maggiethecat

You're on! (Who says Midwesterners ain't got no class? )

OK, I'm packing the tiara. You might be a little chilly in the shorts.

I'm sure Alex has mentioned it, but I'm lazy, so I'll ask here. Dress code at the restaurant tomorrow night? Do I pack my tiara or leave it at home?

To quote Paul Harrington: "If you make the strong parts cognac, the sweet part Cointreau, and the sour part fresh-squeezed lemon, and if you shake it over ice vigorously [405k .mov] and serve it up with a twist, you will get instant transpo back to the days before vodka arrived on the scene and ruined everything. " Word. I'll bore you all with the story about my first Sidecar.

Grrrrrr. The only damn place I didn't look!..Hope they're still edible. But Maggie, we did look. Remember how we took Varmint's keys and left them where he couldn't find them? That's right, we did! (Must have burned off more brain cells in Raleigh than I thought.) So why didn't we find them, Archie? But I did know where the car keys were. Matthew, they are just beautiful, kinda mottled red and yellow.

One of my favourites too. (Jerry's Calvados: ) C'mon, Varmint, make it happen, My Man. Maybe you could organize your very own NC Lawyers Legal Conference in Chicago?

Bruce: Pith works too, as long as it's Brilliant Pith! Matthew: I love it too. Dean: I'll deal with you in Grand Rapids.

Oh my oh my! What an embarrassment of riches! I am so there. Cubs: An excellent excuse to drink a whole lot (as if we needed one. ) BTW Alex, many thanks for all your research and logistics

Grrrrrr. The only damn place I didn't look!..Hope they're still edible.

Yes, Matthew, report in full, please. This recipe is on the schedule in the next week or so. (Lots of Gorgonzola in the fridge.)

Obviously, the deadline for this Smackdown has come and gone; in fact the Dark Lady was revelling in Raleigh and didn't get back until Monday afternoon. So I'm extending the competition until midnight October 18th. Be brilliant!

Everett puts Dad down for a nap.

Study and retain. There will be a quiz! Chicago Dean on the left. Raleigh Dean on the right.

You do want to share a kitchen with this quartet. Malawry, Dave the Cook, Edemuth, Guajolote and the fabulous shrimp grits meal Friday night.

Would you want to run into these three men in the woods? Guajolote, Varmint, Al Dente

Sent in mine today for Opera.

Indeed we are. The Heartland Social Schedule

Call in sick, Babe! Matthew/Alex: Where can I help out gastonomically? Your wish is my command. (Suzanne...Katie...check out those cheap fares.)

OK, I looked it up. (Spitchcock is good too.) Mike: Note the second definition. Spatchcock the baboons and the bagpipers and you're really cookin.' From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Spatchcock \Spatch"cock`\, n. See {Spitchcock}. spatchcock n : flesh of a chicken (or game bird) split down the back and grilled (usually immediately after being killed) v 1: prepare for eating if or as if a spatchcock, of foul 2: interpolate or insert into a sentence or story, as of words

iSi!

I am Inner than In. And because of its proximity to Lady T's Bday, perhaps it could be a Natal Day Celebration?

Sue: You're gonna have to clean the coffee from my keyboard.

By way of introduction: =Mark is absolutely right when he says that one writer can't do a full and accurate report of this event. Some folks were smoking on the tennis court, some were tending the gas grill, some were kitchen brigade, and others flitted from station to station. There were foraging parties for ham, basil and beer. (One of my fondest memories is the expression of disbelief and disgust on Dave's and Guajolote's faces when they discovered that Whole Paycheck doesn't carry Tabasco Sauce.) Here's a View from the Fridge, or more accurately, a View from the Sink. Malawry doesn't suck. At all. Her energy, good cheer and tireless effort with the kitchen brigade astonished all who had the privilege of sharing counterspace with her. Edemuth was a quiet force for all that is good and right in the kitchen. Who was the first to drag out a knife on Thursday afternoon (and the first to breach the beer fridge?) No surprise of course: that would be the King of the Heartland, Guajolote! And there is no one I would rather peel thirty pounds of potatoes with than the Mod with the Mostest, my sista' Aurora. But the winner for the Kitchen Stud award has to go to my longtime editor and sometime collaborator, Dave the Cook. The man arrived with a truckload of every conceivable kitchen item, a sheaf of recipes, a cooler full of food and the stamina of a twenty-year-old line cook. He doesn't suck. It was nothing but a joy to navigate the kitchen maze with these folks and the others who pitched in; they are too numerous to mention, but I treasure the memory of Scott Shorter cleaning a mountain of collards. Meals for the children (all eGullet kids are Above Average, by the way) were dispatched, bourbon sauce was heated (thank you Weka!) folks made their way through to the beer fridge… And: As usual the eGull made flesh is always even smarter, funnier and better looking than the poster I've come to love. I can't name 'em all, because it's such a long list, but the crew that hung out near the kitchen (or hung around with the Bad Kids outside the kitchen door on smoke breaks) were Absolutely Fabulous. Katie and Blondie, I wish you lived in Chicago. Al Dente: Tall, dark, handsome and Funny! Those Shorters… And of course, the McCords. (And the Taylors.) Dean was everywhere, making this everyone's weekend to remember. And, seriously, when I grow up I want to be like Cella McCord: Gracious, smart, organized, patient and beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. I tasted grits for the first time. They sure don't suck.

Swap 'em!

48, 054. (Kris, you are in serious denial, ma chere! ) Some great choices here---love the Paula Peck!