reesek

i absolutely hate it when servers don't listen or ignore my cues. there are times i want to be guided, and will ask for advice - please have some to offer!! there are times i want to be left alone. please pay attention!! body language is very clear. agree with jbonne on feigned knowledge - it's obvious - and it's absolutely fine to say, "i'm not sure, let me check." but to be lazy and try to fake me out helps neither of us. my number one pet peeve though, is when servers clear plates before everyone has finished. it's so rude to the slower eater(s). stop rushing me! </rant>

i just found the Chefmate 16 QT for $29.99 (egullet friendly link)

i'm in! tonight i'll make lentil. fat guy's liquid comment inspired me to use the liquid from last night's pulled/braised pork for some of the broth. i'll add some fresh onion and garlic, celery and carrot, roasted cumin, corriander, chili powder and tomato paste. i'll use my immersion blender to puree some of it before i top with some shredded pork from dinner last night, some chipotle cheddar and cilantro. maybe a photo, but lentil is hardly the most photogenic of soups.

made my first pulled pork yesterday. 3 lb pork butt marinated overnight in orange & lime juice, garlic, oregano, homemade guajillo and chipotle chili powder, cumin, & s&p. roasted with a sliced onion in my big le crueset for 6 hours. shredded the pork with a fork, spooned off the fat and fried up some of the pork for carnitas. served with cabbage slaw and red grapes. it was so good! strawberry ice cream for dessert.

i had el ranchito corn tortillas last night, and they were awful. they smelled fishy and ammonia-like. why could that be? the taste was ok - but after a couple of bites, i gave up on them - the smell was killing my carnitas!

congratulations keiran!! i'm quitting my corporate job in june (shh) and planning to go to SCCC for culinary arts in Jan of '06. so my 2005 food-related resolution is monetary. i need to stop wasting money on food. i buy a lot of things to "try" that i don't end up finishing. i've had the luxury of being a little greedy. i think i need to take anita's wonderful resolution one step further: the money i spend on food - both cooked at home and eaten out should count. i will choose carefully, and savor what i've selected. now i just need to make sure that my solution isn't to just eat that block of truffle cheese...but just to try it at the store.

there was no sandwich truck when i was there ('93-'97) we had delivery though. jimmy johns was a local (and possibly evolved) shop that delivered fresh, cheap(ish) sandwiches to the dorms. they were a savior.

northwestern '97. saga (as oneidaone referred to) was replaced by marriott years before, but we still called the dining hall saga. (i lived across the quad from elder in Bobb McCulloch). the food was still bad. i mostly lived on golden grahams and deli turkey sandwiches. they tried the theme thing there too. i remember a whole roasted pig once - apple and all...not very appealing to a bunch of 18 year olds. the worst though, were the hamburgers. nestled in their steam tray, they featured a thick layer of pooling munge on the edges and top. ugh.

sick so made soup last night. bought mushroom broth and simmered it for a while with some shiitake stems i had in my freezer. sauteed garlic, onion and shallot in butter, deglazed with sherry and then added a bunch of sliced creminis. added the lot to the (strained) stock. added cream and blitzed with hand blender for a bit. served with bread, old cheddar and apple. next time i'll cook the allium longer. it was a little sharp, but comforting and good.

wendy, can you do me a favor and take a picture of that pork belly when you get it? as a recently reformed vegetarian, i have absolutely no idea what different cuts of meat are called or look like raw. thanks... the best thing i ever made in my whole life was cassoulet. it was years ago and i used the recipe in the Joy of Cooking. i had made a goose for christmas and used the carcass for stock to cook the beans...bought lamb and sausage and i think salt pork?? and used left over goose. it was amazing - enjoy the process! i loved the steps and the smells - it was heavenly.

the roasted potatoes my boyfriend's mother made for christmas dinner. she's not a creative cook - but those brits sure can make some roasties. mine will never come close - and that is just wonderful. her parsnips rock too.

yes to cumin!! salt & lime are the only essentials if the avocado is perfect. if it's not - or if i'm making for a crowd i add cilantro, cumin (the tiniest bit) tomato, minced onion and jalepeno. sometimes a shot of tapatio ends up in there.

that's almost exactly what we had last night. we had uncured american bacon instead of pancetta...but still. eerie.

please do post more detail! what do you mean "put aside to mature"? how does the flavor change? how/where do you store the "maturing" confit? and most of all - especially for cooks like me who would love to try things like this but truly fear killing people with toxic rotten duck, butter etc...how do you know if it's been done right? many many thanks for sharing your expertise!

lmf you can definitely get both galangal and lime leaves at uwajimaya. i freeze the leaves i don't use. i use fresh galangal (because we can) but they'd also have dried. galangal is much lemonier and herbal tasting than ginger. larb (meat) balls sound splendid. one of my favorite thai dishes is tod man pla (fried fish cakes) i think larb "cakes" in a similar fashion would be fabulous...assuming you weren't using leftovers. mmm, crispy and larby!

jaymes that sounds sooo good. i will definitely do that at my next party instead of my recipe which (while awesome) is a terrible pain in the ass. baby latkes with creme fraiche (or variations) and smoked salmon or caviar. the 9 page latke thread has lots of great tips - but mine are super easy and very crisp. one large-ish russet usually makes 8 or so small latkes - adjust accordingly. grate potatoes into big bowl of salted cold water. let soak for a while (30 min?) meanwhile grate an onion into a separate bowl. don't drain the potatoes, but scoop out handfuls at a time, squeezing every bit of moisture possible out of those potatoes - wring em in a towel - squeeze - salad spinner - whatever. add to onion (the bit of onion juice is ok) and more salt and lots of pepper. some people like to use the starch from the potatoes, but i think it makes the cakes a little gluey. i fry in peanut oil. about an inch in a big skillet. if i had a cast iron - i'd definitely use that. i just take a bit (1 tbsp or so) and flatten in my hands (hard) they stay together just fine without binder. i usually put the raw cake onto my spatula and sort of slide it into the oil. fry on medium. leave them alone until you can see the golden thing happening on the edges. flip. repeat. drain on paper towels - these can easily be made, cooled and stored in separated layers a couple days ahead. reheat in a 450 degree oven. or held in a barely warm oven while you keep on frying. to top - i use chives, dill, & parsley and mix them into cream cheese thinned with milk, creme fraiche, sour cream & horseradish...boursin would be lovely too and top with smoked salmon, romanoff crap caviar or (once some lovely osetra) every party i have they go first. whenever i'm invited to a party of a close friend, they ask me to bring them. for a while, a good friend was vegan and i created a tofu-horseradish dip. extra firm tofu sliced and well drained/pressed to remove liquid. lots of prepared horseradish, salt, pepper and rice wine vinegar. blitzed in the cuisinart. i topped those with green onion.

i finally made it to salumi. what a wonderful first impression. i got the hot lamb sandwich (it was between that and porchetta...next time i'll have porchetta) and a meat and cheese plate to take home. the m&c plate is massive. for 12.50 i think i got 4 or 5 slices of 12 different things. maybe i'll photograph them and someone can tell me what i've got? the cashier today was armandino's ...brother? looks a lot like him...i think the name was bill - not sure but he was so nice. i was delighted. as i was leaving (we even managed to snag a table - beginners luck no doubt) i wished him a happy holidays and he came out from behind the register to bestow cheek kisses! the lamb was good - not amazing...not quite heated enough for me to be a "hot" sandwich, but i opened my m&c plate (you should see me with presents) and a piece of something magically delicious found it's way into my mouth. so intense! visions of finnocchio dance through my head. oh - on the board it said gnocchi on tuesdays (not sure why or if it's permanent, but thought you should all know)

hey rocky, i PMed you but have more detail now - is there room for 2 more? if so - please add me and my boyfriend rob who agreed to come saying, "sure, I'd be happy to go but I'm not debating which brand of sea salt is better." which totally cracked me up

that is a great idea...i definitely wouldn't suggest making the pizza directly on the stone because you want the stone to be blazing hot and don't want to let any of the heat out of the oven either. so what are your toppings? when i was 12 i was mushroom and pepperoni, keep those ick onions away. now - as long as i've got thinly sliced onions - i couldn't care less what's on it!

fran's salt caramels (dark chocolate) are delicious. they can be purchased at Metropolitan markets (i'm sure at greater expense) if you don't want to go to U village or buy online. i eat them upside down so the salt hits my tongue right away. splendid.

i can second SP'd assessment - another comment is that the menu selections are pretty limited - it's not the place to take a picky eater. i think when we went (october sometime) they had a pork chop, short ribs, the lasagne (which had sausage), roasted chicken, a fish and a vegetarian dish. not a lot of room for wiggle. loved the space...they got "warm lofty" right.

i meant to re-post about Lola - the bump reminds me of that. i posted soon after they opened that i'd been there for a late dinner, and while i'd thought it was ok - i wasn't too impressed. i went for lunch more recently (tho still a couple months ago) and had much better food. we shared all the spreads (which had changed from my first visit) and found all to be more flavorful than the first incarnation i had. i ordered the salmon brochette with greek salad and it was great - perfect lunch out. service was peculiar, but not awful. the one thing we noticed (sat in one of the booths in the center) was that they're pretty skinny for 2 per side. my (small-ish) colleague sharing the bench with me and i (no kate moss, no camryn manheim) felt a bit squished. i think if i'd been sharing the side with my boyfriend, it would have felt cozy - but with people from work it felt small. we kept thinking...is this a hint?

marlene, your gingerbread house looks so cute! i've never made one and always wanted to when i was little - ryan's lucky. if he doesn't know it now - he surely will one day. a mom who not only makes a gingerbread...edifice but also makes mac & cheese from scratch and doesn't wreck it by making him eat some dumb old broccoli is a mom worth lobbying for. looking for a daughter? i'm very much looking forward to the rest of your blog (i was in serious withdrawl) and good luck selling your house!

i love that. dinner was simple seared salmon with saffron sauce, baby potatoes (simply boiled at the request of the british bf.) a side of shredded brussels sprouts and roasted cauliflower was the highlight. salad of toasted pecans, dried cranberries, sliced apples, radicchio and laura chenel goat. bonny doon le cigare volant to drink.

check here. i think what you want is deep dish - not stuffed...but just in case - both recipes are in there. let us know how it turns out?