gmtruman's Profile

The Smitten Kitchen chocolate stout cake. The best beer for it is Samuel Adams' Chocolate Bock, which only comes in their winter sampler (and only 2 of the 12 bottles!), so every winter I make it a few times, much to the delight of many.

We haven't tried it yet -- our standby recipe and instructions come from America's Test Kitchen, and we've never peeled them before. But between the roasted garlic and the chickpeas cooked in ... (baking soda?) we've never had anything but silky smooth hummus.

The only times I have stepped up and said something were when there was risk of food poisoning or salmonella. I had a particularly awkward and vocal moment with someone who was using the exact same equipment, pans, and hands for her sides that were handling raw chicken. (Thankfully, I was not the only one -- just the first. I don't think any of us talk to her anymore, partly because she was caught lying about being a culinary school graduate.)

I'm lucky in that most of people who have invited me to a meal are food-loving folk who want to improve by learning new or more correct techniques and recipes, and we're pretty close friends, so we can be honest.

My husband and I drink a bit of coffee in the morning, so I highly doubt we'd switch. But when we went to his family's Christmas gathering they had one of these and it was very easy to offer hot chocolate and cider and decaf to the younger folks while the adults enjoyed another pot of coffee from the stove.

Personally, I'm really not a fan of how much space the machine and the little stand a lot of people get to hold all the pods like I saw at a friend's place on Labor Day. Then again, the kitchen wasn't too well organized to begin with.

Gods, I remember obsessing over the remade closet when I was very young -- and I knew that that was the way I wanted things to be.

And! The French Market, http://www.frenchmarketchicago.com/

BELGIAN FRIES.

(I don't think he's a chef.)

I tried this for a bit, and while I felt good about my choices for a while, I got promoted to a job that required a lot of lunches and brunches with clients, and oh, I suffered. Stodgy people (even co-workers) poked fun at my oatmeal and fruit salad when they chomped on French toast and bacon.

And man, that bacon smelled so good.

I've recently started the opposite, though -- when I'm home, I can watch what I eat and carefully prep and cook healthier things.

I am a big fan of the $17 flannel sheets I bought on sale at Target -- the regular 700-count cotton sheets we have in the summer are absolutely frigid in central Illinois.

The spouse sleeps in just his boxers, and I in my t-shirt, and all we've needed in the 30-50 degree autumn nights are the sheets and a down comforter. When it gets to single digits later in the winter, we'll add this marvelous oversized wool flannel blanket, and we have our heat down to 60 degrees to keep the pipes from freaking out.

For the lack of pets, we have a bag filled with dried corn (a gift from my mother-in-law) that we microwave and tuck into the foot of the bed. My feet are always frigid despite my Ugg slippers (thank you, MIL).

In my dreary 5 a.m. state, I've often forgotten to put in the water to our programmable electric drip coffeemaker, so I've gotten in the habit of washing thermoses and filling in the water the night before and programming it to start at 5:30. Knowing that I have to grind the beans (I was given a burr grinder not long ago) and get them in before the timer sets keeps me from dawdling in the shower and keeps me moving in the morning.

I've always, always been turned off by French presses for the sludge and the time it takes to clean up afterwards, and my in-laws have switched to simple cone-and-filter over their glass stovetop. I'm tempted to take that method, but my husband insists that the Mr Coffee machine stays for mornings where he has to make the coffee. It's just easier that way. To me, it tastes just fine.

Want to get a toddy maker, though. Really want to.

I haven't taken a staycation yet, but since my husband doesn't get time off while I still accrue PTO, I take a day off now and again. When I do, I take a book with me when I drop him off at work, get coffee at the coffee shop and read a little and watch the morning rush (and be happy that I'm not in it), and then go home, make a nice leisurely breakfast, start the meat marinade for dinner, and take a very long, luxurious nap midday. Favorite use of days off so far.