Cleo

Yes, there is West Orange, too.

Jenny, I went back to this thread for some ideas, and just noticed that you made the curry recipe that I suggested. Sorry you didn't like it! I've made it a few times and it's always been a hit. I am by no means an expert on curry, but I use the Sweet Curry powder that I get from Penzey's, and it's very tasty. Again, sorry!

I loathe egg salad. The sight, the smell, everything about it. Hard boiled eggs too. I do like omelettes though. I also hate strawberries, which a lot of people think is weird. Actually, I hate all berries, except cranberries. Pumpkin pie and carrot cake. Feh.

Sorry, but I also have to strongly go against the chili idea. Although it was 15 years ago, I lived in a sorority house, and I cannot imagine that going over well as a main meal, regardless of whether or not it is vegetarian. (I just hate chili overall.) I do, however, like the Mexican idea. Maybe chili can be just one component of the meal. Grilled chicken (and/or beef), tortillas, rice, beans, etc, so people can sort of make their own thing. I would also vote against beef stew or any kind of goulash. I would probably eat that, but I can only imagine the looks on the faces of my sorority if our cook put out beef stew or goulash. It would not be pretty! I do also like the jambalaya/cajun idea. I think people would be very receptive to that.

My husband eats this all the time. Actually, it's a sandwich on whole wheat bread, with Skippy chunky peanut butter, and then he dips it in French's regular yellow mustard. Vile! But then again, he would never eat one of my favorites, tuna salad with potato chips. mmmmmm!

I went to college in Tucson, where Saguaro Chips are made. God how we all loved these chips! I’m going back to Tucson for a visit in March (my first visit since I graduated in 1990), and it will be interesting to see if the chips were (and still are) really all that good, or if this post belongs on the “marijuana food” thread!

I ordered the Magnum Plus directly from their website. They do ship outside of the U.S. By the way, it really is amazing!

What about chicken curry? This Martha Stewart recipe is very easy and pretty good. Or pesto sauce?

frenchfries (or chocolate).

I saw this on late-night TV last night and I was wondering why the hell anyone would ever need this thing. I happen to hate hard boiled eggs, but on the few occasions that I've made them, it wasn't that difficult to peel them. In fact, I actually like peeling them...I only hate eating them!

I have black granite counters, and I love them. They look as good today as they did 4 1/2 years ago when they were brand new. But I, too, am still afraid to put anything hot directly on the counter. I did look at Corian and I just didn't love it the way I loved the granite (with an undermounted stainless steel sink). I just liked the shiny look and smooth feel of the granite. Maybe because I have a fairly small Manhattan galley kitchen, but the granite was not that much more expensive than the Corian. I can't even remember the price difference, but it was definitely worth it for me to spend the extra money. I get pleasure every time I'm in my kitchen (and I do cook a lot).

So I guess I need a cleaver and/or a 10" knife. But shortly after I posted that note, my husband did cut it in half (well, not exactly in half, since the pieces are pretty uneven). Haven't tried cooking it yet, though. I plan to go the butter and parmiggiano route. Thanks for the tips...I thought it was only me!

I have a really stupid question, but it's been driving me insane since Thursday and I gotta ask. I've never made spaghetti squash before, but on my way home from work on Thursday, I decided that I was going to make some for dinner. I was planning to bake it in the oven. So I get home, an take out my Wusthof Grand Prix 8" chef's knife to cut it in half. I could not cut this through beast. It was like a rock. So after like 10 minutes of sawing at this thing, I didn't want to ruin my knife and I just gave up and made roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts. As I'm typing this, I went back in the kitchen to see if I'm losing my mind and to try it again with a serrated knife. My husband is in there now hacking away, with a variety of knifes (he just yelled at me because I told him not to ruin our good knives!). So here's my question(s)...are these squashes normally so hard to cut? Does it need to ripen? What kind of knife should I use? I feel like an idiot, but I had to ask.

Gail Watson Cakes Don't know about the prices, but very beautiful and delicious.

Tommy, throw in a red onion. You won't be sorry!

I became addicted to the roasted cauliflower a few months ago. I don't really slice it, I just cut it up into florets. And then I started adding brussel sprouts (cut in half if they're big), and red onion (cut in wedges). I just coat everything with olive oil, salt & pepper, and cook at about 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. I like it sort of well done. About 1/2 way through I throw in some garlic cloves. It's amazing! Sometimes I throw in broccoli and/or carrots, but my favorite combo is the cauliflower, brussel sprouts and red onion. I make these roasted vegetables almost every night that we have dinner at home. And sometimes I throw the mix over pasta. One of my favorite meals lately.

We eat in front of the TV at all times. And I do set the table, it just happens to be the coffee table. Our regular table is one those tables for 4 that you can fold down one side so that it takes up less space (we live in a small Manhattan one bedroom apartment). Even though there are only 2 of us, and we could actually sit at that table, there's always too much crap on it. We have a ton of furniture in storage, including a dining room table for 10. I do look forward to the day when we actually have the space for it.

We had my family's Hanukkah get-together on Sunday. I just laughed when I realized how many of the gifts were food-related... From my sister and brother-in-law, my husband and I got a gift certificate for a cooking class at Culinary Explorers. My sister also gave me a Mario Batali cookbook that she got signed like 2 years ago, but forgot to give it to me then! And then she gave my husband the book of "Top Secret Recipes" (this was basically a joke). And since my husband's birthday is in early December, my parents gave him his birthday gift on Sunday too, which was a 3-month cheese-of-the-month subscription from Artisanal. He loves cheese! I picked out some fun, new cookbooks for my husband to buy for me. Haven't gotten those yet, though.

My sister and brother-in-law lived in Tokyo for 3 years. After they had been there for 6 months, I went to visit them, shlepping 2 corned beef/pastrami sandwiches from Carnegie Deli in my carry-on bag. They were in heaven! (It certainly didn't matter to them whether Katz's is better than Carnegie). Separately, when I was on my way to my start my freshmen year in college (in Tucson, AZ), there was a woman on the plane who was having an argument with the flight attendant. The woman wanted the flight attendant to keep her "package" on ice for the entire trip from JFK to Tucson. The "package" was 2 lbs. of whitefish salad from Waldbaums (everyone on the plane heard this a million times). It's been 17 years, and my parents and I still laugh about the scene on the plane with the woman shlepping the whitefish salad!

I remember when I first moved to the UWS (9 years ago--from the UES), and I started going to Fairway, I always felt like a deer caught in the headlights. (This was long before they expanded into the D'agostino space that was next door.) It just seemed so overwhelming. But once I figured out the system, what I quickly learned was that you just have to plan your visits. I go there several times a week to pick up 2 or 3 fresh items, but for major shopping, I go early on Saturday or Sunday mornings (before 11:00 it's usually still pretty civilized, and I usually don't go there on Monday evenings right after work. For anyone who would even consider going in there (or Citarella or Zabar) on the day before a big holiday, that's just plain crazy. And sometimes, when I get really lazy, and I just run into the A&P that's right across the street from me on West End, when buying produce I always regret it. It just can't compare--price, selection or quality-wise. My husband wants to move downtown. Although I love the UWS, I'd be willing to move, but I always think about how much I would miss Fairway.

I got married last year and we got a pattern for everyday from Crate & Barrel that was made by Dansk. We got 12 settings, plus the serving pieces. They subsequently stopped carrying that pattern at C&B, but they still carry it at Fortunoff.

So after thinking about this forever, I decided to get one of the Magnums. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to the 6" version or the 9" Magnum Plus?

I totally agree. Definitely register for items in different price ranges. We got married last year and registered for things like Oxo gadgets, to china, to expensive crystal and kitchen appliances. I kept thinking that nobody would buy us either the really cheap stuff or the really expensive stuff. In the end, we got about 99% of the stuff that we registered for. One of my favorite gifts was the Wusthof knives. If you like to travel, another thing that you might consider (although not kitchen or food-related) is registering for luggage (if you register at a department store). My husband and I love to travel and we always borrowed my parents' luggage. This past September, we were going on a trip to Italy and we finally made the investment in our own good luggage. As we were buying it from a store that we had registered at last year, we said to each other "why didn't we just register for this?".

Had an excellent lunch at Mela a few months ago. Highly recommended.

We thought Osteria La Zucca was great. Had great pastas (especially one with gorgonzola cheese), and my husband also had a chicken curry dish. I remember being sort of surprised to see curry in an italian place, but he really enjoyed it.