carrie

The Chickie's Special sounds like my idea of a "regular". We order them during the Summer from the White House in Atlantic City. I've never been to Chickie's but anything tastes good on Sarcone's bread. I also really like Rocco's in Reading Terminal and the Bellevue food court.

We just purchased a rice cooker, it's not very fancy, a Krups. Wondering if anyone has ever experimented with cooking anything other than rice in these things?

Does anyone know what the closest Wegman's to Center City would be? I'm thinking about a road trip, as I've heard such wonderful things about this place. Is it worth it?

It is strange that no matter how bad it gets, it is very difficult to tear yourself away from the food network.

These are all great suggestions! I'm starting to get some good ideas. I love stuffed pork loin and it does seem like the perfect winter dinner for a crowd. The portabellos are right on too. How about some side dishes that can stretch (or transform) over a couple of days? One thing I like is creamed spinach that can be used as an omelette filling for the next day's breakfast. (Although omelettes are kind of tough for a crowd, I was thinking strata, maybe.) Anything with potatoes? BTW am now addicted to eGullet.

Does anyone read her on-line work for the Post? Does she drive anyone else totally crazy? I don't mean to be overly critical, but it seems she lacks a lot of basic food knowledge, choosing instead to dispense cutesy tips and recipes for not very adventurous dishes.

Thanks for your reply. We should have a decent kitchen. In Vermont I am not sure what is local at this time of year except for cheese and maple syrup! I am told there is a reliable, if small, grocery nearby. We are expecting to be about a dozen people, and we may have 2 vegetarians. (Although I would happily ask them to eat the side dishes. ) I like the idea of building on each meal. I will give that some thought. We usually like to cook pretty simple things, we don't want to spend our entire weekend in the kitchen. And we will probably want hearty food, as people will be doing cold weather outdoor activities, like skiing and snow shoeing. Thanks also for the warm welcome!

I am new to this site but I am really enjoying it. I am hoping to find some advice for a long weekend in Vermont. My husband and I have been recruited as chefs for this annual weekend that has featured some past culinary disasters. They wized up and figured by inviting us they'd get decent meals. Hey, I don't mind, it means I won't have to do dishes! This month's Gourmet had an entire weekend menu, which is what I'm interested in, but the recipes were pretty fussy and time consuming. We still want time to enjoy our weekend... Does anyone have any great ideas?

I get coffee from La Colombe on 19th street every morning. Today there was a group of smokers standing outside in the freezing cold. I thought it was hilarious.