Very soon it will be X week in my son's classroom and guess who gets to bring the letter of the week snack? (This was so much easier when we had G!)

I'm going to need to get original here and dig deep for X foods beyond X shaped cookies. Any ideas? It has to be packaged (I can't prepare it at home) and can't contain peanuts.

Thanks!

We've agreed to host a dinner party for 14 as part of a fundraiser. It has to be vegetarian, dairy or fish - we can't serve meat/poultry. It needs to be a substantial meal (i.e. not just appetizers) and I'd like to be impressive (people are paying $$ for the pleasure). I've got plenty of great fish recipes, etc., but they almost all entail last-minute cooking/prep, and I'd prefer to be with my guests than toiling in the kitchen (as much as possible). I also don't have a broiler!

So, please help me devise a delicious menu under these guidelines! Thanks!

Ate at Wildfire restaurant in Chicago last night. First time I've had their rice pilaf as a side. It was great - lots of veggies with a slightly crunchy texture. If it wasn't for a table full of kids I probably could have paid attention to what was actually in it (I noticed corn, peas - definitely others...). Any ideas? I'd love to make it at home.

We're celebrating our tenth anniversary next month (!) and want to plan a special meal out in Chicago, preferably downtown. No Alinea, Trotters, etc., but I want someplace very nice, with great food and service. We don't nec. need someplace overly "romantic" - we enjoy a bustling restaurant, but we don't want to be crowded or rushed either. (I know, picky picky.)

Considering the Lockwood at the Palmer House simply because we got married at that hotel. The restaurant has mixed reviews though...

I made soft pretzels today. They were good, especially while still warm. I did the baking soda bath - even with the baked baking soda trick from Harold McGee in the NYTimes - and they still didn't have a crispy crust. Do I need to keep them in there longer? Any suggestions?

I've been 'assigned' mashed potatoes for the family Thanksgiving potluck. I don't make mashed potatoes that often and when I do I always serve them immediately. For Thanksgiving, I need to make them, drive 1/2 hour, then we won't even be serving for another hour after that.

Can they sit around without getting gummy or separating? What's the best strategy here? I can't plan on making them there b/c there'll will be too much going on.

My husband is lactose-intolerant, and while he feels better since discovering this, misses his most-favorite desserts - ice cream. We've tried literally almost every kind of lactose free ice cream on the market and they just don't have the flavor range he's used to! (I know, if that was only our biggest problem...) His particular favorite is mint chocolate chip.

Anyway, I want to make lactose free (or close to it) ice cream at home. I know you can get Lactaid milk, but what about heavy cream? Is there some kind of substitute for that?

Any other tips from those who've been there before?

I saw a picture of a cake on the How about Orange blog (love it!) that was covered in balls of different colored icing. If you squinted, it looked like M&Ms. Anyone ever cover the entire sides of a frosted cake with M&Ms (or other colored coated candy)? Does it look cool or just like a cake covered with M&Ms? Got the kid's b-day party coming up and was thinking about doing it in a solid color or maybe two. Unfortunately, no time to do a practice...

I need to cook brisket for a lot of people - and of course want to have some left over. I need to double my recipe. Should I buy two briskets of the recommended size, or one brisket that's double the size?

As a teen I had an aunt (former, by marriage, so I can't ask her now...) who made a matza cake every Passover that I'd so love to find a recipe for. The matzas were soaked in wine until soft, then layered with a chocolate mousse or similar, which also iced the sides and top. You'd end up with a thin slice with at least 12 matzas. So good. Her family was not Jewish, so it wasn't a handed down recipe - probably from a cookbook (this was the 80s).

Anyone have something similar? I've been searching for years but haven't found the same thing yet.

Did anyone else make Melissa Clark's Garlic and Thyme Roasted Chicken With Crispy Drippings Croutons recipe from the 3/11 NYTimes? You roast a chicken on a bed of day-old bread, which is supposed to result in crispy, dripping-soaked croutoney bread. My smoke alarm went off and I got burnt bread. BUT, the chicken was the most gloriously juicy bird ever. The bits of bread directly under the chicken were edible and tasty. I'm dying to get this right!