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Malawry

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Posts posted by Malawry

    The Sound of One Hand Cooking

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I've mostly given up, to be honest. I have regained a lot of the flexibility and strength in my right hand despite its enclosure in the cast, but the problem is keeping my hand (and my cast) clean. I try to be really careful but the cast has already gotten somewhat dirty from the occasional slip-up. (Though my surgeon seemed to think that the cast was remarkably clean at my Monday appointment...)

    Some friends came through with some frozen meals for us, and I stocked up on a bunch of heat-n-eat stuff from Trader Joe's and Costco. I've been able to cook simple things like pieces of chicken for my husband (chicken is off the menu for me right now), in a pan lined with heavy-duty foil for easy cleanup.

    I can now handle very minor cutting action as long as the food is not raw/dangerous/messy. I bought a nice sharp OXO pizza cutter but found it more annoying than it's worth to use it...I use it to chop down salad bar red onions but that's about it. Maybe I need a wooden bowl so things don't scatter so much. Once, I asked my husband to peel a bunch of onions, which I then hacked into large chunks and chopped down in the Cuiz and used to make turkey chili. That was nice. I also got an electric can opener, which helps a lot (meant I could open all those canned tomatoes for the chili without assistance, among other things). I've been able to make simple meals like breakfast egg sandwiches or stir-fried vegetables using salad bar specimens.

    I had some food already put by in the freezer for post-baby when I broke my arm, but we've been eating a lot of it. We've also totally blown our usual grocery budget and eaten out much more than usual. I've made a decision not to worry myself about it since it can't be helped. On the bright side, I discovered Saturday night that I can handle chopsticks left-handed...who knew?

    I had to write my next article for the paper a couple weeks ago, (I write a monthly cooking column for my local newspaper) so I had a friend come over and be my hands for me. We had a nice time with the photographer cooking, shooting and eating three asparagus recipes together, and my friend got her hands credited in the paper which thrilled her. That pretty much took care of my last work obligation that I expect to fulfill while I'm in the cast. My original plan was to write and shoot two articles in March, one for March and one for April, but it became clear to me that this wasn't going to happen. My editor was very understanding and appended a note to my March asparagus story that my column would return in May.

    I'm still pregnant, and due Monday ostensibly. :wacko: The cast comes off in a little less than three weeks.

    Pregnancy and Food

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    During the nauseated phase of my pregnancy, I learned the hard way that eating something would make me feel better than not eating anything. It was hard because I couldn't think of any foods I wanted to eat when I felt so terrible, yet I had learned that not eating anything at all made it worse. Keeping an assortment of crackers around helped, I'd force one or two down until I could think of something else I could tolerate. I started consuming things I'd mostly dropped from my diet like fruit juices because they were easy and they put something in my tummy. I recommend experimenting with different foods relentlessly until you find things that work. Just keep trying different things, eventually something will appeal or at least be possible to choke down.

    I moved past my nausea around month 5. I'm less than a week from my EDD and already those problems seem like a distant (and not-so-fond) memory. You will get over it, if not later in your pregnancy than certainly after birth. Hang in there! :biggrin:

    Steak Frites

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    In Paris last year, I noticed a lot of places served rump steak as the steak with their steak frites. I personally prefer onglet/hanger (yes, they are the same), but onglet is pretty much my favorite cut of beef period...best flavor/texture tradeoff of all the cuts.

    Risotto in restaurants

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I worked in one place that made it from scratch to order. Servers usually upsold those who ordered it on a starter since it took so long. It wasn't great risotto, though. I've had parcooked risotto that was far superior--parcooked is quite excellent if prepared with care, including spreading the product on sheet pans in thin layers so it cools quickly and evenly. I've used several techniques for this, and my favorite is one that ran in a Washington Post article on Patrick O'Connell's latest cookbook.

    Personally, I think the best risotto is made at home and eaten the moment it's done cooking.

    Dinner at College Park, MD

    in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining

    Posted

    Lupo's is all right, I've eaten there and taken my mom and my grandfather there on separate occasions. But it's just pretty-good Italian-American food, steaks and chops, nothing that interesting. Also, the parking around there can be weird depending on time of day since they don't have a parking lot.

    Mandalay is excellent and a great value. I love the ginger salad there, and the pork with pickled mango is fantastic. If you're schlepping to Silver Spring, you may also want to consider options like Ceviche, Jackie's or Cubano's. Silver Spring isn't exactly far from College Park, but it's not as close as Langley Park is.

    Dinner at College Park, MD

    in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining

    Posted

    Yeah, I think Udupi Palace is better than Woodlands, but Udupi is all-vegetarian and therefore may not be the best choice for somebody trying to go high protein/low carb. Also, Tiffin has a tandoor and Udupi does not...and I almost require tandoori something every time I eat Indian food, I love the char so much. Udupi Palace and Tiffin are owned by the same people and are in two shopping centers that are right next to each other, so it's simple enough to go check out both menus if desired. The best thing going at Udupi, imo, is the dosai menu :wub:...but dosais are of course not protein foods.

    Dinner at College Park, MD

    in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining

    Posted

    There ain't a lot going on from a culinary standpoint in College Park. You're better off heading up the road to Langley Park and checking out Tiffin for Indian food or Samantha's for Salvadorean cuisine. Both have entrees hovering at the $12-17 price point and excellent protein-based options which my husband and I have relied on heavily in the past. Both are situated on University Boulevard. (Some people prefer Woodlands, which is also in this area, but Woodlands is vegetarian Indian food and less protein-focused overall.) I like the lamb dishes and almost anything from the tandoor at Tiffin. The mariscos saltado, pan-fried trout and carne asada at Samantha's are also big favorites, especially if preceded by that salad with hearts of palm and avocados.

    From IKEA, take Route 1 south about 2 miles and take the exit for 193 towards U of M on the right. Follow 193 (University Blvd) for about 4 miles to Tiffin on the left (in the strip center right next to Pollo Campero, which is excellent in its own right if you're into fried chicken), or about 7 miles to Samantha's on the left just past the traffic light at Piney Branch Road (you will have to make a u-turn to get to Samantha's). After dinner, you can take University Blvd a few more miles out to get back to the Beltway and on your way home.

    planning a baby shower

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Try to avoid strong aromas and flavors if you can. Things like stinky cheese are way out for me right now, as they are for many pregnant women. Also, try to get things that are neat to eat...I spill on myself since my dimensions have shifted so much.

    My first baby shower had rather ordinary food...fruit or spinach salads, sandwich fixings, punch, chips/crackers/veg/dip, a cake. If I was catering a baby shower, I'd propose more sophisticated food, but I was perfectly satisfied eating the stuff people provided for me. I like to make things like mushroom and goat-cheese filo cigars, shot glasses of gazpacho, tea sandwiches with homemade herb butter or herb mayo and assorted vegetables or sliced hard-boiled egg, little squares of cake and bar cookies so you don't have to commit to any one dessert.

    I found the taste-the-baby-food game a little gross and cheesy, but also somewhat illuminating. I sucked at it but had to admit I was glad I gave it a shot. If you play this one, I recommend getting baby foods that are single-item (not "carrots and butternut squash" in the same jar) and selecting high-quality versions without additives. If you feel creative and inspired you could make your own pureed/strained foods without seasonings and have people sample and guess them.

    Do I need a chinois?

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I cannot imagine life without my chinois. I've done the cheesecloth thing when visiting Mom if I've forgotten to bring mine from home, and it's far less efficient. I usually pull all the solids I can from my stocks with a spider, and then pour them through the china cap which is nestled in the chinois. I throw out the last 1/2" or so of stock, the part that's got tons of particulate matter in it. Makes for nice, clear, fresh stocks, ready to chill and defat and then reduce for freezing. (Any remaining impurities rise to the top of the stock when it's boiled for reduction and are easily skimmed off.)

    I think clear stock is well worth the price of a chinois, personally. I don't make a lot of sauces that need straining, but I do make many types of stock to keep around and I like them as clean as possible.

    The Sound of One Hand Cooking

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Thanks for the tips, ya'll. I am slowly regaining the use of some of my right hand fingers and feel I might be able to use them to brace foods for cutting in the next week or so. Remember, even if I Cuisinart my food I still have to peel, top and tail it...and also, gloves won't fit over my cast. (I was wearing disposable gloves when I broke my arm, strangely enough. Taking them off HURT and required the use of my teeth. I'm off the gloves for some time, in any case.)

    We just visited my folks for a few days; they fed us, and Mom took instruction in making beurre blanc and paneeing fish which made me feel intellectually useful at least. :rolleyes: She sent us home with food, too. I expect to return to my first real experiments in cooking on Saturday.

    Yes, I have a spouse. Cooking and food shopping are "my job," though, and with me not working until well after my arm is healed and him fighting his busiest time of the semester at the university, he needs me to do most of the work somehow. He is very understanding and helps me with things as much as he can. Our budget does not accommodate a bunch of convenience foods easily, and since we live on the rural edge of suburbia there isn't great takeout from around the world in our backyard. Besides, I love cooking and don't want to just not cook for the 6-8 weeks I'm in the cast (plus gawd knows how much time in physical therapy afterwards...)

    Fine dining in Greensboro, NC

    in Southeast: Dining

    Posted · Edited by Malawry (log)

    Giacomo's has opened a second full-service shop on New Garden Rd, just off Battleground near Brassfield Shopping Center. Same strip center as the excellent Danny's (whose breakfasts I have long adored). My folks live right by there, so it's great to get a pig fix without schlepping to High Point Road.

    ETA: I see this was already covered upthread, but I had missed it somehow...and was thrilled to pass the new shop on my way in on Monday!

    The Sound of One Hand Cooking

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I broke my right arm last week. I'm right-handed. :wacko:

    I wondered what your cooking tips are for those who cook with only one (non-dominant) hand. We've been subsisting on things like bagged salad with cut-up veg from the supermarket salad bar, deli meat sandwiches, yogurt, pears and apples. I cannot brace food with my right hand while using a knife with my left right now, and frankly cutting left-handed scares me. Also I cannot wash my right hand if it touches something like raw meat. I am dying for a hot meal besides english muffin pizza from my own kitchen. Advice?

    Don't be surprised if I don't respond to posts or PMs. I just typed this left-handed. Oy.

    Kitchen experience in DC

    in D.C. & DelMarVa: Dining

    Posted

    Most of the chefs I've met here in DC are pretty welcoming if you act like you're serious (and don't seem to have an entitlement chip on your shoulder). I trail periodically at different places just to learn something different and keep myself on my toes. Usually it works best if the chef already knows you because you're a customer at their restaurant. You don't have to dine at the same place several times a week--I've had people agree to let me trail the first time I met them, just 'cause I was nice and they were nice back.

    You can get hired fairly easily to do things like cold apps or dessert plating, and then work your way up to the hot line from there, but if you don't have experience you probably won't get hired straightaway to do those sexier kitchen jobs. Have patience.

    BTW the only places that advertise regularly in the Post seem to be chains a la Applebees--you'll have better luck scouting washingtondc.craigslist.org (where I've gone to hire help myself before) or looking at the donrockwell.com boards for the occasional listing. Responding to ads is one approach since you already know those places actually need folks in their kitchens. But you don't need to wait for a place to post an ad to ask for an evening trail or a part-time job. If you like the restaurant and the chef, just show up around 3pm between lunch and dinner service and make an inquiry. Most folks don't bite. :smile:

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