christine007

Freshly ground black pepper. I think I'd starve without, because without it, I can't cook!

I made them (twice) with plain ole peanut butter sold in every grocery store...

Try them. I rarely reccomend recipes but these were the poo-dee-do. I can only imagine all the variations you could do, roll them in coconut, the whole chocolate thing. For the small amount of ingredients and time needed, you can't go wrong. I'm sure even the most not working out cookies would still be awesome. I served them to a very diverse group, and they licked them up, and wished there was more... next time, I'm doubling the recipe..

I recently made food network's Claire Robinson's peanut butter cookies, five ingredients as per her show One cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth I used chunky which worked out well, they had more texture. one egg. One cup sugar, I used brown sugar. one teaspoon vanilla dash of salt. I rolled them into little balls and baked at 350 approx twelve minutes. Can I tell you, they're like crack. They are like a cookie made love with the inside of a Reese's peanut butter cup and had a baby. I took them to a meeting I had and they were gone within three minutes. and they're no work at all, I had the mix ready to bake in like four minutes. This is an amazing cookie, let alone the few things you need, and the very small effort put into them. I haven't tried it yet, but these would be amazing cooled, then dunked into melted chocolate.

Last week I had Ben and Jerry's Boston cream pie flavor. Damn them!

I think my problem was expectations. I thought, living on a cattle ranch, there'd be a garden, an orchard, perhaps some cheese making, meat smoking? I really don't need to watch another show that shows how to make burgers and macaroni and cheese. It did seem very forced to me, also. especially when she was tackling a calf in her pretty pink shirt. Whatever.

Has anyone tried the new burger that has avocado on it? I just can't bring myself to, although I admit I find the BK stacker quite edible.. And, the new thing around here is they're now serving Ice cream, ( about five minutes after the McD's around here started, and the new thing is you can get a cherry or coke Icee for a dollar and for a quarter more, they add a shot of vanilla ice cream. I was dubious, to say the least, but let me tell you , in our current miserably hot weather, this drink is awesome! seriously refreshing, creamy and icy at the same time. I'm having a hard time NOT getting one everytime I leave the house.

heat the oven to 350 thinly slice your tomatos, add some finely chopped onion. Take out a pita, butter it, and put in a pie tin. add your tomato and onion, dot with some more butter. Keep an eye on it, whem the tomatos seem like they are melting, top them on the pita with whatever cheese you have on hand. when the cheese melts, about another five mintues, transfer to a plate and eat. yum.

I should have chimed in earlier, as my Mom is a lifelong vegetarian, but one thing we do that pleases meat eaters, and everyone else alike, is to copy a recipe from a long gone eatery we all liked. you put butter or margarine on a pita, top with thin slices of mushrooms and onions, and put on a baking sheet at four hundred about twenty minutes. After the mushrooms start to melt, pull it and add swisscheese, or whatever you have/like. put back in for about ten minutes. this is sooo good. You can do, tomatoes, sprouts, whatever. this is sooooooo good.

My vegetarian mom taught me to love them quickly boiled, then doused with mint sauce ( the kind you get for lamb) it's a wonderful combination and some peas in there won't hurt either.

I got beat to it, but I was logging in to say you wouldn't believe the things I slice with dental floss, regarding the surgical tube in use! This thread is so much fun, thanks to both of you for taking the time to share.

Kim, I know we haven't talked for awhile, but I just had to log in to say that your salad, plus extras was so beautiful! I would eat that every night. Being raised by my chef dad ,and my vegetarian mom made me crave that kind of salad. You did good!!! I made my son western style ribs, I cooked them for an hour at a low heat, then jacked up the heat and put on the BBQ sauce. Served with mashed potatos with peas, and onion rings.

I sprinkle them generously with sugar, then add some fresh lemon juice, using a butter knife to distribute everything evenly. Heaven. Try it. You could go with orange juice too, just make sure it's fresh squeezed.

please, throw it out. Anyone who has food posioning will tell you the same.

A trick my nephew taught me, I always put a Tblsp. of Brown sugar in my meatloaf. It gives it a "Ham" taste that's very pleasing.

sausage rolls are very,very English and will give you some options, they're good hot or cold, with mustard, chutney, cheese and crackers, etc. simply brown off some mild sausage in roll shape, roll in pastry, and bake till brown and cooked all the way through. the pastry can be puff, or piecrust. We have these at teas, and at most holidays, especially in the evening with other snacks.

And in addition to all of that, it would mean having more deep-fat fried food at home. One of the factors in the calculus is limits of consumption. Some things I only have once in a while because I only have them when I am out. Other things I only have once in a while because I make them myself and it is too much work/expense to do more than once in a while. I think, hey, if I had my own fryolator, I could have fried clams whenever I want! Which would be all the time. Those reasons you cited are in my equation also. I to would overindulge as would my son, and the weight gain is truly not worth it. Here in the Cleveland area, there's no end of places to go for inexpensive, good fried food, and as you said, it's then more of a treat.

For me, it's deep fat frying. It's dangerous, it stinks up the house, you pretty much ruin the oil, (specially for fish) and I know a dozen places I can get decent, inexpensive french fries, battered fish, mushrooms, etc. I really don't see the point, especially since I have an eleven year old and a very large dog running around. Plus, yes. I have burnt the HELL out of myself in the past. Just not worth it.

Your blog has been fantastic! you really make stuff I'd love to eat. Regarding the meatball dryness, how about adding some half cooked, finely diced bacon?? it's pork, right? And, I LOVE the picture of that rooster, he's totally thinking, oh yeah, I'm the man, that's right, I'm the poo-dee do!

I grew up eating these, not going to tell how many years ago, however. I would think, after you pull it from the slow cooker, baste it with your favorite BBQ sauce and then maybe put it in a slow oven, just until the sauce has a chance to flavor the meat. Serve on buns with coleslaw.

Thanks so much Roberta, every single thing you have cooked so far has been something I'd love to eat! the Beef looked amazing. You didn't mention if the stuff you have by your sink is bothersome, but I was thinking if it was, you could always go to your local doityourself store and get those baskets that hang from hooks in your ceiling? Just throwing that out there. they are really nice and handy. I love seeing your kitchen, as after years of living in a single family home, I'm getting ready to move into an apartment,which will no doubt have a kitchen styled like yours.

Roberta, your King cake looks wonderful! And you mentioned Polish cooking are you maybe doing stuffed cabbage? I love that more than almost anything. we had it not long ago and a craft fair at a Polish church, with buttered rye bread, I almost died and went to heaven. My German Shep is Malachai Brock Nathaniel, we usually call him kaiser as a nick name. your dogs are just fluffly balls of love!

Thanks all. Suzi, I'm so glad you have John, and my sympathy for the loss of your mother. I still have mine and I can't bear to think about losing her.

well, Paula Dean is perfectly happy to teach you not to wash your hands, taste something with a spoon, then put the spoon back in the mixture, take a bite of something and then proceed to cook with it, and the coup de gras, feed the dog,OFF YOUR HAND, don't throw it up in the air and let him catch it, hell no, let him lick your fingers and then go back to cooking. I've seen her do all of the above, and more I'm sure I can't remember. if you're going to teach cooking, isn't food safety in the mix somewhere? I have a dog, I know where his mouth's been... ugh. I get ill just remembering it. I only hope that everyone watching her knows better, but I'm sure that's not the case.

Well, coward that I am, I was truly waiting for someone to mention not just the wonderful food, but the place and time it was consumed... My husband died, way too young, and it has left me, to say the least equally full of both memories and regrets. I would want to go back to the first meal I ever cooked for him. Mind you, I was not trying any of the "total woman" tricks to catch him, nor was I trying to impress him. As the daughter of both a pro and amature chef parents, I was simply trying to do what they did when they had company, i.e., provide excellent food in a nice setting.. I made stovetop fried chicken, with chicken broth and cream gravy, pecan infused stuffing, mashed creamy potatos, so we'd have a use for the gravy, cranberry sauce from a can, and some broccoli I steamed then threw in butter. Homemade cornbread and softend butter completed the meal. I had guessed, and rightly so, that we'd need no desert after this feast. We sat outside,(it was summer) after, and had gin and tonics over ice, until it was time for him to go home. It was only about six weeks after this, that he asked me to marry him, and in those six weeks, as he did,I came to understand that both of us were head over heels in love. I was a dedicated career woman, and he was a "never again" divorced man, but there you go. Suffice to say, we married, had our daughter,and I will spend the rest of my life wondering why our time was cut short... So, that is, beyond anything, the meal I'd go back to... Yes, a perfect, amazing meal, but the memories? Even better.