Jason Perlow

Admin: The 2003 BABBP thread may be found here. The 2004 BABBP thread may be found here. For those of you who didn't notice it, here is the line-up for the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party '05

The RUB sauce that I tried at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party which was "formulated especially for New York" I felt was way, way too sweet. I hope that the one they have finally decided to use at their restaurant isn't.

Here's a link to the website of Huy Fong Foods, which makes the rooster-logo sriracha sauce (the real thing -- many imitators out there) ← In addition to "Rooster" Sriracha by Huy Fong, there's another Sriracha that is almost as prevalent, which is the "Gull" Sriracha sauce that comes from Vietnam, and comes in a nearly identical bottle, except that instead of a rooster on it, it has a flying gull. I've also seen claims of an "authentic" Sriracha that comes from Thailand: http://importfood.com/sash1001.html And I've also seen the "Suree" brand that comes from the philipines http://www.goldencountry.com/GoldenOcean/i...Philippines.jpg

http://www.arabicslice.com/spices.html

When I went the other day Anne gave me a sample of the bacon quiche. It was excellent, very creamy with a great crust. Although I like quiche, I wouldn't say it's one of my favorite foods, but the quiche here was probably the best I've had (although I'm no expert on quiche). ← The quiche is awesome. Although if you eat more than one slice you are likely to get sick, it has so much butter and cream in it.

New stuff for Passover (not Kosher, but flourless): Macaroons and Florentine Cookies Apple Caramel Tart on flourless almond dacquoise Rich Flourless Chocolate Tart Berry Tart on flourless almond dacquoise with honey cream Other items, not Pasadich: Grand Marnier cake Crab Quiche

Not entirely sure, although I think cinnamon and allspice are two of them.

What kind of Greek dog do you have? ← We have two Poodleopolises.

After speaking to our Greek dog groomers today, I was told that for that "extra something", a moussaka meat mixture should be lamb and beef, or lamb and veal, with "some ground pork added". So we bought some ground pork today in addition to ground lamb and ground beef. We also went to a local Lebanese/Turkish/Egyptian/Greek grocery and purchased some "Seven Spice Mixture" which is used for seasoning various types of meat dishes.

It would have to be either Martinique, with Nicaragua or Guatemala tying in for a close second, with Jamaica and Guyana tying in a close 3rd. Cuba would have been in the running for 1st, if they still made rums like they used to 10-15 years ago, but now their quality is but a pale shadow of what it used to be.

At Turkish and Greek restaurants in the US, that's typically what it is accompanied with, yes, with perhaps some warm pita bread.

And our current cook-off is Moussaka, for you eggplant fans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moussaka There is no hard and fast authentic recipe because there is such tremendous variation. But here's a couple to start: http://www.greek-recipe.com/modules.php?na...file=article167 (This one looks really good if you can find all the components) http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/472/...saka50284.shtml http://www.recipezaar.com/35630 http://pieria.spark.net.gr/etimes/moussaka.htm http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1618,153190-251193,00.html http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1618,152189-255194,00.html http://www.premiersystems.com/recipes/moussaka.html Notice that some of these recipes call for potatoes as one of the layers, some do not. I happen to prefer the ones with potatoes, so certainly you can choose to add them or not. The Turkish/Balkan versions are usually not as complicated as the Greek ones, as they usually omit the custard/bechemel/cheese layer at the top and don't heavily spice it as much.

Mousakka is fundamentally, a layered casserole dish similar to shepherd's pie. At the bottom, you have par-cooked sliced potatoes, then sauteed or fried slices of eggplant, then ground meat (browned with chopped onion and seasoned with Greek seasonings, allspice and/or cinnamon, sometimes cooked with a little tomato paste or tomato sauce), and then you have a thick bechemel made with a sharp cheese (like parmesan) that is poured over the top, and then the entire casserole baked. There is a great deal of variation on this dish, as it exists in Turkish, Greek, and Middle Eastern cultures, some even involve tomato sauce being poured over the top. In fact some don't use eggplant at all, you can substitute Zucchini even.

I don't care if Dim Sum turns out to be cancerous, can make you criminally insane, or vastly increases your exposure to getting hit by lightning. I'm still eating it almost every weekend.

Actually, A Taste of Greece has the standard Krinos Foods meatsicle cones that they cook as well (they started cooking them a few weeks after they opened due to people asking for them) but I didn't choose to highlight them.

See my photos of A Taste of Greece (click) in River Edge. Also, Menton1's suggestion of Greek Village in Northvale is a excellent one.

And what about the Steamed Cheeseburger? http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30455

That thought occurred to me as well, but I wasn't really sure it was just a NE thing. I was never much of a 'user', but those advertisements were ubiquitous (like Bosco) in my more formative years. My parents were of the volition that coffee was just not for kids so the only times I had it was at the homes of my friends with more liberal thinking parents. I did like a good 'coffee milk' at those haunts, though. There was a bird version of Mr. Peanut in the adds, wasn't there? ← "Coffee Milk" and Autocrat (and the other 1 or 2 brands that are just like it) are totally New England. Official beverage of Rhode Island, in fact. http://www.autocrat.com

Which is why I almost never open any of my bottles of Port unless friends are coming over that I know will appreciate drinking some, because it has to be consumed within a week once its opened and decanted. Quite a few of my good Ports are Magnums as well.

touaregsand, its interesting that you say you found them dried... I was at a Chinese market the other day, and I found them in these refrigerator packs, bundled up in compartments (like pudding packs), in water. They were labelled in Japanese and in plain English "Shiritake Noodles". I bought some, I'll take a photo later. The Yam noodles, which are typically labelled as "Oriental Noodle" used for Jap Chae is a totally different animal though. I've used them in Sukiyaki-type preparations as well but they have a different texture.

Generally speaking, I never drink wine just to drink wine -- I'm not a wine person, I am a food person that drinks wine, so I like my wines to match well with the food I eat. Now that being said, I do drink high alcohol wines on occasion, but they are usually fortified, such as a port or a sherry, and typically I will have them with a cheese course or as a cocktail substitute later on in the evening

As far as my tastes are concerned, If a wine is over 12-13 percent alcohol (yes, I know, it eliminates a ton of California wine) its flawed because it won't go well with food. It means it can't stand on its own without the heat and it is totally unbalanced. But that's just me.

How about Autocrat Coffee Syrup?

Hendrick's. Gotta love that cucumber flavor.