hillvalley

no no no no no no Why can't she go shopping in Georgetown and have dinner at Tosca downtown? Georgetown has no really good Italian restaurants. Great suggestion but unfortunately it is out of their price range.

A friend's mother is in town and wants to eat Italian in Georgetown. Where should they go? Can they get in on the Friday before Valentine's?

I do the same thing

Has anyone tried the new sushi place above Makoto?

Aji Nippon in Bethesda. (Across the street from Bruce's Variety) It makes Tako look like McD's. The fish is always very fresh and they have hard dishes to find like Ikura Oroshi (Salmon roe and radish). I have dined there many times when I was the only nonJapanese person there. It's decoration reminds me of Sushi Ko before the renovation. This is my ultimate sushi place. Kaz would be first, but due to location and price I rarely get there. For takeout I go to Hinata in Bethesda on St. Elmo's.

Yep, I was boiling it to freeze it. I also was going to bring some to a sick coworker, but now I am not so sure.

To keep or not to keep, that is the question

Can I have the rest of the leftovers?

walked right into that, didn't I?

I made pot of stock a week ago Monday. I am finally getting around to freeze the left overs that has been sitting in the fridge for a week. As it is warming, there is white, swirly stuff floating in it. It kind of looks like foam, only fluffier? It is floating on top of the chicken fat thatis melting. I added salt, but only a little at the end. Everything else is organic. Any idea what it is? Should I throw it away? Help

No!!! But then again I don't know if I have ever had okra prepared the right way.

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? -Both sides of my family are Eastern European Jews so food was the center of everything. My grandmother learned to cook in her father's deli so a lot of our recipes (and family jokes) date back to the restaurant. When she and my grandfather came to visit she always brought a cooler full of food. My mother discovered food when she moved out of her parent's home and passed on this love to me (although not my younger sister). We also ate a lot of sushi. Was meal time important? -You needed a really good excuse to miss dinner. Homework, practice, rehersals, etc. were not an excuse. There was always music in the background. Everyone was expected to share their day. Brunch at my grandmother's was and still is important as well. It only happened a few times a year though. Was cooking important? -Absolutely!!!! My mother took gourmet chinese cooking classes when I was a baby so I grew up making Peking Duck and wontons. There was always a Bon Appetite lying around. Now that I think of it, my mother had her standard repetiore, but it was really good. She is known among family friends as the best cook. She started a fruit/vegetable co-op and bought most of our food at farmers markets. Fresh was best. Veggies were everywhere and available whenever we wanted them. Eating "the best" was important, whether it was gourmet French, or roadstand BBQ. My mother and I also used to spend Sunday watching the cooking shows on PBS. Jeff Smith and Jacques Pepin were our favorites. Julia scared me until I was a teenager. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? -A reminder from my father to take your elbows off the table. He would then recieve a reminder right back! Who cooked in the family? -Mom. Dad did the grilling and made caviar omletes. Everything else was cooked by mom. Until I was about 14 we ate pretty damn well. Mom was into gourmet cooking. Then she burnt out and we had stir fry constantly. I helped out a few nights a week, if I was in the mood. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? -Pretty common, but we did it big for special occasions. For your birthday you could pick any restaraunt in the city. When I was 6 I picked Roy Rogers. This year it's Mini Bar (the local El Bulli wanna be). We also celebrated many occaisons with sushi. Everything from getting a good grade to Dad's promotions were toasted over maguro maki (tuna rolls). Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? -Not at my house (it wasn't big enough for a kids table). At my grandparents, where we did many holidays, there was. A few months ago we had our first family meal where we needed a kids table for the next generation. When did you have your first sip of wine? -The day I was born. A bit of Dom off my father's pinky. The first time I remember getting drunk was at Passover in the 6th grade off of Manachevits. Was there a pre-meal prayer? -On Shabbat we did the candles. I have no idea why we skipped the bread and wine. As we get older my father adds more prayers at the holidays. Again I have no idea why. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? -Roasted chicken and baked potatos on Shabbat. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? -Not enough, but mainly because I am single and make no money. I cannot wait for family dinners again. Except for the sushi. I still eat a lot of sushi and use it to celebrate.

(smacks self hard on forehead) Of course!

My mouth is watering..... I'm at work so I can't link it but check out today's food section. There is a little piece about mini bar and the cotton candy foie gras. Chap, how many foie gras dishes did you have?

I've lived in DC my whole life and never seen a half smoke. I third the steamed crab recommendation, and would add Old bay to the list.

Is it safe to assume the eggs will last a couple of days? I was going to make them tonight and eat them Friday. Most of my students are pretty adventurous eaters. I wrote about or adventures in eating sushi in my food blog if you are interested. I think the final menu is going to be the eggs, lavash, pomegranites and shirley temples. We are having a party in the afternoon, so I don't want to load them up too much. Any ideas on what to eat with the lavash? Hummus didn't go over that well and babaganosh probably won't either. What is that blend of spices they use in the middle east? It starts with a Z but I am drawing a blank!

I am impressing the hell out of my head teacher with all the info and recipes I have. She thinks I have spent hours and hours researching on the Internet. Not to mention that checking in on eg during the day is officially work related! If she only knew....

Location? Menu?

The egg recipe is just what I am looking for. This is so great! A familiar food that is prepared in a different way means a better chance my kids will eat it. Please please please thank your friend for me. One question, can I boil the eggs for less than 24 hours? What's the shortest amount of time I can boil them? Would over night work? Thank you for all of your help. A classroom full of inner city special needs kids are expanding their horizons because of you!

Maybe there could be egullet group shops for those without a membership. If we do a dollar amount, it should be per person, since not all of us are cooking for a family

I'm feeling the need to purchase marachino cherries! In college we used to make Shirley Temple's out of Zima and grenadine. We called them antivirgin temples

Some of us wish we could work from home!!!

Susan, you must join. Your life will be changed. Your son will soon be a teenager. In order to financially survive his teen yeras, you must join. Not to mention the money you will save on books, music and wine! I love the virtual dinner idea. I'm all the way on the east coast but would love to join in. I bet if you started a new thread called the virtual dinner at costco' s you would get people all over joining in! It would be interesting to see what the different stores carry across the country.

What about a baked potato bar? Easy to prepare, tons of variety, veggie and meat friendly. You could throw in a couple of "gourmet" toppings to impress the sisters that are foodies. I also like the Mexican themed dinner idea. Fajitas, tacos, salads, cornbread, beans, rice. You can make any eater happy. What about Mexican egg rolls? Cheesecake factory used to make a version with avocado in them, but it is years since I last had them. Along those lines, what about a chili party? Have a few different kinds, different toppings. etc.

Microwave playdough!!!! Recipe please!!!! I used to love to eat the salt kind. Licking your fingers after playdough time was the best! Yummmmm.