Katie Meadow

You had me at husband. Then you lost me when alcohol joined the mix along with knives, grapefruit spoons and lobsters. I'm weighing my options. I could have the beer myself, but that might be trouble if I end up having to drive to the ER.

We pop on the stove top with oil. I don't add butter. Salt and any moderate savory seasoning get added and tossed as soon as the popcorn goes from pot to bowl. Often that seasoning is simply freshly grated hard cheese. An extra step in the microwave would not be a selling point for me personally. Perhaps a portion of dedicated air poppers would want some way to get their seasonings to stick better, but as pastry girl suggests, that's a limited market.

Okay, I'm crazy for artichokes. Of course I love them steamed whole, with something for dipping and that's always easy. Here in CA the artichokes have been very good and not too pricey this season. Gabrielle Hamilton has a relatively novel way to steam artichokes currently, but as with some simple ideas, hers can take a turn for the labyrinthine. I swear she could write several pages on how to butter a slice of bread. Lately I came across a simple technique which is rather clever: cut off the top third and steam them cut side down over lemon water. They cook a little faster that way. But my favorite way to eat them is also the most labor intensive: peeling away a lot of the raw leaves (on large chokes), cutting them, scraping out the fuzzies, putting in acidulated water. Then I dry them briefly with a cloth and sauté them in oil or butter until they are crispy. Prepped like that they are then fabulous whether they are on top of spaghetti, in a lasagne or, my favorite way, as a pizza topping. But that's a lot of work and, sadly, I'm getting kind of lazy. When chokes are not in season or I want an adequate substitute, I'm looking for a short cut. I don't want marinated in oil; I'm not after a salad. I can't stand canned artichokes. I tried the Spanish style roasted chokes from TJ's, and the texture was okay, but they were so heavily seasoned I had to wash them off. Plain frozen artichokes seem like they have more potential, but even thawed and drained they are pretty watery and flabby. How do I get them to dry out a bit without overcooking them? Are all frozen artichokes pre-cooked? Or are there any frozen raw ones? So far any artichoke that isn't fresh seems not very good. I shouldn't be surprised; it isn't as if I eat many frozen vegetables. I suffer through corn withdrawal ten months a year. If anyone has a clever way to deal with this dopey problem let me know. My husband has volunteered to prep fresh artichokes so I don't have to do it, but I'm not sure he knows what a pain it is and to be honest I am worried that he will stab himself with a knife or a leaf tip or a grapefruit spoon when removing the fuzz.

I'm no expert, but my understanding is that some foods or methods of cooking benefit from copper more than others, so it might be wise to research that and perhaps buy one or two pans that have the most use potential before springing for a large set. Plenty of inexpensive materials have far more advantages, such as carbon steel and cast iron. I have two copper pans. One is stainless steel lined, a medium size pot that is wider than it is tall and can make a risotto for three or four or a quart of home made ketchup. More than anything I use it for making slow-cooked grits. I rarely polish it so it looks as you would expect, but it is a great pan. Call the finish a patina, in a good light. I've had it for at least 25 years and can't see any reason why it won't last at least that long, not that I will know the difference by then. I use it maybe three or four times a month. My other copper pan is a saute pan of dubious quality which I purchased at a Good Will many years ago. It is just the right size for a tarte tatin, and that's what it has been used for. I don't think it is tin lined, but it isn't heavy duty. It gets very little use otherwise, but that is justified given the price I paid for it.

Ah, the white food years! Spaghetti with butter. Potatoes with white cheddar. Pick your battles; food is a terrible one. Offer variety and new things and offer choices. Don't push or bargain. If they don't want to eat something that's their right. It doesn't mean you will make them another meal. I've never seen meals that result in anxiety do anyone any good. When it is clear they will eat Kraft mac and cheese but not your homemade, you have no where to go but up. Being picky about food seems to be a natural part of evolution. Four year olds who like broccoli may need watching!

If you have a second beer do you then want a third? I would say that the desire for more alcohol is not the same as the desire for another bowl of chips. Before taking advice from a lot of eGulleters I suggest you talk to someone....more professional. Not that we don't have good intentions here, but.....your question reflects some conflicts about the amount of beer consumption that's good for you.

I like them simply oven roasted. Halved first, mixed with olive oil and salt and a little paprika. Ten minutes on a cookie sheet flat side down, then another 10 to 15 minutes flipped over until partly charred but still with a bit of a bite. Sometimes I finish them lightly in the serving dish with a mix of dijon and maple syrup, but not too sweet. Also fun to roast them in bacon fat and then finish with a little vinegar and Steen's Cane Syrup. The trick to getting a char on them and not letting them get mushy I guess is finding the right heat setting. I think I usually do them around 400F, or maybe a little bit hotter.

My go-to easy refreshing salad is raw fennel and radish, sliced paper thin, spritzed with lemon and olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and fresh pepper, tossed gently. Goes with anything but has some flavor of its own, and there are lots of folks who don't eat fennel, so it ends up being novel. Equally bright is a salad of celery and tart apples with just a handful of walnuts. I like it dressed lightly with a little mustard, lemon and oil and salt. That might be very nice with red meat. Depending on what I'm eating it with I might add just a little honey to the dressing. That's a good trick especially if you already added too much mustard. A simple clean Asian slaw is a good idea, with cilantro and lime and a drizzle of sesame oil or neutral oil. Toss in a handful of shelled cooked, edamame for great texture.

Bubbly and strawberry anything sounds like the perfect meal. And very very proper. Frankly you would be weird if you washed your strawberry shortcake down with anything else. Well okay, maybe a cup of Earl Grey, but that wouldn't be very celebratory...more like comfort food.

For several years my husband and I have hosted a brunch for his mother and his siblings plus whatever nephews and nieces are around. My daughter is never around since she lives in Atlanta. My mother passed away years ago at 94. Now my MIL is 92 and our brunch plans flew out the window when she broke her arm (badly) last week. She's in a rehab center and we are converging on her this afternoon. I made brownies for dessert, a substantial number of which disappeared last night, but no one this year is in a position to cook much of anything and drive it up to Davis so we will order pizza, which will most likely be terrible. The only request my MIL has made is that her cat come to visit her. Maybe someone is working on that, but it isn't me.

Shad is one of my all-time favorite fish. My mother was a shad roe devotee, but she never seemed that interested in the fish. She liked the roe wrapped in bacon and pan fried. Now that's rich, too rich for me. But if you can get the fish deboned it's a treat. It never gets transported out here to the west coast. I've often come to NY during shad season, and I know Citarella will debone it for you.

@rotuts I moved to the bay area in the mid seventies. We used to go to Monterey via Watsonville and in season the chokes were often ten medium size for $1. Those days are not going to come again. I grew up in NY. My mother used to steam them whole and we dipped the leaves in butter. When I moved to CA I was amazed to discover that people liked to dip the leaves in mayo. Oh those kookie Californians.

I tried the artichokes. I used them as a pizza topping and agree, they are just okay. The bath they come in is not only oily but also heavily over-flavored. To use them I decided to drain and rinse them to get rid of the saturated seasoning. They are on the bitter side, which wasn't too much of a problem, and the texture was okay after being in a hot oven, but nothing can compete with sautéed fresh artichoke hearts made from real artichokes; not these, not canned,, not jarred, not TJ's frozen. So labor intensive that I rarely prep artichokes any more.

I always salt watermelon and cantaloupe, something my mother did religiously. And she didn't spend time in the south. I grew up in New York. My husband and daughter always take the opportunity to scoff at me for it, but they don't know anything and both grew up in CA. It never occurred to me to salt strawberries, though. Maybe I will try it this morning, but it just sounds wrong. How do avocados insinuate themselves into everything? Control yourselves, folks.

Your family and my husband's family must be kissing cousins. My husband and his brothers are all well known for leaving "not enough for a human portion" at the bottom of a box or a container. My husband claims that growing up they didn't want to be accused of finishing the last of anything, so a token few bites had to be left. That may be true, but my theory is that in addition, at least my husband leaves a scrap in a container so he doesn't have to make a decision about throwing something out or worse, washing said container. All three wives of these boys are resigned to the knowledge that this habit will never die. There is one sister, the youngest child, but there is no evidence that she does this. I wouldn't put it past her three sons, however.

Your husband's daughter must be an Anglophile. The English way is to make sure the toast is cold by the time it comes to the table. That's why they invented the toast rack. In an ideal world my butter sits out for about an hour before spreading on hot toast. That's why I come down for my breakfast after my husband. I like Irish butter. If you use a high fat butter it is more spreadable than standard American butter right out of the fridge, as well. Plate, toast, knife, butter. In that order.

@Shelby Before you spring for a new deviled egg platter, consider eBay; loads of them available in all different price points, some venerable, some awful. Also I used to see them in thrift shops, but haunting those places isn't high on my list these days. The last thing I need is more kitchen objects. I have a nice Frankoma one from a zillion years ago, but I never use it any more. It's either me or the eggs, but I'm so sick of trying to peel them I rarely make them in quantity. I do like them but it's probably just as well I stay away from them.

Definitely not worth $5.99.

Calling pies or fries or any other food "crack blank" has always made me uncomfortable. And after 15 years or how ever many years since the Milk Bar opened and they named that pie my discomfort remains. The one time I went there, at least ten years ago, I was not wowed by anything I tasted. Not the pie and definitely not that godawful cereal milk ice cream.

I have been addicted to this Haku Black Garlic Shoyu.

Wow. This apron has a pretty steep learning curve.

In my next life, or maybe my next dining room, I am going to paint the walls that perfect shade of dark pink. And maybe get a set of those Agave dishes to go with. How fun is that! I miss New Mexico food, but when it comes to green chile burgers, as long as you have some roasted hatch chiles you can make the best ones yourself with good beef and an outdoor grill. Squash flower soup sounds fabulous right now, but definitely before going out to the Botox party , so at least your happiness over the soup will show.

Personally, and as a woman of 71, I can think of a lot of benefits to not being noticed. I'm not a shrinking violet and can get attention when I need it, but not being looked up and down on the street or while waiting for a coffee is a beautiful thing. It's been a long time since some idiot said, "Smile why don't you" to my face and for that I am eternally grateful. I was always afraid that if I said what I really wanted to say back to them I might get punched or worse. As for that article, I don't really feel as if pieces of me are falling away. In fact I feel like a magician, like I can take up as much or as little space as I am in the mood to do. For many years I was told I looked younger than I was. Going naturally silver was the best decision ever.

Really, that was a sweet piece. But Frank, it gets worse. Wait until you are in your seventies. When you fall asleep halfway through the martini. The noise factor is huge. I hate it at prime dining time. I like looking at all the young people who appear to be able to hear each other but I'm not sure how I feel about being the oldest person in the room. On the other hand I don't like being surrounded by people older than me, either. That was one of the weirdest sensations eating out in small towns in the south. It was a granny fest. That made me really feel ancient. Although if you are surrounded by really old people they've given up trying to talk loudly, so that makes it easier for those of us who are still conversing. I love having a comfy booth. But now that I have shrunk a bit those booth tables seem high, and they are nailed to the floor, so that may create a large drop zone. I hate being in the middle of a room of crowded tables constantly getting the back of my chair bumped. Also I think that's where the noise concentrates. I like sitting next to a window when there is still daylight coming in. I like seeing my food. I like having a walking distance neighborhood restaurant with good food. I have one where the food is pretty good, but I can't tell if their food is getting richer or my tastes are getting simpler.They know me, and that's nice. And in cool weather they have heaters outside and will bring me a blanket without my asking. And outside you can hear yourself talk. But it isn't an everyday kind of place, more of a splurge. And if I want to splurge I might want to go somewhere else. But then it means driving somewhere...... And now you know you don't want to dine with me, since I'm so cranky!

I was thinking of this one on the NYT site by Martha Rose Schulman: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014134-green-goddess-dressing