blue_dolphin

You got me worried for a second. The flowers are edible. It's the woody parts of the plants that are highly toxic, and the stems. Hank Shaw in Northern California blogged about making fritters and cordial with them. In Santa Cruz, Pim Te uses them in jams (paired with blueberry). Thank you, FrogPrincesse, for that bit of research. I see elderflowers blooming along trails in my area (in Ventura County) in April. I'd wrongly assumed the toxicity extended to the whole plant so this is good news to me, at least for next year!

Good point. The muffins on the last one I had (LAX, terminal 5, last week) seemed not to have been toasted at all! Edited to add: I have a general complaint about pale toast in most restaurants but with english muffins, it's even worse.

From the very, very tasty (sampled a splash of that Angel's Envy Rye and it's a treat) to the completely tastless ($14.99 handle of 100 proof vodka for limoncello making) and a few in between.

Thanks for this query. In my deep dark past, I must have made hundreds - nay thousands - of Egg McMuffins while toiling under the Golden Arches and always meant to try a home version. I ordered these egg rings and found them perfectly functional. I need to work on the cooking time to get it the way I like but I'm looking forward to that research . Sorry for the blurry phone pix. Shel_B, what is it that you don't like about the McDonald's execution? For me, it's the hard cooked yolk. I worked there before salmonella in eggs was a common concern and we always cooked them to have an oozy but not totally runny yolk so that's what I'm going for. And maybe some other variations - a layer of sauteed, chopped spinach perhaps? What's your goal?

My CSA is also year round. This Tuesday's box: Easter Radishes White Carrots Mizuna Green Leaf Lettuce Fennel Gold Beets Red Chard Pickling Cucumbers Strawberries Valencia Oranges

Along the lines of Darienne's experience, UCLA has long had a "Dinner for 12 Strangers" program. Guests include students, faculty, alumni. Generally hosted by alumni. I attended and also helped host and thought it was fun. No fees involved.

It's embarrassing. No matter how large the bag, I treat all crispy, salty snack packages as single servings. That's why they are rarely allowed.

How large is "large-ish"? I'd be daunted by a big honking jack-o-lantern, too, and concerned that it would be stringy, watery and bland. If yours in leaning in that direction, you may find some help in this thread on improving a bland winter squash. But assuming they're nice cooking pumpkins, I can highly recommend the Winter Squash Soup with Chili and Mint from Deborah Madison's Greens cookbook. Pierogi posted the recipe here in the 2011 Recipes that Rock thread. I think I've made it a dozen times since. It freezes well. For a party last year, I made a roasted pumpkin salad with warm apple cider vinaigrette that was a big hit and I've made a lot of variations on that theme since. If I'm roasting squash for another recipe, I try to do up some extra, in bite-sized cubes, to add to salads. That kabocha I got today is almost 6 lbs so some is sure to make its way into salads. I've been wanting to make Dorie Greenspan's Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good from her Around My French Table cookbook. She calls for a 3 lb pumpkin for that.

Today's box: Mizuna Kobacha Squash French Radishes Cauliflower Romaine Lettuce Candy Beets Round Carrots Black Kale Satsuma Tangerines Broccoli Bok Choy Japanese Turnips Lots of greens for me, with radish, turnip and beet greens along with the black kale, mizuna, romaine and bok choy. And I still have last week's bok choy and tatsoi so I had best get to work. Looking forward to trying the recipe for farro with kabocha squash and cavolo nero from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Summer veggies have been lingering (got tomatoes last week) but the Satsumas are a sure sign of the season (already ate 3 that didn't make it into the photo ). Anyone else still getting regular CSA boxes (or fresh market hauls)?

I thought the same thing when I read the article. But perhaps I travel in the wrong circles as I know many who expect a BIG drink of ...well....whatever. The glassware pictured in the article is lovely and made me want to go and mix something up even though I read it on Friday AM before work! Edited to add that I tried the Neon yesterday, despite lacking the so-named Waterford crystal coupes. I think it would have tasted better from the fancy glass

If it tastes unbearably sweet, I think I'd toss it. Otherwise, some spicy muffins or bar cookies with that ginger would be nice. Peanut butter and pumpkin soup from Serious Eats. Pumpkin Pie-Criossant Pudding from Food and Wine

I've made half a dozen or so batches and all have looked like yours. Some have been more bright and yellow, others more golden. I've used lemons from the farmer's market, from the grocery store and, most recently, from my own tree. Never a cloudy batch yet but they have all been very tasty!

After a very looooooong drought, Rittenhouse Rye has been back in stock at my local Total Wine & More @ 22.99, at least for the last month or two. That doesn't help you, FrogPrincesse, as I don't think they have any SD locations but maybe a re-check of your local sources could turn something up even if they've been out of stock for some some. Or maybe not...just my 2 cents!

Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients is some years old now but that book, he highly recommends Ma Ling and recommends Koon Chun and Wei-Chuan.

FrogPrincesse mentioned quiche, my most customary pot-luck contribution. They're suitable for any meal, can be substantially prepped in advance (cook filling, grate cheese, make pie crust) the day before or even earlier and they stay warm for an amazingly long time when insulated in some combination of towels, newspaper and grocery bags so no fridge or microwaving required. I've baked quiche in the early AM here in So Cal and brought it to a pot-luck in Seattle - TSA only asked what smelled so good. Much like the your previous experience, I've found a salad with bagged baby spinach, dried cranberries or cherries, etc., candied walnuts or pecans, feta and some sort of balsamic vinaigrette is usually very well received and just requires grabbing a big bowl and serving utensils before a pit stop at the market. Of course, I usually do more prep at home and package everything up (red onion, orange segments, homemade spiced nuts and dressing, etc.) separately but it can be done straight from the grocery. My third option is a cold noodle dish with a spicy peanut sauce (Yank Sing chili pepper sauce being the secret ingredient), julienned carrot, cucumber, egg and green onion. Everything can be packed up separately and tossed just before serving. I love my work pot-lucks. There are always a few people who buy KFC or something but most people really put some effort into it. Maybe a bunch of scientists are accustomed to perfecting their own protocols but everything is usually very good.

LindaK, your photos and description make that warming fare appealing even on today's 100 deg day! Can't remember if I've posted this here before but salt cod formed the base of my most hated childhood meal: salt cod in a cream sauce, served over boiled potatoes - white on white on white- with canned peas the only contrast! I've read along and been tempted by various recipes but this one comes full circle for me wth the potatoes and cream sauce - what an elevation of my old memories! It's way too hot at the moment but this is absolutely going on the list for my mom's next visit.

Those Rosemary Raisin Crisps are very nice with the spreadable goat cheese mentioned upthread. I try to keep some on hand for impromptu guests but it's a struggle not to snarf them up myself!

Good idea to start thinking about this now. I might just resurrect my long abandoned fruitcake tradition. It could happen. They were very popular but I got embarrassed by all the fruitcake jokes and stopped. For a group of 9 friends, I'm thinking to give each a bottle of limoncello from my backyard lemon tree and a packet of lemon-rosemary pressed cookies in holiday shapes. I'll tie on a card with the recipe for Tuscan Rosemary Lemondrop cocktails and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary The limoncello is made but I need to get bottles, cellophane packets for the cookies and make up some labels

Thanks for that info, Refined Vintage! I thought the design was some sort of stylized atomic starburst but I can certainly see the pine motif now that you've mentioned it.

I can't believe you found an instructional video on that garnish, FrogPrincesse! I'll have to find myself some fancy picks and try that next time.

I picked up 4 of these dainty little glasses at the Salvation Army shop yesterday for 75 cents each. They're by Fostoria, 4.25" tall and hold 3 oz, filled to the very brim.

Beautiful job with the garnish! I love figs too and had wondered about infusing dried figs into brandy or something but I've never tried them in a cocktail. After seeing your post yesterday, I gave it a whirl this evening with the Trader Joe's Fig Butter that I picked up the other day. I'm enjoying the flavors of this drink but it's a swampy brown color - rather unappetizing. Not surprising either, as the fig butter is an almost black paste. I love your idea of muddling a fresh fig with a bit of sugar.

Excellent. Sounds like you've covered that variable by cooking them all to death first. I hadn't considered that option but you clearly put more thought into it than I did!

I would imagine that one variable between the "cooled in water" and "cooled in air" eggs would be the more rapid cooling in water (conduction) than in air (convection) so the air-cooled eggs may have cooked a tiny bit more, resulting in a slightly more sturdy white that was easier to peel. Particularly if ice-water was used for cooling but even if the water was at ambient temp, there would still be a difference in cooling rate.

I saw those. They look pretty nice. I may bid on one. I have picked them up for $2.50 - $3 in thrift shops and for less at garage sales.