laniloa

Seeing cooking as a treat rather then a chore. This is the result of many things -- experience, confidence, eating out more at a range of restaurants, a job that pays well enough to afford decent equipment and ingredients, and mostly not having the time to do it as much as I'd want so that when I do, even simple dishes seem more special because I'm choosing to do it in that limited time instead of something else.

I took it as a joke at first too, but it has grown on me. I like the idea of a lighter gumbo you could enjoy in the summer when it might otherwise seem too heavy. A shorter simmer time, so the veg don't melt, makes sense for the heat. Maybe roast one of the prime ingredients as an analog to the smokiness of sausage.

I like to cut then in half and toss them on the grill pan. Brush with a little miso, sesame, orange juice, soy. Fab.

I made my first gumbo this week. I'm with Rachel and counting that as soup since I eat it with a spoon. This weekend I'm thinking of some sort of parsnip soup -- must have tarragon -- but open to other suggested additions.

My report back after tasting the finished product-- its pretty good. I'm very pleased at my first effort. Some things to do differently next time (likely this week since I volunteered to bring in gumbo for the office so I can make another batch without feeling guilty about not finishing the first). I'd like to brown the sausage because I like the texture and taste of the crispy parts. I want to sweat the veggies in roux a little longer. I also want to use less roux and have the courage to go a little darker. The zucchini definitely works well and I'll be using that again. I may even add some okra since I like them too. Fifi-- I think we need to add corn to our summer version.

Summer gumbo sounds fabulous. How soon until summer? I had a zucchini sitting on the counter. Its green. Kinda looks like okra if you squint, right? I would've served a veg on the side if I didn't throw it in the pot. I halved the recipe because I don't have pots that big and I'm cooking for one. Next time, I'll probably quarter it. And I think I'll use less roux as it is mighty thick. It smells heavenly and I can't wait until lunch tomorrow. I'm just sorry I don't have a digital camera because it looks pretty spiffy too!

You have all inspired me. I stumbled across this thread today thinking I'd get ideas for the weekend. Nope. After reading this I had to make it tonight. Never mind that I didn't get home from work until 8. What's a little lost sleep when gumbo that sounds this wonderful can be had? Since I got home late, I went with the spirit of gumbo and used on hand ingredients (luckily I went shopping yesterday and had more then usual on hand). I went with smoked turkey sausage because of this. I started with the Gumbo Goddesses recipe. I braved the Cajun Napalm threat and got to a light Hershey bar color. Not enough time to risk burning and restarting. Threw in my trinity. Added the sausage and a little zucchini since I had it. Some thyme, cause why not? Its simmering now. The place smells great. Luckily I was finally able to pry open my kitchen window so it isn't saturated with eau de roux. I'll probably cut the first simmer short since its late. For my first gumbo experience, cooking one anyway, its looking pretty good so far. Thanks!

I tried Medrich's best cocoa brownies as my office Valentine's offering. This will definitely be replacing my old brownie recipe. The flavor is so much richer using cocoa instead of chocolate. I tossed in some cocoa nibs for a nice crunch since I don't like nuts in my brownies. The best part is that they are fudgy without being super dense.

Lobsters are often called bugs because they are arthropods and, therefore, close relatives to what we more commonly think of as bugs. Go into any marine invertebrate lab and they are likely to lump lobsters, shrimp, and the like in the general category of bugs.

Its not that far a walk from the Senate side and Bistro Bis and Charlie Palmer's.

where is your friend from? that sort of thing is, to my knowledge, sort of associated with italian-americans, esp. in new york/new jersey/philadelphia. e.g. ricotta in italian is ree-coat-ta, in south philadelphia it's ri-GOT. i've heard that this is an evolution of a southern italian or sicilian accent-- the softening of the consonants and leaving off the final vowel--but i don't know enough about the various italian accents/dialects to know for sure. pancetta has the CH sound, as if it was panchetta. ← I grew up in NY in an area with a lot of Italian immigrants and first generation Italian-Americans. I don't know much about the geographic spread of Italy the community covered, but everyone went with these sorts of pronunciations. In addition to ri-got and pro-shoot there was also muhza-RELL. The last one is the one I can't say any other way. I can say ri-cot-ta just fine. But you will never hear me utter anything close to motts-a-rell-a.

Yeah, but I wanted to know more about the wedding meal.

I am so happy to see this thread. I love this show for the super quick banter and also the food obsession. The sheer joy so many of the characters take in even the simplest of food resonates with me. The menus at movie nights are staggering.

My thought too.

I've used my reduced cubes for soup. Not for a big potful with 8 servings, but a quick weeknight meal for one. Worked fabulously. I did use bought stock for a big potful of soup as well. I was inspired to follow the eGCI course but forgotten I'd lent a friend my stockpot (and she'd forgotten to return it). So I did a mini-batch in a 5 quart pot and don't have enough cubes to spare. Once I get my stockpot back, I'll be using the cubes for soups too.

Absolutley brilliant.

I had their chocolate cherry bread used in French toast at a friend's place for brunch. It was very tasty. It wasn't cloyingly sweet and definitely a bread texture and not a babka/cake texture. I don't know that I'd order this particular sandwich often, but I would try it for an afternoon coffee kind of thing instead of some other pastry.

I have chopstick envy. I am incapable of using them. I've had good instruction by multiple people. When I lived in Hawaii, some of the folks at work were determined to teach me but eventually gave up. Just can't do it. I feel silly when out at restaurants that have only chopsticks on the table and I need to ask for a fork or when everyone else at the table is using them and I'm the only one using a fork.

My all time favorite is Honeycomb -- eaten as a snack, straight out the box, no milk. My favorite in a bowl is Cocoa Krispies because of the chocolate milk and the whole idea of chocolate for breakfast. When I lived in Hawaii cereal was too expensive for my meager grad student salary (shipping costs are a factor of weight and volume). When I moved to DC, I ate cereal for breakfast and dinner for about a month straight I was so excited to have it again. My current favorite is Smart Start with soy protein with some extra fruit tossed in. Stays crunchy and I don't get hungry again by 10.

MaryLisa -- Welcome to our corner of the board. I agree with you that restaurants should be judged by how they live up to intent. You can't eat in the most upscale every night (well, I can't anyway). I'm always interested in a new neighborhood place whether it is actually in my neighborhood or not. Care to tell us more about your restaurant?

We have a mixed bag of bring your own lunch and buy lunch in my office. I go through phases and am currently in a bring my lunch 3 days a week phase. We have a conference room that usually accumulates people at lunch time. Sometimes I eat there and sometimes I eat at my desk. If I'm having a crazy day, it can be a relief to close my door, turn on some internet radio, and not have to deal with people for a little while. Or I can catch up on eGullet! We have a pretty decent cafeteria -- salad bar, cold dish buffet, hot dish buffet, sandwiches, grill, etc. -- that is fairly priced. Plus, there is a commerical food court in the building across the street that we can get to through an underground tunnel. There is also the executive dining room that is run by an outside caterer. I go there when I have a lunch meeting but not much time. Finally, we are surrounded by decent restaurants for when it is a full on lunch meeting.

While I think it is a revolting idea, I'm surprised she asked. Why not just put the tub of cool whip next to the brownies on the table so that people can help themselves? Then you can judge the taste of everyone at the potluck and cross those not worthy of your brownies off your holiday baked goods list -- just slap a bow on a tub of cool whip and give them that!

Both of these are government facilities. ← True, but the NGA in particular doesn't add much to the federal quality of DC. ← I agree completely that they don't add to the stereotype but have much to offer in terms of a broader view of what the federal quality could be. Think of the potential for hype!

If nothing else, the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art are a major destinations for anyone interested in art and have been for quite some time. ← Both of these are government facilities. I don't think it is insulting to our city to say that the government presence is a big tourist draw. That covers a wide range of things -- the 5th grad class trip to the Capitol, cherry blossom season, Civil War buffs, museums, and stick to the mall and see the monuments family outings. Nor do I think it is belittling to try and appeal to different tourism sectors such as the type mentioned in the article. While I disagree with the Burros quote, there were also some very positive things said by Orwoll and Nathan lauding the coninued evolution and improvement of the DC dining scene that mirror many of our own statements on this forum in the past.

Do yourselves a favor and go to Corduory for the parsnip soup with tarragon cream. I find that parsnip soup can be tricky given the natural sweetness, but Chef Tom does a wonderful job of rounding that out with a savory tarragon cream.