slbunge

You wrote what I was thinking. Anyone have a link to the fundamentals of vacuum breweing. It isn't clear to me from the coffeekid link what it is all about.

Wow. I am crazy about the very simple, cooked, tomato-based salsa at a mexican restaurant here in Milwaukee. There has always been something different about it, compared to my feeble attempts at home. I'm now imagining that it may be garlic salt. There isn't a flavor as forward as what you get with fresh garlic, but my recollection of the flavor of garlic salt sort of fits. I'm inspired. Perhaps tomorrow I'll give it a shot. Thanks.

We consume wax when eating produce, chewing gum, candies, chocolate, and those funny red molded lips (although I haven't had one of those for about 30 years). Not all of waxes use are petroleum based (beeswax and carnuba wax) but all of it should be 'food-grade' as determined by the FDA. Much of the produce that has a skin is coated with wax for preservation and presentation. Next time you are in the grocery store and pick up a cucumber or an apple and notice how waxy the skin feels. Organic food tends not to be coated. I don't think the normal cold-water rinse that people use for fruits and vegetables will remove the wax since it is likely not water soluble. It might rinse off if the water temp is above the melting point, and most food-grade waxes will have low melting points.

I like to cook with the skin on unless I am doing something like poaching or a pepper crust. I usually only eat the skin if I've been able to crisp it successfully (that doesn't happen all that often) but I still think it is important to cook with it on so it gives up its wonderful fat to the flesh. If I'm cooking a reasonably thin filet on the grill, the skin becomes sacrificial, protecting the flesh from the intense heat of the charcoal below. I usually lift the flesh off the skin and platter it, leaving the skin behind to burn completely so I can brush it away after it cools.

Funny. The pickles I usually use in tona salad are cornichons (tiny little sweet gherkins). When I went over to the thread there were lots of folks agreeing with Dave that pickles do not belong...then moving on to claim that cornichons are fine. Though for Dave it is black and white, for some it appears murky grey. Another thought I had because of the activity on a poached egg thread...at times I've been known to have an open faced tuna sandwich with poached egg. Yum.

I probably average a tuna sandwich per week. My prefered version of tuna salad includes: oil packed tuna (I usually get Genova brand chunk yellowfin...Italian label but packed in Samoa I'm sure); dijon; Hellman's mayo (slightly less mayo than mustard); shot of chili sauce (Tabasco or Tapatio); and either capers or sweet pickles. My salad is reasonably dry compared to what I grew up eating.

How curious. I just read the Gratin chapter in Steingarten's book last night. I was thinking that on my next trip past the Le Creuset outlet I'll have to see if they have an appropriate gratin. Can't say that I'll be producing one per day as he does, but it might be fun to play with for a while until cooking outdoors becomes reasonable again.

Holy cow...that opens up a whole new line of thinking.

Over the weekend, I used Col Klink's recommendations over on the baked potato thread and had the best darn baked potatoes I have ever cooked at home. You might want to start there when you get another hankering for a potato. I think that mashed potatoes are not all that easy to get spot on. I've used food mills, ricers, mixers, and mashers all to various effects. I've moistened with milk, butter, milk and butter, and buttermilk. Right now, the masher and milk are what I reach for exclusively. When serving guests, I cheat and add parsnips to the mash (use the foodmill for those, they're stringy) so that people are distracted from the not-so-perfect texture by an earthy flavor they might not be used to.

Easter always makes my wife dream about the lamb cake that her grandmother served. Yellow cake baked in a two-part lamb-shaped mold with white icing and shredded coconut. I've seen the molds in an antique store. Perhaps this will be the year.

In Polish-American households, Fat Tuesday is called Paczki day. Paczki are yeasty fried pastries (think donuts) typically with filled with a prune jelly. Here's a little more info about Paczki day. Click on the recipe for a picture. (The polish easter traditions site was put together by my sister in law.) Edit: added note about picture.

In fact, don't miss Point Loma Seafoods. Their prepared food items are all very good. In particular, thoughts of the squid salad is making me hungry right now.

Well then, that is exactly how long and why I will leave mine out as long as I do.

I've had the best pickings during the second day of warm sunshine after a cold rain. Quick turns of the weather from chilly to warm are a sure sign that they will be springing up. Look for an area where downed trees are prevalent. They cluster along the rotting rootlines of downed elms (and possibly other trees). Don't just look in the immediate vicinity of an obvious stump because they may be lurking in the sprouts of fresh spring grass 20 or 30 feet away. Or there may be no visible stump at all. Be careful looking around on private land where you don't know the owner because as one of the posters alluded, there are turkey hunters out there as well. My most reliable spot is near Oregon, Wisconsin but I'm not going to give the exact location. Edit: spelling.

I just started a batch of preserved meyer lemons over the weekend following a Paula Wolffert recipe for 'seven day' preserved lemons (Gourmet: August, 1994). Fifi, it seems like you keep yours on the counter much longer. How do I tell that they are getting 'done'? Is it the viscosity of the liquid? The texture of the skin?

Well that explains it. I hope I didn't sound too put off by the decor. I mostly found it curious.

Though two weeks have past since our trip to DC, I still wanted to toss a few comments about our restaurant experiences. First off, Johnny's Half Shell was a fabulous place for a quiet lunch. An oyster po' boy and the grilled squid was just the ticket to start the weekend. We ended up eating at Zaytinya's twice because, though we tried, we found that you cannot do the menu justice with a single meal...you need at least two. The special tuna tartare with trout roe and tabouleh was probably the single best dish. Although we also pine for the fried eggplant with it's amazing sour yogurt sauce. The chocolate cake/chocolate flan/cardamom espuma/et al dessert was so good that my wife ordered it twice (she kept saying, over and over, 'simply the best dessert I have ever had'). For me the olive oil ice cream was a revelation. RFD was a fun place for a beer (even more fun for several beers, actually). For place this serious about beer, the interior is sort of an odd match. I was particularly taken by the works-progress-meets-Gauguin mural of tropical women with palms on the south wall adjacent to the bar. Of course, if you spend too much time thinking about that, you have less time to study the tap beer list. I think Victory Storm King won as best of the beers I tried there. The lobster burger and butter-fried french fries in the bar at Citronelle made my knees weak. Nectar was a great place. The beet salad with poached egg blew us away. Had a half bottle of a really crisp Austrian red and half bottle of a red that tasted of shoe leather in all the best ways. Unfortunately, though I left room in my notes to write down the name, I forgot so just ask the staff about the wine that tastes like leather. The only problem with Nectar was also its initial attraction, it is small and cozy and out of the way. So small and cozy and out of the way that when a group of six drug company sales drones and their wives breezed in for dinner, the whole dining room got sort of loud. Matchbox was a great place to meet friends for pizza and various appetizers. Very friendly and accomodating staff as well. Thanks again to the DC folks for being regular posters. It makes the research fun and definitely helped make the food-side of our trip a smashing success.

My wife and I went to Citronelle on a Saturday night a couple of weekends ago and ate in the bar. Very comfortable table in the corner, out of the way from the hubbub. Holy cow was the lobster burger with fries (fried in clarified butter, no less) amazing. Was sort of interested in the 'breakfast' dessert but it isn't on the bar menu. Did manage to flag down and introduce myself to Mark who was quite gracious with his time on a very busy evening. And, though I didn't necessarily consider it an accomplishment at the time, we did make it back with all of our digits were in tact. Great story Kim.

Thanks from me as well. With any luck, I'll grab my notebook before I leave the house so I can make a few comments next week.

Damn. I definitely need to do more bar research over the next two days. I had only one measly pub on my list. Be sure to wave if you see us.

Bust away. I'd have never heard of Kozy Korner without you.

Um...hope y'all don't feel violated.

My wife has a conference in DC starting on Thursday (2/5) and I will be joining her on Saturday (note: I'm ingoring the 'spouse program' activities). After doing some research, I have come up with the itinerary listed below. A few qualifiers: we are staying on Scott Circle and our preference is walking or metro (although cab is an option); we will be focused on seafood while eating out; breakfasts will likely be unplanned and the result of my solo explorations between the convention center and the museums. Friday Dinner - Jaleo (it was either this or Cafe Atlantico...not sure how Jaleo won) Saturday Lunch - Johnny's Half Shell (dining alone, wife has a conference lunch) Afternoon Beer - RFD (oooooh, I can't wait) Dinner - Citronelle's Bar (I was hooked when I read 'lobster burger') Sunday Lunch (late) - Zatinya Dinner - Pesce (had a great meal here several years ago) Monday Lunch - Nectar Dinner - Matchbox (meeting friends, need to be near Spy Museum) Tuesday Lunch - Sea Catch If any locals have alternative suggestions (or breakfast joints near the convention center) bring them on. Also, if you read this and you are thinking "You crazy midwestern rube, you can't go to ___ on ___ night!" I'd be interested in hearing those things as well. Questions, concerns, suggestions and sarcastic comments are all welcome. By the way, thanks to the DC & DelMarVa folks for having an active board. It sure helps us travellers.

I suggest taking the metro to Jean-Talon and head straight for Fromagerie Hamel for a fantasting selection of raw milk cheeses (local and imported) that you can't get in the US. Well, not legally, anyway. I wanted to spend the whole afternoon there but 'settled' for taking several different varieties back to the hotel (along with a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine) and having the best lunch of a marvelous trip. Edit: grammar

For our week's stay in Cozumel we (four of us) rented a house in San Miguel about four or five blocks from the water. The house was owned by a family in Minnesota, was very comfortably appointed, and extremely reasonable. (The house was actually around the corner from Casa Tina that is shown here). I think it would be a great way to spend a month getting ready for (and winding down from) a wedding. We ate at Conchita de Caribe for a late lunch and my only regret was they had run out of conch so I 'settled' for a great shrimp ceviche. This thread is making me want to go back.