MetsFan5

Is it wrong that all I want after reading this is McDonalds? I mean id be happy to eat at Delmonico's and even happier to eat at Mama Leone's outpost at Citifield, Mama's of Corona's but I'm not in the mood to deal with driving and parking and all that. Plus now that Mickey D's serves breakfast all day...

Thank you all for your condolences and condolences to those who are also coping with loss. Places like this, although virtual, are very comforting in a way perhaps because we are "virtual strangers" but share common yet deeply hard losses. Ramen noodles are another go to food for me. Not even good ones. I think it's the MSG. Orzo with a little butter (or sometimes a lot!) is another quick and easy comfort food. My poor husband hasn't had a properly homemade meal in 2 months. Fortunately he is easily pleased with skillet meals, frozen chicken cordon bleus and the like. We are also fortunate to live in an area with a respectable array of restaurants that delivery (everything from Vietnamese to classic Italian). I genuinely meant no disrespect in regards to using cottage cheese in lieu of ricotta- I just never liked cottage cheese- and living in Northern NJ there is plenty of ricotta easily and cheaply available. I've never even attempted a lasagna with a béchamel- I'm not a hugely experienced cook. My husband is great at grilling on the BGE but not only have I had oral surgery recently, even before that I find any meat that isn't something I can cut with a butter knife to be too much effort to eat and anything too chewy sticks in my throat. Thank you for sharing your stories. You all are in my thoughts.

I don't work outside of my home. I haven't properly cooked since my brother passed I'm thinking making lasagna (cottage cheese makes me cringe in a lasagna) might be comforting. It does help me to spend time making sauce from scratch and the smell is just amazing. Hmm I wonder what types of sausages I have.

Please forgive me if this topic exists-- I did search and didn't find anything. That aside, I am dealing with the loss of my brother (aged 33, I am 36) and from taking a step back, it is interesting how my Italian and Irish heritage plays into this situation. Food Ihave been gifted with a lot of freqency to my parents (which makes me very grateful) and booze tends to be the Irish was of coping. At the repast, I definitely drank more than I ate as I find eating hard to do. So that's my Irish side, I suppose. Soup is the only thing I enjoy now which is likely due to soup being a comfort food. I am familiar with the shiva process and the sheer amount of food with alcohol but from what I've seen is a bit less. My mother, who's father was born in Italy and her mother who's ancestors came over on the Mayflower tend to lean towards food. My 100% Irish father, who's grandparent immigrated here and who's family owns large farms in Mayo County, Ireland, tends to drink. Food and drink are always comforting at any time. I fall between the lines as I am trying to avoid drinking too often as it can (obviously being that alcohol is a depressant) upset me. I have a poor appetite but have found comfort in the most cheap and garbage foods-- grilled cheese on white bread with Kraft singles, Campbell's chicken and stars soup and triscuits. Have certain foods helped you? Does your family have traditions?

My parents with my husband and I went out to dinner. My father and I enjoyed short ribs. My dad is allergic to all poultry and whitefish. My brother passed away unexpectedly in late September. So baby steps with holidays and food. I loved my short ribs but couldn't finish them.

Still reading and wondering if I can bribe you to express mail me some of that honeyed pork jerky!!!

Aren't the tentacles the best part? They are for me!

I don't know where the OP dines but while I would love to be able to order a steak for a mere $17- even 5 years ago, I certainly wouldn't eat anywhere where water was literally leaking on my table. That said I never ever NOT tip. When you do not tip you cost your server money as most servers tip a percentage of their sales to the bar and bus people and rarely, the hostess. Even if my server sucked I know the bar making the drinks worked and so did the busser.

@Shelby your Mac and cheese always looks so so good to me. Would you share your recipe?

@Anna N do you like edamame? I dislike beans and lentils as well. I will eat edamame and like it well, because salt. Otherwise I think it's a textural and also appearance thing for me. Refried beans literally make me lose my appetite. Chickpeas are fine in smaller doses and in salads only. I like hummus though and would probably like roasted chickpeas. Also, I grew up as a very picky eater and with the stigma of beans as a kid I basically refused to consider eating them. As an adult I am pretty much over things I previously revolted at due to stigmas, however I have zero desire to cook beans.

Where was this? Also? Servers rarely spit in the food. Like extremely rarely. I hate when diners expect the worst of waiters like they are sub humans who get off on contaminating food for fun. Have you tried Raul's in Morristown? Awesome empanadas.

Also be brave and tell your husband helllll no it's your birthday! No concert for him!

First of all- I'm sorry but my husband would be my ex husband if he decided to see BS on my birthday-- he's always playing with his band and in our home state. Unless you don't want to go and your husband stops at Cartier prior to the concert that's a big fat no. Also if your husband is your age I don't get it. My parents are in that generation and they'd rather play 18 holes of golf times three than go see Bruce. I personally cannot stand the noise everyone raves about. I would recommend seeking out a better steak. Maybe at Rod's as they offer most of their steaks on the lunch menu and will be fine with special requests. I used to work there, my husband proposed there and we got married there. They dry age the steaks in their basement. Please don't get a diner steak! That said, I have always been a bit of a brat on my birthday. Shocking I'm sure . My birthday is St. Patrick's day. I guess my slight toward the holiday (despite being 50% third generation Irish in Morristown) started when my mom (Italian and British) refused to name me Meghan. It was on from there but I lost all those battles as a child, begging for (somewhat junky) Chinese delivery. I used to secretly sip soy sauce until my mom caught me. Then it was only given to me when I went on a hunger strike. Obviously I was a spirited child to say the least. Fortunately I grew up to enjoy foods I previously snubbed and spent my 21st birthday on a 36 hour bender in London. That said I cannot STAND having to eat what I consider "bad fart food" on my birthday. I don't want boiled cabbage and meat. I want the opposite of that. Green beer makes me annoyed and gives me a headache from rolling my eyes at all the non Irish heritage people chugging it down. So I like sushi delivery for my bday or to be at the Mets Spring Training and eating wings then going to Jensen Beach for a fantastic dinner at 11 Maple Street bet you're glad you asked! Although growing up my mom always got me a a Fugie the whale ice cream cake in mint chocolate chip. She also gave up smoking on my 5th birthday which is pretty much the best gift ever.

I partially responded to this in an above post. I still haven't tried the bacon jam, battered halibut or perline prosciutto pasta. The mac & cheese bites were pretty good but greasy. I like the coconut shrimp. Today I bought the dill pickle popcorn-- pretty good-- but we like pickles. I also bought the pork gyoza, chicken fried rice, mushroom risotto, chicken chili lime burgers, A-1 guacamole, mandarin orange chicken, frozen organic jasmine rice, mozzarella and tomato salad, frozen sweet corn, shrimp nuggets and the chocolate covered banana bites. Other than the popcorn, we had the jasmine rice tonight which was easy to make and fine and the banana bites which my husband disliked and I found to be okay-- good for a quick fix if I am craving a little something sweet. I also bought an insulated bag because according to my car, it was 95 degrees when I walked into the store. And humid as hell. I'll likely have the mozzarella and tomato salad for lunch tomorrow (it came in a mixed greens salad with kalamata olives and pine nuts). Has anyone enjoyed any of the other items I purchased today?

@JoNorvelleWalker same here in NJ. I made a TJs stir fry skillet meal. And I stupidly used my oven to heat up egg rolls and shrimp toast. If the air quality wasn't so gross I would have gone to Kings and bought the fixings for two huge salads and a loaf of bread. Maybe tomorrow.

Don't bother with the grilled, frozen cauliflower. It sucked. I had to crank the over up to 475, douse the cauliflower with olive oil and kosher salt and it was barely edible at best. I might consider buying it to use as a purée in the future only because it's pre cooked and cheap. The lemon grass chicken egg rolls are very gingery and lemon grassy. They crisped up well in the oven but were much better with a bit of soy sauce. The shrimp toast continues to be a favorite. I almost want to hoard them and eat them in secret! I've found about 99% of their frozen appetizer type foods, including the coconut shrimp benefit from almost twice the recommended cooking time. It could be my oven. I have beer battered tilapia, Mac n cheese bites and the bacon jam to try. The sweet chili sauce is nice. My dog loved the chicken jerky treats and beef rolls but she just hit a high point on the scales so no more TJs treats for a while.

Sorry if this has been previously mentioned but their shrimp toast is awesome. I bought 2 boxes today and easily if I allowed myself could have demolished one. A fellow customer raved about the lemongrass chicken egg rolls so I bought those, mac & cheese bites and my beloved soy and ginger chicken with shiitakes and edamame. Such an easy dinner. I also bought dog treats and treats for me-- a sweet chili sauce (for the coconut shrimp I bought), bacon jam (how could I not- if it sucks it wasn't expensive) and beer battered halibut filets. My local store is SO SMALL and doesn't sell wine or beer. I miss working in Union Sq in NYC and heaving a case of wine of the subway to SoHo. I also bought frozen "grilled cauliflower". I've had mixed results with fresh cauliflower and it was less than $4. I'm curious to see if it's any good.

Thanks for the explanation-- I think I was a little confused about what the Eggfest is all about!

Well that makes the chicken and potatoes we did on the BGE look beyond simple. But out of curiousity, why not do things that are completely made on the egg? Genuinely no offense but I'd rather use my oven to bake than my egg, which I cannot get any better results from other than grilling. Like this pork loin or ribs? Or the chicken.

I apologize if this is a topic already, in which case please merge. How long is too long for things to sit out? Example 1- I ordered bare (non sauced) wings and got them 4 hours ago. Can I throw them in the fridge and reheat? Also, really, how long is too long for cold cuts? I swear my Land o Lakes white American cheese (guilty pleasure) should be fine way past the sell by date. Am I crazy and asking for food poisoning? My home is generally kept at 64 degrees Fahrenheit so if I leave something out it's on granite and not changing temps rapidly. I should likely dig out my food safety text from college but I think it's at my parents home. God knows where. I recently learned white rice is a huge no no. What else is? The only time (knock on wood) I had legit food poisoning was when I got chicken with broccoli near my office in NYC during the summer, ate half, never refrigerated it, went to a bar for 4 hours, all while dragging my leftovers with me in July back to Hoboken and drunkenly ate it at 2am. I was sick for a LONG TIME.

Shelby, my husband was born in 1974. He's a Gen X. I was born in 1980 which makes me a millennial to some, and a late Gen X to others. Neither of us grew up eating cereal in the mornings, save the occasional Cheerios. I never ate breakfasts in high school and would only eat lunch if there were tater tots being served, I'd pick at a bagel instead. My husband rarely eats breakfast despite working 10 plus hours with a 2 hour round trip commute. We do love to make a big brunch on weekends. I do have an affinity for Taylor Ham being from Northern Nj. It's more of a lunch or snack thing for me.

The black line was on the lid of the container.

I think most working people, including Millennials, want something savory for breakfast, if they are going to take the time to actually have it. In NJ it's the classic Taylor ham, egg and cheese. It's quick, portable and delicious. Milk isn't something most people who work in excess of 15+ hours a day can keep on hand without getting spoiled. Heres one perspective. I don't particularly agree with it, but here it is: https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-millennials-dont-eat-cereal/food-and-drink

Isn't this about the breakfast habits of millennials?

When I worked, my breakfast was a diet coke. Unless I was hungover, then I'd grab a pretzel croissant at City Bakery or a hash brown from Mickey D's in Union Sq. I was working in Manhattan then and even lunch wasn't a regular habit. My husband still works in the city and breakfast is a rarity for him. He skips lunch about once a week too. It's too time consuming to eat breakfast and lunch most days in the pace of certain cities and industries (I am barely a millennial, he is a Gen Xer).