Malawry

Damn, John, why didn't you send us any of those pootatoes? Oh, and Mark, the commentary that came with the photos is all mine. "This doesn't suck" is a running L'academie joke; you say it after consuming a torchon of foie gras or licking the caviar off the tin lid.

I eat commercial veg burgers occasionally. I've not really bothered to make them myself. I do enjoy falafel formed into large patties in place of a burger. It's very good this way with tzatziki, lettuce and tomato on a big whole wheat bun. BTW there's a recipe for the satay-style tofu Jinmyo mentioned, plus information about vegetarianism and a few vegetarian recipes, in the Vegetarianism for Everyone class I taught in the eGullet Culinary Institute. Go here to check it out.

Whim Night at Firefly Seven of us convened at Firefly last night for rose wine, fun, food, and banter with John W. and Tricia. We started off in the bar with rose by the glass. (I didn't note the wines or remember to snag a wine list, so somebody will have to contribute what on earth we drank. I just remember it was refreshing, summery, and very very pink. I felt very avant-garde drinking pink wine.) While we chatted in the bar, Tricia brought us a bunch of snacks. Unfortunately I did not get images of any of these, but boy were they fantastic. Two orders of the fried oysters were placed between us. Crisp-fried, spiked with pepper, served with a little ramekin of chipotle tartar sauce. Hjshorter stepped away from the table briefly after having eaten only one. The rest of us had each had two and were sort of daring each other to be a pig and eat the leftover. Just as Vengroff and Bilrus were starting to lean over Hjshorter returned. "Oh, is that mine?" My heart sank along with her teeth. Next time I'm getting my own order. We also enjoyed some house-cured gravlox with lemon oil, capers, chive sticks and some preserved lemon slices. I thought the seared tuna starter was the best tuna I'd eaten since visiting Joe Fortes in Vancouver; several thin rare slices were leaning on a formidable pile of deep green watercress. A fat slice of grilled eggplant rested under the greens. Finally the seven of us were somehow expected to share a chorizo tart, with caramelized onions and a squiggle of mustard sauce in a puff pastry shell. We moved to our table around 8 and immediately started wishing we could each order everything on the menu. Almost everybody ordered a starter. Bilrus ordered another chorizo tart as his starter, so I managed to snap an image when it came: Hannah selected the etheral corn soup as her starter, a cold sweet-savory treat with a little pluche of crab salad and cucumber in the center: Hjshorter's tomato soup was pretty special, too. It was warm and soothing, bright with yellow tomatoes and accented by tomatillo cream in the center. Vengroff and Al Dente both ordered the potato gnocchi from the "bowls" menu (items on this menu are available in small or full portions). Vengroff mentioned that there was just enough potato in them to hold the butter together. I noted with pleasure that the gnocchi were pan-fried, making them an especially efficient conveyance vehicle for butter. They came with some favas, chervil and creme fraiche, but really, they could have come on an NSF-certified cutting board for all I cared. They'd still rock, and they kick the butt of most of the gnocchi I've had from DC chefs. By the way, let me say at this point how grateful I am that everybody let me stick my camera in their plates. I am especially grateful that I tasted almost everything that came around, so I can note the flavors instead of just working from pix and the menu. I didn't actually order a starter but I stuck my schnozz, spoon, and very nearly my fingers into every dish anyway. Anybody else would have asked me to leave or at the very least stared at me. But wait, there were entrees too! Chef John had mentioned the lamb minute steak as a particular point of pride for him, so I just had to order it. So did a couple of other people; I think 3 of us wound up with this terrific entree. The large, thin steak arrived topped with cherry tomatoes and flavored with rosemary. As I ate this I was remembering boning out a primal cut of lamb at school, and how happy I was that lamb smells lamby even when it's raw. It's a happy memory, the first time I felt confident about boning meat. I never would have thought to make a minute steak out of lamb but it definitely worked. Hjshorter selected the steak frites as her entree. A big chunk of sirloin came with an onion sauce, thin ancho-chile mustard, and a happy pile of watercress. A cone of frites arrived on the side. The steak was succulent, almost beer-like in its rich/grain flavor. Bilrus chose the salmon with blackeyed peas, bacon and red wine after I told him he could have a chunk of my lamb steak. Chef John described the beans as cassoulet-like, and they did have that satisfying meaty, slow-cooked peasant flavor to them. The red wine vinegar looked like a broken vinaigrette around the plate, very pretty. The bacon smell made it very hard to sit next to Bilrus as he ate this dish, and everybody at that end of the table was sniffing mightily when his plate arrived. Our own Al Dente chose the duck leg confit as his entree. This is the only plate I didn't get a chance to sample. The menu describes it as "Crisp duck leg confit with whole grain mustard, asparagus stir-fry and preserved shiitakes." It sure looks good: These terrific corn gratin casseroles were set on the table along with our entrees. They were bursting with that summery sweetness and bound together with plenty o' cream. I told Chef John, "This doesn't suck." I had to leave before dessert time, and I'm sorry I didn't get to sample the peanut butter parfait et al. I did manage to have our server take a photo of the guilty parties before running out the door, though. Seated, left to right: Hjshorter, Vengroff, Hannah Standing, left to right: Bilrus, me, Al Dente

I got pics of most of the food, though not all of it. (I forgot to take pictures in the bar, where Chef John sent us some snax, and then I left before dessert.) I hope to get them up after I arrive in NC this evening, but it may have to wait as long as till early next week. We'll see.

Yes, thanks all for a fabulous time. I got some pictures of most of the plates, plus I took some notes so I should be posting a summary soon. (It may not be till early next week, but I swear it's coming!) What did ya'll get for dessert? I'll be there on the 25th, but hope to get together again before then. Thanks, John and Tricia, for a wonderful time. What a fun restaurant!

It looks like we're seven at this point. John, how many pink wines are there? I'm a lightweight and can only knock back about 2 glasses (besides which I don't want to make it too late a night). I suspect some of our other attendees can hold their own though. Not naming any names.

Eggs are not considered dairy for kashrut purposes. It's considered "pareve." This means you can serve eggs with either meat or dairy dishes at will. Also weird but true: fish is pareve.

Heather, PM me tomorrow and I'll bring my camera. Otherwise I'll fergit. Can't wait. Can't believe it's politically correct to say "mm, pink wine."

FWIW I added challah crumbs to the homemade jam I used to fill my second, successful ruggie attempt. The bat mitzvah is this weekend and I can't wait to show the cookies off.

Just to be clear, I am referring to coconut milk, not coconut cream (which, due to its high sugar content, would probably not be easily subbed for regular milk). I just checked a can of coconut cream and the type I have does not contain any dairy products, though. -Malawry Stewartz

I sometimes sub in coconut milk for regular milk in all sorts of recipes. I bet it would work in a pastry cream, and would taste pretty good to boot. Hmm, ginger-flavored crust, coconut pastry cream, and sliced tropical fruits might make a tasty pareve tart for the holidays. I have cooked with Edensoy soy milk (which I regard as the least offensive soy milk) with moderate success. Some soy milks have a tendency to split when cooked for a long time, so I usually add them at the end of cooking. I've used them more like I would real cream to finish a sauce or soup than as the base of something like pastry cream, but it's worth a shot. BTW some people vehemently disagree that Edensoy is the least offensive, and I've learned over time that different soy milks can be better for different activities. I think Vitasoy froths better for a soy milk cappuccino (sorry Lesley), for example, but it's not as rich as edensoy. And for some, rice milk or almond milk simply taste better than soy milk. Go to a natural foods store and buy single-serving containers of soy and other milks, it's the easiest way to sample several types. Then give it a shot and tell us what happens. Maybe you could make a soy pastry cream and a dairy pastry cream and compare them side-by-side if you really want to feel rueful.

What a bonehead I am. We're 5 so far, I forgot to count NancyDC. Of course newbies are welcome, and I didn't mean to overlook you! So sorry. John, that sounds good. Thanks for taking care of it.

Looks like so far it's me, Al Dente, Hjshorter and Bilrus. Who else is in? We're looking at Wednesday, 7pm. Tommy and MatthewB don't count, but if they did, John, you'd probably have to double your mise-en-place.

I don't know whether to feel powerful or pathetic.

In North Carolina, Baptists, boy scouts, and little league teams all call "potlucks" covered dish suppers. Never attended a potluck until I moved to DC. Mayhaw Man, thanks for your recipe. Mm mm! I admitted I was just splitting hairs and givin' ya'll a hard time but I appreciate your mention of your family relish trays. I LOVE relish trays, they are the BEST part of Thanksgiving with my folks.

Maybe I shouldn't go.

Mr. Chen's is great, and reasonably priced to boot. I especially like their kung pao tofu*. *My household is free of meat- and fowl-dishes, so I never take-out kung pao chicken. For those of you whose standard of kung pao chicken is that place in NY with the "fresh killed" chicken, this isn't as good, but it IS about as good as tofu gets. I wonder if a big ol' sushi platter from Spices would work...though sushi ain't so good for leftovers. I bet Vace could pack up some of their pizza or make a pan of lasagna. Or maybe a mezze-to-go from Lebanese Taverna? These are all very close to the zoo. Dunno if they will deliver but they're all worth visiting for pickup if you can.

Wednesday sounds awesome, guys. John: Next time you pick! And MatthewB: Aww, shaddap.

I'd be game. Maybe next week we could hit Firefly?

Has anybody tried any of the "core" flavors? They sound like they wouldn't work to me. But maybe I'm wrong. I was addicted to the S'mores low fat ice cream once. It was awesome, chunks of graham crackers and a marshmallow creme swirl in dark chocolate ice cream. There were also S'mores ice cream bars, two types: one was like an ice cream sandwich with graham crackers and stripes of chocolate and marshmallow ice cream, dunked in chocolate. The other was chocolate and marshmallow ice creams on a stick, dunked in chocolate that was studded with graham cracker bits. The bar was better. I miss both of these terribly.

Well, Sam, you're getting into the question of "what is Southern food, and how does it differ from soul food?" Maybe Ruth can give us a definitive response to that one, too. I'd love to read it, personally. Mayhaw Man, pimento cheese squirted (from a pastry bag fitted with a star tip) onto celery sticks was a covered-dish standard in Greensboro, NC, where I grew up. Which is closer to "formal" and "dip" than your tasty ham sammich, but now I'm really splitting hairs. Thanks for a great read, Ruth. I'm torn between agreeing with you (rational brain cells) and wanting to claim all these wonderful foods as Southern since I am a Southerner (emotional brain cells).

I haven't done a scientific test on this one. Mark Bittman says the same thing as Arthur Schwartz does. I cook them without salt because I know from experience that a. I definitely know that it won't hurt the texture and b. I'm able to properly season beans after they are cooked. But you should try it yourself, make your own decision.

I haven't met Tom, but he did a Q&A here on eGullet so we all got a chance to "know" him better through that. He also says he reads eGullet often. I know at least one person who is active on eG has met him but Tom is very protective of his privacy, and given how responsive and thorough he is I'm inclined to respect that. Read all about Tom from the horse's mouth here.

We won't ruin anything. Promise! Shyeah right!

In all seriousness, if I'd actually seen this thread yesterday, I'd have gone. But then Tommy and Matthew had to come along and ruin it for me. I'm often game for last-minute stuff these days though. And I love Matchbox. They have a cute new bartender.