annabelle

That's just mean. Miracle Whip is fine in fruit salads like Waldorf salad and cabbage slaw. If you've never tried it, how can you knock it?

I know others have mentioned it, but I have purchased a jar of Baconnaise. Stay tuned!

Make a fool out of them, Heidi. Or, like you said a sauce since you don't have enough to make a pie.

I have a set of very heavy Norwegian cookware that I bought when I first left home about 35 years ago. I was using the smaller of two stockpots to boil potatoes for potato salad the other day. Now this set of pots has no gaskets between the vessel and the handles so the handles get very hot. I was holding the pot over the sink to tip the potatoes into a colander and had one of the pot holders slip a little and turn the pot upside-down faster than expected. The pot's very hot bottom (they are copper-cored) banged up against the inside of my forearm and immediately raised a blister that popped and left me with a two inch section of raw skin. I can tell by the way it is healing that I am going to end up with a discolored patch of skin. Who needs tattoos? I've got cuts, scrapes and burns, baby!

ChrisZ, I actually had that same thought about using it in a filling/frosting for a crrot cake. Thanks for reminding me!

Several of my younger son's female friends rave about it all the time to him, which is how I ended up buying it in the first place. I think I'll send it home with one of them.

Darienne, I'm thinking about making some kind of peanutbutter/nutella cookies with the jar of Nutella I'm stuck with. (My son was supposed to take it back to his place, but he double-crossed me.) I hate to throw out cookies that no one likes, though. I think if I can disguise it enough, no one will notice it.

I use Julia Child's mayonnaise recipe. I can make it in the food processor since my blender died.

Yeah, me. For the same reason I don't like peanut butter, the texture. Me three. It's not all it's cracked up to be. My kids don't even like it.

Sounds suspiciously like my 'fridge.

I like Miracle Whip in creamy coleslaw better than mayonnaise. Other than that, I don't care for it much but my husband loves it.

I use Hellman's for the stability. I don't need to poison anyone with homemade mayo if a dish is left out for more than an hour, say, at a picnic. Technically, store-bought mayonnaise doesn't need to be refrigerated even after opening, although I don't recommend this. Homemade is obviously superior, but like Chris and gfweb, I am thrifty in a French housewife way and don't throw anything away if I can use it in something else. Mayonnaise has little utility other than dipping, binding sandwich fillings, and as a spread on sandwiches at my house.

I, too, love Sandra. Her crazy color-coordinated kitchen sets (how many Kitchen Aids does she have?) and the tablescapes are what I watch it for. Occasionally she will make something that looks edible, even tasty and she always makes super-strong drinks to go with whatever her theme is. I'm with Kim, she's a hoot.

Finally, I'm on the cutting edge! I've never liked Alton Brown, he comes off as a bully and a preachy know-it-all. I am starting to sort of love Bobby Flay, too.

What lovely meals you prepare! Do your children eat a pasta dish every day? I wish I could get fava beans here. I tried to grow them once, but they don't thrive here.

Granted it was 30 years ago, but one of my friend's did a year of study in Aix-au-Provence, and she said all the mothers took their children home for lunch. They also took them to school in the mornings and picked them up in the afternoons. Is it the same way in Monaco, Franci? Also, is your child's school taught in French?

Very beautiful, Franci. Thank you for sharing!

I do 1.5:1 water:rice. I use short grain rice in the rice cooker. I also cover it with a tea towel and replace the lid over the towel and let it steam on the keep warm setting. I take the insert out of the cooker for this if I am making rice to chill for fried rice until it is cool enough to refrigerate.

C'est bon!

I hope I'm not hurting anyone's feelings, but it looks too prosperous to be Portugal. I say Italy.

Olive trees. Italy? Spain? Provence? I'm still leaning Europe, until we see some signage or cars.

White asparagus, zucchini blossoms, heirloom tomatoes. Yes, that's why I thought that, heidi.

Someone in the UK or on the Continent. Hathor?

That sounds awesome, SylviaLovegren! Jello don't get no respect. My mother could make jello with slices of canned fruit suspended in it. Or shreds of carrot. Or a layer of green jello (lime? peppermint extract?, a layer of chocolate pudding and finished with a layer of whipped cream, cut in squares for dessert. Aspic is just jello's city cousin.

I've lived in plenty of old apartments with built in ironing boards, but toasters? And, yes, those jello molds could be pretty tasty and refreshing on a hot summer day. Tupperware sold special molds for them.