. johnnybird prefers his drinks at night. either sorbet with a bit of lactaid free milk or soy ice cream with the milk and into the blender it goes. so far he has found the best sorbet to be edy's and any soy ice cream will make him happy

vienna sausages?? hmmmmm mushrooms...raw(ish) tuna...oaky chardonnay

come on curlz we're up in the country here - it's ar least a good 25-30 miles before you hit pa. you'll see when you come up for the pig roast in the fall

forget bergen, jason- you guys have access to all kinds of decent food stores we need one in sparta!!!!! unfortunately the demographics say the area isn't wealthy enough to support it; ditto trader joe's

don't worry - they will let you know about it can you continue the introductory story, please, please? you are inspiring me to try to create my own chai. thanks for that link.

ok- i'll show my bias. if you plan it out right you can fly in newark or jfk on the day after labor day which is late this year. pop out to the east end of long island but go to the north fork or shelter island to stay(the latter only accessible by ferry boat). explore greenport- old port town or sag harbor - whaling museum here or east hampton - clinton academy, home sweet home, etc. and tour the wineries on the north shore. pugilese (for sparkling pinot noir), osprey's dominion, and paumanok are the equal of lenz, etc though less well known. if you time it right you can hit nj up on 12 sept for the second annual pig roast (see here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=42256). then up through warwick and florida and cruise up to catskill on 9. mexican radio across the way in hudson (http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=33433&hl=), visit thomas cole's house and studio or olana which was church's home. coach farms is a bit north in chatham, red hook and rhinebeck are loaded with good food - terrapin now in rhinebeck, foster's coach house on sundays for their hot steak sandwiches, of course cia in hyde park or the hyde park brewing company. val-kill, eleanor roosevelt's retreat, roosevelt's home, vanderbilt mansion, locust hill which was samuel f b morse's home in poughkeepsie, millbrook winery and allyn's or dervin o'brien's in millbrook proper. then back down to sleepy hollow(formerly tarrytown) kiykut - the rockerfeller estate, washington irving's sunnyside the barn? - sorry can't find the link in the new york thread- then back to the city for a day or to and back home.

mad batter is ok for breakfast. think about doing your own breakfast, remember this is the cheapest meal for a restaurant to produce therefore the best return for the money. walk up to the mall for muffins, breads, croissants, etc from the bakery. if you are staying at a b&b you don't have to deal with breakfast. if you want views of the ocean, call early and ask for the "sunset table" at martini beach - get there about a half hour before sunset and it is so wonderful to share a table for two with really two views - the sunset over cape may and the ocean to your left. the menu has changed so you have the ability to mix and match small plates(my preference is two small plates and share a salad with john while he has a full plate) or order full plates of something you like. just ate at the black duck. it was ok - i reviewed it elsewhere. maybe i would give it another chance. i've never eaten at water's edge and we use lobster house for take away only - have eaten there twice but with no reservations - i'm not crazy about it. we buy stuff we can cook at the condo. you might like to pop over to wildwood crest to marie nicole's or two mile landing. less crowded and good food but they do need reservations during season. hope you had a good time

samantha - you are very, very evilllllllll now i want that bacon - hold everything else(this from someone back from a funeral where the funeral luncheon was catered by subway - BIG SIGH- need i say more?) edit to say that my favorite salad of all is fresh, warm, perfectly ripe jersey tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, and catalina dressing - guess i'll add some bacon this year - thank you

sorry - i plead guilty to deconstructing if there is celery included in the dish. unfortuntley i'm in that miniscule group of people who are salt sensitive and for whom celery causes an irregular heartbeat. my favorite adventure dining partner has a problem with mushrooms. not that they taste bad - she loves them- but about 2 hours after eating any kind of mushroom she is in such gastric distress it is just not worth it for her. in restaurants she has become more comfortable in requesting that any mushrooms be left out of a dish. here again we are talking food sensitivites not "ewwww fungus". i will try anything once but if i am cooking for someone at home i find out any limitations they have and try to work around them. as far as the scallops - that is a food preference. i grew up eating scallops 3-5 days a week in season. now you can't pay me to eat them.

fifi beat me to it. johnnybird's famous outrageous toast dope will take care of your orange zest blues. p.s. to fifi. loved the story about your sister. tell your nephew not to sweat it - john's dad is a lawyer, too, and he appreciates the name in all it's many nuances. after all g. gordon liddy once asked him to defend timothy leary pro bono after they busted him up in millbrook.

when the cherries, especially ranier cherries, start to come in and the peaches are at their most succulent it has to be white sangria. johnnybird discovered mojitos in key west and those are his new favorite drink - until the doctor tells him his liver enzymes are too high and he has to totally quit since he is on chemo right now the non-alcoholic fizzy lizzy's made 40% unsweetended grapefruit juice and 60% seltzer are really wonderful me? give me a dubonnet or lilet rouge on ice

shoot i really want that duck breast and the lamb.... but have to work. have a good time all

on vacation i was craving cereal with milk - heart 2 heart with craisins specifically. before fifi thinks this isn't strange the last time i ate cereal at all was back when i was about 12 (almost 38 years - go ahead and do the math) and then i ate special k with orange juice

great wine. friday night was meat free friday in our house again. pizza - johnnybird's had some red sauce, artichoke hearts, olives, sauteed red and yellow peppers, onions and just a bit of asiago on it. mine was a mix of mozzarella, romano and asiago, red sauce, red pepper flakes and black olives. salad of mixed greens with roma tomatoes that had been roughly chopped and marinated in a dressing of basalmic vinegar, evoo and minced shallot(no it is not the same as onion). molson light with dinner we are about ready for dessert which, since they are in season, my apricots stuffed with marscapone, nutmeg and honey. served with some of the prosecco the apricots were poached in and with a sauce of some of the extra apricots that did not pass the appearence test blended with some prosecco and honey. any one got any ideas for the leftover marscapone mixture? , , nudge, nudge

we just got back from our annual anniversary trip down the shore(new jersey for those not in this state). we had made reservations when we were down last month and were greeted with hugs and a glass of sparkling wine from the owner when we got there(only our third visit).

just back yesterday from our annual anniversary trip to the crest and cape may. we get take away from the lobster house in cape may and eat it at our place at the beach. have eaten at the restaurant twice but prefer take away. our anniversary dinner was at martini beach. it is up above cabana's on beach ave. they have done some renovation over the winter and changed the menu up some as well. we shared a house salad with a crumbled blue cheese dressing, john had the crab cakes which are served with the sweet potato fries and slaw, i had two small plates - citrus grilled shrimp and sesame chicken tenders with lemon bbq dipping sauce. we each had a glass of wine total was 86 plus tip. other times we have had the sesame crusted tuna, lobster martini, paparika and brown sugared baby back ribs, salt & pepper calamari and dark rum glazed tenders(all small plates - the way we usually like to eat) we also tried the black duck on sunset. a plus - it is byo. the food - john really loved his crab cakes that were served with an asian slaw. my ribs were served with a corn pudding and down home slaw. they were ok but seemed fattier than most baby back ribs i've seen before - more like country style ribs. john also ordered a starter of seafood ravioli i tasted - and gave back to him because a)it tasted a bit fishy to me and b) the wonton wrapper tasted like deep fried pie dough. i asked the hostess about it and she said since the wonton was made of flour of course it would taste like fried pie dough. total cost 68 plus tip without any wine since suzi left the carrier with the 2002 eroica and the 1998 lacryma christi in the room we grabbed a sample menu on our way out and actually some of the things on this menu looked better than the current one. most appetizers seem to be in the 8-9 range, entrees in the 22-23 range but they list an early bird prix-fixe three course dinner for 19.95 pp plus tax, tip and beverages.

930 am and it is hot and sticky here in northwest nj again - i feel a thunderstorm coming on about 5pm just when johnnybird should be arriving at newark liberty . for breakfast i had one of my favorite things - 1cup milk, 3 tbsp coffee syrup and 5 ice cubes in the blender. whizz it up and drink it. both lunch and dinner are at work today in air conditioning though i am taking some cottage cheese, cup up berries and soy yoghurt something also very cooling to eat. hmmmm...... i may have to break out the fixin's for white sangria if this continues

lost our power for 6 hours because of a storm last night it was ok this morning but, beginning about noon here in northwestern nj the humidity began to rise and now there is heat lightning - probably about to become real lightning- in the sky. for lunch my friend and i had lightly toasted semolina bread, tuna salad, red leaf lettuce with sliced plum tomato; the last of the stuffed apricots for dessert. give me cold meat/fish/veg salads with leaf lettuces or mache any day oh, a cold lager is good, too

That's sounds luscious. thank you bloviatrix- they were though about another 2 minutes would have made them better shared with them with my friend 'chelle today as dessert after our lunch of tuna salad with toasted semolina bread, salad and tomato before we watched Calendar Girls - "i think we need much bigger buns" "don't touch the buns!!!" we laughed(hysterically), we cried, we had a wonderful time watching a movie i would not have had as much fun watching with my husband. edited to spell bloviatrix's name correctly

just got Big Russ and Me by tim russert from work. no, the whole work isn't about food but the chapter entilted Food "you gotta eat" - actually half the quote, the other half being "so you can drink". is jam packed full of south buffalo cuisine but also the nature of the family dinner table in the late 50's-early 60's. the fact you had food on the table ( some of us grew up with depression era parents/grandparents). he mentions beef on weck, colonel sanders(not considered junk food by big russ though mcdonalds is), beer served cold, no meat on friday- i still remember the choices in the cafeteria before vatican 2 : fish sticks and fries, macaroni and cheese or cheese pizza. to this day when i visit my girlfriend who is 40+ we have salad and homemade cheese pizza for friday dinner. he talks of his dad driving the newspaper truck into the country and coming back with fresh fruits and veg - especially the tomatoes in season. fish fries and birch beer; his mother streching the food budget and being expected to finish it all (sorry i could never do the liver and onions as many times as i tried though i did love tounge). he talks about being allowed to choose your birthday dinner - a tradition where i grew up as well - as well as at other times coming home for a hot lunch, food at the ball game(a yankee fan but he may come to his senses) and the Broadway market - reallya farmers market. can't wait to see what else is in store - only about a third of the way through this

shoot! now i have to pull out my interlibrary loan papers and start writing with all the great selections.... i've got two books stashed away for next week's vacation - Dinner Roles:American Women and Culinary Culture by Sherrie A. Inness and Jessamyn Neuhaus' Manly Meals and Mom's Home Cooking: Cookbooks and Gender in Modern America. i own the Tisdale, have read steingarten, reichel(i thought her first was better than the second), have the shapiro on order... the other day i plucked bunny day's book catch 'em, hook 'em and cook 'em from my shelves and just started reading her. i had forgotten how humourous she is.

i have had this problem only twice i can remember - once here where i am known the other time up in vt dining at aplace the fil had recommended and given us a gift certificate for. here in nj the barmaid saw i wasn't eating the food i ordered - supposed to be an upscale cheese steak but for some reason it DID NOT WORK. really fatty meat, cheeze whiz(not a bad thing) and severely underccoked onions. she offered to replace it but i couldn't handle the idea of eating anythhing coming out of that kitchen on that day. she comped me all but my beer and i tipped on the full price of beer and food. in vermont, i guess since we were not known, the outcome was less than felicitous. appetizer of peanut noodles with shrimp was ok. entrees were so over salted - HOW CAN YOU F*^K UP MASHED POTATOES AND DUCK BREAST - that i could not eat them. the house asked if anything was wrong and i said the food was overly salty. they did say they were in the middle of changing chefs so the kitchen was staffed with sous only - no supervising or head or any other type of chef. unfortunately john then said i was salt sensative - no it was freakin tooooooo salty - and it was ok. the house did not remove the charge though i did not eat the dinner and refused any alternate since i had tasted john's filet and that was oversalted to the point of inedible. they did offer to buy us an after dinner drink though all i wanted to do was get out of that hell hole. we did take john's filet home with us and the only way he could eat it was after i washed all the sauce off of it.

first fresh apricots of the season were in the greengrocers yesterday... bought a pound - ate 1/2 by myself other half : stoned them out, gently simmered in prosecco till just warmed. filled the hole with a mixture of marscapone, grated nutmeg and honey. dessert