hjshorter

I know who Eric Ripert is, but have never heard of Gina Gershon. Who is she?

Sure thing - just as soon as salmon goes under $10 a pound. OK, I think you, Kristin and Matthew have convinced me. It goes on the Amazon wish list.

Kris, that recipe looks delicious! Let me know how the fish turns out. I may try Sesame Crusted Swordfish with Cilantro and Coconut Chutney, page 243.

Does anyone have any recommendations or favorites from this book? It's a seriously huge book, and I'm a little perplexed trying to figure out what to try first. It's checked out through the 23rd, so it's got two weeks to convince me to buy it.

They have locations in MD and NC too. Sounds like a Starbucks in the making. I know it's hip to dis Starbucks, but I really like their roast. I mail ordered their coffee for years before they expanded. And I'm happy to see it in airports because most airport coffee SUCKS.

I was somewhat pleased to learn on my latest road trip to NC that Chik-Fil-A gives away books, and books on tape in their kid meals. And, the bag the kid meal came in was extolling the wonders of history. It was a refreshing change from the latest Disney/Pixar/etc. movie tie-in.

Don't laugh, but after checking almost all of the suggestions out from the library, I found one of the most helpful books to be Desserts for Dummies. Give it a try.

Oh my, Darren. I feel for you. We remodeled our kitchen before moving into our house. Shortly after moving in we noticed a weird smell coming from the sink and called our regular plumber. Our contractor disappeared shortly after we told him the garbage disposal had been installed incorrectly. Just disappeared off the face of the earth. We later discovered that the gas hookup to our cooktop wasn't to code, the lighting was faulty and was just waiting to start a fire... And of course there was the refrigerator that is 6 inches too deep, etc. We got a different contrator to remodel the bathrooms.

I had a coworker who brought sardines for lunch with nauseating regularity. It would not have been too bad but for the fact that she would leave the empty tin on her desk for hours after lunch. It was a very small office with no windows. I always had Crystal hot sauce, S&P, crackers, and a jar of peanut butter in my desk, and mayo and mustard in the office fridge.

Varmint, the girls worked that out on page 5 or so. Daisy Duke cutoffs and halter tops for the women. I may have to read through this thread again and pick out something to bring to your shindig. I could do the cocktail weinies in chili sauce - just plug the crockpot into the cigarette lighter on the drive down.

Ripe tomatoes. I can eat them all day long when they're in season. And Thai food. Every day.

I admire your menu creativity, Kris! And Soba, part of the problem is that our pantries are a mess. I am forever thinking we have something when we don't, or stocking up on X when we already have X in the pantry. And I don't even want to talk about the freezer. I've been too embarrassed to chime in on the freezer thread because ours is such a mess. Our budget can't really take the number of times a month that we get takeout. The idea of making a list of all the meals we enjoy sounds like a good idea, Fresco.

I've searched for a previous thread and couldn't find one so here goes.... Does anyone plan menus in advance? If you do, are you successful at it? We try to, but something always screws it up. We forget to defrost the pork chops, something rots before we can eat it, we blow off the menu and go out, etc. I keep thinking it's going to make life easier and reduce the (ridiculous) amount we spend on groceries but it doesn't. Any tips, or should I just give it up? I'm trying to reduce the number of times a week that I have to load both kids in the car and hit the grocery store at 3:30pm.

I'm sure you find that very amusing, but just so you know, this is real issue for some people. I have an immediate asthmatic reaction to strong perfumes, to the point that the albuterol inhaler becomes necessary.

It is! Her Tapas book is one of my favorite cookbooks. Many of the recipes are staples in our house. I highly recommend it. We're having a friend over who is in town to compete in the North American Cycle Courier Championships this weekend in DC. As you can imagine, he's in really good shape and eats like you would not believe, with a particular fondness for hoofed ungulates. Tonight's menu: grilled steak and chicken fajitas homemade guac and pico de gallo beer fresh berry shortcakes

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? My mom grew up in a suburb of Boston and her parents are from Boston and Milwaukee. My dad is a native of Los Angeles whose parents migrated there from Oklahoma. My family recipes include New England, Okie, Mexican, German and Polish standards. Casseroles and spaghetti made up a lot of our meals. When I was small my mom took a child nutrition course. As I was growing up we drank skim milk, ate unsweetened cereals, and almost never had dessert after dinner. I remember scrounging change (no allowance) to walk to the store and buy some candy occasionally. Our Halloween bags were confiscated and the candy doled out over time every year. We had specific meals for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., and if they were deviated from we all protested. Mom made fifteen different kids of Christmas cookies every year to give as gifts. I have all of her recipes and try make some of them every year. Was meal time important? Yes, we sat down to dinner together every night until I got into high school and was busy with afterschool activities much of the time. Was cooking important? Mom was always trying new recipes from magazines and cookbooks, not always successfully. She subscribed to the Grande Diplome Cooking course for a while in the late 60's - early 70's and always had a lot of cookbooks. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? A fork poked in the offending elbow. Table manners were ruthlessly enforced. And we had to ask to be excused from the table. Who cooked in the family? My mother, until I was ten. After that I started teaching myself and would often have dinner finished when she came home from work (we were latchkey kids). Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Special occasions rarely. We never had any money. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? My parents rarely entertained and we lived far from most family. Kids usually sat at the dinner table and were expected to behave themselves. When did you get that first sip of wine? I don't remember. I was allowed to drink wine with meals when I turned sixteen. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Neither of my parents is very religious but we always said grace. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? Not a rotating menu but meals were rigidly planned. My mother planned for two weeks of meals at a time. There were no seconds allowed. Leftovers were always planned for and incorporated into another meal. Every bit of food in our house was eaten even if it was a little past its prime. I hate leftovers to this day. No snacking was allowed between meals, and at mealtimes we were expected to clean our plates whether we were hungry or not, and whether we liked the food or not. So I had a childhood of not eating when I was hungry, and forcing myself to eat when I wasn't. We were also not allowed to "fill up" on beverages during our meals, so milk was served after dinner. I still to this day have to remind myself to drink my wine during dinner. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Not a whole lot. We dinner together, and breakfast, and when Scott is working at home we try to have lunch together too. I try to prepare some of the special holiday dishes mom made. But meals are much less rigid than mine were growing up, and I don't force the kids to eat things they obviously don't like. We do insist on good manners, however.

Hm, I had forgotten about Zapps. We can only get them here occasionally. I've tried as many flavors as I can get my hands on and they're all good.

I find that very hard to believe. Bialys are available all over the DC area. If this was an exhibit down on the mall, like for the Folklife Festival, then she was talking to tourists - most likely from the Midwest (not that there's anything wrong with being from the Midwest. ) or from other countries.

Just out of curiousity (and because I had read about them on egullet ) I picked up some of the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans at Border's today. All I can say is it's an entertaining idea in the Harry Potter books. Do not try this at home! The sardine flavor was so vile I spit the stupid thing out rather than have to swallow it.

Cold farmer's market supper today: Knockwurst, would have been grilled but we were out of charcoal so panfried with Vidalia onions Blanched green beans and the tiniest little red potatoes I've ever seen, with a dijon vinaigrette and homegrown fresh thyme Early Girl and Stupice (sp? some heirloom I had never heard of) tomatoes, sliced with homegrown chives, EVOO, and a drizzle of basalmic Sourdough bread and Plugra butter Dessert: enormous, juicy, perfect blackberries with vanilla ice cream

Our friends from Cary are a couple, and we will get them to commit or not this week - will that be soon enough?

You just have do do what we did and get the 27 sq ft model. It's huge - too big for our kitchen, but once we looked inside we refused to return it.

Chicken Out sounds exactly like what I'm looking for. Since all the locations are in Maryland, I won't hold my breath. Almost worth relocating for, but not quite. Sorry, I didn't realize it was local. Every time a chain opens I assume it's national. Is Boston Market still around in other areas? That was a national chicken place that offered fresh veggies. Most of them closed around here but there are a few still open.

I think maggie was punning off smegma. You would.

Chicken out has exactly what you describe. A plate with chicken and two sides, which can be a salad or steamed veggies. I tried a Panera sandwich for the first time last weekend. Very flavorful and fresh. I was impressed.