Hey, just wondering how well people think these dishes would hold in a chafing dish/steam table. Thoughts?

So, some of you long term SE/Slice folks know that I've been nagging my husband for quite some time to let me build a Wood Fired Oven in the back yard. Well, I'm now working at Ironwood Pizza, a WFO pizza restaurant and having a blast! It started out as a mobile business and now they have a brick and mortar location. It's kind of funny because I'm making pies with these young, tatooed, plaid flannel wearing guys and they seem to think I'm okay. Maybe a little food obsessed, but in a good way.
Now, this may help or hurt my desire to have a WFO in the back yard. One thing I know for sure is that it won't help my flour addiction. We got back from Hawaii yesterday and first thing I did was make a batch of bread dough and a batch of pizza dough. This morning I went to the Amish market and came back with 70 lbs of occident flour and another 35 lbs. in various other flours.
So, just wanted to let you all know that I've got my dream job going. But I'm also curious, what would be your dream job, and if you had it, would it help with your food passions? Or would it ignite and inflame them even more?

Okay, so it's a little early to be asking about it, but I'm trying to plan things out. I was wondering if a date, or month had been batted about yet?

Over on Slice, there is legend of a Secret Dipping Sauce. Dmcavanagh claims that I keep the recipe in a vault at the bottom of Oneida Lake. Well, even though it's only 32 degrees here, I went for a swim so I could share it with the folks at Serious Eats. A few Slicer's already have the recipe and absolutely love it. It's addicting. I love it with bread, pizza bones, fried calamari, shrimp, and pasta. My good buddy at work, Pat eats it straight up with a spoon. This recipe is scaled back from a restaurant recipe, but it still makes a boatload, and with the holidays coming, it makes enough to give as gifts.
Secret Dipping Sauce

Over on Facebook there is the Serious Eats Water Cooler, where we go off topic but are still primarily about food. I've been on a bread baking bender and so fellow dough head and Slice'r Dmcavanagh decided we needed to have a pretzel challenge. Soft or hard, just as long as it's a pretzel. So if any of you are on the Cooler, the glove has been thrown down! And even if you're not on the Cooler, hey, make some pretzels for the weekend to go with a beer and a game. Kenji, are you up to the challenge?

The flour you use for shaping dough on a counter, board or whatever, if you have excess do you scrap it or reuse it? I've been baking a ton of bread with flour that was delivered to me by dmc aka dmcavanagh, so I hate to waste any. I've also been making pizza with the flour, of course! So what do you do with the remaining flour hanging out on the bench?

Adam, we talked about you last night and how much you really got Slicer's and SE folks connected in such a wonderful way. Last night people came from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsalvania, Rochester and the Adirondacks to make pizza at my place in Syracuse. We had a ball! Pictures will be coming. But really I just wanted to say thanks for creating such a wonderful, trusting community. I never would have met some of these wonderful people, otherwise. And yup, there was some aleppo chile love going out there too!

Many of you know that I've been bugging my husband to let me build a WFO. I think we may have to compromise, and instead go with either a Weber Kettle with insert or a
Vision Grills Kamado Pro Ceramic Charcoal Grill.
Any thoughts on the subject? I know neither one would be a WFO, but it may be the next best thing.

The last time I won anything was over ten years ago, and it was a Poochi Robot Dog from McDonald's monopoly game. The thing went in the trash after it started going off in the middle of the night.
So, wow, was I surprised to find that I won a copy of Brewed Awakening! I'm looking forward to reading it, and my husband sends a big THANK YOU, too. He's traveling next week, so now he has some reading to look forward to. You guys are awesome!

Don't forget to vote for either February 18th or February 25th for International Serious Eats Day! Well, whatever day it ends up being, I'm really looking forward to meeting a bunch of SE'rs and Slice'rs!

I didn't make it to the past couple events, but I would really like to start off 2012 with some SE fun. So, what day is the SE day? Last year it was January 8th. I just need to know so I can make plans in advance. My apologies if there has been a post with this info, that I missed.

What more can I say than SE rocks!! Thanks for the bag that went with the book. Now, let's get some other SE stuff going!

We're having gas fireplace insert installed today. I made the guys who are installing it a large cheese pizza, which they very much appreciated. I also ran some calzones into work for my wonderful co-workers since I had the ovens on. So, do you express your appreciation for others with food? If so, how do you say thank you?

Hey, I don't like to take up space at a busy place, and I'm out quick, but I don't mind dining alone. The other half just told me how he'd rather order room service when travelling, rather than dine alone. He gets to go to all these great cities, and I'm just shaking my head, imagining him eating room service in front of the t.v. So, SE folks, do you dine out alone? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yep, I'm wishing you all a great turkey/slice day in full @Pavlov shout out style! May your turkeys be moist and if you're having some pizza late night, may the cheese be gooey and save a pizza bone for Miss Ellie. I'm giving thanks for being a member of this wonderful community that is SE. Bellies up, all! "Clink!"

Hey, I know this topic has come up before, but we're always seeing new faces, or old friends re-appear as the weather changes and holidays approach. The big day is at my mom's, up north about 3 hours from here. I'm bringing some cranberry cinnamon rolls for her to serve to her guests who will be staying over until Friday. So, Wednesday night I'll start the cinnamon rolls, but dinner? I just don't know. Lasagne for the guys to reheat on Black Friday when I'm working? Subs or panini? So, what's on your menu for the night before Turkey Day, and why?

I've been working at great little sporting goods/army-navy store for about 6 months now, in the shoe department. The people I work with are wonderful, and since I'm always talking about food, I decided to bring in a dish for lunch for everyone, every Wednesday. They're most appreciative, but think I'm a little nuts. They thought it was funny how excited I was over the SE Book, and that I went home on my break, just to get a peek at it.
Today, I had the day off, which is unusual. So, since I'm always talking about pizza with my dear friends in shoes and sporting goods, I made a few pizzas and brought them in and hung out. The fact that I was in on my day off (for just an hour), and that I bought pizza boxes just to bring them pizza had them touched, but also shaking their heads. "You're crazy," was heard more than once.
So, now one of the managers, who loves my food, asked if I'd be willing to bring in food for Black Friday--and they would pay me for doing it. Who's crazy now? The pleasure I get from cooking for my second family, is payment enough.
So, any of you out there cook for your co-workers, bring in snacks for people and talk about food constantly? If so, what do your colleagues think of your food obsessed passions?

This past weekend a young man I work with went to NYC Comicon. I told him to check out Paulie Gee's Greenpoint pizzeria. He and his friends loved the pizza and Devin also said that Paulie came over and thanked them for waiting (they were in line for a while), and then later talked to them when they had their pies. Friendly service and great pizza, well worth the wait. Thanks Paulie! You rock!

I am once again reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Great book and every time I read it, I'm struck by something else I've overlooked. This time it is the drink, Ng-ka-py, a Chinese drink, that the cook/philosopher/Renaissance man, Lee favors. Samuel is the character who describes it as "the drink that tastes of good rotten apples." Anyone out there ever had it? And for that matter, have you ever tried a dish or drink because you read about it in a novel?

In CNY, salt potatoes are a favorite. And I guess now there's a salt potato eating competition in our area. Joey Chesnut, a winner of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, won the first ever salt potato eating contest in Baldwinsville, NY. I like salt potatoes, but a 1/4 pound is more than enough for me. This whole competitive eating thing, has me puzzled, facinated and repulsed all at the same time. Anyone else heard of potato eating contests?

I've always enjoyed Look Who's Talkin' because I sometimes miss really clever or informative or down right hysterical comments over in Talk. Now that Adam won't be around as much, I was wondering if the weekly LWT will be gone for good or if Adam has managed to pass the torch to someone else? Any other SE folks out there, hoping that LWT will continue on?

Okay, my husband calls me "Condiment Queen" due to my mustard collection, which btw, has been thinned out to 11. He's also puzzled by the number of different salts I have on hand. Today he noticed that I have 12 different kinds of vinegar and threw his hands up in the air, in disbelief. Maybe I should count the different polishing cloths he has for the cars, just to bust his chops. So, folks, what food related items do you accumulate, that leaves your family and friends scratching their heads?

It's cold, blustery and rainy here, and we're expecting a little snow tonight. So, it's homemade chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwiches around here to take the chill off. Wish I could give the same TLC to my shivering tulips. What are you guys dining on tonight?

Marcel from Top Chef (I think of him as the guy sporting The Romantics pompadour) has a show debuting in March on Syfy called Marcel's Quantum Kitchen.

He certainly has his own sense of personal style. I wonder he'll come off the same way on this new show. Also, I find it interesting that it's on Syfy. Think you'll watch or not?

I usually stick to a crushed tomato sauce, uncooked and lightly seasoned or just some garlic infused olive oil, most of the time when I make pizza. I have made a white wine sauce for a seafood pizza and I also used a kalamata olive spread thinned out with olive oil for a sauce on a putanesca inspired pizza. Recently I was flipping through an old issue of Cooks Illustrated and came across 4 winter pestos; Arugula and Ricotta Pesto, Mushroom Pesto with Parsley and Thyme, Toasted Nut and Parsley Pesto, and a Roasted Red Pepper Pesto. They all sound like they could be interesting on pizza instead of tomato sauce or garlic olive oil. Hey, I might even get some greens into my husbands diet with the arugula and ricotta combo. And I'm sure he'd love the mushroom pesto--he's a huge shroom fan.

So, SE folks and Slice'rs what non-traditional sauces have you had on pizza? And I'm fully aware that I will probably be flamed by fellow Slice'rs ; )

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