Smarmotron

For anyone concerned about their in-flight dining, I must echo the Singapore Air recommendations. I can't say enough good things about the quality of their food. It wouldn't compete with a nice restaurant, but for airplane food it's tops. Plus, they bring around hourly cups of water or orange juice- great to have on those long flights - without going through the whole drink service rigamarole. I can't say enough about their service.

cumin coriander turmeric chili pepper ginger

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We are currently leaning towards flying into Berlin, and travelling by rail to Nurnberg and Munich. We would spend Christmas in Munich and then head back to Berlin for a few more days of sightseeing, etc. What is the official site to purchase rail tickets online?

We're considering spending part of the Christmas break in Germany. Probably a week to 9 days. We know we want to hit Germany, but we don't know which citie(s) to hit. Primarily we're looking for good cuisine and lots of excellent sightseeing.

Screw this. I tip in direct correlation to the service I receive.

Just wondering if anyone ever uses the various "Helpers" out there - Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, Chicken Helper, etc. I was served the "Cheeseburger" Hamburger Helper today, and found it vile.

Wow, great article! I'm going to make some next weekend.

Frankly, I consider a mass market peanut butter to be as disgusting as pre-packaged lunchmeat. I don't understand what you dislike about natural peanut butters. They have a much more interesting taste and texture, and are more healthy for you.

Anyone else here a fan of natural peanut butter? What's your favorite brand? I can't stand the "regular" peanut butters - they are so tasteless compared to natural versions. Must I refrigerate the natural ones? They turn to stone.

Naw, those cheeses suck, quite frankly, shit, in comparison to pepper jack. But each to his own.

Before non-stick pans they scoured with sand and prayed! Anyway, I'm eating some hummus with minced red bell peppers, and a baguette. Oh, and a couple shots of Stoli. mmmmm

Pepper jack cheese is perfect. I am a "chile head" in that I love spicy things, but I appreciate subtlety when I see it: and pepper jack cheese is subtle (to a chile head). It has a little zing, and is redolent of peppers. It's just the perfect cheese.

I love this stuff. Grated on pasta. Sliced, on a sandwich. Eaten by itself. God I love it.

Hysteria. 27 hours in the fridge w/o power is fine. Especially if you verified, after opening it, that everything was cold to the touch. As long as it is refrozen or re-refrigerated quickly, it shouldn't be a problem. If there's anything from an animal in there that you would eat without cooking, however, that should be tossed out [unless it is cheese]. Eggs can stand for days w/o refrigeration. Cheese can stand for a day w/o refrigeration as long as it is air-tight packaged. Berries are a no-brainer, just re-refrigerate them. Bacon is cooked, so as long as it was cold to the touch it is okay. Etc. Yes. My fridge did no such thing. Actually you could. My fridge could hardly be called 'fancy' and yet it never rose above 50 degrees. Hardly favorable bacterial breeding ground. False. False. In the vast majority of the world, eggs are kept for days at room temperature, and sold at that temp. Plus, if you cook the eggs, there's no problem.

I confess that when my wife is out of town I still tend to cook big. I lean towards the dishes that make excellent leftovers - such as lasagna or various casseroles - but sometimes I do make one person meals such as steak, etc.

at one point i heard of a liquor shot recipe that used as one of its ingredients man-seed. i think you know what i am talking about. do you have any what this recip eis?

Cottage cheese.

The other big deal was the group of Barclay's execs who went out to celebrate a big deal closing. Even though it made $20mn in profits for the company, the bad publicity on a $10,000 dinner got them fired. So what if they ordered a flight of petrus, the company still kept $19,990,000 for their efforts. It was unfortunate the company was executing hundreds of clerks the same week, bad timing on their part. Didn't see any senior execs forfeiting their pay for a month to help keep the clerks on board, even though the $20mn went into THEIR bonuses Quite frankly, that was a stupid comment. The job of the execs is to make money for the company, and lots of it. If it costs them a $10,000 dinner to do that, that is one thing -- if they spend $10,000 of company money celebrating, that's a wrongful expenditure of company funds. If they feel they are entitled to a pay raise or more benefits because of their excellent work on the deal, they should talk to the board of directors. I'd hate to work for any company you run.

Some background, I am a weightlifter. Weightlifters typically eat a *lot* of food, especially a lot of protein. Meat is a relatively cheap protein source, but it isn't an easy food for a quick bite or snack when out of the house (it's a lot of work to pack some chicken breasts for a day of sightseeing let me tell you). So, I wanted to try my hand at making some jerky or pemmican! Do you have any recipes? I'd prefer not to add too much salt. thanks.

steak. no joke.

Fry 2 tbsp of red pepper powder in hot oil, and lean over and take a deep sniff.

plain, unflavored oatmeal

I had Mysore Pak in, where else, Mysore (city) :)

Ever had Mysore Pak before? I have no idea what it's made of - though if I had to theorize I'd say a quart of butter and enough powdered sugar to make a thick paste, and that's IT (maybe a little cardamom and salt). I could eat this stuff until I weigh 1300 lbs. I don't WANT to know how to make it. But has anyone else ever sampled its divinity?

Quite frankly, I never eat airline food. I usually pack - or buy - a box lunch for myself, using an ice pack if necessary. While the rest of you pick at your 'breakfast roll', made with artificial eggs and bacon bits whose contents aren't on the periodic table, I eat fine salami, aged havarti, luscious pineapple, and occasionally, very occasionaly, and only on long flights, something lovely such as seared ahi tuna, chinese mango salad, organic greens and miso dressing.