percyn

Katie, You had me correctly pegged, I did ask for Broccli Rabe, but as mrbigjas indicated, they only had spinach , but was good though so no complaints, but I wonder how much better it might be with Broccoli Rabe.

Ohh...that was good. Hold that (creamy?) dream thought...

Have to answer a query which comes all the way from Australia.... I will try my best to get the Amish restaurant trip in. As for the "coffee table", it is about 60 years old and made free form from redwood. I bought it from an estate of a senator after hunting for one for several years...they just don't make them like this anymore .

Thanks Abra On that particular day, I was cooking for one, as my wife was at a spa getting a massage. Oh well, that means 2 pieces of foie gras for me (comes in a pack of 2 and I can't freeze it).

Thanks for the clarification Jackal10 (BTW, great blogs). I am not an expert in German wines by any strech of the imagination, but I could have sworn it was labeled as "Icewine style" in the store I bought it at. In any event, I prefer to use a this wine in making some sauces/dishes instead of a $95 Inniskillin ice wine.

It was getting late and I was tired so the I had planned to cook myself, turned into a stop at Johnny Rockets. I love their old fashioned burgers, dogs and shakes. Decided to get a float and a chili cheese dog with onions....ohhhh yahhh !! They have an amazing all meat chili sauce

Made it to Reading Terminal Market, which is in the heart of Philly, on my way to the hospital. There are so many vendors selling such great items, that I welcome RTM regulars (Katie, MrBigJas, rlibkind, etc) to provide additional commentary on the pictures posted in this thread or point out other key highlights, that I may not have. It was close to lunch hour rush by the time I got to RTM, so it had crowd from the neighboring convention center, local office crowd and crazy eGulleter’s taking pictures (oh wait, that last one was just me ). A great place for breakfast. Ahh !!! Dinic's Roast pork sandwich with provolone and spinach Got some brisket meat from them as well, which I could only eat a few bites of due to no space being left in my tummy until I walked around a bit. This was not the type of brisket I had in Texas. This one was covered in an onion and tomato sauce/gravy. Lot of tourists at the cheesesteak place Picked up some great fruits and vegetables while I was there - Asian pear, grapes, lemongrass, cilantro, organic carrots, parsnips, micro-greens, etc. Thought about buying some flowers for my Aunt, but did not as I did not know if they would be allowed in ICU. Good looking turkey being carved for sandwiches. Too bad I was still full from the pork sandwich. Not too full for a little dessert though Bassett's has been making great ice cream since 1861 (didn't get any on this trip) The "little Thai market" sells excellent Thai food. Their BBQ chicken dipped in sweet chili sauce is the closest to the street food version I ate in Bangkok last month. Images of what I ate in Bangkok can be found here. Also picked up some jumbo lump crab and sushi grade tuna, which I will hopefully get to make for you (OK, us) soon What? Did you expect me to walk past these freshly baked cookies and the smell of fresh roasted coffee? I also visited other vendors not listed here, such as the Spice Terminal, Andro's Fine Prepared Foods, Delilah's at the Terminal, Salumeria, Sang Kee Peking Duck, etc to name a few. You literally need a week to be able to sample all the great stuff in this market. I wish I lived a bit closer to this place so that I could visit every couple of days.

Genny/Megan, Thanks...and I really should use a spell checker The wine tote was bought on eBay I believe. I am an avid user of eBay since 1997 and feel that if you do your research, you can find some great deals. Thanks to all for the well wishes for my Aunt (posts and PMs). Unfortunately, it looks like I will be making trips to the hospital for the next couple of days, so please bear with me as I may not be able to make all the dishes I had planned to for the blog. Thanks Percy

Plan for the day: Originally I planned to spend today in Philly, showing you the sights and eats. Unfortunately, I got a call last night that my Aunty was taken to the Intensive Care Unit, so I need to go visit her today and if I can, swing by a couple Philly spots as well. Off I go....(you may not hear from me until later tonight).

Just made breakfast, which consisted of mushroom and spring onion scrambled eggs. Chop up some spring onions, oyster mushrooms and mitake mushrooms (or any others you may have. I like Mitake with eggs, as it has a very woodsy flavor). Sautee the spring onions and mushrooms for a few minutes. Remove 1/2 of the mixture. Add 2 tbsp 1/2 and 1/2 (or light cream) to the same pan along with some cream cheese (learnt this tip on eG). Whip up 2 farm fresh eggs and scramble to desired consistency (I recommend not making it too firm). Top with 1/2 of the mushroom and onion mixture previously set side. Accompanied with my favorite orange juice.

Before I left home yesterday morning, I pack out wine tote. This tote holds 3 bottles, which is great for elaborate dinners or when you are not sure what you are going to order and need pairing options. It is unfortunately almost becoming my trademark since I show up for most eGullet dinners with it and I suspect some restaurant Matre de's recognize the tote more than me . Yesterday I loaded it up with a 2003 Laboure-Roi Vallon d’Or Pouilly Fuisse, an Arrowood Syrah and a Buena Vista Carneros Pinot Noir. For dinner, my wife and I met Philadining (an eG member who runs http://www.philadining.com/) and Chuck (philadining's friend who is also becoming a regular Dining Companion). Note: Some of these pictures are not that great due to the lighting. Amuse Bosche White Corn Soup, Fried CherrystoneClams Frisee, Organic Egg, Lardon, Fried Potato Crisp Veal Sweetbreads, Apple Salad, Hazelnut Oil - These were good, but about the level of crispyness I achieve at home in a pan. I have had these before at Majolica, and they were super crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. My wife skipped an appetizer as none caught her fancy and decided to turn the lobster appetizer into an entre. Chilled Lobster Salad, Haricot Vert, Preserved Lemon Aioli Rabbit Confit, Fingerling Potato Salad, Grain Mustard - While the rabit was tender, we agreed that it would have benefited from a bit more assertive seasoning. Porcini Dusted Halibut, Grilled White Asparagus, Parsley Emulsion - The halibut was cooked to perfection and the perfume of the porcini was enticing. Atlantic Salmon, Celery, Brioche Crouton, Truffle Nage The wines we consumed were a Riesling that Jeff brought, the Pouilly Fuisse and the Pinot Noir. The desserts looked tempting, but we were full and it was getting late, so we settled on a french press pot of locally roasted Kimberton Coffee. It was good to see a Jeff and Chuck again and I will be meeting a few more eGers later in the week. Cheers Percy

It was going to be a surprise...but OK

This morning, for breakfast I had... Unpasturized, fresh squeezed orange juice, half a bagel and cream cheese. For lunch, tomato soup with grilled cheese with tomatoes, pruscitto and munster cheese on focaccia Dinner tonight will not be cooked at home, as we will be dining at Majolica Restaurant If you see a dish you would like me to try, post it here before 5:30pm EST (feels like the Truman show).

Glad I met your expectations Pan Tomorrow is going to be a long day at work, so I may not be able to post until later, though I will try.

Patience my friend [slight offtopic] BTW, for those watching the season premier of "The Amazing Race" on CBS, the episode was shot in my back yard, so to speak....what timing, to correspond with the premier of the blog [/slight offtopic]

My goodness! I'm tired just thinking about that post. Bravo! What wine did you serve with that meal, Percyn? ← Thanks Chris. I served a 2000 Siegerrebe Beerenauslese (German Icewine style) with the foie. I was about to open a Pinot Noir for the duck salad, but decided against it...saving it for tomorrow...

That does look better than Cafe Du Monde's !!

Thanks Susan I have no idea who the cabinets maker is. Unfortunately, I bought this house when it was 1 yr old, otherwise I would have worked with the architect and builder to put in a lot more features, especially a gas stove. Since everything is less than 5 yrs old, I would feel guilty were I to rip everything out and replace it (though I have done that on a few items). I am not familiar with that restaurant or to be honest that area in general. However, I found this via a google search. http://www.townehouse.com/

Thanks, I bought it over the Internet from some company in Canada a few years ago. Works great and is cheaper than the $5000 ones in Wine catalogs. I still have a few cases of wine stored in my basement. Most of the other loose bottles are in here or in a smaller cooler in the kitchen. I am thinking about buying a second one or a larger one as this is full, despite my best attempts to keep it empty

On to making dinner. The menu tonight features duck 2 ways - Foie Gras with fig reduction and Duck breast salad. (I was going to make it Duck 3 ways by adding a duck leg confit served on lentils, but got all ducked out ). Get knives ready (my current favorite is the Japanese Kershaw Shun 8" Chef knife on the top. The bottom one is a Wusthof Trident 8" Chef's knife) Score the Foie Gras Sear in hot copper frying pan (see the smoke?) Remove foie, sear fresh figs (purchased at farmers market over the weekend), deglace with ice wine Toast a slice of the Parisian bread, top with some spring greens or firsee, foie and fleur de sel Drizzle with some of the melted foie and fig reduction and serve with ice wine Look who came running for some foie For the main course...a nice healthy (err...yeah... ) salad Score the duck breast and sear Chop up some fennel (I know it sounds crazy, but I warned you about my weird tastes) Finish the duck breast and fennel in a 350F oven Make a vinaigrette with the rendered duck fat and some truffle oil Let the duck breast rest and slice Dress lettuce, top with duck breast and serve Optionally serve with diced raw fennel and crouton made by toasting a slice of bread and dipping it in the rendered foie fat You see what I mean by "ducked out"? I was too full and tired to roast the duck leg confit...perhaps one day this week.

I have been shopping at Wegmans for the past 6-7 years or so, ever since they opened their store in Princeton, NJ, where we used to live. While I still visit the farmers market almost every weekend when it is open, I find that Wegmans has a good variety of high quality products. I appologize in advance for the quality of these pics, as I was not aware of Wegman's policy on taking pictures in the store and did not want to be banned from the store Towards the right is the bakery with brick oven, center is a sushi bar and on the far left is hot food that their chef's prepare everyday. Clearer view of the brick oven Got a little Caramel apple cider frappe freeze as a late afternoon pick-me-up A variety of mushrooms, which you may see appear in the blog, but unfortunately, they were out of truffles, which I was planning to use in dinner today....oh well, change the menu on the fly.. This is only a very small sampling of their cheese and caviar selection. I remember being at a fromagerie in Paris last year and recognized many of the cheese selections from Wegmans A decent size International section And my favorite...the little D'Artagnan section, which is where the ingredients for tonights dinner came from Some fresh baked bagels which you will see me consume Great meat and fish selection Including these bad boys, which were larger than a baby's arm Also bought some Parisian bread and truffle cheese OK, should be set for a few days....now on to the cooking...

Pan, ....shh....you are raising the bar too high Anyway, I could not go grocery shopping this weekend, so I will swing by my favorite grocery store (Wegmans) and give you a tour later this evening....

Judging from previous blogs, I guess I am supposed to add the obligatory pictures of kitchen, etc, so here goes... The lights were a new addition. Thanks for your input Daddy-A The Deck - which we do grill on in summer and fall (hopefully will get a chance to use it during the blog) The Dining room (that we rarely use) This is my version of the "mans room" (for the Al Bundy fans) - which is also where we have a wine cooler. The idea behind this room was that it would be one room where I had free reign to design it and use it the way I wanted....don't ask me if that has worked Since Peanut's aka LMF (the cat) pictures seem to be a big hit...here is another one.

For breakfast this morning, I had a bagel, vegetable cream cheese and some coffe that I bought from our Cafeteria. And for lunch (which I am currently eating as I type) - Rosemary roasted pork loin with sides of mashed potato and sauteed greenbeans, baby corn and mushrooms. If I did not care for this entree, my other choices were (each very reasonably priced under $5): Salad Bar Sandwich Bar Vegetable Beef Barley Soup Italian Antipasto Salad with Basil Garlic Vinaigrette Artichoke, Olive and Prosciutto Pizza Breaded Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Roast Beef wrap with Roasted Red Peppers, Pepper jack Cheese and Garlic Aiol Having worked at many places (including Wall St), I must say that this cafeteria does a good job in providing edible food at a decent price and is convenient enough to increase productivity. However, on days like today, when it is 75F degrees and sunny, you sometimes feel like stepping outside (but who would update the blog then ? ).

It really is pretty...especially in fall when the leaves start changing color. For those of you wondering about the "interesting names" in the title and whether I have a screwed up mind (childish perhaps), let me share the history of the name