LBNoble

Honestly, if I were you, I'd 'retire' & let this beeyotch do the cooking herself, to get a taste of real life. I bet they'd be begging for you to come back after the first meal-she sounds clueless...

I watched the fruit carving one, I thought it was interesting, although I definitely wouldn't have watched it onsite for 8 hours!

Wow, I envy you-I wish I had a cabin to open up. I told my kids we'd put up a tent in the backyard this weekend & they're like, 'Why?'. Well, I'll put it up anyway, maybe I'll sleep outside by myself one night, & we'll definitely utilize the grill. Even w/ working a few days this weekend (I work at a garden center), it'll still be a great weekend, even if we don't travel. One of these days, we'll have a cabin...I'm glad you're enjoying your retreat!

I love her books,check them out from the library all the time, but the only one I own, so far, is Forever Summer. I think the next one I would purchase would be Feast...

I got my Sept. Gourmet yesterday also-Latin American cooking, yum! I want to cook & eat almost everything in this issue. I've subscribed to Gourmet, since I was old enough to pay for a magazine subscription. I saved them for many years, but my husband is in the military, we move frequently, & once, when I was feeling guilty about 'weight', I got rid of most of the back issues (kept Nov./Dec./favorites, donated the rest to the local library). Sometimes, I still second-guess that decision, as I obsessively reread all my mags....

Madonna's brother-big deal-put his butt up on the line & see what he says! This challenge was unrealistic & I think they did the best they could. I'm glad we'll get to see a 'do-over' next week. I hope the competitors have listened to the criticism & learned....

When we bought our house, it had a KitchenAid Ultima speedoven, I've used it for 3 years & I think it's great. Like you, I can't imagine being w/out a microwave,not as much for cooking, but for prep & reheating. Ours didn't have the grill rack, & I haven't got around to replacing it, but I use the browning pan constantly. Sometimes, I wish I was a bit more adventurous & could use this oven to its limits, but I'm very satisfied with what I have done, I'd get another w/out hesitation. With this, a combo conventional/convection oven, & alot of misc. kitchen utilities (slowcooker, rice cooker, outside electric smoker, grill), I can cook a variety of food for a number of people w/out clogging up my small kitchen...

I'm sorry, I disagree w/ you. This is the first season that I've watched this show & I love it. I KNOW people just like some of these cooks, I sympathize / them, I hate some of them, & I look forward to seeing GR instruct them in the kitchen arts. While it is dramatized for the camera, this is a bit of what you can expect, if you want to cook in a professional kitchen. I couldn't do it, but I admire those who try...

Watching this show is a guilty pleasure- I'm also watching Top Chef & Hell's Kitchen for the first time, & I've been hooked by all 3 of them, although TNFNS is clearly the worst. What would be really fun is if these 3 shows (not that they would ever do this) all swapped contestants for an episode or two. Now, that would be entertaining! Can you see these FN wussies in Hell's Kitchen w/ Gordon Ramsay? DONKEYS!

Hate it-has to be the vilest smell in the world...

Definitely Taco Bell-specifically, crunchy tacos, bean burrito-no onion, & occasionally, a Mexican Pizza, all w/ liberal toppings of hot sauce. At home, I cave in to lesser cheeses-domestic smoked gouda, Neufchatel, standard cheddar, (& this is not a lesser cheese-I really like Cabot 50% lowerfat cheddar, in slices). & I like Utz's Salt & vinegar chips...

I love IKEA-we're pretty close to one, & although I don't go as often as I used to, I still check in every 2-3 months. My favorites-multicolored plastic kids dishes that we've had forever, nonstick skillets, mixing bowls, odd shaped ceramic bowls & plates, tealights, rag rugs, small shelves & magazine holders, dishtowels, comforter covers & curtains...I guess I could go on & on, but you get the point. We also love to go to the cafe & get meatballs for lunch!

Chocolate chip cookies would be best, I think- for his 5 or 6th birthday, I made my son the snickerdoodle cake out of the 'Cake Doctor' book-well, that's the one he keeps asking for-(I gave my book(it was a gift) to a neighbor, have to check it out of the library now). I made cupcakes for his class last year, but noone ate them (we make them before the school year is over, he's a summer birthday)-I just feel bad that noone else likes 'spice cake' flavor...

Shiner does make a hefeweizen & it IS nasty!...Since it's local, I stick w/ Yuengling as lawnmower beer...

I took my son down to summer camp at UVA yesterday & after leaving him at the dorm, I asked his counselor for a good Mexican restaurant. He recommended Guadalajara. After a few wrong turns, we found it (me & my 7-yr. old daughter). It was great-nicely spiced salsa, a little heavy on the salt (not complaining), just what I needed after my separation anxiety (my son's first sleep away camp).

Wow, Ph, you're living the good life! I lived in Chapel Hill when I was in school & loved it, do you have a garden or are you thinking about it? Not that you're not getting lots of great food, but just to give you a little wiggle room. We had a few weeks in the summer (thanks to my ILs) at Edisto Beach & there was this great farmstand-Pinks-that had ladypeas, already shelled, wish we were headed that way this year....

Same here, I bought 2 sets of plain white china (hey, they were 50% off) this Xmas, although I have my wedding dinnerware (that I still absolutely love, Wedgewood Napoleon Ivy, my love for this predated my beloved husband, we have service for 12, I think.) I also have some Lenox 'Westwind', inherited from my grandmother(discountinued , very oriental-looking). I also have lot of interesting bowls & plates, some from IKEA, some from various potters, I think it's interesting to mix up different stuff....(I still haven't gotten really into glasses, I'm sure that's in the future)....

One of my contributions to the T'day dinner yesterday was a bust-the roasted new potatoes, w/ asparagus, cherry tomatoes, & olives. Almost everyone hated something in the mix (although everyone likes potatoes, they all had mashed potatoes)! I guess Thanksgiving is just not the time to try anything new. Everyone raved about the bean dip, however, & there were no leftovers... Today, I took the leftover roasted veg & made a soup, w/ some mixed beans, ham scraps, & chicken stock (horrors! but since I didn't cook the turkey, I didn't have a carcass for stock)-it was pretty good. When we all went back to my SIL's to eat leftovers, someone brough a 4 in 1 cheesecake-eggnog, peppermint, pumpkin, cranberry-orange-the cranberry/orange was yummy!

Oh, I know, the commissary had a very nicely worded note reminding us about NO & telling us to be patient. also, I went into the Home & Garden center about a month ago, looking for a fan, for air circulation for my orchids, & I was told, 'We shipped all our fans to the Natl. Armory for the Katrina evacuees', well, I felt pretty bad, obviously they needed the fans more than my plants, we're all still pulling for you & trying to do as much as we can for that area, it's amazing that the hurricanes have just not stopped this year. I grew up on the coast of NC & have lived through several hurricanes & the devastation & disruption of normal living is just not imaginable by people who live outside these areas....

I forgot, of course,-how I let the dog & cats in & out of the yard, feed them, & fill the water bowls, check for cat/dog barf, scoop kitty litter-it's all part of the morning routine...(goes with the coffee)

I use beans, ground fresh (Millstone, dark roast, except for the scary time when the commissary was EMPTY, because the Millstone warehouses are in NO) about every other day-I have a Capresso thermal pot, per cup, half a packet of Splenda & a dash of half& half, I usually have about 3 cups, if I have time....pedestrian, maybe, but it keeps me going....

I am in withdrawal, last year, I was stressing about fixing dinner for 20+,( w/ no pepper-allergy!-not mine, a guest's). this year, with my husband TDY, I handed off Thanksgiving (& it's a good thing-I had surgery, w/ complications, so I'm just grateful I was not responsible for the feast). But, I feel strangely out of the loop-my SIL is planning on doing a fried turkey (my husband, upon hearing that, said, "Are you going to do a back-up (smoked turkey)?"-hey, she's a big girl, it will be fine, if it doesn't work, we can always get pizza! After hearing about my hospital stay, they said, 'All we want you to bring is the bean dip'-but that's not really traditional T'giving food-the answer, 'Now it's our tradition, we NEED bean dip! Since I can't not cook, I'm also doing a roasted asparagus, potato, cherry tomato, olive dish (from Rori Travato's Dishing w/Style, a very nice cookbook), some cheeses, dips, & cider. I think we will have a great Thankgiving, my SIL confided that her dad has recently 'gotten into' purchasing foodstuff online/by mail, so we have lots of things to work with...

summer beer of choice-Saranac Belgian White-crisp,inexpensive, great w/ a squirt of lime, also TJ's hefeweizen is not bad for the price, either. The best part of these summer beers is thinking about what beers I would like to brew come fall-a good wheat beer, a cranberry spiced beer for Thanksgiving, something heavy & alchoholic to tuck away for aging....

I've had a Capresso thermal carafe for about 10 years now & I'm happy with it. It's used daily, easy to clean, & although it has a small capacity (8 cups), it's been one of my better appliance purchases. I have a Capresso grinder (think I liked my old Braun better) & I grind my beans about every 3-4 days. I think it's funny how I didn't really appreciate coffee until after I had kids...

When we were shopping for a new dining table (although I was quite content w/ our 10 yr. old Workbench teak veneer table), I found this company & really wanted to get one of their tables, Antique Tables. I lusted after the beautiful walnut table in the gallery. We ended up getting a Shaker style gathering table from Tom Seeley furniture in cherry, mostly because I could get a compatible sidepiece, the Virginia cupboard. It's built after you order it, so we had to wait a few months, but they're beautiful so it was worth the wait. Good luck with your search...