researchgal

I've a few different versions. One sort of mediteranean: Tuna from can (use italian in oil if available and feeling decadent) Little mayo mixed w/some lemon and dijon, maybe a bit of sour cream if available Capers Chopped olives Oregano Sliced cornichons Chopped red onion Served on crusty bread with arugula Or, the more purist version of tuna salad: White meat tuna from can Chopped celery Chopped red onion Mayo (just a little, I hate mayonaissey tuna salad) S&P I like that one on rye or pumpernickel w/romaine and tomato...

According to the Vlasic Pickle site: "Bread & Butter pickles received their name in the Depression Era, when pickles were as important a diet staple as bread and butter." Frankly, I still consider pickles to be right up there with bread and butter.

Gotta agree with talentedone on one thing... Bourdain, you rock! Love your replies to all of the posts! Thanks for participating in this forum. I'm buying your books today!

Just thought of another one. Fish steaks, like salmon steaks that have that spiny bone in the middle--gross me out! But I'll take a fish cheek any day... Also: Head cheese Mortadella Egg salad

The Lobster Pool is great--just to add to AHR's reply, if you'd like to drink wine or beer w/your meal there it's BYOB. I'm not a huge fan of Woodman's, I think it's touristy, greasy and generally overrated, but heartily endorse Farnhams in Essex. For a real treat (call now for reservations as it's small, popular and they only do 2 seatings/nite), try Stone Soup in Ipswich. Also in Ipswich, excellent Greek-inspired cuisine at Ithaki. Have a great trip!

The usual stuff... Bitten the inside of my cheek while chewing and then it swells up and then it's even more susceptible to getting bitten (ouch!). Broken a tooth eating a BLT. Scraped the roof of my mouth on exceptionally crusty french bread sandwich.

Freshly made cinnamon donuts from a farmstand we drove by on the way to spending the day at the beach--they'd put them in a brown paper bag that would glisten with the grease! On the way home, there was (and still is, thankfully) an ice cream stand next door to the farm--the best ice cream in this area and they'd use stawberries and black raspberries from the farm in it. Ipswich fried clams. My dad's special hamburgers on the grill with secret ingredients (black pepper and dill seed). Grilled lamb kebobs. Jiffy pop popcorn with coke and tv. Mom's frozen chocolate mousse that we only got to have when she made it for company. My grandmothers roasted potatoes cooked with leg of lamb, we'd fight over the ones that were brown and crispy on the outside. I could keep going on, but need to stop or I'll have to leave work and go get something to eat, immediately!

Yes, I think I tossed some kalamatas in at one point. Personally I think small black olives are a good addition to just about anything. You might call me an olive freak!

caviar unless it's mixed in with something else lima beans camomile cumin (only like it in small doses)

One of my new faves for a colorful salad-- baby mixed greens with orange slices (or blood orange), sliced radishes, red onion and toasted pinenuts all with a light shallot vinaigrette. Always gets rave reviews. Oh another one that's great in the summer, watermelon, feta, mint, watercress, red onion--beautiful and refreshing...

Ditto on Steve's mention of Silver Palate. Also The Complete Meat Cookbook (Aidells and Kelly), I've found it to be an excellent reference. Anything by Pepin, especially Jacques Pepin's Table. Union Square Cafe cookbook has always been a favorite as well.

If you could open your dream restaurant, what would it be like (menu, room, size, etc.), and where?

Cooking is definitely therapeautic for me. It's an incredibly warm feeling of "home" to me, to be in my kitchen, working away on a meal, getting lost in the process and then (hopefully!) creating something delicious at the end. I also love the immediate gratification of creating something cohesive from all these different sources and ingredients. Of course, that's when I have the time to devote to it. Sometimes it is just a chore to me, especially when it's late on a weeknight and I'm pressed for time. The only other time I don't feel like cooking is right after we've entertained a crowd for dinner, I usually need to take a break for a few days, but after a brief respite I'm always rarin' to go.

Thanks for that link, NFPC, I just ordered 3 lbs to be shipped from Porto...very reasonable prices, I'm excited to try them out. Will let you know. RG

yes, that's what I've found as well. English peas are also called garden peas, as in fresh from the garden, I suppose.

Hopleaf, a google search revealed quite a few sites with recipes, this one click me has a few of the recipes you mentioned, plus it's called "persia.org" sounds authentic enough! Good luck!

How about a rice salad served at room temperature? You could make a light dressing for it using seasoned rice vinegar, soy, etc. Maybe toss in some cooked shiitakes, chopped green onion, chopped arugula or watercress, orange zest...

I'm making roasted crispy asparagus tonite that have a Panko (japanese breadcrumbs) crust on them (recipe from Boston Globe this week). I was just wondering if others have used Panko, and what else I can use it for--should I use it like I would use typical breadcrumbs? These crumbs are supposed to be lighter and more delicate than the standard ones. Any suggestions?

Whoa, Franklanguage--if I could be so "frank" as to say, I am not, nor have I ever been considered FAT--who's callin' who fat, here? Leading a healthier lifestyle isn't all about fat vs. thin...

PS--I love all those foods you listed, too. It's not like you have to give everything up, it's really about eating smaller portions, maybe not eating those foods as often, etc. Cooking-wise I also have found it fun to experiment with different recipes and try to make a healthier version of something and still have it taste good. The creativity of that can be a good distraction from feeling like you're being deprived or something.

Jaybee, you've already made a tremendous step just by making the decision that you want to lose weight--being ready to do it is a big part of success. About a year ago I embarked on a similar journey--I just had gotten fed up with feeling larger than I'd like to be, and joined Weight Watchers. I lost about 25 lbs and have managed to keep that off now for the last 6 months. The thing that the WW program really helped me with was understanding more about different types of foods and their effects on me, and, most of all, thinking about, and tracking what I eat (don't be daunted by that concept, it's really easy once you get into the habit of it). The idea of keeping a journal of what you eat, especially at the beginning, can be tremendously helpful. I feel like now I appreciate food so much more and, like many of the others here have mentioned, have learned how to strike an appropriate balance between eating, exercise and weight control. I don't ever think of myself as dieting, but more like I just eat healthy now, and have made some lifestyle changes--it's much more like a mindset than a diet. And, please don't think I'm pushing WW on you, I think whatever approach works for people is the way to go. Best of luck to you and let us know how it goes!

My husband and I, and most of our friends seemed to have been raised to (or exposed to, at some point) the concept of never showing up empty-handed to someone's home. However, here's an interesting twist on this whole thing--whenever we're throwing a party or dinner and someone asks if they can bring anything, typically I say something like "oh no, just bring your lovely selves," or, if it's a pot-luck type of thing, then I might ask them to bring something, but typically not. Now, most of the time someone would still bring some sort of token item, flowers, wine or something, but, for some people it seems like no means no...to anything. Am I weird to be a little ticked off by that?

When Wholefoods entered the greater-Boston market they bought a chain called Bread and Circus (in addition to some other grocery stores), they continue to use the Bread and Circus name. Prior to Wholefoods coming in, Bread and Circus was an amazing grocery store, great service (they will actually bring you to the product you're looking for, not direct you to an aisle), excellent range of products, competitive prices on many staple items. My experience with the Wholefoods stores now is that the locations where they have taken over Bread and Circus still remain top-notch, locations where they took over a "premium" grocery store are inconsistent and the help doesn't seem as knowledgeable.

Many of us mention tongs as a staple item--which do people prefer, wood or metal, or does it just depend on the task? I have metal ones that I really like, but I regret I didn't buy the type that lock in the closed position. Those of you who use wooden ones, do they have some sort of joint for reinforcement in the "elbow" section, or are they just molded wood? Do you use wooden ones for all the same tasks as metal?

it's smaller than a bread knife (and a breadbox!) but bigger than a paring knife--it gives you better precision than the bread knife, can slice super-thin slices of tomato, onion, cukes, etc..