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Something needs to be done about the trouble of gift cards. A somewhat similar thing but in the reverse happened to me when trying to use a gift card for a particular restaurant. My boyfriend and I had a gift card for a nice restaurant and carefully ordered so that we could include the tip on the card. We were informed after our meal that tip could not be put on the card, so not only were we out more money than expected but also had to order superfluous items just to use up the money on the card, seeing as it wasn't like we could return on a later date and order one appetizer to split. What I don't understand about this is that the restaurant had already been paid the full amount on the card prior to our ordering so what's the big deal? Say you pay $10 for a gift card in advance, and then end up ordering $8 worth of food and want to leave a $2 tip. The restaurant is only out $8 and still "owes" you $2. If you want them to give that $2 to the server I don't think it should be an issue. Anyway, sorry for the rant but issues like this just seem to make things more difficult for servers and diners.

i make what i call "caper pasta" all the time. it's like a puttanesca but without tomato sauce, just crushed tomatoes, and lots of mozzarella thrown in at the end.

is it just me or does Paula look like she finds this whole endeavor hilarious? I'm not entirely certain she's pulling a fast one on us, but something tells me she's not eating fried mac 'n cheese on a regular basis and is more in on the joke than we think. Whether the side-effect of people actually reproducing this dish is worth the joke is another matter, but I think anyone who looks at bacon-wrapped macaroni cheese crispies and thinks "now I know what to make for dinner!" has more problems than we can blame on Paula.

Mark Bittman has taught me to eat buckwheat blueberry pancakes on a much MUCH more regular basis!

honey oatmeal bread!

scrambled eggs with soyrizo and a stack of hot tortillas

I love love love making red pepper hummus

the harvest pancakes at tom's in brooklyn

tofu/bean/mustard/salsa/onion/spinach medley. better than it sounds!

at least three kinds of mustard: champagne, plain dijon, and a sweet/spicy honey mustard (prefer honeycup), plus gruyere!

the harvest pancakes from tom's in brooklyn!

my favorite dessert as a child was those wafery pink, white and brown cookies with oreoesque filling in between. i now find them sickening but it used to be that convincing mom to buy them was a culinary triumph.

cranberry sauce is my favorite part of the meal. adding champagne just puts it over the top, I'm sold!