Shel_B

This morning was something simple and fast: a bowl of fruit from TJ's Cherry Berry blend and a diced apple plus some Boreal blueberries.

What place do you have in mind? Lolinda ... although I may reconsider it as I now see that reviews describe it as noisy. Everything else looks OK, though. http://lolindasf.com/

To whom are you addressing that admonishment?

Thanks for your comments. My GF's daughter has has an induction cooktop at home, and I've never heard it buzz.

Thanks, Katie ... We don't eat out very often, and rarely at spendy places, much prefering our local favorites. Neither of us feel a need to spend a lot of $$$ for restaurant food, and most often eat out as much for convenience as for a special ocassion. I discovered an Argentinean place in SF that has steak and other dishes that will remind Toots of home, and I know she'll enjoy the food and the atmosphere, as well as the choices. While she doesn't miss Argentina very much, she never forgets that's who she is, and giving her a taste of home would be a gift that she'll appreciate. Frankly, I was astounded at what some of these places charge for steak ... and for sides. One place had a 1 1/2 pound baked potato on the menu for $12.00!! Excessive in every sense ... I know the Local Butcher, and sometimes shop there. I don't believe they carry aged beef, and certainly not dry aged. A couple of friends invited us to dinner last year, and they threw some dry aged rib eye onto the grill. Pretty good ... Thanks for your comments ...

I don't understand what's going on between sigma and weinoo, but a get I get a real sense of snarkiness ... Sigma, you said, "But that isn't what Toots wants." Well, you don't know what she wants, so you can't know what she doesn't want. In fact, she doesn't yet know about my plan to take her for a good steak ... From what I've seen of menus and reviews, I agree that quantity is a big factor at at least some of these places. That is a turn-off for me, and I know Toots is not enamored of huge portions either. We're not looking for our own episode of "Man vs Food." I think that what I'm going to do is take Toots to an Argentinean restaurant that has some decent reviews. It will give her a sense of home, and make her happy. Then, later in the year, we are probably going to NYC, and I'll make reservations at Peter Luger's. That will make me happy. I will ask a couple of my relatives to join us, and that will make both of us happy.

And why is that? Because they pretty much suck. If you want a good steak, go to Kokkari, but not one of the steakhouses. Not much of a reason to exclude every steak house in San Francisco. What does it mean that they all "suck?"

Kokkari only has one steak on its menu, though it is an allegedly dry-aged rib eye. And that's reason enough to skip over the place ... one of the main considerations is for Toots to have a choice.

Can the inducton models increase and decrease the temp quickly, similar to a gas stove? Or is there a lag like electric ranges? From what I've read thus far, my inclination is towards an induction unit.

I'm going to need one or two extra burners for my kitchen when I move to my new apartment, so I need some information. Are there any portable burners that can run off propane that would be suitable for use indoors? Are there single, and maybe dual, portable induction burners? Would they just plug into a standard outlet? What type of cookware can be used on these burners? Stainless steel? Anything else? Thanks!

Trader Joe's Prunes: TJ's has two varieties of this dried fruit, one with and one without sorbate. Toots and I bought a couple of bags of the non-sorbate prunes. I was very disappointed. They were hard, lacked any depth of flavor, and were not at all satisfying. I returned my package. Toots was satisfied with her prunes, although she cooked them. I also found them to be much more satisfactory when cooked.

The Epic Roasthouse looks great. The location and view makes it a special place, and since the menu has more than beef, Toots can eat her steak and I can get something else. I like the interior decor as well. And it looks like we can easily take BART over, and enjoy a nice walk to and from dinner. We'll definitely look into it ... thanks for the tip!

And why is that?

Toots is from Argentina, and she enjoys a great steak every now and then. We have a special day coming up in a couple of months, and I'd like to take her to San Francisco for a great steak dinner. Even though we live in the area, it's been years since we've crossed the bridge for dinner in SF. I last ate meat in SF at the House of Prime Rib several years ago. So, which steak house would you recommend. We are not impressed by huge portions, and drinks are of minimal interest. We'd like great service, a quiet atmosphere, and a good choice of excellent steaks. What would you "steak mavens" suggest? Thanks!

Costco Chicken Ingredients: Decide for yourself if this is what you want to eat. http://www.google.com/search?q=costco+roasted+chicken&hl=en&biw=1086&bih=484&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSEgnPoQhIgMEo9CH7ujr6iGkyQA&dur=5717#imgrc=z6EISIDBKPRu3M%3A%3Bheyl5GUaqmjueM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-O6TtA7c3xmk%252FT5CuBKNLUFI%252FAAAAAAAAAMs%252FXzBLjPcrEXc%252Fs1600%252Fcostco_rotisserie_chicken.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fkaukautime.blogspot.com%252F2012%252F04%252Fcostco-rotisserie-chicken.html%3B1600%3B1200

Thanks for the link. I made a quick stop at BB&B and purchased a set of Anchor Hocking ramekins foe less than $5.00 as I want to make some flan today. I've been happy with both the Anchor products and the Duralex products. I like the shape of the Duralex better than the Anchor shape, so I'll look around to see if I can get a better price somewhere.

I'd like to get some ramekins. My preferences are: Not made in China, totally non-porous, smooth interior, durable, 5-oz +/- capacity, capable of refrigerator to oven, good quality.

I generally prefer curly leaf parsley ... flavor profile seems more appropriate for tabouleh.

I don't bake much (in fact, very little), but when I do, I bake from scratch using proven recipes. However, while looking for some new ideas, I've seen some recipes that call for oil, like canola or vegetable, instead of butter. I've never baked with oil ... So, can I replace oil with butter, and how would I make the conversion? Equal parts butter for oil, or some proportion? What else would I have to consider when making the change? Butter contains water, so would that be a consideration, and in what way? Thanks! .... Shel

That looks more like an omelet with matzo than matzo brei. The matzo pieces are too big and too regular in shape, and don't seem to be well-coated with the egg. I have strong opinions about using WW matzo - I'm a staunch advocate of plain matzo, and the idea of toasting the matzo is alien to me. Never heard of doing that until I read this thread. Was the toasting an experiment, or have you tried it before? What specifically made it "Feh?" .... Shel

And this brings me to ask, "What's a good oven thermometer?" It would be great if I could find one with a large, readable dial. .... Shel

Toots buys these chickens and makes stock from the remains. I've never cared for the results, finding it too salty for my taste and too intense, and somewhat muddy in the flavor profile. However, she'll sometimes make the stock and I'll add water to it, and it's not too bad - more acceptable. However, I much prefer making stock from fresh chicken.

Have you tried rehydrating the bulghur in the dressing, and eliminating the water? How about oven-dried tomatoes? What do you put in your dressing? Thanks! .... Shel

I couldn't find a topic on this subject ... What are your preferences for preparing and for ingredients for tabouleh? .... Shel

Probably ... I'll ask her when I next see her, or perhaps I'll drop her an email later today. .... Shel