morda

Oh no! If you do this, then don't you wash out all the yummy orange roe and green goo? I say cook 'em live! Except for soft shells, I think the cleaning process kills them. Although now that I've typed it, it sounds a bit evil... morda

I've been and I've had: - the now infamous donuts, although I hadn't heard of them and I only learned of them because there was a sign saying that they don't have then before 11:00 - the spritz cookies - crossiants, chocolate and plain (the reason I sought out the place) - the foccacia - sticky bun - some cheesecake brownie type thing I think that's it. And my absolute favorite was the foccacia with (I think) onions, achovies, tomatoes. So incredibly good. And the plain crossiants were good as well. Every time I went in and they didn't have what I was looking for (namely, the crossiants) I tried something else and it was great. But I don't think she can complain too much about people coming in for donuts and leaving if she didn't have any. I don't buy something everytime I do into a store, period. As for the $20 thing, did she not have any ones, or did she just not want to make change? If it's the later, that sounds pretty incredible. Most stores have adapted to the fact that everyone gets their money from ATMs these days and most people don't have small bills. I can't believe that it's THAT hard for her to stock up on ones before opening. Sounds to me she is just looking for another reason to dislike donut-only customers.

Yes! I first saw those in a bar/restaurant, and I said (aloud), "This must not be a real bar, they only have liquor in the mini bottles". Then my friend told me that's how it has to be at all bars. Oops. Well, at least you don't get stiffed on the alcohol. The distiguishing factor for me is the price of beer. Beers generally cost under 4 dollars instead of over 5 dollars. But that might be a difference between living in the city in the North and living in a more rural area in the South.

No, I think you're right. A lot of his simple recipes are great (actually, I guess he considers all the recipes "simple" since that's the subtitle). I love the salmon roasted in butter, and I think that only has butter, salt, lemon, and the salmon. I've heard many people complain that Bittman's recipes out a little bland. I think what he's trying to do is bring out natural flavor of the ingredients. A perfect example is the apple pie recipe. A lot of apple pies are heavy on the cinnamon and other spices, but Bittman uses a lighter hand with his version (he mentions this in the text). Both versions taste great. but if you try it his way, you'll have a great apple pie that actually tastes of apple. Maybe it doesn't make much difference if you use grocery store apples in the middle of summer, but if you pick (or buy fresh-picked) apples in the fall, you may find that you can appreciate the taste of the apples more with his version. Just one example.

I wonder if leaving a bite on the plate goes back to day when you would leave the last serving on the communal serving plate, presumably to avoid being greedy (I guess someone ate it once the platter went back into the kitchen). I've also heard dieters say they will leave the last bite because that means they've eaten fewer calories morda

frogprince, I agree whole-heartedly! I'm not sure I want crabs! Oh, you mean blue crabs...

I would say it depends...how old is your Joy of Cooking? EDITED because the first time I wrote "how long is your Joy of Cooking?"

Ah of course, the Baking board! For some reason in my mind everything is cooking so it didn't even occur to me. But really maybe even just a general board is better since I've really wondering about what makes a good kolaches, not necessary how to make a good kolache, if that makes sense. In other words, what does a great kolache taste, smell, feel like? I don't think kolaches and hamantashen are that similar. The fillings are similar, but hamantashen has crispier or maybe flakier wrapper. If I would to categorize them, I would probably place hamantashen in the cookie or pastry category, while I would call kolaches a bread. But since I didn't grow up eating either of these, nor I am a member of either ethnic group, I am glad to defer to others who are more knowledgable. I made my kolaches the other night (all apricot) and they turned out okay. The bread was so warm and soft out of the oven, but seemed to lack that characteristic yeasty-ness that several people mentioned. The next day the yeasty sweet taste was there, but then I thought the bread had turned too dry. My husband thought they tasted more kolache-like at this point. My husband calls the meat version klobasnik. morda

Actually, I've made the brownie recipe several times and I think it's great! But the timing is really sensitive, if I leave it in even a few minutes too long, they are ruined. Also, I've tried to cheat by using the wrong kind of chocolate (I think bittersweet instead of unsweetened) and it was awful. Note: I like the fudgy chocolatey kind of brownies, not the cakey type, so that could be a difference. A few of my favorites (it keeps growing longer as I type this message): Lemon-Soy Chicken Broiled Cornish Hens with Vinegar Roasted Eggplant Dip Banana Bread Strawberry Shortcakes most of the beef or lamb stew recipes I also love his recipe for Guacamole and his basic techniques for cooking fish and meat (ex. Salmon roasted in butter--wonderfully perfect with fresh wild salmon). As with other people, I use the recipes as a starting point, and I measure everything by eye and feel and personal taste, with the possible exception of the recipes for baked goods. morda PS The spine of my copy is breaking as well and I've lost the dust jacket completely, but I love its stained and well-used look.

I'm Chinese and I love to eat the eyeballs of fish if they've been steamed with ginger and scallions. At my mom's house, I always ask her first, partially to get her opinion on if the fish was fresh enough (a holdover from my childhood, I guess), partially in case anyone else wants one. I usually end up eating most of them. I recently learned that usually that little treat goes to the youngest child, but my younger brother doesn't like them so I guess I've always been next in line. If I buy chicken and remove the skin before I cook it, I'll chop up the skin and render the fat. And then eat all the crispy little fried bits of skin, sprinkled with salt. This discussion reminds me of John Thorne's essay on the Thin Cook versus the Fat Cook.

Funny, I seem to recall quite a few places that serve all three iteams, particularly in the U St. area. Usually, Chinese restaurant that also sells pizza and subs, and maybe even fried chicken. I guess if you can't do a particular thing well, you can just do everything poorly! morda

I'm making some kolaches tonight. This is what happens when you marry a 2nd generation Czech from Texas. But I've only eaten kolaches twice in my life (plus once when I made them myself), so I'm not sure what standard to judge them by. So, what makes a great kolache? On a side note, I haven't yet decided what to fill them with yet. I'm definitely including some of the apricot variety, but if anyone has votes/recipes for other fillings, I will have plenty to fill. If you don't know what a kolache is, check out this recipe from Texas Highways magazine. It has a nice picture too (although I've seen them much taller as well). morda

Speaking of schmaltz, I once had an argument with a German over what constitutes schmaltz. He claimed that my rendered chicken fat was not schmaltz. The only true schmaltz in his eyes was rendered pork fat, seasoned and suitable for spreading on bread. It did not occur to me at the time to bring up the fact that matzoh balls would not be cooked with pork fat!

Eggplant parmesan made with layers of tomato sauce, eggplant, real parmigiano reggiano (no mozzarella), and whole basil leaves. I pretty much follow the recipe in Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Yes, that's it, Shino Express! But when I used to go there (let's see, that would be about 5 years ago), the regular price was a dollar a piece.

This has to be a joke! Okay, now that this is established I feel better. Well, I guess you could call my suggestion of Ben's at 2 am a joke. But in all seriousness, going to Ben's is an experience unique to DC. In fact, Ben's has been written up in both Gourmet magazine and in John T. Edge's book, Southern Belly. So it's a pretty famous place. As for the suggestion of Ethiopian food, well, maybe some people's parents are more adventurous than others. To be fair, I probably wouldn't take my parents out for Ethiopian either. But I think they would love the scene at Ben's. And you can't argue that both places definitely fall in the "moderately-priced" (or less) category Surprisingly, no one contested my suggestion of Old Ebbitt Grill. morda

As good as KFC......................is KFC chicken really good?....................NOT!! I have the same problem. Unless, of course, you like your fried chicken burnt on the outside and raw in the middle. Personally, I'd go to Popeye's over KFC any day. Oh, and I've messed up Waffles from Liege many a time, but I'm not sure that I actually have a good recipe or the right ingredients. (I'm pretty sure the pearl sugar from the King Arthur's flour catalogue is NOT the right sort of sugar.)

Okay, I admit that I have been said "well-intentioned house guest" in a previous, uninformed life. I also admit that my cast iron pan was purchased pre-seasoned. And further, I will admit, that I fry (and eat) a lot of bacon. My husband's mother washes her cast iron (inherited from her grandmother) with soap. It still has its patina and works great. I think one of the great things about cast iron is that it can take all kinds of abuse. It's a shame that people think that you have to fussy over these things like you would a copper omelette pan. Cast iron comes to us from a more rugged era.

When I was in Montreal recently, I had a cataplana in a Portuguese restaurant that was out of this world. So good. phaelon56, you're right, it's very similar to a bouillabaise, but perhaps spicier. I found this recipe on Epicurious, my usual first source, but the addition of the sorrel sounds a bit sketchy. This one from the Food Network sounds closer to what I had, except that it had many types of seafood in addition to clams: mussels, fish, shrimp. One thing I noticed was that the fish was very creamy and delicious. Not at all like the dry and flaky fish one normally finds in soups and stews. They probably added it only at the last minute to prevent it from overcooking. It may also have to do with the type of fish used--unfortunately, I'm not sure what it was. Good luck and let us know how it goes! morda

I meant to try Woodlands before I moved...alas. Where exactly is the Fairfax location? Is it in the Kamp Washington strip mall between 29 and 50? (or is it Main and 29?) morda

DC is one of the best cities in the US for Ethiopian food, so if your fam is adventerous, I would try one of the many excellent Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. If you've never had Ethiopian food, Meskerem is a good and popular choice. My personal favorite is Dukem, which is at the corner of 11th and U NW. But the waitresses often don't speak much English there, so if you're not familiar with the cuisine, it's probably not the best place to get your toes wet. In terms of quintessential DC, how about Old Ebbitt Grill? It's right near the White House so that adds some pizzaz. And there's always Ben's Chili Bowl. But that would be more for the people-watching than the food (although the chili dogs and chili cheese fries are good in a greasy kind of way). Prime-time would be about 2 am on a Friday or Saturday night. morda

I just saw this...reminds me a bit of the buck a piece sushi at a sushi joint on Newbury Street in Boston. I can't recall the name--but it was a tiny place. I will have to try Kotobuki the next time I'm in town. BackwardsHat, have you tried Makoto yet? morda

I used to go to school in the Boston area and I don't remember being too impressed with Mr. Bartley's. (For some reason I always thought it was Mr and Mrs. Bartley's, but I guess not.) Then again, I only remember eating there once. I think I had a Princess Di burger (on an English muffin). They've probably taken that off the menu now... morda

Okay, well, since that's 2 no's for Louis Lunch, I'll scratch that off the list. Perhaps we'll do Ybiza instead. Do they do tapas, or just entrees? I assume Antonio's is Italian? I also saw some recommendations for a place called Consigilio's kellymonaghan, have you seen the Sally's versus Pepe's discussion? I found it when I searched the board. I may have to just flip a coin in the end (although the white clam pizza sounds to die for!) morda

I went to Radius and the food and service were very good, but that was about 5 years ago so I'm glad to hear it's still doing well, at least by some accounts. Are you looking specifically for an upscale restaurant? To be honest, if I were heading up to Boston, I would: 1) go to Chinatown and have some dim sum. Then stop at a bakery and get egg tarts, the sticky rice cake, wife cakes, moon cakes, bbq pork buns, whatever else looks good, to go. I can't give specific recommendations for places anymore, but I'm sure that there are others who can. 2) rent a car, drive about 20 miles out of the city and go to this little hole-in-the-wall South Indian restaurant in Ashland. 3) hit as many brew pubs as possible and try their house-made beers. This is something I really I missed when I lived in DC and now when I live in SC. Does beer count as food? But maybe I'm weird. morda