Dorine

Noooo... As I mentioned before, I first tasted both Marmite nd Bovril at age 23--and loved them immediately. Still do all these years later.

Phew. I was afraid it was only me (or I was afraid that I wasn't preparing it properly). I really had no idea there was such a hatred of kugles out there. I do prefer savoury to sweet - but a good sweet one, is good. ← I've enjoyed the occasional sweet kugel made by this or that Jewish friend, and even made one once, but have never encountered a savory one. Can you offer a recipe for one? Thanks!

Wonderful tutorial! Excellent pictures! I didn't know what kreplach are, but now I see they are just like pelmeni--just a different filling. And pelmeni wrappers don't have baking powder. Are kreplach from Polish tradition? I make pelmeni with a mixture of meats, usually beef, pork and lamb. Seasoned diferently, too. In Russian/Ukranian tradition, where I learned them, they are served with great dollops of sour cream. Varenyki, which are similar but more than twice as big, can contain cheese and fruit. Thanks for sharing. I plan to try your filling.

I'm kind of new to eGullet and just realized the 'here' is a link. I saw the pictureof loose hamburger. It isn't sloppy joe because it has nos sauce. But I ask, why would I want a messy loose hambuger that is likely to scatter all over the place? What a dumb concept. Furthermore, I like my hamburgers hand patted then cooked Pittsburgh style-- charred on the thinnest outside layer and raw inside. The loose thing wouldn't work that way. I think pre-formed patties are beyond disgusting. They inevetably taste like shoe leather. I refuse to cook or eat them. I get good ground meat and pat my own patties just before cooking them. At restaurants I ask if they are hand patted before ordering and reject them if not. Goes without saying I don't go anywhere near fast "food" joints.

I so agree! The stuff is nasty! I once ate one as an experiment at a vile chain called Pizzeria Uno. I got violent food poisoning. Never again.

Authentic spanish cured meats???? Droooooool!!!! Does tis include chorizo de cantimpalos? Serran, a baguette and una caña? Oh, I'm having such an attack of homesickness for Spain! Where is amado located?

Order yellowtail or other salmon sushis to start then. They are mild in texture and flavor.

You've gotten a lot of good sugestions. I'm a fan of Wasabi House at 13 and Pine, too. I teach ESL and have had many Japanese studens over the years. All love Genji. Another one they like is Shiroi Hana on 15th St. between Walnut and Locust, west side. I've been eating there for maybe 15 years, and it is always lovely. You can sit right at the sushi bar and watch them make your order as well as other people's orders. Order oshinko (pickles) with yyour sushi. Yum! And finish with their exceptional green tea.

How about Ukrainian salo? Ukrainians believe nobody who is not Ukrainian can lilke it. Salo is like bacon, but not smoked. it is sliced thicker and not cooked before eating. I first visited Ukraine and tasted salo after age 50. Ukrainians were surprised and pleased that I liked it.

Barnacles are well loved in spain, too! And I think they are delicious.

Or Philadelphia! Or anywhere that makes the Jersey Shore the vacation place of choice. :-)

Yes! Root beer is foul - tastes like toothpaste to me. ← Perhaps you have tasted a bad brand. There are very bad brands out there. There are also very good ones. Try Stewart's with the orange-sriped labels. Lovely!

All Asian foods. My DNA is pure WASP and I tasted all of those things after age 40. I like them all and willingly buy them in Chinese markets.

The only cheese that I have ever found inedible is Norwegian Gjetost. Nasty! ← I was 20 and in college when I met gjetost. I had a Norwegian-heritage roommate who introduced it to me. I liked it then and still do decades later, although it is a bit hard to find where I live. Gjetost has a dense texture, a light-brown toast color that is unusual for cheese, and a taste reminischent of peanut butter, but milder. What's not to like? :-)

I first tasted Marmite when I was 23, and it was love at first bite. More than 30 years later, I still love it and am thankful that in recent years it has become a bit easier to get it in the US. I love Bovril too. Either one on a baguette well-slathered with butter! My lasst trip to England was n 2001, and I discovered Twiglets. Ahh, marmite-flavored snack stick heaven!

It isn't just once a week. :-) We have nightly fammily dinners. Not the extended family, but our nuclear famiies dine together regularly. We are rather old-fashioned, I guess! Regular family dinners where children participte in receiving and giving attention develops social skills, builds self-esteem and prevents drug use and crime, so I guess being old-fashioned is good.

It may be late on a Tuesday night, but the sensuality of your prose has me slapping down the desire to go straight to the kichen and put the cast iron on the stove and add the bacon strips! I'm with the commenter who would add grits to the plate. Plate? Platter! And make that two eggs! I love the bacon schmutz added to the eggs--and I live in a condo overlooking a *big* city, Philadelphia, PA. The flavor of fryng the eggs in bacon dripping in cast iron far outwweighs the prettiness of doing them in butter in non-stick. How twee! Thank you for your delightful prose.

You had me laughing and crying! I wish you better and a good husband this year. But honestly. he doesn't have to be perfect. Good enough is very good and starts a lasting loving relationship that grows. I was married to a wonderful, imperfect man for 28 1/2 years. His heart gave our last year, and I grieve for him every single day. He was Mr.-Mea-and-Potatoes when we started dating, and, well, I'm here so you can imagine... By the time we were married, he was starting to adventure, even eating calarami. He never refused to try anything. These conservative guys who are willing to follow you in the food area are great husbands. They stick with you through your imperfections--we all have them. And when you acknowledge your imperfection, you can accept a bit of it in him. You make me realize how awful dating is these days. No wonder most widows stay widows instead of remarrying! It just sounds too scary! Anyway, thanks for the good read. You have a gift for drawing the reader in and then pulling the twist.

I've been cooking Sunday dinner for the past 30 years. But have not since my husband died last year. It's hard to cook for one. My mother used to make the most succulent roast pork, roast beef, ham... And nobody stayed home to cook it. she went to church with the rest of us. She got up early enough on Sunday morning to put the vegetables and potatoes around the roast and put it in the oven at a low enogh temperature to be done when we all got home from church--the method Ilearned from her. Everybody in my extended family still makes Sunday dinner--at noon, and *everybody* goes to church. the slow roast definitely dates back to at least my great-grandmother and who know but her mother, too. My cousins' children, now in their 20s and 30s, also go to church and make Sunday dinner by the slow roast method so the festive roast is tender and succulent when everybody gets home and everybody goes to church. There must be a definite tie-in between going to church faithfully and having the traditional feast at lunchtime on Sunday.