suzilightning

most prized possession: the cookbook my great-grandmother copied out for my grandmother for a christmas present favorite book to use: a deplorably decrepit copy of a Fannie Farmer Cooking School Cookbook that is missing the index past most of the "s's" and most of the forepiece. course i bought another copy and had it bound so that i can refer to it.

a bag of Snyder's of Hanover jalapeno cheddar cheese pumpetnickel pretzel sandwiches - the most freakin' addictive things ever - and a glass of Early Times Kentucky Whiskey with ice...

judith and sheena - clear broth my darlings thanks for the best wishes. tonight the johnnybird is off the the heaven and hell concert with Ronnie James Deos(?) with 2 brothers and a sister-in-law. today tried a Taste of Asia spicy hot and sour noodle soup i got on sale with a coupon. too much sodium for me(brought on a massive hot flash) but i tasted wonderful tracey - tooooooo funny.

crushiki from my heritage at christmas i went up to visit my friend and we made crispadelle - on powdered sugar but fried dough drenched in honey and mounded like a croquembouche.

Zoe's By the Lake - about 3 miles on the road for us so johnnybird and i have been married 25 years...and three days now. we were down in the crest at our place for 10 days but didn't really go out much(and missed egulleteer Katie Loeb, unfortunately), were coming north on the parkway just as that flare was dropped and hit traffic up at denville curves onto 15 north....i did not feel like going out. wednesday was spent restocking pershibles... back to work on thursday for me but today, after stocking up for the reappearance of the cookie monster (brother-in-law) for the Heaven and Hell concert tomorrow....I WAS HUNGRY. get dressed. you are taking me out to lunch... glass of lillet blonde (shared) the bread basket with a country french bread, garlic bread and the warm rosemary rolls served with butter and a garlic herb butter. i am not a bread person. i bake it, i use it but i don't get turned on by it. get the freakin' rosemary rolls and DO NOT SHARE. for me the baked three onion soup and the baby golden beet salad with apples, smoked bleu cheese, walnuts and sherry vinaigrette. the onions and broth were wonderful, just what was called for on this cool, dreary day though about half the bowl was congealed gruyere cheese at the end - way too much cheese for me. the salad was a cold composed one. didn't notice the apple but the vinaigrette and beets and cheese were incredible. for my beloved the roast wild king salmon with artichokes, baby tomatoes, black olives, capers, red onion, yukon gold potatoes with a lemon thyme buerre blanc. now johnnybird is extremely lactose intolerant. asked for the salmon to be cooked in olive oil and without the beurre blanc. the dish was served with a lemon thyme reduced sauce of some sort on the side. since he had snarffed down 1.5 slices of garlic bread and, despite my best efforts, a rosemary roll he ate all of his vegetables and half the salmon. the other salmon was removed from the skin and placed, delicately, between the slices of country french bread that was drizzled with the reduction and brought home for a lovely late afternoon snack. we shared a split of 2001 "Les Charmes" chardonnay.

so johnnybird and i have been married 25 years...and three days now. we were down in the crest at our place for 10 days but didn't really go out much(and missed egulleteer Katie Loeb, unfortunately), were coming north on the parkway just as that flare was dropped and hit traffic up at denville curves onto 15 north....i did not feel like going out. wednesday was spent restocking pershibles... back to work on thursday for me but today, after stocking up for the reappearance of the cookie monster (brother-in-law) for the Heaven and Hell concert tomorrow....I WAS HUNGRY. get dressed. you are taking me out to lunch... glass of lillet blonde (shared) the bread basket with a country french bread, garlic bread and the warm rosemary rolls served with butter and a garlic herb butter. i am not a bread person. i bake it, i use it but i don't get turned on by it. get the freakin' rosemary rolls and DO NOT SHARE. for me the baked three onion soup and the baby golden beet salad with apples, smoked bleu cheese, walnuts and sherry vinaigrette. the onions and broth were wonderful, just what was called for on this cool, dreary day though about half the bowl was congealed gruyere cheese at the end - way too much cheese for me. the salad was a cold composed one. didn't notice the apple but the vinaigrette and beets and cheese were incredible. for my beloved the roast wild king salmon with artichokes, baby tomatoes, black olives, capers, red onion, yukon gold potatoes with a lemon thyme buerre blanc. now johnnybird is extremely lactose intolerant. asked for the salmon to be cooked in olive oil and without the beurre blanc. the dish was served with a lemon thyme reduced sauce of some sort on the side. since he had snarffed down 1.5 slices of garlic bread and, despite my best efforts, a rosemary roll he ate all of his vegetables and half the salmon. the other salmon was removed from the skin and placed, delicately, between the slices of country french bread that was drizzled with the reduction and brought home for a lovely late afternoon snack. we shared a split of 2001 "Les Charmes" chardonnay. total for our 2 hour lunch $62.00 beautiful place, wonderful food and can't wait for my birthday

dang, katie - missed you this year!! we were down the shore from 6-15 may. ate mostly at our condo which is an oceanfront . had thought to go into cape may but have been monitoring martini beach on the ardore website and noticed the emphasis has shifted quite away from small plates to larger ones. maybe next year we'll hit up the bar and just order small stuff which seems to suit both john and i better. we did stumble into a place in the crest that is more of a year round/local hangout this year after our owners meeting. it's called the Bayview Inn. one of the guys mentioned to johnnybird that this place had $2 drafts of things like Farmhouse Fish, Newcastle, Guiness and a few others I can't remember since i tend not to be a beer girl. we went sunday after the meeting and had the sunday special - 14.99 for a salad, appetizer and main. john got steamed shrimp(about 15) and a pound of snow crab legs; i got the bruscetta(5 pieces) and the steak(8 oz ny strip cooked a bit over medium) and cake(crab that is). draft newcastle for john. total was 33.99 plus some of the best service we have had from carol. i took home both baked potatoes and my crab cake. the potatoes became eggypotatoes for john's breakfasts and the crab cake became his lunch the two days later. next time we go back on a sunday we may just order off the appetizer/raw bar menus since until 6 pm it is half price. next day after major birding - and getting going at the crack of 1400 - i didn't feel like cooking so.... back to Bayview. we sat at the bar this time and freaked the bartender out by ordering 1 Newcastle, 1 Farmhouse Fish and 1 empty glass. tasted each seperately then did the black and tan treatment on them in the empty glass. john had the crabcake sandwich as well as another order of the bruschetta and i had the buffalo chicken sandwich. ended taking half of this home and had it for breakfast. really would be cool if they offered this as a wrap...and suggested it to the bartender. Bayview Inn 8100 Bayview Dr Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260 (609) 522-1287

Green Goddess Dressing I have become obsessed with this condiment that can be used as a sandwich spread or, thinned slightly, as a salad dressing. 3/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream (I use a nondairy sour cream) 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped 5 scallions, chopped 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves, chopped 2 tsp. anchovy paste 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar if you can find it 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 2 garlic cloves, sliced 1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper Place ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Chill at least an hour before serving for flavors to deveolp. Use either as a spread(Johnnybird liked it on roast beef) or thin, if too thick, with a little milk to use as a salad dressing. Keeps for one week. Keywords: Salad, Condiment, Easy, Blender ( RG1968 )

Joyce's Shrimp Limoncello Serves 5 as Appetizeror 4 as Main Dish. One of my best friends, Joyce, and her mom, Concetta, took a trip to the family homeland. There they discovered Limoncello and when I went to visit just before Christmas this is one of the dinners we had. Joyce did this and I made the risotto. 20 large shrimp, shells removed and deveined 1 shot limoncello 2 extra-virgin olive oil 4 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded salt and pepper to taste 10 thin slices of prosciutto, cut in half horizontally Clean the 20 shrimp. Combine the limoncello, extra-virgin olive oil, basil leaves and salt and pepper in a bowl or plastic bag. Add shrimp. Marinate for an hour or two. Turn the oven to broil or begin to heat a grill pan on top of the stove. Remove the shrimp from the marinade. Wrap each shrimp in one of the prosciutto strips. Thread on double skewers. Broil or grill 2-3 minutes on one side; turn and cook 1-2 minutes more. For a main course serve with risotto or pasta and asparagus or a pilaf. For an appitizer serve off the skewers. Keywords: Main Dish, Appetizer, Shrimp, Dinner ( RG1967 )

my favorite breakfast growing up was flounder with boiled potato and succotash. usually at about 10am after doing chores. course now my favorite things for breakfast are leftovers.... though many times i have a bowl of cereal with fruit if i'm hungry when i get home from work at night. i'm weird - i admit it.

i make a black forest mousse pie for johnnybird - usually for his birthday. it is actually more of a pot de creme recipe with double the amount of chocolate - 12 oz for 6 eggs. i do put it in a chocolate crumb crust but make it with the chocolate wafers - not oreos- then top with dark cherries and cool whip(he can't handle the whipped cream).

on one of the other threads - the fizzy lizzy one i think- i mentioned that i had tried these. i, too, usually drink water or unsweetened iced tea but the valencia orange and meyer lemon intrigued me. now i get them about twice a month, one bottle of each, at our local stop and shop. at 1.29 a bottle i don't mind the cost.

an overwhelming desire for fishsticks and tater tots... which i just ate for lunch.

oh, my...oh, my...oh,my..... burgers and onion rings chicken and cashews tonight john wanted pork so it will be pork marsala with some rice pasta for me it will be a nice salad with avacado and green goddess dressing... can you have buttermilk blue cheese with the green goddess? in the meantime the baked beans are on hour 3 in the low oven for tomorrow's dinner served with raisin brown bread and toffuti cream cheese for one of my favorite childhood meals

i just finished reading Chez Jacques by Jacques Pepin and i actually read it more for his commentary and essays than for the recipes which were written old time Gourmet style. NOT to be missed are the essays on food critics, home vs restaurant cooking and nouvelle cuisine. i am also most of the way through A Well-Seasoned Apppetite by Molly O'Neill. haven't found many recipes i don't already have or want but the writing is lyrical in her seasons/ almost seasons and the specific ingredients within the season.

ok- two weeks of nursing an inflamed quad(lift, turn and walk with the heavy snow - DON'T pivot on the right leg) and some friends at work brought me some donations/discards. if you are interested please pm me: Coastal Cooking by John Shields Martha Stewart Livin Annual Recipes 2003 Nathalie Dupree Cooks Everyday Meals from a Well-stocked Pantry Nathalie Dupree Cooks for Family and Friends The Williamsburg Cookbook

i grew up eating steamed puddings in the summer. freshly gathered berries folded into a slightly sweetened bisquick mix. plop into greased coffee cups so they are 3/4 full. put into the big kettle - which would hold 6 or so cups - and pour in hot water till the water comes up about 1/2 way up the cups. cover and steam for about an hour. let cool slightly and top with a hard sauce.

when we were doing raw bars in the restaurant we would chill the clams about 30 min before opening- iced down real good or in the freezer. grittiness is a function of where the clam came from. you might want to open over a strainer set on a bowl. that way you can also harvest the clam juice and the grit is caught in the strainer. since you are using cherrystones there is no neck to speak of. necks and strips come from steamers- or longnecks or piss clams (and my brother-in-law and i have this argument all the time because he steams cherrystones and calls them steamers). think of them looking like mini geoducks. you do have bellies, though. that's that section that contains the alimentary canal and anything that the clams have been eating. you might try putting them in some water with cornmeal for a day or so but.....

john's new favorite is Seville, the triple chocolate cookie they just released.

Thanks for the tip--I'm pretty sure I've seen the Cabot light cheeses in some store or other; now I'll make a point of it to seek them out. ← ellen, congratulations on your slow and steady progress towards health. the cabot light is good but if you like swiss cheese the best low fat i have found is heavenly light swiss from finlandia. it is the only one johnnybird and i have found that has good mouth feel but is low enough in fat that he can tolerate it. any chance you are hopping across the border for some cocktails or fish tacos?

friday john got back from georgia and we had pork roast with a potato and asparagus casserole(NOT the word i want but am having a brain f!$t) as well as a salad of spinach and dandelion with a cranberry port vinaigrette last night was chicken breast with lemon and capers and a broccoli rissotto. tonight? he is cooking the oriental meatballs i made and will have the salad and some noodles.

wow, sandy - what a spread. if it does you any good johnnybird knows the head of the cardiac unit at hersey medical... late wake up and work so an odd day snyders pretzels with cheddar mini 100,000 bar my first slurpee, ever.

believe it or not as a child of the 50s i was allergic to it. they used to put liquid benedryl in my bottle so i wouldn't break out in hives. i was the kid who would put orange juice on my cereal. over the years i seem to be able to tolerate milk better(no more itching) and most of the year i have a glass of coffee milk made with lactose free milk for breakfast - lots of ice in that puppy, too. recently one of the supermarkets around here started to carry kefir and that has been added for an afternoon snack. now i think i'll have to try goats milk and see if johnnybird and i can tolerate it.

i used to make lemon charlotte russe when i worked in restaurants years ago. it used plain gelatin or sheets. if you like i probably could dig up my old formula.

i have never been a big breakfast food eater though dinner/lunch has always been my big meal. when i was 26 or so i developed a hiatal hernia so i had to relearn eating (eg - no 12 cups of coffee, no chocolate, no soda and for a few years no spicy foods). if i'm working and working out i'll have a cup or two of hot cocoa and some yoghurt. lunch at work is my main meal - pasta with meat sauce, leftover meat with a starch and veg dinner is lighter - soup, salad late night snack will be some nuts or some cheese and fruit and crackers or, like tonight, a piece of whole wheat bread with some thin slice turkey breast and some honey mustard. if i do eat out i prefer to eat out for lunch on the days i don't work. johnnybird and i eat out for dinner (together) about once every two months or so...usually when i have to work the weekend and i decide i don't give a flying flip about cooking....otherwise i love planning and cooking for us