TrishCT

I was a complete political neophyte several years ago when I ran for a high municipal public office. I disclosed to the nominating committee that I had MS (it was not a secret, but since I was not in the public eye, it was not something most people knew). They said as long as I felt I was able to do the job they supported me. The campaign was contentious because no incumbents were running and it was a free-for-all. My opponents, who were the majority party in town, had not held this office in more than a decade and they were gunning for me. Right before the start of the candidates' debate I was told that my MS might be brought up by one of my challengers. I never expected to become an MS poster child but if that was what this was going to boil down to....so be it.... At that point, I no longer cared about winning an election. I did care that someone thought MS was a political weapon to be used to injure an opponent. How dare they think MS is political "mud"? Bring it on! The issue was not brought up at the debate, later I was told my opponent said it just to psych me out beforehand. GAH! I won that election and was also re-elected. Having an illness or disability is a challenge... and during my time in office I spread the word that we can overcome these challenges through our own self-determination and the cooperation of others. Although some of us may face more limitations than others, working together as a team we can achieve the best quality of life for all. Ingrid, keep on keeping on ! Sadly, that group could not see the forest through the trees, their loss . This EGCI course was truly inspirational on many levels. Thank you.

I've never been to the Applebee's in Danbury, CT but it is *the* restaurant of choice for my 16 year-old daughter and her friends. Many a birthday dinner is celebrated there. For my daughter's special day I planned a surprise party at a local hibachi/sushi Japanese Restaurant (was quite good.) I encouraged her and her friends to strongly think outside the Applebee's box. Gotta lead by example.

Time to expand your horizons..... For anyone who has been testing cakes on the Pastry & Baking Banana Cake thread... Nutella tastes very good on this too.

Beans, Regarding the Texas Brownies, they are a/k/a Texas Sheet Cake and Buttermilk Brownies. When I was the Editor of the church cookbook, Yankee Peddler Fare, this was one recipe I received numerous submissions for. Very popular. I frost with ganache and garnish with pecans. It may not be what you are looking for but here goes: Texas Brownies 2 cups sugar 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter 6 tablespoons cocoa 1 cup water (or coffee) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup buttermilk 2 eggs (lightly beaten) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar, flour and soda in large bowl. 2. Bring butter, cocoa, water, oil and buttermilk to a boil and pour over flour mixture. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. 3. Bake in greased and floured 11 x 17 inch sheet pan for 20-25 minutes.

Toliver, Nothing like a good black and blue pie! A word about grunts: (Why are all the 13 year old boys laughing now....?) In olde New England cookery, they were the low men on the totem pole, in comparison to cobblers, buckles and bettys. They were what you made when you had leftover berries but not enough lard for a piecrust. The first recipe I gave you is as Yankee New England cheap frugal as they get. The Nero Wolfe version is definitely an upper crust (heh) adaptation. Happy grunting! Trish

Jenn, Like your mom, I too have MS. I had the "pleasure" of spending time last year in and out of the hospital with IV treatments. Much improvement noticed, but I still have recurring symptoms - numbness, fatigue, etc.. I love to cook and I agree with Judith Benton's great suggestions for ease in the kitchen. Pre-cut veggies and salads have become my best friends. Any way we can get fresh fruits and veggies into our diet is good. If the market I shop at is high quality, I will also buy chopped things from the salad bar, this is especially helpful for stir frys. And if you need to buy your garlic cloves peeled and chopped in a jar, I'll never tell. Conserve your strength. For grocery shopping, I take my son, daughter or hubby to do the heavy lifting. I buy a lot of doubles in one shopping trip so I can make less trips. My husband pours the pasta out of the pot. I never boil lasagna noodles now that no-boil noodles are here. They work surprisingly well. If you are buying a new deep freezer, get an upright, refrigerator-like one rather than a short rectangular one, it's much easier on your back. The crock pot in the winter and the grill in the summer are helpful for easy cooking. I use a simple gadget that attaches to my table to peel apples for apple pie, it's quick and gives me the strength to focus on my pie crust. I also have learned to appreciate simple, straightforward recipes. There's a time and a place for challenging ones, but for day-to-day living, the simple ones suit me fine. Italian Meringue Buttercream is out, Ganache is in. This course is exemplary, thanks E-G!

What are some good, different beers to try so I can start breaking away from Corona, Molson, Heineken...?

After all the testing I've done on the banana cakes, I'm wondering if the recipe I submitted for Snow White Cake would be better with cake flour substituted for AP.... I haven't gotten to testing the white cakes myself, still working on banana... Just some food for thought.

What a marvelous experience! Thank you for sharing!

Living in New England, my in-laws grow blueberries in a pen, and I grow blackberries in my backyard. Nothing beats a nice Black & Blue Pie which someone earlier posted. I have 2 completely different recipes for Blueberry Grunt. The first is a traditional old New England one, the second is adapted from The Nero Wolfe Cookbook. You can add/substitute some blackberries at your discretion. Yankee New England Blueberry Grunt Place: 1 quart blueberries in a kettle with very little water. Add: 1 1/2 cups sugar. Let come to a boil and drop tablespoons of dumplings over top. Dumplings are made of: 2 Cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Add: 1 egg beaten well and 1 cup milk Cover kettle and steam lightly for about 20 minutes. Blueberry Grunt-Nero Wolfe style 4 cups blueberries 1 cup sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into small pieces) 8 slices sponge cake Put berries in a saucepan with the sugar and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with 2 slices of the sponge cake. Spoon one cup of blueberries and juice over the cake. Dot with a couple pieces of butter. Continue layering cake and berry mixture and butter. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees 15 - 20 minutes. Cool. Serve chilled with ice cream/whipped cream.

Just reading your bios, makes me crave a beer... But not just any beer... I have my favorites and my husband has his... Both very different in our tastes. Would you say there are certain beers preferred by one gender over the other?

Well done! Welcome to E-G Sbriddle! This is what happens when there is no one to root for on a tv show. I will watch it if ends up on CourtTV.

Mn... sorry you had poor results. Perhaps someone out there has a better recipe for clafoutis... ?

it sounds like you're describing a regular parking lot that caters to Luger diners, rather than a Luger valet service. while i don't mind tipping a valet, i'd consider not paying 20 for parking if a free option is a stone's throw away. Nope. This is the sanctioned Luger's parking lot.

Diagonally across from Luger's is a church with a valet that offers parking for Luger's. We couldn't find available, legal, on-street parking, so it was our only option, and it worked fine.

I like Moira Hodgson's recipe for Clafoutis which I adapted from her New York Times Gourmet Shopper cookbook. She makes a note at the bottom of the recipe which is helpful: "Cherries are sometimes pitted for this dish, but their juices may run and cause the batter not to set. If using pitted cherries, increase the flour by 3 tablespoons." Cherry Clafoutis 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. dark, red ripe cherries 1/2 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 eggs (room temp) 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups milk (room temp) 2 tablespoons kirsch 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon powdered sugar Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 10 inch round (or other similar sized) baking dish (Pyrex works well). In mixing bowl combine flour and salt. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Gradually add milk and mix till smooth, then kirsch and sugar. Arrange cherries on the bottom of the baking dish, pour batter on top. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degress and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until clafoutis is firm, puffed up and brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve hot or cold.

Tommy, chances are good you'll see a porterhouse for 2 waft by you before you order and you can gauge your appetites from there. My party split lamb chops, bacon, spinach and spuds... and we took some steak home. Also, my daughter ordered the burger, and while in its own right it is good, when you are eating porterhouse, the burger...is just a burger... It's probably more enjoyable to eat the burger when not eating the steak. But if you are only in Mecca once... The onion rolls are excellent and worth eating unless someone is on carb control. For dessert, key lime pie is the real deal. I think the schlag is cool whipish and doesn't live up to its hype. Go hungry.

For a basic cake, I like splitting the chocolate cake, filling it with fresh whipped cream, and covering it with chocolate ganache. Some variations: -- Mint flavored chocolate ganache -- Chopped toasted walnuts on the side of the cake -- Fresh raspberries tucked in the whipped cream -- Candied orange peel on top -- Chocolate twigs with espresso powder/cocoa powder sprinkled on top

O.K.... someone please...what is the restaurant with the great sink....?

This is exciting! I love MOMA and can't wait for its triumphant re-opening. I usually end up at China Grill for lunch during a visit but now it looks like there is the possibility of a cool joint in the museum itself to explore. Fun.

In Connecticut, The Cookhouse in New Milford is one of the few and of the best BBQ restaurants we have. They have ribs, pulled pork, brisket etc...good stuff.

Mikey, I believe Food Network planned this is a pilot for a series, depending on its success. I don't know what the ratings were...but I am guessing it did pretty well. A lot of people I know watched at least one of the battles, as opposed to the absolute zero I know who are watching "The Restaurant."

I apologize for the trollinization, glad you aren't! Did you read the post on here from Jason Perlow quoting Ted Allen, one of the judges? Ted said Flay/Morimoto did a great job and deserved to win. Jeffrey Steingarten also commented negatively about some of Batali/ Sakai's offerings on the show (remember the 5 minute abalone comment?). As for Bobby's individual match v. Sakai san, it was reported by someone on one of these ICA threads that Sakai overcooked one of his trout dishes. There was a lot that we as viewers didn't get from the judges' comments on that battle, so your criticism that viewers couldn't understand why Flay won is a valid one.

The Palace? It was featured on 60 Minutes with Andy Rooney. That was the one. Anyone here ever been? What was it like? It was the first restaurant to capture my imagination through the media. Sadly, I never made it there. When I was a teenager I saw Andy Rooney's food special wherein he chastised The Palace -- "The most expensive restaurant in the world" for serving subpar food. (I think dinner ran a whopping $100 per person. ) I knew then and there that I had to go just for the hell of it. I had a ton of babysitting money saved up but on our next Broadway bound bus trip to NYC (from Boston) no one else wanted to go because of Andy's assessment... and we are talking about a busload of women who frequented Tavern On The Green and Sardi's every other month. I think it closed shortly after Andy's report-- the power of network tv.

Oops! Should be 350 degrees! Good catch!