Marmish

Forgot to put in my two cents about the restaurant. I'm up for most anything. Not a big fish/seafood/sushi eater. Not a huge fan of Chinese. BUT, any eG trip is about trying new things and I'm ok with whatever you pick. We have tons of good Italian here, especially in my neighborhood, so unless it's really, really outstanding or the place is super accommodating of us, I'd rather have something else. But I only say so because you asked.

Last year I wished I had a candy thermometer.

The pickled onions were a condiment they could choose, sliced onions, lime juice, a bit of oil and salt, lots of cilantro. I used two HUGE red onions and they were almost gone. I made 6 cups (dry) rice with lime and cilantro. There is a decent, but not huge, amount left over. The pork butts totaled almost 9 lbs pre cooking weight. The pork was all eaten. The chicken was somewhere around 10 lbs, not sure exactly. There was about 1/4 of it left over. I made a second pan of cookies this morning, strawberry jam bars. There are 3 bars left and no chocolate chip cookies (4 dozen). So, all went well. No complaints, lots of compliments, and just enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow for the office staff. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and comments.

I dislike flan, so would not make it, although it did cross my mind. Tres leches would have been good although I've never made one. That hasn't ever stopped me before, though! We have 3 vegetarians who usually bring their own even when I accommodate for them, so I've stopped trying too hard. Grilled veg are a good idea, though. No religious issues amongst the staff, nor really picky eaters except one or two, and again, they take care of themselves, and not really a hardcore dieting contingent either surprisingly. I cooked the rice in the oven and that went surprisingly well. Thanks for all the suggestions. I do have about 2x's chicken than pork. I feel ok about portions. I wish I had another batch of cookies. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I'm going to pack up and go to bed.

Shredded chicken. I'm really nervous about not having enough. Do you think we could put the meat/chicken in the tacos and line them up in a dish, cover, and keep warm that way instead of heating the tortillas and meat separately? If they are tightly covered, they should be ok, right? I'm thinking that would control portion sizes and make the line go quicker. I do have a couple of staff members who could do that.

Of course. I forgot to list it. I haven't yet made January birthday cakes, so I think I'll make them for Tuesday. Or brownies. Haven't decided yet. Or chocolate chip cookies.

We are cooking for our staff of teachers on Tuesday, about 40 people, about 2/3 women. The boss suggested a taco bar type deal, so the plan is: carnitas chicken rice refried beans assorted toppings: pickled red onions, lettuce, cheese, crema, etc. salsas chips tortillas of course Any suggestions on how much pork butt and chicken to buy? I planned to use boneless thighs and breasts. That worked well for me in the summer when I did a similar meal in the summer, but I was only cooking for 8 then. Also, any advice on prepping and holding the tortillas? There is only maybe 10 minutes to do any last minute prep, not counting passive reheating. I do have a couple of staff who do not really need to be at the morning seminar who may be able to do a couple of simple tasks. Does this menu need anything else? Thanks for the help.

I think the agenda looks good and appreciate the parallel sessions to accommodate the pros and the amateurs.

Duly noted, Santo Grace! Orthodox Christmas brought me more goodies - a butter dish in the shape of a piece of toast, an ice cube tray that makes little ice bergs and Titantics,, a trivet that uses wine corks, an Aeropress , a box of chocolates from Canady, and a pearl necklace!!!

Heather, we sound pretty similar. I attended last year and had a great time. Definitely in a different category than some of the other attendees who are pros or are turning pro, but there were also several of us "greenhorns" too.

I'll have to look for that book. I'd love to try those preserved lemons. This past year I made brioche from both the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day and Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The 5 Min. one was really good. It was good on its own and made fantastic french toast. I knew Dorie's more traditional recipe would be better, but it was phenomenal and because the Kitchenaid did the work, took only a bit more time and not much more work at all.

I love 150 Best American Recipes, too. I'd add the rigatoni alla toto to the recipes already mentioned. It was so much better than I expected it to be. Also the Italian shortbread with almonds and jam, Kona Inn banana muffins. The pecan praline french toast is to-die-for.

Hmm. I'll have to think about my 5 to post, but I always have a running list of things. My problem is I see something, want to make it, even get some key ingredient, then can't remember where I saw it. Or I get a new magazine or cookbook and mark some things, but then set it aside and never get to making them. I started keeping a paper list of recipe title and source, and I recently moved it to google documents so I can pull it up at work and stop at the grocery on the way home if needed. And I won't lose it on the mess I call a desk. We'll see if it helps. If it's a keeper, I'll move it to a second google doc of things to make again.

lamb mashed potatoes greek beans later parmesan fondue

I haven't been able to get it in quite awhile. They told me it might be back for the holidays, but I haven't seen it.

So far, I got a set of 4 Mikasa martini glasses - 10 oz! They are beautiful, but huge. I also got The Art and Soul of Baking, and bought myself Artisan Breads Every Day and A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. More likely to come on the 7th for Orthodox Christmas.

We already have one!

Good job! I actually received thank-you notes from guests for the cookies and for including the recipes!

I always loved and appreciated the things students brought me. I found uses for most things. Not being Jewish myself, my favorite gift was a small Christmas ornament with the student's name and year. I have a large container of these and like to look at them each year and remember them. I always appreciated food items that were of average to good quality. I'd rather have a 2 pack of good turtles than a huge box of waxy chocolate. Mugs and trinkets are, I agree, hard to deal with the build up after awhile. A card with a note is always most appreciated by everyone. Teachers do spend a good bit of money on classroom items, so the gift card advice is good as well. If nothing else, teachers are often office supply whores who covet the "good pens" and the fancy paper clips or a good electric pencil sharpener or good stapler. Those chalk markers are really cool and I lament that they weren't on the market when I was in the classroom.

Looking good! (And congrats on the house!)

I like Kerry's milk chocolate bacon bark with smoked salt better then the Vosges Moe Bar or any other bacon chocolate combo I've had. I have some bacon pecan bars on my to do list.

Just got a baby shower invite for a shower to be held at a Let Them Eat Chocolate. I never heard of it before, but here's the link for comparison. http://www.letscoco.com/ The shower is Jan 10. I'll let you know how it goes.

It's back there somewhere. Around page 10 maybe? A quick look did not turn up my post-it where I had it written down.

Here's a ganache type chocolate milk that might work for you. clicky Xoco, Rick Bayless' new 'street food' place is doing several Mexican oht chocolates. website is here but doesn't really say much about the chocolates. A menu is posted here with the sizes and types of chocolate. There is another pic later in the thread. Lots of info about how people like the chocolates, but not about how they are made. I asked for more info. Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park Mindy Segal's restaurant, also, of course, has hot chocolate on the dessert menu. I realize those are vastly different resources, but hopefully something will be helpful.

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing the pics. It looks great. Everything will work out just fine, I'm sure of it.