Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I carried half a suitcase of F&M tea to my mother over Christmas. The funny thing is I drink it so much less now that I live in London than I did when I was home in the US and would buy huge amounts at a time to take back with me.

Roaming around the food halls at Fortnum is a very nice way to waste an afternoon. I should do it more often!

@Kenji it looks like we're both right! I speak Germany almost fluently but never knew that foreigners should say "ein." Then again I've claimed to be a native of a German city so I guess it never came up.

From the link: So, while the proper way for a Berlin native to say "I am a Berliner" is "Ich bin Berliner," the proper way for a non-native to make the same statement metaphorically is precisely what Kennedy said: "Ich bin ein Berliner."

NJ native here, and frankly we should be included as Giants Stadium is in our state! Pizza-wise Slice's beloved Star Tavern is well within Giants country which should push it in our favor.

I love Spezi, I even brought some back with me on a recent trip to Germany. I never thought about the ratios, which explains why my half Coke half Fanta versions have never matched up.

The show is called Freaky Eaters and it was on BBC. There were only three seasons.

As an expat in the UK, I have some observations.

- BBC is a publicly funded channel and has mandates to inform and educate. It is the least likely UK channel to make stuff up for ratings
- the British diet is extremely poor and restricted. Many people outside of large cities are not raised eating fresh vegetables, seafood, or foreign food

I've never found this show unbelievable and in fact I personally know a few people who I'd recommend to go on it.

I love Germany mohnschnecke - basically looks like a cinnamon roll but with a poppyseed filling instead. I've never made one but here's a picture: http://t2.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/08/33/43/400_F_8334353_2T0Su5mC0JHT1SpxAuA587A7ndKyk94d.jpg

I like creamy Cajun pasta. I've used this recipe but add red peppers and chicken, increase the spice, and use light cream instead.

http://steamykitchen.com/73-pasta-with-creamy-cajun-sauce.html

@mcnormal not sure when you were last in Europe but they have large American-style supermarkets everywhere. I live in the UK and have been in Italy, Turkey, and Germany in the past year and found super-sized stores that would rival any Target back home in the States.

As far as American food, I tend to go for barbecue-type dishes and southern food like mac and cheese. I have yet to find a restaurant here that does that style of food any justice.

I just came back from a trip to Germany and had lots of fantastic stollen, although I prefer the marzipan type, which is way too sweet for breakfast. I may try this recipe as I prefer it infinitely to the dry fruitcakes my relatives make for Christmas each year.

The white sauces in London usually are mayo-free and have garlic. I'll make this chicken recipe with that type of sauce, like this one: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/yogurtgarlicsau.htm

So after reading through lots and lots of recipes, I have finally had homemade pancake success!

I used this recipe from Nigella Lawson for American-style pancakes: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/home-made-instant-pancake-mix-54
but replaced the flour with self-rising flour in addition to the baking powder and soda. I also used a scale for precise measurements in case it was my measuring cups.

They came out perfectly! I made them with blueberries and they were as light and fluffy as a pancake should be. This recipe is so easy because I just keep the dry ingredients in a jar and then throw in the eggs, milk, and butter whenever it's pancake time.

I'm assuming that the plain flour I was previously using was to blame for my flat and lifeless pancakes in the past.

Just wanted to add if another fruit is pureed in there (e.g. prunes, raisins) that would probably also work, but there has to be something in there.

Fantastic idea! I'm in England so no Popeye's, but there's a high-end supermarket chain that does some fantastic 100% breast meat chicken bits. Definitely going to try this.

Damn I miss Popeye's.