hazardnc

I do need to try the Hominy Grill someday, and no, it is not too far for us - I just don't want to have to drive across the bridge for dinner. When we do drive out of town, we go to Bowen's Island (which burned down, but i have heard is open for outdoor dining now). Hominy Grill sounds good, but perhaps a little too home-style. We want "fancy vittles!" Surely someone out there has tried Cordiva?

I have heard of Sienna and some day may try it, but we really don't want to leave the peninsula. Has anyone tried Cordavi yet?

We ate at Fig last June, and agree it was very good - was wondering if there is another great place to try? We have been to Rue de Jean (not impressed - everythinv overly salty) but never been to SNOB, Peninsula Grill or other hot spots. Is Fig the best in Charleston?

I'll be in Charleston next weekend and want to take the SO to the best dining experience in the historic district for a birthday celebration. Where should we go?

I am topping this thread as we will be travelling to Athens, Crete and the Greek isles of Santorini and Sifnos, and if we're lucky, Milos, in June. Would love suggestions of special Cretan dishes to try as well as any restaurant recs for the islands mentioned above.

A friend who lives in the condos above Java Passage on South Blvd (behind EQ3) says they are closing. I hope that's not true b/c the other location is closed on the weekends. I love Counter Culture's espresso blend. My SO and I tried Las Ramblas a couple of weeks ago. They have a lot of kinks to work out. A couple of items we tried were quite good (the octopus, the fried sardines) and one was downright awful (eggplant with machego -- greasy and bland). The flan had a grainy texture. Maybe things will improve soon. I am dying to try Fiamma - perhaps this weekend. I stopped by one Saturday to pick up a menu and was told they are reworking it. One place I want to return to is Catalunya Cafe in Dilworth near Talley's. We had lunch there one day not long ago. Though the restaurants bills itself as Catalan, though it's not truly authentic. However, their sandwiches were great. My husband had the Philly Bistec Queso and I had the Roast Pork. Their fries are excellent and I suspect they do the twice cooked method. They come with an excellent aioli. Catalunya Cafe

I want to make Keller's Foie Gras Terrine from his book, Bouchon, but I do not have a drum sieve and really don't want to buy another piece of equipment that will be rarely used. Any of you out there have suggestions for a substitute? I have a fine mesh sieve, but it is no where near as fine as the above mentioned.

I have made this bread three times already. Thus far, I have not tried any other flour other than bread flour (Pillsbury) and corn meal to coat the towel for the last rise. The first time I made the bread, I cooked it at 500 F in my le Crueset Dutch oven. It was very brown after 30 minute, and I overcooked it a bit after removing the lid. The second time I lowered the temp to 450. This worked fine, but I felt the interior was a bit underdone. Yesterday, I cooked it at 475 and I was quite pleased. Since I will be using this loaf for turkey dressing, I have not yet tasted it, but it looks beautiful. Someone above mentioned that this recipe will make home bakers out of a lot of people, and I have to agree. I recently began using The Bread Bakers Apprentice, and I love that book. It made me more succesful at baking than ever before. But this recipe is quick (except for the rise time) and it produces a product that rivals what I can get locally. I haven't read through all the messages on this thread to see how others have experimented, but I am excited about the prospect of experimenting. Has anyone yet tried to make hard rolls with this?

Thanks for the response. How do you go about incorporating your roux after it's been refrigerated? How do you reheat it? Do you just let it come to room temp?

I attended a Slow Food event recently where we were taught the finer points of stocks and sauces. We were taught how to make roux as well, and the instructor said you can make more roux than you need and store it. I don't often need a dark roux, but I do like to use light roux to make sauces (bechamel specifically) fairly often. Can I make a large batch and save the leftovers for future use? If so, how long will it keep and how do I reheat to add to stock for sauces?

I was just coming to this site to post the news - actually was thinking of Holly and knew he would miss it too! My kids have signed the walls of Bowen's Island for the past 6 years, and my hubby and I celebrated our 22 anniversay there this past June. I am very sad...

Thanks! Actually, I think the first leg will be Charlotte to Montgomery, then Montgomery to Baton Rouge. If you have any Montgomery eating tips, please share! I hope to avoid Outback and Longhorn if at all possible! edited for typos

Question for Mayhaw Man: Without going into lengthy details, it looks like I will be driving my in-laws from Charlotte, NC to Austin, Tx next week. We plan to stop in Baton Rouge for the night, and I really hope to have some good meals to ease the pain of a long drive. The father-in-law is on a very low sodium diet. We have found that in terms of eating out, he is limited to grilled steak and a plain potato. Do you think the kitchens at either Mike Anderson's or Chimes will accommodate him in cokking up a nice piece of fish or steak without salt?

Thanks to all of your suggestions, I made my most successful pita yesterday. My arab mother-in-law was a bit jealous in fact! It seems my pita puffed up much better than hers ever does. I was perhaps overly cautious about leaving the bread in too long, and took it out as soon as it puffed fully. I think I will leave it in a bit longer next time. I also over floured my work surface and so there was too much residual flour on the outside. Lastly, I am thinking of leaving the dough in the refrigerator overnight to see if a slow fermentation will enrich the flavor.

This is all very interesting. For years, I have used Morton's Lite Salt, which is 50% salt and 50% potassium chloride. I always use it in my baking and in my limited experience, I have not noticed a huge difference in the bread. But, I am not a bread expert by any means. Rather than omitting salt, I wonder if I could reduce the amount and still have a fairly good product? The poor man is missing his bread. Store-bought versions of sandwich bread are loaded with sodium, with the exception of Ezekiel bread. But that bread is dry and barely palatable. Does anyone have a decent pullman bread or other sandwich bread recipe that they use that calls for only a tsp of salt?

My father-in-law is currently on a practically salt-free diet due to a recent stroke. I would like to bake some bread, and have a recipe for Tuscan bread I can make, but I began to wonder, does salt serve a purpose in bread, other than as a flavor enhancer?

Thanks for the link. Instead of hand kneading, have you ever used the KitchenAid mixer? I could try hand kneading, but I don't know if my arm will hold out for 10 minutes!

Having no local Arabic bakery, I have long hoped to learn to make good khoubz at home. Every time I try, however, my bread is too stiff and tough. I have been successfully making other breads using The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and now wonder if my bread woule benefit from an overnight ferment in the refrigerator. FoodMan (and anyone) can you help me?

I stumbled on this thread today and found it rather timely. Two weeks ago, my father-in-law had a mild stroke. The result of his MRI showed that stroke was one of several that he has suffered (unknowingly) for some time. At the time of his most recent, his blood pressure was 200/100. My FIL has been on two forms of high blood pressure meds for years, but he has perfect cholesterol. The doctor told the FIL to go salt-free. This was not just eliminating the salt-shaker from the table, but eliminating all processed foods and foods naturally high in salt. Within 10 days, his blood pressure was down to 120/70 and both he and my MIL had lost 10 lbs. He claims his enlarged prostate has improved as well. My FIL is the classic snacker. His favorite foods are "4 corner Nabs," the peanut butter-cheese crackers, chips and salsa and Vienna sausages. Luckily for him, his precious Moon Pies are sodium free! And to be honest, the MIL is very heavy handed with the salt shaker when she cooks. My FIL's junk food habit got the best of him. The fact is there is a lot of sodium added to processed foods and we have become desensitized to salt to some degree. My husband used to salt his bologna sandwiches for crying out loud! That's like salting a bag of potato chips IMO. I have managed to retrain his taste buds, but my son is now a salt junkie. This is a long was of going about agreeing that too much of anything is not good for us, but I do think it is important that Americans become conscious of the amount of salt they are consuming and do what they can to keep that to a reasonable level. If the AMA or other group wants to push the government to do more to warn people, I don't think that's a bad thing.

I am pretty sure MSG is contra-indicated. I found a salt-substitute that is made from potassium chloride, but the label says to ask the doc before you use it. I have been using Morton's Lite salt for years, and it is 50% potassium chloride. But I am not on a sodium restricted diet. Fortunately, my father-in-law is married to an arab, who loves to cook with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Unfortunately for him, he was born in South Carolina and also loves things such as country ham, sausage, grits (with lots of salt and butter) and other now banned foods. It will be an adjustment, but I think he will make it! Pan, if you can share the recipe for roast chicken, I would love to have a copy. Grapefruit interferes with cholesterol meds, but not blood pressure meds, right? The in-law has wonderful cholesterol and is not on blood thinners or other meds.

Here's a link to the recipe - and it is fabulous! Six-Hour Pork Roast In addition to garlic and rosemary, there's fennel seed, sage and white wine. I always thought the recipe called for too much salt anyway! Luckily, I can buy pasture raised pork locally, so I know nothing has been added to the meat. I imagine he was told "no salt added" but he heard "no sodium at all." I will have to push a little further on this.

My father-in-law has been put on a strict salt-free diet following a series of mild strokes. The good news for him is that hi BP dropped from 200/100 to 120/70 in a week! The bad news is he's coming to visit us at the end of the month and I have to rethink my meal plans. One dish I wanted to make was a wonderful slow-roasted pork shoulder that has a rub or garlic, rosemary and salt. Do you think omitting the salt would affect the texture of the meat? Anyone have other tips for me? Processed foods are out - no problem. But I can't find milk without salt. The chicken breasts I buy from Costco have salt in them, but I imagine I can get organic breasts that are plain. Help is appreciated.

Yes, arak was the drink. My husband's grandfather used to drink that after dinner as a digestif. If you like anise, you will like arak! Perhaps it was hummus topped with something - I have the show on DVR so I will have to watch again to try to figure it out...

To change the subject a bit.. In the scene where he had his first meal, he was served something that looked like yogurt topped with a nut mixture. Perhaps the nuts were cooked in butter or oil? Anyway, anyone out there know what that was? My husband and I thought it looked good.

Mine are from the garden. As it stands right now, I have about 25 on my kitchen counter But, yes, we have good cheap tomatoes at our farmer's market now too. They run about $1.99 pound right now. Aren't the tomatoes coming in fast and furious up there now?