Toliver

I believe I've seen the silicone lids demo'ed on QVC. I remember how the lids formed a suction on the bowls. QVC.com I searched on the QVC site for "silicone lid" and got a lot of results...some accurate, some not.

egale, welcome to eGullet and the make-your-own-vanilla cult.

Somewhere there is a previous eGullet discussion about all these food-lover descriptives but, alas, I can't find it. Someone there suggested "gastronaut". And before we toss "Foodie" into the river, can we also tie a cement block to "Sammie" while we're at it?

The article from the Wall Street Journal: Starbucks tests $1 cup of coffee This move is to counter market incursions by McDonald's, etc, as well as the recent downturn in the U.S. economy. Has anyone been "in-the-know" and been ordering the short size all along? Will the smaller, cheaper cup of coffee (with possible refills) keep Starbucks in your coffee routine?

I tried Carl's Jr's new Huevos Ranchero Breakfast Burrito this morning and give it a thumbs up. Where McDonald's McSkillet Burrito fails, this one seems to work. Carl's Jr's menu page (Click on Breakfast>Huevos Ranchero Breakfast Burrito) This is the description of the ingredients from the web site: Scrambled Eggs, Refried Beans, Shredded Jack and Cheddar Cheeses,Crisp Tortilla Strips and Ranchero Sauce Wrapped in a Warm, Flour Tortilla. It's a large burrito and is quite filling. It has a nice "mexican food" flavor which must come from the Ranchero Sauce. Surprisingly, it doesn't have any meat in it which seems to be going against most fast food trends these days. That said, either the crips tortilla strips in my burrito were left out, or had gotten soggy because there was no crunch with burrito making it a very soft filling/texture. I did ask for some of their salsa packets which I think don't normally come with this breakfast item (since it already contains the Ranchero Sauce). It's not the best packaged salsa in the world but was okay for my needs. Carl's Jr. has been combining some franchises with The Green Burrito so this seems to be a natural pairing of the eggs and refired beans. However, the Carl's Jr. where I purchased this burrito was just a Carl's Jr. restaurant. This makes me wonder if more crossover menu items will show up at non-Green Burrito locations. Has anyone else tried the new Huevos Ranchero Breakfast Burrito?

^That works great with bartenders, too. I tip grandly on the first serve and decently on the rest...they are quick to put me first in line when waiting for a drink.

Errr...is there a National Cake Day?

I bought one for my mom's oven. She loved that it was semi-opaque which made it easy to read with the oven light. Then one day she noticed it wasn't working anymore and had a "singed" look to it. I bought her another which is still working fine. I think she may have knocked the first one to the oven floor and being so close to the heat source that caused it to stop working. Though if that was an issue with the thermometer, you'd think they'd put a warning label on it.

I'm posting this in this fourm because it deals with fast-food. If a host thinks it should go in the coffee forum, feel free to move it. A nearby AM/PM gas station closed for renovations. When it reopened they had removed quite a number of refrigerated cases along one wall and installed a line of coffee brewers and other beverage machinery. You can see a general picture of what it looks like on the AM/PM website: AM/PM coffee web page They have quite a list of coffee products and other hot beverages listed on the linked web page above. It's interesting that AM/PM must think the financial return on coffee and other hot beverages will outweigh the loss of retail product space (the refrigerated coolers that were there before). Or perhaps they're going with the McDonald's game plan (come for the coffee, stay for the breakfast) where they're trying to make their "quickie-marts" a one-stop destination. Has anyone tried their coffee yet? edited for clarity

Never heard of the chain: Potbelly Sandwich Works I see by their store map that they're only in a few states. How are their shakes/malts? Can someone post pictures of their food so we can we the what the hubbub is about?

I find it interesting that Martha has a much bigger presence on the show this season. I can't even recall her being on-camera in previous seasons. I wonder why the change. Her "good thing" and helpful hints clips look like they could have been lifted from her syndicated show which would save on productions costs. In the episode I saw this weekend, each of the "chefs" stressed over & over that they were cooking with just 5 ingredients and "Isn't this just the simplest meal to prepare?" Let's see if that continues in future episodes.

It's already hit consumers hard. Milk prices (and most dairy products) were some of the first food items to reflect the increase in the price of fuel oil. I've noticed a lot of grocery items have increased in price and also that restaurant prices have gone up, too (I don't eat out that often but I go enough to notice the increases). Fuel prices are slowly becoming a factor in the current US political arena. I'm just surprised it's taken them this long to notice that this problem is rippling through the economy as is evident by its impact on our dining tables.

Your blog has been a wonderful read. Oliver rocks! Regarding your husband's dislike of garlic and onions and wanting just plain rice, it makes me wonder if he could he be a supertaster. Thanks again for taking the time to blog. And if you ever do visit King Arthur, please post the details of your visit here on eGullet (with pics, hopefully).

I like the OXO kitchen prodcuts, too. I have the salad spinner, the angled measuring cups, the vegetable peeler (which rocks) and the garlic press. Their best kitchen item? Their large wooden spoon. Because the handle flairs out, you get a much better grip on the spoon and get better torque when stirring. It's da bomb.

Is this the basic recipe?

When I was a kid and our family was going to the beach, my mom would make oven "fried" chicken the night before so we'd have cold chicken for our beach picnic. Amen to the cold meatloaf sandwich, except we'd slather it with mayo and horseradish sauce. It doubles as a sinus clearer, too.

When I visit my mom and we go to Costco, her reward is usually a Costco Polish dog with sauerkraut (and deli mustard). It's something she used to cook for our family when I was a kid but now that she lives alone, she doesn't want to go through the bother of fixing it just for herself. It's the highlight of the shopping trip for her. I can roll with that, Ma!

Oh, I've been caught, quite live, eating cold leftover Chinese takeout too many times to count. And I too enjoy cold chicken and pizza (though I very seldom eat pizza either hot or cold anymore...) ← Guilty as charged. I've had my share of cold chinese food, as well.

Every Christmas my brother and his wife give me a "munchies" bag containing various dips, spreads, condiments, chips and snacks. This year they included a box of Trader Joe's Chocolate Truffles. Oh.My.God. They may not be high end chocolates but I tell you the mouth feel of these chocolates is so sexy, silky, and satiny that it feels like I'm committing a sin when I eat them. Anyone else a fan?

I had incorrectly assumed that when they spoke of the top ten "worst food", they meant as in Sandra Lee-ish bad. But this is just another "fast food is not good for your health" lists. I can't say that I've tried any of the top 10 items but the year is still young.

Another suggestion...Texas Brownies almost rise like a cake so they'd look more like bricks than regular brownies.

Though I've never used that method, I've seen it discussed here and there on eGullet. Here's one such post. It's the second method mentioned in the post. Perhaps it helps develop a good crust on the meat? edited to add: I found another brief reference to this method from snowangel herself in this post.

My subscription runs out this summer and I won't be renewing it. I can't remember the last time I ripped out any of the recipes to keep. I'm not impressed with the changes in the latest issue. Warm & inviting, it isn't. Then again, I'm probably not their ideal demographic any longer so a mutual parting of ways shall come to pass. A little off-topic but in the latest issue they said cauliflower is in season right now but I went shopping yesterday and it certainly isn't priced like it's in season. Two bucks a head! My roasted cauliflower jones will have to wait until the price comes down again.

Good question! I have a jar in my spice cupboard that I can't recall buying. I made meatloaf last night and now I'm thinking the MSG would have added that little bit of something extra to make it taste even better. edited to add: Is MSG always something to cook with? Has anyone sprinkled it on after plating? Or does it's umami effect only take place when cooked?

When I noticed the incorrect address on their web site and in the podcast, I typed it in to see what would happen and was happy to see the re-direct occur. The re-direct is a Martha Stewart "good thing". edited for spelking