Kajikit

I'd like to see a show with less fluff and more real cooking! My favourite tv-cook of all times - Delia Smith, because you could watch her show and actually learn something useful (she taught me how to make an omelette...) and she didn't talk down to you or fill the show with stupid fluff.

I don't think I've seen them... I've had the Kettle chip 'naturals' from the health food store and they're VERY GOOD, especially the yoghurt and chive. I really don't eat this stuff very much, because I know it's terrible for you however 'natural' they may claim it is, but sometimes you just want a quick nibble without doing any work...

Funnily enough, I made a frittata for dinner tonight. I've never made one before, but I wasn't feeling well and needed something much faster and easier to prepare than the braised pork and smashed potatoes that I'd planned... I fried onion, chopped bacon and a diced green pepper, then added a chopped up microwaved potato and a packet of grated sharp cheddar. Let it brown a little and gave it a stir, then topped it with six beaten eggs and turned the heat down to low. A few gentle pokes and prods to get most of the egg to run around the sides/underneath, and then I let it sit for ten minutes to finish setting while I washed and dressed the greens and made some toast. Here's a photo (if I can get the linking right!):

Sometimes DH drives me insane in the kitchen, because he says it's 'my territory' and he leaves EVERYTHING remotely kitchen-connected to me, with the exception of stopping at the grocery store on his way home if he decides that we need something (and often coming home with one thing we needed and fifteen that we didn't...) He doesn't cook, clean up, do dishes, or take the trash out... so I guess it's a good thing that I (mostly) love to cook... and also a good thing that he eats my food without (many) complaints, even if he does dump a ton of salt onto every plate before he even tastes it!

That sounds like something to end up on the 'Kitchen Disasters' show... I'm gagging just at the thought of it!

The single worst thing I put into my mouth last year was a dish of 'beef curry' from a Chinese takeout that had changed hands... It should have raised our suspicions when it only took them ten minutes to have our meal at our doorstep, but we were a bit naive and we congratulated the delivery guy on his fast service. After all, the restaurant was right around the corner from our apartment... Then we sat down to eat. The wonton soup tasted like dishwater, the rice was greasy, and the dumplings were underdone. But that wasn't the worst of the meal. It was a veritable delight compared to my curry. The curry sauce wasn't bad - a bit insipid and obviously out of a can - and the chunks of tomato and peppers were okay... but then I picked up a piece of the meat... It was tough as old boots, stringy and chewy at the same time, but the worst thing was that it tasted positively rancid. I spat it out and tried another piece in case it was just my imagination (I'm not very fond of beef...) Nope. Still terrible. So I asked DH to taste it (he'll eat anything!) and he confirmed it. It was so disgusting that I put the rest of my dinner straight into the trash and we phoned up the takeout to tell them that it was inedible. They offered us a credit for our 'next meal' and we were too polite to tell them that it would be a cold day in hell before we took them up on it! PS. We were both afraid we were going to get food poisoning from the meal, but we got lucky... there were no ill-effects other than the fact that it put us both off Chinese food for a month!

It really irks me that almost every savoury snack manufacturer dumps MSG into their product in lieu of adding actual flavour. Usually the only potato chips I can eat are the plain ones, and they're nothing to write home about! I love the Pirates Booty line of cheese puffs...

Some friends of mine have raved about a French restaurant called Sage. It is modestly priced and quite good, according to them. It is BYOB - used to be no corkage, but now I think it's $10 a bottle now. And there is supposedly a wine shop adjacent to the restaurant. My husband and I have been meaning to try it with them one day, but haven't had a chance yet. ← I think we've driven past there... I'll put it on the list to try.

I'm curious... what is their advantage over disposable foil pans? They seem to be more expensive and you can't wash and reuse one... do they just look 'flasher?' Okay, I take that back... a closer read shows that the listed price is for a SET of pans, not just for one. They're a lot cheaper than foil pans, and I'd assume that as paper they're biodegradable and more environmentally friendly. Not a bad idea! I might have to get some next festive season and try them out.

a little reasoning, masking tape, and a sharpie can work miracles .. this product, in my estimation, is truly not worth the money ... ← Sounds like it would be a useful tool for somebody with a memory-impairment that literally kept them from knowing how old something was (ever look in your grandparent's refrigerator? SCARY!) Or for someone so physically/emotionally overburdened that they're running on autopilot... but for the rest of us? A bit of a waste of time/money... (I never remember to use the counter on the britta water pitcher as it is - I change the filter whenever the water starts to taste a bit stale, or when it occurs to me that I can't remember when I last bought a new filter. I don't know that an extra counter would help me!)

DH and I have a few places that we go to for a decent meal... but I'm getting tired of them, and most of the time when we try some place new it turns out to be another disappointing chain-style meal. Ick. I'm desperate for real food! Sadly we can't afford the high-end places where I'd expect to get something memorable, so I'm looking for middling-to-lowcost... cheap and cheerful is the way to go. Anyone got any suggestions? DH is deathly allergic to seafood, so Thai/seafood places are OUT but we're open to anything else... (DH is very set in his ways, but funnily enough, whenever I manage to persuade DH to stretch his culinary horizons and try something different, he loves the food!)