Malawry

Granny smith apple Wedge of sharp cheddar Coffee with chicory

Thanks to everybody who showed up last night. I had a great time, and some great food besides!

But 6 T to the cup? A cup is 16 T. Most American butter is 80% fat, 20% water and milk solids. I don't get it.

The products I sampled from the company Mrsadm is talking about are not as reduced as the straight-reduction demi I learned to make in culinary school and have seen in restaurant kitchens. (I thought that was their primary failing when I tasted them, actually!) 4:1 may be off, but I doubt you'd want to dilute the CulinArte products more than 6:1 or so. Taste is always the key though.

My experience with green bean salads is that the green beans wilt and turn that unattractive olive gray if they're exposed to acid for too long. I recommend you bring the beans (combined with other solid ingredients) in one container, and the dressing in a separate container. Toss right before serving.

Chicory intensifies the rich/bitter aspect of coffee in a way I find pleasing. I brew my coffee with chicory using less of the mixture than I would plain coffee or else the bitterness gets to be a little too much for me. It's excellent with cream. I love it. I ordered mine from Community Coffee. I also like the Cafe du Monde coffee with chicory. I fell in love with this stuff when I visited New Orleans for the first time last March. I have no experience with Vietnamese versions of the same beverage.

I have used the Aromont vegetarian glace. It's okay but nothing outstanding. No experience with the veal version, sorry. I never turned it into a stock since it was so thick and viscous--I just added a smidge to soups and sauces occasionally. (This was back in the days when I was a vegetarian.) I sampled the CulinArte product at a Sysco trade show recently. I was impressed--it really is pretty close to what I could produce at home. (Some of their products are salted, though, which is a little annoying.) I'd be inclined to use this product instead of the Aromont becuase I know the guys at CulinArte are hewing fairly closely to classical stockmaking techniques. 4 to 1 sounds about right for dilution of the CulinArte.

Butter lettuce salad with roasted red pears, fresh Zingerman's goat cheese, and ginger vinaigrette Two shirred eggs with tomato concasse and tasso ham Bacon Coffee with chicory

It's okay. Nothing outstanding though. I went to the one in Leesburg once and ate at the bar. The burger is fine, a little better than Fuddrucker's but not worth a detour. I agree with Mnebergall about Chick-Fil-A.

That cardamom lemon drop is fabulous. Derek made it for me last Saturday when I stopped in. That plus the fried oysters = great light dinner.

After last Friday's last-minute change in plans, this week I really am going to Jackie's for dinner.

I plan to bring my camera too, but sometimes I forget so I'm glad Bilrus plans to bring his too. We try to be warm and fuzzy to our newbies. Or at least I try to be. If you get as sucked into eG as I am, then I won't have to feel so bad about the time I spend here.

At work, the only spices I never use are Sysco blends called things like "Montreal steak seasoning" that I inherited when I started my job and just can't bring myself to toss. I do have a lot of single-use spices, though, which makes it hard to keep a fresh jar on hand for when I make that single dish. Celery seed is a great example of this--I use it only in slaw. Is there anything else that's good with celery seed?

I saw a single fruit fly at the Palena bar last night. (I also saw Jenny, who like me seems to be a Palena bar fly. And Bookluvingbabe, I saw you too, though I didn't know it was you. I was eyeing you eating that cheesecake but I didn't have room for it when dessert time came. I was at the far end of the bar towards the dining room. I am pleased to learn that Bookluvingbabe takes her books with her to Palena.) Fruit flies happen, and don't weird me out at all unless they're present in much larger quantities. Damn. I love Palena so much, I feel guilty about mentioning the one lousy fly I saw there last night.

Final list: Malawry (definitely +2) JPW +1.25 EllenH +1 Chef Shogun Sashorter Al Dente +1 Bilrus +1 Hillvalley (possibly +1) Mrs P +1 Painemilla +1 Gastro888 Mktye +4 KVentura +1 Mdt Tomdc Rvanrens +1 Mnebergall I'll PM each of you by Sunday with additional details.

Malawry (definitely +2) JPW +2 EllenH +1 Chef Shogun Sashorter Al Dente +1 Bilrus +1 Hillvalley (possibly +1) Mrs P +1 Painemilla +1 Gastro888 Mktye +4 KVentura +1 Mdt Tomdc Rvanrens +1 Tomdc, I suspect the food as it would be in Burma would generally be hotter than most people attending would prefer. Mnebergall, no corkage allowed. There is a limited beer and wine list though apparently, so you can buy your brewskies there.

I've made "grit fritters" by cooking some of the excess liquid out of my leftover grits, stirring in some cheese, and then adding an egg or two when the grits have cooled. I then spread them into a pan and chill overnight. The next day, I cut it into squares, dust with breadcrumbs (or not, as the mood dictates), and pan-fry. These don't usually look that pretty, but they taste damned good. They don't have a "puffy" interior--I'd think you could get that with more eggs in the mix. The baking powder sounds to me like it would just add aluminum aftertaste somehow. I love these grit-fritters, but they spit when they fry. I've had grit-shaped burns from flying frying grits before. Beware.

After a week, no, I'd pitch it. If I insisted on eating it I'd do something where it'd be cooked again, like shred it and make it into chicken soup, so at least some of the nasties would get killed off. But really, just pitch it. Life's too short to eat bad chicken.

Attendees: Malawry (possibly +3) JPW +2 EllenH +1 Chef Shogun Sashorter Al Dente +1 Bilrus +1 Hillvalley (possibly +1) Mrs P +1 Painemilla +1 Gastro888 (pretty sure) Mktye +4 KVentura +1 (As a former vegetarian myself, I tried to look out for you, and am glad to be rewarded with your attendance! ) Mdt Remember, I need your RSVPs by this Wednesday. Specifically, Wednesday at 7pm! Please solidify your "maybe" friends by then. Upon reflection, I am leaning towards asking for medium and mild versions of most of the dishes, plus maybe one truly hot dish for the chile fiends.

A salad of iceburg lettuce, Italian meats from a guy who makes them in Greensboro NC, smoked provolone, olive salad from NOLA, onions and peppers with quick-and-dirty Italian vinaigrette. Mmmmm.

Well then, which dish, Mr. Dente?

Attendees: Malawry (possibly +3) JPW +2 EllenH +1 Chef Shogun Sashorter Al Dente +1 Bilrus +1 Hillvalley (possibly +1) So far, heat level consensus seems to be that things should be mild. Sorry, Chef Shogun.

I have not specified heat levels on any of these dishes. Those who are coming, perhaps you should state your preferences? I can talk to Aung about it when I call him back with a number of attendees.

Looks good to me, Varm! If the bonus is sizable enough to commence work, do you plan to have this completed before the next pig picking?

They do sell them at Costco. I saw them there today.