Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

My son graduates too this June we are planning the taco bar, grilled chicken, deep fried ravioli with marinara sauce and a bunch of different salads. My daughter suggested a whipped potaoto martini bar that you use basic whipped mashed potatoes in martini glasses and have different hot items for on top, but I reminded her it will be warm by then and that would prob. be too heavy for the weather.

There is definately cooking skills needed for Top Chef, but I know Bobby on Hell's Kitchen, Ramsey is hilarious. I like them both but now that I'm cooking full time in a restaurant and catering when I sit down finally to relax I really don't want to watch a cooking show.... So I Tivo them and watch them in the morning before I start cooking.

I live in NY just across the Canadian boarder and when a craving hits it's straight over the bridge I go......YUM

We get a lot of nice melons in the summer and if you like honeydew you should try a Santa Claus melon its golden yellow with light green lines about as big as a honeydey but shaped like a football, a lot jucier and sweeter. I love to mix melon and sugarfree ice cream in the bleander- no milk it makes a great smoothie.

I have catered brunches before and I'm going to do one in June for guests that are coming from out of town for a bridal shower. I will make quiche or strata, home fried potatoes, sausauge, bagels& assorted cream cheese, low fat yougurt & granola and lots of fresh fruit. I will also make my signature "Joan's Scones"

Some cookie dough/batter changes w/ freezing & will bake off differently. My training & experience are that freshly baked product frozen quickly after completely cooling will be most like a fresh baked product. At one place i worked, we developed a cookie dough that froze well & baked off great after thawing. I freeze all kinds of frosting all the time---airtight container---put a piece of cling wrap on frosting surface for extra protection. Ask Cookey at 8:29 pm

After all the creations I've made and slaved over, everyone just falls over my truffles. People seem to like most things but these are always the ones that are most commented on.

I just take a bit of heavy cream up to boiling, chop up some chocolate (trader joes bittersweet) and stir in, followed by a little butter. I then chill or freeze and make into little balls, rolling in cocoa powder/confectioners sugar and drizzle in white chocolate.

BBQ chicken pizza with homemade sauce, white sauce pizza flavored with fresh rosemary onions and mushrooms.

@Butrflygirly - funny you should mention Old Bay, my husband is a big fan of the stuff and if he happens to be nearby when I make shrimp salad, he makes sure that I add Old Bay to the mix, both to sprinkle the shrimp after the brining and in the poaching liquid. Just adjust the amount of salt and black pepper in this case.

If I were to drop scallions, I'd use a bit more dill (just me and my love for green:-)), and, perhaps, chives, but it definitely isn't a big deal. Oh and I'm so glad you love the Horseradish sauce (ever since I discovered it, it's become my regular pantry item), because it does add that subtle "extra" layer of flavour, but on the other hand, if you didn't like it or were not familiar with it, I didn't want to imply that you can't make the salad without it, because you certainly can.

Now I'm curious about your Chilli:-).

My black bean salad. No question about it.

@Schnauser_Mama - what's Irish spaghetti?