Katie Meadow

I would add unsalted stock or water and serve it over plain rice. Or add a generous amount of cooked pasta to it. It won't be the same soup any more, but that's how I would probably cut the salt.

You might check out the Whirley Pop. It has a crank that mixes the kernels on the bottom; they have a very down-on-the-farm video about it on the website. But after making popcorn on the stovetop for years, I don't think mixing is necessary. I start with one layer of popcorn in hot oil, don't shake or stir, and get almost no unpopped kernels. It seems to me that once a kernel pops it ends up on top of the unpopped ones, so every kernel is sitting in oil until it's ready to do its thing. I do think the quality and freshness of the popcorn makes a difference, and so does the heat level.

Ginger, garlic, spring onions, star anise (like maybe 1 only) and a few whole peppercorns. Lately I've started adding a couple stalks of lemon grass, which maybe isn't so Chinese, but I like it.

I'm not a huge fan of commercial toffee bars; my SIL makes some drop dead dark chocolate toffee bars every holiday. If anyone is interested--and you are sitting around wondering what to do with that leftover Heath or Skor bar after a tasting--Fine Cooking Oct/Nov has a very tempting recipe for a coffee-toffee pecan pie that includes a 1/2 cup of crushed toffee candy. They are very diplomatic, and suggest either Heath or Skor. Other ingredients include Lyle's Golden Syrup, espresso powder, bourbon and of course, lots of pecans. How can you go wrong?

I'm pretty loyal to the products I like. Canned Italian tomatoes, Best Foods mayo (same as Hellmans), Edmund Fallot dijon mustard, Adams pb, Strauss organic milk, De Cecco pasta, Kosher or organic chicken. I still buy expensive dried beans mail order--I've tried a variety of bulk or other packaged beans and I don't like them as much. My husband bakes a lot of bread and he swears allegiance to King Arthur. I'm totally sold on TJ's handmade flour tortillas, and won't buy any other kind. I also think TJ's brand edamame are better than others. My brand loyalty exists only as long as I think it's the best of its kind. We have significantly cut our monthly spending in the last year. We eat less red meat than we used to and at least half our meals now are veg. I don't shop the farmers' market as often as I used to, so our produce costs less; less of it is organic, which is another savings, since organic veggies can cost almost the same per pound as steak around here. I rarely use canned broth, and typically make all my own stocks; I'm not sure if any dollars are being saved that way, since marrow bones and ham shanks aren't exactly a steal (chicken feet are still a lot of bang for the buck, though!), but my soups taste great. We make a big pot of beans just about once a week. I now often buy bulk steel-cut oats instead of my favorite Scottish Pinhead oats; not quite as good, but about half the price. I no longer buy my favorite olive oil for salads, but have found a source for bulk Italian or CA that works for everything and is good enough. I've given up buying jams and marmalades from my favorite farmers' market purveyor and I have severe pangs of guilt whenever I see her. My husband and I now make a years' worth of marmalade every Jan/Feb, and that's a significant chunk of change saved.

Prawn, I need parsnip crisps! How do you make them?

If you aren't looking for razzle dazzle presentation, here's something completely different. Our xmas day tradition (if we're cooking) is Coq au Vin. It's labor intensive but not stressful in any way, has lots of ingredients, is delicious, not often encountered, AND all the work can be done hours ahead. If you don't cut corners and do it up right, it's pretty special. You can dress it up with some French hors d., cheeses, have a great salad course, finish with a home made tarte tatin. Nice change from roasted anything and doesn't break the bank.

Olives, picked and cured by my FIL (excellent) Hummus and babaganouj Tortilla chips (probably stale) and salsa (remember we're in CA) Roast turkey with chestnut bread dressing (made by me and my husband) Jus/gravy plain baked yams (mmm, butter and salt) mashed potatoes (made by tipsy preoccupied teens at the last minute) spinach salad green beans and beets wild rice with wine casserole vegetarian entree (usually a cholesterol festival) Cranberries #1: jello mold Sunset magazine 1955 Cranberries #2: minimalist fresh cranberry orange relish (made by me) Very nice red wine made by my BIL apple pie pumpkin pie pecan pie crimson pie (cranberry/blueberry) sweet potato pie (my filling; all other pies and all crusts made by my talented SIL) whipped cream

What kind of cheese IS string cheese, anyway? Is it mozz?

I try to recycle the plate/s or bowl/s that transfer food from board to pot so as not to use too many dishes; I don't typically cut and prep everything beforehand, but do it as I go. I have taken to keeping a colander in the sink. My cutting board can be pushed an inch or two over the sink and all refuse gets swept into the colander, which then gets emptied as needed into the food waste bin. I can't afford to have jars of flour or bottles of stuff all over my space--there just isn't enough space for that and it makes me nervous--so I have gotten into the habit of putting back my supplies as I use them, if I am sure I don't need them any more. Someone upthread commented that if they returned any used items to the proper shelves they would know whether or not they've used them. That wouldn't work very well for me, I would just question whether or not I pulled it out to begin with. I don't know any solution for the "did I put it in or not?" problem, except getting younger. I also have learned that reading a recipe really carefully saves on mess, especially prep bowls. If you plan a little bit, you tend not to dirty any unnecessary bowls or utensils. I time my veg prep so I don't have too many misc plates around with stuff on them and so there's enough room on the cutting board for the next thing. It also helps me to keep a bowl of soapy hot water in the sink to rinse my hands, so I don't have to constantly get the faucet greasy. I always have a barmop handy for whatever, and one if not both dish towels usually end up slung over my shoulder. And then of course I can't find them.

What ingredients define Waldorf Salad, anyway? Is it fruits with mayo? I never grew up with Waldorf Salad, so I don't really know what it is. I've been eating a lot this lately: Granny Smiths (really any good tart crisp apple will do), chopped walnuts and either celery or fennel, thinly sliced. The dressing is dijon plus a little honey, lemon juice and a small amount of olive oil, salt. No mayo. It's refreshing and I pretty much always have all the ingredients on hand. I like it as a side for grilled chicken or spicy Red Beans 'n' Rice.

Make a noodle nest or noodle pancake with unsauced spaghetti. My daughter loved it cooked crispy in butter on medium heat in a cast iron skillet. Addictive and couldn't be simpler. If you make some stir-fry and serve it over crunchy noodles that's a nice change from over rice. If for some reason I end up with extra lightly sauced pasta (red sauce) I love it heated up with a lump of butter added, very simple. I also like to add a vegetable that's been sauteed with garlic, such as chard or raddichio or summer squash. Having leftovers is one of my major goals.

The current issue has a contribution by David Tanis singing the praises of parsnips. Always on the lookout for something that isn't pumpkin pie (irrational, but yes I just can't stand pumpkin pie, bread, pancakes or god forbid, pumpkin creme brulee), I made the parsnip buttermilk pie. I cut back on the spices (again, because I don't want anything tasting like pumpkin pie), and instead of the pie crust the recipe suggested, my husband provided his no-fail Julia crust. Anyway it was lovely and delicious. Tangy, so a bit different than you expect when you bite into a pie that looks like pumpkin or sweet potato. The shell gets pre-baked and I was worried that my edges would burn to a crisp during the hour-long cooking time specified. I started it with foil protection on the crimps, and that was a good idea. It was done in 50 minutes. Now I'm considering adding some mashed parsnip to my sweet-potato pie, which is, as you would think, more rich, but still vegetal. I can't remember the last time I tasted a parsnip. I had a little extra plain mashed vegetable before assembling the filling, so we scarfed that down with butter and salt, and it was just yummy. Mashed plain parsnip has about the same structure and stiffness as mashed sweet potato, which surprised me. So, next up: the potato-parsnip pancakes and then...maybe the lamb casserole. Those lemon cheesecake squares above look dreamy, by the way.

Hest88, I notice you are from the Bay Area too. Although I found the markets in France and Venice mind-boggling when it came to different types of sea critters, I think the East Coast has a far greater variety than we do on the West Coast. Whenever I visit NY I remember that even Berkeley Bowl and Tokyo Fish are limited in comparison. Local west coast mussels are starting to be farmed, and they aren't bad, but they aren't usually as good as PEI mussels. The only local hardshell clams are those tiny manila ones, and I don't think they have the taste of real east coast hardshells. And you sure can't use 'em for chowder. At Citarella there are about ten times as many types of fish as I've seen sold here.

There's a snail thread (!) somewhere that discusses the difference between bulots, or various types of sea snail, and land snails, which is what I have always taken to be escargots. When I was little my father was able to gross me out totally by eating live whelks out of the waters of Long Island. He referred to them by the Italian name, Scungilli. Who taught him this is a mystery that's gone to the grave with him, as we certainly aren't Italian and I certainly never saw him eat whelk anywhere else or cooked, for that matter. I'm sure he only did it to make me scream. What a dedicated Dad! When escargots are good, they're really good, but mostly they don't seem fresh or tender when ordered here in the states. Although I did have some that were very nice in a little bistro in Portland. Had some really yummy ones in the south of France. I love raw oysters, but not cooked oysters, steamed mussels, most any kind of east coast clam--steamers, razors, hard shells. For some reason I can't stand scallops. I'm in 100 percent agreement with a poster above who much prefers watching and thinking about the living octopus than actually eating one. Squid, meh. Deep-fried tentacles from little ones can be fun, if not overcooked or too greasy.

I've used CA bay leaves and they are very potent. Last time I bought bay leaves I bought Morton and Bassett. They are indeed very large, and very strong tasting, and I just assumed they were CA bay leaves, although I don't really know. My bottle of M & B lasted an awfully long time; I use a half a leaf for one pot of beans, or a pot of anything, for that matter. They do seem to be less strong now that I'm practically at the end of the bottle, but no surprise there.

Just goes to show that curiosity can lead you places you never wanted to be. I looked up Candlestick Salad. Supposedly it had its origins in the depression, although it smacks of post-war "creativity" to me. The height of something, but I'm not sure what. Definitely the thing for retro 50's party and a perfect accompaniment to pigs-in-a-blanket. Options make it the most versatile of side-dishes: dripping with whipped cream it's a dessert, dripping with mayo it's considered more of...a salad.

Spanikopita is a great idea: easy to cut in small portable squares, sinfully yummy and something most of us don't bother to make. FYI, shark bites, or serving ANY fish generally known to be high in mercury would be a no-no for a pregnant woman, and possibly for her friends, some of whom may be pregnant as well, and not telling yet. Shark is one of the fish highest in mercury, along with most tuna and swordfish. Pregnant women and children are strongly cautioned against these fish.

Probably no sushi, either. I don't see why you can't have a nice variety of beers and/or wines or even champagne. I wouldn't want to deprive my friends of alcohol just because I wasn't haven't any. And some pregnant women make exceptions for special events; I'm pretty sure I had a glass of bubbly at my baby shower. As for smoked meats, all I can say is that my middle trimester I ate an unprecedented amount of spare ribs (and pickles of all kinds.) But it is messy. Do you like to make pizza? Home-made thin crust pizzas with a variety of toppings, especially veggies, are easy to eat in slender wedges, and they don't have to be ready at the same time. Unless you are having a real sit-down meal, soup might be awkward. Middle-eastern apps work well, like hummus and babaganouj with pita. A plate of really nice cheeses and fruit is never unwelcome. I don't know why a tomato and sweet onion tart comes to mind, maybe I'm just hungry now. How did the champagne and spare ribs affect my daughter? She prefers beer to any other alcoholic drink and hates fatty meat.

I think perhaps cookies and candy should be separate categories. The only commercial cookies I buy are Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers. They resemble oreos in flavor, but without the white goop. When I eat oreos I scrape away the filling and toss it or give it to the nearest small person who wants it. LuckyGirl notes that Famous Wafers are now made with hydrogenated oil, but I can't say I noticed a difference in taste. Actually for a commercial cookie Walker's Shortbread is pretty good. Candy: Violet crumble, any M&Ms except minis, sour skittles.

There is still a dedicated and vocal percentage of family members who are veg at our T-giving, and every year a veg entree is made by someone. (I'm excused because we do the turkey.) A veg pot pie sounds delish, but remember, there will be pies for dessert (right?), and not everyone wants to eat pie-crust, then pie crust again. Spinach and artichoke lasagne, eggplant parmesan or rolled cheese enchiladas in blue corn tortillas with red or green chile have always been happily received. I always make a meat-free dressing, and some goes in the turkey, but the rest gets baked in a casserole with a little extra vegetarian broth for a veg side-dish. Your sides sound great. And chipotle cranberries would be nice with enchiladas. So would simple baked yams.

I don't mind a waiter asking if everything is okay, as long as they are neutral about it and give the diner an opportunity to make any comment they might feel compelled to make. If the waiter is attentive and only does it once it's reasonable, but if the waiter is already stepping away before they even get the sentence out, it's intrusive and meaningless. Anything obviously scripted by the restaurant irritates me no end. It's not hard to tell if someone is being genuine. The other night we were a party of six and two different servers asked at different times, "Are you still enjoying that?" My SIL responded, "No, but I'm still eating it." I don't think the waiter was even paying enough attention to hear her, but I thought it was funny and so did my nephews. I HATE being called "Ma'am." I don't need to be called anything. Just talk to me, and look at me when you ask me a question. When a waiter tells me his or her name, sometimes it sounds silly, sometimes it sounds okay. I might remember it, I might not, but I most likely will not call that person by name. As for the touching, I know some people just can't stand to be touched by strangers, but for me it's on a case by case basis. If the wrong person touches me it will backfire, but sometimes I don't mind at all. A waiter should always know that touching a customer is a risk. Flirting? Again, it's awfully subjective. If can be fun, or not.

Andrea has a no-fail recipe for pickled daikon and carrots in her book Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. I've made it many times. She even has some comments about that smell which might develop after a few days and how to get it to go away. I never had a problem with it, and was able to make a couple of large jars that keep for at least a week or more. I never had any left after that, so don't know its limits. It's definitely more than a one-day pickle, though. It looks like a lot more than it is, once you start making sandwiches. I started making Banh Mi using Andrea's recipe, then branched out with various types of grilled meats. The easiest and tastiest way to obtain the pate was to simply buy a smooth French-style liver pate at my deli, since I'm not ambitious enough to make my own. If someone made me a Momofuku pate I'd be thrilled, I'm sure. I did learn to cook the Char Siu (bbq pork) from Andrea's book, and that was well worth it. However if you want to spare yourself the time and have a convenient Ranch 99 or Chinatown nearby, it's easy enough to buy a variety of grilled pork, sausages, etc. I found that spicy grilled or flash-fried shrimp make a great banh mi without the pate, and so does any simple form of Asian-flavored grilled chicken. I'm far too lazy to search out Vietnamese bread, so I just use my favorite sweet or rustic baguette. After all, this kind of sandwich thrives on improv. To me, what makes it taste distinctive is a little maggi in the mayo, the daikon-carrot pickle, the fresh cilantro and sliced cukes.

I'm very fond of Jean Anderson's "A Love Affair with Southern Cooking." She has a nice intimate style and includes back stories that are informative and always generous toward others. There's a mix of old stand-bys that I am likely never to make (but are fun to read) and traditional recipes that use more cheese, butter and processed ingredients than I am inclined to use, but I've been surprised at how many of her dishes I have tweaked a bit (or maybe a lot) and have been put into my rotation. Not even Jean Anderson will ever get me the least bit interested in Pimento Cheese, but I now love shrimp cakes and cymlings, soup with beans, greens and (less) ham, and my version of spinach madeleine, which is faithful in spirit to hers. A sweet cookbook that you will consult for one thing and discover something entirely different.

I must be in the minority. I don't want a little help from my friends in the kitchen, although I don't mind participating when I get invited out. The only exception I can think of is opening oysters; some of the people I know who like raw oysters as much as I do are pretty good with a knife, and I'm not the fastest shucker, so help is appreciated. Anyone who isn't careful to preserve all the juice is excommunicated at once. Also I have to watch to make sure no shuckers are slurping on the sly. My BIL was a very fast shucker, but I noticed that he was giving out samples to his kids, and by the time the oysters reached the table, four dozen oysters had become three dozen. I won't let my husband help because I'm too afraid he'll hurt himself. No more late nights in the ER. Been there, done that. There are only two dishes that my husband and I really collaborate on. One is pizza--he does fantastic crust, I make the sauce and prep the veggies and toppings, we both build the pies, and he does the peel-to stone and back again work. The other is our once-a-year New Years Day party with traditional Coq au Vin. He seems to like the chicken prep/browning part of the operation, and that's my least favorite task on the planet and we both prep veggies. He is also my go-to guy for any mincing of parsley, etc. He's very slow but very fastidious and makes a beautiful cone-shaped pile (always too much) of evenly minced herbs.