Malawry

I really enjoyed reading your article while at the gym this morning, Monica. I learned a lot about chicken curry--a dish I have previously made in a simple and offhanded sort of way. It's a strange coincidence since I have an Indian menu with a chicken dish for my girls on tomorrow night's menu. I plan to tweak some of the ideas from your piece for that meal. Thanks, as always, Monica, for your gentle guidance and informative writing.

I have a couple of cans of dulce de leche--the Nestle "La Lecheria" stuff. Can I turn this into a dippable consistency or a sauce for fresh fruit somehow? Are there other dessert ideas I can make with the stuff? I know I can just spoon it out of the can but I'd rather serve it to others in some other form than digging in directly.

Hi Chef Cesare, I am a graduate of L'academie. While I was a student there, you did a series of demos which frankly blew me away. My favorite thing that you made was an asparagus risotto--it pulsed with freshness and was brilliant green. Of course I didn't take complete notes and when I tried it at home later I got a decent result but nothing like what you served us. Can you recap how to make this dish, or at least give me a few tips? Also, I'd like to hear about the tomato-basil tart I've seen on the dessert menu. I really like it, but I wonder how well it sells since most people think of tomato and basil as savory flavors. Did you feel it was a risk to have it there? Have you developed other "savory-flavored" pastries?

Yesterday, lox eggs and onions with coffee. It softened the blow of Monday.

Actually, I only recall there being one vegetarian entree--I think it was a risotto but I may be misremembering. Some of the starters and salads are vegetarian though so one could probably piece together a meal with those if the vegetarian entree wasn't appealing.

Tom was kindly making sure we could go SOMEWHERE to eat over the next couple of weeks.

My plans are firming up. I can come by for an early cocktail but that's about it. Does anybody want to meet up around 5:30pm?

If you guys make a plan, there's a decent chance I'll swing by shortly. But I cannot make a commitment--if I know when you're there and I can make it I will.

Brined, roasted chicken legs and breasts with fresh thyme. (I kept the wings for myself ) Real mashed potatoes. Steamed broccoli. Tomatoes stuffed with ricotta/walnut/onion mixture. Ice cream sundaes. For 34.

Homemade (ok, work-made) creamy tomato soup. The girls go gaga for this stuff and many requested it appear more often when I surveyed them recently. Celestial Seasonings apple cranberry zinger tea. A shot of Nyquil for dessert. *snuffle*

Whatever the case, looks like we're not getting a store this time around. (I belive the Boston area gets that privilege.)

I've never eaten at California Tortilla. However, I had one of the best customer service experiences I've had in a long time with the College Park location today. I ordered 30 burritos to feed my girls dinner because I was feeling sick and needed to come home and rest. They made the order process super-easy and cut me a great price on the food. Then they carried everything over to the house where I work. They included their own hot sauce and gave me a big hotel pan of their salad and a quart of their cilantro-lime ranch dressing gratis. I'm grateful that they simplified my life so much today--I really don't feel good and needed the kind, efficient touch they displayed today. If I was a burrito eater, I'd grab lunch from them soon just to thank them. Since I don't eat burritos, I thought I'd thank them by posting here instead. It wasn't too expensive, which made me happy given the white-knuckle grip I maintain on my food budget, and if I take sick again they'd be the first ones I'd think of calling.

This reminds me of the World's Smallest BLT, served as a pre-seating canape at the Inn at Little Washington. I don't have any of the chef's cookbooks but this is such a classic dish at this restaurant, I'm pretty sure the recipe is in one of them. Those BLTs are composed using 1" square tiny thin crisp pieces of bread as a base.

I might be able to come by, but I'm leaving to go camping at the buttcrack of dawn the next day so it may not be possible. Plus, it seems a little mean to swoop down on them en masse on their first day of operation. Not that I'm not totally eager and chomping at the bit here, mind you.

I usually use the pocket method. You have to use your thinnest-bladed knife for this job. I don't pound them if I cut a pocket. I DO pound them if I butterfly them--but I think butterflied chicken breasts with stuffing don't tend to close too nicely. In either case, the breading is to help the chicken stay shut. I'd try to let them set up in the fridge for an hour before cooking to ensure the opening will stay as closed as possible. When you turn them, use a spatula, not tongs--squeezing the breasts is a bad idea. My mom used to close them with a toothpick but I usually find it isn't necessary if the pocket is not overstuffed and the breading is thick enough. Stuffing: Duxelles. Spinach and ricotta. Garlic butter, for chicken Kiev. Goat cheese and portabellos.

We made them with quail eggs at my culinary school, which worked quite well and made the eggs more snacky-sized.

This is the recipe I learned in culinary school. I used it to make pad thai for 40 hungry girls this past Thursday... Pad Thai 1 pound pad thai noodles 2 eggs Peanut oil 1 tsp chopped garlic 1 tbsp chopped onion 3-4 tbsp vinegar 1 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 pound shrimp Chicken stock 1 tsp pickled sweet radish 1 tbsp fried tofu Sweet paprika Cayenne Sea salt and white pepper 1 cup bean sprouts 2 tbsp ground toasted peanuts plus extra for garnish 1 cup scallions and garlic chives 1 tbsp nam pla Jalapenos Lime slices Soak noodles in water for at least 30 minutes. Beat eggs. Heat pan with oil. Add eggs. Cook without moving until half done and then move to pan side. Add onion and garlic. Add vinegar, sugar and soy sauce. Add shrimp. Add noodles. Add stock if needed and toss. Add radish, tofu, paprika, cayenne, pepper, and salt. Toss. Add half of sprouts. Toss. Add peanuts and most of scallions and chives. Add fish sauce. Toss and remove from heat. Plate with shrimp and scallions on top. Garnish with jalapenos, raw bean sprouts, lime slice, peanuts, and spring onions.

Yesterday I ate leftover chicken wings for breakfast. Today, some sausage, an apple and a hunk of cheddar cheese. Both days, about 5 cups of coffee along with. But that goes without saying.

Duck stock soup with fried onions and chicken leg meat (there has to be a more artful-sounding name for this...) Pork chops with apples and sauerkraut Salad with matchstick vegetables, dijon vinaigrette Farfelu 2002 Virginia Fou de Blanc. We so crayzee.

The backs of IKEA tables like that are usually rather unattractive. I'd try for something without a back, that's intended to be accessed from either side. I know you said it's more than you want to spend anyway but thought I'd mention it anyhow.

Today: A falafel ball A BBQ chicken wing A little taste of the finished cake from yesterday. The girls actually saved me a piece! A bit of turkey Italian sausage Many pieces of celery. I snarfed the 10 or so leftover sticks at the end of service. I love celery. A tiny bit of provolone cheese crisped on the griddle Coffee, coffee, coffee.

I would strongly encourage you to replace that flooring and to redo the wall. This will brighten the kitchen and make it feel a lot more comfortable even though it won't help with the storage and other problems. We replaced our kitchen floor (stick on tiles over ancient poorly-maintained crack mosaic-style tiny tiles) this summer with wood laminate. I think it only cost a few hundred and my spouse did all the work--but we've done enough home improvement projects that we had all the tools, we just had to pay for flooring and molding. Wallpaper is easy and cheap to remove--I can do it on my own and I am not at all handy. Primer and a fresh coat of paint will work wonders. Hang a painting or a mirror over the utility door in the middle of the wall. I'm guessing you could do that for under $100. If you feel really fancy you can rag or sponge a second color over the base color for another $30 or so. Painting is easy and cheap. I don't think you can really replace that range right now, given your budget and your other kitchen concerns. Just for the record, though, is the kitchen hooked up for gas? To help with the space problem, I am wondering if you can fit a small work table or island of some sort in there in addition to a small dining table. We had one in my kitchen when I was growing up, it was wood and had a drawer for tools, slots on the side for knives, and a little storage space underneath. You could cut directly on the wood top if you wanted and you could place hot pans directly on the surface if needed without warping anything. It had wheels so we could push it into another room if it was in the way. If you don't get something like this I suspect you will need a dining table on which you can do things like placing your hot pans and maybe even rolling out pie crusts. I have a much larger kitchen than you do and I sometimes use my grandmother's dining room table for food prep and for hot pans. (I have table pads to protect it.) If you're buying the table I would look for something that's mostly a cabinet with leaves that you pull out when you want to sit down. That way there's some storage underneath. Try not to add anything to the kitchen that doesn't include storage.

Yesterday, I ate wings and celery with blue cheese. Then I kept swiping at the buttercream I was working with later on. A little too much. Coffee, too, but that goes without saying in my case. Kinda like GIMB with the sriracha.

If you have serious problems with sesame adherence, I'd try crusting the tuna as described and then letting it sit uncovered in the fridge for an hour or so before cooking. The fridge will help dry out and set the crust. I often do this with anything I'm breading or crusting or coating.

I belong to the Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op. It's a store (actually they have two stores). I like owning part of my grocery store and prefer the flexibility of store hours. Arlington, Bethesda, NE DC, and some other neighborhoods have similar co-op stores. I bet it wouldn't be hard to find a food buying coop like you mention though. Have you tried looking through Craigslist?