Pat

That's what I ended up doing. The hostess was very nice (and did note that the table size is the same for 3 and 4--I didn't get into the open table thing). A couple of hours after I went through this, I found out it's definitely 4 people .

When she says something like that, I just figure she's trying to make her audience comfortable with something they're unfamilar with. I more or less like the 30 Minutes show. My biggest complaint is probably that they keep rerunning the same episodes, though I also find some of her expressions annoying. I feel that way about a number of the food tv personalities, though.I don't like the $40 one, and I really dislike the broadcast talk show. I first saw a clip on youtube (I forget what the link was from), and I was horrified. It was bad. I've run into it a few times while changing channels, and I don't think it's very good, even by the standards of that kind of show. It's great that she gets people cooking, but I scrounged all over at a Borders trying to find the Michel Richard cookbook and couldn't find the alleged copy inventory said they had. What I found instead was 3+ shelves of Rachael Ray. That made me a bit peeved. While I realize that she is a Rachael Ray industry due to forces much larger than herself, I still think she's gotten way overexposed (and probably not in the way Dan wants ).

Has anyone tried making the Happy Kid Pudding? I found that it required one extra 2 minute burst in the microwave beyond what was called for. Perhaps that depends on the wattage of the oven. It's not cold enough to eat yet, but it seems to have come out fairly well. I should have whisked a little more thoroughly at the beginning, though.

steamed broccoli mashed potato and turnip gratin baked chicken breasts The mashed potato-turnip gratin was fabulous. That recipe is a keeper.

I don't know the best place to ask this question, but it does involve reservation etiquette. I need to make a reservation for next Saturday night somewhere downtown. A friend is coming from out of town and may or may not have a teenager with her. I figured making a reservation for 3 would require a table that seats 4 and that I could add a person if we find out her son is coming. Then I decided that perhaps it is better to do it the other way around and reserve for 4 people and drop one if necessary. Either way, it seemed like it would be the same size table and so not cause too much of a problem to make a change in party size. When I checked open table for a party of 4, however, it brought up different times at some of the same restaurants than a search for a party of 3. This has left me confused . When one is unsure in a case like this, which is best (less inconvenient) for the restaurant? Should I just call the restaurant and explain the situation?

I'm going to note this for next time I prepare lamb shanks. It sounds wonderful, especially the thick sauce. I used to keep a couple of jars of Better than Bouillon around, but I think I stopped using it when I was being fanatical about staying on a low sodium diet.I made braised lamb shanks last night too, but I did them in the crockpot (red wine, tomato sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices, with chickpeas) and served them over couscous. The meat was tender and did fall off the bone. It's hard to finesse that (tender but not falling apart) with a crockpot. The sauce could have been thicker, but the overall result was quite nice for such a small expenditure of effort . Baguette with Nevat cheese Green salad Spiced braised lamb shanks Couscous

A "cleaning out the refrigerator" meal: Soup (shredded pork, onions, garlic, pickled jalapeno slices, pinto beans, and hot sauce in chicken broth) Baked Macaroni and Cheese (remnants of 4 different types of cheese--including a couple of kinds of goat cheese) in a bechamel sauce with nutmeg

It would have been good if I'd noticed the subtitle of this thread before now

shredded pork tenderloin (slow-cooked in the crockpot with chipotle citrus bbq sauce and other seasonings) whole grain rice blend baked beans

I just saw Joe's post in the Kinkead's thread about an omission in the cookbook recipe for Portuguese Seafood Stew. I printed out a copy of a recipe online which included the reduction of the seafood liquid. I'll keep it in my copy of the book in case I make the recipe. I thought a mention in this thread might be in order. This is a copy of the recipe with the reduction included

I'm interested. It was the best book I read last year, but I read it so long ago, my recall for specifics is pretty weak. I'd probably have to reread it in order to discuss it very intelligently. I guess this makes me undecided

I'm now planning to make an Ethiopian meal at home for Valentine's Day (partly because this thread got me thinking about it). That seemed like a good occasion for eating with your hands The only dish I've ever made before is doro wat, so it is a bit of a challenge. I've been researching recipes and trying to figure out how to approach this. I'm going to buy injera instead of attempting to make it. I'd rather have something authentic that I know will be good instead of trying to make a bastardized version myself. My research has told me that the dish I could not remember the name of is Gomen Kitfo (or Yegomen Kitfo). I had all along been searching (and asking in restaurants) for something that I thought had spinach. It turns out to have been collards, which I discovered when I changed my search term to "greens." . Anyway, on the topic of this thread, while I did not save any links, I discovered both stew and salad recipes that use injera as a component.

toasted baguette and soy spread leftover vegetable bean soup with leftover barley added broiled lamb loin chops with tzatziki for my husband and mint jelly for me

Matzoh ball soup Salmon filet with maple glaze Pearl barley

My favorite offering at the Red Sea was a mix of cottage cheese and some kind of greens. (It may have also had onions?) I haven't found it anywhere else and don't know what it was called, but if I came into injera, I would attempt to recreate something like it. (Oh, and where did you find the injera?)

My parents (and my inlaws) both lived through the Depression and credit was something taken seriously. Maybe I'm a bit obsessive, but I try to carry enough cash to pay for my meal in the event a credit card doesn't work for some reason. We generally pay for full meals ($50+) with a credit card, but if I alone am getting a burger and beer somewhere I pay cash. I used to pay for cc meals with a cash tip, but I don't do it anymore because of the convenience of adding it to the card and not really knowing what the restaurant does with the tips.I don't really want to walk around with a huge amount of cash, but I use cash for many more transactions than my husband does and, consequently, usually have some on hand. If I have a $40 dinner tab, I usually have enough cash to pay that. And don't get me started on dinner companions who expect the waiter to do all the work to divide up the bill (I don't mean separate checks. Oh, don't get me started )

Somewhere on these boards I saw someone mention having a goat cheese-garlic flan with beets, and it sounded so good, I decided I wanted to make one. (I can't get the search feature to find the original mention, so I don't know who it was, but thanks for the idea ) I searched around online and looked at a few recipes and put together a golden beet-goat cheese-roasted garlic flan. It came out really well. The texture seemed just about perfect, and it was delicious. I didn't make the accompanying sauce from the primary recipe I was drawing on, though, and it could have used something. I served the flan with braised beet greens, swiss chard, pine nuts, garlic, and chopped golden beets. I cooked the greens just a bit too long and probably should have reserved some of the beets as a garnish for the flan. It was a successful experiment overall, though. I'll definitely be making the flan again.

andouille sausage, red beans, and rice with flour tortillas and shredded cheddar salad with butter lettuce, parsley, fresh mozzarella, cucumber, tomato, and bacon with a creamy ranch dressing

Diabolique Belgian Golden Ale I found it in the refrigerator and realized that i didn't rememeber how long it had been in there, so I figured opening it was a good idea. I remember buying it at Total Wine. I just don't remember when I like it. There's something about the name that made me think it would pack a real wallop, but it's quite pleasant.

I liked it when Waitman used "food freak" in some post, but I don't know that one's likely to catch on.

All I can say is that maybe it's a difference between lunch and dinner. Lunch does have a more concentrated time crunch (though that's not to say they shouldn't be able to handle it.) Our only significant issue was crab cakes that were a bit too cool. After I took a bite, I thought maybe it hadn't been heated evenly enough. A second bite made me wonder if it was just too cold, and a third told me it was, but by then I'd eaten half the crab cake and it seemed too late to say something to the waiter. ("This is a great crab cake. I love it. Could you take these last few bites in and have them reheated?" )

We had a wonderful meal at Restaurant Kolumbia last night, with service that went above and beyond. Some of our party arrived late, but the patience and good humor of the hostess made everything right. I'd go back again just for the quality of the service, but the food was memorable as well. The ambiance, including the music, was also quite enjoyable. I liked the layout of the restaurant, and especially the wall ornamentation above our table. I'd been wanting to get there, and RW finally gave me the chance. The friends who met us there were pleased with the restaurant and said they'd be back. The mini butcher board was a great opening for the meal, and I look forward to going back for a fuller sampling. I especially liked the kielbasa skewer. At least two of us ordered that, but I can't remember what the fourth appetizer was. My husband had the spinach salad with the poached egg and thoroughly enjoyed it. It looked beautiful. For the main course, my husband got the mushroom lasagna, which I enjoyed my taste of, and three of us got the crab cake with salmon mousse. It was a great dish--the presentation, the texture, the flavors, the match with the creole sauce and rice--but it could have been served a little warmer. That may have been the only shortcoming, and it was probably due to the brisk business they were doing--but there were no problems in timing and pacing other than those attributable to us. My husband and I both got the ice cream and fruit, and the chocolate dessert drew raves, as did the cheese over greens. I found myself wishing I had gotten the cheese and greens, as I'm not real fond of sweet desserts. Maybe next time, presuming that's regularly on the dessert menu. I forget which course came with the homemade chips, but they were a perfect accompaniment to whatever it was

I had a problem like this years ago with a guy who worked at a neighborhood corner store. The entire thing is too long to go into, but, as a result, I stopped going there when I knew he was working. Some of the time he had a friend who would hang out there with him (and I had no problems with him if there was someone else there), but I just felt too uncomfortable to risk running into him, especially in that closed space. I suspected some of it might have been cultural and he was overall pleasant, but it was creepy. When something makes you feel creepy, listen to that. Then I found out there had been an allegation in the neighborhood that he had molested a pubescent girl who came into the store. Whether it was true or not, I don't know, but I stopped going there altogether at that point, because there was no 100% way to know he wouldn't be working. Eventually the place was sold and he no longer worked there. I only went there to begin with because it was convenient, so I understand that rationale, but he at least only knew the neighborhood I lived in, not the exact address.

Last night was a crockpot stew with beef, pork, black beans, green chilies, and tomatoes (plus cumin, adobo seasoning, chili powder and so forth). I had taken the beef and pork out the freezer the other day before realizing the paella would make several meals worth of food, but the the meat had to be cooked since it was thawed (and had been in the freezer quite some time before that) The stew was quite good and will be recycled in something tonight. Unfortunately, I think the remaining paella is no longer so good to eat

If you look closely, the subtitle of this thread has changed