FauxPas

Oh no! So sorry to hear that! I hope things can be repaired w/o too much cost/inconvenience. Will they be able to do repairs tonight???

So glad your pipes were OK! I've lived in some cold places and burst pipes are no fun at all. Chili is a perfect meal for that kind of weather! Looks very tasty. Do you have a special ingredient?

We also wanted to mention how delightful Sonia is - she is a sea of calm in a rushed world, but she moves quickly. There is a sweetness and patience there that is rare in people in general, but she also is very articulate and knowledgeable and yet, not afraid to admit when she doesn't know something. She was a real delight.

Make sure you know the price of the trim kits. I don't know if any of them include trim kits in the basic price. I've been keeping an eye on the Thermador 24" combo steam-convection oven and the trim kit adds about $350 on to the price. Honestly, I think I could negotiate that down, but still - it's a factor. Also, I like the fact that the Thermador has both a 24" and a 30" trim kit - more flexibility in placement, especially if you are putting it into an existing kitchen. then again, maybe they all have those options. I just know that some models are out of my current price range.

Thank you Shelby! It was indeed a nasty flu and came on despite the flu shot we got! We were both really sick for a little over 2 weeks, and it feels so good to be up and about again, feeling relatively normal. Our temps are up to 75F yesterday/today, it's a pleasure to be outside in the sun and warmth. Rob, your comments about reducing the salt in the dish prior to the elk might be the ticket, we thought some of the first courses might have been just a tad on the salty side. We still adored them. The soup and cracker was so tasty, and we all raved about the gnocchi and beet, and the amaranth course also. Really, it was all delicious. And fun. Kenny was a very entertaining sommelier. We are now planning a group visit to The Curious Kumquat in Silver City! Wasn't there a bit of foraged kumquat in there somewhere?

I attended the Tucson dinner last night, along with my husband and another couple. All 24 seats were sold, I believe. It was held at the Tasteful Kitchen on N Stone, which is a small, but pleasant, venue. Colourful, warm, inviting. Everyone there seemed to have a great time - the mood was light and festive. The wines were varied and enjoyable. The food was fun and delicious, with some creative presentation. I was just coming off a nasty 2-week bout of flu, so not sure my taste buds were at their best, but I really enjoyed the evening. I did struggle a bit with the elk heart but my dining companions enjoyed it. (They thought it needed a touch of salt and, once added, declared it delicious.) It was a real pleasure to meet Rob, though of course he was very busy throughout the evening. We gifted him with some saguaro syrup, made by the local Tohono O'odham people (they use it in their rain ceremony and sometimes have some left over to sell). Pics of courses 4 through 9 (two shots of course 6, with the smoke):

Hahahahaaha!!! That was a lovely read!

That Moe is one lucky guy!!! You make such fabulous meals.

I love tourtière also. It's so good with different kinds of chutney. Deryn, what kind of meat do you like to use for yours?

Sold out, but use code CYBER30 and get $30 off for January shipping.

This won't use the cherries up very fast, but my husband loves to add a splash of the juice and a couple of the cherries to his Manhattan cocktails. I'm not sure if that is an affront to Manhattan drinkers or not, but he loves the addition.

University of Nebraska, quoting from USDA (original link they provide has moved, but you can track it back to USDA site by searching): How about the large oven roasting bags, would they work for you? Of course, there are commercial/restaurant suppliers that probably make all kinds of bags, but you might have to buy more than you need.

Wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to take these pics and post them for us to salivate over. OK, a couple of them I am not sure about, but overall ti's still wonderful to see all the varied, colourful meals you have been lucky enough to participate in.

Also, I love lemon tarts! I'd like to try Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart. from Food 52, because it seems so simple. I usually make the standard version, which isn't really much work but this one is really easy.

Some lovely lemon recipes collected here - Lemon LoveFest. With unsprayed fruit, it's nice to make things like marmalade, preserved lemons, or candied peel. But lots of other recipes there, also.

Shelby made a suggestion for a green bean/mushroom/onion/blue cheese tart in another thread. I made it tonight as an appy and it was very tasty. Would indeed be a good choice for a T-Day or Xmas side dish or appetizer. We have quite a bit left-over in the fridge and will probably have the rest for lunch tomorrow. I used thinly sliced yellow onion in place of shallots - still very good. Before cooking: Ready to eat:

I made Shelby's green bean/mushroom/onion/blue cheese tart today and it was really quite good. Definitely a fun choice for an appy or side dish and holiday flavour! Edited to add that I used yellow onion instead of shallot and button mushrooms instead of cremini.

Wow, Thanks for the Crepes has really covered the bases for finding additional storage in one's home. I can't really add much to that list, but I'll mention that I converted a linen closet to food storage in one rental place and it was a huge improvement. I also found a funky little 'antique' sideboard that I could use in the dining area for a lot of dish/glass storage and that freed up room in my kitchen cupboards. And it looked really good.

It's easier to make suggestions if we know some of these limitations in advance. I thought of a couple of veggie casserole dishes but wasn't sure you would want something that tends to be quite rich and they often have some cheese, so just as well I didn't post them. I've pinned it and plan to try it as an appie. It sounds very tasty!

Good recovery! I like the positivism.

Shelby, I adore your baskets! They do indeed look better than most commercial ones! I like heidi's apple suggestion (and Deryn's follow up with the ciders) - the current year's basket made me think of apples, also. You could make some streusel topping and provide a recipe for an apple crisp or similar - maybe something like this Serious Eats article (if you leave the butter out, it should last a good while). Dried apple rings (maybe with cinnamon and/or sugar), similar to this, maybe. And I think your zucchini bread would be a lovely addition!

There are products like this 'expanding' spice rack, which gets good reviews on Amazon. I've never tried it. Spice Rack for Cabinet I bought one like this and mounted it on the outside edge of a cabinet (it could replace the mirror things, perhaps?) Wall-mounted spice rack

Can you attach anything to the walls anywhere? (Do you own or rent?) I think it's a lovely little kitchen, but I can see storage might be a bit limited. Can you use the bookshelves for spice/pantry storage with some containers? You could do a wall-mounted spice rack under the bar-height counter section (to the R of the sink).

Do you have a standard door near your kitchen? I'm not sure this would work on your cabinets (based on your description) but I used it on a pantry door in one house and it greatly increased the amount of storage I had. You can add extra spice racks to the standard configuration. Container Store Door Storage The Container Store also has some in-cabinet storage solutions. It might be worth a browse if you haven't looked at their stuff before. Maybe a picture of your cabinets would make suggestions easier? Edited to say that the Elfa unit can also be wall-mounted, apparently.