pax

Ridiculously beautiful cookers. I've been "shopping" for my new kitchen and found these. They are pretty, but I'm afraid I will probaby not be phoning off to France to order one. http://www.divadeprovence.com/

We have a local company that sets up a roadside kettle corn tent down by the river. I stopped on my way home and bought a bag of the stuff so hot the plastic bag puckered and I am working my way through that, with a vanilla shake. The bag is about 3 foot long and about 1 foot around. I am getting my fiber, for sure.

When they are sweet, they are called Nun's Puffs. Honey butter, and then sprinkled with Johnny Bird's Toast Dope, or cinnamon sugar.

It doesn't need to make sense, and, you just haven't found the right thing. Don't stress. Add a shot to the coffee next time. Strawberries and lavendar honey is making me drool at the thought. I get more good ideas out of this thread than almost anyplace else.

Thanks for sharing this.

Leave the dishsoap in when you microwave the sponge and you'll get the smell of the dishsoap. I put mine in the dishwasher every night, because I almost always run in on the anti-bacterial cycle.

There is a Sicilian Salmoriglio sauce in Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking. It's meant to serve with swordfish, apparently, and it has lemon juice, oregano, olive oil and black pepper. No tomatoes. If you google "amoigu", there are several references to it as a garlic tomato salsa. I found this, too.. Cyber Kitchen's Grilled Filet Mignon with Roasted Tomato and Oregano Sauce Sounds yummy, want to post your friend's recipe?

This is out of my late mother-in-law's recipe box. It was very good. She was born and bred in East Sussex. 1 lb sugar 1/4 pint water 1 tin condensed milk 2 oz butter 20 oz nuts Place sugar and water in a pan and heat gently to dissolve. Add condensed milk and butter and bring to a boil, until it reaches the soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add nuts. Beat until mixture is creamy, then pour into a well greased tin and refridgerate until cold. I don't do much candy making, so I've never actually made this myself. Good luck.

My sister brought cheese back from Holland. Customs didn't get it but the airlines lost her bag. By the time she got it back, it smelled so bad she didn't even bring it in the house to see what might be salvaged. It all just got tossed. It might be ok in the winter... We used to ship race horses back and forth across the Channel. Customs officials don't like to rummage around under the legs of skittery horses. Since those were our young and stupid days it was more about wine and fags than it was food, but we did bring home many many yummy stinky sausages and cheeses, too. I used to really, really like shipping horses out of Amsterdam. Living in the US in these present circumstances, I wouldn't attempt to smuggle in a thing. Not a thing.

We saw a lot of pork bellies this season. Trust me, I'm a whole hog kind of girl, but jeez.

Some people go to restaurants in an effort to educate their palates. If they are being lied to, they really can't help not knowing, can they? I'm lucky, when I wanted to experiement with Indian food I could go snap up a load of saffron. Some people can't. They spend their money on meals a professional makes in the hopes of having a good experience and not mucking up expensive stuff. To the OP: Hanging around with liars is a soul suck. The job is hard enough. Get out.

I made "Green Eggs and Ham". (with respect to Dr. Suess) I have been trying to get around to trying my hand at a souffle. I finally pulled out the Domestic Goddess book and did the Pistachio Souffle. It was easy to do and tasted and looked beautiful enough to eat. I didn't have the right ramekins so they didn't get up so tall, but they did puff enough that I was able to serve them puffy and give them the idea. The ham was a slice of pancetta. My picky kids ate every bite.

I've never had a problem with the bottle of washing up liquid at the sink, but I stopped buying eco-friendly dishwashing detergent for the same reason. I could not get anything clean. And it wasn't me, because as soon as I went back to the "hard" stuff the dishwasher did a fine job.

And vice versa... I was a guest at someone's home and she served me a Vampire wine. I would never have bought it based on the packaging but it went down just fine with a bowl of spaghetti bolognese.

I had a surreal little Bob Barker moment when they drove that thing out. "A Neeeeeew Caaaaaaar!"

The cut is fine, actually, I think it fits her beautifully. It's the fact that it makes me nauseated to look at the pattern and she's worn it about ten times.

Dear Antonia, I would come eat at your restaurant any time. I'm sorry you are gone. Tell your kid her Mommy IS a winner. Dear Stephanie, teaming up people to their benefit was a generous and gracious choice. Not tearing Dale a new one, also pretty much up there with sainthood, imo. Dear Bravo TV. I would like to contribute to the "Buy Gail a New Dress, You Cheap Bastards" Fund. Please let me know where to send my donation. I'm sick of looking at her in that blue and green checked sack. Go ahead, Bravo, live big. Dear Richard, new babies smell even better than onions sauteing. Make sure you take time to nibble the baby feet.

Usually I put an extra mixer bowl with hot water and soap under the mixer and let it run for a few minutes. It cleans itself and all I really have to do is rinse it off, which is nice. ETA: Be careful, it sudses up more than you expect. Mushrooms. I am complusive about food cleanliness and prep and I just hate that I can't scrub the little suckers clean.

Ladies, ladies.... the P is pre, post, and peri. It is the all compassing P. So. Really, I had to laugh at myself with that hot dog thing. I saw something, somewhere, that set the hot dog bell off in my head. And I am Joe Whole Foods natural woman with my family, they've had junk hot dogs out, of course, I'm not a total tyrant, but I never make them at home and if I do, by some odd chance like a neighbourhood barbeque, it's always whatever brand that comes to hand at the co-op. Something nitrate-free, all beef, organic yadda yadda. I felt like a crack addict hiding that dog from the kids. And yes, I do like like my avatar, complete with the fur. I say if I have to lie around looking like Ophelia in hospital gowns and tubes, then I don't have to depilitate, damnit. So, I am not only fat as a tick, I could braid the hair on my legs, how's THAT for you? And now I think I'll burp. Pretty soon I'm going to have to go back to being disguised as a responsible adult.

For some reason all the fluids they gave me during my hospital stay settled RIGHT IN MY TUMMY so I have spent the last week and a half retaining Ringers solution, and I am as fat as a tick on a hound. I am so uncomfortable. PMS sucks. Hospitals suck. Pass the chocolate.

Because of more surgery a week or so ago (let me tell you, I am the Percocet Queen, my husband is now doleing them out a half tablet at a time! ) my schedule is all over the place. My Head-in-Bag-Hall-of-Shame this cycle was waiting until my family went OUT without me and making myself two honest to god nitrate-filled Hebrew National hot dogs. With buttered, toasted potato rolls, onions diced small the day ahead of time to have the right kind of almost sour oniony flavour, and (hanging head) yellow mustard. Yes, that's right. I planned this moment. I am ashamed. At one point I thought my family was coming home SO I ACTUALLY for a split second thought about HIDING THE SECOND HOT DOG so my kids wouldn't see what I was eating, or worse, steal it.

Remember last season when Sara snapped off someone's head during restaurant wars, "Do it AGAIN", and she was roundly applauded for it at judge's table. And whoever it was, the little short guy, he caved and did it again. She had what it took to pull a team together. Dale didn't, even though he might have been a more talent chef.

I didn't know know which Cowboys you meant, either. I thought you meant the Lefty and Dusty, the Prairie Home Companion Cowboys. <--officially out as an NPR listening ACLU card carrying Volvo driving latte sucking liberal, obviously

Well, I guess. My Irish and British (shhh! I'm not supposed to acknowledge their unfortunate heritage ) relatives never complained, but good point...if she really wants to be traditional ignore everything I just said.

Oh aye, it's not a full cooked brekkie without bangers.. When I make fried tomatoes, I generally blanch them quickly to pull the skins off, than halve them, put them in the oven, let them warm through and have most of the water evaporate. I like to sprinkle the tops with panko parmesan bread crumbs and then turn the broiler on to get a little brown on the bread crumbs. Probably parmesan panko won't work with your theme, but hey, brown bread and cheddar would work! Can't help you with the puddings, sorry, but it sounds like fun!