chowbella's Profile

Surfas is still there! I was there this past Sunday and the store (as well as the cafe) was packed.

Love Bargain Fair, too, especially if you're outfitting a new apartment or hosting a large dinner party.

I always think of it as a gift to be opened later, but if you're interested in opening it up, by all means ask the giver.

As a guest, if I know the menu for the evening I'll pick something that would pair well, so if it is opened it will at least work with the meal. There have also been times when I've emphasized to our hosts that I've brought a really special bottle that should be tucked away for later. I never assume that I will get to drink any of it.

When I'm on the hosting side, I've usually already picked the wines to be served, but if a guest brings something that could match the food I'll ask if they want to open it up right away. I certainly don't mind if they want to enjoy it together--that's what wine is for, in my opinion.

I mostly stay out of the kitchen: everything goes on the grill, and we eat lots of salads. Occasionally I'll use the slow cooker--though that puts off a fair amount of heat as well.

If you even try to touch my oven knob between July 1 and September 15, I will kill you.

Would be even more delicious if you poached the egg, so its runny yolk could make a delicious thick sauce...

I'll second How to Cook without a Book--I picked it up for my brother a few years ago and was so annoyed that I hadn't found it when I was learning how to cook.

Also, next gift-giving occasion, enroll your honey in a knife skills class at a local cooking school. It's so basic, but a HUGE source of confidence (and speed) in the kitchen.

When it comes to browsing for recipes/inspiration, I'm still attached to physical cookbooks and magazines. Something about the pictures, the act of turning the pages, that makes the recipes more real.

I'm a Bon Appetit fan myself; the redesign last year (or was it 2007) reinvigorated the whole brand, so I hope it gets to stick around. Cooks Illustrated, to which I also subscribe, doesn't even accept advertising; it's also been robust about franchising (with books, shows, Web sites, etc.) so I suspect it'll survive.

As for the others, Cooking Light will probably make it by virtue of its diverse focus: articles on fitness and makeup bring in a different crowd of advertisers than just food. Everyday Food's massive subscriber base will probably help it weather the storm.

The rest seem like a crapshoot to me, and will depend on whether the sales teams are able to convincingly argue that people reach for their publication when they decide to start cooking at home more often.

Sometime in the mid-late-90s I swear Dr Pepper changed their formula to make it sweeter and play down the spicier notes. I still love the Dr, but it's not quite the same.

Simply beautiful!

Yay, Drewes Brothers! They were my first neighborhood butchers. Now that I'm in LA, it's Huntington Meats in the Farmers Market.

I used to follow recipes religiously the first time, just so I could set a basis for comparison. Now that I've been cooking nightly dinners for eight years, though, I've developed the confidence to stray and almost always do.

Baking is another story. I do it less often and am thus less likely to experiment.