Making french onion soup is a labor of love!  If you have a mandolin slicer, it can be a huge timesaver!  But caramelizing the onions just takes time.  I follow the Julia Child recipe and we love it.

We had a great time at the casino with JoyceK and our DHs.  We got stuck in a huge traffic jam on the way back, but we were so busy chatting that the time flew by.  They came up for drinks and snacks, then they went home.  We walked across the street and had dinner - I had a crabcake with asparagus and DH had ziti with meatballs.  A guitarist was playing Spanish guitar-style music and the tropical breezes were quite strong.  It started to rain as we were finishing, so we waited a few minutes for it to let up before we darted back across the street to the hotel.

Tomorrow's plan is golf for the guys and beach/pool for Joyce and I.  Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and the sunshine state will live up to its name.

Carrie- LOL! you always make me laugh!

Kay- yum, i hadnt thought of that before, salsa on fish, i will try that next time

Apple- Very handsome son, and his GF is pretty.

Michelle and Joyce- Im with Seadide on keeping my fingers crossed for  beach weather tomorrow.

Heading to portland for the food show tomorrow, can wait to eat all that yummy food.

No beach weather again today, but the weather folks have promised sun for tomorrow and the ocean has definitely calmed down.  The DHs played golf today, Joyce and I walked and shopped, ate lunch at a little lobster place, then we met the guys for drinks in the hotel lobby and went out for dinner afterwards in a French restaurant.  I had a beef risotto with mushrooms and cognac sauce that was excellent, Joyce had salmon and the guys had beef burgundy. I've made it many times and my DH said my version is better.  Of course, this one was better than any I've made in the last few years...lol.  I guess I'll have to dig up the recipe and make it in the next few weeks.  I bought a sweatshirt, a cute ball cap and a kitchen towel that says to my DH " To save time, let's just assume I'm never wrong." 

On another note, my DD will graduate in December with her degree in accounting. She has had three interviews and got an extremely generous job offer from the CPA firm she was hoping for, with the job she wanted!  With this economy, it's a miracle!

StillKicking - welcome!  I, too, am diabetic and was pretty good about eating low carb until I got breast cancer!  I do take metformin (thankfully as it is showing to have anti-breast-cancer properties) so it allows me some dietary leeway.  My last two a1c's have been 5.3, so I am pretty happy with that part of my health management.  Sounds like you allowed yourself a splurge, totally understandable!  That risotto I had for dinner was not exactly low carb, either.  As usual, I ate just half the meal so I didn't inflict too much damage!  We are on vacation and I am not even testing this week!

Yes we are, in spite of the less than perfect weather.  Tomorrow, though, and for the rest of the time we are here, the forecast is for sun and temps in the upper 70's.  I am ready for some beach and pool time!

I know  one of you ladies will know the answer to this.Do you store olive oil in the refrigerator?I didn't think you had to .Anyone know?

I'm like apple.  I buy it in big cans and keep a bottle with a liquor bottle type dispenser cork by the stove.

Hi everyone!  Joyce is right, I spent the day on the beach.  I came back to the hotel and ate lunch at the pool bar and grill - a fabulous ahi tuna salad with jicama, edamame, red peppers, slivered pea pods and scallions.  Really, really delicious!  And I had an adult beverage - don't remember the name of it - but it was made with clementine vodka, cointreau, a splash of vodka and a couple other yummy liquids.  Very refreshing!  Then I went back to the beach until the cool breezes got the better of me.  I transferred to the pool area, where it is a little more sheltered.  Now I am waiting for DH to get back - he left at 9 a.m.  Those boys must have had a good day of golf.

I keep my oiive oil by the stove, too. 

Debbie - I am not a fan of cottage cheese, but those pancakes do sound yummy.  They are really a high protein thing that would probably be a good option for me.  Yes I would have to substitute the sugar and corn syrup.  Splenda and a couple tablespoons of sugar-free pancake syrup might do the trick.

Michelle- Glad the weather was nice enough to lay out and enjoy a coctail pool side- It dosn't get any better than that.

Joyce- Hope your dad is going to be ok. Glad you are getting a much deserved break from the hospital.

Lauire- LOL! Thanks, I appreciate that!  Sometimes i ask for a shot of Grand Marnier to put in the marg, i used to ask for a cadillac marg but didnt always taste the GM so now i get a shot of it, try it next time you have one its pretty darn good. Glad you had a good time last night.

Our friends are leaving tomorrow (smiles) I love them dearly but tired. Having them over for appetizers and drinks tonight, and play some poker. I was able to make everything pretty much ahead of time so it will be easy when they arrive this evening. Made some chicken wings with a Franks chili sauce. stuffed mushrooms with crab. fresh fruit with a yummy fruit dip. artuchoke dip with baquette bread. assortment of cheeses and meat. Mini Fillo shells baked with tomato, red onion, basil, topped with mozzerella cheese mixed with mayo. Ahi tune blackend with a shoyu mustard sauce.  And, last but not least, store bought miniture assortments of cakes. It all came together pretty easy and fast. Prep time was only about 45 minutes. There will be 7 of us but think that will be plenty of food. LOL!

Everyone have a good evening!

Add me to the list of people who do not refrigerate my olive oil... But we do go through it pretty quickly....



I was curious so googled a bit to see what others do.... Sounds like, if you don't go through the oil quickly that the best solution may be to refrigerate the large bottle and keep a smaller bottle out to use, refilling as needed..... The refrigerated oil becomes thick and cloudy and needs to come to room temp before using.... Who knew?



What's for dinner tonight was roast beef ( a sirloin tip roast for 2.99 per lb), mashed potatoes w/gravy and brussel sprouts.... I was worried that the beef would be tough but found this cooking method from Cooks Illustrated Test Kitchen. We like our roast beef on the rare side and this method rsulted in almost the entire roast being the same degree of doneness rather than well done ends and a pink middle.... If you like it more done, just cook to the higher temp...



It took a pretty inexpensive cut of meat (It cost less per lb than the brussell sprouts...lol) and mde it soooo tender and juicy! I am sold and plan to use this low and slow method when I make our usual standing rib roast at Christmas.... I did use half the amount of salt that they called for even though I did use Kosher salt...



The Method...Taken from... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/608907



"The recipe online is from America's Test Kitchen, so you should only need to register with an email address, no subscription or trial.



For a 3 1/2- 4 1/2 lb roast, they suggested 4 tsp of kosher salt and for a 2-2 1/2 lb roast 3 tsp. They give a conversion to table salt of 1 1/2 tsp and in my quick glance, I accidentally used the 1 1/2 tsp even though I use kosher salt.



To paraphrase the rest of the recipe;



1. Salt the roast, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate 18-24 hours.

2. Pat dry the roast, rub with 2 tsp of vegetable oil (i used olive oil) and some freshly cracked pepper. Sear in hot skillet on all sides. This took me about 3 minutes per side in a hot cast iron skillet so it was deeply brown.

3. Add to wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and put in preheated 225 degree oven. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 115 degrees for medium-rare, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours, or 125 degrees for medium, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours. Since my roast was smaller and i like my meat closer to rare, I took it out at 112 degrees which took about an hour.

4. Turn oven off, leave roast in oven, without opening door, until meat-probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degrees for medium, 30 to 50 minutes longer. As I said, I took it out at 125 degrees which took about 20 minutes.

5. Rest for 15 min and slice thinly. Since I dont have a carving knife, I used an electric knife which worked perfectly.



This was my first attempt at using an eye of round roast. I had walked by it for years and was always curious but never bought it. I was skeptical using such a (relatively) inexpensive roast until I saw the episode of ATK. But it turned out beautifully, was a breeze to cook, taking nothing but time. Plus, the size, shape and uniformity made cooking and carving easy. Plus leftovers make great sandwiches!!!"

OK... One more thing to chalk up to... who knew???



Found an article today that discusses salt...



I did know that there is a difference in the 'saltiness' of table salt vs kosher salt vs sea salt but, i did not know that all kosher salts are not the same... This article explains why, sometimes even though you follow the directions, things come out way too salty...



http://smittenkitchen.com/tips/not-all-salts-are-created-equally/

Had a really great time tonight and believe it or not, i didnt have any leftovers, which is good because i think starting saturday ( we are going to dinner tomorrow night) i will try to lose about 5 pounds. My pants are tight LOL! We had some great coctails tonight. one we named "Dick in the dirt" or if we are being good its called "richard in the mud" LOL!  I only had 2 drinks tonight, so i was a good girl.

Joyce- When do you have to leave there? Hope you get a least a few more good days in

Kay- Your dinner sounds good, i can eat sweet potatoes 7 days a week and right now they are getting even better since its fall.

Seaside- Well, if you lived closer you certainly would of been invited. I never thought about putting my evoo in the fridge, like you i go through it pretty fast. I use mortons kosher salt, just seems to be less salty than table salt, I have sea salt (fluer de sel) its so expensive though. Very interesting article on the salts, thanks.

Your roast sounds really good, i will make that, now that winter is here i will be making things in the oven more.

WOW on the food Debbie, no wonder everything was gone....sounds yummy.

I like the recipe for the roast, never thought to do that even though that is how we do our prime rib at christmas time.  Never had the courage to do a cheaper cut.

Apple funny how some kids pick it up and some dont...my daughter could never stand still long enough to learn anything in the kitchen, she always said she was going to be rich enough to hire a chef ha ha....she is doing well for herself but not rich...yet....she is very lucky though that her boyfriend worked in the restaraunt industry for awhile and can cook.  My son on the other hand loves to cook.

Off to a party tonight, need to make an appetizer to take, maybe some honey bbq mini meatballs.

apple,  I used to make sourdough bread a lot.  For the last few years I've just been doing the pancake and waffle batters and the biscuits for our weekly Sunday morning breakfasts.

If you are looking for that special sourdough tang in your bread it can take a little experimenting to get the right fermentation period to suit your taste.  If your recipe dosen't just PM me and I'll send instructions.