BeeZee

My sister, who was mostly vegetarian for many years, found that when she had to take steroids for a medical issue she got mad cravings for rare beef.

For me, it depends on the cheese. One of the most edible items back in college was grilled cheese made with (I believe) velveeta or something like that. They got an incredible crust on that bread. Served with tomato soup, it was eagerly looked forward to in the dining hall. When I was a little kid, it was Kraft singles...so my grilled cheese sandwich benchmark is gooey cheese. Toasted cheese, I prefer a cheese that maintains some structure, like swiss or provolone. Bread is toasted first, then cheese on top and back in to the toaster oven to melt. And I agree with Kerry Beal, that tends to be a breakfast thing for me.

Steven, do you ever get to Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ? They have bento supplies including little bottles for sauces.

I'm same as Munchymom...my stomach takes 2 hours to "wake up" and I can't get anything except black coffee and maybe a 1/2 of a banana down in the morning. Since I drive around quite a bit for work (sales) I keep a protein bar in my pocketbook so if I'm hungry in the car around 10am I eat. I just don't wake up hungry and as a kid wasn't really into breakfast either. Maybe it has to do with blood sugar levels and how variable they are for an individual.

have a sales meeting for a couple of days in October, staying in Hotel Palomar - a short walk away...when I'm not trapped in endless droning meetings...I'm already gathering co-conspirators for a gelato run (or two).

I used to get a grilled cheese sandwich with chutney, that sweet/spicy flavor with cheese is good. Also recently had a 3 cheese panini which included mostarda, also tasty.

I have the small Cuisinart unit with the freezable container...it really does need to be frozen for a minimum of 24 hours in the coldest part of your freezer. Frankly, I think 48 hours is better if you can, your freezer may not be cold enough. And I also chill the ice cream mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes before pouring it into the frozen container to churn. My first batch was one of their basic recipes as well, had no problem. The good news is, the mistakes still taste good!

If you have a Trader Joe's market near you, they have several unique nut combos that incorporate spices. Since their stock rotates in and out, hard to tell you what to look for, but they are featuring one now that has dried rosemary if you like that flavor. And they seem to have cashews featured in a lot of the mixes (which is a good thing in my opinion).

Just had some of that flavor 2 days ago...didn't taste any spinach, very faint artichoke, but also found it too oily. I like the hoummous with pine nuts the best.

A sail sounds lovely. Did you pack a lunch or dinner? 7/4 doesn't have to be bbq. I have fond memories of my time in D.C. and planning the picnic dinner to accompany the National Symphony concert on the Capitol lawn before the fireworks. No bbq. Always my mom's potato salad, with eggs AND bacon. We bring supplies to make lunch out on the water...couple of types of bread, sliced roast beef and turkey, coleslaw, tomato, chips...snacks when back in dock at the end of the day...no dinner after all that! My parents have a nice boat with a refrigerator so we can load it up with good stuff.

Hubby and I were sailing on the 4th so we lit the inaugural flame (so to speak) on the new grill on 7/5...tuna steak and sweet white corn grilled...salad of chopped tomato and avocado. A nice summery meal after a late afternoon round of golf.

3 months later...I watched what I ate a little more carefully, increased fiber intake, and have taken a natural plant stanol/sterol supplement every day. Cholesterol dropped from 210 to 203, not huge, but a move in the right direction. My "good" cholesterol level is good, so I'm fine for now.

When I was a kid and getting interested in cooking, my parents let me make baked alaska for them and another couple they had over for dinner. My first foray into something that seemed "exotic"...obviously not terribly complicated, but I remember being pretty proud of the result. For a kid, the concept of putting something with ice cream into the oven is pretty dramatic.

My favorite healthy snack these days is Lundberg's brown rice cakes. Good base for various toppings, and they actually have a little flavor, not totally styrofoam-like.

I did in fact make this for Mother's Day and it was easy and tasty. They meyer lemons at the supermarket were terrible (packaged in plastic mesh sacks, each one had at least one rotted lemon) so I used 1 part orange juice to 3 parts lemon and it was still very lemony/tangy. Served with sweet cherry compote. Had some leftovers and it did not "weep" for me, either.

I appreciate all the great ideas, everyone. Since we let the Grad make the call (it is her day...) she wants to go to the Moshulu because she thinks its a neat idea. I'm not going to exert my will on this one, I'm just along for the ride, so to speak. It's hard to bite my tongue when there are so many better options, but I don't want to be the control freak stepmother (this time). However, it is good for me and DH so we have some new places to check out thanks to your suggestions. I am also obsessing over the idea of the smoked salmon reuben, Katie!

Thanks for the rec, will def check it out another time.

I can only imagine the madness of working in a nicer restaurant in the vicinity of Penn on graduation day... We have a reservation at the Moshulu, Grad's choice. Oh well, at least the weather is supposed to be nice

Very tempting offer, Katie...unfortunately the Grad's boyfriend doesn't like fish. Or apparently even being next to someone eating fish so we'll avoid torturing the lad this time!

Stepdaughter graduating from Master's program at Penn and it's on Saturday morning. Having a hard time finding someplace open for lunch on Saturday. She and her boyfriend are not very adventurous eaters, don't like spicy foods. Hubby and I have no such restrictions We are thinking that staying out of the University City area is a good idea, so any ideas for Old City/Society Hill/Center City ?

good to know, thanks

did you make it same day to serve? I'm thinking that would be good for Mother's Day dinner for my Mom, but I might need to make it a day before and I know sometimes yogurt "weeps"...

heard that they were stocking the shelves the other night, so wine should be ready for purchase this weekend (if not already today).

Bonefish Grill-I've had their grilled fish, not their fish+chips. Just a comment that they, for a chain, prepare fish pretty well so I made a conjecture that their fish+chips might be acceptable.

Bonefish Grill does fish pretty well for a chain...they show fish+chips on the menu online (haven't tried them).