slo_ted

What I would do is to get them a nice chefs knife, and maybe a paring knife. These will hold up to the years of abuse that they will endure before their owners realized the treasures they really are. They can then be restored, and you will again be a hero. Best of luck.

I admit to being hooked on Iron Chef (Japanese). I've watched re-runs of shows I've seen before. There was an ernestness there that one rarely sees on TV. I loved to watch the cooking techniques, and the tools. Too bad it's gone. the ICA is not the same, though I watch it also. About RR. I once enjoyed her 30 min. meals show, but she seems to have hi-jacked this network now. Where are the "how to" shows that really made this network great? Ming is gone, Sara is gone, I don't even see Bobby Flay doing much anymore. I'm sure they listen to their focus groups and polls, but to those of us who want to cook better and looked to this network as a resource it is a loss.

Road trips within the state we travel relatively heavy. Coffee, venerable polypropylene percolator, canned milk, wine, fruit, crunchy snacks. Lots of bottled water. Also the usual tools-- Chefs knife, paring knife, utility knife, cork screw. Cheese is nice and I love some jalopeno and serrano peppers. We stuff all this stuff into the car. For airline advendures, we must pare it down severely. Some prepackaged snacks, fruit, peppers for accenting the food purchased on the fly. Oh, and some bottled water to wash it down.

Thank you, John. I'm a SM fan and I miss her presence on the Food Network. You are a lucky guy!

Blue Moon Belgian White. A wheat ale. Extremely smooth. Have to admit that most of the time it's Bud Lite.

I always thought it was Mario Batalli's fault.