Cleo

Thanks! I've never made real mashed potatoes before, because I've always been scared of ruining them. I'll stick to the hand masher.

I love meatloaf! I've never made meatloaf with turkey before, but I've been wanting to try this Barefoot Contessa Turkey Meatloaf for a while. My in-laws are coming over for dinner on Sunday, so I figure that I'll give it a try. I'm also going to make the Parmesan Smashed Potatoes with it. Any suggestion for a vegetable to go with it? I see that Ina made brussels sprouts, but since I eat roasted brussels sprouts all the time, I'd like to make something else. Should I just make a salad? Or another vegetable? One more question as an aside...the recipe for the potatoes says to use a mixer with a paddle attachment. I don't have a stand mixer. Can I use a regular hand mixer? Or a food processor?

Brisket freezes really well. In September I had my second child and right before he was born, I make a big brisket and then froze it in smaller portions.

I've never made this Rao's Famous Lemon Chicken before, but I've been curious to try it. It certainly uses a lot of lemons. I have made Nigella's Slow-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken and I thought it was good, but not great. Has anyone made the Rao's version before?

I usually plan ahead for at least 4 nights of the week. I order groceries from Fresh Direct weekly, so I need to have a game plan when I place my order. And I like to know what to take out of the freezer if that's part of the plan. However, I now have 2 kids (a 2 year old and a 3 1/2 month old) and I just went back to work after matenity leave, so sometimes I just can't get it together to make anything for dinner. We just order in on those nights.

After following that original LeCreuset thread, I bought my first piece from Caplan-Duval. They usually have a bunch of things on sale and have great prices. The last 2 pieces that I got were gifts . I was in the Clifton Costco a few months ago and I did see the LC there. I commented to my husband on how they had good prices.

Just had a baby 7 weeks ago (plus I have a 2 year old). I'd stay away from the chicken liver thing. During my first pregnancy, chicken completely turned me off. During my second pregnancy, I had no food aversions, but I don't think I'd have wanted something with liver in it. One other thing that I normally eat on a regular basis and stayed away from completely during pregnancy was raw tuna.

I always made baked potatoes in the regular oven until about a month ago. There were a bunch of things in the regular oven and I didn't have room for the potatoes, so I stuck them in the toaster oven. I am now a convert. They came out so much better -- skins were so crispy and just the overall texture was signifcantly improved. I usually make a few extra and then over the next day or 2, slice them up, coat with a little olive oil (or Pam), salt & pepper and reheat the slices in the toaster oven. A good alternative to french fries for my 2 year old.

What about The Red Cat?

When I have company for meals at my place, I make a spreadsheet. Not color coded (maybe next time!), but I like to have things down on paper. It helps keep my mind at ease. I list things like wht serving dishes/utensils I will be using, who will be bringing what (particularly for my seder), where and when things need to be cooked and/or heated up since I have limited oven space. I admit it, I love my lists.

Very interesting blog! And congratulations on your pregnancy. I am also expecting (my 2nd child) at the end of September. This blog is timely too -- for my parents that is. They are leaving for Russia on Friday and will be in Moscow for 4 days and St. Petersburg for 4 days. I have been researching restaurants for them to visit so that they don't get caught up in tourist traps. I am planning to give them the name of the Georgian restaurant that you visited since the food looks so delicious and I would love to give them the name of the Italian restaurant as well. What is it called and where is it located? I know that they are planning to see the Bolshoi Ballet one evening. Do you have any recommendations for restaurants in the vicinity of the theater? Thanks!

I just remember another thing that I've never used -- the waffle maker. My husband insisted that we register for it when we got married 4 years ago. (I knew I didn't want it, but I had to let him pick out a few things on his own!) So it's been sitting in the box ever since. I don't even think I've ever even see my husband eat a waffle in a restaurant.

Cleo, do you eat oatmeal regularly? Or any other kind of cooked cereal porridge? You may even be able to cook really thick bean soups in it. You may need to do some fiddling, depending how fancy yours is, but most of them have different cooking options now. ← We don't eat oatmeal or other hot cereal... I can't stand it and my husband is strictly a Honey Nut Cheerios/Frosted Mini Wheats type of guy. My daughter (almost 2) might like hot cereal, but it just seems like a big pain to drag it out just for a small amount of hot cereal. Soups, maybe. Hmm...I'm having another baby in September, so maybe when I am home on maternity leave I will make some soups to stick in the freezer for the winter. (as I sit here thinking about it, I keep thinking "maybe, but doubtfully"). By the way, I can't recall exactly which model it is, but the brand is Zojirushi.

Rice cooker. My in-laws bought it for me for Hanukkah in 2004 because my husband told them that I wanted one. (I never wanted one.) And since I don't have the counter space to leave it out, it just seems like pain to unpack and pack just for some rice (which we don't eat that often anyway!). I even bought a cookbook to give me ideas for what else I can use it for. I haven't used the cookbook either. So the rice cooker sits unused in the box and my kitchen garbage can sits on top of it. I have to admit, I feel a little bad.

I completely agree on many that have been mentioned here: cukes, veggies, sammie, delish, resto. They make me cringe -- particularly delish and resto. The only time I feel that yummy is acceptable is when I am having a conversation with my 21 month old. Thankfully, to her lots of things are yummy.

I always use Marcella Hazan's recipe, although I don't really need to look at it anymore and I just approximate. It comes out great each time. 2 cloves garlic 2 c lightly packed basil leaves 1/2 c grated parmesan [note: don't use pre-grated parmesan; buy cheese in chunks or wedges, and use a food processor to grate it] 1/2 c olive oil 2 T pine nuts 1. Put the garlic in the work bowl of a food processor or blender with a steel blade. Process until finely chopped. 2. Add basil to work bowl. Process until finely chopped. 3. Add parmesan and olive oil. Process until thoroughly incorporated. 4. Sprinkle pine nuts over top of pesto in work bowl. Pulse a few times to roughly chop nuts. 5. Pour into clean jars, up to 12 ounces. Top pesto with a thin layer of olive oil. Chill in refrigerator, then place in freezer. Pesto will keep in freezer for one year. I use pre-grated cheese, because it's easier and it still is delicious.

I got married 4 years ago and received just about everything that I registered for. Got all of the china, silver, crystal, stainless flatware, everyday dishes, plus a bunch of other stuff. I have used the china, crystal, and silver a few times since now Passover has become "my holiday". It's only been 4 years, but I still really like the patterns that I (we) picked out. I wish that I actually registered for more stuff like Le Creuset's. It didn't occur to me at the time, since I really had no idea that I'd ever want or use them. Now I find myself asking for them as birthday gifts. The other thing that I would do differently is where quanitities are concerned. I registered for 12 of everything. I should have gotten 16 place settings of china. I do have a set of dishes from my grandmother that I can mix in with my dishes when the crowd goes above 12, but I'd like them all to be the same. And when I picked out Waterford crystal, why did we need 12 Waterford champagne flutes? That was a waste. I ended up returning them all and getting additional Waterford wine and water glasses, so it actually worked out well. Another quantity thing...I registered for 8 sets of everyday dishes from Crate and Barrel (but 12 stainless place settings). I wish that I would have gotten 12 sets of dishes. I can certainly go and buy the additional dishes at any time, but there just always seems to be so many other things that I want instead.

I was actually considering the buffet casserole. But I wasn't sure what I would use it for...any suggestions?

What about a simple roast chicken?

So last November I treated myself to my first Le Creuset -- a 6 3/4 qt. oval French oven. I love it! This week I made short ribs for the first time ever and they were fantastic and it was so easy. Now my birthday is coming up and my mother-in-law has been asking me what I want. So why not another Le Creuset? But I'm not sure what size I should get next. I was thinking maybe a round piece this time, but not set on that. Should I get round in 3 1/2 qt., 4 1/2 qt. or 5 1/2 qt? Or should I get another oval piece -- 3 1/2 qt. or 5 qt.? On one hand, I don't want to get something too small, but at the same time, I certainly don't want something too close to the 6 3/4 qt. oval one that I already have. Or should I go in the other direction and get something bigger? I'm just afraid that the bigger pieces would only come out once or twice a year for holidays. Any suggestions? Thanks!

The brand that I get at Trader Joe's is called Dorot. I love the garlic. I agree that it is mashed up quite a bit, but it beats chopping or mincing by hand any day. And I can't stand the garlic that's in jars -- it always seems to stink up my refrigerator.

Park & Orchard originally did not serve red meat but always served chicken and fish. Now they serve steak as well. That being said, there are a lot of offerings for vegetarians.

My husband and I had dinner at Craftsteak on Saturday night as well. The place is very nice and I liked the atmosphere. I was somewhat surprised that even on a Saturday night, there were several empty tables. That bread, while so simple, was delicious and addicting. The amuse bouche was some kind of chickpea mixture on a crostini with a slice of duck ham on top. Very tasty, but salty. I started with the fava bean salad. I was actually looking forward to a hearts of romaine Caesar salad which I could swear I had seen on some rendition of the menu prior to the dinner, but it wasn’t there. The fava bean salad was a very generous portion of blanched fava beans with pecorino cheese, olive oil and something else, but I can’t remember what. Good, but salty. My husband started with the grilled Hawaiian prawns (6 of them). I didn’t taste any of it, but he seemed to enjoy it. A short time later, a server came over and put down a plate of fluke. We said that we didn’t order it and he seemed a bit confused. He left and then came back with the plate to let us know that it was compliments of the chef. Not my thing, but my husband liked it. For an entrée, I had the Ridgefield Farm Corn-Fed Premium Hereford Beef New York Strip, aged 35 Days ($48). It was humongous. While the meat was good, I like it better when it has that char on the outside. My husband had the Wagyu Filet Mignon ($110). When he took his first bite, he said “mmm, buttery”. I kept asking him if he noticed a difference between this Wagyu and a regular filet mignon, and he said that this was definitely the tenderest piece of meat that he has had. However, maybe because his expectations were so high, he was not quite as enthusiastic as we both would have thought. For sides we had the fries and the polenta. Polenta was delicious and fries were good, but once again, too salty. The table next to us had an order of onion rings which looked fabulous, but since my husband doesn’t like onion rings, I didn’t order them. The portion was large and I just didn’t need them (but I really wanted them!). We were stuffed, but managed to eat dessert – a Chocolate Tart with Milk Chocolate Ganache and Caramel Ice Cream ($12). It was excellent. We didn’t drink wine (I’m 5 months pregnant), but my husband had some kind of beer and I had 2 sodas. The bill came out to $255 including tax but before tip. I think I had read somewhere that much of the food was salty. As you can see, I found this to be the case. Overall, an enjoyable meal. Our waiter was knowledgeable and very nice. I’m just not sure that with all of the other options for good/great steak in the city right now, I would run back so quickly.

I seem to end up buying a lot of Barilla pastas. My favorites are Campanelle, Gemelli, Radiatorre, Orichette, and I haven't seen these mentioned here yet: Cellentani (I never actually knew what these were called) and Fiori. Actually, I like it all.

I completely agree with this. And even though I've said more than once how much I enjoy the Rao's sauce, I wouldn't serve it to guests. But there's a time and a place for jarred sauce. I work full time at a fairly demanding job, I have an amazingly adventurous toddler, and I am pregnant with my second child. So some nights for dinner, when I just haven't really planned ahead, I like a bowl of pasta with sauce. Gourmet? No. Tasty? Yes. And priority is part of it for me too. Given the option on a weekend of making sauce from scratch or spending time with my husband and daughter, clearly the latter is more important. If I'm gonna spend time cooking on the weekends (which I sometimes do), it's just not gonna be making tomato sauce.