suzilightning

What goes wrong? I don't make jello that often - just when my husband or I have to prep for a colonoscopy - but I find that following the directions on the box usually does the trick. Robyn robyn- i follow the directions on the package to the letter but i invented jigglers before the company did. i even had johnnybird - the obsessive-compulsive past the border on neurotic teetering on psychotic engineer watch me fix it and it still came out wrong. now this is from someone who used to make lemon charlotte at work all the time so go figure....

nachos with the velveeta/rotel dip - something i have NEVER had - with pickled okra and chip ahoy big chunk cookies

ok lou don't worry about filming me - they'll just edit me out anyway. but if john gets up and starts dancing on the table i want pictures of that for their blackmail value

We wanted to try out Dragonfly Bistro which is a small, storefront restaurant that had good reviews and was a french bistro. unfortunately they don't begin service until 630 pm. when you have been out birding all day and you are hungry at 5 pm that don't cut it. we ended up at The Channel Mark. it was ok though when we walked in we were asked if we had a reservation and there is mandatory valet parking that john hates. john had some questions about prepartion of the crab cake and our server made an assumption that worked in our favor. she assumed we wanted to have small plates and put in our orders as all appetizer plates instead of the 2 appetizers and 2 entrees we had thought we were ordering. it worked out well since we were full and there were no leftover to take back to our shoe box room. john started with a cosmo. with our food i had a red strip and john had a glass of scarlatta pinot grigio. since she assumed we were having only appetizers no bread was brought to the table. we ordered crab cake, thai chicken sataty, honey bacon shrimp and shrimp cocktail we were also thinking about ordering stone crab claws. the crab cake was extremely fresh and not overly breaded served with a mandarin rum coconut sauce and red pepper coulis napped with some kind of sour cream sauce. the thai satay was served with a peanut dipping sauce and a bit on the overcooked/dry side. the shrimp were wrapped with bacon and baked after being drizzled with honey. both the shrimp cocktail and the shrimp wrapped with bacon were not over cooked and very, very fresh. the stone crab claws can be served either hot or cold with appropriate dipping sauces. appetizers run 5-12; entrees average 15. we spent 42 for 4 appetizers and three drinks plus tip and 5.00 for the required valet parking.

hopefully none of you are acquiring them as this woman did in bettendorf, iowa: http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnew.../bettendorf.htm i am slowly getting rid of the ones i own. in preparation for retirement and moving HIMSELF has decreed we are not moving all the books we own at this moment but must lose about half the inventory...

i'll eat in the kitchen i do NOT like having my picture taken.

jello...not gelatin which i can work with fine but jello.

just ordered 4 titles through interlibrary loan finished The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club. how the hostesses really affected politics - lorraine cooper, vangie bruce, kay graham, sally quinn, pamela harriman.while many of them had no idea how to cook they knew how to entertain. pretty interesting stuff. The Master Quilter latest in a series and since i quilt as well....author wrote this one in the style of Rashomon, an intriguing way of telling the story. i've got the Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys on order. i'm so desperate i'm going through old cookbooks i'm getting rid of and copying out any recipes i think i can use in the future. guess it's off to the stacks for inspiration....

hey- i invited you for lunch, tom. i even would have driven... zoe's is close by or down to joel's for some potts hotdogs..... see ya in the fall

it's 'weck - short for kimmelweck

while taking my cat to the vet noticed a new place Tokyo House on Lakeside Blvd. in Mount Arlington. don't know if they are going to make it in this location- it was bubba's bbq which died after about a year. since i'm single tonight maybe i'll hit it up and see what they offer - besides i have a coupon.

ok- johnnybird is in too - he doesn't have to go brief - yeah!!!!!

ok- let's see if my computer wants to talk to your server this time.... i'll be there. we are waiting to see if john has to go to dc/va to do a high level briefing. we should know today(friday) monday at the latest. btw - i have some hand rolled cigars from key west i brought back for after dinner if anyone is interested.

hopleaf going to school in fredonia ny we had the saying that it could snow anywhere from 15 october to 15 may - and it did so bad one year that rt 17 was closed and we had to go home the thruway which only had one lane open. here in northern nj all the new officers who come to the arsenal are told not to put their flowers out until 15 may. it 's so funny to see their confusion since most of them are moving here from places like radford, va; ft. sam houston, tx; blevoir, va. and they put them out and have to replace them when they are frost killed. let us say no S word until...20 may?

laurel - i love the idea of the garlic and mustard chard - how do you do it? tonight in preparation for road trip 2004 will be clean the fridge night in which any perishables not going with us are either used or thrown out so we are having what my friend dena calls smecht 2 stuffed cabbage(i'll probably eat this) 3 stuffed clams(all john's) 2 pieces of smoked salmon on sun dried tomato bread(ditto) 1 small piece of cod and shoestring fries leftover from my lunch out(brought this back for john) red leaf lettuce salad with the last of the shallot, plum tomatoes and kirby cuke then last minute laundry, packing and cat petting

just got back from lunch with one of my favorite dining partners - my friend michelle. zoe's just started lunches this week - serving noon - 2. when we got there about 1245 there were 3 other deuces already seated. sorry lou, you can't sit at the bar but there is bar service available as well as their wines by the glass. they may want to upgrade their ventilation just a bit because when we walked in there was a definite odor of frying food. there are about 6 entrees and the same number of appetizers. the entrees average 14 with the most pricey the filet mignon with truffled mashed potatoes which is 21. the apps go 6-9. the best deal however is the three course bistro lunch for 19 plus tax, tip and any beverages. 'chelle had the creamy corn chowder, hangar steak with truffled mashed potatoes and the pear tart. i opted for the escargot in puff pastry, deep fried cod and shoestring potatoes with remoulade, and creme brulee serve with the macaroons rosie has talked about. michelle, who kept saying "i don't think i can eat that much", inhaled her steak - i didn't even get a taste . there were three smallish pieces of the cod and i ate two and brought one home for john to try. total bill was just over 40 plus tip. guess i'll have to take john with me next time

ok cindys about 5 months down the road, we seem to be out of the snow(touch wood). where have you been and how did you like it?

don't know about any foods but i find an orgasm will get mine going

looks like 915 duval goes on the list for sure. we're in town for 3 nights - two days and one of those will be birding the dry tortugas. any thoughts on kelly's?

can i come and play with you guys - since new jersey doesn't seem to be getting it together? i can bring fudgy bourbon brownies and winners circle pie with bourbon whipped cream. or stuffed shrooms and chicken liver pate.

trying to use up any perishables, etc. so smoked salmon on red pepper bread( a gift at work from the local baker) stuffed clams 4 bean salad with yellow and green beans, red kidney beans and cannelini beans, minced shallots and onion in a vinagrette buffalo burgers hopefully johnnybird will take down some vanilla soymilk and some of the gingerbread for dessert

perhaps into mount olive? in the trade zone there are a panera, longhorn, romano's macaroni grill, chili's , and one or two others i'm sure i'm forgetting. is this the kind of high volume you were looking for? and there is supposed to be a steak house opening up near rockaway mall late this year/early next. right now i know plaza bistro in sparta is hiring waitstaff but they don't do the volume the chains do. hope this helps - and i'll keep my ears open.

mcdonald's vanilla milkshake and crispy chicken skin i can't stomach the milkshakes because they cause gastric distress - BIG TIME but i want one anyway i don't remember the last time i had poultry skin. if i cook with it on a piece of meat it is removed before serving. yesterday was so cold and raw here i stopped and picked up a chicken. since we are going away this weekend i'm trying to use up stuff that is perishable so i stuffed that sucker with a cut up lime and shallots. kosher salt, pepper, thyme and oregano. the skin came out so crispy - i hoovered it all up, wrapping some of the roasted shallot in the skin, too.

Throw in some purple-top turnip, too. we've been eating this all winter long. the parsnips we find in the green grocer here aren't waxed and , since john will eat them, i use them whenever i can - parsnip and apple soup, carmelized mixed winter root veg with maple butter, mashed, dilled with carrots course my friend michelle(from sheffield) who loves them whenever i make them for her is now married to a guy who hates just about any veg and won't try them ...period.

owen great food pix. where in 0cuse is the farmers market? i would kill for some of that cheese... i work with a guy from there and at his house warming party he introduced some north jersey neophytes to salt potatoes. also syracuse is the furthest east you can get commercially produced kummelweck for beef on weck(luckily i so know how to bake 'em myself). love wegmans. have actually eaten in the original store in greece - actually dragged john there and you should have seen him when we walked in... most stores do not allow photographing, taping - audio or video in their stores. don't know why but just about all down here have a notice posted at the front entry. unfortunately any of the regular chips set off john's ibs so he has learned to enjoy pretzels and baked chips - particularly if i can find the kind with kc bbq sauce on them. then he is a happy man looking forward to the next entry