Hey all sorry to sound like a noob- my friend requested Devils on Horseback (dates stuffed with blue cheese wrapped in bacon) for his birthday party. (12-15 people attending) I am pressed for time that day - has anyone made these the day before with any luck? What if I don't bake them and just pre-make the apps but bake them off at the party? Whaddya think- would this work or just be blue cheesy gross? Thanks in advance!

Sorry if this feels alittle off topic...I'm racking my brain for halloween costume ideas this year and though- yes why not something food related...but what? Maybe Julia Child? A chef being attacked by lobsters? A giant piece of bacon?
What to do..what to do?!?

any suggestions / halloween foodie dress up stories would be appreciated.
thanks!

It's a ring.. and it's a meat tenderizer!
I guess it's not for sale but it should be. Totally cool.
http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/09/meat-tenderizer-ring-for-chefs/

p.s. I swear I'm not shilling for this site

I tried making Chocolate Epiphany's Chocolate Flourless Torte. When I took it out of the oven I had HIGH hopes — it had risen slightly — a miracle here in Denver. The center was not jiggly upon taking out of the oven — per the book's instructions.

When I let it cool per directions, it had sunk in the center. The top was glossy-crispy — not unlike a brownie. The center beneath it was still fudgy-pudding like similar to thick batter. It turned out not so much "cakelike" no spongy-ness, but not quite as dense as I had expected. Is it supposed to be this way? Any clue as to what went wrong? HELP!!!!

I thought I was picking a relatively easy cake for this altitude as it has no leavening, was not expecting it to rise, but hoping for success. (me... throwing in towel on mountaintown baking YET AGAIN.)

I will post the recipe below. I promise I followed directions.

[Serious Efforts guidelines »]

I was at H-mart giving a tour to my ethnic-grocery-store-shy friend. I felt guilty that I hadn't bought anything and picked up 2 a couple shallots for a quiche I was making this weekend. I went to the register and found out I had only spent 5 cents. I luckilly had a dime. I got change back on...... A DIME. My question is when was the last time you paid less than a dollar for a food item that you were psyched about?

Tonight the SO & I grabbed the No Reservations- Venice episode. As always, drool worthy and wonderful- however we noticed the disparity of commercials between the episode "Cool Whip in a can!" "Kraft mac&cheese crackers!" "Kraft Mac & Cheese!" As I watched these blessed Italians talk of tradition and the freshest best ingredients, I was taunted by the unholy non-food processed here in America. I can't help but feel a little more than under served and overpromised by our "food culture" in America. sigh...

Hope this isn't so horribly off topic & no one gets it!
Did anybody catch Jermaines "hurt feelings" bit about no one liking his porfiteroles on Flight of the Concords? made me laugh- and think of some of my loser dinner guests.
I thought I'd leave the link here : ) hope you guys like it too. It's within the first 30 seconds of the youtube clip. Here it is:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/hurt-feelings-hd-flight-of-the-conchords/712369275/?icid=VIDURVCOM05

Hi & happy holidays to all my long lost SE friends! I have a question regarding some mysterious goings on's with my toffee. Here is a link to the recipe I used. http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/dessert/recipe-mailing-toffee-005521
I followed this recipe to a "T" three times. The first time I used it nothing seemed out of whack and the toffee came together according to the recipe. The next 2 times something strange occurred, at the point in which the toffee was just about to turn golden tan- the butter started separating out from the molten candy goo. Once I got the toffee spread and set slightly in the pan, I poured off the excess butter and then put the chocolate. The toffee didn't seem terribly affected and tasted good. I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas why it would separate like this? Would altitude and the boiling point here have to anything with the separation? (I'm in Denver- and lots of my cooking has been affected by the altitude) Thanks for satisfying my curiosity!

I just got laid off due to the great economy -no condolences needed- I was sick of working there anyway : ) I figure this is great opportunity to follow my passion rather than to get another crappy front office job. What I'm asking my SE friends is for tips/ ideas for breaking into the food industry- when you have limited experience. In not setting the bar too high here..I'm looking at going to Whole Foods food prep area as a starting point and wondering how to get over the "culinary experience required" hurdle- I could fudge it an interview- but on paper I look pretty poor. Sorry to be a bit wordy- but wanted to anticipate some of your questions. Thanks for your help and suggestions!

So I had a great idea last night "I will make apple butter in my slow cooker!" Long story short- It didn't turn out, and now I have Apple Butter Charcoal cemented to the side of my slow cooker. I soaked it all day, and now tonight I have filled it up with water and set it on high in hopes that the steam generated would release the apple butter cement from sides & bottom . My first attempt yielded very little hope of ever seeing my cooker back to normal. Any suggestions???

I found these really cool temporary tattos & wanted to share them with ya'll. here's the link if you wanna check it out. http://www.mcphee.com/items/11825.html
( I hope nobody thinks I'm selling stuff- I don't have anything to do with that company - just thought somebody on SE might dig em)

I just saw this on yahoo-LA is considering a ban on fast food in low income communities.I though this might be an interesting little debate for the SE crew. the link is here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/fast_food_ban

Help! My boyfriend bought a JUMBO SIZE bag of Za'taar- because it was cheap ($3.79..no kidding!) I only needed a pinch for the recipe, and have given a way a bunch- but still not sure how I'm going to use up my mason jar of Za'taar. Any recipes/usage suggestions would be appreciated!! ( I swear we had a talk question like this a few weeks ago! I did look in the talk archives-but didn't find it- if you wanna link me there that'd be cool too!) We we're joking that we'd sound like that guy in Forrest Gump only with Zataar.."shrimp Zataar, Zataar bread, Zataar carrots, pizza with zataar...." LOL. Thanks!

I was looking in our fridge and noticed that we had an unholy amount of condiments...the majority being mustard. We have seven- types currently- which in this eater-crowd might not seem to be much, but I've got a tiny fridge! I'm not sure if I'm looking for other mustards geeks here or if I'm looking for an intervention. Currently, I'm a sucker for the Pepperidge Farms sweet hot, and I'm thinking about getting some Bojetes stone ground to add to my collection. Do have any that you really must have around? I'm all ears for your current favorites & recommendations!

On the trail of Michiganders awesome "what kind of lunchbox did you have?" question. It made me think of our hot lunch program in my school. Ours was pretty good, sometimes offering midwestern regional favorites like pork tenderloins (think pork schnitzel on a bun) and Maid-rites (loose steamed hambuger meat on a bun) and the always hotly anticipated, square-shaped-government pizza. I hated ALL of the veggie as they were canned.
So how was your school lunch? what did you love? what did you hate?

Hey everybody I'm having an absinthe party and wondering what the heck to pair it with foodwise (mostly appetizers- not necessarily a meal) I'm trying to stick with kind of a turn of the century Parisian artworld theme. Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanks!

I'm assigned to whip up an asparagus dish at my future mother in laws, for Easter. Trouble is that I don't care for asparagus- so I'm not really sure how to make it tasty for those who do enjoy it. Any suggestions from you asparagus lovers out there? (FYI I'm to prepare it at her house- so simple recipes would be great! Also, ham is the main dish) Thanks for your help!

I saw this article on Yahoo today & thought it might be of interest to Serious Eats readers. it's good to know someone is planning for our food future.

http://green.yahoo.com/news/afp/20080224/sc_afp/norwayarcticenvironmentwarmingcrops.html

I'm going on a 2 day road trip- I want to avoid stopping for (eeek!) gas station snacks. I'd prefer to make them at home rather than ingest a quanity of chili cheese fritos & gummyworms...even though (shhh!) I love them both) Do you have any take along road snacks... ideas or recipes to share? We will be bringing a (small) cooler along as well. Thanks for your ideas!!

I went to a book club recently & the theme was pie- we were to bring homemade pie.(hopefully being inspired to make our own pie from the recipes in the book) Everyone brought frozen boxed pie (!!??!!) but me.
I have noticed so many people in my generation just don't cook. (I'm 33- and my friends range from about 22-36) Any ideas suggestions on how to inspire, enlighten& ignite the passion for cooking to my friends without being preachy!
..I worry about the kind of grandmothers we will be someday- will we pass down our cherished microwave recipes? our menu's for great takeout? Thanks in advance for your help!

My friend is heading to Paris! Any suggestions on food to pick up that can be brought back here? What about any customs/TSA regulations regarding foodstuffs? Any favorite cafes/must eat places you recommend?Thanks!