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rosebud

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Everything posted by rosebud

  1. I like the Italian Hero at So's Your Mom in Adams Morgan on Columbia Road. They put "olive paste" on theirs. Makes me happy.
  2. Why does everything I like get discontinued? I have Lenox's "Moonstone" and Mikasa's "Charisma Black." Just found out that my crystal has also been discontinued. It is Royal Doulton "Wellesley." Just beautiful glassware. If anyone here is interested in white china, my mother had a set of Rosenthal "Maria." There are 195 pieces. My mother originally bought a service for 12 while we were living in Germany in the 1960s. Later, in the 70s, they went back for a visit and bought another 10 place settings. Plus most of the serving pieces. When we had to sell her house and furnishings, we couldin't sell it for what I considered a reasonable price so we packed up the china and it is with my sister in Houston. She was supposed to put it on consignment, but I don't think she's done anything. Send me an email and make an offer.
  3. The only place I have seen them sold fresh is at Dean & Deluca in Georgetown. You will need to take out a second mortgage.
  4. I had to agree with Smarmy, at least in the beginning of this thread. I just hate, hate, hate canned salsa which has sugar in it. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to put sugar in salsa. Why don't I make my own? It's WINTER. There are no good tasting tomatoes to be had. Yes, a tiny dash of sugar helps a lot of concoctions, but we're talking here about sugar (and corn syrup) as a major ingredient. IMHO it's like adding too much salt to mask that lack of any other significant flavor. It's the difference between chocolates which are sublime and those which are icky sweet. This is the reason I make my own chocolate truffles to give at Christmas, instead of handing out boxes of the commercial stuff. (In that regard, I found something called "Hazelnut Cream" at Whole Foods. It is from Italy and consists of hazelnuts and sugar. I made the best truffles from that than I ever have before. ) Since I stopped being a kid, low these many years ago (don't ask), I have come to believe that the less sugar the better, particularly in stuff that isn't dessert.
  5. rosebud

    insanely salty clams

    The folks who put out Great Eastern Mussels also sell bags of "mahogany" clams. I've tried them twice to make pasta with clam sauce and also found them to be too salty. I wonder what's up with that?
  6. Well, OK. The LAST time I went into that space when it was still "Food for Thought" was because Timberlake's was closed due to a renovation (BTW, this week's New Yorker has a story which winds up at Timberlake's!!!) I was just looking for a nice beer, but the smell of FfT drove me right out the door. BdC advertised itself on a sign (before it opened for business) as "French Food Without the Attitude." It was jammed from the git-go, and we are not the sort of people looking for "atmosphere" late at night. The upshot is that we have spent three Thanksgivings at BdC. I love mussels, but my husband doesn't. So, instead of eating dried turkey, I have been able to indulge in a boatload of mussels, while by DH has been able to find to find other things to eat. Am I glad this place is where it is (within walking distance from our home)? Yes. Do I expect 3 star food? No. Have we experienced horribly rude service? No. But then, we've only eaten there on Thanksgiving. For which I have given a great deal of thanks. Your Mileage May Vary.
  7. H-m-m-m-m. The only things I can't really abide are the things I disected in biology class. I've never eaten frog legs or perch (I've never run across anything to do with cats), but I also realized I couldn't eat an insect or amphibian. This actually became a problem when we went to a French family's place for a meal. Believe it or not, this was in Germany. I won't bore you with the details (everybody significant was in the military). However, I was brought up to at least TRY what was put on my plate. I just stared at that snail and tried to decide what was worse: do I eat this thing and then barf (thus, ruining everyone's dinner) or be a wuss and not eat this. I was 13 years old at the time. I chose to just stare at it. Our host simply declared, "Good, more for me!" Bless him.
  8. I hope you didn't hold that against El Paso--although if you are or were a lobster fan, I would consider this an argument against moving there. I assume the point you are trying to make here is not one that disparages remote cities or those in the interior for their relative lack of choice--with about 375,000 inhabitants, El Paso is hardly a small town; add the half million more in next-door neighbor Juarez and you've actually got a fairly sizable community. Keep in mind that it's quite a distance to those parts of the oceans where lobster is found from El Paso (correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe lobsters are found in the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico or the southern Atlantic), so any live lobster that survives the 2000-odd mile trip from New England to West Texas would be a hardy creature indeed--and probably air-freighted there to boot, adding to its cost. I grew up in a larger interior city--Kansas City--and live lobsters were far from common there as well (though certainly more easily found, especially at restaurants, than in El Paso). They probably still aren't widespread, even with the likes of Dean and DeLuca doing business in its affluent suburbs. I thought that one of the arguments advocates of honest, good food make is that people need to rely on locally available ingredients, which means that there will be seasonal and regional variations in what is available. Your ability to find a live lobster in El Paso is actually a reflection of the opposite tendency, the same one that gives us gassed Florida or California tomatoes in the off-season anywhere in the country. ← Since I was born there, I get to disparage the place all I want. (There is a reason I have spent most of my adult life in DC.) And, amazingly, your population numbers are off by a magnitude. El Paso is one of the fastest growing cities in America, for reason which defy explanation, and now has over 600,000 residents, while the population of Juarez is 1.5 million. EP's population when I was born there (nevermind the year) was 100K. Speaking of live lobsters, EP has several Red Lobster restaurants (which have live lobsters), but they wouldn't sell me a live one, at any price, and my recipe called for using the broth the lobster was cooked in. Interestingly, after the celebration was over, my mother called to tell me that several supermarkets were featuring live lobster on sale the week AFTER we left!!! I'm assuming my trip around town looking for lobster got some folks off the dime. Go figure. A day late and a dollar short is all I can say. And yes, the best Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food is to be found there. However, I learned to cook from Julia Child (whose show appeared on the local ABC affiliate, since EP didn't have a public television station at the time). Like most of the folk on this website, I prefer French, Italian, and other more creative cuisines. The reason I wanted to fix an Italian meal is because my Mother had visited me in DC on many occasions and enjoyed the food I made, particularly the tiramisu. Besides the rice, I also carried on the plane a small ice chest with imported mascarpone cheese and the Savoirdi I bought from Vace's in Cleveland Park. My point is that El Paso is not singular. If enough people demand better goods, it will be supplied. The problem is to organize the local foodies enough that their (our?) needs will be met.
  9. You also have to consider geography. Those of us who live in major cities have access to many things we consider absolutely necessary. In the hinterlands, that's not the case. For example, in 1992 my family and I traveled to El Paso to celebrate my mother's college graduation. I cooked a special dinner for nine people: lobster risotto, osso buco, tiramisu, among other things. I had to go to six different supermarkets before I was able to find a single, live lobster. Then I made the mistake of adding some (previously frozen) snow-crab legs to it. I could not find a single place which sold fresh basil. I even called an italian restaurant in town and found that they couldn't get it either. (I just assumed I would not be able to find arborio rice and so carried it from home. Ditto the pine nuts.) Then there was the issue of finding decent wine to go with all this. Not an easy task. When your Mother's favorite wine is Sutter Home White Zinfandel , what are you going to do? No, I didn't serve that. You can't overlook the effects of capitalism on our food supply. We have become used to finding out-of-season (for us) fruits and vegetables grown in Chile and Mexico. The downside is that they don't taste as good as locally-grown farmers' market produce; but they are pretty cheap. Lastly, people generally want what they grew up with. If they routinely ate mediocre food, then that's what they expect. Those of us on this website who grew up with mediocre food have simply found the desire and ability to make good food a part of our lives and the reasons for that are as numerous as we are.
  10. I think I may have written about this on another thread; but once I decided to make risotto for dinner and had everything necessary chopped up and ready to go. I had bought some "Uncle Ben's" arborio rice (in a convenient, resealable bag) from the Ghetto Safeway on Columbia Road and measured out the appropriate amount into a glass measuring cup. I turned my back to the sink to do something or other and when I turned back, I found ants or something similar POURING out of the cup of rice. While squealing, I threw it all down the sink and then tried to figure out what to do to save dinner. I threw on my shoes and ran up the street to So's Your Mom, because I KNEW they sold genuine Italian Arborio rice. I decided right then that I never wanted to live anywhere that didn't have Arborio rice within a five minute walk from home. When it was still "Americana" you could walk in and smell the rotten meat from that section. Not true now. Thanks to a neighbor from Venzuela I have discovered the various sausages they make and sell there. And, thanks to the "carnitas" thread elsewhere on this site, I have been eyeing the pork shoulder labeled "masitas de puerco." In for a penny, in for a pound.
  11. We are all sort of tippy-toeing around the question of "Who judges what constitutes a 4-star meal?" Are you going to invite the local top restaurant critic to your home? For what purpose? (Even if he/she agreed to show up, eat, and pronounce judgment.) I am reminded of that rather bizarre experience Ruth Reichl had at Danny Kaye's home, which she wrote about in one of her memoirs. He certainly was a good cook, but she couldn't describe the event as "fun." The whole thing was just odd. Who is it we are cooking for? And, Why? I don't understand where the whole star system fits in this context. We seem to disagree about the possibility of creating such food in a home kitchen, but we haven't discussed under what circumstances such an effort should even be attempted. I'm still in such shock and awe over Sam's Thanksgiving feast (in a kitchen not unlike my own ), I just can't imagine how much better he could have made it and still have a good time with his familyand friends. Hell, I'll give him 4 stars (and I have eaten at Citronelle).
  12. What thoughtful comments from everyone. It has never occurred to me to even try to come up with 4-star food at home. It's impossible not only for all reasons Sam mentioned (BTW, I bought a cauliflower and will try to make your soup this weekend, Sam!!! I have to come up with a course for a dinner in a couple of weeks with some foodies), but I simply lack the creativity gene that allows the very few to rise to the top. You know how somebody creates a dish that causes a buzz and it starts to show up on all the menus around town and then Bon Appetit and Gourmet publish recipes for it? I could never in a million years invent a dish like that. I'm still astounded at Sam's Thanksgiving menu and will merrily borrow whatever I can from him. But Russ' first comments are more to the point. The ONLY reason to cook for others is to make sure they enjoy both the food and the company. And you have to understand your "audience" in order to do that. I don't know anyone in my life who would enjoy a meal under the circumstance he outlined. In fact, one of my elderly neighbors had Thanksgiving dinner with his nephew and family. Apparently, they prepared a meal on a par with Sam's and my neighbor didn't appreciate it one little bit! Too fussy and complicated. I save my best efforts for my husband, who does appreciate delicious food, and my foodie friends who share my interest. Everybody else thinks I'm a wonderful cook and look forward to my food. But, Hey, what do they know? I'd probably only qualify to mop Keller's floors, if that. But the original question was whether it is possible to cook 4-star (whatever THAT means) meals at home. I think that's setting the bar too high and is discouraging because it is goal we simply can't reach as home cooks.
  13. I hope this isn't considered "off-topic" but, since this is a website entirely about food, it seems to me that very few of us could afford the $300 per person meal. Ever. How difficult is it for a creative chef with an unlimited budget to prepare meals worth that much? Making the enterprise a going concern is another question. Providing really exceptional food at far lower prices is the real challenge. Almost as big a challenge as convincing the "average" diner to spend a bit more than he would at say Olive Garden. My concern is for those who wish to provide good food in the "hinterlands" who have to compete with the chains. I've had bad meals in most of them (not because I had any sayso about it.) It's the family-owned places which feature "authenticity" who I want to patronize and promote. And, most decent-sized cities have individual chefs who carve out a niche for themselves and become destination places for visitors as well as being the place to go to for the locals. But you can't bottle (read: franchise) that. People will find any number of ways to part the rich (and foolish?) from their money. Expensive food is only one way to do it.
  14. Here's more kudos for Todito's. When I first moved to Adams Morgan in the mid-70's it was called the "Americana Market." My mother in El Paso used to send me care packages with cans of Herdez salsa until I told her that I could buy this stuff up the street. After it was the Americana, it became "Manuel's", until it is now "Toditos." Whatever. The meat counter has really been improved. And there are some real bargains to be found in there, particularly in the spice rack. It is also the only place around here to find specific dried chilies. Since my neighbors are from all over Central and South America, I have found there is much to be learned and differentiated from all these different countries and Todito's seems to have gotten that point.
  15. rosebud

    Pommes Anna

    Busboy, I've tried to find the recipe used on "America's Test Kitchen", but everytime I try look at that website, I get disconnected. I saw one of their episodes a few months ago about cooking a classic Christmas dinner: roast rib roast, green beans, and potatoes Anna. One great trick is to use a non-stick, oven-proof pan, which I didn't have until I saw the thread by Fat Guy about the Calphalon Commerical Non Stick stuff on sale at Amazon.com. Now, I have the perfect pan for this. Julia Child has a classic recipe (Natch!) in MAFC Vol. II. But the Cook's Illustrated people had some interesting tricks on their TV show. If you have ever had the "Potatoes Anna" at Cashion's Eat Place, you should know that what they serve doesn't bear much relationship to the real thing. Their's is more of a plain potato galette. Hope this will help you get started.
  16. Hey, Busboy: Can we come to your house next year?
  17. OK, for all of you who want to shocked and horrified: I hate turkey. My mother used to cook a really giant turkey (for the 5 of us) and freeze the leftovers, which we then proceeded to eat through the month of December when, GUESS WHAT?, Christmas rolled around and she would make exactly the same meal. Leftovers through January. The only turkey I look forward to is the deep-fried stuff our Chief Building Engineer makes for the building's Christmas party. Lovely stuff. And there are NEVER any leftovers. So, a few years ago, DH and I discovered that we had no family obligations to meet for Thankgiving and could do what we wanted which meant finding a restaurant. The only place we could find within walking distance was Bistrot du Coin, which suited me just fine since I love mussels. DH doesn't much care for them. So, for a couple of TDs we went and ate a Belgian Bistro meal. Then, some of my neighbors wanted to get together. We are talking about people from Venezuela and Wales, neither of which countries has a tradition of Thanksgiving or turkey thereon. We managed to avoid turkey. This year, it was back to BdC. They actually had a special meal of turkey and all the trimmings or goose w/different trimmings. Maybe I should have risked the goose, but no, mussels and steak frites. I dunno. If you can't be grateful for the food (whatever it is), then what's the point?
  18. For the holidays I like to make a butternut squash/chestnut soup. Peel, seed and cut into chunks a large squash. Add a can of drained chestnuts, a chopped onion and cover with chicken stock. Cook til done. Add S*P, a little nutmet and/or allspice and puree in a blender or food processor. There are many variations on this theme.
  19. "This is interesting" is the absolute kiss of death in my family.
  20. Equal parts parsnips and carrots. I peel, slice and boil them til done. Then pass them through the food mill (medium grate). Butter, S&P, a little fresh nutmeg and you're done.
  21. Yes, get designchick88 to buy that Wallace Grand Braroque set for $1,200 and send it to you. That's a steal. FYI, I was at an antique fair some years ago and one of the vendors had quite a bit of silverware for sale. He told me that his mother had "Repousse" and he would swear that the old stuff was heavier than the new. The best stainless steel flatware is rather expensive; silverplate tarnishes worse than sterling and is harder to clean. Sterling will stay clean if properly stored. Stainless will not increase in value, ever; sterling will. An idea that may be lost by now: It was always prefectly proper to serve mismatched silver at the fanciest dinners. The idea was that you were so well born that you inherited silver from more than one source! That's for the snobs who are reading this.
  22. For those not in the know, half-smokes are half beef and half pork. Which is why the most famous purveyors, Ben's Chili Bowl, have never actually eaten one. The Ali's are Muslim and never eat pork. THIS is the signature dish, IMHO
  23. But, will they add DC's own contribution to the hot dog world, the half-smoke?
  24. "Interesting?" Why not the "best?" Which would be Bologna, of course.
  25. rosebud

    Wine for Cooking

    I once received a case of Pouilly-Fuisse I considered undrinkable. So, I just looked at it as a case of cooking wine. It all got used and it didn't ruin any dish.
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