KatieLoeb

I consider myself to be a fairly accomplished home cook. I love to cook, am often thinking about my next meal or food project and would love to devote more time to this passion. However, like most of us busy folk, my available time falls far short of that which allows the elaborate fantasy meals to really come to fruition. I've become a bit of a master at "jazzing up" supermarket pre-packaged, canned or frozen goods. Here are a few of my favorites: A healthy spoon of pesto (I freeze my own in the ice cube tray and pop them out into a zip lock bag for perfect portion control) in canned minestrone or tomato based soups make it taste virtually home made. Jarred pasta sauce with a healthy blob of pesto also works as above. A 50/50 mixture of good cheese spread and butter, spread onto a baguette cut lengthwise and broiled until bubbly and lightly browned. Cool slightly and cut into small bite sized pieces. Great for sporting event hors d'oeuvres. A fake out Mexican Posole soup made from browned chopped onions, canned posole (rinsed and drained), browned ground turkey or beef drained, a can of cilantro/lime flavored pre-chopped tomatoes and canned chicken broth. A little bit of cumin and chipotle chile powder and it's rockin' spicy and delicious. Quick and easy faux Cubano Black Bean soup made from canned black beans, sauteed onion and bell peppers and canned chicken or vegetable broth, appropriately spiced with cumin, salt and pepper. Virtually "instant" quesadillas made from packaged corn tortillas, shredded cheese/cheeses (I like a combo of mozzarella and Pepper Jack), sliced fresh tomatoes and chopped pitted Calamata olives from the supermarket olive/anitpasto bar. Just cheese and bottled salsa works if there's nothing else around. Spray a small non-stick skillet with vegetable oil spray, place first tortilla down for a moment to warm it, top with fillings of your choice and the second tortilla. Turn up heat to medium and press down with spatula occasionally to get the quesadilla to stick together. Turn and brown second side and then cut into wedges with pizza cutter. Luscious and easy as hell. What are your favorite tricks, time-saving tips? Please share!!!

How about vanilla soy milk??? Kill two turds with one bone, so to speak...

There's ONE bottle left of the same vintage Heimbourg Riesling on our list. I'm tempted to write it off as corked waste and drink it myself now! Given the overall value of the bottle I doubt I'd get away with it, but it sure is tempting after reading your description of the Gewurz.

Hm, perhaps I should get spare meds too. I had forgotten about the prescriptions I take, and Emma's. Heather: This is really more for convenience sake when I'm trying to get out of town in a hurry on a Friday evening for a "change of scenery weekend". I usually keep about 4-5 days worth of my daily prescriptions for stomach condition, allergies, etc. in the toilet kit. Then when my regular supply runs out, I have a few days "cushion" to refill the scrips and then can refill the "backup" supply with the freshly filled meds so they're always up to date. Works pretty well for me so far. And under normal circumstances I'm usually not capable of this level of forethought!

First off - Congratulations Kate! I wish you both every happiness... Being one who cooks for myself whenever I'm cooking, but am often short of time and always frugal by necessity, I tend to save Sunday evenings to make a roast turkey breast, or a roast beef or whatever, and then serve it for dinner that night, and for sandwiches/wraps or in strips on a salad for the rest of the week. Saves a bundle on cold cuts and is always better, IMHO. I always drink my wine out of a nice glass, because every glass I drink is potentially "research" for work. So I like to use my Spiegelau large Burgundy glasses to get the full effect. I make myself a steak often enough. I'll also have leftovers of whatever the last cooking project was - this week it's turkey posole soup I made last week and froze most of, as well as a bunch of stuffed cabbage I also made too much of and froze into individual portions. Last week it was Tuscan White Bean and Tuna Salad. I also make quesadillas a lot because they're easy and I love them! And sometimes I'm really lazy and order in Chinese!

I always have my travel toilet kit packed and ready in the bathroom closet. Toothbrush and paste, moisturizer, spare prescription medications, etc. If I have to head for a Red Cross shelter because my roof has blown off, all I have to do is grab it and go. Always have lots of canned goods around, and I keep the manual can opener in a drawer just in case of power outage. No guns or ammo though. Perhaps I should think about that...

Allison: You make an excellent point and it's definitely something I would do before choosing any of the restaurants that week. For $30/head for all THREE courses I'd hardly expect them to be serving the ceviche at Pasion they are deservedly famous for. Or if they were it would be more of an amuse bouche portion rather than a "course". Oh yeah - welcome to eGullet! You'll have fun here.

Good call Herb! I completely forgot about this place as it's somewhat "off the beaten path". I used to get take out from there quite frequently when I worked nearby. Excellent diner with nice folks running it.

Tana and I seem to have similar tastes. Check out my reply on this former thread Former thread about places to go and see. Silverado Trail is definitely where the good wineries are to be had. Sinskey also has a very cool Koi pond out in front in addition to the other cool things that Tana mentioned. I also enjoyed Niebaum-Coppola as well. While in San Francisco proper I'd recommend a sunset drink at Top of The Mark bar at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Unbelievable view of the city and all the attractions. Watch the sun set in an incredibly romantic atmosphere while sippin a proper "big girl" cocktail in a birdbath glass. Live piano music and true civility. Then the city is twinkling like a jewel at your feet once the sun has gone down. As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Heavy sigh..."

I attended a wedding reception at the Avalon Yacht Club (HERE) and it was lovely with the sun setting in the background over the water. Food and service were quite nice as well. I don't know if membership is required, but the website above says they are "available" for weddings and private parties. Edit: I just realized this might be a little far for the geographic range you had in mind. How about Seabra's Armory in Peth Amboy? We had a delicious DDC dinner there and they totally hooked us up. Nice room, stellar and gracious service, and way too much food. Nice view of Staten Island high end real estate. Ask Fat Guy and his lovely wife for a second opinion. They were kind enough to join us.

Hey Holly: Are the milk shakes at Koch's deli made with malt powder? I know they use Breyer's ice cream and have a real milk shake machine, but I'm a little fuzzy on whether "malts" are available as opposed to a regular "milk shake". In either case, the shakes there are unbelieveably good. Thick enough to stand a long handled spoon in. YUM! I may have to go visit them tomorrow.... Don: If you still have any room on the way back from having your shake in Wilmington, Koch's deli is a short detour off of I-95 in Philadelphia. Well worth it too for the best deli sandwich, served by the nicest folks ever. Just be prepared to wait in line a while. But they'll serve you "samples" while you're waiting, and tell you jokes. This place is an institution. Holly's website has commentary about it. Any present or former Penn or Drexel student can wax poetic about this place for hours. One sandwich easily makes two meals for the average eater. Serious stuff and could give some of those New Yawk delis some competition.

For something a little different, I'd try Thai Dim Sum Brunch at Rabieng in Falls Church. I had a lovely brunch there when visiting a friend in D.C. Really delicious food, bright flavors, nice presentations, nice service, etc. Some of the best Thai food I've had almost anywhere, actually. And an interesting alternative to either Eggs Benedict or standard Chinese Dim Sum. Added bonus is a couple of really cool ethnic grocery stores in the same little strip mall. One is Thai/Asian (I think owned by the same folks as the restaurant) and the other is Middle Eastern. Way cool side stop while you're there anyhow.

Me neither!!! Actually the pumpkin seed oil is also used drizzled over "head cheese" type gelatinous mystery meat cold cuts. Don't forget, this is a culture that eats blood sausage and horsemeat regularly. Some of the stinkiest, most vile smelling foodstuffs I've ever seen were in Austria. YIKES! There's really yummy stuff too though. Great wines, wiener schnitzel, tafelspitz, delicious elegant soups, Wachau apricots, white asparagus, amazing fresh water fish, and let's certainly not forget the Viennese pastries!!!

Olga's is indeed huge. Monstrous in fact, but really good. About an 8 or 10 page menu too. I don't think there's anything you can't get in there! Good salad bar too. The shiny new diner (Silver City Diner, I think?) across from the mall is just OK. Too new and not "real" enough for my ingrained sense of what a diner "experience" should be like. More like a cross between a real diner and a Nifty Fifties. A very fake retro vibe going on in there. I'm a fan of Ponzio's, on Route 70. Great baked goods. And real diner waitresses. And all that it implies...hon. I've heard really good things about the Penn Queen Diner on 130 South in Pennsauken, but have no personal experience with it. Will have to check it out sometime. I'm actually pretty fond of the South Street Diner at Front & South. It's open all the time, the food is good, and it's stumbling distance from my front door. All good qualities to recommend it for.

Katie, you don't find pumpkin seed oil a bit to dark for cucumbers? Jinmyo: Actually, that's the traditional thing it's served over in Austria, in my experience. However, please remember that my experience is limited to the Evil Ex's family. They put the "fun" back in dysfunctional! Apparently other people ate this too... It was usually peeled and seeded cukes and onions, both very thinly sliced, over iceberg lettuce with a vinaigrette of white vinegar and the pumpkin seed oil. Quite tasty and light. I personally prefer the less acrid vinegar so I use the rice wine vinegar instead.

Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil and a mild white vinegar (I usually use rice wine vinegar) makes a very nutty and delicious vinaigrette for a tomato and cuke salad.

What happened to the really cute one with the adorable pink nose?? Put that little baby on a shirt and it'll be a sell-out!

Hey Rosie and Holly: Why don't y'all stop bitchin' and moanin' and just come join us instead? This will be a first with the Mambo lessons and all. Should be loads of fun. Anyone else in the Northern/Central Jersey area that feels like taking a short ride should come too!

I've done this too, but with an upended soup can so there's more surface area of the liquid (I use chicken stock and spices in the can) to "steam" during the roasting process, and not just that little flip tab opening. Works with small turkeys or capon and a coffee can as well.

Speaking as one who survived this experiment, I will say that the end product was delicious. However, the habanero vodka on its own, could singe off your eyebrows and melt your eyeballs with a mere sniff Next time Herb, I suggest a few less peppers in the bottle. Maybe two? This shit was wicked strong, but surprisingly addictive once tamed a bit.

Thanks for the props Jason! I'd suggest the same as everyone else. Just sneak in a few innovations here and there, like the alterna-Charoset, or a different Matzo ball recipe. I've made matzoh balls with finely chopped frozen spinach incorporated into the batter that made them green-flecked and very delicious. You'll get to exercise some culianry creativity, but hopefully will hear a lot less whining...

This is brilliant! I never cease to be awed at the pool of collective talent here at eGullet. I'm in for a shirt for sure - whatever color, although if I can pick a preference I'd say gray if we can't do black. You guys rock! Cross country, by committee, truly impressive work.

Yes - this is correct. I presume, like the other restaurants Le Bar will be putting together a limited menu that will be available during that week for the $30/head price. Hopefully the escargot will be on it. The best I've ever had, including in Paris. A whisper of Pernod, crushed hazelnuts, tons of butter, yummy warm fresh baked bread to dip :drool: I was thinking about Pasion, Le Bar Lyonnaise & Happy Rooster as well. Great minds think alike! Herb - which nights are you free??? If anyone wants to get a group together for an outing, I'd certainly be game.

Hi all: The success of Restaurant Week in New York, D.C. and Miami has finally made the Center City District and Rittenhouse Row Association take notice, and plan a Restaurant Week in Philadelphia. I attended a meeting today for participating restaurants and here's the scoop: Restaurant Week will take place September 14-19, 2003. Over forty of Philadelphia's best restaurants will be participating. Restaurants will be offering a $30/person three course prix fixe menu (excluding tax, beverages and gratuity) The Philadelphia Parking Association has negotiated $7 or less parking at 45 different lots around the city, from 5 PM-1 AM that week. Vox Vodka is a corporate sponsor as well, so there should be lots of specialty cocktails featuring Vox and the new Raspberry Vox to be had. The website with the information about participating restaurants etc. is: Center City Resturant Week I know I'll be making reservations at a few places for dinner that week. Hope to try a few places I normally can't afford

Damn, y'all! That was a heapin' mess of meat you consumed in one afternoon! FIVE PLACES! Egad! I thought that we overdid it on the DDC Rib Run last summer and we only hit three places! And I was comatose for two days afterward It all looks really good though. I'm getting hungry just looking at it and am going to have to go get a snack now!