johnnyd

I'm in... Are you making your own mignonette sauce? I find the farther ahead you make it the better chance it's got to meld. How about some of that fabulous local salmon?

I can't say how happy I am to hear of this practice. The lack of nutritional knowledge in lower income demographics, thus resulting in unhealthy conditions, has been the subject of many threads here on eG. This clearly shows an effort to fix this. Sadly, there are no recipes on the WSU site, just books or info for sale. When I lived in Portugal, the simple dishes of the community around us made a big impression. My all time favorite is still the cheapest to make: Caldo Verde, basically a potato, onion and kale (or collard) soup made with chicken stock I make at home. Bits of chorizo and lots of EVOO at serving make it come together. Barely fifty cents a bowl, maybe a buck with the chorizo added.

I, having lived in NYC as a youth, thought the same tactic would fly. $45 later, I have become wiser and PCC has lost my business as a result.

Omigawd... that looks GOOOD!

... and some first-rate imagination, some top-quality tools, access to great markets, a resolve and determination worthy of champions, a few extra bucks kicking around... ...and most important... A holiday as great as Thanksgiving to bring it altogether with friends and family, and a butt-load of really jazzed eGulleteers who get to "be there" too. Can I get an "Amen", people?!?! Thanks Sam and Kathleen!

Fore Street is Sam Hayward's place. A big favorite here. Hope it was Smashing!

This thread is hilarious and the timing is ironic!!! I have a couple in-laws episodes to add but I'm pretty sure my new wife has been reading my posts lately... better not then... (hi sweetie! Yes I love thanksgiving at your house, yes I do!!!)

I'm freakin'.... I definitely go primarily for the produce and inevitably end up at the register with some cheese, a bottle on special and something else. I suppose the foot traffic is big enough to keep them from moving to, say, the Dive shop next to Becky's which has great parking. Parking issues have kept me from shopping at PGG on a regular basis. I wonder if they have considered a cafe there? Back when I worked in the Old Port I often went in there for the lunch sandwiches.

Parking is free at PPM if you get your ticket from the garage across the street stamped by a vendor. It'll be a piece of cake. Have fun, just don't forget to breathe!

You r-r-rang?! Nothing new to report on the cheese front besides what's mentioned, but I'm not looking very hard these days. The cheese variety at the Public Market is hard to top. Love the place, but Christian is right about the wine dept. Portland Green Grocer does heavy cheese volume and variety/price makes it my favourite. They have excellent produce and reasonable wine too. Wild Oats is a reasonably good cheese spot too which would make it my choice for the one-stop plan - it has great pies. Be advised that since it's come to town, the place gets jammed on holidays and in spite of their best efforts, the place falls apart. Expect long lines, stock shortages and general confusion. Solution? Phone in special requests then get in and out early ... or go to the (very large) Forest Avenue Hannaford, the most dependable but not very imaginative source for your sure-to-be-fabulous menu. edit to add: Don't forget a seafood item, oysters perhaps? Scallops are now in season as of the 15th. The quality is so good up here it is scary. DO NOT BUY IT anywhere else but HARBOR FISH MARKET or the renowned BROWNE TRADING.

...and for those who are outside of it's distribution area, Here Is Their Link.

For those who are fans of Uni, the Maine Sea Urchin Fishery is underway until January 11th '05. Gulf of Maine Uni is delicious but highly perishable. Ask the Chef of it's origin if you order.

...that is awesome...

Chicago Cake Company Chicago Custom Cakes Katie's Custom Confectionary [est. 2002] It doesn't matter that you aren't in Chicago proper for the first two if you're aiming for a national distribution. My $.02 and yes I do logos!

Hmmm... d'you think she's lurking around here???!!!

Indespensible in my Chicken Salads. I cut thick outer leaves into rings upon which I place fish for poaching. Serve often julienned by mandoline w/EVOO and microplaned Pecorino Romano... Started adding it into my coleslaw this summer; 2:1 w/cabbage.

Fascinating Thread. I echo the others who are in awe. The caramel bulb problem reminded me of a school trip to the fornace on the island of Murano years ago where artisans made colorful glass vases and objets d'art. They said the kilns where they melted blobs of glass at the end of long tubes hadn't been extinguished since the war. Is it too far a stretch to imagine a miniature kiln where blobs of caramel are heated, spun and "blown" into shapes of the chefs whim, and nipped by tiny pincers to form handles or flourishes? The balloons formed a perfect orb, but this technique, expensive I'll admit, offers alternative shapes. My humble respect to all at the lab Johnnyd

A remarkable post! I really, really, really love it when people post their pix. A very special treat to peek in on a journey like yours, and the places you visited for a meal. That oyster deal was awesome. Now I'm famished...

What a revelation. Now I feel like a dolt for roasting the damn things whole the past 20 years! No fuss, no muss... I'm in. Susan, In the jar you have something on top of your peppers to keep them from floating above the oil? I can't seem to get mine to keep for very long, or is a week about normal?

Yes, Yes, KatieLoeb... Oyster Chowder will do just fine!

Okay I am getting curious now... Never tried Pho and I'm game. Little Vietnamese Place in town that I'd forgotten about will have it I bet, but I am zeroing in on your recipe, Eunny. How much stock does one have at the end of the 8hrs? Pho Demiglace sounds outstanding!

So after a good bit of internet-mining, my wife and I have come up with very little about any snacks or concessions of any kind at Boston Ball Parks around 1918. The best we could do is take a hint from that old chestnut by Jack Norworth, written in 1908: "Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I never get back, Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don't win it's a shame. For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, At the old ball game." ... so that's what we're having tonight!

I recall a number of long multi-course meals in Switzerland that ended with a nip of eau-de-vie with coffee and desserts. They were not overpowering and the perfect ending to the meal and a start to a night out. Then there are the endless meals in Spain or Portugal where Port was mandatory with a pears and cheese finale... the swiss digestif wouldn't have seemed right after those Iberian feasts. Saveur recently covered an Oregon producer of domestic Eau de vies, I think it was the Cold Creek folks.

'shute and pineapple.... that's a pizza.

Ostrich isn't Kosher??? Bats are considered fowl???? Am I still hungover? What's happening around here?! ...so I am led to conclude that if you stuff a cork in a bat you get fined $10,000!