dimsum's Profile

My husband and I fell in love with the bidet concept during our honeymoon. If there was any way we could fit one into our bathroom, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

Used coffee grounds work well for me.

Yay! I fell in love with menemen while traveling in Turkey years ago, and it's been a fave weekend breakfast ever since. I think that the feta is more likely French feta, known as beyaz peynir in Turkey - not as salty as Greek feta. I've made some California twists to my version: I don't cook down the tomatoes, but just sweat them; I add avocado, and I often use a little shredded pepper jack for the cheese.

Thanks so much for turning me on to Cenk's blog! Adding to my feed reader....

Sorry, I should have prefaced that - if you can't get your hands on this OR can't justify the expense...didn't mean to sound so negative. I know that my budget can deal much better with a $3 bottle of nuoc mam from the Asian market, is all.

I just converted my husband to loose leaf a couple of weeks ago, and it was like a revelation to him. He can't believe how much better the tea is! I have a samovar style kettle I bought in Turkey, so we have tea on virtually all weekend as we putter about with various projects. It's wonderful, esp. in winter.

@ headshake - I hardly think they're pimping - you have to be someone who already shops there semi-regularly to recognize the store from a pretty generic looking price tag, it's nowhere named in the article. Secondly - that was apparently a pretty isolated incident (find me ANY sizeable organization that doesn't harbor some whackjobs in their ranks). For the most part, they are a fairly decent corporate citizen, especially as compared to most of their peers.

I also got the hot lemon whiskey treatment as a child, with the addition of white pepper (it's only been in my 30s that I've finally grown to *like* bourbon). It stops sore throats immediately and is my go-to whenever I feel under the weather. I've brewed it up/passed the recipe on to many friends who think I'm a witch doctor/miracle worker! :)

I would totally think the ones in pic #7 were ashtrays. Says more about my upbringing, I suppose.

Setting up a well-stocked bar was a natural focus when my husband and I combined households. My parents entertained frequently, and he grew up in the wine industry. We now have a decently stocked bar, visible behind glass in our dining room, but it's nothing really over the top when compared to many other people we know. So we've both been *quite* surprised (and a bit chagrined) by the reactions we've gotten from neighbors or visitors who don't know us well, always something akin to, "Geez, do a little drinking?!"

I take this as rather insulting - we have the occasional drink or cocktail, and when we have friends over, there's usually either a signature cocktail for the evening, an aperitif, or we do a small tasting flight of liqueurs that are exotic to our guests. If we were just getting bombed regularly, we'd have 2 or 3 bottles of bourbon and call it good! But the reaction sometimes makes me wonder if we should swap the liquor with the dishes currently hidden away in the sideboard. Boring!

We have the basics (gin, bourbon, vodka, tequila, raki/ouzo), with both top-shelf and "for mixing" options. We also have most of your typical cocktail add-ons: French and Italian vermouth, high quality amaretto, creme de cassis, Chambord, Cointreau, St. Germaine, Kahlua, Bailey's, mini bottles of kirsch and various pear brandies, sake, wine, port, ginger wine...and there are many others I'd like to keep on hand but simply don't have the space (limoncello, Campari/Ramazotti, curacao, creme de menthe), not to mention the exotic new spirits that are always turning up!

I have to disagree with the folks who say that non-candy items are verboten. I've given out the mini tubs of Play Doh for the last several years, and have always gotten *thrilled* reactions from the kids, including teens who you'd think wouldn't be into it. Miniaturized anything is usually interesting enough to be deemed "cool".