It would be great if the Talk categories bar stayed open above the What's Fresh menu. It's a bit annoying to keep opening it when scanning through the categories.

National Grilled Cheese (Sandwich) Day.

I've just started brewing beer at home and hate to toss the grain after mashing. There are a lot of bread recipes using spent grain, but I see a common complaint that they're not very good.
Does anyone have a great recipe?

Marilyn Hagerty's review of Olive Garden got lots of attention. To me, her review was unremarkable. She liked the decor and atmosphere, and found her meal "warm and comforting". Kind of the anti-critic review, not what I was expecting after hearing how much attention it's received.
I'm glad that she is going to New York and I'm sure I'll enjoy reading her no-nonsense, simple restaurant reviews.

http://columbianewsandviews.com/2012/03/11/small-town-85-year-old-columnist-takes-america-by-viral-storm-video/

Kind of opposite @quarter twist!'s question.

When I'm desperate to cut some fat, I add a tiny bit of seasoned salt to lite mayonnaise (only Hellman's!) in a tuna salad. It seems to kill the weird lite taste. I also put tons of onion and celery.

I like to split a small whole wheat pita to make two thin crusts for a quick "pizza". That way you get two pieces with twice the vegetables, and a really crunchy crust.

I made up a bran cereal pancake recipe using the yogurt sweat from homemade Greek yogurt. They're fluffy and delicious!

I'm back in a healthy eating phase, so tell me your tricks!

I found a Sam Coffee Stout in my fridge today (party leftover). It has more coffee flavor than I expected, and I really like it.

I've decided that Sam Adams is my favorite brewery. I can get a great light beer, a lambic style, etc. They seem to be always coming up with a nice new brew.

Has anyone had their new Infinium? I'm hoping that Santa brings me some!

I did a quick search about the safety of self clean ovens today (bad for birds, but not cats). It seems that many people NEVER clean their oven.
Now, I usually use a spray to avoid the smelly smoke from the self-clean, so my oven gets pretty cruddy between cleanings. Like, I'm not making pizza 'cause it's going to smoke cruddy.
I'd guess my oven gets cleaned 3 times a year, and I don't use it very often.
So how often do you clean your oven? And do you think that I could run the self-clean for only a couple of hours every month to keep it clean, as opposed to 4-5 hours every six months? I've read that the high heat sometimes ruins the electronic controls..any experience with that?

A coworker brought in several batches of Amish Friendship starter, and insisted we take it off his hands.

I'd like to do something different with the starter-anybody have ideas or recipes?

So, I tried making pasta carbonara, and it was...bleh. Definitely not lacking for salt in any way, but none of the pancetta flavor I expected. I know guanciale is also used, but the dish I loved specified pancetta on the menu.
Inferior meat, I assume (pre diced from Big Cheap Store). Since it's a rinky-dink town, I'll either travel for or order pancetta online.
Does anyone know online or Central/Western MA sources? Or a way to coax more flavor?

I just got back from ten days in the Florida Keys. Mr. Z and I ate ourselves silly!
Every bite of seafood was super fresh, especially the snapper we caught ourselves.
Highlights- Stone crab, Heritage pork chop, sushi, linguini carbonara with mussels. We also had Cuban sandwiches five or six different places, but the Mr. couldn't find perfection.

I'm still amazed by the carbonara, so now I'm on a quest for the perfect recipe, if anyone has one to share.

We are almost completely unfamiliar with Indian food, but my husband had some last night.
I found leftovers in the fridge, OMG! Delicious! Some pinkish creamy sauce over awesome, perfect rice. Naan, too.
That's all. I just had to share my discovery with someone.

I am thinking about buying some fresh green olives to brine myself. Has anyone done this, and do you have any tips?

I have 15 cherry peppers that I'd like to quick pickle, then stuff with prosciutto and provolone. I have no canning equipment and they will be eaten quickly. I'm looking for a vinegar/water/salt ratio for the pickling step. Anybody?

I'll be going to the Keys in early November. We'll drive from Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, moseying for a few days until we get to Key West for a week.
What kind of fish can we expect/try to catch? How should I cook them? Key West place has full kitchen, but no outdoor grill.

I need to make a birthday cake for Saturday. Request was for a peace sign, so I've ordered a peace sign cake mold. It will be the top layer of a three layer chocolate cake. Either the body or the peace layer will be covered with fondant, because I want a tie-dye/swirly effect.
Does anyone have a recipe for a chocolate filling that doesn't require refrigeration?

I finally visited the little bakery near my house, and it's so cute! It's very old, and housed in what looks like a cinderblock barn next to a home. The owner showed me around, and I chose my goods warm from the racks. I wouldn't call it dirty, but imagine your kitchen if you baked eight hours every day.

I sometimes get raw milk from a farm. You go into the "shed" attached to the house, and take stuff from the fridges or freezers. They have organic grass fed beef, eggs, pork, vegetables, and they make the BEST cheese ever. The cute part is that you put the money in a small wooden box. Not locked - because you may need to make change! Then you mark off on a paper which items you purchased.

The simplicity and intimacy of this kind of shopping makes the food so much more enjoyable. I look at the cows and know that my milk came from them, unprocessed and local. I won't waste a single drop of the maple syrup that was made a couple of towns over. I'm thinking about boycotting supermarket food for a while.

Who else has a "secret" source for their seriously good eats?

Not sure I'm crazy about the new layout yet.

I'd like to make a white cake with a creamy lemon filling. An extensive search turns up many copycat recipes for Olive Garden's Lemon Cream cake. Most reviews complain that the recipes are not as good as the restaurant cake.

Has anyone had this cake? Anyone have a great recipe to share?

Last night at work, I put a pork roast in the oven. It was fairly quiet, and about an hour later I heard a strange hissing sound.
I opened the oven to see arcing and fire! The heating element had broken in two.

Has anyone heard of this happening? Got any appliance malfunction stories of your own?

I just read that April is National Grilled Cheese Month.

I don't care. I'm not making any grilled cheese until I get a new gas stove.

Several years ago, I accidentally bought three long-handled chestnut roasting pans. They are still new in their boxes, and I'd like to find a way to use them (besides roasting chestnuts!).

I'm pretty sure they are made of black carbon steel, and we do camp in the summer, so what can I cook in them, over a fire?

I'd like to gift a couple to our camping friends, with a recipe and some ingredients included.

One of my daughters left a quart carton of "egg product" in my fridge. Since the box says it's 99% egg white, I'm going to make an angel food cake.

Will it work? How ugly will it be? Will it taste terrible? Anyone have a good angel food cake recipe?

I love the sauce that comes with steamed dumplings or potstickers from Chinese restaurants. It's thin and has a soy sauce base. What's it called, and does anyone have a recipe?

Ina Garten's recipe has five stars from 200+ reviews. Has anyone tried it?

Does anyone have a killer sour cream coffee cake recipe to share? Ina's is made in a tube pan, but I'm leaning towards something flatter with lots of streusel topping.

Lately, solid white tuna smells horrible. All brands. I thought it was just me, but my mom actually threw some away because she thought there was something wrong with it.

Has anyone else noticed this? What could be the reason?

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