Ah, thank you, Linda and Mitch...love all those suggestions and will probably include them all. There will also be a veggie platter, so they can dip those, also....This business of becoming a Grandmother is taking its toll on my thought processes, I think! Too exciting!!! ;-) Many thanks...Lynn!

Most of the wild vs. farmed salmon controversy is political. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, for example, is in the business of advocating for sustainable fish populations. So their information is slanted in the direction of persuading us to do what is best (in their opinion) for the fish populations, not so much what is best on our dinner plate. They are pretty picky in their speculation of things which may possibly contaminate farmed salmon, but not concerned about contaminants in pond raised catfish or tilapia. As a conservationist and recreational fisherman, I am sympathetic to preservation of fish stocks. I have seen the striped bass virtually disappear from Cape Cod waters and then, fortunately, make an astounding comeback. I could relate many stories like that one, some with less fortunate outcomes. But that is a different issue from food safety. One of the few scientific studies I could find comparing wild to farmed salmon found parasites in every one of the sampled wild fish and none in the farmed fish. Other studies, looking for toxins such as PCBs, found insignificant differences at the parts per billion level between wild and farmed. Atlantic salmon is raised in large pens which are constantly flushed with tons of cold sea water. The ocean is large. Waste products are quickly diluted, unlike ponds where the same water is recirculated again and again. The salmon are fed a carefully formulated diet, just as farm animals are. Farmed salmon are not exposed to parasites as wild fish are in foraging for food. BTW, wild fish do not become infected with parasites from penned fish as is suggested by the Monterey Bay site. The penned fish have no parasites. An issue has been made about substances used color the flesh of the fish. The substances used are carotinoids, the same as used in chicken feed to give the chicken a nice color and the same as occur in fruits and vegetables. This issue makes me recall the days when dairy farmers in some states were able to have yellow color prohibited from use in margarine, making the pale stuff less appealing. Ironically, commercial butter often gets an assist from carotene too. I frequently make gravlox, using farmed Atlantic salmon. That way I can chow down inexpensively on a very tasty treat. I would not use wild salmon for this. Nor would I use wild salmon for sushi. Wild salmon is not suitable for raw eating unless is is first frozen to subzero temperatures to kill parasites. This long post barely scratches the surface or the wild vs. farmed salmon controversy. There are many issues. For example, I suspect that the availability of farmed salmon takes fishing pressure off the wild stocks. Doesn't that make sense? Unless I hear something convincing, I'll continue to enjoy lots of farmed salmon. Jim

Halal and kosher are different, even though they may seem similar to outsiders. Kosher has more physical requirements than halal, while halal requires prayers. In a pinch observant Muslims are allowed to use kosher meat when they can't get halal, but not vice versa. Kosher observances include the following: - no forbidden animals -- sometimes called "levitical kosher" (because the rules are listed in the book of Leviticus), especially by those non-Jews who also observe this; - eating only kosher meat, which requires appropriate slaughter of premitted animals plus post-processing (note: the sciatic nerve must be removed before the hindquarters of mammals can be eaten, which not usually done in the US, but there matters only in conjunction with the other requirements for kosher meat); - not eating milk and meat together; and - using separate pots, dishes, etc. to avoid cross-contamination. Most people consider "keeping kosher" to be all of the above, but in reality people pick and choose both for their homes and what they do outside of their homes. Clearly Nicole's friends keep the first provision even outside their home, and it sounds like they don't keep the last. In between, without asking, the only way to be sure the guests will be well-fed is to have at least one protein dish that contains no meat whatsoever. It's not that there aren't kosher breakfast meats, but people who don't mix meat and dairy and like their coffee with cream would probably be happier with non-meat choices. And if you are having a crowd, that takes care of the vegetarians as well. BTW, some vegetarian "meats" are very good.

Well, there is the companionable silence which is quite pleasant, as it means people are comfortable with one another and relaxed. Then there is the, someone just made an unfortunate political/religious/gossipy comment that everyone is trying to ignore, silence. And most horrible, the armed silence that occurs when an undercurrent of hostility runs 'round the table. As for compliments, if people eat up heartily, I am complimented. Particularly once they've devoured a fair number of hors d'ouevres and aren't hungry enough any more to eat anything whether it's good or not (sounds like the situation with the salad-must have been good!) Actually, I get a bit uncomfortable with too many or too effusive compliments. I mean, I know I'm a decent cook, and I just watched you clean your plate and take seconds, I don't want you to feel like you have to gush. Is that weird?