BeeZee

I'm expecting some "gifts" from a co-worker shortly, good timing. I actually like a simple prep, shred humble zukes in the food processor and sauté with olive oil/butter plus a little garlic until just tender. Have also sliced them very thin and baked on non-stick pans until I got crispy "chips" (works better with the thinner, less seedy ones).

I happened to see the episode this morning, as well. He put some large tenderloins into disposable aluminum pans, poured a lot of melted butter over them (guessing there was 1/2" in the bottom of the pan) and seasoned liberally. It appeared that he cooked them until well browned on one side, basting with the butter, then turned. Not so much poached as roasted in butter? The meat, when she sliced it, was pretty rare. I'm thinking they do that for keeping the large tenderloin from drying out and since they are cooking such huge quantities on the ranch, it makes it easier to manage. High end steak restaurants "finish" their meat with butter, so I guess it's just the cowboy method.

coming to the table when you are still kind of picking at your food, and starting to take it away "you're done with that, right?" (AKA, time for you to clear the table). I literally grabbed a plate back from a wait person one time because it had half a muffin left on it, it wasn't like I was saving crumbs.

I'm just starting to plan a kitchen face lift, no major demo, so I think I will only be kitchen-less for 3 days. I'm thinking the loss of sink will be the biggest hassle, since I have only a small pedestal sink in the powder room on the first floor. Maybe I'll time it for when DH is out of town so as to minimize use of paper/disposables.

a generation of children living anxious lives. When I was a child, maybe 6 years old, a playmate shoved a handful of dirt into my mouth. I ran to my mother in horror, "I ate dirt!". She shrugged.

Princeton is kind of a weird food town. It should be really good, but it's not, and places tend to be inconsistent in the moderate price range. The new place, Agricola, is getting good reviews...farm to table, small plates. Mediterra is another option. Both are within walking distance of the best place in Princeton for gelato, The Bent Spoon, which is a "don't miss". Blue Point Grill has outstanding simply prepared seafood, but it is impossible to get in without a res.

leftovers from weekend, jicama/romaine/mango salad...added 1/2 an avocado and some sunflower seeds

I think about intensifying the flavors of the ingredient...for example, oven dried tomatoes can be a flavor burst, different than a fresh tomato. Roasted garlic tastes different than sauteed, etc.

Kraft mac+cheese (the original, blue box). It's a blast from my childhood and I will eat the whole thing in one sitting. No doctoring or upgraded add-ins, just milk and butter.

Soba, loving your vegetable-centric dishes. Not a fan of eggs, but I can look past them . You really put the veg "front and center" rather than using them as an accessory.

my contribution is that it is someone in NYC. That is probably Katz's corned beef sandwich (note the plastic tray), some swanky cocktail lounge, and a dish from Chinatown or Queens. Mitch?

If this were the menu description: Pan seared sea scallops, shrimp, mussels, in a white wine lemon butter sauce, with spinach and cherry tomatoes served over linguine. And what you got was overcooked pasta literally swimming in a thickened gravy-like lemon sauce (to the point that in the shallow bowl, it wasn't even visible) rather than a nice, light clear sauce...and no spinach or cherry tomatoes in the dish...worth a mention? I'll usually give them a pass on seasoning, unless it's so salty I can't eat it. But this just missed the mark on so many levels, it really made me think about saying something. It's not a "greasy spoon", it's a small family-owned BYOB with entrees $18-$28.

I won't hesistate to tell our waitperson if my dish is cold (please take it back to the kitchen)...but last night I had something that was poorly executed (and frankly not really matching the menu description) and I thought about telling the waitress as "feedback for the chef". I decided to just leave it half uneaten and depart, figuring that it wasn't going to mean anything if I told her to tell him. The question at hand...does the chef want to know if he's really missing the mark? If our waitress had been the one to clear my plate (half uneaten) I really thought I was going to tell her why...but a busperson who only asked if I wanted the leftovers wrapped to go had come to clear.

I like the Ginger Chews also...closest thing I could think of with similar texture is a stale Tootsie Roll. It's not the same, but a similar taffy kind of texture that threatens to pull fillings out of your teeth.

Nope. Already tried that one and it still has that tinge of...something other than baked goods

Atauolfo mangoes 10 for $5 at Whole Foods sale this friday...mango gorging ahead

I saw Alphonsos in the supermarket last week, cost was $1 each. They didn't look great, so I passed. Usually they will come down to 2/$1.00 for one week of the season.

No photos, but frankly it wasn't a photogenic meal. I dined solo at a vegetarian Indian buffet for lunch. Had a fairly limited offering, but everything was interesting and had differing spice levels, I tried a spoonful of everything. Sweet and sour broccoli (sort of odd, the coating/sauce seemed like tomato paste base), some kind of daal, paneer makhni, some kind of cabbage dish (chopped up very fine and mixed with carrots), vada (crispy and not too doughy), aloo gobi, basmati rice. Dessert was pineapple halwa (the one item not of a browish/beige color!).

Yehuda brand, from Israel. For the types found in our local supermarkets, it is my favorite plain because it tends to be more well-done. So at least you have the flavor of burnt cardboard rather than just plain cardboard . Snacking on leftover charoset, it is nice on whole wheat matzoh.

Sis gave me her used Krups Espresso machine, wasn't up to snuff for her Sicilian hubby. So it's sort of a "junk heap" acquisition, I wasn't going to buy one, but for free...

I'm a purist, I like plain matzoh, preferably with a smear of whipped cream cheese. I can't say I've noticed much difference between the commercial brands (I know some people probably have brand loyalty, I get whatever brand the supermarket is giving me for free with my $50 purchase ). Whole wheat which is made with apple juice instead of water tends to not taste as "dry". I bought spelt matzoh last year and it wasn't markedly "better" in any way. My late uncle used to go into Brooklyn and get schmura (sp?) matzoh which is hand made and usually more of a round/irregular shape, and tends to be close to burnt. Interesting in smaller quantities. At the end of the day...it's pretty much edible cardboard no matter what.

I always wondered about how different cultures developed tastes for certain textures that others find "challenging"...for example, some of the jelly-like ones found in Asian cuisines (both savory and sweet). Fatty cuts of meat, gelatinous textures.

Lasagne with chopped kale, sauteed mushrooms, and a little chopped chicken. Made with Barilla no boil noodles, hence the extra liquid. I find that it absorbs more as it sits and leftovers are perfect...I tend to make the sauce pretty soupy to start. And I used a disposable pan, which doesn't help with it's lack of thermal properties vs a nice stoneware one.

I like grain salads, so I will cook them in diluted chicken stock and mix with whatever veggies need to be used. I had cut the broccoli into tiny florets and stem pieces, threw it in the pan with the barley for the last 2 minutes of cooking. It was good as a hot side as well as a room temp salad with the added vinegar.

Barley with broccoli, sundried tomatoes, crumbled feta. Made a larger batch, mixed with olive oil, added a tsp of red wine vinegar to each portion in the morning. I had cooked the barley in diluted chicken broth. Eaten at the desk, as you can see.