Marlene

--------------- I'm waiting for the Toronto Star to get a life and have better food reporting than this. There is so much more happening on the food scene in Toronto, and Shepherd's Pie with Ketchup is the best they can do?

If I say I'm not, will you carry me? Yes, I am all better now. I promise not to bring the RV to New York. One less thing to fall out of and potentially kill myself. Besides, I think we are trading it up this weekend.

Well I made it to North Carolina. One of these days, I'll make it to New York, ....and Chicago........so many places, so little time

Litres.....gallons.....ok, sue me, I never have gotten used to thinking in metric, except for weather temperatures Smoothies are good. Especially with lots of wonderful fruit in them. Enjoy

Congrats on the impending little one! I had a baby that didn't move much and the doctor's advice was to "eat a little something" to "wake it up". 65 pounds later, the boy finally woke up long enough to be delivered I drank milk by the gallons and I normally hate the stuff

And elyse rocks

I agree with the digital thermometer part! I use a remote wireless one that I can't live without now. I've never roasted at that low a temp though. And besides the lowest my oven goes is 170F

The capresso grinder I have has different settings for fine, coarse, perked etc. It also has different settings for the amount you want to grind. 4 cup, 8 cup 12 cup etc. It's a great grinder!

I really like flavoured beans. Currently I have Vanilla Hazelnut beans and Egg Nog Beans. I sometimes mix a nice Columbian with the Vanilla hazelnut. I have not yet tried roasting my own

I first read this title as "I was a little overzelous in choosing my coffin" I couldn't figure out what that had to do with food, Hannibal excepted. However, the cutting board does look a little big!

My husband is assigned to cleanup detail when I cook

Well I don't eat chocolate, but I love Champagne. Not so sweet. My husband however, would love the new Piper-Heidsieck

When eating at home, I prefer my cooking to going to friends. Although I never think my own cooking is as good as my guests do. Dining out is my second passion in life and I go both to enjoy and experience new tastes.

Let me know how it turns out! I roast a lot! At least once a week, sometimes two or three times. Good luck

Your oven is that high during the whole roasting process? I think that's your problem. To get the nice crispy crust outside with a conventional oven, try the following: Brush the outside of the roast with oil and season. I use a little salt and garlic powder. Roast for 20 minutes at 450 then reduce heat to 300- 325 for the remainder of the time.

Seconding the crusty top layer. I really like to use a very sharp old cheddar both white and orange. Parmesan and gruyere as well. I aslo mix butter, bread crumbs and parmesan sometimes to sprinkle on the top. My son likes ketchup on his

I like to make my own, but thre are times when only the boxed stuff will do. I switched to the President's Choice White Cheddar as well, and I like it better. My son however, loves the new KD, the microwave stuff, which is just as well as it's pretty much a single serving, since no one else in the house will touch the scary orange stuff!

Several questions here. What kind of roasting pan are you using? Are you convection roasting or regular heat roasting? What temperature do you set the oven at? I don't ever add water to a roasting pan. I use a stainless steel roasting pan and I roast at 300 degrees in a convection oven. For a regular oven, no higher than 325. I don't always use a rack, and if I'm roasting potatoes with the roast, I'll melt a little lard in the bottom of the pan first. I've never had pan drippings burn.

Definately GM in tea!

I want to be at your next tailgate party

I like to add Grand Marnier, Goldschlager, and whipped cream

Jaymes, congrats on your first article for TDG. And what a wonderful article it is. You clearly have the ability to conjure up visions of Alaska in readers minds, and make us want to visit there. Well done!

But I do call it a martini -- and after two, I'll be ready to trade blows with anyone who dares deny me the right to do so. After three, I'll be asleep. Me too. And I stand by my right to use vodka and vermouth and call it a martini. So there MatthewB

I have in the past, used Bisto, Kitchen Boquet, and Gravy Browning (probably the same thing as Gravy Master). Now what I do delgaze the pan first with white or red wine depending on what type of meat I've roasted, usually mix flour and cold water, add to the deglazed pan, and add about a tsp of demi glaze (found at William Sonoma). The demi glaze gives the gravy the nice rich colour I'm looking for without adding a lot of salt that can be found in some of the other browners. Then as the gravy thickens, I'll add extra water as needed.

Welcome as they say! I'm glad to see this new forum, since I adore coffee. I drink way more of it than I should. My current set up includes the Cusinart Grind and Brew Thermal Carafe I have a Capresso burr grinder as well. More variety of beans than I can count the new All Clad Coffee Urn Dualite Percolator (for the RV) I should add I have two Braun automatic drips as well, one white and one Black I'm looking forward to this forum!