BeeZee

Took Mom to Toppers Spa for a birthday treat, and snuck out while she was getting her pedicure. Got blackberry and thai coconut gelatos. Tried the dark bitter chocolate (thought about that one, but didn't see something I wanted to mix with it...). Guy who worked there was telling someone the fleur de sel mixed with (one of) the chocolates was like eating a chocolate covered pretzel. Glad I live 45 minutes away, it's just too good.

Agree with 6, I went to a similar event last year and that was the number. Also suggest that the last one should be not too sweet and not too heavy (if you are serving them in succession) since we were on sugar overload at the end.

Saw them first at a local drugstore, and I did think they were individually wrapped. Saw them again yesterday at Target...they don't seem to be selling well. I agree that they aren't doing a great job of marketing them. Should be in the "close out" stores (Odd Lots) soon.

Summertime salad: fresh white corn cut off the cob, mixed with diced tomato, diced avocado if you have it. Little chopped up sweet red onion or scallion, drizzle olive oil, splash of vinegar. S&P. Fresh herbs if you've got them.

The other thing which is kind of nice to smooth out the texture is to mix a little sour cream or yogurt with the mayo. You might still want to thin it out with a little cider vinegar and wisk it until it is more like creamy salad dressing texture.

Tried the caramelized onion flavor over the weekend, it wasn't overly sweet. Would be nice as a sandwich ingredient/spread.

What about chopped BBQ (brisket or pork) - served with vinegar-based or mustardy BBQ sauce to dip?

Definitely New York, I can see the license plates. Plus the street sign on the left says Washington (something).

Local supermarket (chain) had no shortage of rice when I went on Saturday. All of the regular, specialty, etc were fully stocked. In fact, some varieties were on sale. Why can't I get over the suspicion that some of the "hysteria" over rice is self-propagating?

Lundberg's rice chips (seaweed flavor)...I think I stopped myself once from not eating the whole bag...but maybe I just looked in, saw a few small pieces left and tossed the rest out of self-loathing. Doritos nacho cheese flavor Tortilla chips ditto on the pistachios I think I discovered that if I eat more than 3 chips, I'm a goner. Somehow only eating a couple doesn't activate the "lizard brain" (to quote Miz Ducky).

Second for sinkers. I like the slightly chewy texture, sort of gnocchi-like.

half price Easter candy...currently on the Dove milk chocolate eggs

try 37 E Crescent Blvd That looks more like what I remember (although it's been many years since I've driven past there)

Tonight's use of pantry/freezer items that I've been wanting to get rid of for quite a while...starting with 2 packages chicken tenderloins. Sauteed the chicken to get some color, then simmered in a little stock until nice and tender. One box (aseptic pack) Knorr Mole sauce...heated up and used a couple of generous spoons over half of the chicken, served with oven roasted potatoes and steamed veggies. Other half of the sauce was incorporated into chicken mole chili. Sauteed an onion which was past it's prime...mixed in a can of tomatoes w/green chiles, added cooked chicken, leftover simmering broth and mole, 2 cans black beans. So happy, I used up 4 pantry items!

Eggs... So many things garnished with eggs and I can't stand them. If some salad has been garnished with hardboiled egg, I have a hard time eating it even after removing the egg + the leaves which were touched by the egg. So my neurosis is to always inquire as to whether there are eggs on it, since I've found that critical info is not always on the menu...

The look on that kid's face...it would be priceless if his name was Igor, too...

I can answer the 2nd part: Fish is not considered "meat" for Kosher meals, since it is not a mammel (and doesn't feed it's young with it's own milk).

I've been trying to do something similar with my freezer. I switched to pyrex clear storage bowls w/lids a couple of months ago, so it's easier to identify items. Also really small portions and/or harder to ID items go into freezer bags which I label with a sharpie (along w/date). Last night used up a leftover mix of roasted peppers/onions/artichoke as a bed for baked flounder fillets. I love the idea of pre-spring cleaning the larder!

There were a lot of people ordering both the salads and antipasto plate. I think I saw the green salad (dressed with vinagrette) on an adjacent table, big enough for 2 to share. Antipasto plate had (I believe) salami, proscuitto, cheese, fat sesame bread sticks and olives? Everything looked very fresh.

Went to the new DeLorenzo's last night...that's my kind of Valentine's Day dinner There was a fairly long wait at 6:30-ish, I'm going to guess 1/2 hour-45 min. Strangely enough, if you came in with a large group 5-6, you got seated faster because of the large booths being open faster than the smaller tables. We got one pie with artichoke and one clam pie. I thought I remembered that the clam pie was white when we got it in the past, but I think last time we had gone to Hamilton, so it could be a difference between the 2 places. Pies were tasty and crisp, the clam pie had a nice drizzle of oil and generous sprinkle of oregano. Clams were finely chopped and not chewy. That pie suffered a little from excess moisture (tomato) towards the middle, just a little droopage on the end of a slice (and it was a small, so the large might have more). Only negative was no attention from waitstaff after the pies were dropped, I could have used a refill on the drinks. I hadn't been to the Trenton location in quite a while, so it wouldn't be fair for me to judge if it is "exactly" the same, but I thought it was very good!

My husband was a consultant for several years (different industry, but similar enough)...the one danger of setting an hourly rate is that your client will rarely accept the number of hours you say it will take. Nobody thinks anything takes as long as it actually does. So you'll find yourself "nickel and dimed" on everything. The way he did his proposals was to give a flat rate for a "project" and then an hourly rate for tasks which would be easy to document on an hourly basis. The "project" or flat rate would be more economical for the client if you broke down how many hours you'd spend X $100/hour. That was the selling point. That type of proposal also makes it easier to get paid. If it's a long term project, you can ask for 1/3 up front, 1/3 at some pre-determined progress point, then final 1/3 upon completion. Smaller projects that might only take a couple of days are pretty easy to bill on an hourly basis, so long as you set expectations with your client regarding approximately how many hours you estimate for the project. Hope this was helpful.

I'd check the website for the National Kitchen & Bath Assoc. They have listings of people who are accredited designers, plenty of listings in NY! As a former designer, I can't stress enough hiring someone who has taken the time to get professional accreditation. http://www.nkba.org/consumer_hire.aspx

Heck, I had half of a blue bagel the other day (an abomination)- maybe I'll live an extra day. It had no discernable flavor, just bright blue dyed bread product. I tend to see "blue raspberry" as a flavor/color, which seems to have a little blueberry/raspberry flavor mix.

I saw something on TV which really looked good, although I was in the kitchen prep'ing and couldn't catch all of it...basically the idea of the eggplant "schnitzels" then stacked on a plate with a nice slice of fresh, quivery, bufala mozzarella. Chunky tomato sauce almost as a garnish. If the mozz is at room temp, and the eggplant is hot, might be a really nice texture when it sort of melts/softens into the eggplant.

I've got 2 bases covered (sort of pasta) and potato... I used to get potato gnocchi with mushrooms/sundried tomatoes and a touch of oil from a gourmet market prepared foods counter...and discovered how wonderful they were eaten straight from the fridge rather than microwaved to reheat. Gnocchi have a chewier texture eaten cold.