Marlene

This is exactly what we want to do in the next 10 years, as hubby gets closer to retirement. Possibly in Niagara on the Lake.

Tonight will be simple. A beef fondue, with a crisp green salad. Maybe french onion soup. And something chocolately made with my belgian chocolate. Probably a mousse.

Oh yes, the Oakanagan Valley wines are lovely! We had a late freeze here in Ontario, but deep, so the quality should be marvellous, but there will be less quantity this year from Ontario Ice Wines. Kittling Ridge also makes a nice Ice Wine

I use 5 coffee scoops of beans for my coffee. When I make coffee from already ground, I use about 3 1/2. 20? Maybe in a coffee urn!

I have a serrated paring knife now as well as the smooth one. Both work equally well for peeling things.

I have 22 upper/lower cabinets in my kitchen, and 12 full length spice rack, panty, appliance panty cupboards along the wall. (I just counted em). I use every single one of them Do you think I hav too much kitchen stuff?

I peel my potatoes with a paring knife to my hubby's everlasting horror. He uses the tupperware peeler, and loves it.

me too!

Start by re-reading this TDG article. Maximum Suck

I have a Hamilton Beach indoor grill. Used once. Since I got my Bamix, I never use my garlic press any more!

I don't generally eat dessert, but I'm still eating the Christmas coloured peanut m&m's!

I think for what you want, you'd be pretty happy with the GE Monogram.

i don't know anyone who doesn't use all their cupboard space You'll hate, loathe and despise a non self cleaning oven. Really.

I was just going to say send me a floor plan. I've been in construction most of my adult life!

What I might do is to have them run the wires in the small peninsula that will remain from my current sink area. That way, I can add an oven in the future. That might be a good idea. Just make sure the peninsula is big enough to accomodate the oven. don't worry about the horror stories. Mine went as smooth as silk, and was much more extensive! Have fun with it!

Trust me. You can't live without two ovens. Especially if you are already used to the extra one being there when you need it. If you're going to have any kind of island, consider putting an oven at one end of it. and have the complete range for your other cooking needs. You'll be sorry if you don't

Hubby just returned from a London/Brussels trip. He brought back a Fettercairn 12 yr single malt. Now this is not a scotch you will find in Canada!

I first took this to mean your wife was left over

I won't ask. I'd like to nominate the S'mores making kit. What a bad idea on every count. A) S'mores require a campfire – there's no alternative. B) Do children really need another sugar/caffeine delivery system? This was a gift from my SIL – an otherwise bright and lovely person. It's still sitting in the box. We've decided to send her 2-year-old a toy drum for his birthday. That reminds me that my brother used to buy every noisy toy he could find for my son when he was little. When he finally had his own daughter I responded by sending her every large toy that required blowing up plus frilly dressess that had to be carefully ironed. We've gotten over that. Now we send each other gourmet food certificates. I saw the s'mores making kit. Duh.

Boxed wine for me certainly brings back memories of college, when the goal was quantity over quality for as little as possible Having said that, I'm a particular fan of Hardy's Shiraz and if that is going to be offered in boxes, I could be persuaded to try it.

I use my bread machine all the time - both of them. Conversely, I never ever use my rice cooker. Or the stupid mini chopper thing someone gave me.

It depends. Usually when we are dining out, it will be dessert then coffee. At home when we entertain, quite often, after the main course, people want to "rest" before eating dessert. So I may serve coffee then, or perhaps people are finishing their wine. Then dessert, then coffee or more coffee. For me, a cheese plate is dessert, since I don't eat a lot of sweet things. Unless I'm serving a single plated dessert, I'll put a selection of cheeses and desserts out and people can choose along with a selection of Port and liqueurs. And I quite often have cheeses as an hor d'ouvre (really gotta get a spell check here ) And is it decaf coffee in the evening or Hi test?

Word

Nope, you get a knife sharpener to make house calls because many knife sharpeners still make house calls. If he does a great job, make sure you keep him on your Christmas card list. And tip him well. High quality sharpening professionals are hard to find. The problem with getting your knives sharpened is that anyone with a couple hundred bucks to invest in a grinder can call himself a knife sharpener. Mostly they do lawn mower blades and garden tools. Finding a sharpener who really knows what he's doing with kitchen knives is a real treat. But it's kind of like trying to find someone to cut your hair. You can go through several expensive mistakes before you find the right person. Chad We have a knife sharpener who still goes around the neighbourhood in his cart. Everyone comes out when they hear his bell go. Kids are always mistaking that sound for the ice cream man He comes around twice a year usually, in the fall and in the spring. I think he's about 90 yrs old. "Been sharpenin' knives for neigh onto 55 years lady" he told me once. He did miracles with the blades of my old knives. He's going to swoon when he sees my new ones.