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dbcurrie: Sounds a lot like my mother. Our scenerio was similar, except the victim in our case was an elderly great uncle! My mother passed the jar of "chrain" under his nose, he took a big wiff and we thought he was going to pass out. Also, mother's was redder than pink, from the added beet juice. Ah... sweet memories!

hungrychristel: Actually, my co-worker came into the office with a Tim Hortons cup and told me she got it at Penn Station. I haven't yet had it in the States. I've only gone to TH when visiting relatives in Halifax or Toronto. So, perhaps someone else has the answer you're looking for.

Tim Horton's franchise has entered New York City. You can now find TH in Penn Station.

Grade B maple syrup is the mapliest. Besides the usual pancakes, and waffels, I't my favorite ingredient in apple-noodle kugel

I have one but rarely use it. The only thing I've made in it is cholent, a Jewish sabbath bean/barley/meat stew.

So call me "crazy." I melt chocolate on the stove in a make-shift double boiler. And I don't use a food processor either (I enjoy slicing/dicing/dhopping with a knife).

To me, a plain sponge cake baked in a sheet pan is the best and most practical. You can make countless desserts with it by frosting it with your choice of icings; make fruit shortcakes, dousing with spirits, slicing and filling with ice cream, custard or whipped cream, cutting into petit fours, etc., etc., etc.

When baking cakes and pies, pre-heating is crucial. It takes about 15-20 minutes for my oven to reach the temperature I want.
For roasting savories, such as meat, potatoes. pre-heating is not as important, but it's good to pre-heat anyway.

I like the convenience of tuna in pouches when travelling. Don't need a can opener.

Rather than write out a long recipe, I'll just tell one unusual method I do: Boil one lb elbow mac in just enough salted water. When just about ready, instead of draining it, I add 1 packet of non-fat instant dry milk to the pot, making it contain 1 quart of milk. Basiclly I then mix in a roux mixture (cooked butter/flour/milk/sharp cheddar) more cheddar; sour cream. Season w/spec of nutmeg. Bake in very heavily buttered glass pan; sprinkle top with lots of buttered bread crumbs. Bake 375 for about 45 min. It comes out bubbly, crispy, buttery. My grandchildren's favorite. But I try not to make it too often. The calorie/cholestrol count of off the charts!

To me, the skins are the best part. I don't like to order them in a restaurant though; I never trust that they scrub them clean enough. At home, I scrub the living daylights out of russet potatoes. I use a metal pot scrubber and scrub off all the dirt and grit. Then rub all over with oil and bake for about 45 min in a 400 oven. I often halve them and top them with sharp cheddar cheese and bake until melted. A little salt; perhaps some butter. Yum.

If you have the time, here's basiclly what I do:
rub brisket (about 5 lbs) all over with lots of a good seasoning mix (now I'm using hikory smoke, but you can use any spice/herb mixture you want).
Refrigerate covered several hours (I do overnight).
Set in a roasting pan on top of aromatic vegetables (onions, carrots, etc).
Roast on high (475) about 1/2 hours on each side.
Meanwhile, saute 2 medium chopped onions in oil. Add some chopped garlic. Mix in 1/2 brown sugar; 1/2 bottle chile sauce (or ketship), 3 Tbs cider vinegar, 1 bottle beer (12 oz); any other herbs of your choice; 1 tbs. liquid smoke; salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer about 1/2 hr or so. Pour about 1/2 mixture all over brisket, reserving rest in refrigerator. Cover tightly and turn oven temperature down to 300. After 4 hrs, turn off heat and leave in oven till cool. Refrigerate again. Remove from pan and slice against the grain when cold. Return to pan and cover with remaining sauce. Heat slices in the sauce until piping hot. You'll have lots of delicious meat and lots of sauce. If you want, you can thicken the sauce with flour, as you would to make grave. Enjoy. L'Shana Tova!