KateW

Well I am gonna see what I can find.

Screw it, bags of chips and tostitos salsa isn't sounding so bad now ;) Just kidding. I'll probably just throw something together. Recipes are too binding.

We should have an egullet party and all bring deviled eggs.

Joy of Cooking says refrigerate the seviche no longer than 90 minutes. Does that mean if I make it tonight, or even tomorrow morning, it will be no good in a few hours?

Actually I'm liking the scallop idea. It's so refreshing and we're not having any other seafood, unless my uncle brings smoked salmon, which I suspect he will do. It's been a staple at our get togethers because I've liked it since I was a little kid.

Actually I was thinking about scallop seviche because my mom likes it a lot, but I've never prepared scallops before and well, you know what they say about preparing something new for lots of people. Don't do it I don't know how to remove the tough part of the scallop. If I can be convinced that it's not that hard, I'll do it ;)

Ok, so how long and what temp?

Ok, I think I'm gonna make guacamole and stuffed mushrooms. Can I prepare the stuffed mushrooms and do everything but bake them? Or should I hold the stuffing aside until I'm ready to bake?

LOL

Help! I was just asked yesterday to bring a couple appetizers to my mom's birthday party. If it doesn't rain, we're going to have chicken, burgers and ribs on the grill, and my uncle is going to bring his homemade Caesar salad and God knows what else, because he land his family love to cook and we always have way too much food at our gatherings. I've looked through my cookbooks and I can't find much that appeals to me. I'd like to make at least one thing. Meaning, I don't want to grab a couple bags of chips and salsa and call it a day. Any ideas? I can go to the grocery store and probably will have to because I don't have anything here to make appetizers with. Also I would like to make it today and have it keep until mid-day tomorrow. Thanks so much!

Trust me, I would rather buy butter, but the SO is convinced it's better for him than butter. I don't really mind. I use oil most of the time anyway. Yeah I did buy the Quaker cornmeal. I'll probably use it for breading more than anything. I don't do a lot of baking.

Does anyone live in a really remote area and use websites for groceries? There must be some good mail order ethnic grocery websites out there.

Made a list, went out and came home with most of the things on the list and a lot of things that weren't. I'll never learn not to go grocery shopping when I'm starving. I picked up some bottled marinades, as well as some things to make fresh marinades with. Flour, sugar, molasses. Some meals in a box to please my SO. Chicken breasts and more ribeye (it was SO yummy last time). Some hummus and some kind of cheese for myself. I thought it was fresh mozz but it isn't. It's kind of sour, a little more creamy than fresh mozz, but in that same shape in a plastic tub of water. Stoned wheat thins, more margarine, diet soda (for SO), club soda, cold cuts, bread. Rice and couscous. Tortellini, canned tuna, sardines, cornmeal, chili powder, ginger powder, cumin and red pepper flakes. Eggs, red wine vinegar. Kitty litter...lol That's about it. I wanted to get more interesting things but my cart was already almost unmanagable. Tonight I think I'll improve a box of hamburger helper by making meatballs with it instead of ground beef.

Hahaha I just went to check my e mail and I had some spam from "celtic_kazoos"

I would probably pronounce Chianti with the ch sound instead of a K sound if I had never seen Silence of the lambs. And I always thought bruschetta, as in the bread, was pronounced with a ch sound. I think it's a "hooked on phonics" syndrome. When in doubt, pronounce it how it looks. Unfortunately that is usually wrong in foreign words.

I'm in New Bedford Massachusetts. This is near the cape and Rhode Island. There is a wonderful produce and specialty food store called Sid Wainer and Son around here somewhere, but I don't know how to get there yet ;) I've been at Johnson and Wales in RI since September and moved in with my boyfriend last month. So I'm pretty new around here.

Ok. I'm going grocery shopping today, and in "Project Kate" someone mentioned making a thread about stocking a pantry. So...What are those must-haves?

My beverage service instructor at JWU said sake is mistakenly called wine, and that it is actually beer. But the description at all restaurants I've been to that have it call it rice wine. So what is it, technically?

Now that I'm all unpacked I can add to this. I have 12 "real" cookbooks, a few books of food writing with recipes incorporated into it, and a handful of cook's illustrated and Gourmet.

Oh dear God, I think I just had a heart attack.

Aw, you guys are too much. Be sure to direct me to it Who needs a job? I learn so much from you all.

Sure I know I don't need a lot, but I mean, I can't even make good grilled chicken with what I have. My wall mounted spice rack is sitting on top of my microwave because the nails won't stay in the wall. I have one area big enough for a cutting board and the rest of my counter space is covered by a microwave, blender, toaster and dish drying rack. The first time I used the oven, I turned it on to preheat, and the smoke alarm went off I love to cook, but I get so frustrated in these tiny apartment kitchens. That's why settling for Olive Garden doesn't seem so bad

I have a hunch that you can produce better food at home than what you'll get at the Olive Garden. I dunno, I don't have many appliances or ingredients in my postage stamp kitchen Let alone room to keep them. So, nobody has told me yet why Olive Garden is so bad...is it because it's not authentic Italian? Or it's not complex enough? I'm curious.

My boyfriend, and some other people I know, don't like artsy food. Food is there to be eaten, not ooh and ahhed over. Eating is not an experience to them, it's a necessity. Because I know both people like that and people who enjoy the eating "experience", and it is necessary for me to dine with both sometimes, I am hung precariously in the middle. It has to look good and taste good, that's for sure, but each time I go out to eat doesn't have to be something I'll remember forever, or for even a week. Sometimes I just want to get out of the house. That's when it's fine for me to go to run of the mill restaurants and get something I could easily make at home. When I visit my family, that's when I can really splurge, because usually, they're paying.

Haha we've been dating 5 years. If I want to eat fancy, I go to my parents' house, go out with friends, go by myself, or cook it myself and make something different for him.