TrishCT

After making numerous calls, many of these sparklers are not available locally. Thanks to Katie Loeb's referrral to the wineaccess Web site, I was able to hook up with Chelsea Wines and they are shipping me Renardat-Fache Cerdon de Bugey, Bisole Prosecco, Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose but not the 1997 vintage, and a sparkling Vouvray that the guy I spoke with (Mike from Alabama) recommended. A local liquor store carries Schramsberg Blanc de blancs which no one here has recommended but the store owner did. (Your take on it?) Krug, Taittinger, and some Roederer Estate all seem accessible around here, so may get some of them later today. What no one in CT or at Chelsea Wines seems to carry: Carpene Malvolti Prosecco Zardetto Prosecco Argyle Mumm Napa Valley DVX So am I doing ok...??

Good success reheating a steamed pudding by slicing it, covering with a moist paper towel and microwaving for a few seconds or so...

Tonight at my house the serious cookie baking commences, hopefully to be completed by Saturday afternoon. Here are the cookies we are baking (and some blessedly are no bake) for the family table and for presents. If anyone wants any of these recipes, let me know and I will post them. 1. Chocolate Almond Lace Cookies (my signature cookie, a prima donna) 2. White Chocolate Cranberry Bars (easy bar cookie, rich results) 3. Chocolate Crunch Cookies (no bake, chocolate, cornflakes) 4. Lemon Balls (soft lemon iced cookies) 5. Tagalong Stix (no bake, taste like a twix candy bar) 6. Pignoli Cookies (almond paste delights, expensive but worth it) 7. Donna's Bakery Cookies (butter cookies with jam sandwiched between them, half dipped in chocolate) 8. Oatmeal M&M (my daughter makes these, her favorite)

I have cut and pasted every sparkler mentioned in this thread onto my word processor. I am now armed with a list, and I am going shopping tomorrow. Wondering how many of these I will find in my local CT liquor stores. I might have to make a few calls first... Thank you all so much for your quick and extremely helpful responses. You're the best! Trish

New Year's is coming and not knowing any better I usually just pick up a few bottles of Moet Brut Imperial. Would like to expand my horizons and not break the bank. Also thinking of going a bit sweeter.... Any rec's out there for some sparklers that may be of good value but are often overlooked?

A friend of mine found a cheap deal online and I ordered a set of the Henckels with the metal handles for $19.99 no shipping fee. They arrived promptly...I opened them to check them out and decided to give them to my husband in his stocking. They look like glorified butter knives...will see how they work Christmas night.

Do you look like your avatar...?

Nice job, Rachel! I feel somewhat validated (about a comment I made on the QEFSG thread) that Ted acknowledged that his segment was going off on an uncomfortable tangent. (He mentioned the souffle thing which I also discussed.) Ted is a terrific teacher and I enjoy when he gives the guys lessons outside of the kitchen... Wines, caterers, ordering in restaurants, etc.... (Idea: Take a straight guy to a deli and show him a bunch of charcrouterie and sausages, explain the different varieties, and then go shopping for fine beers..) No need to try to turn these guys into gourmet chefs each show.

I also concur with Alton's method of cooking a prime rib roast. This year I'm making a 6 ribber. On another note, I ask my butcher to "Newport" the roast. What that means is he saws through the back end that holds all the bones together. Then with butcher string he re-attaches them to the roast. This way you get the rib bones for flavor and eating without the hassle of cutting around or through them because they easily detach when you're ready to slice. I apologize for not explaining this more artfully...

I love St. John the Divine's, I even slept in it one night,... but that's a different thread for a different day... If you have a young girl with you who is wild about American Girl dolls, I recommend a stop at American Girl Place, which is right next door to Saks and near St. Patrick's cathedral.... All of which is behind Rockefeller Plaza, a must see...for cheap eats take the escalator down down to the "basement" of Rockefeller Plaza, there is a food court there.

Candy Canes! The full size ones... Can't eat a whole one... Too sweet and sometimes too hot and not worth the risk of cracking a tooth... Since they are a popular decoration in our house, I usually end up using some of them crushed in truffles. But on the next workday after Christmas...I'll be bringing 2 dozen uneaten ones into my office.

Mabelline are you using the special metal container in your crockpot for the pudding? That's what my mother in law uses, pudding comes out great.

Thanks for this recipe. I made it today. As I was craving lemon, I substituted for the milk, the juice and finely chopped peel (mircroplaned) of one lemon. I cut them out as angels and stars and sprinkled with coloured sugar. A great Christmas cookie! There are actually a few left to feed to next weeks company Foerveryoung, glad you enjoyed the cookies! The lemon sounds like a good variation. If E-Ger's decide on a cookie swap...count me in...

My mother in law makes a very traditional Christmas (suet) pudding with hard sauce, we have a selection of Christmas cookies which are great and I'll be bringing a box of the Godiva G bonbons. This year I am adding to the mix my own original creation which I call Peach Melba Trifle. So far, it exists only in my mind. I don't have the ingredient measurements exacted because this will be my first time making it.... The catch is that after it is assembled it needs to be eaten fairly soon and not saved for later.... It contains vanilla ice cream, chambord moistened sponge cake, prosecco moistened spongecake, sweetened raspberries, peaches, whipped cream, and crushed almond biscotti. Served with prosecco. We shall see....

Seek and ye shall find... Here is my mother-in-law's recipe for crisp and super easy roll out cookies. A nice tip...using powdered sugar instead of flour to roll them out in... better flavor. Christmas Sugar Cookies 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup butter (don’t substitute) at room temp. ¾ cup sugar 1 egg 2 Tablespoons milk 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla Colored sugars for the top In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar well, mix in the egg, the milk and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients gradually. Chill for easy handling, but you do not have to chill. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness (about 1/3 of the dough at a time). Make sure the board is floured really well or dough will stick. (You can use confectioner’s sugar instead of flour, it makes the cookie tastier.) Cut them and put sugars on them. Bake them on cookie sheets at 400 ˚ on the medium rack in the oven for just 5-8 minutes. Watch carefully or they burn. Makes 6-8 dozen.

Jaymes, I dined at Tavern throughout my teens often when we took the big trip into NYC. The restaurant itself is very stunning. Bright, decorative, it packs a punch. The food was very secondary to the surroundings. I sampled chicken and beef dishes back then. I don't think Tavern is known for any particular signature dishes. (Though weren't they in a Maxwell House commercial where the secret cameras changed the fresh roast coffee to instant much to the surprised delight of the diners?) I say, for $300, throw caution to the wind, order what they think sounds good on the menu, enjoy the surroundings, and linger.

I think The Silo in New Milford offers top notch cooking classes. At least they used to.

Steakas... On my visit there the medium rare had more char than the rare and I was blaming myself for not ordering black and blue... maybe it's hit or miss....but as you said, it's still great steak... As for the lamb chops. my party of 6 ordered them as an appetizer along with a couple slices of bacon which I cut into pieces for all to sample... Somehow... even after these, the steak, potatoes and spinach... We all still had room for dessert.... Check and mate.

I mentioned e-gullet when I made the reservation. And the very nice staff person (didn't catch his name) said we should have seats at the bar because it was fun. (His words). So I guess I was expecting fun. As I said, perhaps it was us, the weather, what have you... Maybe in warmer weather I'll give it another whirl. And for the record, I think Roz gives outstanding rec's... She is my goto Manhattan source.

I thought long and hard before commenting about my first and only visit to Chikalicious (located down the street from the 2nd Ave. Deli). I wanted to love this place so much. A prix fix upscale dessert bar... it just seems so New Yorkish, so cool. Very reliable..coff coff...Roz...coff coff sources had commented here and elsewhere about how good it was. Our visit wasn't but maybe it's because we iz us. When I made the reservation, the gentleman taking it was very sweet and as enthusiastic as I was. Our party of five (2 of us moms and our 3 daughters-2 15 year olds and a 12 year old) had just finished taking in a performance of The American Girl Revue, where one girl in our party debuted in a leading role. We were ready to celebrate! When we arrived at Chikalicious, our places at the bar were set and waiting. The place is tiny and it was raining heavily. There were 4 other customers there. We were greeted warmly by the gentleman who took our reservations. We watched Chika and another chef preparing desserts for two of the other patrons. The girls asked questions about the desserts they were making (so they could make informed decisions about their choices) and were met with curt, one word answers--mango... cheesecake... I asked what one of the customers was drinking... house cocktail.... Ummm...it looks good what's in it? prosecco, quince... (Gee, sorry to bother you) We had questions about the menu when we ordered and again were met with short, perfunctory answers. My friend whispered to me "I don't think they want us here..." And oddly, that's what I was thinking too... Our amuse was lavender soup with golden kiwi and yogurt sorbet. It was different-a floral syrup, very pleasant. I had never seen golden kiwi before and asked Chika where she got them, she told told me "from the market." For a main course, I had the chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream... The tiny mini tart had nice flavor, the ice cream quenelle was good but had no pepper taste at all that I could discern. For dessert each of us got 3 "petits fours," a coconut marshmallow, the world's tiniest chocolate chip cookie, and a little hazlenut cream swirl on the world's tiniest vanilla cookie. Each one was half a bite or less. The house cocktail of prosecco and quince was good, even at $10.00 for a small flute. While we were being served our main course, a party of 2 sat next to me. After they placed their order they were served an amuse in a teaspoon, some kind of jelly with a pomegranate seed... then they were served their lavender soup... For whatever reason, we weren't offered the first amuse... And that was it... we paid, we left... The desserts were nice, the presentation was nice, but the service and attitude were as cold as the November rain...

Don't shoot me... But my mother makes a dip of cream cheese mixed with drained fruit cocktail from a can. I don't eat it because I don't like cream cheese, but I can't believe how many people ask her for this "recipe."

La Taverna sounds nice, I'll remember it when I'm in the Norwalk area. For my side of Fairfield County (Danbury area), I recommend Portofino's in New Fairfield and Ciao's in Danbury.

I used to take my seafood loving buddies to the No Name restaurant...is it still there... and is it still a terrific spot for seafood? Also, is Durgin Park in Faneuil Hall still Durgin Park (surly waitresses, very Bostonian grub)? If it's like it was 15 years ago, it's a cool Boston experience.

I love a hybrid-Cranberry Applesauce.... 2 Cups cranberries to 2 Cups apples (plus sugar and water). After it cools it sets up nicely.

If any of you happen to find yourself in the Danbury area, JK's Texas Weiners (126 South Street, off Main) has nice dogs and one of the nicest, cheapest lunch menues around. It's also eat-in, not a hut or shack, which is good for a change.