LaNiña

I zap the chocolate and cream together in the microwave....how's that?

i've never seen that happen. quite the opposite in fact. there is always a contigent that doesn't bring anything yet ends up drinking anyway. well, perhaps this group is different. suvir, i'll be sure to arrive already half in the bag. clearly, we hang out with different crowds. clearly.

I'll bring a dessert wine of some kind...anybody else want to do that too? Eau de vie or ice wine or late harvest or some such?

If we need a booze coordinator, I too would be happy to relegate it to whoever would enjoy it. I would think it means everyone can bring what they want.. and if they are happy to share... that would make the evening so much more special... but again, that is the persons own choice. How does that sound? Nina you are kind to volunteer...thanks. My only concern was that we'll have WAY too much booze if everybody brings a bottle or a few beers....

Just to clarify - we'll do BYOB, yes? I assume some will bring wine, some will bring beer...I bet we'll have way too much booze...maybe somebody (like me, perhaps) might bring some after dinner drink? What does everybody think about doing a little BYOB coordination, or is it too much effort? If people think it's worth it, I'm happy to be booze coordinator.

I'd like to make my beau a martini this evening, and I'm not very good at it. I myself like regular ol' Tangueray, and not Tangueray 10 or Bombay Sapphire - too much alcohol in those for me, too intense. So let's start with plain old gin, and go from there... How much vermouth should I add, and how should I add it? I don't have an official shaker, but I have plenty of glass jars with lids, and plenty of strainers. Any particular vermouth recommendations? Lemon peel? Olive? (I know that cocktail onions make it a Gibson). What kind of olives should I buy? Shake it with ice, then strain, yes? How much ice, and how much shaking? Chill the glasses in the freezer/fridge, or just put ice in them for a few minutes before I undertake the whole project? Thanks, everybody.

Nina it will be a nice restaurant.... and the meal will not be what you would usually eat. $45.00 gets us our own space in a corner of the restaurant. And the chef doing nothing but our food when we are there. It also includes tip and the lassi for everyone and sodas. Is that really too much? I could do $40 but feel we would be more fair with $45. What is the majority opinion here? 7:30 PM it is. I understand it is a weeknight... Sorry that I did not think of it myself. And be hungry all of you.. there will be lots of food. I am happy to acquiesce to your judgement in this case, Suvir. Sounds like a special evening in store for us. Thank you.

7:30 works well for us. 8pm is a little late for a weekday dinner, IMHO. And if I may be so bold, $45 is a lot for an Indian meal, unless you're planning some shmancy thing. I can't remember the last time I spent that much money on an Indian meal, even a very good one. But I'll defer to your judgement Suvir, and assume something very special is going on.

Seeing as we're so many people, seems to me that we'll probably have meat and veggie options to satisfy everybody...why limit ourselves unnecessarily?

I just went to Denino's on SI a couple of weeks ago, and it was awful!!! We SO SO SO wanted to love it, had waited ages to go, the pizza looked good, she set it down in front of us, we both took our first bites, and man, what a disappointment. The only thing I found okay was the crust's thinness. They're using second rate cheese, the tomato sauce had no flavor, and overall it was just bland, tasteless, boring nothingness. Thank goodness for the incredible ices across the street.

It's great, great pizza. Made with wonderful ingredients, by someone who cares a lot and pays a greata deal of attention. So what if this was common 20 years ago - why is that relevant to the discussion? And who's stopping you from discussing other pizzerias?' And what's "over discussed?" You mean YOU'RE sick of of mention of it on Chowhound? And why is that relevant?

Now *that's* funny.

Shock therapy perhaps? Have you actually ever been to DiFara?

Get thee to DiFara's, Avenue J & E. 14th St., Midwood, Brooklyn. Then we'll tawk. And read FG's pizza thingie.

I really thought the goat from that guy was superior to much of the goat I've bought in the past. Lots of meat (good meat to bone ratio), and full of flavor - also tenderized beautifully when cooked. Another note/question, for Suvir and anyone else...I know lots of recipes call for browning the meat first, but I frequently ignore that instruction (as in the recipe above)...what am I missing (besides adding more oil to a dish?)

This past weekend I was upstate and I had the pound or so of cubed stew goat I bought from the Union Square greenmarket, so I improvised, and it was a really good dish. I had to do with what was in the house up there. Here's what I did: In the blender, I blended an onion, some garlic, and some fresh ginger into a paste. In a pot, I heated some vegetable oil, and threw in some mustard seeds, cloves, chili pepper flakes, a cinnamon stick, and some cardamon pods. When they started sizzling, I added the paste from the blender along with some turmeric, and let that cook a bit. In the meantime, I mixed some plain yogurt with some tomato sauce. When the mixture in the pot started to thicken and gel together, I added the yogurt and tomato sauce mixture, along with some coriander and cumin. Let that cook a bit, and added the goat and some pieces of peeled potato. Cooked it for a long time - well over an hour, until the meat was tender and the potato pieces were soft and the sauce was dark and thick. Adjusted the spices (added salt and pepper), threw some fresh chopped cilantro in it. Served it with white rice and lemon wedges. Thanks to Madhur Jaffrey for all the experience her recipes have given me so I could pull this experimental variation out of my head. So easy and so good.

Shall we set a backup date for that weekend in case Suvir can't do the 20th?

Okay folks, bklyneats can't come. So I suggest we bail on this particular one, and revive it when more people who are interested are available...

So far we're: Sandra, jayask, bklyneats, and me. Anybody else?

Works fine for me and beau. Sounds marvelous. 7:30pm would be perfect.

I need to know definitively by Wednesday. Don't want to be worrying at the last minute. Final count on Wednesday evening. If you can't commit by then, well...sorry. (emergencies notwithstanding, of course)

Take the R or V train to Grand Ave/Newtown. If you are on the express trains (E or F), switch to a local train at Roosevelt. Grand Ave is two more stops. Ride toward the front of the train, and take the exit at the very front of the station. Out of the turnstiles, take a left towards Queens Blvd South side. Take the stairs on your right. Continue on Queens Blvd in the direction out of the exit stairs, past the furniture store. Grand Ave is at the end of the block. You should see the awning for Tangra Masala across the street.

Okay folks...who's coming? Tangra Masala Thursday, October 17th, 7pm...

Please discourse on No. 9.

Assuming we make the cut...my friend and I are gonna hit some Colombian Bakeries for arepas (de choclo). What Jason, no tortilla española???