buttercup

I have scanned through your posts and understand how much you want to use your skill and your heart's effort to help your loved ones and friends. It is especially hard when one your ways of showing care seems irrelevant when someone is undergoing chemo. We just try to do the best we can. So here is my try-- my father, a cancer patient whose surgery has placed an output that is at the meeting of the small and large intesting, cannot digestively process many of the calories he consumes. I know we are not doctors--or acting that capacity--, but I have not found too much help in the hospital or online. What I am trying to figure out is if beyond Ensure there is much you can do for calorie supplement. I do not think there is a plain flavor (like yogurt) you can add and I do not think you can heat Ensure. What could I add as a caloric agent to food that is not a high dairy fat? Please PM or post if you have any thoughts. Best to you all, Buttercup edited because I was very unclear

Thanks... should always keep some of that good stuff around!

Thanks. Got eGullet trigger happy because it really was toilet cleaner blue! I will just keep cooking and hope I can avoid a blue cauliflower puree. Since I am serving with veal, maybe the color is a good thing actually

I cut up cauliflower florets. Tossed with OO, lemon, garlic, S&P. Put in oven to roast at 400F. 12 min later checked it and the garlic in the dish had turned this really strange blue color. It does not look like an okay food color. It smells pretty pungent too. What happened. It really looks frightening. Is there any saving this mess?

I will try to upload a pict of the fish. I went with a red snapper- white fish seemed more traditional. A chef came to help grill. He brought some caul fat to wrap the fish to keep moisture. Next time I will use two 10 pound fish. It is easier to cook, the fish is younger and the flavor is a bit more predictable. Stuffed the fish with lemon, cilantro, garlic, onion, parsley. OO all over. Did a simple Samkhe Harra sauce served on the side. Tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, S&P, paprika, chili pepper. Of all things and effort, the Jujeh Kaboob went over the best. Have to have a meeting with the person who helped me and get his technique down. Will post it because it is so good. Just do not loose your mind on the amount of saffron involved. I will definitely try to do the salmon with pomegranate sauce in the near future. Test it and then feature it at Norooz! Thanks everyone for your direction and inspiration. Though I did not use many of the fantastic ideas you all had for this BBQ, I will keep them on hand for future dinner parties.

Thanks everyone. I am going to call my fish people and see if there is a large white fish from the sea (as suggested in the Samkeh thread) that they recommend. The Samkeh sounds really good. I was a bit uncertain about the tahini, but you guys really seem to like it. Will try to find a restaurant with it around my place to take a taste test. I can always serve it on the side, if people seem to be squimish about tahini on fish. Salmon just seemed easier to grill and I want a big fish for presentation and to reduce labor. I saw several things on the internet, like wraping in oil soaked cheese cloth and even something about chicken wire to keep the fish looking a bit pretty. With some creative treatment, maybe a white fish can be okay on the grill. As to sprinkling with Zatar- does it come without the seeds? I have it with seeds. Will update with whatever it is I come up with.

I am holding a BBQ for about 30-40 people and want to do a whole grilled fish. The apps will be Lebanese and I want to carry the theme over to the fish. I am thinking of using salmon. For some reason, I am just not coming up with anything good and would love any feedback on what to do. I considered something with sumac, but I think that it may overpower the fish. If I am paying for high quailty fish, I do not want to render the expense useless. Any ideas on what to use in cooking the fish and/or serving a condiment. Service will be buffet style, maybe if I do not do too much with the fish could there be a presentation style that references the Lebanese theme? Guess this post hints enough that I am not even close to the zone on tackling this. If anyone wants to pipe in with menu ideas, please do. I had a Lebanese chef was was between jobs that I was going to hire for the party, but he is on to his own restaurant now so I am kind of free wheeling this. Thanks! Just hope my brain comes back from vacation soon. Stephanie

I am heading to Cyprus for two weeks at the end of July. Despite my research I have been unable to find really useful (ie. qualitative) information as to where is the best place to go. I would like to head to a beach area, but would also like to have good food and avoid a McBeach vacation. I will have to pop back into the capital on a couple of nights, but I figure if I am there I should make the most of my stay! I plan to rent a car so transportation is not an issue. I have taken note of the Porizin restaurant and will certainly try to make my way there. Any ideas are welcome and, if they stray too far from food topics, please feel free to PM me. I do not want any great ideas to be edited out. Thanks so much!!

The potato itself okay, but individually shrink wrapped potatoes. I saw them at Super Fresh. It is just strange. www.bbproduce.com

Heathrow has a Caviar House bar. You can get the balik of salmon and a nice glass of wine. It is quite yummy. I have a friend that spent a bit too much time there and missed his flight. Funniest though is in New Jersey, eating a Burger King burger because we had been in India for a while and wanted to have some cow. Later in security, hubby set off some new super high tech bomb sniffing machine and then machine for some reason went out of order. I blame Burger King smells.

Thanks everyone. I saw the Post article, but wanted to get advice from EG. I figured there would be some experience here. Sounds like the way to go is Weekend Culinary boot camp, knives and then to the lab. Cannot wait to get my groove on in the kitchen. edit due to spelling problem

Does anyone have experience with L'Academie de Cuisine? Does anyone have recs on other cooking classes? If I go with L'Academie, what do you suggest I take? I cook at home with success, but I just want to be better. I would not mind being more efficient with the knife (but not at the expence of my fingers). I would like to know when I am browning meat correctly or is the oil flying for no good reason. I would like to understand the essentials better, but not get bored in the process. The guy on the phone suggested I go through the Beginner Technique Series, but I wonder if that would be too slow: three sessions of three classes per session. If you know its good, I would consider it. Otherwise, I was wondering if I should take Basic Knife Skills, do the Primary Skills Weekend and then move onto the Culinary Skills lab. Thanks for any advice.

I am not sure if this is too far off your plan. We stopped in Johdpur at MV Spices, www.mvspices.com. Johdpur is also known for its antiques. I am trying to remember the sweet shop in Jaipur. It is on the road of the Jem Bazaar and it is next to a hotel. Attached is a vegetarian restaurant. Will try to get the specifics, I think there is a mention in the lonely planet guide on the veggie restaurant and it states that there is a sweet shop. Definitely go for the grilled meats/chicken. Or mix them with sauce dishes. We started eating a lot of the foods with sauces and got a bit sick since we were not used to the amount of cream/butter, whatever. Oh, often on the menu they translate lamb as mutton. I was fearful at first, but it turned out to be lamb. Our usual order (after the stomach meltdown): grilled chicken (there are a variety of styles, some coated in an egg mix), grilled lamb, dal, raita and naan. Make room for a good Lassi. It may have been at Lake Palace where I had one with saffron. Mumbai also has Persian food. Leopolds (?) has this dessert/drink Faloodi and their tandori chicken was great. Have a great time!

Thanks so much. I was going to call the wine place on MacArthur Blvd today because I saw boxes from there in the wine room. Retract yout offer. Trust me, on trying to get this guy to move and his issues with his wine, you do not want it in your house. He is a total princess. At this point he just expects us to move settlement by four days on account of his wine. While I have some respect for wine, the guy has a month and a half at this time to figure it out. [sorry for the rant] Thanks again!

Does anyone know of a wine storage facility near Washington, DC? The current owner of the house we are buying is stressing about his wine collection and I want to facilitate his exit from the house. I respect his wine collection, but I am already moving two and half weeks before my wedding so I would like to keep him on track. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks. p.s. his wine collection is way out of our budget and he is very attatched to it. would have made a nice house-warming present to us though.

I am working on my wedding menu. My fiance is Persian and my family is from the states/Cuban. I figure it would be ill advised to serve any of the famous Cuban pork dishes, so I am leaning to an American/Persian style. Apps. Have not narrowed it down. I can pick six. Was going to do some type of indian themed cocktail hour, but not sure where that is going. Tables On each table traditional Persian herb, radish, cucumber and feta platters and a selection of persian breads. Buffet: Eggplant stew with Lamb (Khoresh Badenjan) Beef stew with fried potatoes (Khoresh Gheimeh) Persian Chicken with Apricots Poached Halibut with Pomegranate Sauce Grilled Flank Steak with Molasses and Balsamic Glaze Rice with Tahdig Roasted Vegetables Roasted Potatoes Tomato and Herb Salad Desert Cake Gazd (I think I may need to cut some things out, but the caterer was fine with the menu) I have some months to go, but this is what I expect to feed them...From what I am hearing, I am going to make a definite effort to eat-- maybe I will give a list of what I want and have a plate made up for me by someone else so I can do the tour of the room duty. I wanna eat!!!

To get the crust I cook the rice for 10-15 min over medium heat, then I wrap the lid of the pot in a dish towel to lock in the steam, and cook over low for around 50 min.

I do not know how the restaurant is, but David Greggory has a bacon themed dinner coming up. Has anyone been? http://www.washington.org/index.cfm?ID=589...Type=480&IDPG=0

I woke up this morning with an incredible bacon craving. Guess I needed something high-octaine to get past the front page of the newspaper. Who has got the best bacon? My recent experience was in this little restaurant in Middleberg, Hidden Horse or something, out of nowhere eureka my bacon cheese burger was hiding incredible bacon. I took it right off the bun and ate it in its purest form. I need more good bacon......where is it?

Thank you so much everyone for your advice. I am very much looking forward to this trip and any guidance is sure to help in making it even more enjoyable! Best to all.

My fiance and I are planning a trip to Rajasthan in February. We are thinking about three weeks, with at least two weeks being in India. He has been to India before, after college, and wants to make this trip special- ie. not so much cost conscious. We want to stay in some of the palaces that have been converted into hotels among other things. We also want to do a private tour for the two of us during out stay since we have declared that renting a car would be close to insane, but we are not interested in a tour group. So to start the questions: What food experiences should we seek out? What places to stay or eat are incredible or not to be missed? Really, anything anyone has to offer is much appreciated. I am so excited about this trip! I have wanted to go to India for so many years and now I have my super sweet future hubby that wants to take me Thank you for your feedback!

Concerned dieters can go to this restaurant http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/food/r...estaurant/9670/ Please pass the duck fat and submit my foie gras order to the chef.

New Food of Life by Batmanglij has some intersting pickle recipes. If you are going full on into Middle Eastern cooking, persian Loobia Polow with Eggplant torshi is amazing! Good luck.

No stud service at the bar! I am horrified by the state of service these days.