fi_burke's Profile

How to pick recipes for entertaining: things that are delicious, festive, and provide you time to manage your guests.

Pearmelon, yes, but it really depends on the age of the child and the child himself.
That said, it is my firm belief that after bedtime (when most adult-only parties occur), all kids probably need supervision, because they are behaving like adrenalin and sugar fueled beasts and not children.

Xarcady, whaler - me too!
At my own wedding, no kids were invited, except for the groom's brothers kids, who were in the wedding. Daughter is a great kid, but at 10pm on the 2nd straight night - not so much. She was pouting at the table because I wouldn't dance with her. I had probably 8 people come up to me and tell me that she sreally wanted to dance, and couldn't I just spare a song. I was not polite at the 8th request. It is not my job at my wedding to make your kid happy. If she can't be pleasant, you need to take her home.

The rest of my friends kids are delightful, because as several people have pointed out, their parents are managing them.

The boxes of ultrapasteurized vegetable soups are pretty great if you buy the nice brands. Soup + bread = yum, and no refrgeration would be required. It would require some way to heat the soup - a rice cooker would work.

Ha! that is hysterical. I kind of want one, but I don't. How on earth would you clean that thing?

I want all of my kitchen spoons to have this feature. I love it!

Another formerly picky eater who has grown to be a food lover here, just wanted to share my perspective. I was labelled 'picky' because I would not eat 3 things: eggs (in any form other than baked goods), mushrooms, and fish. Eggs were no big deal, because I ate everything else breakfasty (bacon, fruit, oatmeal, brown bread). Mushrooms I was allowed to pick around, because I ate every other veggie. But for some reason, avoiding fish was totally out of the question for my folks. Yes, I know 'fish' is a lot of items, but I hated hated hated the smell. I got into a battle of wills about it with my parents, who were Catholic enough to want to eat fish every friday. My parents would force me to eat the fish, and I hated every bite. At some point, I realized that the only way I ever got out of eating dinner was if I was sick to my stomach. I put two and two together, and quit fighting the nausea I felt from the fish. I puked every time they served fish for years. Years, because my parents were not going to give up on the issue. So, by about agt 15, I had 'won' the battle of wills on the fish issue. (FWIW, I would have been perfectly happy being allowed to only eat the sides this one day a week).

Except today, the smell of fish is no longer nauseating to me, but years of puking fish means that I have a total mental block on the issue. My hubby will order lobster and I'll take a bite, think it tastes amazing, but struggle mightily against the gag reflex to swallow it. I will likely never be able to really enjoy fish, as this battle continues no matter how many times I try or how how types of fish I taste. (i've been trying for about 10 years, and I live in a haven of fresh seafood).

So my word of advice to parents: If there is something that your kid just hates, and its not the end of the world to accommodate their food issue, please do it. There is no reason to all suffer, or create a psychological issue in your kids about the item. I really wish today that my parents had just accepted that fish wasn't something I was going to enjoy as a kid, and just let me come back to it as an adult.

I have two sets of these magnetic ones:
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-Magnetic-Measuring-Spoons/dp/B000V8F07E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358304435&sr=8-2&keywords=magnet+measuring+spoons

They are amazing, and require no organizing.

I put browned cubed chicken thighs into every vegetarian stew my hubby brustles at. Then he loves them. But seriously, any hearty vegetarian stew.

I recommend this one: http://www.thekitchn.com/slowcooker-recipe-curried-vege-67520

I totally disagree with Kathleen from E18 about the garlic peeler. I love it. It's perfect for any application where you might want whole undamaged cloves, peeled neatly.

Its a great tool for someone like me who is wary of smashing knives with their hands and is prone to kitchen injuries.