you mean who BOUGHT the cakes.....LOL

DH can't tolerate finely ground black pepper (that you would buy pre-ground), but he is fine with coarse ground black or fine ground white pepper. So, if the recipe calls for ground pepper I use white pepper. If I am using it on, say, a steak to be grilled, I use coarse ground black.

Sometimes I do, but there are certain things I would never do that with. For example, I can't imagine chicken picatta tasting right with lime instead of lemon. On the other hand, I have marinated shrimp for the grill in either lemon and garlic, or lime and garlic, depending on what is in the fruit bowl!

I love this scale, and will be sharing it with DH!

I love this whole thing too much for it to be healthy. LOL. So, the only things that were edible were the desserts, which she didn't make?? unreal

For those of you in CT, it seems that Miya's Sushi is planning to serve some up on their menu!

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/20...

Enjoy...I guess.

ohhh Indianriverfl that sounds great! I love any kind of thick dense bread. mmmmmm

I got mine from my mom- I have NO idea where she got it.
Here is the recipe:
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter (cut into quarters)
2 tbs Karo syrup
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
16 slices cinnamon bread (I usually use cinnamon raisin)

Heat oven to 350
In a 13x9 pan, put butter, Karo and brown sugar (break it up a bit). Melt in oven (stir every once in a while to combine it).

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla together. Cut crusts off bread and quarter the slices (stack half the loaf and cut into quarters-repeat).

Once the butter and sugar is melted and combined, place the bread cubes in the pan-like lasagna noodles (that note is from my mom-my note- we are Italian-American)

Pour egg mixture over, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake covered 45 minutes in a 325 oven. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.
The recipe says to serve it with syrup. We have never needed it!

I think you menu sounds wonderful!

I am having so much angst over this very topic today. My original guest list would have allowed for more creativity and variety. Now, instead, I have 1 person who is allergic to shellfish, 1 person who eats NO fish whatsoever (or onions), 1 person who has celiac, 1 person who cannot eat any dairy. And 1 fussy 10 year old. My total guest list is 7 people, so that leaves two who have no dietary restrictions.

*Sigh*

I was thinking of herbed scrambled eggs, an overnight french toast casserole, maple-roasted bacon, fruit salad, waldorf chicken salad, roasted potatoes, banana bread and wolferman's english muffins (granted it was just an excuse to buy them. I love those things :).

Oh, and Bellini. Lots of Bellinis.

am I missing anything? there will only be 7 of us, so I am probably making WAY too much....

DH works nights as well , plus every-other weekend. He has been doing this for 17 years, so I totally get where you are coming from! On the nights he is home, I generally make enough food for at least 2 full meals (so, 4 servings). He can have one of those meals for his next shift, and I freeze the other one for another day so that he is not eating the same thing in row for several nights. I usually have some of the leftovers on the second night.
things that do well with this technique are chilis and soups, roast pork (drizzle with sauce and wrap each slice in saran and then bag in a freezer bag), meatballs/loaf- I make a morrocon meatball he LOVES, roasted chicken and what he calls 'gruel' (in a loving way, of course).
To make it, I cut up 1-2 zucchini or yellow squash, 1 onion, 1 pepper, and about 1 lb of green beans, along with 3-4 chicken breasts into cubes. Season chicken with S&P, a little oregano and thyme and saute for a few minutes till golden. Remove from pan, add olive oil and throw in veggies. Once veg begins to soften, add chicken back in along with a 15 oz can of tomatoes (Diced or stewed). cook about 10 minutes, Serve over rice. that amount will last us both for several days, but doesn't freeze great.

One of the new products that has been a godsend is the minute rice microwavable cups- they have a ton of different varieties. I really like the multi-grain one.

At least one night a month, I do resort to eating like I was in College again- you know, a bag of microwave popcorn! on those nights the freezer food is on his menu :)

LOL! OH GOD does this bring back a bad memory. I had consumed a glass (or two) of wine, and my adult nephew said he did something 'similar' to someone else. Before I could stop myself, the 'ly' popped out of my mouth. I got horrified looks all around (totally deserved) and then before I could stop myself, I started explaining that since the word 'similar' was being used to modify the verb XXX, it should be used in the adverb form; thus-similarly. The whole time in MY OWN head I was sceaming 'STOP!!! STOP this RIGHT NOW!!!'. I have never forgiven myself, and certainly never done anything like this again. My nephew probably wouldn't even remember this if I brought it up!

UGH! I had typed a reply that the internet ate.
Anyway, I think, as others have said, that shared interest is what it is about. we love to entertain, and if we go more tha a month without an event, I say--how about we host [insert ethnic food type here] night!. Our next event is Mother's day brunch (we don't have kids, so we host all of the mom'
s in our life), and then the very stressful book club. Which, admittedly is as much about the mixology as the food. LOL

We have several family members like that! they say to us 'why do you have to cook so fancy' when I roast my own chicken! they love to come for whatever event we are hosting, though! so funny to us. To us, good food =love. That explains my waistline ;)

Oh yes, wine while cooking is a MUST :)

Thanks! all is well! we really do bond over food, and we entertain often and always around food! Sounds like you do as well. I think as others have said, it is about shared interests. For most of our relationship it was about me cooking and him eating my creations. Now, it really is shared and is so much more fun. Mother's day brunch is next-we don't have kids and so host all of 'our' moms, and then the very stressful book club the following week :) If we go more than 2 months without hosting a party. I will say 'Hey! I have an idea...let's have [insert food here] night!'

DH and I met in high school 31 years ago. Even at that young age, we agreed that we would rather eat once a month at a nice restaurant than several times at a fast food type of place. We still love to eat out, and it is really one of our favorite things to do together. As far as cooking goes...he only recently started to cook, due to some health issues I was experiencing. Before that, he would keep me company and was enthusiastic and encouraging in my culinary adventures. Now, we share cooking, and he is becoming a fantastic cook! We have even taken a few classes together at the local adult ed program.

So no, not important to this 25.5 year marriage at all ;)

As the OP, I flagged a few that I felt were personal attacks, but on the whole, I agree with you. As I have said a few times, I really have valued the input and have learned quite a bit about other cultures!

OP here- Not in my WILDEST dreams! I have been on the boards for a few years now, and have only started a few threads. None have generated this type of discussion. For theis one, I have mostly stayed out of the fray, but I have been watching the responses. As I have said in response to a few people early on, I appreicate everyone's input!

sorry-I just saw this. What kind of restaurant are you looking for? Is he a pizza/chicken nugget kind of kid, or is he more adventurous? Used to, and comfortable with a more sophisticated experience or is a more 'family-oriented' restaurant better? I have a 10 year old niece who gets restless at a more slow-paced restaurant.

for a more casual restaurant, I would suggest Abate on Wooster St for Italian, or Temple Grill for American (burgers, sandwiches but also decent entreees-but it is SUPER loud in there).
going higher end? Tre Scalini on Wooster St,
or Consiglios could be options, or even Basta on Chapel St.

higher end American is tough. I LOVE Zinc, but it might be a bit much for some kids (my niece included). John Davenports on the top of the Omni might be an option too. The view is amazing, and the food is better than you would think.
Let me know where you wind up, and how it goes. It might work for my niece as well!

I think you are so lucky that yours has started already! Ours won't start until early june (Zone 6 here in CT). I will actually be out of town the first week, so our first box will go to the local homeless shelter. If I had rutabegas, I would probably give them to the shelter anyway- we are *not* fans of that veggie!

Thanks for the input BB. Some of the people who have said the food is good haven't been entirely trustworthy on that topic, which is why I turned to CH! I am adding it to my list of 'must trys'.

I agree with you, almost entirely! This is indeed a 'white tablecloth' type of place, and that has been what is holding me back from going there. What I am trying to say is that I am not sure that the 'mobster movies' are in keeping with a white tablecloth restaurant. If, however the food outshines the TVs, in some way, I could be swayed to try it.

this isn't that fresh! we received it in shrink-wrap packages and it is waiting for me in our freezer. I wish we had gotten a loin roast or something along those lines. We got a shoulder, and boston butt roasts (hello pulled pork!), loin steaks, ribs and two packages of sausage. It was mostly the steaks I was concerned with because they are pretty thin.

I know! I am very excited to work with it. I don't want to destroy it, so thanks for your advice.

That restaurant was my first thought too, Melpy. :)

I have what may be a silly question. As part of our CSA farmshare, we bought a share of a pig. When we received the pork, there were some recipes included, along with cooking tips. Several times, the tips said things like 'If you have never cooked with fresh pork, it may be different than what you are used to'-but there were no specifics.
I haven't cooked with this pork yet, and I am wondering if it really is that much different than what you might but in the grocery store. Or, are they just presuming that people generally cook ham?

I have experience with pork loin, chops, shoulders, etc....should I really expect this to be different? If so, in what way? Any special techniques I should use or tips you can pass along?

Thanks!

Has anybody been there? I have heard raves about the food, but the fact that they have TVs everywhere showing mobster movies is turning me off from going there. Are the TVs a distraction/intrusion on a nice meal?

WOW! I certainly didn't think this would generate such discussion. I know I am blessed to have food, family and fun. As I said in reply to someone else's post on this topic, I wasn't talking about people with physical limitations. I had to cut up my dad's food when he was ill.

I was asking if I was off-base for thinking it rude. And I found out I was. Thanks, again, for keeping me grounded.

I guess it is just one of my own issues then! Thanks for putting it into perspective :)

I have had to do that too, for children or when my dad was ill. I was thinking more of adults with no physical limitations.