Thanks; I'll try that. Either that or varnish it and keep it as a Dadaesque art piece and a reminder of why I shouldn't be allowed into a kitchen....

Last night at 9 o'clock, I set a little pan of 2 oz. sugar and 8 oz. water on the stove to make hummingbird food. It's a three-cup Le Creuset, (enameled cast iron). The heat was pretty high for the pan's size, and it's normally a six-minute process (five minutes to come to a boil, and then let it boil for one minute). I go about my business.

Cut to 5:20 this morning. I go to the kitchen to make coffee, and I see that the fire is still on under the pan. The contents bear a striking resemblance to a La Brea Tar Pit. The mixture is now pitch black and level with the top of the pan, except for a black glob that was on its way down the outside of the pan at the moment of petrification. I can see there were bubbles, but nothing is moving.

It is now 50 minutes later, and I can still hear a few little popping noises coming from the thing. Can this pan be saved?

I slice them into circles, and I use bananas that are the same ripeness as if I were eating the banana itself (just a touch of green at the stem is my preference). Melt the butter, stir or whisk in a spoonful of curry powder to taste, add the banana slices, and saute for a couple of minutes -- until banana is warmed through.

Only when I'm NOT eating it alone. :-)

Don't be sorry! :-) It's a small (3-cup) Zojirushi. A good little one! I used half a cup of rice, a cup of milk and a cup of sugar. I wonder if the super-duper nonstick that lines the pot might have prevented a crust from forming. When I make rice the usual way (with water), it gets perfectly cooked, and never gets brown on the bottom, even if I leave it on "keep warm" for a long time. I don't understand how the rice didn't cook, though.

Um, reporting back. This doesn't work with all rice cookers.

I noticed during cooking that the milk was foaming out of the steam vent and onto the counter, but I thought, Oh, well, it will be worth it for the lovely crunchy crust. I didn't get a crunchy crust, and the rice didn't even cook, even though it cooked with the milk for, I think, more than an hour. It came out like raw rice in condensed milk. Maybe I should have changed the setting to something other than "White Rice." ???

Oh, jeez. I gotta go make that right now. Rice with milk and sugar. Lovely crunchy crust at the bottom. OMG. That's dinner tonight. Thanks, Emme.

A can of Hormel's Mary Kitchen roast beef hash sauteed in butter. Perfect as is.

Glbtrtr: Sorry it took so long to get back. I didn't see this last post of yours before.

The plan evolved, and it became a train ride to San Francisco, a day there, and a train ride back on the third day. Ever since, though, I've been wanting to do the day trip to Santa Barbara, and I will do it sometime soon.

Thank you for your thoughtful replies and the GREAT ideas. Now, just having discovered your last post, I can hardly wait! I'll come back and let you know where I end up going. Will definitely hit Andersen's, and a mimosa sounds like just the thing.... :)

Sliced banana sauteed in butter with curry powder.

I have an idea to take the Amtrak Coast Starlight from L.A. to Santa Barbara for the bf's birthday, and back the same day. The plan is that I'm going to book a "roomette" on the train, which means food will be included. Arriving in Santa Barbara around 1 p.m., and departing at 6:15. It will be a Saturday afternoon (not until March 6).

The main thing is the train ride and "roomette," but we will have a few hours of the afternoon to kill in Santa Barbara. Since it's his birthday, I would like to take him somewhere for cake and cocktails or wine. Someplace walking distance from the train station (which is something like 200 State Street), or a short taxi ride would be okay. I suppose the cake and the cocktails could be at two different places....

This is just the germination of an idea. Any great recommendations you can think of?

Thanks!

L'Artisan du Chocolat, on First Street near Virgil. Fantastic, and definitely worth a trip. Check their chocolate menu here: http://lartisanduchocolat.net/Chocola...

Yes, exactly! Hoping to get to one of the Kosher markets this weekend, and I will report back....

I just called Taylor's. Sadly, they are closed for Thanksgiving this year.

Cool! Thanks all! I'll check the kosher places.
Looked for it at the Bristol Farms at Beverly & Doheny this past weekend, and didn't find it.
But when I do, I will have my VERY FIRST Fluffernutter! :)

Thanks again for the responses.

Also at Walgreens at Vermont & 6th.

Does anyone know of a store in or near L.A. that carries Marshmallow Fluff? (Looking for that specific brand -- not Kraft.)

Thank you!!

Absolutely not!

Nicole: "I'm usually all about being appalled at others' etiquette...." Hahaha! Me too. I'm stealing that line.

Browniebaker, I ask that question, too: "Can I bring something?" I have never had anyone say anything more than, "Yes, you could bring a bottle of wine" (which, as a civilized guest, I would do anyway, without having to be TOLD). It is right for you to have offered -- and it would have been equally proper for him to reply, "No, but thank you for offering." It is a social nicety. Janet from Richmond is far off the mark to blame you for having offered. I would be seething, if I were you. If you hadn't already sent the email asking for the headcount, I would say call him and just say, "I'm sorry; it turns out I'm not going to be able to make it that night." But if you feel locked in now, and if you're more magnanimous than I am, and since it's a cookout, just bring a couple of gallons of ice cream. Maybe some cookies from a bakery.

I know: There probably wouldn't be a stove or much of a variety of food on a desert island. But if you could only keep ONE (or maybe two, if the choice is too difficult) of your cookbooks, and that's the only cookbook you could ever use again until the end of time, what would that cookbook be?

So they did get a liquor license? Or was the Bloody Mary made of Soju or something?

I love the No. 19 -- and I've learned to ask for "extra lean." Have tried others, but keep going back for that one. I'd get an egg cream and maybe a cup of matzo ball soup. I don't think the fries are that good.

http://thecurryguru.com/

Don't have time to read through the posts, so I don't know if anyone has mentioned this. The restaurant Candard de Bombay no longer exists. You would order your food on a scale of one to ten -- one being mild, and ten being, in the server's words, "a psychedelic experience." I was in the low numbers, but my bf at the time always ordered ten and loved it. Anyway, you CAN still get the chef's spices (numbered as in the restaurant): He has a store on Pico in West L.A., and you can order online as well.

Use this one -- http://thecurryguru.com/Products.html -- as it took a bit of clicking to find the list of products.

If it were MY anniversary, I would choose The Little Door. Very romantic. Lovely place, outstanding wine selection. It's on 3rd Street (I think between Fairfax and La Brea).

http://thelittledoor.com/

Oh, yes! The music. My friend pointed out that the music was all at the same fast pace, which causes you to eat at that same pace. Being there is not terribly relaxing.

Mrshankly: They're not TAKING NY'ers -- they ARE NY'ers. And they're asking about the pizza at Mozza.

Synergy: Friend and I shared two different white pizzas (don't remember what they were) at Mozza; they were very good, but that's just too much white pizza. The guy at the table next to me had a sausage pizza that looked and smelled incredible (probably the fennel-sausage mentioned above). I keep thinking I have to go there again and order that sausage pizza....

Is there anything specific that you would recommend ordering at BoHo? I'd probably go for the bento on the lunch menu -- just let them surprise me. But what have you had there that's great?

Me too. That sounds amazing.

The Blvd (which is the lobby restaurant at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel) serves an excellent Bloody Mary. I don't remember if it meets all of your criteria, but I thought it was great, and I'm sure they would accommodate your "special needs." :) Even better if you order the lobster eggs benedict to go with it....