worm@work

I give Iron Chef #1 - 9 points and Iron Chef #2 - 7 points. I like the starters from both chefs equally (the peach "foie gras" is indeed very innovative) and both sound equally tasty as well (I love the contrast in textures & flavors in the "Peach gastrique, avocado cream, Stilton biscuit" dish. The braised pork makes me glad I'm shedding my vegetarianism and looks totally like something I want to be eating someday! The clincher, however, was the dessert. I'm rather traditional when it comes to desserts and somehow a dessert with foam just doesn't do much for me, especially when compared to a gorgeous caramel tart served w/ homemade ice-cream! I agree with malarkey's guess reg. identities. That tart looks like a Ling creation to me.. either that, or Henry's a really good learner . -w@w

Well, I actually do have all of this equipment except its all at my home and right now I'm at a vacation home we rented for the reunion! So buying this equipment was not an option. I finally made a blueberry pie because I got some really sweet blueberries from the farmer's market and figured they'd carry the taste of the eggless dessert. I did use butter since none of my family members are vegal or lactose intolerant (fusspots though they may well be ) and the pie was perfect. Everyone loved it and I even tried a lattice top for the first time ever and was pleased with the results. Thanks everyone for all the advice and help! I saw the amazon cake recipe too late unfortunately... looking at the picture, I suspect it'd have been the perfect treat for my chocaholic family! Well, maybe I'll make another dessert this week after all.

I am currently in the middle of a family reunion and it happens to be my moms birthday. I want to either bake a cake or make some other form of birthday treat but face a variety of constraints: a.) I am not much of a baker... I am a little scared of baking and usually tend to need precise instructions that i can just follow . Seem to have no instinct for this stuff somehow. b.) My mom is a vegetarian and does not eat eggs c.) The treat needs to be something that'll also appeal to my nieces and nephews (they're all between 5 & 9 years of age) and d.) I have no access to a stand mixer or a food processor or a hand mixer even.. whipping (if any) will need to be done by hand I was thinking maybe something fruit-based is the answer? Any help is really appreciated but if you give me a reco, I'll probably need recipes as well... thanks a million! Seema

This week in Washington State: - 2 heads of lettuce - Lovely yellow tomatoes - Tons and tons of garlic picked right this morning and smelling earthy and wonderful - Carrots - Cauliflower - Chard - Green Onions - Cilantro - Dill - Fennel - Peas - Beans (We got to pick the beans and the peas) & a lovely bunch of daisies and zinnias!! I really love this farm! -w@w

Hi, I've often admired the beautiful pizza pictures on the Dinner! thread and keep thinking about making my own. The couple of times I've tried making pizza at home have led to okish results but nothing that makes me feel like doing it over and over again... what I'd like a nice really flavorful base that can be chewy / crisp (we've liked both at different pizza places in the past) that doesn't require a whole lot of toppings but tastes good with some nice fresh mozarella, some fresh basil that I just got in my CSA box and some roasted garlic.. Please help.. thanks a ton! -w@w

It looks exactly similar to a seaweed salad I adore and frequently order at restaurants. At the restaurants I eat this at as well as at the local Japanese store where I purchase it prepacked, its called chukka seaweed salad. I've tried replicating it at home as well and asked the Japanese grocer for more details. He said its a seaweed called chukka that comes from Hawaii.. I've never been able to buy just the seaweed though.. always the salad! Now I'm really really craving this stuff ... gotta leave from work and pick up a pack on the way! -w@w

Am seriously considering signing up for the Serious Foodie Basic Class and commuting all the way from Seattle! Does anyone know of anything equivalent that might be closer to home and is anyone else planning to sign up for the September session? -w@w

Abra, Can I have the Jane Butel book? We really love hot and spicy food and I'd love to get some new ideas. Am sending you a PM as well. thanks a million, Seema

>> I look for the yellow patch too and a hollow thump I think... served me well so far at least. As for the wolf bit, I think its because wolves like watermelon? (I cheated.. I googled and found a wolf park in Indiana that takes donations to buy waltermelons for wolves!!). -w@w

Yep, I guess you're all out of space already but I just had to add some of my favorites. I would like to add a vote for Amateur Gourmet and also mention another blog called Chubby Hubby that has imo some of the best food photography I've seen on a blog. The blogger is from Singapore and offers a great mix of eating out and cooking at home. Good luck with the piece and do post a link later if it's available online. -w@w

I happened to visit Sam Mason's website (sammasonnyc.com) after reading another thread on this forum and there's a recipe for brown butter ice cream on the website.

My dear husband just got me a spankin new Kitchenaid Professional 600 stand mixer as an early xmas gift!! I can't wait to use it but have no idea what to do with it!! I want the first dish I use it for to be something really special that we will both enjoy . Can some of you share some of your favorite recipes that involve the use of a stand mixer? Your recipes and ideas will be really appreciated. Thanks, w@w

*Sigh* Had I posted my response a minute earlier, I might've saved myself the agony of having to see the picture Episure posted!! -w@w

>>> I agree with Milagai. We usually ate it with curd rice or as an accompaniment to dosai. A particularly innovative way to eat it was the way my Dad used to.. he'd add a nice tablespoon full of mangakari to some homemade chivda to give it some added kick!! With a glass of beer on the side, I must admit it tasted mighty good! OTOH, the best thing to do with it might be to share it with some people in Seattle, WA who're craving Malayalam food too -w@w

Black mustard seeds are available in all the Indian stores around town. I'm happy to mail you some if you PM with your addy. Also, let me know how much you'd like. -w@w

Hi All, Thanks so much for all your recommendations. We did end up making a reservation and going to Bis on Main. We had a wonderful time and the food was great as well. My friend was absolutely delighted... the baby behaved beautifully through the whole evening and she could really take her mind off for a bit and catch up with friends (which is exactly what I was hoping for). I did think about going to the Barking Frog instead but was worried it might seem too far if the baby did become unhappy or sleepy during the meal . Abra, Pogacha is still really wonderful (love the Chicken Do-bar!!!) but we go there very often when we visit this particular friend and consequently, I thought it may not feel 'special' enough.. She knows there's a secret internet community I get all my restaurant recommendations from and she especially asked me to thank all of you . -w@w p.s. Btw, her baby is almost 3 months old now and looked distinctly edible in her new winter clothes.. like cotton candy almost .

Hi, A close friend is celebrating her birthday today. However, she also recently gave birth to a baby. We want to take her out to dinner (about 10 of us) but also want to try and go to a place that will be somewhat quiet (the baby tends to get agitated if we go to very noisy places). Also, she lives in Bellevue downtown and we want to stick to the eastside so she won't get too late getting back home! I was trying to think of a place that'd keep us foodies reasonably happy and still fit all of the above criterion (quiet, eastside) but came up with nothing so far . Any ideas? All help is much appreciated. thanks, w@w

Hi malarkey, We only go there when I have to drive my husband to the physiotherapist and usually end up going to Izumi for sushi. 12539 116TH Ave NE Kirkland, WA Hope this helps! w@w

Thanks for all the lovely recommendations and advice (and the ones to come as well!). Busboy, I live in Seattle and have been tasting most of my cheese from the local whole foods. One of the service people at the cheese counter in the store is really friendly and very open to letting me taste anything that catches my fancy. She always tells me a little bit about what I'm tasting as well and never makes me feel stupid . I've also tasted most of the cheese from Beecher's at Pike Place Market here and enjoy those as well. I don't know if the whole foods cheese section is a "serious" cheese shop or not but I do plan to taste my way through their selection until I find something better. That's why I started this thread, so I'd be able to see if they have the stuff that people claim changed their life . I did get the Humboldt fog goat cheese sometime and realized what the big deal about goat cheese was (I had tasted some generic supermarket stuff before and wasn't terribly impressed). It was kinda nice stumbling upon something tasty like that . I got it because I liked the whole spiel the cheese girl gave me about the cheese wheels being covered in ash and stuff! Having started along this path (despite several objections from the dear husband who wishes I'd turn him onto a good diet instead ), am really looking f/w to the trip. thanks, w@w

Ok, so I admit it. I'm a cheese novice. I grew up in India where cheese mostly meant paneer or cottage cheese used in cooking. The concept of eating cheese just by itself or cheese thats aged as opposed to freshly made was very foreign to me till recently. A few months ago, I mustered up the courage to walk up to the cheese counter at the grocery store and point to things, ask for samples and buy the stuff I found interesting. Some conclusions...I seem to enjoy all sorts of blue cheese. These seem to me the most flavorful and interesting. I also really like most of the Gouda I;ve tried. I like the texture of soft, creamy cheese varieties (as I suspect most beginners would?). I want to try some new varities and learn more about this wonderful world I'm yet to explore. So share your knowledge with me, if you will and tell me not just what you enjoy eating but also describe it a bit if you can so I know what to look for . thanks in advance, -w@w

Oh, thanks so much for responding. Btw, I found fresh goat meat at 2 pakistani/indian grocery stores, namely Continental Spices & Groceries 7819 Aurora Ave. N, on 79th Seattle WA 98103 206 706 0326 Wholesale halal meat and Pakistani-n-Indian Grocery 12325 Roosevelt Way NE Seattle WA 98125 206 368 7323 Am making Indian mutton curry ... feel free to invite yourself o'er. . -w@w

Hi, Does anyone know of a good source to buy goat meat here in Seattle? Thanks in advance, w@w

The digicam is broken so no pics . We had crab sandwiches with homemade chipotle mayo and ate farm-fresh tomatoes (given to us by a kind neighbour) with salt, pepper and olive oil. Oh, we also had some prawns left over from sunday's paella feast. So we had fried prawns on the side too! -w@w

. Interesting! We say this in india as well. No one hands another family member a sharp object in their hand. It must be placed on a surface for the other person to pick up! -w@w

We went there for the first time tonight and had a wonderful experience overall. The waitress was friendly and attentive without being intrusive. They were out of the lasagna I had been dreaming about all day long unfortunately. I ended up having the gnocchi (lil fluffy pillows they turned out to be too) and the vodka sauce made me go "mmmm" at every mouthful. DH had the ravioli stuffed with basil and parma and even though I was happier with my dish, I ended up stealing quite a bit off his plate as well. We ordered two glasses of red (can;t remember which) and they were both quite nice and very very reasonably priced. The chocolate truffle cake we shared for dessert was nice but after all that wonderful food, our expectations were rather high and we didn't feel the dessert matched up. All in all, we couldnt stop raving about the food and are likely to be back several times. Hopefully, we'll get to taste the "much talked about" lasagna next time! -w@w