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From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

maybe i will try these PW sweet potatoes everyone's been talkin' 'bout.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

As mundane as it is, I really want to make the super smooth mashed potatoes recipe. It would be an excuse to get a ricer - if only my husband would let me add yet another gadget to our already stuffed kitchen closet!

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Recent Comments | Response to Comments

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

maybe i will try these PW sweet potatoes everyone's been talkin' 'bout.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

As mundane as it is, I really want to make the super smooth mashed potatoes recipe. It would be an excuse to get a ricer - if only my husband would let me add yet another gadget to our already stuffed kitchen closet!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'New Classic Family Dinners'

my family is taiwanese and we always do hot pot around the holidays. by its nature, it's one of the few dinners that requires everyone to sit around the table together (as opposed to going off and watching tv or otherwise).

From Serious Eats

What's Your Favorite Sandwich?

i feel a little guilty for calling out a chain, but i really do love the sandwiches from potbelly sandwich works. to me they just have the perfect balance of toasty bread to meat to toppings (

From Recipes

Memaw's Buttermilk Biscuits

"Like so many other baked goods, people seem to get overly nervous about making their own biscuits. I won't deny that making biscuits takes time, but baking a batch is certainly not hard or complicated."

The breakfast section in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything also talks about how people seem to be nervous about making biscuits and how silly that is because they are not hard or complicated... however, his recipe for yogurt/buttermilk biscuits is super simple and FAST. He claims that you can be successful with the recipe the first time you make it, and that certainly held true for me! Since then that's become my go-to biscuit recipe.

From Serious Eats

Impromptu Taste Test: The Cult of Yakult

sorry grace, i have to throw in my vote for "delicious," too. whenever i visit taiwan, i can't get enough! i know it as yang le duo.

From Serious Eats

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 68: Coming Up on the Big 5-0

Hooray, Ed! I've been reading your diet posts with admiration and interest, and I probably speak for a lot of posters when I say that I feel like your victory is ours too :)

From Serious Eats

'Village Voice' Blogger Has No Love for 'Bizarre Foods'

Part of the charm of Andrew Zimmern, for me (and what distinguishes his show from Bourdain's) is that he does kind of play the role of the American tourist, and thus people are often surprised by his appreciation of their weird (non-American) food. I think most of the time on the show, people offer him food with the awareness that the item they are serving is unique and strange -- I mean, come on, dried rotted shark? -- and they are proud of that, and expect foreigners to have a reaction to it. The fact that Zimmern is always open to trying it (regardless of whether he makes a face at the initial smell or appearance) is positive. And if he ends up liking it and gushing enthusiastically about it, it's even more of a compliment. Yes, some of the shows where he visits poorer countries (see: Ethiopia) can sometimes be awkward, but in general I disagree with the original quoted article about him being buffoonish or condescending.

From Talk

Alice Waters on '60 Minutes'...The Interview.

@HeartofGlass - well said, I totally agree with you. While I'm probably more on the side of people who appreciate Alice Waters and her message, a sense of humor always helps.

From Serious Eats

In Videos: Hammy the Hamster Goes Organic

wahhh! this is too adorable! although the organic stuff always seemed to be on the right... ken should have switched it up to eliminate the possibility of hammy being biased to one side. :D

From A Hamburger Today

Celebrate Steak 'n Shake's 75th Anniversary with 15-Cent Hamburgers

doh! this makes me wish i still lived in atlanta! grarr. but i can't figure out why only the atlanta locations are doing this -- steak 'n shake isn't even an atlanta-based chain. i suppose it's just individual franchise organizations doing what they want.

From Serious Eats

In Videos: Nannerpus, Denny's Super Bowl Commercial

also, when we watched this after the superbowl, we actually rewound our DVR like two times to try and figure out where his knocked-off eye went. it's down there by his peel-tentacle on the left. :D

From Serious Eats

In Videos: Nannerpus, Denny's Super Bowl Commercial

ah, to have been a fly on the wall at the advertising brainstorming session where this idea was born.

From Serious Eats

Valentine's Day Giveaway: Macarons from Itzy Bitzy Patisserie

I've never had a macaron (gasp!), so... I'm not sure what flavors would go well together! That's a reason to pick me, right? :)

From Serious Eats

An Ode to Whipped Cream at Café Borrone in Menlo Park, California

How could you not be a whipped cream person? I mean... it's whipped! And it's cream! I don't have a secret when I make my own, other than adding sugar and vanilla extract. Mmm.

From Serious Eats

In Videos: Slap Chop Infomercial Featuring Vince, the Enthusiastic Host

okay, vince is 100x more awesome than billy mays. also, robyn, i love your posts - i'm always like, how does she know exactly what i'm thinking?!?!

From A Hamburger Today

Would You Send Back an Overcooked Burger?

The one time this happened to my husband, he informed our waiter about the overdone-ness of his burger. But when she offered to have the kitchen bring out another one, he said that wasn't necessary (since he had already eaten half the burger and would have been too full to eat another one). I thought that was silly of him, because why inform the waitstaff if you don't want them to do anything about it?

BUT THEN! at the end of our meal, she offered us dessert on the house to make up for the burger. I was so pleased by this act of good will that it totally made up for the experience of getting the overdone burger and made me want to come back (although we'll order something else next time). So, moral of the story: even if you don't send an overdone burger back, it may not hurt to complain a little, because you might get part of your meal free or some other nice thing, if the restaurant is smart and cares about its customers. And, second moral: free dessert wins me over every time!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Into the Vietnamese Kitchen'

Cook more homestyle Asian food (like my mom does). Who cares that my husband is a silly white boy and doesn't appreciate the subtle joys of rice and braised vegetables! ;)

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: Jamie at Home

Not sure if this counts as a dish, per se, but my family has a tradition of doing hot pot (otherwise known as shabu shabu, Asian fondue, etc...) during the holidays.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey Here!

I too must cast my vote for one of the desserts - the pumpkin pie cheesecake. I admit I have a weakness for both things - so combining them has to be good! Time to go invest in a springform pan...

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

Congrats to our winner vercingetorix, and thanks to everyone who entered! The winner has been notified and the Contest Winners page has been updated.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

Still a fan of sautéed brussels sprouts with bacon.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

I can't wait until Thanksgiving to try out Provencal Turkey Roast with Riesling! I am sure the recipe will delight.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

Planned out my Thanksgiving menu today and Perfect Mashed Potatoes are goin' on it.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

So many of them sound great, but I'd most like to try the Pumpkin Pie Brulee.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

I thought this was done with, but I haven't tried the Cranberry Sauce with Champagne and Currants yet.

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

feeling a little naughty today so i'm gonna switch it up..pumpkin pie brulee

From Serious Eats

Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey

Have to be the perfect mashed potatoes. Olive oil and garlic? Is there a better combination?

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About absentmindedprof

Website: http://jlee.hydrous.net

Location: Washington, DC

About: I'm happy to have reached the point in my life where I cook more than I eat out AND I can make dinner quickly, efficiently, and relatively tastily. I still hate to do the dishes, though.

Favorite foods:

Last bite on earth: