alacarte

aka BurgerPie. P.S. -- I'm in.

Has anyone read the label that comes attached to the neck of the POM bottles? They make some truly alarming claims about the health benefits of POM -- wards off cancer, Alzheimer's, etc. Aren't there regulations about what they can say?

I made Shepherd's pie last night. Comfort food for the sub-zero weather we're having in NY!

Suzanne, can you please remind me what time you want us there on Sunday? ...48 hours left until PIE!

Very cool. I LOVE those Samoa cookies, and the Thin Mints are a classic. Hmmm....if those girl scouts sold low-carb cookies, they'd make a fortune this year.

I get it now -- too bad I didn't notice the link until just now. You make little stacks of cookies & filling, and then put all the little stacks together? still too challenging for me.

I did a test run Wednesday night, so after chilling overnight I got to sample the end result yesterday. I was pleased, so I'll be making four more over the long weekend for Tuesday's event. I just couldn't figure out the Nabisco cookie thing. I honestly don't know why I'm having this mental block -- obviously, it's a good thing I'm not an engineer. My guess is I just need a visual aid -- to be shown rather than told. Oh well. I've still enjoyed reading all the recipe suggestions! In the end, I opted for the simplest recipe I could find. I used a recipe which alternates layers of graham crackers with a filling made of vanilla pudding, milk, and whipped cream -- two layers of each. The "cake" is chilled for 30 minutes to set, and then is covered with chocolate frosting (I used the Duncan Hines pre-fab). Though I was worried that the cake would taste too ersatz, it tasted pretty good. My other worry was that a cake made with pudding would not set up firmly enough -- I had visions of serving cake slices that quickly turned into vanilla puddles. But it held the shape quite well.

I just received the following thru the James Beard Greens e-mail list. A little field research? Apparently James Beard members get discounted tix for $7 each (I'm not a member, oh well.)

Thank you Sinclair for all that information! The Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer "cake" that JAZ mentioned is the one I keep coming across. So...to make sure I understand....you lay the cookies in a triple row like this? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX And then that is covered with whipped cream, followed by another layer of cookies and more whipped cream?

Sounds like a terrible fate, eh?

Hilarious. I have a copy of The Gallery of Regrettable Food -- there's a whole retro-section on recipes with 7-up from (I think?) the late 50s/early 60s. Every recipe sounds perfectly awful and was justly mocked in the book. This sounds very familar.

I caved and ordered some Coffee Crisp online from Vermont Country Store. I also ordered Chocolate Digestive cookies from the UK and Stroopwaffels from the Netherlands. I will be having an international sugar fest in about a week! I didn't see any ketchup chips. Good thing, I probably would have ordered those too.

The Terrace is still there? Whew!

Speedy recovery, Soba. Ouch.

Terrace in the Sky, right? Did it go out of business? Is Terrace in the Sky the same as The Terrace (all the way uptown, Central Park North)? I hope it's not out of business...that's where my husband proposed, right on the rooftop terrace! (Can't beat THAT for romance!) I nearly tossed the engagement ring right off the terrace, I was just that excited.

I think it's an expat Canadian homesickness thing. For a comprehensive list of things that Canadians abroad crave, check out this site: http://www.canuckabroad.com/forums/ftopic11.html Thanks fresco. I don't even know what half of the things are that are mentioned on the homesickness link. Ketchup chips? Poutine's? huh? I guess I need to get out more.

Varmint, that's HILARIOUS! I can only imagine the look on your faces....

thanks for the info and the links! Is it really that good that it merits an online petition campaign?

New breaking "mad cow" news: Elyse, this should get you back on the Fox news radar screen...

I received an invitation to an event held here in NY intended to attract Canadian expats living here and friends of same. The invite included the following as enticement: Can anyone tell this stray New Yorker what Coffee Crisp is? Who makes it? And why isn't it carried outside of Canada? Thanks!

So elyse, how did it go? Not to beleager the Burger, but I've been reading the 2003 edition of "Best Food Writing" on the train. Last night, I came across Saveur editor Colman Andrews' ode to the burger, "Hamburger Rules": He also waxes at length about the endless variations on the hamburger patty, things which may be added or topped with, and "the question of the bun." Reminded me of our own BC debates. I'll try to remember to bring a copy to the next BC outing.

Go Bond Girl...Go Bond Girl...Go Bond Girl.... Since I don't have any practical experience to add, I though a little impromptu cheerleading might help. Starting a restaurant is a tough business. I applaud your initiative and common-sense approach.

Yes, and it was good -- served with a teaspoonful of raspberry sorbet, a miniature flan, a stick of caramel, and a tiny square of (what I think was) ginger cake. IMHO, any dessert that can be *shared* with your loved one is romantic, any time of the year.

I agree with L'Impero. I went there last night for the first time, and it is very romantic. Dinner also was excellent. I had the prix-fixe ($52 for four courses, very reasonable) and dined well: A marinated yellowtail appetizer, followed by a mushroom fettucine pasta, followed by a branzino served atop carrots and a couscous-type grain; followed by dessert (chocolate soup)! I'm looking forward to going back to try their spring/summer menus. The one catch to a "romantic" experience -- the tables for four or more are cozy, but the tables for two are right smack in the center of the room, where you are surrounded by waiters bustling by. (By the way, the service was among the best I've had in a restaurant in some time). When you make the reservation, ask for a more secluded table if you can. ....if you want to make your date swoon, follow up by walking over to Top of the Tower (1st ave and 40th st.?) for drinks. One of the most beautiful views in the city, piano music, the works. I guarantee that toes will curl.

Thank you for the recipes, this is very helpful. I seem to find myself spatially challenged with a lot of the icebox cake recipes out there. Many of them follow the same cookies-and-cream concept. They advise you to take a box of Nilla wafers, stack them up, layered with whipped cream or pudding mix or whatever, and then stack them together (huh? in one big pile?) and cover the whole thing with more whipped cream. I am just so confused by these directions, so I'm grateful to have additional recipes to choose from!