BeeZee

was discussing this show with a co-worker and we both agreed that we enjoyed Phil's enthusiasm for everything he tried (whether he enjoyed it or not) but found the Skype portion with his parents to be unnecessary and distracting. Wasn't bowled over by the LA episode, but have enjoyed the others.

didn't cook it, but enjoyed an appetizer at dinner last night of butternut squash and goat cheese strudel. It was served with a dollop of onion jam and a little salad of baby arugula on the side, with a nice viniagrette. The astringent salad was a nice counterpoint.

I went there maybe 5 years ago and didn't find it memorable/worth returning. I seem to remember it was fairly nice (decor-wise), but I prefer the Blue Bottle in Hopewell.for the food.

fell prey to the season and picked up Fall Harvest Salsa today (big display). Ingredients: Pumpkin, tomatoes, water, tomatillo, onions, apples, butternut squash, red bell peppers, jalapenos, honey, lime juice concentrate, sea salt, natural flavor, garlic, cumin. It was for the novelty factor, but I gave in to impulse. Didn't know if it was going to be too sweet...took a spoonful as soon as I got home and actually it isn't very sweet. Mild heat level, and still tastes of tomato more than some of the other squashes and things. Will probably not purchase again, not terrible, but nothing special.

love the thread so far...my mother is a very good cook but she won't trust herself to work without a safety net (ie, recipe) and feels that its boring to repeat dishes. Although I'm pretty sure she did so when we were kids (weeknight dinners I do remember some regular dishes in rotation). So I have no "written gem" to share, but I do enjoy thinking about some of those dishes from tables past.

I grew up in Cherry Hill, now live near Princeton and work in Cherry Hill. My husband lived in Marlton for several years, so we sometimes drive south to go back to some old fav's. Happened to go to Los Amigos 2 weeks ago after along absence...I like Pho Eden in Cherry Hill, Norma's Middle Eastern, and of course Fuji in Haddonfield for top tier sushi. Have had several business dinners at Aldo Lamberti, good wine list and upscale Italian.

Heidi, the crust didn't taste too cheesy (but it definitely had some*), I was thinking I could put some nutritional yeast in the mix, too. I was worried it was going to be "eggy" and it wasn't, there must have been some kind of flour in the mix to bind. I've seen a few recipes online that seem to be too quiche-like, so I was pleasantly surprised by her version. *She was designing it as a healthy lunch or snack for her hubby (my co-worker) and I know from his lamentations about food cut out of his diet she would have kept the cheese binder to a minimum.

the only baked good I buy somewhat regularly are the banana/choc chip protein muffins. Reasonable in calories (120) and gets me some protein for mid-morning snack. They are made with egg whites so they have that sort of spongy texture but I like the flavor. Plus they will keep for a week in the fridge. Had tried brownie bites once and wasn't a fan. Don't recall why exactly...just not good enough to buy again.

co-worker brought couple of slices in something his wife has been working on, a zucchini crust pizza. She finely shredded zucchini, mixed with something as a filler, pressed the crust very thin (like 1/8") and baked it in the oven. I think the sauce/cheese were added after it baked a bit and then finished in oven. Edge of crust was browned/crisp. It was pretty firm, not soggy/floppy. It was surprisingly good. I look forward to further taste tests and further experiments, once she gets the recipe down I'm totally stealing it (gonna make individual sized pies for hubby to reheat for lunch) and I think it would work with a mexican flavor profile, also.

I'm with you, because of the fattiness of salmon I like it crusty and brown. There is a restaurant we go to that I always order the salmon because they cook it on a hot flat top grill and it crusts so nicely. When DH grills boneless chicken breasts...I pick off those incinerated, jerky like pieces on the edges. Also, I always ask for the most well done bagel at the bagel shop.

just picked up a can of dolmades (stuffed grape leaves, vegetarian) today and they were quite tasty and didn't taste "canned". The grape leaves were tender. There were 10/can. It can be found on the shelves where they keep the other jarred relishes/veg and near the canned tuna.

Thanks for the Crepes gives a great tip, which I do also, about putting the larger/stemmy pieces at the perimeter of the baking sheet. Another thing, when you reduce the amount of oil actually coating the cauliflower, is that I like to actually lightly oil the baking sheet also. Non-stick is even better - I have a dark one and it works especially well because it's dark. When I use a light pan and a dark pan at the same time, the difference in cooking time is noticeable.

the only "picking" I do is the giant plastic bags (now they use a ziploc type) with grapes - I'll pull a small bunch out since I don't need 3 lbs of grapes. Same goes for cherries. But I do have a bit of squeamishness after seeing some of the hands that have been in those bags (will try to find a bag at the back that looks less likely to have been "violated").

no, not acceptable. But basic sense and manners seem to be absent for many people. Those clamshell packages are weighed and sort of sealed (snap close, but it's a concept) and that's just wrong.

definitely, those types of postings first drew me in to this web site!

I prefer to eat when I'm hungry. I eat small amounts throughout the day so actually there are many days I don't even have a "regular" meal. I am uncomfortable eating a heavy meal late at night so my "dinner" would probably resemble breakfast (cereal, yogurt) most weekdays. Growing up, we had regular, traditional meals at the customary time of day. My mother is aghast at my eating habits at times .

Using some seasonal goods from local farms...grilled veg panzanella, heavy on veg, light on bread (zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, tomato, parsley) served with a side of leftover cooked chicken. The tomato was a bit under-ripe, but still had more flavor than the usual supermarket stock. It was pretty, should have taken a photo.

I used to adjust my car seat distance from the steering wheel so I could balance something flat between the bottom of the wheel and my lap (impromptu tray) - my leather portfolio was a good stand in. Being in sales...and often traveling up to 2 hours to a client...I would find a shady parking lot to park and eat something with minimal crumbs like a bagel. Local convenience store (Wawa) sells pre-washed seedless grapes in a plastic container, which are great for the car, too. I don't enjoy eating in the car, but it is sometimes a necessity when in "road warrior" mode and trying to make all the stops in a limited amount of time.

DH wouldn't touch a raw tomato as a kid and made his mother remove any large chunks of tomato from cooked sauce. He said it was a texture issue and outgrew that. Interestingly, his adult son seems to have the same aversion.

my kind of breakfast, too. Today I didn't have the cottage cheese or yogurt, but had a good fresh apricot and some blueberries (not so good) with a biscotti. Since I usually eat cottage cheese with fruit, I've been buying the "no salt added" variety, which allows for some customization.

I always have cans of mandarin oranges. I just love them as a canned fruit not resembling any kind of fresh fruit.

sort of a fail in the looks dept, but tasted good. For Passover instead of the leaden cakes that are the norm, I bought a pre-made pie "crust" made from macaroons and filled it with strawberry mousse made from fresh berries. Didn't set properly because I had a gelatin mishap, but it tasted good. And my Mom made macaroons topped with dark chocolate and chopped pistachios, which are 100X better than the canned ones.

my husband and I often dine out with another couple who do not eat as much as we do...they often share an entree. So when it comes time to "split" the bill, we decide amicably on an amount to be contributed. The other couple always offers to split the check, but we will throw in a couple of extra dollars to offset the difference (often it is easiest for us to pay the tip to offset the difference). I agree that it is harder to work things out with larger groups, or heaven forbid, co-workers, where there are too many personalities to accommodate (or hidden politics).

my local supermarket has some shelves in a back hallway area next to the dairy dept...OK, so it's also the hallway back to the restrooms, but I try to overlook that. They put canned and boxed items on those shelves at huge discount. Often it is a seasonal item or brand that is discontinued. I will buy those items because they are completely sealed up and not past any kind of sell by date. Produce it dicey, I've looked at that rack but unless I was making something where I was cooking the fruit or veg down (because much of the items are badly bruised and would need a lot of trimming), I pass. Although a co-worker goes that route for her homemade baby food, since she's just going to cut it up to cook down/puree anyhow.

if cutting up a "standard" cuke, not the "seedless" type...I halve, then scoop the seeds and surrounding gel before slicing or dicing for salad.