writergeek313's Profile
pizza & pastry in Hershey
My parents have often wondered the same thing, especially since some of their pizzas are named after Sopranos characters. The food there is great, though, including the pizza, stromboli, and dinners. Annie's on the corner is a great place for dessert if your little one likes soft ice cream!
The lack of responses here says a lot about the lack of good mom and pop places in the area. I grew up in nearby Lebanon, and my parents complain about how tough it is to find decent restaurants in the area. Hershey is filling up with more and more chains to appeal to tourists.
Though it's more of a sit-down place than a bakery, I recommend the Hershey Pantry for breakfast. It can get busy on weekends, but it's the best breakfast around, at least that I know of.
vegan birthday dinner- looking for one last dish
What about a similar dish (minus the onions) made with a vegetable instead? Butternut squash or sweet potatoes could mimic the slight sweetness of shrimp and could have somewhat of a similar texture if cooked long enough.
Kale Preparation
I mostly saute it, too, but I put a splash of some sort of liquid (stock, water, etc.) in the pan and put the lid on for a few minutes, too. That helps it to be more tender without steaming it or cooking it until it looks sad and brown.
I've been on a big kale kick lately. Last night I put it in a curry with some chickpeas, and tonight I'm going to stir-fry some and make a black bean sauce for it to have alongside a chicken stir-fry.
Who here can actually cook excellent authentic or close to it Chinese food?
I'm a big fan of Grace Young's Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge. I made a lot of Asian-inspired dishes in the past, but the recipes in this book showed me that authentic dishes don't have to be complicated or involve a huge list of ingredients that will be tough to track down. While I haven't stocked up on everything she mentions, I haven't run into too many problems tracking down what I've needed for the recipes I've tried. My parents gave me a wok they'd barely used a few months ago, and I've had great success with everything I've tried so far. No more yucky bottled stir fry sauces for me!
Buffalo for Springsteen concert April 13th
I've stayed there a few times, and there's a bar and grill right across the street that's pretty decent. I can't remember the name of it (it may be one of the ones you've mentioned), but my friend and I went there for dinner, then went back later in the evening for a few beers.
It's also worth mentioning that there are a lot of pizza places that will deliver to the hotel until very late in case you want a snack after the show. That part of town is a ghost town later at night.
What's For Easter Dinner?
I'm on my own for Easter this year, but I still decided to cook. I'm making a small boneless ham with a pineapple and brown sugar glaze, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli with cheese sauce, and a slaw with red cabbage, apple, and fennel in a lemon dressing. Dessert will be chocolate cream pie (store bought). I'll have tasty leftovers all week!
Homemade birthday cake sent by snail mail. Any recipie suggestions?
During my first year of grad school, my mom mailed me a birthday cake from Pennsylvania to Florida (my birthday is in March--it never would've worked during the hotter months). She baked the cake in a foil cake pan and sent the frosting in a plastic container for me to add myself. It did survive the trip, and the frosting didn't spoil. I was shocked by how close to the birthday cakes of years past it was. I think she sent it either overnight or two-day mail, though. If you can't do a quicker shipping option than 7-10 days, as others have said, a bakery cake might be the next best thing.
What's the best way to grocery shop cheaply?
You've gotten a lot of great advice so far, but I wanted to offer some ideas, too. Money was really tight for me for the six years that I was in grad school, but I learned to cook from scratch and to think about ways to stretch my budget. Planning is really important, but make sure you're realistic. Think about how you can rotate leftovers so you're not eating the same pot of chili for a week. Chances are either some of it will go to waste or you'll be so sick of chili you won't want to eat it again for a year!
Think about how you can repurpose some staple dishes. Every few months, I'd make a big batch of marinara sauce (canned diced tomatoes, canned tomato sauce, onion, celery, garlic, oregano, cayenne pepper, a little honey or sugar to cut the acid, and some wine [a bottle of white wine was a splurge for me--if I used one of those rubber vacuum sealing corks, it could last for months]). I'd let it simmer for a few hours while I went off and did homework (but don't forget to stir it!). I'd eat some that night, then freeze the rest the next day. From that sauce I could have pasta, lasagna, meatball or sausage sandwiches, eggplant or chicken parmesan, pizza, or stromboli.
Likewise, think about how you can repurpose leftovers. Pasta dishes, casseroles, quesadillas, pizzas, stirfries, and curries can all be a great way to use up bits and pieces of what's left.
Learn what ingredients will stay fresh longer and what you have to use quickly. Carrots, for instance, keep well, so you can buy the bigger bag for a better value. Rather than buy baby carrots for snacks, peel and chop your own. Salad greens, on the other hand, should be used in the first few days after you buy them. Apples and oranges keep well for awhile; bananas usually ripen and then spoil quickly (though freeze overripe bananas--they make a great ingredient in homemade smoothies, pancakes, etc.).
Think about the styles of food you like the most and start to build your dried herb and spice collection from them. I'd say salt, pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, and maybe rosemary or thyme are good all-purpose starters. Fresh garlic and ginger are usually very affordable and can last a long time if stored properly. Rather than stocking up all at once, maybe once or twice a month buy a new herb or spice.
Make sure you join your grocery store's reward/discount/bonus card program, and comparison shop a little when you're starting off. You might also buy a Sunday paper so you could clip coupons, or else ask a family member to save coupon flyers and mail them to you.
Good luck!
College dorm cafeteria food -- which ones are the best?
Actually, I think you're generalizing a bit here. At the college where I teach (a mid-sized private school where dining services are operated by Sodexo), all of our dining halls offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free meals. The GF meals must be ordered 24 hours in advance since they're only made to order. At the most centrally-located dining hall on campus, there's also a small store that sells GF foods and provides a separate microwave and toaster that can only be used for items purchased there to prevent cross-contamination.
Students who have concerns about food-related allergies are urged to contact dining services if they have any questions or concerns. I also found out that if a student has medically-verified food allergies so severe that he or she cannot safely eat what the dining hall regularly prepares, it's possible to get a special meal plan. I'm not sure what that entails exactly, but I was pleased to see it's an option, apparently at no additional cost.
Our campus also emphasizes healthy food choices for omnivores and vegetarians/vegans alike and has some programs involving a nutritionist. These services are almost always free of charge to students; the bigger problem seems to me that students often don't seek them out. I teach in a program that helps first-year students adjust to college during their first semester, and I always make sure they know what's available in the different dining halls and at the retail food carts and food court so they can find something they can live with.
Is the food on our campus gourmet? Hardly. I occasionally have to buy lunch from one of the food carts if I haven't had time to pack, and it's okay but not something I look forward to. Students can't wait to go home and get home cooking. But it's certainly safe, as long as students speak up.
I'll also disagree with you that freshmen shouldn't be required to live off campus, for many reasons, but that's not a discussion for Chow.
Quorn in Buffalo Area?
The Wegmans in Ithaca carries quite a few varieties, so the ones in Buffalo might be worth calling or emailing to find out.
Something simple to teach
Something else I just thought of: you might invite your friend over and prepare a variety of roasted vegetables. Finding out how different the flavor and texture of many vegetables are after they've been roasted was a huge discovery for me as I was learning to cook. I detested brussel sprouts when I was younger, but I love them now as long as they're roasted. Roasting is also a really easy technique, and it's very affordable, too, since you don't need a lot of additional ingredients. Plus, it adds some extra warmth to the kitchen, which can be nice this time of year!
You could prepare things you know you and/or your family likes and have him try just a bite of them. That way, nothing will go to waste if he doesn't like them.
Something simple to teach
I suggested mixing them in since the OP says her friend likes cauliflower with cheese sauce. I was thinking it might not be too far of a stretch from something he already knows he likes. I could see how a picky eater might have a problem with a casserole-type meal with everything mixed together. Though I wasn't too much of a picky eater when I was younger, I was really picky about the different things on my plate not touching.
Something simple to teach
When I make mac and cheese, I usually add a bag of frozen California blend vegetables to it. I make a basic cheese sauce (butter + flour, whisk in milk until it thickens, then add cheddar. I also add cayenne pepper and ground mustard powder to my sauce, but maybe that's more than he'd like). Then I add the vegetables and let that simmer while the macaroni is cooking.
I'd stress the importance of buying a block of cheese and grating it himself rather than buying pre-grated. It's more affordable, but the pre-grated cheese doesn't melt as well, either. You could also suggest the possibility of trying whole wheat pasta, or at least an enriched white pasta to help him get more nutrition. When he's not feeding a vegetarian, he could also add diced ham steak (a little goes a long way, so it's fairly affordable) or some leftover chicken.
BJ's Wholesale Club expanding
I would've guessed Elmira Road, since that's where most of the chain restaurants and stores have opened lately, but it's going in up the road from the mall. I don't get up that way too often, so that explains why I didn't know about it until I got the flyer in the mail.
BJ's Wholesale Club expanding
We're getting one here in Ithaca, NY. I've been getting flyers in the mail trying to get me to join. I probably won't since I'm going to be moving this summer and am not sure where I'm going to be ending up yet, but I'm glad to see this area getting a club store. The closest ones now are an hour away.
Hit me with your best (not too complicated) vegetarian recipes (that can be made in bulk)
I like that website a lot, too. Another one I frequent is the Post Punk Kitchen, which offers vegan recipes: http://www.theppk.com/
I'm not a vegetarian, but I do like to cook a few meatless meals a week because it's healthy and affordable. I've bought a few of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbooks since I started reading the Post Punk Kitchen, and they've been my most-used cookbooks in the last six months. What I like so much about her recipes is that they're easy to follow, and most are relatively quick to prepare. I've learned a lot of little tips to help make dishes taste good without having to cook for hours.
I also agree with what HillJ said about fresh herbs and spices. In some dishes, smoked paprika can add the same smokiness that bacon does. Taking just a few minutes to toast cumin, mustard, or coriander seeds before putting them in a dish makes a huge difference, as does making sure you let the root vegetables you might use as a base for a soup or stew get nice and brown before you start adding liquid ingredients.
These are two of my favorite recipes I've made from the Post Punk Kitchen:
http://www.theppk.com/2011/12/hottie-black-eyed-peas-with-ginger-sweet-potatoes-apples/
(I've made this a few times and have served it with brown rice and quick-cooking polenta...the sweet potatoes were good but a little labor intensive)
http://www.theppk.com/2010/10/miso-soba-stir-fry-with-greens-and-beans/
(I used baby spinach in place of the chard and black beans since I couldn't find adzuki beans. This preparation for broccoli is easy and makes it taste so nutty. You could easily add other veggies, too)
My other favorite vegetarian recipe is a broth-based mushroom soup. I sautee chopped onion, garlic, and celery in a little olive oil, then add some carrots, sliced shitake and baby portabella mushrooms, some fresh thyme, black pepper, 8 cups of vegetable broth, and a splash of white wine. When it comes to a boil, I add some orzo. It's very low-maintenance and reheats well. In fact, I'm making a pot tomorrow to take for lunches this week!
Your best items at Sam's Club
A few weeks ago I got a box of 54 Starbucks K-cups for a little less than $37 at the store in Harrisburg, PA. That was a great bargain, considering the 10- and 14-cup boxes I'd been buying were running almost $1/cup.
I buy mostly non-food items at Sam's these days since I don't live close to one anymore, but my parents bought a box of frozen breaded eggplant cutlets not too long ago that were good. I liked that you could bake them instead of fry them.
Driving across PA on 1-80 -- any Wegman's near 1-80?
The one in Williamsport is about half an hour from 80. That was the first Wegmans I had been to, while I was in college. I haven't been there in about 10 years now, so I can't say how it compare to other stores. The one in Wilkes-Barre is a very nice one (though a bit out of your way--I'd recommend taking the NE Extension of the PA turnpike from 80 to W-B if you opt for that one, since there will be a lot less traffic than on 81).
super-delicious, super-flavourful broccoli recipe?
I went through a phase where I wasn't that crazy about broccoli, but this recipe has gotten me to love it again: http://www.theppk.com/2010/10/miso-soba-stir-fry-with-greens-and-beans/
I've made the recipe a few times, but I've also started making broccoli by itself that way, too.
Pizza in the same vein as Lombardi's, John's but w/ reservations?
My boyfriend and I ate at Numero 28 last summer. The service was extremely slow, especially waiting to get and to pay the bill. Luckily, the pizza was so outstanding that we didn't care about the wait.
Transportable dishes for Thanksgiving potluck
What about roasted brussel sprouts? You could roast them the night before, then reheat them in the microwave. We do ours with onions, bacon, and thyme. In terms of cold sides, my family serves a Waldorf salad as part of our Thanksgiving meal. You could make that that morning, and all you'd need to do is transfer it from its travel dish to a serving dish.
Has she said if you can use the oven or stove if you bring your own pots or pans? Or are you strictly limited to the microwave? And will you be the only one cooking up a storm? Something seems fishy here.
I second the suggestion to bring an appetizer, too. When I was in grad school, a friend hosted a potluck for Easter dinner and thought a ham slice would be sufficient for a big group. We ate a lot of appetizers, and thankfully a few of us had brought hearty side dishes, so we didn't starve, but it was a bit confusing!
Need Good grocery for produce near Harrisburg-Hershey, PA
The Giant on Route 39 near Hershey has a much nicer produce section than many of the other Giants I've been to in the area. The prices usually seem reasonable to me, too, especially if you're getting something on sale with your Bonus Card. It's not as good as Wegmans, but it's still decent.
What to toss after a power outage?
She said she just got her power back. She's probably had more pressing things to deal with the last few days in that case.
K- Cups
My boyfriend has a Keurig coffeemaker, which makes sense for him since he drinks a lot of coffee and prefers very hot, fresh coffee. I ended up getting one of the smaller models to keep at work, where I used to spend at least a few dollars a day buying coffee that wasn't always that good. It was a big expense up front, but I know it will pay for itself all the time, and the coffee is consistently good and strong.
My favorites are the Green Mountains Espresso Roast and Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Dark. I don't get the DD too often because you have to go buy it at one of their stores, but it's worth the trip once in awhile. I'm interested to find out what varieties Starbucks will be offering when they start selling K cups next month.
At home, I still prefer to grind my own locally roasted beans, but both my boyfriend and I are pretty picky about our coffee and have found that the Keurig is a great option in some circumstances.
Easy meat recipes for vegetarian to entertain with
I agree with this post. When I'm dining at the home of a vegetarian friend, I expect we'll have a vegetarian meal. I know family can be more complicated, though (for lots of reasons...), but maybe you can find a compromise of some sort. Undercooked or improperly prepared meat can be a health hazard, and if you don't ever cook meat otherwise, you might not know how to cook it safely without overcooking it. If one of your in-laws would be willing to cook, make it clear you're glad to pay for ingredients. Otherwise, what about getting prepared chicken or pork, either from a grocery store or restaurant, then making a variety of healthy and seasonal sides? Maybe roast some sweet potatoes or some kind of fall/winter squash. A vegetable risotto could be a hearty side dish for the in-laws while still being enough to serve as a main dish for you.
Ithaca restaurants
I'm not sure what cuisines you have in mind or where in Ithaca you'll be, but here are some places in the downtown area that I like:
Just a Taste (tapas)
Madeline's (Asian fusion but also the best desserts in Ithaca by a mile...even if you go elsewhere for dinner, you might stop in here for dessert and coffee)
The Ithaca Ale House (pub grub and a great beer selection...can get very loud at peak hours, though, and pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday since they have football on all the TVs at the bar)
Bandwagon Brewpub (a nicer version of pub grub, plus they brew their own beer)
Taste of Thai (Thai)
Moosewood (vegetarian)
Sushi O Sake (Japanese)
Viva Taqueria (Mexican--I'm not quite as enthusiastic about this place as some of the others I've mentioned, but it's still good)
-----
Moosewood Restaurant
215 N Cayuga St Ste 70, Ithaca, NY 14850
Taste of Thai
216 E State St, Ithaca, NY 14850
Viva Taqueria
101 N Aurora St, Ithaca, NY 14850
Dorm Survival Snacks - Ideas?
I teach at a college, and now is the time when students start to get a little homesick. He'll really appreciate anything homemade, especially if it's something you know he can't get in the dining halls that he might especially miss.
Does he have a microwave in his room? If so, maybe some canned/boxed soups would be good, especially as the weather gets worse and he may not feel like trekking to the dining hall. For what it's worth, I don't recommend those Annie Chun noodle bowls someone else mentioned--I bought a few to try, and they were all salt bombs filled with gummy noodles. Maybe send him a mug of some sort that he could use in the microwave.
Protein bars make a good on-the-go breakfast, and since they're a little expensive, he might not buy them on his own. Maybe a jar of peanut butter and some apples, pretzels, and/or crackers? Dried fruit or vegetable chips could also be a healthy snack.
Another good thing at this time of year might be a bottle of vitamins. This is the time in the semester when students start to get stressed and might not be getting enough sleep, both of which can lower their resistance.
Vegetarian Dinner Party
I often make zucchini stuffed with a mixture of Italian sausage, sweet red pepper, breadcrumbs, Romano cheese, white wine, and some oregano. I had a vegetarian friend coming for dinner, so I tried the stuffing with mushrooms instead of sausage, and it was just as good. You could do something like that where it would be easy to prepare a bit of the stuffing in a separate pan but with mushrooms in place of the meat.
What Do Do with 2 Lbs Mixed Fresh Mushrooms
I make a broth-based mushroom soup fairly often. It's onions, garlic, shitake and baby portabella mushrooms, carrots, celery, fresh thyme, pepper, vegetable broth, some white wine, and orzo. It's a very flexible recipe, and I think the blend of mushrooms would add a variety of textures.
Substitute for pork Italian-style sausage?
Wegmans still makes their own Italian-style poultry sausage in both hot and sweet. It's raw, like pork Italian sausage, and I find the taste and texture to be almost identical. My boyfriend doesn't eat pork, so it's a real help for me.
