Yeah, clueless. Looks familiar. My sister and I carpool so this morning when the forecast came on the radio we paused to listen. After it was over there was a 3 second pause and I said, "You know what just passed through my mind? 3 below doesn't sound all that bad." And she said, "I was thinking exactly the same thing!" So we've lived in Iowa too long apparently, when 3 below sounds like something positive. And since it was "only snowing" and not blowing we stopped at the grocery store where I bought panko crumbs, golden raisins, farmer's cheese, 18# of cat chow, bananas & grapes for the parrots, day old bread for the chickens, sure jel (in case I finally get around to the elderberry jelly) and a bunch of other stuff I probably didn't need . Think I'm set until the feed semi comes on Monday. Yes. I get most of my critter stuff on a semi. Sigh. And I wonder where all my money goes.

Oh, so you saw the episide too Linda! I love her cooking, I often take notes and make something she did on the show. After it was over I realized that this would be a good meal to make while my folks are here. I wrote down the list of ingredients for the chicken, I'm going to try it in my crockpot. No way would my dad eat that salsa verde with those peppers and all the onions, but I have another recipe from my "La Cucina Ebraica" cookbook that calls for primarily parsley and a couple of anchovies. I think I could also sub pesto. Anyway, I didn't get the ingredients for the passatelli, or even the name! You are so lucky to have that cookbook! Being vegetarian I can't justify buying it, but I often make something I see her do on the show, or something inspired by it. There are a lot of good recipes on her Web site, but not for the passatelli. I'll give you a shout out if I need more help when the time comes. I wonder if you can store these noodles in the fridge? I get home late from work and usually don't have much time to cook. Cooking gets done here mostly on weekends. Here is a link that might be useful: LidiasItaly.com - recipes

It also depends on what kind of bread. A dense, heavy crust on a loaf of Italian bread or sourdough will not "crumb" as evenly as a baguette. You could cut the crust off, especially at the heels. If you want dried crumbs then toast or dry the bread in the oven, Then the crumbs will all be tiny and uniform. But if you want "fresh" bread crumbs then either expect disparity or deal with the crusts.

Cream soup and cream sauces. I'm more than grossed out by canned soups. It's so easy to make a white sauce in 3 minutes, who could ever prefer that salty gelatinous canned glop? Yuck. All baked goods: pies, cookies, quiches, cakes, brownies, muffins, popovers, tortes. I grew up in the farming Midwest, where you weren't a grown woman yet if you couldn't make a piecrust from scratch without a recipe. :-) I've never purchased a storebought crust, cookies, cake or boxed mix in my life. Salad dressings. For spinach: tarragon vinegar, olive oil, and a tablespoon of sugar, salt & pepper. Perfect. For arugula: lime juice, drop of olive oil if you want it, lots of fresh ground pepper, bleu cheese. For Romaine: olive oil, garlic, anchovy, lemon juice, mustard, salt, white wine vinegar, fresh block parmesan - blend in food processor until smooth. For mixed greens: balsamic, minced shallot, olive oil and salt & pepper. Breads, meats, dairy: we're very lucky to live in a relatively food-aware city surrounded by wonderful rural farmland, so we have access to an excellent bakery, locally raised meats and fresh dairy in glass bottles. Having grown up with lard sandwiches (yes, the Germans love them, with onion and salt on top -- I've never liked them myself), I can agree that the commercial lards sold in large supermarkets here are disgusting. Also have to agree that bacon grease from American commercial bacon is probably not very good; loaded with chemicals and salt. Definitely seek out and try the grease from non-nitrated bacon some time -- you'll be able to tell the difference in both meat and grease. Marion Nestle's What to Eat and Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma are good wholesome food reads, the former a tad less proselytizing than the latter, but both engrossing and excellent.