Hey all. I'll be heading to the east coast for a while, namely good old Boston and bustling New York. I'll be at each place for a couple of days (so nine to twelve meals in each city, not including snacks. PLENTY of snacks), and I'd really like every bite to count (it's been a while since I've visited the east side).

Any recommendations would be fantastic. Local food would be exceptionally nice, but if there's some place that can really kick...rear...at a specific food and make it spectacular, who am I to say "No thanks"?

Thanks all in advance! :)

After making yet another batch of ice cream (mmm, basil...) I've been opening the refrigerator and finding myself staring at a bowlful of five egg whites. This isn't the first time, either: what with my rekindled interest in homemade ice cream and mass stockpile of eggs, I'm finding myself with more egg whites than I -- or any amount of meringue making -- can handle.

Yet, some others seem to fall into the other camp: they have bunches of yolks sitting in their fridge (admittedly I've had this happen once or twice -- usually when I'm out of cream). Whether for angel food cake, meringues, or what have you, they fall into this category.

Which ones end up chilling in your fridge -- and what tips do you have for finally getting some use out of them?

Tuesday I was delighted to find I'd won the cookbook "Plenty" (sorry carnivores, you can never have enough vegetarian cookbooks!) and received a confirmation email from Serious Eats asking for my name and address (which I sent as soon as I finished reading).

I haven't received a response email yet, and I'm not sure whether your policy is to email back that you've received the information or not (it's my first win!). I tried sending a query to contact@seriouseats.com in case perhaps my emails just weren't getting sent to Serious Eats, nothing yet.

I know it's been less than a week since the first emails were sent out, but since we only get a week to claim the books, I'm a little worried. Looking through previous topics it seems sometimes winners didn't get emails back after sending their information?

Not to make such a big deal out of this, but it does seem like such a lovely cookbook and I'd hate to wait several weeks only to find out I accidentally forfeited the prize. You can understand, right? :)

Thank you in advance!

With a fresh batch of gianduja ice cream in mind, I set off to my local specialty food store for a pound or two of hazelnuts (they're hazelnuts, how can I NOT get extra?).

Turns out I can do better than not getting extra.

In fact, I can totally forget to pick up the hazelnuts, and realize once I'm snugly back home that - despite all the shopping I did - my hazelnut count is still zero.

But wait! What's this? Hazelnut flour from the depths of my pantry?

I ask you, Serious Eaters - since hazelnut flour is just finely ground hazelnuts, and since I'm making ice cream I want my hazelnuts to be smoothly pulverized anyway, how safe would I be in simply substituting my hazelnut flour for the whole stuff in my ice cream recipe?

Thanks in advance!

Enough cold frying oil. Enough over-done steaks. Most definitely enough scrambled eggs in custard base.

I need a decent instant-read thermometer, one I can use not just for checking meats and frying temperatures, but other temperatures as well. I don't make candy as often as I do some other foods, but it'd be nice to have the option for when I do make it. Help?

Digital or not, either way is fine (although digital is preferred). Still, I don't want something that breaks five minutes after I buy it.

That wouldn't be reliable.

My family has the oddest cravings - for example, today, when my family urged me to make pancakes this close to midnight. Of course I got out my pan with delight and began to make pancakes.

I started out with the utmost confidence; the first couple ones were beautifully golden as I flipped them over. When I'd let them cook for the second time, however, the opposite side failed to reach the same, continuous, beautifully golden look the other side had (of course this side faced the plate when I presented these to the waiting horde).

For now my pancake making abilities are not in question, but for the next time this odd craving strikes my family:

How can you properly get both sides of a pancake to be even and golden?

Christmas is coming up ,and with it the opportunity to get together with friends and family to eat, drink, and just have a good time.

Yet, I'm sure we can all think of "that particular thing" we could really do without ever seeing again. Ever.

What's that one thing that you could completely do without? (Please don't include family members. If you do, at least mention something more appropriate for eating/drinking).

I personally hate ham. Either watery and bland or dry and salty, I've never found one I've liked. I'll take anything over ham, even turkey (even the desert-dry type). Kenji's recent article has made me wonder whether I should look for a decent ham, but it's still a major "if".

So, what about you?

(It doesn't just have to be holiday food, fyi).

I've been planning on making cinnamon rolls for the longest time, and with the holiday season came my perfect excuse for overconsuming butter (don't worry, it's a good thing).

Normally I'd make my rolls with All-Purpose flour, but with all this holiday baking, I'm running pretty low. I have, however, got several cups of bread flour. Seeing as that's usually good for yeasty breads, I was hoping to use that instead.

Do any bakers here have preferences for one or the other in cinnamon rolls? Any experiences with bread flour in them? I just don't want to make a bunch of rolls only to have them be tough and a bit too sturdy. Although I'm sure a little extra frosting could help that problem.

If not, I'm not done with my holiday baking anyway - I can go and get some more all-purpose flour.

And larger pants, while I'm at it.

Surely I can't be the only one with this problem...

With Thanksgiving over, I don't have to worry about dealing with turkey again for a good, long while. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the monster bag of cranberries I still have (it's still 2/3rds of the way full). I've got enough cranberry sauce jarred up to last me months, on toast, next to meats, you name it.

So I'd really rather not whip up another batch of the goopy stuff.

I've also got lots of pies and rolls left (practically emptied my fridge of all butter), so I'm trying to stay away from making any more pies, tarts, cakes, or scones. That doesn't leave me with too many options as to what to do with my cranberries.

Surely someone out there can help poor fellows like myself, who have too many cranberries and nothing to use them in? I'd hate to see them go to waste, but if I have to plunk another couple handfuls of them into a pot with cinnamon and orange, cranberries won't be the only things flying about in my kitchen.

HELP!