Totally random topic, I know!

Do you guys have any tips for separating iceberg lettuce leaves (say, for minced chicken in lettuce cups)?

I'm always tearing the leaves and wonder if there's some big secret I'm missing.

Thanks!

G

Chinese New Year is coming up and I'm wondering what you all might be making?

I'll have my 8 year old (who's allergic to peanuts, but nothing else) and I'd love some ideas.

She doesn't shy away from exotic foods, but we avoid anything too spicy.

I was thinking of some sort of noodle (maybe with beef and chinese greens?), chicken in lettuce cups, rice, and sesame cookies.

I would love to attempt a whole fish, but wouldn't even know where to start.

Can't wait to hear your suggestions!

G

So my boyfriend is in Malaysia for work this week. Are there are neat spices or seasonings (or anything else foodie related) that I should have him bring back for me?

I'm hosting a Dia de los Muertos celebration on November 2nd.

Any suggestions of what to serve beyond the traditional pan de muerto, tamales, and mole?

I'd love to add something new to the mix.

Thanks!

I made some cornbread muffins yesterday - the flavor was amazing!

Getting them out of the pan? Not so much. The tops came off, but the bottoms stayed in the pan.

So now I have a bunch of broken corn muffins. Yes, I greased the pan.

I hate to throw them away - last night I crumbled their remains over some chili, but I'm at a loss for anything else to do with them.

Any ideas?

We are headed to a concert venue to hear the symphony and watch fireworks on the 4th.

I'm bringing some food to the event to nibble on - cheese, crackers, olives, etc.

I'd also like to bring a fun dessert that's portable and not too messy that will appeal to grown ups and kids. Beyond cookies and brownies - do you have any ideas that will travel well?

I was thinking pie pops - too trendy? lol

I was in CT last week for a visit and a friend took me to a really good restaurant in Glastonbury called 2Hopewell.

http://www.2hopewell.com/Default.aspx

Highly recommend it - and NO I am not affiliated with them whatsoever (I live in California). Just passing along a place to go if you're in the area. :)

Hi everyone! I'm going to a memorial in a few weeks that will be in a park. People have been asked to bring food for potluck. I love to cook so I'm in!

I'd love any ideas you guys might have that would be good for vegetarians (for vegans would be a bonus). Don't want anything mayo based since it will be outside.

The obvious idea is a pasta salad - pasta, artichoke hearts, olives, etc.

Any other ideas?

Thanks so much for your help!!

I got a package of four globe artichokes (the size of small softballs) at Trader Joe's and I'm wondering what to do with them besides boil them?

Anyone have a good recipe for roasting them (or something else)?

Thanks in advance!

Hi guys,

I need to put my serious foodie persona aside today. April Fools is this week and I trick my daughter every year. One year it was faux grilled cheese (orange buttercream between two slices of pound cake that i torched to look 'toasted'), another it was candy sushi (she was young and totally fell for it). The best was when i gave her a 'side' of mashed potatoes with gravy that was actually ice cream and dulce de leche.

Making jello in a juice glass always a hit too :)

Have you fooled anyone food-wise on April 1st? Tell me!

I just discovered the show Mad Hungry on Hallmark Channel - have any of you guys checked it out? What do you think?

I'm loving it! I recognized Lucinda Scala Quinn from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food show. She's so different in this show (it seems less 'uptight' than the EF show (for lack of a better word) and brings some really yummy looking recipes to the table. And I love how she gets her sons involved.

I've seen at least one thing (or more) that I want to make from every episode I've caught.

I'm thinking of taking a few classes at the Cheese School in San Francisco.

Have any of you been there? Good, bad, cheesy (sorry, couldn't help myself)?

Thanks!

We're renovating our house and completely redoing our kitchen - i'm so excited! We're just in the planning stages with our architect so we have a blank slate.

After reading today's talk post about which kind of oven to buy , it made me realize that there's probably all kinds of advice just waiting for me here.

The things I DO know I want:
- an island with a sink and stone counter (not sure what kind - any suggestions?)
- a double wall oven (electric)
- a gas cooktop
- a pot filler (trendy I know, but i still want one)

Things I DON'T want:
- a trash compactor

So what am I missing? What's the one thing you wish you had in your kitchen that you don't have? Is there a brand of appliance that you love? Are there any cabinet accessories (like those lifts for mixers) that you use all the time?

Money, of course, is a factor so I wont be getting a $4000 built in espresso machine, but a kegerator, maybe :) I was also thinking about getting a single drawer fridge for the island for everyday stuff/easily accessible drinks and snacks for kids. Too much?

Looking forward to hearing back from you with suggestions!

I'm looking for a food dehydrator and would love any recommendations from the SE community. I checked the archives and didn't see any previous threads with product recommendations. They don't seem terribly expensive, but I'm just not sure which ones are better than others.

I'll be using it for drying fruit and veggies (and maybe even beef jerky after seeing the korean beef jerky mentioned in today's NYT).

Thanks in advance!

So I've never seen an episode of Big Daddy's House on Food Network. And I probably never will.

BUT.....

I was watching one of the FN Thanksgiving specials this week and caught Aaron and the 5 ingredient woman (eek) making his 2 in 1 gravy recipe. Here it is.

Ignore the gravy recipe. The thought of using canola oil just doesn't seem right to me.

But check out the rest of the recipe: balls of stuffing with a piece of sausage in the middle and deep fried and then dipped in gravy.

Holy Moses I'm trying this. It's got three of my favorite things: stuffing, pork, and frying.

I'm gonna be running a lot to work this off.

My father-in-law has diabetes and my motherinlaw hasn't made much of a difference in her cooking until recently. I hate to say this, but she's not a great cook to begin with, so the changes she's implemented have resulted in some pretty awful food so far. Really bland and tasteless.

I was trying to talk to her about what exactly makes a recipe good for diabetics and she couldn't give me a straight answer.

It seems to me that tasty food is an option here as long as I look out for sugar/carb content. Or am I totally off base?

So I look to you all - can you give me some guidelines for cooking for a diabetic? What should I keep in mind? Any good sites out there I should check out? Any tasty recipes you can suggest?

Any help is appreciated.

I was down in LA last week and hit Surfas (https://www.surfasonline.com/index.cfm). I came home with a bag full of fun stuff, including a few items I grabbed just because they looked interesting.

So I need your help. What would you do with these?:

- dried epazote
- powdered coconut milk (beyond the obvious of reconstituting it to make coconut milk).
- a jar of palm sugar

The temperature here in my neck of the woods is supposed to hit 97 degrees today. Any ideas for a dinner that requires minimal use of the stove so I don't heat up my place? I was thinking of a vietnamese noodle salad, but I'd love some other ideas.

Anyone?

I've been instructed to bring an appetizer to Thanksgiving that doesn't require heating (to save on oven space). I have a few ideas, but what would YOU bring besides a salad?

I really liked Mark's column: Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals in today's NYTimes. I liked this list so much - great easy ideas I can tweak. 22, 40, 60, 99 - yum! What were your favorites?