Dana V's Profile

sandy dandy: The Pizzaiolo one's were probably from Starter Bakery! If you follow the link from bdubsf above you can find the recipe.

I know some people consider them tacky, but I love getting gift certificates to my favorite grocery stores (Trader Joe's) or to places I usually can't afford (Whole Foods.) This allows me to splurge on a fresh ingredient like a special cheese or a pricey bottle of wine, or to try something new. To me, this is bliss!

chanibelle: Yes! Smitten's fresh strawberry and while balsamic. I usually don't go for gimmicky stuff but I have to say that they make some of the best ice cream I've ever had.

For people who don't live in the Bay Area, Smitten is a new ice cream place in Hayes Valley where they make your ice cream to order using these special liquid nitrogen infusing machines. Apparently, liquid nitrogen cools at a much lower temp, so the ice crystals are smaller making the ice cream creamier.

Smitten Ice Cream

statgrrl: I use The Ginger People's Ginger Syrup which I get at my local natural food store (which admittedly is rather large and well-stocked.) The Ginger People's web page shows that they seem to be out of stock right now (I've had my bottle for a while. It lasts forever!)

Amazon carries a few other brands or you can make your own.

Are you sure a teaspoon of vanilla costs $0.54?

PS I also want to mention that I put my old magazines on the free shelf in my apartment building lobby and so far they have all disappeared. So if you should take up this practice, please try to find a new home for your old issues.

And, I have a confession. I still can't bring myself to let go of several years of Gourmet (see 'romantic', above.) I have a few weeks to go yet before I move so we'll see what I ultimately do!

Daigan: It's no problem to substitute duck eggs for chicken eggs, although I can't find any conversion information. At this point I would just eyeball it. So maybe if a recipe calls for 3 chicken eggs, try 2 duck eggs?

Readers: If you have some experience with this, please comment!

I'm a homemade version, too. Still, it should be pointed out that the scratch version has a little more more clean-up, especially if you grate your cheese (as opposed to buying the pre-grated stuff which I never do.) I think clean-up time should be taken into consideration when comparing boxed vs scratch, like with cake mixes, etc.

Felicity7: You're right! The amount is actually closer to two sandwiches, depending on the size of your bread and how thick you like your peanut butter. I'll change it right away.

In a recent interview, Nathan Myhrvold (Modernist Cuisine) said that the ice bath actually doesn't work very well: it cools quickly on the surface, but internal temperatures of the vegetables continue to rise. I wonder if a paper fan is high-tech enough for him?