Malawry

Cut them into smaller ribbons and toast in a saute pan with EVOO, s, p. Top with a robust sauce, preferably a duck ragu. You can make interesting cold lasagna roll-ups with them--perhaps with some ricotta from the farm market blended with whatever herbs sound good to you. If you cut them into little spirals they can make a great snack or summery lunch.

I thought there was already a boys' club--I know a certain group of prolific male DC forum posters have joined up for gustatory enjoyment on several occasions (and posted about their fabulous time for all to read afterwards). Why shouldn't we women do the same thing? I'm all for going out in mixed groups too, FWIW. As evidenced by my showing up at Firefly, 2941, the Indian place in Bethesda, etc etc. Mrs. Busboy, you still need your own username!

Farm market dinner: Zucchini parmesan, featuring organic basil and tomatoes along with plenty of salted slim zucchini and shredded parm-regg, thinly layered in a gratin dish and roasted until crisped around the edges Italian sausages with organic red and yellow peppers Bibb salad, middle eastern cukes, mustard vinaigrette

My spouse cooks, but for most of our relationship he didn't because I did so much. Now that I work until 6:30pm most weeknights during the school year, and am kinda cooked-out when I get home, he's started fending for himself. He makes a good roasted chicken thigh (he brines the pieces, that's my boy) and has tried his hand at fish a couple of times. He also packs his own lunches, and makes himself omelets and whatnot for breakfast. He does not generally cook for me. Occasionally he will, but I'm much more likely to cook for him than he for me. He was in a relationship where he did all of the cooking before he ended up with me, so I know he can do it...but he seems to think it's not worth putting himself out when I'm a trained chef with the palate to match it. I can understand this. I do all the dishes when I cook for us, but he does them if he's cooking for himself. I do almost all the food shopping 'cause I control the food budget and I'm persnickety about quality.

I dunno, I think males might be included on a case-by-case basis IF they wear a skirt and buy us a round of drinks, and apply in advance for vetting. (I say this only 'cause I am deeply fond of Varmint, FWIW. And yes, it has been way too long since he stopped by these parts--though I did enjoy seeing the lovely and talented Dr. Mrs. Varmint several months ago.)

Despite your wildest fantasies, this was a GIRLS NIGHT OUT. No boys involved! Busboy, the TV was on in every bar we visited. Does that count?

I can't believe you guys went on to Palena afterwards. I am simultaneouslty impressed and jealous--I've been outclassed. Sorry, can't help with your paper.

You can put some of your peppers in vinegar (white wine is probably best) and store them for a long time. Use the vinegar to season your greens in the dead of winter for a kick. I like pepper jelly, too.

Don't forget Firefly's cold summer pea soup. Creamy-rich and with a strong pea flavor. Yum.

So I met with Hillvalley, Babka and Mrs. Busboy tonight for a little cocktail tour of the Penn Quarter area. Wackiness ensued. No, really, I had a great time even if I am still feeling a little "fifthy" (as I used to say in high school). And it's great fun being bad on a weeknight with your girlfriends. We started off at Cafe Atlantico. The original plan was to vet some mojitos for Monica Bhide, but, well, you know, not everybody has them. Atlantico definitely does, though. The conscientious bartender told me they sell around 250 mojitos on a busy night. We accounted for three of them tonight, plus we ordered a caipirinha for comparison. The drinks didn't disappoint--I love the tart tang of lime and cachaca in the Atlantico caipirinha, and we all know about the famous sugarcane stick and refreshing coldness of their mojitos. We were not disappointed. We did the Washingtonian thing of talking politics, and enjoyed one lady's tale of trying to sell sugarcane instead of lemonade at a childhood stand. Babka asked if we could order the conch fritters (hmmm, CAN WE?). They conveniently arrived in a quantity of four--accompanied by four jicama-avocado raviolis. The fritters were creamy and gooshy and sealike inside the crisp exterior, and the raviolis were those classic Jose Andres pillows of thin crisp jicama with a guacamole-like creamy filling. Did not suck. Hillvalley wondered aloud if we could go hang around the Minibar and scam peoples' leftovers. But we had other fish to fry, and Babka needed to take off to meet some other friends, so we slurped down the rest of our cocktails and headed off to our second destination. It took us a few minutes to figure out how to get into Poste (the entrance I'd used the one other time I'd been there was no longer open), but once we did we managed to nab this really cool booth with v-e-r-y high banquettes near the bar. We felt like we needed cigarettes with holders or something, it seemed very chic yet friendly. Our server was a great help--he had an infectious smile. I had a hard time selecting a beverage (Poste was out of mint and therefore couldn't make mojitos), but eventually settled on the special cocktail of the day: a watermelon martini with fresh melon (and NO Midori, thank God). Mrs. Busboy had a respectable Sidecar, complete with turbinado-sugared rim. And we shared some olives with preserved lemon (all green, all delicious) and a cone of parmesaned-truffled frites (quite excellent, and Hillvalley said the ketchup tasted homemade). By the time we'd finished tipping back our drinks and munching our snacks we were feeling quite happy, but there was no time to settle in--we wanted to explore more bars. So on we toddled to Zola across the street. Their bar was pretty packed by the time we showed up, and they were playing some kind of quasi-hipster house music with a heavy bass beat. We had a hard time finding a place to stand, and despite an interesting mojitolike drink on their cocktail menu we decided to move on to a mutual favorite, Matchbox, for our next drink. Matchbox made Zola look like FBIHQ on a Sunday afternoon, but the crowd was jovial and we're always interested in those house-made infusions. Besides, they have miniburgers! I knocked back a ginger martini with pineapple-rum infusion and we chowed down on those crispy onions that come with the yummy burgers. Despite some jostling we managed to have a good time there, and by this point we all felt like best friends. (Doesn't that always happen when you go drinking with the Girls Club?) Next time I want to get there earlier for their excellent happy hour, when those infused vodkas are stirred into budget-friendly martinis and whatnot. All in all, a fun night.

Sometimes I make tomato concassee with fresh tomatoes. I then freeze it in a mini-muffin tin, and pop out the little divots of concasse for adding to recipes that need a little tomato boost. I also love tomatoes simply sliced in half and pan-roasted on top of the stove for about an hour with plenty of EVOO and garlic until completely depleted. Mmmmm.

Yanyu treats vegetarians better than almost anybody else in town, with their vegetarian tasting menu as the centerpiece of a very veggie-friendly kitchen. If all else fails, get Mr. Cheng's kung pao tofu take-out.

I'm flying Air Franch (coach) in a few months. What can I expect? Some people have mentioned it but I haven't seen any details. When my spouse made the reservation, the agent told him we should show up for the flight hungry...

Did any one take pictures? Sorry I missed this one, the food at least sounded great.

I don't follow a recipe. I use ground pork or sometimes ground pork and ground turkey together (my spouse doesn't eat beef, which is why I don't use it). Usually I combine the meat with lots of brunoised onions, pasted-down fresh garlic, an egg, a splash of worcestershire, chopped parsley, s, p, and whatever herbs complement the intended meal. Hand-roll into 2" meatballs. Pan-fry, turning often. When fully cooked, toss into whatever sauce I'm using and keep warm until dinnertime. My roommate likes to bake meatballs on a cookie sheet. This makes for a tasty but less-juicy (and lower-fat) meatball, IMO.

I thought durians didn't stink much until you cracked them open. I've passed by them at my local Han Ah Reum and at an area Thai market without harm. I don't have much to add to this thread, besides that I feel lucky to have a Han Ah Reum fairly close to my home in suburban DC. I buy ducks, Asian aromatics, weird pork parts, whole live catfish, and lots of other goodies there.

Can you describe the dish you're looking for? I haven't heard of this and am curious. Where/when did you eat them?

To start: The skin from two chicken leg quarters that I'd seared in rendered bacon fat and then finished in the oven. Ohhhhhhh good chicken skin. An hour later, for dinner: Extra extra meaty double-stock chicken soup/stew, made summer-herby with fresh thyme and farm celery Fresh blueberries Coffee with cream and Splenda

Huh? They're listed alphabetically...?

I love it when I order a salad and it comes garnished with a few anchovy filets. I break it up into little pieces with my fork and then try to get some into every bite of salad. Jaleo, a tapas restaurant around town, does this great tomato bread with anchovies: toasted country-style bread, smeared thickly with this tomato concassee, and then topped with a few prime anchovies. Simple and terrific.

Hillvalley and I had a terrific meal at Firefly yesterday, but I'm sure that comes as no surprise. They're offering their full menu at lunch, with minimal supplements for a few items. Chef John was kind enough to send us some of his delicious summery pea soup to open with. It's cool, rich, not too creamy, and full of spring pea flavor. I enjoyed crunching down on the microgreens that garnished the top. We then split the fried oysters with chipotle tartar sauce ($3 supplement, worth every penny) and the housemade gravlax with crenshaw melon ($2 supplement). Even in the middle of the "no-oyster" months these oysters were great--crispy, salty, briny, and perfect with the kicked-up sauce. I'm always fond of the Wabeck way with gravlax, and the addition of two thin slices of melon and a showering of scallion put a nice summery spin on this favorite. I ordered the chicken salad with brioche toast points for my entree. The salad was finely chopped, shot through with fennel seeds, textured instead of overly creamy. It came on a bed of greens with a sprinking of chopped summer tomato. I did not get a chance to sample Hillvalley's burger with brie and leeks, but I did manage to filch a couple of her excellent frites. (I love those little cone holders they put the frites into.) Dessert for me was some coffee-toffee ice cream with a chocolate chip cookie. A simple and satisfying ending to a thoroughly enjoyable lunch. Thanks, John, and also thanks to our server with the hipster purple sunglasses who provided excellent service.

Update: While wandering around downtown I managed to herd my party towards Faidley's. I immediately purchased a single crab cake which the three of us shared. My spouse remarked, "this is what I'm always hoping to get when I order a crab cake" after one bite. It's a beautiful baseball lump of sweet, crabby goodness with a wispy batter holding it together on the outside. Yes. That was our snack. Later we stopped in the Wharf Rat for wings and beers and salad as our dinner. Not bad, and the price was right, but it's not really worth a special detour unless you're a beer fan.

I usually buy Charles Shaw wines, though they're closer to $3 than $2 (at least where I live). My alma mater used Vendage's finest for this sort of cooking...the big bottles, bought by the case. My mom uses wine-in-a-box, but even I can't stoop that low.

Well, I will be with my esteemed spouse and another male friend, so I think we will be okay. We're planning to make a day of it...hit the aquarium, wander around the harbor, and then grab a bite before the game. The idea was to drive in and park the car only once, and then do everything else on foot. We're all reasonably young and spry, not afraid of a little walking, but we'll be tired after being on our feet and will probably want to stick close to the stadium. So maybe we should just hit the Wharf Rat. I think I'm overintellectualizing this search for cheap pre-game food.

Sounds like Caroline's and J. Patrick's may be my best bets near the stadium. I don't think we'll need much more than wings or jerk chicken and beers to satisfy before the game anyway. Al, perhaps we will see you there.