Lilija

Homemade noodles freeze quite well by themselves but I am not sure that the result will be as good if frozen and reheated with a sauce. ← Egg noodles will freeze successfully if they are (1) slightly undercooked (2) completely coated in the sauce Try to freeze noodles (and anything else, for that matter) in as flat and even package as possible, for the most consistent and even thawing/microwaving. If possible, form the food into a doughnut sort of shape, with a space in the middle. Otherwise, you will end up with overcooked edges and a cold center. ← Thanks so much for the info! I make about a month's worth of frozen meals for a few relatives, as gifts, and something over noodles was a request. Sweet. This makes life easier.

Just out of curiosity, how do egg noodles freeze? Say I were to make some kind of saucy stewy stuff, and portion it in a container over egg noodles, what should I expect upon thawing or microwaving. Anyone have any insight?

That sounds like a great idea, if you have the right recipients. Pho is still really exotic around here, I wish my friends would dig something like that. You could throw in a recipe, too, to round it out, or pack it all in a nice bowl with a spoon, and chopsticks. What a cool gift. I know I would totally love it. I made cookies last year, as well as 2 weeks of dinners for my aunt and her brother. I've been doing it for years, they're both single, they work hard, too busy to cook, and they're financially comfortable enough, that they never "need" anything. What do you give someone who has everything? Dinner! I make up bunches of their favorite foods, freeze them in 1-2 portions, throw in a pie or two, some homemade bread, and they are in heaven. They start sending me ideas as early as August, haha. I really love doing it, I wish I could do the same for my Mom, but she hates food. I'm not doing cookies this year, I made about 800 last year, and it just about killed me. I was thinking of making candies this year. I can start earlier since most candies keep better than cookies, and the ones I have picked out are a lot less labor intensive. I'm thinking of making my Aunt Mary's butter toffee, some variety of fudge, my friend's South African brown sugar fudge (supposedly, it's kinda crunchy. Sounds good, I'll have to try it out before I settle), sweet and spicy mixed nuts, and chocolate dipped pretzel rods.

I just ate 3/4ths of a jar of Trader Joe's Chili Corn tomatoless salsa, with pita chips. Then I ate the smallest bit of chocolate mint fudge, then I ate a tiny bit more. Now I have a tiny bit of a tummy ache.

I always have beef jerky and about a dozen bottles of water in my Jeep, because I'm extremely prone to car sickness, and often times putting something in my tummy will help. Nothing I've tried will hold up through extreme temps like some good old beef jerky. We always have a few kitchen towels in the back, as well as one large bath towel, they're handy for a mess of reasons, but mainly beacause I wrap casseroles, and hot foods in them in the hatchback. We use reusable bags for shopping too, so I have a big bag of bags, including two insulated ones, for hot or cold stuff. In the armrest, there's a gallon sized ziploc containing condiments, napkins, and flatware, because like Rebecca, we are prepared for any sort of road food. Salt, pepper, sugar, Splenda, Taco Bell hot sauce (guilty pleasure...) ketchup, mustard, mayo, and some other random stuff. I'm sure my son has all manner of snacks and candy stashed around the back seat. I always find baggies of stuff that get sent to school and never quite make it back in the house, lollipops from the bank, mints from the diner, etc. In the winter, I'm sure it'll get worse, we have a potluck dinner with our friends every Saturday night, when the weather cools, so I'm constantly bringing side dishes, desserts, drinks, ice, and random ingredients to and fro.

I've never cooked with it, but it's very good for your skin, too, for topical use. Makes an exquisite massage oil.

I do that sometimes too, for various reasons. Most recently, I spent all of Sunday making choucroute garni, and smelling it cooking all day became fully overpowering. We wound up icing it down, sticking the whole thing in the fridge and going out. We had it yesterday, and it was AWESOME. I guess it's the same with holiday meals, for me, generally I like the leftovers better.

Just off the top of my head, any huge holiday dinner. I LOVE to tackle Thanksgiving for 12, but when it comes down to eating it...eh. Big roasts, too. I'm no vegetarian, but I really limit my meat consumption, so a huge slab of rich meat taking up a third of my plate is often waaaay too much. A little sliver is enough, but I really love the act of preparing, and turning out a perfect roast, be it prime rib, fresh ham, ham, pork shoulder, lamb, anything.

Huge ham? Devil some of it. Two other uses for mashed potatoes: Add chicken stock, cream, seasonings, bacon, cheese, broccoli. spinach, leeks, ham, beer, random garnishes, some or all of the above for an impressive potato soup the next day. Save and freeze, as a filling for perogi, or a base for gnocci. Or you could do like my Polish grandmother used to, make a pot of ramen noodles, double the water, then systematically go through the fridge dumping in everything. Leftover meatballs? In the pot they go, chicken, noodles, and string beans? Sure! Leftover bacon and eggs from breakfast out? Why not?! She used to call it "garbage soup".

I've always just done it the same way I do for drinks, cut the knobs off of each end, cut in half lengthwise, then each half lengthwise into quarters. Most of the seeds fall out, that way, and the stubborn ones are easy to flick out with the knife tip. For drinks, after I quarter the halves, I cut each wedge in half again, it makes a nice little piece. Perfect for Corona bottles.

I make great 3 egg omelets in my square griddle pan, it's pretty heavy nonstick, and 3 eggs beaten with about a tablespoon of half and half spreads very thin. Heat to med-low, a little butter spread over the surface, then pour the beaten eggs, tilting the pan gently so they spread. The fillings get sprinkled over the whole thing, sparsely. They go on immediately, because the egg is so thin, it sets in no time. I gently fold it in thirds, diner style. It winds up being very delicate thin layers of egg, with the filling distributed evenly throughout. I make it softly set the way my family likes (though it makes a good dry omelet too, if you don't like your eggs runny). The outside is not really browned, save for a few speckles of color, here and there.

There's a thread about that somewhere on here, I recall reading people having success with the eye round, cooked from frozen, though I've never tried it. The only way I've been able to make that edible is salt it heavily and let it cure for a while, then wipe all the salt off, and cook it at 300, till it's rare. Your seniors would hate that, I'm sure, being rare, slightly chewy, and salty. Excellent job on the meeting, I would say the woman came away from that with a different opinion of you, and hopefully a good deal more respect for your job. She was backpedaling all over the place, how satisfying. Ya done good.

It definitely helps to write stuff down, and vent to an audience, like this. Now that it's all out of your system, maybe you can bring your note, your menus, and your budgeting problems to this new person. Also maybe invite her to watch your typical day, in action, and see how the seniors are used to eating. She sounds a little overzealous, with a nice dash of cluelessness. Hopefully, she'll listen to you, and open her damn eyes.

Ok, this one hit me like a tsunami... we were walking through Costco, and some diabolical little old lady thrust a sample of their awesome apple pie in my hand. It's been all I can think about for the past three days. Not apple pie, but THAT apple pie. "Sweetie, what do you want for dinner?" "That apple pie from earlier." "What should we take to Bryant's house" "That apple pie, from yesterday" "Want me to go get bagels, for breakfast?" "While you're out, stop and grab me one of those apple pies" So far no good. This craving has yet to be satisfied. I don't want a polite slice of this pie, if and when I do get it. I want a warm slab of it, in a bowl, with a splash of cream.

You would be correct! My friend is already bringing the penis cake, whether I want it or not, haha, and that's the beginning and end of "lewd food" for me. I think the man bits macaroni is just a little too "in your face". I really like the idea of little kebabs, or even sate. Now to figure out a way of making it kind of ahead. I've got my hands on a chocolate fountain, I'm planning on making a spicy chile and cinnamon spiked dark chocolate fondue, for it. Some other ideas, that I've come up with since last night: Cheese fondue (to go with the chocolate, or would that be too much?) vodka marinated spicy cherry tomatoes (Bloody Mary Poppers) something with smoked salmon, maybe smoked wrapped around asparagus spears, with Boursin somewhere in the mix? Popsicles are a nice idea, but I'm wondering how it'll hold up in a finger foods hostess party type setting, hmm. A nice watermelon puree would be pretty, pink, and a little perverted, depending on what kind of mold I find. Oh, and I'm all for the sexy waiter! Only, all the husbands and boyfriends that are quarantined in the bar across the street might take offense. I LOVE all these responses, I knew I could rely on eGullet, haha. More! I have over a month to plan! Edit: Henry dV, you caught my drift exactly, and I love both of those ideas...

I'm having one of those hostess parties, not a candle party, or a Chef type thing, or anything like that...but for the 18+ girls only crowd, if ya catch my drift... I had one last year, and it was a huge hit, I had a great assortment of nibbles, but this year I want to outdo myself, so I'm going with kind of a theme. I want sexy, sensual, aphrodisiac (also, easy, make-ahead, crowd pleasing). No vegetarians, no super adventerous eaters, and oysters are probably out. I'm mainly looking for savory, hot or cold, and a few kinds of mixed drinks that I could whip up by the pitcherful. I have the sweets covered, my friend is loaning me her chocolate fountain, add strawberries and other fresh fruits, cake chunks, tiny brownies, and pretzels, and dessert is served. Plus, I think my friend is bringing one of those oh-so-tasteful anatomy cakes. So, sexy nibbles, any ideas?

I would be careful about having a flame resting on the bottom of a glass globe. I've had a candle burn down far, where the flame was sitting right on the bottom, and the whole thing shattered, exploding hot liquid wax, fire and glass shards all over. I really don't want to sound like a naysayer, the whole thing sounds like a fantastic, and very dramatic concept. Maybe if you had it on something to insulate it from the bottom, like half of an eggshell, or something ceramic. Even a tea candle would be pretty cool, and a bit safer.

Hmm, but what if, instead of absinthe, you used Everclear... I would be concerned about flaming sugar on any plate at my table, flaming sugar is no. joke.

I was out picking stuff out of my garden earlier, and staring hard at my Thai Dragon plants. My peppers are a little longer, and more slender, but they are *so* close.

I'm growing them in my garden as we speak, and the little tag says "Thai Dragon". I grow em every year, they're one of my favorite kinds, they're hardy, hot, flavorful, they dry very well, and the plants are just gorgeous.

When I find that in my fridge, it's tomato sauce time. Some dried out old cured meat, simmered for about a half hour in a can or two of crushed tomatoes, some herbs, however you make a quick sauce. Or, I use it as a flavoring component in bolognese. Adds a very rich, very lovely meatiness, and the long simmer brings it back.

I did live on an island for a few years, I moved to Guam to live with my dad in my teens. There was precious little fresh dairy, there, and no 'real' Italian or Italian American food as far as the eye can see. After I got home, back to NJ, I walked down the block to my favorite deli, ordered a whole roast beef and provolone sub with everything (lettuce, tomato, hot pepper relish, salt, pepper, oregano, mayo and oil and vinegar). I sat right down on the stoop of the deli, and ate that whole goopy, thing, and washed it down with a quart of chocolate milk. Later, Sicilian pizza, topped with sausage, onions, and peppers.

Our general everyday is a Greek-ish salad, with romaine, cabbage (cut to the same size as the romaine) lots of cukes (from the billion popping out of the garden, nowadays) tomatoes, feta, and diced onion. Homemade lemon/oregano vinagrette. That's the basic. We have some bottled dressings around, too, but the vinagrette is always on the table. Any given night can sub the cheese for something else, add nuts, or other vegetables like bell peppers, radishes, carrots sometimes. I've also been really in the mood for old-fashioned salads, lately, so we're on quite a kick with those. Relish-type staple "salads" on the table, like a crunchy munchy light Waldorf type, or carrot raisin, broccoli, or some sort of vinegar slaw. Then, sometimes I mix it up with just simple vegetables, like last night it was fresh cucumbers with a bit of sliced onion, lots of black pepper, lime juice, and plain yogurt. The other day, whole romaine leaves with this bottled miso dressing that we all love. When my tomatoes finally redden, I'm sure they'll be starring in simple "salads" too. We eat salad every night, so I try to mix it up.

It's a riff on Steven Raichlen's version in his book called Sauces Rubs and Marinades. I'll PM it, so as not to jack the thread

I've always wanted one of those big fancy shmancy convection microwaves. I think I would use it, a lot. I know I get a ton of mileage out of my convection toaster. I think I just hate my microwave.