Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I've just started a series on my blog for 50s/60s recipe makeovers! It's a brand new blog and my recipe is in honor of the blog name. Please let me know what you think!

Here's my Peas and Carrots

We're making a ton of sushi tonight (which is decidedly not retro), but we are using hearts of palm in one of the rolls, which is in a salad that Don orders in one of the season 2 episodes.

@MMinNYC: Sadly, my mother still sometimes makes the Jello molds with lemon and carrot in them for showers--I've never dared to taste one because they gross me out.

I just made this lentil soup: http://thebarefootkitchenwitch.typepad.com/the_barefoot_kitchen_witc/2008/03/a-mess-of-potta.html. (btw, that is not my blog.)

It's from a 1975 cookbook and calls for 3/4 of a cup of milk powder, which I had on hand because of a pancake recipe I love. My husband and I loved the soup. There's just something about a cocktail of corn syrup solids, sodium saseinate, dipotassium phosphate, and propylene glycol monosterate that just hits the spot. Sometimes.

JAMON con PIÑA... Baked Ham wth Pineapple - I am sure I can make an awesome vegetarian version with the right products. let's see how the weekend results fare...

In descending order - good stuff first

French Onion Soup - I love this stuff and I do make a few batches every winter. I'm going to make it for Sunday night.

NYers will remember this - Ebinger's blackout cake - I've made the recipes and they're not quite the same, though great on their own

Sish Kebab
Sukiyaki - remember the song?
Tuna Surprise
Surf & Turf - on the menu of every self-respecting restaurant
Lobster thermador (see above)
Coquilles St. Jacques (see above)
Paella (see above - a must for seafood restaurants)
Green bean casserole from the French's fried onion can.
Tuna noodle casserole
Nesslerode pie (for the holidays) - usually from bakeries.
Cornucopias of salami stuffed with cream cheese or Velveta for an appetizer
Aspics

And nightmare inducing memories:
Waldorf Salad (with marshmallows)
Duck a la orange (my aunt's specialty)
The thought of Jello fruit casserole has my stomach turning... My mother once made this for dessert and served sangria with it.....

So can someone do a list of the 10 worst catering trends? #1 Everything as a lolly pop. I believe David Burke started this with his cheese cake lollly pops.

When are we going to find a replacement for soup sips?

I agree wholeheartedly with the critique of "foam." WTF???? I ordered only one dish in my life that had "foam" on it, and it looked like the chef (or maybe the waitperson) spat on my dish. It was hideous. I hope this trend dies as quickly as "vanilla lobster."

Chef as Media Whore - and who did they throw up as the photo? Rocco DiSpirito. This dude was a great cook and that ONE BLUNDER he committed called "The Restaurant" cost him about 5 years of productivity. After The Restaurant, I wouldn't pay to watch DiSpirito boil an egg. I'm sorry to say restaurant "reality" shows have not improved much. It's still drama, insults, distractions - with little attention to what the contestant is actually cooking.

Communal tables don't bother me - try getting into Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown at high lunch hour and see if you don't relent and sit at a communal table.

I think "knee-jerk" reviews are only a small problem, compared to a) inflatedly positive reviews written by the restaurant owner's brother-in-law and b) exaggeratedly horrible reviews written by someone who couldn't get a timely reservation - or worse - someone who has NEVER dined at the establishment whose food he or she is reviewing.

LBNL, the first category "onion blossoms," and the "proudly obnoxious" categories could be combined. It's all about vulgar amounts of fat and calories - and pokes fun at gluttons who go in for this sort of thing.

BangieB, you're totally right about that. Isn't it sad that the poorer, working classes of our country are forced to subsist on such unhealthy food because of cost. Fresh, whole food should be available to everyone at a price which makes it reasonable. But that whopper is still disgusting.

Eli's comment about Star Wars shows what an imbecile he is. The only important thing she's ever done? Uh, jackass...ever hear of The Professional? Tool...

Ummmmm, when that chick made that comment about pebbles boyfriend being bam bam and being "big and strong" and "carrying her around by the hair" I melted like putty I am in love with her.

What drove me nuts was that they criticized a couple of people for not having any protein or heft to their dishes, when even Kevin's (which, by the way, looked absolutely delicious) didn't contain anything other than vegetables. No protein, no starch. I love vegetarian food, but these were all side dishes.

Were there additional constraints that got edited out or something? I feel confused and unsatisfied, like when I haven't eaten enough at lunch.

Not a big Mike Isabella fan but that he went home before Robin is insane. I am sure that Robin is a lovely person in real life but she is so far out of her element here that it's frustrating to watch.

I think one of Mike's biggest mistakes was to keep referring to his leeks as "protein". I totally understand what he was trying to do but he should have changed direction the minute he realized that his leeks were not working.

I cannot believe that only one chef used grains. .. polenta, farro, couscous, etc. would have been wonderful to see. I think they just had one sharp focus and when that changed, they all just lost it.

Really disappointed with what every one made. . .seemed like amateur hour. Except for Kevin. . except that his plate was brown on brown with dark green.