Oh my goodness! I am so happy to hear about all the great memories you all have!! It's really nice to connect with people who understand what I'm talking about!! Wayne - I am on my way to email you right now! Thank you!

Unfortunately, the Wild Oats in Melbourne (US 192) has closed. There is a "Nature Works" Health Food Store on US 1 (Near Ballard Dr.).

OY!! I also feel your pain!! My hubby is a meat and potatoes man as well. A "meal" for him consisted of steak. STEAK!! No salad, no starch, no veggie!! Just STEAK!!

My strategy was to start out slow by putting salad out at dinner time. Every dinner. Every day. I asked him if he was FORCED to eat a salad, what dressing he would choose to endure his "last meal" and he said 1,000 island. So I went and got some GOURMET dressing and put his most favorite things into the salad - lots of tomatoes mostly. He tried it ... and now we not only have salad with EVERY meal, but he is experimenting with different salad dressings too!!

It has been a SLOW road, but if I pull my chair close to his and whisper in his ear .... he will take a tiny taste of whatever I offer!! ;-)

He still loves his chicken wings, steaks, burgers and pizza -- but he'll indulge me with a few "off the beaten path" dishes now and then!!

Give it a go! If it doesn't work -- oh well, you can always make him the "hot dog and grilled cheese alternative dinner" that I often have to give my 5 yr old!!! ;-)

I like to make sausage stuffed mushrooms.

A container or two of large button mushrooms (a lb or lb.5)

1/2 lb of bulk Italian sausage (mild, med, hot, whatever you like - or make some of each!)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Parsley to garnish

Pre-heat oven to 450. Wipe off the mushrooms and pull out the stems to make a little hollow nook in the mushroom. SAVE THE STEMS, finely chop and saute them. Brown the sausage and drain off the grease. Combine the sausage, sauteed mushrooms stems, cheese and bread crumbs - fill each mushroom cap with the mixture. Put in a baking dish and heat at 450 for about 15 minutes or until heated through, sprinkle with parsley - VOILA!!

You can make these the night before and heat them at the party. For easier travelling, you can slice a very thin piece off the bottom of the mushroom caps so they will stay flat in the dish (otherwise, they may roll around a bit, but they are very easy to re-assemble!!).

Well, I guess I'll have to throw in the dissenting opinion here ;-) I like to keep my salad. ONLY the salad. I just plain like to nibble on my salad while I'm picking through my main course. I guess because after I'm done eating all the delicious appetizers, first, second, third course ... I'M FULL!!!!

Maybe because I am a REALLY SLOW eater. Everyone else at the table has scarfed up their appetizer, soup and salad, and I like to savor every morsel.

I'm sure it's "tacky" by chowhound standards, BUT ... leave my stuff alone!! When I'm done, I'll let you know!!

Thai Thai is awesome!! I wouldn't worry about the crowded tourist beach scene in February. It does get a bit chilly here for a few months out of the year. Not likely that any beach will be over-loaded with anything but local surfers ;-)

I vote Chart House. It might be a bit more expensive, but the service and atmosophere compared to Durango's and the like is far superior.

Well, OK then!! Zoji it is!!

I don't have any kind of kitchen mixer. Since my husband is a hot, fresh bread hound, I tried my hand at making the dough from scratch ... let's just say, I'm no good at it!! ;-)

Thank you all for your comments and advice!!

LOL!! I live in Melbourne, FL. Most restaurants don't even allow you to order a burger any way other than well-done. Chilis is one of the few that say you can have it cooked any way you like.

It's certainly not a deal breaker for a return visit, but it can be a little frustrating when they actually spend time talking about how juicy and pink that meat is going to be - and then WHAMMO!!

Oh well - there are always more important things to worry about, right?!!

You betcha!! I have been experimenting with chinese cuisine at home and have been totally frustrated that my meat always curls up and no matter how thin I think I slice it, it never has the consistency of the meat at the chinese restaurant.

SO ... here's the secret I was turned on to by the wonderful cooks/chefs from the recipezaar forum:

http://www.themediadrome.com/content/...

It's really not that difficult - give it a try!!

Ooooooops! Sorry!!

I just re-read my post - not grilling, I did mean to say "sauteeing". I use the velveting technique before i stir fry or saute the meat, usually for a Chinese recipe.

Thanks ;-)

I haven't tried using baking soda, but I just learned the trick of "velveting" meat before stir frying or grilling it. Holy smokes - what a difference!! The meat is soooo soft, tender and juicy.

I have done this process with chicken, but haven't tried it with beef yet.

I think I'll tuck your little secret away for future use as well, though. I've made a few meat dishes in the crockpot that had seen better days!! Thanks for the tip ;-)

So, I wonder - does anyone actually ever ask a server for his/her opinion about a dish and then order it if he/she says they don't particularly care for it?!

Anyway - I was at Chili's with my husband last weekend for a little break from all the shopping and he asked for a burger to be done "medium". The server was a nice young guy, who completely agreed that a burger should never be anything but "medium" and told my husband that it meant the meat would "have some pink" inside. YEAH!! Hubby was on the band wagon but, of course, the burger comes out and is bone dry. Granted, Chili's is not like a high end restaurant, but he sent it back. The server was so apologetic and another burger came out that wasn't quite medium, but close enough.

I HATE it when that happens because everyone else's meal is ruined as well. BUT - when the server brought the bill, he said the manager comped the burger, which was something I really didn't expect for Chili's! We ended up tipping the server based on what the bill would have been had we paid for the meal, plus a little extra for his aggravation.

I'm sure we'll go again to the same place because it is right in our neighborhood, but I think it'll just be a place to not order burgers and expect them to be cooked to order.

I was just checking out the Zojirushi website and they have only 2 bread machines. A regular size horizontal and a smaller, vertical one that makes mini loaves. I'm assuming I should consider the larger version?!! My husband just loves hot, fresh bread. I was reading some reviews on line (for some other brand) and some people were saying they preferred the vertical machines because the horizontal one cooked unevenly (or something along that line). Perhaps it was because it was an inferior product, or operator error?!

The price difference between the 2 sizes is only about $30 or so. I would hate to pay the money for the small version and then wish I had super-sized!!

Thanks for the info!!

Well, hubby and I gave away our bread machine about 2 yrs ago because we hadn't used it in quite some time. So, of course, we have now decided that we simply can't live without one ;-)

Any recommendations from fellow Chowhounders?? Any and all advice/comments are welcome from your experiences!

Thank you all!!

Personally, I love the Chart House! Food is always great and the view isn't half bad ;-) Any hotel beachside, though, will probably be putting on a great buffet. Can't go wrong with that!!

I have never seen his "regular" show, but I did see his special on the diners. That was pretty good. So from what I am reading here, I guess I won't be picking up any good cooking tips from this guy, eh?!!

Maybe FN realized that and plan to send him by way of the shows like "Unwrapped" or "Top 5"??

You're right!! It's not that hard - and it's SOOOO tastey!! No need for the elaborate pulley system -- the broom handle works just fine!!

My hubby happens to be a firefighter so, of course, safety is the biggest concern - but a little common sense goes a LONG way ;-) A good pair of FF gloves and some bunker gear -- GOOD TO GO!!

I live in Melbourne - I feel your pizza pain! We would love some suggestions for this area if anybody's got one!!

I like Giada on her regular "Everyday Italian" show but she was definitely out of her element here, as was RR.

I must admit, though, I love watching Bobby Flay (I call him "Flavor-Flay") ;-)

But Mario Batali has to be the worst! He drones on and on about the history of every ingredient on his show - where it came from, how it was discovered, etc, etc ... drives me nuts!

I live in Melbourne, FL and my local BBB has them. In fact, I just bought a skillet about a month ago!!

I was just researching this problem the other day! I don't bake, but I was curious as to why my mother-in-law's breads always seem to have the choc chips, nuts, fruits, etc. on the bottom of the loaf - 2 things I came across in reading: (1) the batter is too thin, try eliminating some of the liquid and (2) the fruit and chips are too heavy. One article said to use the mini chocolate chips, but I haven't come across anything regarding the fruit or nuts. Perhaps by just making the batter thicker would help?!

LOL ;-) Ya know - for some reason I tend to think the food comes out of the kitchen fresh, hot and delicious! I would be reluctant to send something back to the kitchen - I've heard too many stories about what happens when the chef feels he/she has been criticized!

I don't know what my problem is!! My husband laughs at me, and I never make a fuss ... it's just one of those things!

But ... I DO doggie bag - and rarely do my leftovers make it through the night ;-) Just something that briefly crosses my mind as "gross" .... but doesn't slow me down!

EWWWWWWWWW!!! I totally have to disagree!! I really hate it when a server takes my plate and returns with a box that supposedly has my leftovers in it!! I'm sure all is on the up and up, but I have this "thing" about other people touching my food - I'd much rather pack it up to go myself!!

UGH! This chore consumes a large portion of my time, as I try to do my grocery shopping based on a menu for 2 to 3 wks at a time.

I finally settled on a large notebook and transfer the recipes I want to save into it. I also have a "to try" pile - and nothing gets written in the notebook unless it has been tried and deemed "worthy". That way, I can make my own changes and notes as I go. I don't always write recipes in, though, sometimes I photocopy or print off stuff from the internet and staple it to a page in the notebook. And since it has pockets in it, it's nice to shove bits and pieces from here and there inside ;-)

For some reason, I still feel compelled to put out these stupid olives -- and my kids do the same thing we did -- put them on their fingers ... and wave them in my face ;-)

Could have been! I did love the fact that it was so very SILENT!!

I know - USUALLY - I made that sound like it happens regularly!

I have never had nor used a Bosch mixer, but I did have a Bosch dishwasher. As is typical with "high end" appliances, it worked like a charm - *while* it worked!

It lasted about a yr before we had to start replacing parts (which is VERY expensive) and finally after about a yr and a half, we ditched it for a much more reasonably priced Kenmore Elite - no problems yet!

Is it ever ok for a server to put food back on your plate that has fallen onto the table while it's being served?!

I find it to be unacceptable and usually remove it to my napkin, but somehow I end up feeling like my whole plate has been contaminated!

What are you supposed to do?!