ScoopKW

Well, that's it then. I'll use the $5 ice for stirring the cocktail AND serving. Can't be too careful, dontchaknow. Add me to the list of people who think this is ridiculous -- especially considering that a $5 ice cube should look like a glass sphere, not a snowball.

Sulfites are a byproduct of fermenting grapes. Any wine claiming to be sulfite-free is using "creative math" to do so. Much like the pan-release spray made from canola oil and propellant has no fat* *Adds a trivial amount of fat. More sulfites are usually added to wine, because otherwise it has the shelf life of a pear. If you're deathly allergic to sulfites (you're comparing it to playing russian roulette, after all), I would give it up entirely.

In general, I think TJ's best products are alcohol-related. Their TJ's Blanc d'Blancs sparkling wine is easily the best $4 bottle of wine anywhere. And their beer is just craft-brews made by the larger regionals, branded for TJ's. We have so many good markets in Las Vegas, it doesn't make sense to buy most of their other products.

Definitely not porcini.

My way is probably not for everyone, but it works. Every year, in the fall, I prune back all my trees and shrubs and toss the limbs, leaves, and cuttings into the garden. I let it dry out for a week or so (that's all that's needed in the desert). Then on a windless day, I burn it all. Once the conflagration is going, I toss in the cast iron and let the fire burn off the old seasoning. Once the fire is out, (and the pans have cooled, naturally), I remove the pans and clean them. Then I rake the ashes into the garden to temper our soil's acidity and add more topsoil. Then I reseason the pans. My favorite way is to bring them into the kitchen and toss them in the fryer when the oil gets changed. 10 minutes in a commercial fryer, followed by a wipe-down and then an hour in the oven does the trick.

I've watched the previews -- looks like Tony is going to be "Rick Steves" with an attitude. "Here's how you get from the airport to the [stuff] you want to see, and back in time to catch your next flight."

And you may want to check out those restaurants quickly. Cosmopolitan is hemmorhaging money. And although it is owned by Deutschebank, there are many here who think they'll eventually cut their losses and sell to Steve Wynn, Caesar's or MGM. (The other school of thought is, it's Deutschebank, they can cover the casino for a couple years. I don't agree with that, though. Nobody knows how to cut losses like a bank. They'll sell it cheap enough that some major strip presence will consider it too good a deal to pass up.)

Cut a big chunk off for her. (And some more for good friends.) Once you've started eating the ham, the clock starts ticking. Not very fast, but it's ticking nonetheless. If it were my ham, I would cut it into quarters and freeze two pieces, eat one, and give one piece away. Just make sure it's wrapped VERY well in the freezer. You don't want this to become freezer-burnt.

I do things the traditional way -- meat, then veg, then deglaze and replace the meat. I've found the right pan makes all the difference. A really heavy bottomed pan makes braises and stews much easier. There's a reason most of the good cooks I know have forearms like Popeye.

I've never even HEARD of a boneless Parma ham. Although I still would have bought one the first day I saw it, and returned for more the next day if the flavor was right. Glad you got one, though. Just slice it as thin as you are capable -- it's impossible to slice this stuff TOO thin. Try wrapping slices around roasted asparagus (wrap after cooking the spears), or enjoy paired with cantaloupe, or even make the most luxurious muffaletta ever. Too bad this store wasn't selling inexpensive Italian panini grills to go along with the ham.

I would guess it has more to do with evaporating the alcohol out of the wine prior to adding other liquids, than "starch activation." And for some reason, I prefer to deglaze a pan with something acidic. Just seems easier than using stock or water to deglaze -- which I do, but I prefer wine. And there's plenty of fond in a risotto pot to liberate.

I know there is a chippy in Barnstaple that still wraps theirs in newspaper, at least as of four years ago. Couldn't tell you exactly WHERE, though, it was after a brewery tour. Just find the chippy near a brewery. Cod for me, too. I can't think of a fish that tastes better fried. Ideal texture and taste, IMO.

The flatness of the cooking surface is also part of the equation. If the pan is beat up, there will be plenty of nooks for the white to escape. I use really cheap metal rings. My procedure is to get the griddle/pan up to temp, lube the surface, place the pre-lubed ring on the pan and let that heat up a little, too, then crack an egg into it. If everything is hot enough, the white will self "seal" around the edge -- little (or minimal) leaking. I usually cover the egg while it's cooking with a lid. That will cook the top. If I need to cook the yoke a little harder than I like, I'll splash a little water on the surface before I lid up -- the steam has more heat energy to transfer to the egg than just hot air.

I wouldn't eat them if you offered me a billion dollars. Even mycologists die from misidentifying mushrooms. I wouldn't trust the advice of ANYONE who comments based on two pictures. Throw them out. Buy some mushrooms if you're in the mood. Mushrooms are cheap. Life isn't.

Just keep in mind that those of you coming for NYE and even NYW in Las Vegas are going to see the city at it's most frantic week of the year. Lines for all the buffets, lines to get a cab (remember, beyond all logic, it's illegal to hail a cab in Las Vegas. One must use the taxi stand at resorts, or have one dispatched to you), Red Rock will be crawling with visitors. I'd start reserving tables now for the better restaurants. All the whales are in town -- and the casino workers are all doing everything possible to make the whales happy.

Well, none of you will be seeing me. I'm going to be slammed. Worst. Week. Of. The. Year.

Note -- the "newest" is usually the best. But only for a few months after the property opens. Then management starts screaming at F&B to reduce food costs at the buffet and turn a profit. I was at IP recently, and Hash House is selling Fried Chicken and Waffles for something on the order of $25 a portion. (Can't remember exactly. I just remember thinking, "You've got to be #@&$! kidding me.")

Buy a ton of cantalope! We need crackers ASAP! Open some wine!

At those prices, buy a kick-butt carving knife and learn how to slice a ham. Think of it as a practice proscuitto. I'm telling you -- if they had 10 of them the first day I was in the store, that's how many I'd be unloading from my trunk that evening. There wouldn't be so much as hesitation. And my wife would be dancing a jig when I got home. "Break out the asparagus! Break out the frittata pan!"

You may be in the minority, but you're not alone. I wouldn't eat one if you paid me. But then again, we've basically boycotted the place since... I dunno, the 90s sometime. We call McDonald's "Scottish food" after that line from the underrated movie "Time After Time" (1979). H.G. Wells: This is delicious, far superior to that Scottish place I breakfasted. Amy Robbins: Scottish? H.G. Wells: McDonald's So, when road tripping, I'll ask my wife, "What do you want to eat." The usual reply is, "Anything but Scottish food."

Yes, and cackle the whole way out the store. In fact, I'd buy both of them, and ask them if they had any more in the back at that price. Remember, these things basically hang out in the open for months on end. No preservatives other than salt.

Sure the employers are required to make up the difference on a slow day to make sure the server is at least paid minimum wage. I have also never seen that happen. I've seen servers stuck in restaurants prior to hurricanes, and not make a dime. There was no "well, at least you'll be paid minimum today" from the manager/owner. And the places I've lived, even nine bucks an hour isn't enough to live on. (And try to tell a server in Key West to move someplace cheaper. Where? Show me a cheap part of South Florida that is less than a four-hour drive from Key West. Do you want us to move to Orlando and fly in?)

I'd buy that in a heartbeat, then. But a grocery store here would be fined/cited/closed down for selling meat that far past it's sellby date. EDIT - Most of these hams are aged for six months to two years. Just consider it "extra aged." Yup, I'd be cackling the whole way out the store like Snidley Whiplash if I found that.

The VPN pizzeria Settebello near Cheesecake Factory in the District in Henderson is my favorite in Las Vegas. There really aren't any dining options in Red Rock Canyon. Pack a picnic, or use that as your excuse for your Buffet Day, at Red Rock Casino on West Charleston. If it were me, the buffet of choice would be Sterling Brunch on Sunday, at Bally's -- but it's $85 per person. Pity your husband doesn't go for French food -- Bouchon is one of the better values in Las Vegas. And right there at the Venetian, as is Batali's B&B, which is also quite good. Frozen stuff, can't help you -- I have extreme sensitivity to cold food. Hawaiian barbecues often find themselves on the Wednesday health code violation report. Even an "A" rating cannot be trusted because restaurants can fix whatever gave them a B or C, and pay to be reexamined. Good burgers can be had at Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay or Holstein's at Cosmopolitan.

So, will Caesar's guests be up for a $32 lobster sandwich after a night of watching Elton John, and then carousing? I tend to think so. The 24 hour concept is a good one for restaurants here. After 11 p.m., a guest's choices for dining drop off a cliff. There's room service, where $32 for a sandwich is a bargain; there's going off strip past midnight for fast food; and there's the 24-hour diner (which is one of my favorite kitchens to work in, q.v. my casino thread). Every resort has some place like that on property. Caesar's is the first to up-scale theirs. If it works, we'll be seeing a LOT more of this. Maybe I'll get to work in one. That'd be cool. I've found a LOT of guests gravitate to the 24hr joint. Particularly the poker players. And Central looks like they're gunning for that particular market with their menu. And unlike other 24-hour restaurants, the celebrity chef factor and Beard award might convince more people to go there for lunch or dinner, when other "casino diners" are dead quiet. (Hard for a $12 burger at the diner to compete with the buffet's prices.)