Cleo

Percy, Were the english muffins from Wolferman's by any chance? My sister just sent a bunch (6 different flavors) of Wolferman's english muffins to my husband for his birthday. They're great! Cleo

You should really decide what will make you feel good for the day. Volunteering is a great idea. It will make you feel good and you will realize that you really have a lot to be thankful for. If you feel like being alone, what about going to a movie (or two)? You'd be surprised at how many other people will be there. If you'd rather be with others, don't feel awkward about wrangling an invitation from a co-worker as long as you're somewhat friendly with him or her. Don't hesitate to mention the situation. I'm sure they wouldn't want to think of you being alone. At any given holiday in my family (Rosh Hashanah, Passover, Thanksgiving--you name it), we always have at least a person or 2 who, for whatever reason, didn't have anywhere else to go. My mother's motto has always been "what's a few more people? Nobody should be alone". People love coming to our holidays and now my sister and I both do the same thing. Enjoy your day, whatever you decide to do!

What about Segovia in Moonachie? Haven't been in a while, but the paella used to be good.

So I did it! I am (almost) the proud owner of a 6.5 quart Azure Blue Oval French Oven. Should arrive next week. Can't wait to try it out!

Definitely a website. As someone else said, it's 2005. Being married to a somewhat picky eater, I like to be able to at least get an idea of the menu if it's a place that we haven't been to before. This way, I know that there will be something for my husband to enjoy. If we show up and the menu isn't exact, that's okay, but I just like to get a feeling for the place ahead of time. However, living in NYC I use Menupages.com more than anything. It's a great resource.

Seven or eight out on the counter? Wow, must be nice!. I live in a NYC apartment so clearly that's not happening for me, although I actually do have decent counter space. But everything is relative. I have a coffee maker and toaster out on the counter. Microwave is built in over the stove. The one thing that I really should keep out, but for some reason don't, is the mini-Cuisinart. I get a lot of use out of that. The rest of the toys (blender, stick blender, food processor, etc.) are all tucked away.

I decided on a whim this morning that really want a piece of Le Crueset. I read through this thread and got some great information. I've narrowed it down to the 5 quart or 6.5 quart Oval oven, mostly because that shape seems to be pretty versatile. Which one should I get? I'm not really sure what I'll be using it for, but I'm generally cooking for me, my husband and my 1 year old daughter, with the occasional larger group of family members. I looked at Caplan-Duval and these prices seem really great. This morning my idea was to let my husband buy this for me for Hanukkah, but with these prices, now I can't wait! Help me decide! Thanks.

Amen. I've been wanting a thermapen forever! ← I've only recently learned of the Thermapen, and now I must have one!

Wow, great report and what a feast! I've been wanting to try Turkish Kitchen for quite a while, now I really want to try it. It's been there for about 10 years.

Well I'm glad to know that it most likely wasn't my mistake. And I'm also glad to know that I'm not the only one who thinks it's awful (and trust me when I say that I'm not picky!). Feh.

We went to dinner at my sister's last night. I made the Jerusalem Kugel from the NY Times article. I'm not sure what it was supposed to be like, but I thought it was awful! As I was making it, I said to my husband "I'm not sure about this thing" and I actually contemplated tossing it out and running out to buy something (but it was 3:30 and we were leaving at 5:00)! So I brought it anyway and people did eat it. Maybe they were just being nice. Did anyone else make the Jerusalem Kugel? Separately, for Passover this year, I made this Cauliflower Leek Kugel. This one I really liked a lot.

I'm so glad to see you blogging this week...I always look forward to your pictures!

This is SO common. I have a friend whose mother will not let us load the dishwasher when we visit, even if she isn't there eating with us. Weird! ← That's because nobody else loads the dishwasher right. Every day I rearrange mine because my daughter loads it wrong. ← I couldn't put my finger on it, but that is what really makes me crazy -- other people loading the dishwasher! Including, maybe especially, my husband! Glad to know that I'm not the only one!

I like having guests hang out in the kitchen, but I don't want help. Particularly in cleaning up. It actually makes me nervous and agitated when people start helping and bringing tons of plates and food into the kitchen. Maybe because I live in an apartment and have a relatively small kitchen.

While I agree that part of the whole holiday thing is the home cooking, there are exceptions. This year for one of the nights we are going to my in-laws house for dinner (my parents are going as well). My MIL is a terrible cook and a clueless hostess. But most of all, she is just really disorganized when it comes to entertaining. So often times, the meals end up being served about 2 or 3 hours late, with many of the dishes being burned or otherwise ruined (a few years ago at Thanksgiving the dinner rolls went on fire in the oven!). Today she told me that she is going to have the food catered. My mother and I joined together to let out a sigh of relief. It will be a welcome change.

I had dinner at P&O about 4 or 5 months ago for the first time in a long time. My parents used to live nearby, so we went there every so often. I like it. And they now have a few steaks on the menu. One dish that I really like is a penne with chicken sausage. Nothing innovative, but always good.

I also recommend Mango Salsa. This one is so easy, and people love it.

Both Park and Orchard and Segovia are good suggestions. But beware, on Sundays Segovia gets pretty crowded after a football game at the Meadowlands.

I gotta be honest here. I'm sure your brother is a lovely guy, and call me a snob (food or otherwise), but I would've dumped his ass after he took me to a dive bar for date #2. On the other hand, if you like someone, you like someone, and if her worst trait is that she likes the Olive Garden, so be it. Get over it.

Well, they aren't here, either. So there! ← Ahh, but you can take a short ride on the LIRR and have access to the one in Oceanside or the one in Merrick. So, you're not totally screwed. ← And rumor has it that they are opening on 14th Street in the relatively near future. So there.

Great, thanks. The steaks are fairly thin, so I don't even think I will need the oven. If I ruin them, I'll know for next time!

So I just got a Lodge cast iron pan and I'm going to try it out tonight. I have 2 steaks, not too thick, at home waiting. I'm going to follow this method, but I have a question...For medium done steaks, about how long should they stay in the oven? I have a thermometer, but I just want to get an idea if we're talking about 5 minutes or more like 15 or 20 minutes (I'm totally clueless on this one!). I don't want to get sidetracked and ruin the steaks! Thanks!

Totally agree with this. Do not sneak things into the food or she will just pick them out. I am married to a somewhat reformed picky eater. The root of his problems stem from the fact that when he was a child, his father demanded that he and his brother eat certain "healthy" foods. Like tuna fish. His father would "sneak" tuna fish into peanut butter sandwiches. Yeah, that really worked. And his father demanded that they eat vegetables that they didn't like. So now, my husband would die before he would eat tuna fish or even a piece of lettuce and most vegetables. But since I love food, I have been very patient with him and in the 5 years that we've been together, I've encouraged him to try new things. Sometimes he will, and likes them. Sometimes he refuses. But he would never ruin a night out or a dinner party and he never expects people to cater to his needs. He either finds something he likes, or he eats when he gets home and doesn't make a big deal. And the more I stopped making a big deal, the more interested in food he has become. As somebody else mentioned, go at her pace.

I guess I'm in the minority here. I hate jelly beans. Just not my thing. I'm a total chocoholic. I never liked Skittles, Starburst or red licorice either. The only things that I do like that are similar are Sour Patch Kids. Every so often when I go to the movies, I can't resist the Sour Patch Kids. Maybe I would like the sour flavored Jelly Bellies. Might have to try them.

Strawberries. People are always saying "how can you not like strawberries?". Because I just don't. And I want to like them. Really. I don't like blueberries either. But raspberries and blackberries are okay. Hard boiled eggs. Can't stand the smell. I don't even like to eat anything that has touched a hard boiled egg. Like if I order a Cobb salad and I forget to ask for no egg, and then it comes and there's a crumbled up egg on my salad. I have to remove everything that the egg touched. And don't even get me started on egg salad. Can't stand to look at it, and I can't stand to watch people eat it. Nasty. Yogurt. I've tried a million times to like yogurt--different flavors and brands. It would be such a good thing to eat for breakfast or for a healthy snack. I just can't do it.