Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Yep, when I had Ile Flottante in France, the meringues were very marshmallowy, with not even a "skin" like marshmallows, and certainly not crispy. I would describe them as the inside of the meringue on top of a pie...definitely no crust. I imagine they must have been poached, as previous posters said.

Having said that, humidity could certainly play a role...but if your guests are putting your dishwasher out of business, I'd say you're probably OK. =)

I brought leftover quiche lorraine today (reheated really well on power level 7 for 1:31) and a snack size baggie of black olives (leftover from weekend pizza-making - satisfies the salt craving but healthier than chips).

I also get the frozen panini style sandwiches at the grocery store when they're on sale.

Peanut butter and butter is good.

Peanut butter and honey is best with a sprinkle of wheat germ, especially when toasted in a skillet like grilled cheese.

Peanut butter and cream cheese is good too.

Peanut butter and Nutella...oooohhhh...

Oven roast with garlic cloves and freshly grated Parmesan cheese?

Slightly OT...but when I was in NYC for my first wedding anniversary 10 years ago, I had a pretzel from a street vendor that I could swear tasted like smog. Not exactly a good thing, not exactly a bad thing...but distinct and unforgettable. So I don't know if you can rule the water thing out...though I agree that bad pizza is probably due more to user error than bad water. =)

My wife and I went out Mother's Day evening with another childless midde-aged couple (we would never go out for brunch on such a day, unless we were getting tacos or Chinese food). We went to Goldberg's Deli at Factoria mall on the Eastside of Lake Washington from Seattle, since our friends had given us a gift card. I'd been reading David Sax Savethedeli.com blog and just jonesing for some good Jewish soul food.

Nice space, little delicatessen shop in the front. My wife got a brunch special: bagels, omelet, hashbrowns, and an enormous piece of very nice smoked whitefish. She was very happy. My friend Suzanne had the stuffed cabbage, which looked very nice and she enjoyed it. My friend Jerry had the beef brisket dinner, which was a generous portion but the only DRY Jewish-style brisket that I have ever seen. I went very traditional -- potato knish, pastrami on rye with coleslaw on the side, and a generous piece of noodle kugel to follow. The knish was nice (the accompaniment of gravy was unfamiliar) but I think that it may have been zapped rather than oven reheated. The pastrami sandwich was very good, not oversized, tasty but a little dry but the Gulden's helped that (just French's yellow mustard and Gulden's -- no regular deli mustard). Heck, I like Gulden's. The noodle kugel was great, although obviously not as good as my mothers and mine.

So, a mostly positive experience. We got rugalach and Joyva halvah for the counter on the way out.

The meringues were cool by the time we ate them, but for some reason I thought they were supposed to be very light and crisp throughout, like a meringue kiss cookie. Maybe I have just never eaten a proper meringue?

That is interesting about the poaching...I only looked at 2 recipes, Ina and Julia Child. Ina bakes them in individual dollops, Julia bakes the whole mess up in a casserole dish and then carves it into chunks. The Larousse Gastronomique recommends cooking the egg whites and sugar in a bain marie. I think I definitely would have liked the taste of the meringues better if they had been poached in sweet milk.

Has anyone made/had zuppa inglese? This is another custard treat I want to try.

There was a restaurant reviewer who wrote a book called "Never Eat Out On Mothers' Day", and whether as a daughter or mother I have managed to avoid it until this year, when we were traveling. (Kudos to Lucques and Zuni in San Francisco, BTW; both went smoothly.) If other people want to, that's fine, but like drinking on St. Patrick's Day, I avoid it. Restaurants are hurting in this economy, and I see a number of spots did brunch that never did before. I hope they did well, but I'll give 'em my business other days.

My brother and I always take mom out for MD b/c we do not own our own homes yet and Mom / Dad would feel obliged to cook/cleanup in their homes. THey are very particular( read OCD) and would have more stress if we prepared the meal because they like things done their way. We went out for a 4pm early dinner reservation to a high end restaurant and treated mom. There was no cleanup to worry about so we were in no rush. The food and servicer were superb. Mom said it was exactly what she wanted. THis is my only goal on MD!

I had just finished school myself, and I was in the same situation. (so clueless) The best turn-outs for me (I feel that satisfaction, nutrition, and taste make these my favourites):

1. tuna wraps - whole wheat flax tortillas, tuna, sweet onion dressing (kraft or your very own), feta cheese, and some spring greens and scallions
2. sometimes on a lazy week i make one giant tray of veggie lasagna with beans (it can be re-heated all week and the taste only gets better!)
3. consomme with sprouts, carrots, beans, spinach and tofu (don't even cook anything; just heat up the broth with all the veggies in it)
4. green bean salad with a basic viniaigrette, chives, dill, red onion (beware the onions though--and I usually eat it with whatever protein I ate the night before)