Patak's in Austell... My friends and I make a monthly trip to stock up. I bet around now, they have great lamb, as well. Everything is amazing!

http://www.patakmeats.com/Patak_Meats...

I was just at TJ's to buy appies for tonight. I am always amazed at how inexpensive their cheeses are...in fact, most of their offerings. They have a large selection and I think you will find many interesting options. I bought three different cheeses for tonight, a honey chevre - a gruyere - and a brie. Simple cheese for my family (different tastes) but I am certain you can find what you need for your purposes. They also have wonderful accompaniments (sp?). Take a walk around the store or ask someone. The staff are very helpful. Good luck and have fun!

My MIL's recipe, she makes it every year for the holidays:

GUM DROP COOKIES
Beat 4 eggs, and add 2 cups light brown sugar. Mix well.
Add (sifted together) 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt
Stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 12 zo. candy orange slices cut in pieces, and 1 tbsp. water.
Pour into well-oiled and floured 10X15" cookie pan. Be careful not to scrape candy on bottom of pan in spreading.
Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30 min. or until light brown.
Cut while hot in 50 bars.
Frost immediately with thin glaze of powdered sugar icing (Tbs melted butter, powdered sugar, and orange juice

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister.

I work out and try to eat healthy, but love my cheeseburgers and fries, on occasion. My husband is the opposite. Meat and potatoes guy, and sometimes I come down in the morning to find evidence of bad snacking. :-) However, my 5 year old has a mix of our likes and dislikes. I feel this is simply his observing our habits. He eats very well for a kid his age, when we go to the grocery store I let him choose the veggies for the week and he chooses broccoli, carrots, and spinach mostly - I do try to teach him about healthy food. When he gets home from school he asks for an apple. However, he asks for dessert every night. One funny note: I do not like chocolate, he does not either. My husband says I ruined him for life, and people think we are weird.. To wrap up, I do believe it is mostly what you are around, and a bit of personal taste. Maybe there is no true answer but you try to teach your kids and hope for the best.

Frittata and a salad....?

I agree, usually season and bake for 30 minutes or so and then re-cook howeverI was planning on cooking it....

The Epicure's Lament by Kate Christensen. Dark but interesting story. I liked it alot and there is lots of cooking (with recipes) in it. (Wow, first time I have posted in a few years. :-) )

No One's Falafal is better than Mamoun's... Are you nuts? : )

Great idea about checking the temp. I do have one I picked up before Thanksgiving. I will do that but the problem now is the dryness. I guess I could always throw it out and start over if it is too dry but I hate to waste good food, especially an $11 package of Bell and Evans. :-)

Thanks poulet. It was late, the baby needed feeding and I was trying to prepare dinner for my dad for tonight. I should know better, I have been sleep deprived for months. :-)
He is sitting while we go to a wedding and I thought a sliced chicken salad would be perfect. So much for that plan, your stir fry idea sounds terrific, though. I par-roasted (is that a term?) red peppers in the oven at the same time. I can chop them up, add some onions or scallions, carrots, etc. He will be thrilled. He tries to eat healthy these years. Perhaps some oil, sauce, etc. will add back some moisture.

So, back to the OP, do you think the stir fry will kill any bacteria as opposed to the additional baking?

Thanks again, Michele

I accidentally put the marinade liquid (honey teriyaki) on the chicken (3 nice size breasts) after they were cooked (I used the wrong bowl). I then cooked the chicken about ten more minutes to cook the sauce. I dried out a beautiful meal but my question is:

Is it safe to eat? Did the ten minutes at 400 kill anything that may have been in the marinading liquid? And if so, any ideas how to revitalize it for tomorrow?

Thanks.

Haven't had much time to "play" on CH lately (5 month old baby) but just caught this thread and had to write.

I grew up in a family of eaters and hounds. My mother was a wonderful cook, as was/is her sister. She was of jewish heritage and her cooking showed it but she could make the meanest eggplant parmagiana and corned beef and cabbage, etc. You get the idea. We also ate out 2-3 times a week since we were very young, not McD's but NYC restaurants - Spanish/Italian/French. I thought a shirley temple was called an "on the house" for years since that is what the owners of our usual haunts used to say as they placed them in front of my brother and me. :-)

Anyway, my father is remarried and his wife is not a cook (though she thinks she is), to put it kindly. We suffer through holiday meals as my dad oohs and aahs. I wonder if he is faking it but it sounds pretty genuine. So, I also wonder if it is his age or if he never was a hound and just went through the motions. My mother and I could and would eat practically anything as long as it was "worthy". A hotdog with mustard and sauerkraut, crispy from the kosher delli could be heaven on earth. :-) My mothers famous brisket recipe lives on at holiday time (I miss her so much).

So, to answer the quesiton, it appears to be nurture with my brother and me, though he cooks differently than I do, he cooks. We are both very concerned with what we eat and it seems to spill over onto others around us.

So, though nature must have a little something to do with it, I am going with nurture. My hubby LOVES to eat and can cook a mean breakfast but his mom is not a very good cook (though she tries very hard) and his cooking is very simple and limited but oh so appreciated by this tired mom..

Unfortunately I cannot remember the name and my computer crashed a few months ago so my faves were lost but... there is a week long cooking vacation in Tuscany. The name is almost called "cooking in Tuscany". It is fairly expensive but you stay in a lovely b & b type place, cook with local chefs and go to vineyards and markets, olive/cheese tasting, etc. Does anyone know the name of this? I will google and do some searching and see if I can find it. I heard it was fabulous!

I get what you are saying. I have seen and heard that before, especially on these boards. Different cultures, as you say. I wish I could afford to treat everyone at my favorite restaurant. :-)

As a new mom and new homeowner, our birthday celebrations will be bbq's from now on. What is more fun than a bbq with the people you love!

I agree about the mother but I would never think to let the birthday person pay for themselves, neither would any of my friends. And in regard to my above post about our birthday dinners, sometimes presents were warranted (a 25th or 30th or the like) but always I brought a bouquet of flowers. It is just a nice thing to do, not expected.

Why wouldn't you mention your birthday? Sorry, not to offend but I do not get it. It is a nice thing to spend your day with friends and family.

I also agree, "go or don't go", but if you go - enjoy yourself!

On the other side of the coin...(we are all assuming the brithday girl is/was trying to hose everyone). In my experience: we were/are a large group of friends who hung out all the time over the course of ten years or so, single in the city :-), For all birthdays we went to a big (10 or so in the dining group) planned dinner at a restaurant in NYC and the brithday girl/boy NEVER chipped in. And yes, it was their responsibility to "plan" it. They had to remind us of the date, pick the restaurant, the guest list, etc. It was another night out but with a guest of honor. No one thought to have the guest of honor chip in anything. I still would not. We are all married and mostly in the 'burbs at this point, way past our twenties and for some reason (off topic), we had more disposable income then, go figure! :-)

To the OP's point, if someone was short on cash, it was not a big deal with us, those who could were happy to throw in a little extra cash and noone was made to feel badly. If this would not be the case, I agree with some others, meet for a drink and eat before or after.

How good of friends are you and are we all assuming the worst here? It sounds like, perhaps, the mom was out of line. There are cheap, take advantage people but to trash the birthday girl simply for getting friends together on her birthday is wrong. IMO.

I was also going to recommend Levain but it is so tiny...not sure if they wanted a comfortable yet simple sit down place. BTW: their brioche stick is "to die for"! :-) so are their oatmeal raisin cookies. Not a chocolate fan so cannot speak of those items but I would assume just as great.

And, they actually have white only B & W's (if you will, LOL) at Pick a Bagel . I LOVE these since I am not a big fan of chocolate. I will eat some of the chocolate part if it is exceptional but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all white. I also like the taste and texture of the ones here.

I have always liked Isabella's on 77th and Columbus for lunch. They have everything on the menu from soup to pastas to salads to sandwiches to omelettes. A decent wine list, if you like to indulge. Very open and airy, a fave on the UWS. Nice people watching and a cool vibe.

http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/res...

Next month will be warmer so you can either sit outside or by the windows, if it is available. Make a ressie, not sure if you can request a table outside or by the window but you can try. It is still nice and open and bright even if you are not by the windows.

Just a few ideas. First, have the dining tables set beautifully when people arrive instead of the usual stack of plates and silverware by the food. This might set the tone prior to the meal. Second, perhaps serve an appetizer at the table before the main meal is offered. This gets them to the table where they have set up camp, so to speak, and a little direction from you will keep things as you had planned it.

Important: Make sure the TV is turned off before serving. Put wine bottles, water pitchers, and any condiments, etc. on the dining table as well.

I understand what you are saying but it was as if I hadn't read any of the posts and I was logged in. I am going to go through the site now and see if it is the same...

That I did know, thanks though. I do prefer expanding individually, especially in a large thread. It just seemed odd to me that there were no collapsed posts in many threads I was reading, even when returning to them. I have been "gone" for over two months, so I expect many changes have taken place.

Thanks, I did not know that...or perhaps baby brain has taken over :-)

Hi,

Just came back after having a baby (Dec 4, 2006 - new CH, Max) and noticed that posts are not hidden after reading them and coming back to the thread. Is it me or has this function changed? I tried to search for this answer but cannot find a thread.

Thanks.

BTW: I have not had time to "play" very much so I look forward to checking out all the changes. I like the new look, though.

Thanks...

Great idea, I will add it to my list as it probably works better for baby food anyway...but I still want that processor (maybe more for me)(wink, wink). Been looking at it for months in Williams-Sonoma but put off buying it as there were, obviously, more important things to worry about. :-)

As I just gave birth to my first child (a son) and in my first house with a big, beautiful kitchen, I am hoping for the Kitchen Aid Food Professional Food Processor. I am planning to make my own baby food as soon as I start introducing regular food to his diet.

Varka sounds right up our alley...Will definitely put it in our short list. Thanks.

Will also be giving Baci a try when we can get out... you eventually always find a spot :-)

What about Loft on Columbus and 84th/85th?

I had martinis and appetizers in the very comfy bar area a few months back. They have low tables and soft red couches and it is pretty dark and cozy...food was good and the drinks were well made.

http://www.loftnyc.net/ Check out the pics.

I think it is pretty hip for the UWS.

Funny, after the doctor yesterday, as we were in Westwood, we headed to town... ended up finding a spot on the street after a good fifteen minutes and just headed to the pub "PJ somethings", I think...My husband loves his pubs and I just do not care too much as of late, LOL. It was actually very good and cozy but the point being, I understand the parking thing. Have not been to Baci yet but...is there ever valet over in Westwood or do you just rely on good luck?

As to your rec, thanks, I will definitely be trying the SRI but it is a bit late for us... we are just waiting now - any day! Yikes!

I hope you find what you are looking for, if so, please clue me in. I love a lesiurely late lunch as well.

Best, Michele