Thanks everyone for the very helpful suggestions! I now definitely plan on seeking guidance from the store with my charcuterie selection and planning the details with real wine glasses, etc (thanks for the candle tip!!!) I really...

the next batch longer. oh, and perhaps this is crucial, but after i started making them, i realized i was out of vanilla. the vanilla might be really necessary to round out the flavor. and this is off topic, but i baked oatmeal...

sees it. Whether her opinion is of concern to anyone else is the reader’s choice, is it not? Cut her some slack, because while I think she may be on the obsesive compulsive side of the detail appreciation, that is exactly...

for me and you shall be rewarded w/ pure poultry pleasure. Your patience will be tested w/ that neverending thread, but the recipe is linked in there somewhere. The accompanying bread salad is a crucial tenet of this belief...

salad as appetizers. The ginger salad was revelatory. I’m not sure I’m eloquent enough to explain it in detail. In some ways it resembled a really great Vietnamese salad (I think it utilized lemongrass and nuts for...

Thanks for your quick reply...just checked the weather and its predicted to be 91, so maybe outdoors isn’t crucial...although a view would be nice. (But then again, I’m from Las Vegas, so a little shade and low...

're going in a Honda Civic, so minimizing space requirements is crucial. Also, we’ll be travelling every week or so through large cities, so will be able to get extra supplies. Any advice is much appreciated. p.s. I thought...

I responded a few days ago to your original message. Following is my more detailed post. Note, there is probably a way to link to the earlier post, but I’m a low tech guy. Original message follows: Subject: Merci From:...

Fugakyu is my second favorite place for sushi (after Oishii in Chestnut Hill). The sushi bar in nice, and they have private room as well. Very large, lots of nice decorative details. Price range Nigiri $3-7.75 for 2 pieces...

but lack crucial authentic touches. Bak Kut Teh. Limster dragged himself off his sickbed to the Muni stop and trudged a long way to the restaurant from the BART station. Too bad this Chinese herbal pork stew didn’t have its...

's the same owner, but the attention to detail of the former pit master (who I haven’t seen there on my three visits since the change) is the crucial missing link. I saw a similar thing happen with Norm Calvin’s Rib...

, then cool on rack. I have to caution that I am using a 1920’s Chambers fireless gas oven, so temperatures are approximate here—the gas flips off when the “specified” temp is reached. I just have to watch...

How about sending out an email the day before/day of event that details the menu according to who is bringing what. Therefore, if friend A has said he/she will bring beet salad, he/she will know what everyone is expecting and...

Being the impatient type at your age, I found Craig Claiborne’s “Sixty Minute Gourmet” books to be about the right speed. He’s literate, recipes have crucial details, and I had alot of fun with them. Way...

Not in my experience. A probe thermometer is crucial for breads, at least in my oven, and especially for breads baked in a loaf pan. It is hard to judge the interior doneness by the browning of the upper crust....stick in the...