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heelsonbricks

Gilt Taste

I won't buy anything from the site, but I liked the Stories section. There were a few tasty-sounding recipes from Melissa Clark, the NY Times chick. The "Salt and Sugar-Cured Asparagus" especially sounded good: http://www.gilttaste.com/stories/322-cured-and-butter-poached-asparagus

Moving to Tampa, is there anything good to eat?

Not sure about in Tampa, but Mazarro's Italian Market in St Pete makes wonderful mozzarella.

Dinner tonight--what's on your plate or in your bowl?

After a very long Monday, all I could manage was a very large bowl of Cookie Crisp. Delish.

Dinner Tonight: Italian Kale and Farro Soup

I thought I'd like this, because I like all the veggies, and I love farro. But it was just... boring. I added some red pepper flakes and extra pepper, garlic, and thyme, but it was still kind of boring. Maybe some tomato paste would help.

It also didn't have enough liquid. I'd add some extra chicken stock next time (didn't have any on hand today).

Boxed Convenience foods I have never used.

I love Kraft mac and cheese, although it has to be shaped, like Pokemon, not the noodles. Shapes taste better. I tend to doctor it with extra American cheese and/or a little cream cheese.

I'll occasionally buy ramen or cup-o-noodles, if I can find the chile flavor.

Once a year or so, I have a craving for box cake mix with canned frosting. I make one and gobble it alone, in shame.

Orlando: Need Places to Eat - No Chains, Really - No Chains!

Ceviche is an awesome Spanish tapas place in downtown Orlando. There are two other locations, I think, but they're both in Florida, so not really a chain at all.

The White Wolf Cafe is a great brunch spot.

Orlando has lots of great Vietnamese, but I don't have a specific rec.

Unusual mayonnaise uses

I mix it with ketchup and dunk french fries in it. I'm not sure whether that's unusual. But it's delish!

Enter to Win a Kenny & Zuke's Pastrami Kit

Rosy beef, tangy
Soft nutty toasty rye bread
Mustard's golden kiss

Can you point me to the perfect tiramisu recipe?

Ditto, the Gourmet one is wonderful. Just make sure to make it the day before you serve it. The flavors really need time to soak together.

If you could eat only 10 things for the rest of your life?

Bread
Cheese
Asparagus
Kale
Bacon
Eggs
Pasta
Clementines
Garlic
Olive oil

Done with comfort food!

I made asparagus and shiitake risotto last night, and it was perfect. The flavors are springy, but it was still nice and warm.

Recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Asparagus-and-Shiitake-Risotto-108102

Deviled eggs sound delish, too!

What's for Dinner Tonight? Monday 1/24

Chard and leek quiche, to use up my farmer's market produce. And maybe, if I'm feeling brave, some of the beets I cooked yesterday. Turns out I really dislike beets.

How much do I have to pay to NOT see

Fifth. Ew.

Split pea soup

I've been making it all winter. You can't make it with frozen peas. They're a completely different species than dried split peas, which are similar in texture to dried beans.

I like using this recipe as a base: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Easy-Split-Pea-Soup-1919

But I use chicken stock instead of water, for a little more flavor, and add garlic to the sautéed veggies. The smoked ham hock makes it taste fabulous.

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Russ & Daughters Brunch Package

Homemade corned beef hash

too many clementines!

I've always liked the look of this clementine cake recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/clementine-cake/

I've never tried it, but it uses rinds and everything.

Other than that, I'm not sure. Maybe juice them all and freeze the juice?

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Russ & Daughters Brunch Package

Omelet with tomato, spinach, bacon and american cheese, with really crispy hash browns.

Great, Serious TLC pkg. for our troops: What would you send?

My friend mailed her Texan boyfriend a sweet tea kit. A plastic pitcher, Lipton tea bags, spoon, sugar, and some instructions. He made it for his troop, and they all really loved it. I thought that was very creative.

Your Current Vegetable Obssession

Kale. My farmer's market has yummy young kale right now. I've mostly been making either kale chips or a warm salad with sauteed kale, a Dijon vinegarette, shallots and crumbled bacon.

Campbell soup recipe - comments disabled?

I'm agreeing with seriousb. Serious Eats has bills to pay. We pay nothing to be part of this site, so we have to understand that they use advertising to keep the virtual lights on.

I'm not a Campbell's soup fan, but the recipe clearly says "Sponsor Recipe," so it's easy to ignore.

What's your ultimate pumpkin dessert?

Ooh, so many good ideas! Thanks, everyone.

@editmom, @boobird, I've never had pumpkin roll, but that looks so pretty!

Everyone who suggested cheesecake, YES. I love pumpkin cheesecake. I'm thinking it might be too much fuss for this occasion, though, so I'm saving all your recipes for Thanksgiving.

@arwenb, I think I might go with the whoopie pies. They look cute and easy to eat. I like the looks of this variation, which adds some caramel to the filling.

Dinner Tonight: Moroccan Spinach and Chickpeas

I've made this a few times from the Smitten Kitchen recipe, and it's delicious. The vinegar and bread mixture makes the sauce really tasty.

It's really only good freshly made, though. The spinach is kind of slimy the next day.

Cruise ship food

I did a three-night cruise (my first) with Royal Caribbean in March. Shorter cruises are on smaller/less fancy ships, I think. Our food was fine, but nothing exciting.

We mostly did the brunch buffet and then the sit-down dinner in the main dining room. At dinner, it seemed like everything was dumbed down to the common American palate. Basic dishes like steak and lamb were quite good. They offered a few "ethnic" choices that were very bland. Nothing was spicy -- the shrimp cocktail came with something like ketchup.

Brunch was decent brunch buffet. I remember enjoying the lox/bagels.

I was disappointed, I guess. Maybe a longer, more upscale cruise would have more exciting food.

Dinner Tonight: Eggplant Caponata

This was delicious! I only had balsamic vinegar, so I used that instead of the red wine vinegar. I tossed it with some pasta.

Help me make decent arroz con pollo!

I adore Bitchin' Camero's recipe, too. I don't find it QUITE soupy enough for my taste, so I add a bit extra liquid, but the flavor is amazing.

Gift ideas for my foodie boyfriend?

I need a gift idea for my boyfriend. Probably something that would cost less than $50, since I'm getting him something else, too.

He just bought himself a beautiful new smoker, but he loves stove-top cooking, too. Favorite cuisines are Texan, Cajun and Mexican. He really enjoys seafood.

I'm drawing a blank. He has enough cookware and gadgets, so I want to get him either a really, really fantastic cookbook or some unique ingredients he can play with. Or both. Any ideas?

What's your ultimate pumpkin dessert?

I want to bake something pumpkiny for a baby shower on Saturday. Not pumpkin pie, but it could be anything else -- cupcakes, mousse, cookies, muffins...

I love pumpkin so much that I'm paralyzed with indecision. ALL the recipes sound great. So, suggestions? What's your very favorite pumpkin recipe?

What sauce for butternut squash ravioli?

I'm cooking dinner for a new boy in my life tomorrow night, and he's quite the foodie. It's a weekday dinner, so I'm trying to something simple but delicious.

I have fresh butternut squash ravioli, but I have no idea what to do with them. What kind of sauce? Any recipes I should use them in? Cooked with veggies? Meat? I've searched around and really only found suggestions for brown butter/sage sauce, which I guess would work, but I'd love some alternate suggestions.

For a side, I'm planning roasted brussels sprouts with olive oil/balsamic.

Where to eat near Michigan Ave, Chicago?

I'm going to Chicago in two weeks for a conference (first time!), and will be staying at Michigan Ave and Ohio Street. Are there any great restaurants that I can walk to (I'll walk quite a ways)? Any sort of price point is fine.

Also, I'll probably have one free day; what should I spend it doing? I have the nights off, too, so I'll probably go everywhere close to my hotel then.

Thai chili peanut salad dressing

Here in Florida we have a wonderful mini-chain called Evos, which is "healthy fast food." They air-bake everything instead of frying. They have a really delicious Thai salad with chili peanut dressing that I'm trying to replicate.

How would you put together a chili peanut salad dressing? I'm guessing chili oil, garlic and a little peanut butter would be involved, but I don't know what to add for the real body of the dressing.

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