I'm a huge fan of braised cabbage. I've done it with onions, apples, (fake) bacon, carrots, caraway, dill and any combination of them, with a little cider vinegar or tomato sauce and sugar, or lemon juice and honey, etc. Just a touch. Very, very good, IMHO. Here's one that hasn't been mentioned AGRODOLCE, which is "sweet and sour" in italian. I do this mostly to use up all this never ending mint that I have dried from the garden. I am making cauliflower agrodolce tonight for dinner. Squash Agrodolce from "La Cucina Ebraica" by Joyce Goldstein 2 lb. of squash, sliced about 1/2 inch slices, in the case of butternut or hubbard squash, peeled. 1/3 cup olive oil 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint (Note: I am NOT a mint fan so I'd probably use half of this. Since I use dried mint, I use about 1 TBLSP. Can always add more later if you want) 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, sliced paper thin 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup sugar Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional) Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Put half of oil in large saucepan. Sautee the squash until tender. Combine with mint and garlic. (Note: you could add some onions to this too, if you wanted). Season with salt and pepper. To the remaining oil, add the vinegar, sugar and cinn, if using, and cook until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens, about 5 min. Season with salt and pepper if desired (I use as little salt as possible, so would probably skip that step) Pour the sauce over the squash. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cauliflower Agrodolce from "Moosewood Restuarant Lowfat Favorites" 2 cups onions, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 tsp. olive oil (I'd probably double) 1 large cauliflower 1 28 oz. can undrained whole tomatoes 2/3 cups raisins 1/2 cup red wine vinegar Sugar, salt and ground black pepper to taste Saute the onions and garlic in the EVOO in a large saucepan/braiser/dutchoven. Meanwhile, cut and core the cauliflower into smalish florets. Chop tomatoes or squeeze by hand. Add the tomatoes and wine vinegar, and raisins to the pan. Simmer for a few min. to blend flavors. Then add the cauliflower, and cook for 10-12 min., until florets are tender. Adjust seasoning to taste with sugar, salt and pepper. Serve hot, room temp. or chilled. Note: you can combine the two recipes, and add mint and cinnamon to the tomato sauce. You can add other veggies to this too, such as cabbage and carrots.

Have fun on your boat ride/cruise! If you are leaning towards cookies or bars here are a couple of great ones that my group enjoy. ALMOND APRICOT BARS(Woodie) Prep: 15 min. Bake: 45 min. + cooling Source: Olga Wolkosky of Richmond, BC (Taste Of Home magazine) 2 cups vanilla or white chips, divided 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup all purpose flour 3/4 cup apricot jam 1/2 cup sliced almonds In microwave, melt 1 cup chips; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in melted chips and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Spread half of the batter into a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Spread with jam. Stir remaining chips into remaining batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls over jam; carefully spread over top. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into 9 squares; cut squares in half diagonally, to make triangles. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen Posted by: Ginger_St_Thomas (My Page) on Sat, Dec 20, 03 at 19:58 Marlen's Chubby Hubby Cookies 2 cups butter or margarine, softened 1 cup sugar 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 2 large eggs 2 Tablespoon vanilla extract 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda Pinch of salt 1 12 oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 12 oz pkg peanut butter chips 1 cup salted peanuts 2 cups crushed pretzels* Preheat oven to 350* degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips, peanuts and pretzels. Drop by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. bake 10-13 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft. Do not overbake. Cool one minute on cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire racks. Store tightly in covered container. Source: Bob Zotto, Bruker AXS Cookbook Note from Marlen: The pretzels should be about the size of the chocolate chips, not pulverized. You want to taste bits of pretzel as you munch. This is a crunchy cookie. I use a food processor and just pulse until the desired size is achieved. David

The painters got delayed! So I have a bit of a reprieve. Whew! I got a sample of Jojoco's SW Tea Chest and tried that yesterday. Definetly a warmer brown. I had to leave before it was totally dry...I'll check back over the weekend. Les- thanks for your input. I always look forward to reading your comments. I'll have a look at those colors. msrose - you are so very right about Davenport tan looking completly different in the Pottery Barn version. Here's my experience with that. Earlier this year I bought some PB bedding and the exact paint that they had it paired with. When I got home and painted, it didn't even come close to pairing well with the bedding. They looked awful together in real life. THe bedding was a weird green and Philipsburg blue was almost a 80's country blue. I returned the bedding and complained to the store. The manager told me that PB photo shoots use very complex lighting, plus all their pictures are retouched and manipulated. She said their catalog colors do not at all accurately represent reality. Hmph! But it's true - their catalog pic of Davenport Tan looks nothing like the actual product.

I'm here to tell you that AnnT's Parmesean Roasted Onions are to DIE for. I made them to go with my Prime Rib Christmas dinner and then again the night after :) Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Roasted Parmesan-Creamed Onions =============================== Rick Tramonto - Osteria Cookbook Talk about succulent! The yellow onions are pretty pungent when you slice them, but surrender their kick when they are roasted and become sweet and tender. When they reach this point, the cream sauce is poured over them, they are topped with shaved cheese, and then the whole thing is returned to the oven for a slow melt. I like to cook these in a wood oven to get some smoke on them, which makes them even better-if that's possible. Great with chicken, lamb, beef-you name it! I also like it served as a first course. serves 4 4 medium yellow onions 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup dry white wine 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved (about 2 tablespoons) 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 2. Slice the onions into 1/4-inch-thick rings and lay them in a shallow baking pan, such as a sheet pan or jelly roll pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. 3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the cream and wine to a simmer over medium-high heat. As soon as the liquid starts to bubble around the edges, remove from the heat. 4. Spoon about a tablespoon of the cream mixture over each onion slice. Cover with aluminum foil, return to the oven, and cook for about 25 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 450°F. 5. Remove the foil and top the onions with the shaved cheese. Return the pan to the oven and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the edges caramelize. Serve hot.