pearlgirl's Profile

That sounds delicious, digsapony. Are they just regular dates stuffed with regular peanut butter, or are there any other ingredients?

I have been doing this every year for more than ten years, and it is very popular with my friends. I use the onion ring beer batter from the Southern Living cookbook for everything excpet chicken and steak fingers. A couple of tips, especially if you have a large number of guests:

(1) Fry any meat before guests arrive (or be done with that around the time they arrive) so you aren't dealing with raw meat and other stuff on the counter at the same time and so people have something to eat when they first get there. Chicken and steak fingers stay warm in the oven for a little while with no problem.

(2) Particularly if you're frying sweet things, remind guests not to bring fish/seafood unless you're going to change the oil after frying those. Frying onion rings after fish is one thing, but you don't want your fried Snickers tasting fishy.

(3) Mini and snack-size chocolate bars work better than the big ones. Put them in the fridge or, better, the freezer for a while before frying. Same with cheese--it works better cold.

(4) This makes a big mess. Especially if you are drinking beer while frying. Try putting a layer of aluminum foil over your counter where you have the fryer. When you're done frying, you can throw it away and not have to try to clean oil and batter off everything.

(5) Don't squeeze yourself on prep time. Get your friends to bring the foods that require an extra step of preparation (like deviled eggs, cake, etc.) and leave yourself the easy tasks like draining pickle slices.

(6) Don't forget the ranch dressing.

(7) You'll need a lot of batter.

(8) Especially if you're drinking while frying, a fryer is much better than a cast-iron skillet because it keeps the oil at a constant temperature--less popping oil and less chance of burning/smoking. I have two of the GranPappy Fry Daddy fryers. They're cheap and they work. I like them better than one of the fancier basket-style fryers I tried.

(9) Things you should try fried: Cadbury eggs. Bagel Bites. Mini quiches. Deviled eggs. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Pickled okra. Gummy bears. Macarons. Goat cheese balls.

(10) Your house will smell delicious for days.

@karacooks, I don't think the person with the question was worried about people dying but just being sick. Also, before refrigeration, people used alternate methods of preservation.

I certainly hope people who serve me food bother to think about food safety. Better to ask the question and be told that it is safe than to assume it is fine and find out the opposite is true.

I think the first one is art--it is creative and has a point of view. There are plenty of modern art pieces that did not require particular skill but just an idea.

The second one is a nice craft. The last three are kind of funny, but they're also super ugly, and I can't imagine hanging them on the wall. The monster idea could be good--in the sense of making a comment on the nature of the original painting--if it was executed better. Right now it seems too much like the idea of painting vampire teeth on people in bad paintings to use for Halloween decorations.

I drink but would never expect a host to serve alcohol. I can make it through a dinner or party without a drink! I would also rather have iced tea, water (with or without lime, etc), or soda than a virgin cocktail. A virgin cocktail is all (or most of) the calories and none of the fun.

Also, you can certainly make a lot of non-dairy pies if you just use shortening in the crust instead of butter. Crisco makes a butter-flavored vegetable shortening if you want to get a little butter flavor in pie crust or cookies.

The 30% rule makes good financial sense, with the adjustments for transportation and other expenses mentioned in the post. If you choose to pay more than that because you want to live in a fun city, great neighborhood, whatever, you have to recognize that financial choice and realize that you're going to have to give up something else, like savings, and accept the consequences of that. Most people who live in NYC, LA, etc. could get a job somewhere less expensive (I get that there are exceptions for people pursuing certain types of careers), but they want to live in those cities. That's a "want" just like anything else--it's no different than spending 50% of your income on shoes or buying a luxury car when what you can really afford is a Honda.

I assumed "small space" included "small outdoor space." In that case, there are some small magnolias that you can get that are more bush-like than tree-like. I have a pretty small backyard, and I have a bushy magnolia tree, not a big monster tree. It still has the nice big white blooms.

My potted lavender has never bloomed. I'm not sure what the problem is, but if you are looking for blooming lavender, you might need to do some research about varieties/care.

If you live somewhere hot, mint needs to be in a decent-sized pot and needs to be watered frequently. It does grow like a weed, but it's not very drought-tolerant, at least when grown in pots rather than a bed.

This kitchen is beautiful, but hanging the pots in that spot is gross. Even in a house without small children or pets, are you going to wash them every time someone accidentally kicks one? Or bumps one with a mop or vacuum?

This might work better if they were set deeper into the cabinet (i.e., not sticking out beyond the edge of the cabinet) and had a shelf underneath them rather than the floor.

I guess this designer didn't want stuff cluttering the cabinet, but having the microwave sitting that low also seems impractical.

I'm confused--do you put the phone in the drawer to charge it, or run the charger cord back out through the hole in the back of the nightstand so that your phone can sit outside the drawer while charging?