Lilija

A delicious, chewy, homey, comforting, bowl of homemade egg noodles, with butter and maybe garlic. Or in a rich chicken broth.

Basic normal grocery shopping, or trips to the farmer's market mostly go unrewarded, but there are a few stores I make it a point to get a treat from. If I go to a particular Asian market, I never leave without stopping at the bakery on the way out, and getting a red bean bun and an almond milky bubble tea. It's about a once a month treat. Whole Foods, another store I get to about once a month for bulk staples, I treat myself to some nice soap and or a fragrance oil. I'm a sucker for the Kuumba Made fragrances.

I ate an entire column of saltines. I chased the crackers with about a quart of chocolate milk, but after half a glass, the chocolate milk got lonely, so I mixed in a few glugs of homemade Kahlua. Ok, more than a few.

I would add some stuff they might not be inclined to eat, if they weren't growing it, like Japanese eggplant, or beets. Both are pretty to look at, easy, and just a little different. Asparagus Watermelon Pumpkins

Mmm, when I think of a huge "WHAM" of parsley flavor, I think of tabbouleh salad. I don't have any recipes, though. I also like obscene amounts ripped up, on top of my pho, along with basil, cilantro and mint. Ooh ooh, a good chimichurri sauce is another parsely showcase.

That napoleon reminded me of her Apple Pie Napoleon. I watched with jaw dropped as she took a perfectly fine apple pie and smashed it to smithereens to make her "dessert". From her ingredient list and per her instructions - 1 uncooked crumb top apple pie - Bake apple pie per package instructions. Let cool. Once cooled, break up pie with a fork. On this show, she didn't bother with the monkey business of baking a frozen apple pie, she just used a store bought pie. ← Ulgh, I had a near miss with that apple pie abomination, not too long ago. I visited my mom, one afternoon, and Sandra's show had just ended. My mom was at her computer looking up the recipe for that mess when I walked in. She's like "I might do this for Thanksgiving!" I read it over her shoulder, and after getting over my initial shock, I told her that she could make an apple pie from scratch for the amount of effort that went into this. I mean seriously, look at how complicated it is. For starters, bake a frozen pie then break it all up? Why would someone do that to an innocent apple pie? Gross gross gross. Thank God my mom wound up lazying out and just buying a Mrs. Smith's. I never thought I would be so happy to see a plain old grocery store frozen pie, lemme tellya.

I'd have tried it in the name of science. Who knows, you could have had an entry for the Dinner II thread.

The food looks top notch, BekkiM, the theme and decoration are SO friggin cool. I bow to your NYE coolness, and might steal an idea or two.

Good reason! Did the greyness affect the flavor?

It looks like you got the same ricey texture that I was talking about. It's good, but I like the smoother kind better.

One caveat with mashed cauliflower, make sure you cook the crap out of it. I generally hate mushy vegetables, so I the first time, I made it on the firm side...it didn't whip into a smooth mash, it had a strange granular almost ricey texture, tasty but definitely not what I was hoping for. So, make sure it's on the soft side. Simmering it in chicken broth is excellent too. Adding a clove or two of peeled garlic while you simmer it...fantastic, mashes right in there, and adds a mellow garlic note. Side note: Later on, I read a low carb rice substitute that did that exact thing. Cook cauliflower till it's tender but not soft, and run it through a ricer, or a mash with a grid potato masher. Very good with something saucy.

It's been nearly 10 years, for me, but I remember peanut butter. I would go through a Costco jar of Skippy in a week, eating it on everything, including a spoon. My son hates peanut butter. What kid hates peanut butter? I went on a giardenara kick, too, those very tart pickled mixed vegetables, pepperocinis would do in a pinch. I remember eating at a local Italian place with a salad bar, and eating a plateful of pepperocini, covered with vinagrette. Also, Orange Hi-C. Not orange Kool-aid. Not orange drink, not Tang, not Sunny Delight. Orange Hi-C, and plenty of it, out of the huge cans. I never drank Hi-C, and never touched it after I had my son, but for some reason, I was downing it by the gallon. Aversions: I couldn't deal with raw meat, especially chicken. The sight, smell, mere thought of raw chicken would have me hauling ass to the bathroom. Cured meats made me throw up every time, even something as innocent as a few slices of pepperoni on pizza. Salami on a sub? Up it came. I couldn't eat cheeseburgers or any combo of meat and cheese together. Took me three years before I could stand cured salami type stuff, afterwards.

I like sour cream AND apple sauce, not at the same time, just there at the edge of my plate, to dip in alternately. My most favorite way, though, seems to be an old Polish thing is sprinkled with salt and a bit of granulated sugar. It's crunchy, and it's goood.

Hahaha, that is the best idea yet! We ARE a buncha pirates, though, so even our non-themed parties wind up that way. I think it that might be our official first-barbecue of the season, though. Sorry for jacking this thread... Back on topic: I think someone's bringing clam dip, and stuffed celery! Woohoo!

I hope there will be plenty of meats on sticks ← Meats! On sticks! Total inspiration. Hmm... Rumaki? Is that what those chicken liver-bacon dealies are called? I might have to go to the store today. Man, I just realized that my party sounds so low brow, compared to all the lobster, caviar, and steak... Maybe next year we'll dress it up a little. A few years ago our theme was medieval, that was pretty weird, too. We've had Caribbean parties, and themes that revolved around one color. I really really like BekkiM's idea, too.

We're going to a friend's house, but her whole family is down with a cold, so I'm "catering". Our whole crew, for some reason, got on a 70's kick, recently, bringing back phrases, watching movies, one guy is even growing his 'fro out, etc. (We're a strange bunch, now that I analyze it.) So, in keeping with our whole theme, we're doing retro nibbles, including deviled eggs, baby meatballs in a sweet-sour sauce, lil pigs in blankets, finger sandwiches, mini broccoli and cheese quiches, chex mix and some stuff other people are bringing. We even have a list of 70's-ish cocktails, and the pink champagne will be flowing in abundance! Edit: And chocolate fondue for dessert, what 70's food party would be complete without fondue?

I'm sure this is beyond delicious. But the idea of butter and ham in a cold spread is not appealing to me. I guess it's better if I don't know sometimes. But a half cup butter to 3 cups of ham is almost cookie dough. Ham cookie dough. I guess it's not that much different than using mayo. Just startles my senses. ← OK, K8memphis; you're a baker; what would it take to create a short biscuit dough from the above recipe? Maybe some selfrising flour and baking powder? Now I'm getting curious... ← This is getting quite tasty sounding. I think just the self-rising flour will do it. Tell yah what, we could not go wrong making walnut size rounds and deep frying them. Ooh died & gone to heaven good. We could call it putting the pig in hush puppies. Hush piggies? Raucous piglettes? With a little dipping souce of honey mustard and bourbon or rum or something. Or we could flatten them a tid and bake them. There's a reason I stay on a sugar free low carb diet. Needs clove or mace or both. ← You people alarm me! I love it... That sounds like it's getting close to the infamous Bisquick sausage balls, kinda tarted up. I'm totally interested. I think next time I have spare ham laying around, I'm gonna tinker around... Because I think along with deep frying, it needs cheese. Sharp yellow cheddar, then just a hint of nutmeg would take it home. Edit to add: The butter makes the ham so smooth and spreadable, it's not overpowering, it's just not as wet or sloppy as mayo would be, in this situation. It doesn't make it heavy (or else, I have a high butter threshhold...could be that too) Mayo would make it "ham salad" which is good in its own right.

Gourmet Cookbook's deviled ham, of course! Whir in your food processer: 3 cups diced ham 1/2 stick of butter 1/4 cup dijon mustard 1/4 cup chutney I whirr everything but the ham together in the food processer, then add the diced ham in, and pulse it till it's spreadable. I like mine smooth, but not paste. That's the recipe right out of the book, or you could do like I do, use a whole stick of butter, a good dose of siriacha, and no chutney. It makes a big ham go amazingly fast. I love it as a dip for crisp veggies, as a sandwich spread, on crackers with a bit of pickled relish, and it lasts a while in the fridge. It is my all time favorite way to use up a huge ham.

Since you mentioned it, I haven't added Velveeta to my mac & cheese in awhile...but I kinda miss it, and I think, in this case it will be just the thing to keep the whole works emulsified... Thanks for reminding me, I'm heading out to the store now. I'll just add a goodly amount to my basic recipe in place of some of the cheddar. Honestly, this is a really good idea, so I thank you and your culinary guilty concience

Can a shiksa girly (from a decidedly Jewish neighborhood) weigh in? I'll trade 13 lbs of Christmas cookies for a good plate of latkes any day... That might be the first thing I make, when the holiday shell-shock wears off.

Ok, it's a long story, but as a Christmas gift, I'm making about a month's worth of food for some family members. Today is the zero hour, where I'm doing final stuff. Included in this gift is a pan of homemade mac & cheese. I'm using the Cook's Illustrated version, which I always have success with. One complaint, is that when I reheat the leftovers it tends to seperate, unless I cover it tight, put in a few drops of milk or cream, and stir it a few times... My question is this: If I don't do the final bake, think it would reheat without all the fuss, and without seperating? I'm really looking for a nice finished product that will reheat beautifully, even at the expense of browned breadcrumbs. Any insight or advice would be welcome.

This is a great topic! We recognize that Santa might be sick of cookies by the time he gets to our house, so we leave Santa a small cheese platter, including some of his favorites like a bit of blue, swiss, and sharp cheddar, pepperoni slices or a nice dry salami, and some crackers. To drink, generally a Diet Coke, or perhaps a Yuengling. For the reindeer, we leave a bowl of baby carrots in on the front step, and sprinkle some "magic reindeer food" around the yard. That's a tradition that dates back to when my son was in pre-school, and came home with a bag of it that he made. Every year, we mix some random grains and birdseed with multicolored sprinkles and colored sugars, then throw handfuls in the grass. I really love your apple slices in the zippy bag, that's very thoughtful and adorable.

Count me in for the sriracha...and I'm tempted to post pics, since I just spent an evening cleaning out my pantry...

Dinner looks delicious, and your "day of" scheduling looks like it's gonna work out nice. Don't forget to feed yourself a little during all the pre-events, have a quick egg for breakfast, you'll need the energy. I concur, as far as cleaning...they're family...I would slash that list in half, and do surface cleaning. No one's gonna go upstairs and stare at the unshampooed rug, not with all that awesome food, and festivities.

I'm baking, but I'm not doing anything else... Seriously, we haven't even decorated yet. My son suspects we've all converted into Jehovah's Witnesses. I was sick for a month, then we went to the Caribbean for a week, then we came back and The Holidays (doom music) were already in full swing. Did all my shopping online, then got roped into baking and cooking. Honestly, it's cheaper than buying a buncha little gifts, but my heart isn't 100% in it. I discovered, this year, that I don't have time to decorate, entertain, shop, AND bake. I have to pick a few, or go a little easier on all of 'em.