chappie

I'm visiting Las Vegas from Maryland for the first time over Halloween weekend, as my sister is getting married by a fake Elvis. I would love to take my mom, a recent sushi convert, to the best place out there (somewhat affordable, though). Any recommendations?

Last year I adapted Jamie Oliver's "Steak and Guinness" pie recipe for a venison stew, heavy on rosemary, thyme and especially parsnips (delicious in stews). I can now say that Guinness (or another dark or medium beer; Newcastle also had great results) is my favorite braising medium. I agree on browning without flour; the key to good browning for me has always been to make sure the meat is very dry. I do it all in a Le Creuset oval dutch oven, and it's basically foolproof. Sometimes I deglaze after sauteeing the vegetables with red wine, then add the Guinness. Mmmm. I really love stewing.

I just bought a beautiful TimberGrass bamboo cutting board on sale. I'll bet this stuff makes decent and attractive countertop material.

We used to eat at this short-lived hole-in-the-wall nearby, a little breakfast/lunch nook, and what kept us coming back was probably the fact they placed a dish of soft, whipped butter on the table. It's amazing how many restaurants overlook such a simple, cheap way to please each and every customer. The same goes for crappy, room-temperature bread.

I agree. While I've never tasted a fake wiener worth a second bite, I eat Boca burgers all the time, and I'm as omnivorous as they come. It's quick, I can cook it vertically in my toaster, and smear it with whatever I've got on hand: hummus, mustard, pickles, cheese, you name it. For me, it's not a replacement for a good beef burger; it's something else entirely. Morningstar's spicy meatless chicken nuggets, I have to admit, are also delicious, and they're probably made with better ingredients than other frozen reconstituted chicken products.

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but about 11 years ago in Zimbabwe we found lamb and mint jelly-flavored chips. They were actually rather addicting.

Depending on how many you have, I'd look into getting or building a juice press, then making hard cider (champagne method) with both or a mix of the two. All you need are glass carboys, the yeast (montrachet worked well for me), a siphon, funnel and airlock. While it's fermenting you can collect bottles (I used Newcastle as well as American sparkling wine bottles -- which accept a beer cap perfectly), which you'll sanitize and then cap. Do you have access to a brewery supply store? If not there are several sources online for all of this.

Try this toaster link I posted in August. "Toaster Pig" sounds like a joke, but I imagine you could cook all sorts of things vertically. I already cook Boca burgers in my toaster; why not regular frozen burger patties? Just make sure you run them several cycles. It beats dirtying a pan if you're working without running water, and in my experience the toaster crisps whatever you slip in it nicely.

Wasn't there some sort of green seasoning all over the fries? I was a big fan of the gyros of course, but also the souvlaki and any phyllo pastry except the one filled with chicken mash. I lived right in Frederick Hall on south campus for a few years, so Marathon was practically on our front steps.

I've always been fascinated by the variety of fig trees that grow locally (Eastern Shore of Md.). One friend's tree produces fruit that, when perfectly ripe, still has near-white flesh. Figs from another tree I visit contain deep crimson interiors and are the most delicious I've tasted. My dad's tree, on the other hand, produces figs with brown flesh that aren't very interesting. They are mildly sweet when very ripe, but that's about it. I've noticed with his that there's a very small window to harvest figs when they are ripe enough but not so ripe that they've been overrun with wasps (which I think lay their eggs in them), bees, ants and fruit flies. Just today I observed a whole microcosm of activity on just one branch: three kinds of wasp, another odd black-and-white bee and two kinds of butterflies feeding on figs, and daddy longlegs hanging out in abundance. What should I do with a bag of his figs, almost overripe? I was thinking fig preserves, just a quick batch to keep in the fridge.

Has anyone been to Food Factory in College Park? (Located in the shopping center behind Town Hall Liquors on Rt. 1). I lived on their samosas, lamb kebabs and made-to-order naan when I was in college. The generous portions of meat are perfectly seasoned, the bread is shaped over and then lowered into a specially made bread oven on a sort of pillow, and came out charred and crunchy in some spots, soft in others. The kebabs come with a yogurt and cucumber based hot sauce and salad and run about $6. Add a side dish (there are several vegetable curries, etc. offered daily) or some basmati rice, plus one of the cheap ($1) samosas and you're still stuffed for under $10. We used to refer to the owner, a la Seinfeld, as the "Kebab Nazi," because he was very precise on the phone about how long your order would take, and he would chastise you (he must've memorized voices) if you entered earlier than his allotted time. "I said THIRTY minutes!" shaking his head. Once I snuck in an order of 10 extra breads — at a ridiculous 50 cents each — all but certain he'd deny the request. He didn't. For the rest of the week I made pizzas with them, though I'm sure if he ever found that out, he'd have cut me off. Marathon Deli in College Park used to be another crummy staple, but around 1997 or ’98 new owners took over and the quality changed. I was disappointed to order a tyropita and discover a filling that tasted like cheese danish.

It's called Carroll's Market, and you'll be saddened to know the pies are Sysco; they don't make them. While they are tasty, some run as much as $12, which is far too steep for a pie that wasn't baked by someone's grandmother, with a lard crust and homegrown fruit. The pork sausage is fantastic, however, and the owner does make that himself. It's also not cheap; the premade sausage sandwiches in the warmer are tiny and yet will set you back I think around $3. (They're great with mustard and hot relish, though). Most of the other food there is very good. I've been going there since I was a kid, long before he got the gas pumps.

Many people in my life have served it as their crowning jewell, that special meal to drop someone's jaw ... but I really don't care for French onion soup. Between the over-rich base, the unwieldy bread layer and the staggering quantity of cheese gumming up my spoon, teeth and belly — I just find it to be overkill in a bowl. Yes, I've had it many ways, and I always feel the same. I could just as easily eat a grilled cheese and sip a humble, brothy cup of something else. However, my dislike for French onion has always made me want to create a thinner, more dignified onion soup. I'd even consider garnishing it, lightly, with cheese.

Here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I always anticipate a grand finale of crabs in mid to late October. Those late crabs aren't just cheap, they tend to be enormous, heavy and dripping with fat. I like to braise, especially with ever-plentiful venison, but that's more of a winter thing. Speaking of which, what are the primary differences in your opinions between fall and winter cooking? Beets. Mmmm... I like those too.

Thanks Kim... I found eGullet a bit late in the game (actually through an article in the Washington Post, I think), and it's the best use of the internet I've ever seen. I've already got my friend who's travelling and working in China thinking of starting a log here of his daily encounters with arcane edibles. Dave, I'm unable to load that link. Is recipeGullet down right now?

Avoid the side-by-side Vietnamese restaurants on M St. in Georgetown at all costs. The food isn't remotely Vietnamese but rather blander versions of Americanized Chinese takeout. I highly recommend Han Sun Oak in Falls Church for excellent Korean barbecue and other dishes.

Just found the seller you must've gotten it from and am considering one myself. Do they really still sell for $90 in the stores? It wouldn't surprise me; I found a brand-new Thumper massager for my girlfriend last year for about $100 less on eBay. What about a roasted tomato sauce? Take the largest roasting pan you've got, fill it with halved garden tomatoes, some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and basil if you want, and roast it all in a very hot oven, stirring occasionaly. This way they carmelize and sweeten. Then pass it all through the mill.

I'm getting ready for another round of experimentation with my ice cream machine (last time I honed my own version of Guinness ice cream), and am wondering if I could make a gorgonzola concoction. A Google search turned up some reviews of a South African restaurant featuring gorgonzola ice cream as a dessert, but no recipe. It did mention, however, that it took the chef three months to get it right, so I'm thinking it was more than just making a rich yolky base and stirring in melted gorgonzola. Any ideas? I'm also thinking of making a balsamic vanilla as well.

In fall 1998 I made five gallons of mead (actually more of a cyser because it contained a few gallons of unpasteurized apple cider) using honey, the aforementioned cider, water, champagne yeast (maybe Montrachet? -- Can't recall) and a large bucket of ripe wild persimmons. I never used sulfites to kill the wild yeasts, which I later learned were quite potent. Because persimmons are so tannic, it had a bitter taste each time I racked it for quite some time, and I didn't end up drinking it for two years. But when I did, that stuff was quite wild. I had it bottled in old champagne bottles sealed with bottle caps (American sparkling wine bottles accept a cap nicely), and when you opened one, you had to do it over a bowl because it would geyser about a third of its contents. It was very effervescent, and the persimmons lended a unique fruity taste, but good God was that the worst hangover I've ever had. I haven't made mead since, but think next time I'll do a still batch with mint and/or spices (a melomel?). But I wonder, if you found a source, could you use raw honey? Would the enzymes produce desirable effects?

So does this mean you are including the skins in the Baba Ghanouj? Otherwise, if it weren't sliced, I don't see why the char would need to be wiped off if you were just scooping out the flesh, which wouldn't have been charred this way. About elephant garlic, I don't buy it; my girlfriend picked it up and it's all I had. The batch tastes ok with it, though. Also, about how long should Baba Ghanouj keep safely in the refrigerator?

HAH! Yeah, that's it ... pour some half-and-half down your pants, or better yet, wrap your hypothetically injured organ in a slice of cheese. Or discreetly have your way with a pint of vanilla ice cream. Suffer through it. I spent an afternoon cutting habaneros once for pickling, forgot to wash my hands, and went to the bathroom. It burned like hell, but not forever. These kinds of lessons are valuable in life.

I charred them directly over hardwood coals. As for tahini, I've been buying the jars at Trader Joe's, which use organic, hulled seeds. The price is right (like most items at TJs) and it's very good.

I wonder if I could run the flesh through some sort of sieve that would catch the seeds. I'll try it in my pursuit of the perfect baba ghanouj, but I don't seem to mind them, and I wonder why someone would go through the trouble to remove them. Reminds me of recipes that call for seeding tomatoes. I can't ever think of a moment when tomato seeds ruined a meal. By the time I get this thing perfect, summer will be over, the farmers' market will be out of eggplants and I'll be ready to get back to stewing.

Read the technique above. As for the sugar, just add to your taste. Sracha is sweet; mine is slightly less sugary but still sweeter than your average sauce. And it's thick like Sracha.

During summer 1997, after my junior year in college, I worked on a surimi (processed fish paste; think Crab Delights) processing vessel in remote Neah Bay, Wash. — the home of the Makah. We were the only large vessel in sight, and the company had purchased a percentage of the Makah's quota of hake. One of the conditions was that the catcher-boats would employ as many Makah as possible, and we also employed them on the processor. It's too bad I didn't ask any of my Makah coworkers about whaling.