percyn

Box of goodies arrived from La Tienda - Horchata, 2 different Chorizo, 'Santa Teresa' Artisan Membrillo and Amalia 'Chocolate a la Taza' The Chorizo includes a picante one and the famous Iberico.

Crab & Cheese dip Omelette

Great looking eggs Ann, do you use any special method to poach them?

Phlawless, you may want to visit the Breakfast thread for occassional inspiration and if you are looking for ethnic recipes, give this Akoori recipe a shot. Cheers Percy

WOW !! Nice looking eggs Parmhero. How did you cook them so perfect?

Pyrat XO Reserve Rum - Fruity and nutty. Ideal with some lightly toadted almonds.

I am not familiar with Molly Steven's recipe, but have braised pork belly before, just like short ribs and they turn out great (may have a bit more fat). Haven't tried grilling it either, but a saute pan on hi works great.

V, speaking of pork belly... I picked some up from RTM and put it in a 70C waterbath for about 20hrs (did not have time for the entire 24hr period), then in a 300F oven for 1hr and seared with a hoisin glaze. While guests enjoyed it, it was not as tender as other porked bellies I have had CESV. Do you think it was the quality of the meat, time in the water bath, time in the oven or some other brain dead thing that I might have been doing? How can I create a porkbelly which melts in your mouth (not on your plate )? Cheers Percy

Natasha, thanks for the detailed review and sorry you had a bad experience. I too have been wanting to try Savona Bistro, especially to see if it deserves the 3 starts Laban gave it.

Andrew, I used a store bought Tandoori Naan, which I toasted in the oven. Slather it with some aioli, herbs, grilled flank/skirt steak (or short ribs), caramelized onions and top with scallions, manchego or pecorino romano. Katie, I thank you for your king words, but can't claim brilliance since I am merely copying this dish from a brilliant chef

Continuing with the Chorizo craze, I picked some up from Reading Terminal Market in Philly, which turned out to be Mexican style as opposed to the Spanish style I prefer:

After enjoying the steak flatbread, I decided to try it and home...it was quite easy and delicious:

A few more pics from the other end of the table to suppliment Jeff's great shots. Pardon the slightly large image size, but you can almost taste the food when the images are actual size. Good job Katie Iberico Chorizo Hmmm...crispy skin

Ohhh...I think this proves that it is...

SaxChik, congratz on your wedding...good luck !! Since I was in the area and it being labor day and all, I went to the Charcoal Pit in Wilmington, DE. Ordered a medium 8oz cheeseburger with onions Glad to see they make it to order Also ordered a vanilla shake, which is made at the counter by the shake guy.

Went to Mandarin for Dim Sum (not Hong Kong style where they bring carts around), which they serve on the weekends. We ordered Spicy Beef Tendons Cilantro (and shrimp) dumplings Chicken Yakitori (I know, not quite Dim Sum, but still a great Japanese dish) Beef dumplings Pork and Crabmeat dumplings - I considered this to be the highlight. These are special dumplings similar to the ones I had at Yang Sing in San Francisco and I recently saw a documentary where there is a place in China (Shanghai?) where people wait in line for 2 hrs at this 100yr old restaurant for these dumplings. They make nothing but these dumplings. The filling of these dumplings release a broth or soup as it cooks, which releases in your mouth as you place the entire dumpling in your mouth and bite into it.

Waffles & Berries

Actually, there was a special on the food network (I think) on a person who goes from restaurant to restaurant showing them how to cook eggs. I saw that and thought it would be fun. Hmmm....

Chorizo with fried egg (again) and Sichuan Shredded Beef Omelette

I might have to experiment with the temp a bit. Since the eggs came from the fridge, I figured the yolk would still be a bit runny, but unfortunately it was not. I will try it at 63 or 63 next time. I did add some fennel fleur de sel to the puree (after the picture was taken), as I did not have fresh herbs or chives handy when I made it.

I usually buy the D'Artagnan Chorizo from Wegmans. This is what I made with it for breakfast last week V, how does the Despana version compare to the D'Artagnan one (I bet its much better)?

I wanted to visit Citronelle when my wife and I will be in DC during labor day weekend. Not surprisingly, opentable says they are sold out and the Chef's table needs a minimum of 6 people . Does anyone know if they hold tables for specific hotels/concierge? Anyone have a reservation that weekend with an opening for 2? ETA: If luck is not on my side, are there other restaurants that you could recommend in the DC/Georgetown area? Cheers Percy

Thanks Ravelda, but the credit belongs to Shola, I am merely trying to (unsucessfully) recreate his masterpieces. If I recall correctly, the Skate wing (cartilage removed) was cut in half, then doubled over so that the ridges/fingers interlocked and was given a quick sear. Next, sautee the leeks, including some julienned pieces to use as a topping. I also sauteed some asparagus I wanted to use up. Remove the julienned pieces of leeks, add some stock (veal or chicken), reduce. Crush 4-5 (or more) Sichuan peppercorns into the broth. Voila !! Easy !! As for the Tomato water rissoto, grind 2lbs (or more) ripe, juicy tomatoes in a blender, place in chinois and depending on how "pulp free" you want the water to be, you can pass it through a coffee filter or a nylon stocking covering the chinios. Let it strain for 24 hrs or until enough water has been extracted. Then use it to make rissotto the way you normally would, expect use the tomato water instead of regular water (if you run out, you can substitute some regular water). I usually coat bomba rice in olive oil, then add a bit of the liquid at a time, occassionally stirring. Add shrimp, or lobster if desired. The tomato water gives an very intense flavor but if you want, you can even add a bit of the pulp for a more rustic version. Cheers Percy

Scrambled Eggs, Andouille Sausage and Brioche Toast

I would recommend people go to STH for some appetizers (Dumplings in hot oil, gold coins, etc) then cross the street and get the main dishes at Chung King. My favorite dish there (so far) is the lamb with pickled peppers.