Sararwelch

Been there, loved it. It was an amazing meal, definitely one of the best I've ever eaten. My recap is here.

Gfron1, everything looks amazing! I'm intrigued by that pasta. I made the meyer lemon and chocolate tart from Sunday Suppers with Lucques. I added candied lemon peel to the top for decoration. This was my first time making a tart, I was pretty happy with it.

I made a big batch of butternut squash soup, and froze it in smaller portions. I've been defrosting it and experimenting with different toppings. This one is butternut squash soup with scallops and bacon:

I was in Half Moon Bay last weekend, ate at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. Food was just ok, and really expensive for what it was.

I've been buying dried beans in bulk at a local co-op type store. Bagged in my regualr grocery store, they're $1.29/lb. In bulk, they're as cheap as $.80/lb. I've been cooking up large batches and freezing them in smaller portions. Bean burgers are a delicious and cheap dinner. They're filling too, and can be done in so many different ways. Mark Bittman has a few recipes, I also use one from Everyday Food.

I made the braised brisket from Nancy Silverton's sandwich book a few weeks back. The brisket gets marinated in a red wine based marinade and then braised for 9 hours in a low oven. It came out great, but I wasn't thinking when I cut it, and sliced it with the grain instead of against - does it make a difference when the meat has been cooked for so long and is tender anyways?

I'm planning a trip to Vegas for mid-December. Any recommendations for reasonably priced restaurants? I'd like to keep meals to less than $100 per person.

I made the double chocolate chunk and allspice crumb muffins for an office breakfast. Both muffins were great! I only had milk chocolate on hand, so I used that for the chocolate muffins, I think bittersweet would have been better, but these were still good. I also increased the amount of chocolate chunks in the batter. Both kinds were eaten immediately!

I'll be in the San Luis Obispo area in two weeks, and I'm looking for dining recommendations. Here's the list of possibilities that I've garnered so far: Big Sky Firestone Grill Cracked Crab Korberl at Blue Two Blocks Off the Beach Mama's Meatball Has anyone been to these restaurants or have other suggestions?

I love Campanile, and it's in a really interesting building. I've been there a few times, and the food was great. It's not quite as expensive as some of the other high end places.

I have the micro torch - I wanted the big one, but my husband was afraid I'd accidentally burn the house down . It works fine, but it's not all that quick to caramelize things. If you're looking for more instant results, the big torch may work better.

I have a Kitchenaid 5 series that's about a year and a half old. So far I've had good luck with it, even when I throw in loads of bread dough that exceed the stated capacity. Mine doesn't get too hot either, which is nice.

Most of the limes I've bought recently have been seedless. Alternatively, you could cut the lemon into thin slices for a nice presentation.

Not all that unique, but I freeze all kinds of ingredients for later use - pesto, tomato paste, chipotle, grated ginger, kaffir lime leaves, chile puree, citrus juice and zest, small packages of bacon and piquillo peppers, etc. It reduces waste and ensures you have a lot of good ingredients at hand.

My market has fresh cranberry beans right now. I used them to make pappardelle with shell beans and wild mushrooms from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. I cooked up a bunch of beans and froze some for later in the season.