chow guy

I use Barilla no cook Lasagna when I cater and It's a dream. I always get asked if it's handmade pasta.

One of my favorites is Food 52, It has very good lay out/design, fun contests, great information and recipes. Hip but not slick.

I'm going down to the San Miguel writers Conference next month and would like some recommendations for not to be missed dining experiences of all kinds , including street food. Many Thanks

I just sauted some onions and garlic, with salt and freshly ground pepper in EVOO (already peeled from the market). It was a large amount in two pans. They both turned a light green color. I have never seen this before and am concerned. I thought it might be related to covering one of the pans with an aluminum serving tray, but both batches turned green. Any ideas??? Thanks.

Thanks, fyfas. That's very helpful. re: Graham's Grille. I gotta ask: what's the story behind the "JC Penney Burrito?" ← I agree, there is nothing special at the Apple Tree and try Orlando's. But... Don't miss a breakfast or lunch at The Dragonfly (next to the PO on the main drag).

I'm looking for an ice carver to carve a container for seviche and a good seviche recipe for an event next week in Burque. Any Ideas? Thanks

Well, that's almost right. According to Vienna Beef, the Holy 7 are: Pickle Spear Celery Salt Yellow Mustard Sport Pepppers Tomato Neon Green Relish Onion No Ketchup! =R= ← Thanks for the replies. Wikipedia was also my only source for fixins, so I had everything except (the neon part) of the relish. The New Yorkers at the event ate up the onions pronto and not many folks went for the cucumbers. I Did have kraut and ketsup available (even after reading it was a no no), and noticed lots of folks used them both. I was told by two Chicagoans that I nailed the Italian beef and deep dish pizza, I used a five star internet recipe for thr beef and a friends' deep dish dough recipe. I don't know why I get so obsessed with authentic...but I do.

Does anybody have any ideas for me?

Im catering an opening night reception for "Hellcab" and they want Italian Beef, deep dish pizza and Chicago Hot dogs as part of the spread. Any advice or other Chicago street food ideas would greatly be appreciated. Especially about which garnishes are really required. Many Thanks

Many Thanks for the tips. We went to Earls Pima on Friday night and each of the twelve guests was very happy with the food and service. My friends were also very impressed with eGullet when I explained how I discovered the place. Egullet rocks!

All of these places seem to be perfect, for our mostly East coast group. Many Thanks.

I'm off to Scottsdale to the Marriot Mc Dowell Mountain Resort with a group of 10 next weekend. It'll probably be like hearding cats to get folks to agree on dining options, but I want to have options ready so we don't wind up at PF Changs or the like. Is there anything in the general area, that would be appropriate for a large diverse group? I was also thinking , that I might try and assemble a meal in one of the suites at the hotel from ethnic and prepared food outlets (Not including Whole Foods or Wild Oats) or, possibly, get great takeout: Chinese, Barbeque, pizza etc... Any recommendations? My wife wants to try Roys for an intimate dinner... What's the word on Roys' these days? Thanks in advance for any help you might have.

I had a hip replacement about a month ago and the following week, had a horrendous gout attack. My doctor responded with, "Oh, surgery often brings on an attack". I was surprised to discover that the trusty ole Vicodin I was taking post op had precious little effect on the gout pain. I have only had a few attacks over the last ten years. The first time, the pain was so severe, that even pulling a sheet over my toe sent me screaming. At that time of the first attack, I had been eating very little meat, and in fact an almost vegetarian diet, with lots of spinach,, portabello mushrooms, asaragus and beans. The first doc misdiagnosed it since I did not eat offal, very much meat, drink alcohol etc. After reading up on it, I realized that I ate alot of purine froming foods regularly. I went to another doctor and Bingo, he said I had gout. These days, attacks can be set off by various ingredients. Last June, I ate pork roast three days in a row ( to get rid of leftovers) Bingo!, and the last time it was shrimp that set it off. I wish it were more predictable/ preventable. As many have mentioned above, hydration seems to be key for the cure. So, at the first sign of a twinge I start hydrating. I can't really say if the cherry juice cure works, It seems to simmer down after three days of cherrirs and juicing. But that seems like a long time to me. But, I still take the cure, since I love cherries.

I tried Google, and called or e mailed several of the sources listed..including the big Dutch importer that suppies it to the US. I called and left messages on salespersons voice mails at several wholesalers, but no one has returned my calls or e mails. I even called one Wholesaler in CA, twice. I know it a very uncommon product, but I never dreamed I would have such a hard time.

My wholesale source for Black Salsify or oyster plant has gone out of business. I'm having a very difficult time locating a whholesale source, Any ideas? Thanks.

I found the answer to my own question: she has now joined the folks at Chef du Jour. ← That just might be old news, since Chef du Jour is where she started cooking, several years ago. It would be kind of odd for her to be back there, at this point. But, stanger things have happenend in this business.

After Hurricane Andrew a friend came down to Miami to help me rebuild. After about 8 weeks, he sat at dinner and declared, "You have not served the same thing twice since I've been here". I used to bore easily and spent alot of time cooking (I was also vegetarian at the time) but, those days are gone. I'm way busy these days and have been doing Weight Watchers. So I'm definately in several food ruts. It's just easier than planning and counting points every day. I eat a composed salad almost daily. I'll vary ingredients (low fat ham, cheese, turkey or chicken, tomatoes, vegetables and a boiled egg with one of the Trader Joes' fat free dressings and some Ak Mak crackers. My dinner rut has become a big bowl of hot and sour soup with various proteins and vegetables. I also eat various flavors of sugar free, fat free pudding that I doctor with things like: coco powder, low fat cereal, nuts, vanilla, almond extract etc. I'm surprised these ruts don't bother me (at least at the moment).

I also thought it was a case of "glorified labeling" since it was under ten dollars a pound and, now that you mention it... did kind of look like Talapia, not really like shad, which also would have been more expensive.

I do a very similar dish, but I omit the onion and garlic. Instead, I add chopped smoked oysters 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and serve the heated mixture in a bowl circled with butter lettuce, so guests can make their own lettuce wraps.

I was at Fairway in NYC and saw Egyptian Perch. It didn't look anything like the Perch (aka sunfish), I remember from my youth. Has any one tried it? How did you cook it?

I'm doing a party next week with lots of sticks, including: red seedless grapes rolled in gorgonzola and walnuts, pineapple dusted with red chile, shrimp with tequila lime cream, meat balls and grilled chicken breasts served with three dipping sauces (hot wing, barbecue and terriyaki). It's a solution to the age old, many guests, no waiters, no tables problem.

We call our junk food ritual " road food". When ever we have to drive more than four hours, we seize the chance to pig out on chips, dips, pretzels, caramel corn, licorice, gum drops and all manner of stuff we rarely eat otherwise, and with barely an ounce of guilt.

I also like "Chez Panis Vegetables" and really like Elizabeth Schneiders' "Uncommom Fruits and Vegetables a Common Sense Guide". I love Roy Andre de Groots' "Feasts for All Seaosns". It's packed with information and not a picture in the book. I also rediscovered a gift I got several years ago, It's called "Seductions of Rice" by Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid.

I knew I was in the wrong place when we arrived and discovered, we were the only table in the whole place... on a Friday at peak lunch time. I was concerned when I saw the "art" on the walls. It looked like it had been bought at a dollar store (very kitchy" Italian" (small i), street scenes and "Dellarobia-esque" still lifes with fruit. Musak stlye Italian opera favorites came blaring through the sound system. My wife took issue, when I told her the food was going to be awful. If they didn't pay attention to the aforementioned details, why would they pay attention to the food? After about 8 minutes, the oversized menu was brought to the table. It was all over the place with chef salads, Southern Italian main stays, meat loaf with mashed potatoes and hamburgers. Descriptions were heavy on ajectives, and the prices made no sense. Shrimp Diavolo and Pasta Putanesca were both $15.95. The bread was dreadful and the "butter" was in tiny plastic tubs. I opted for a chefs salad. It was tolerable, but the dressing wasn't good. My wife's pasta dish was awful. There were so many things that screamed out "wrong place", but we had four more hours of driving, and were starving. It may seem like nit picking but I firmly believe, "the devil is in the details".

I would report it to management. It's always tricky, but especially If you're new, (the rest of the staff will probably hate you). So, do it anonymously. I got fired once... when I reported a bartender that was stealing. I later found out he was in cahoots with the manager. It's amazing to me, how much stealing goes on in the restaurant biz.