bakezoid

And we are expecting a full report tomorrow, please!

Just reading this on Saturday afternoon so I hope you read it before you go. If it's still on the menu, be sure to get the roasted beet salad with lobster (or is it the lobster salad with roasted beets?). It's amazing! And if Carolyn is your server, tell her hi for me . She's my daughter

I'm really excited about this pizza cook-off; at least I will be once Passover is finished. Right now I can only plan. I did testing for American Pie and enjoyed trying lots of different crusts. Peter's theory is that we love the pizza we had as children and i think he's got something there. My favorite to make at home is pizza on the grill using a crust recipe from an old issue of Cooking Light. That'a during the summer. SO I will read this thread until Sunday and then get started. And Rachel, I love genoa salami or sopressata slivered and scattered lightly on. Another wonderful combination, grilled, is nectarines, baby arugula and gogonzola. Maybe some prosciutto or salami. Hurry up sunday1

Hi from Western NY! I know that there are now at least two Wegmans in the DC area. I am a big Wegmans fan and one of the many reasons is their exceptional cheeses as well as the folks in the cheese departments. And the Dulles store has the largest cheese department of all Wegmans stores. If it's convenient, try it. And let me know.

Made a moussaka last night and refrigerated it. It will be reheated for tonight's dinner. Rachel, thanks for the Cutlet recipe ; I used it and even thought it's a PITA it's less of a PITA than in a frying pan. Based on your advice I made more than I needed. My 17-year-old son, a self-described "Big eggplant guy", loved them right out of the oven (and so did I). Wegmans didn't have any ground lamb, so the butcher ground a leg for me and only made me buy the amount that I needed. If you have a Wegmans in your area and don't go there, shame on you! I hope the meat is not too dry. I drained off the fat, put in tomato paste, red wine and cinnamon. Layered it with the eggplant cutlets, thin sliced of potato cooked on a griddle and a bechamel made of the ususal plus some handmade ricotta and kasseri cheeses. This was a combination of a bunch of ingredients from many of the recipes mentioned on this thread and was new for me since I ususally have no confidence without literally following a recipe. I am eager to get home tonight and try it, and to continue experimentation and learning from all of you with eGulleters.

How did I miss this cook-off starting? If I try to decide which version to make, I'll never get to the store to buy the stuff I need today. It's already almost 9 a.m. SO I'll shop for eggplant, potatoes, kasseri cheese and anything else appealing and re-read the posts when I get home. YOu guys are sure to post even more info by then. Thanks for a fun cooking thing for this afternoon

Here's my tale of woe to which any new mother and/or law student should be able to relate: Four weeks post-partum with child #2 (She's LittleWing and is who turned me on to eGullet) and one week into my first semester of Law School, I put a pan on the strove to heat up oil to brown a chuck roast and COMPLETELY FORGOT about it. The smoke detector went off; my husband thought I had a brain tumor and I went to see a neurologist. Much later I realized that I had simply been underwater (New moms and some dads, you know what I mean). Just goes to show that home cooking has its own time and place and it's important to be able to identify them!

Wow! What a great topic and very timely personally speaking. I was way down in the dumps last Friday and came home to cook chicken paprikash, potatoes madeleines, salad and a banana gallette for dessert. It was the only time all day that I felt like a human being. I used only stuff that was in the house already since I was too down to go to the store So the chicken had roasted red peppers from a jar instead of fresh peppers and the potatoes were made from leftover masheds. But I ended up feeling that I had accomplished something tangible and that, for the moment, life wasn't so futile after all.

Put some on vanilla ice cream!

Chiming in from Buffalo about Pizza. When I first moved here in the early 70s, Bocce was all I craved. We would pick up our pies and eat them along the dumpsters in front of the Bailey Ave store. Now unless I order it with light sauce, it is way too tomatoey for me. My husband still likes it, but reminds me that pizza in Buffalo is "not that good". And he's a native. My favorite is Just Pizza which has several locations in the area. They make a great thin crust. La Nova also tastes pretty good but my order has been messed up there so many times that I have given up.

Trying to get my mind off the winter weather outside and to appreciate more braising appropriate weather. Made Salmon Filets braised in Pinot Noir with line-caught salmon. They weren't as thick as Molly recommended so I shortened up the braising time. Also my son (17-years-old) hates mushrooms. I was able to include the chopped stems in the aromatics ( sneaky - the solids got strained out of the sauce in the finish), but put the bacon-mushroom caps garnish on the side. With it I made the bad-ass broccoli from the thread of the same name and Potatoes Madeleines which were a hot thread some time ago . So I guess it was an all eGullet dinner. It kept me busy most of the late afternnon and away from the window. Oddly enough my son liked the potatoes and broccoli better than the salmon. Could it be that he could taste the undertones of the mushrooms in the fish and the sauce? Hmmmm.....

Turkey cutlets dipped in dijon mustard/white wine then coated w/bread crumbs/ parmesan ; quick-braised green beans from the current issue of Fine Cooking ( I used the orange juice -balsamic variation and they were great); braised potatoes with garlic and bay leaves from Molly Stevens' All About Braising. And a glass of Tiefenbruner Pinot Grigio just for me.

Did the Osso Bucco with her Risotto Milanaise again on Saturday night for guests since I already knew how good it would be. My son appreciated the (minimal) leftovers yesterday. Will try Beef Rendang later this week. Any suggestions for something in the vegetable department to have with it?

What quick service from you guys! I'll be staying in Dupont w/my son and not renting a car. So Metro and cabs will get me around. I'll be needing food from an emotional/recreational, rather than nutritional, perspective. So far your suggestions sound great and thanks

My plane gets in to National at 12:53 this Staurday and I will be in immediate need of lunch. Any suggestions of where to meet my son? Skip Palena since I will be having dinner there

Ooohh I have some in the frig from the last time ( it was also the first time ) I made magret duck breast. And I've got the same questions!!!! So while I'm waiting for the answers I think I'll take gourmande's suggestion and roast some potatoes.

"Wonderul"?

Kim, I have used the parchment paper whenever she has put it in a recipe most recently for Osso Bucco and it seems to work great. It makes the pot fit "just right"( I think, however, that I will have to excercise great restraint and not go nuts buying all sorts of pots for braising).

Thanks, Marlene, for starting this thread. Molly's book is so amazing. It's as if a wise and encouraging teacher is at your side. Each time I pick it up to read I find yet another recipe to add to my list to try. Last night I made her Osso Bucco and Risotto Milanese. My husband loved it (he didn't know about the fennel). Tonight maybe the Vietnamese scallops. Previously have done the Coq au Vin, Stracotto with Garlic and Pancetta, and the Polpettone braised in tomato sauce. Every one a delight to prepare and a gem to eat! I found out that she is signing books in Buffalo on Satureday and alas! I will be out of town. What I'd really like to do is take a class with her someday. Does anyone know of any? Amy

Back from my long weekend in Acadia and want to give my thanks to you eGulleters who helped with my food selection. And please pass my thanks on to the authors of Cajun Country Guide which became my portable Bible. Here's how I did: Friday - lunch at B&C Seafood deli in Vacherie; good seafood gumbo, andouille and duck gumbo and my husband and I shared a platter of assorted fried things including fried boudin balls. Excellent. Dinner at Paul's Pirougue in Carencro. I ordered crawfish bisque but apparently my western NY accent was not understood ; I ended up with a bowl of crab and corn bisque that was so good that I didn't want to leave. Saturday : Zydeco breakfast at Cafe des Amis. Food was not memorable (that means I don't remember what I ate ) , but the music was tons of fun. After a swamp tour we stopped at Bayou Boudin and Cracklin for some cracklins (our first time) to tide us over until we reached Mama's Fried Chicken in Eunice. My husband had some great chicken and I had great crawfish etouffe. And that tided us over until the 900th perfoemance celebration (read free) dinner of jambalaya and white bread and cake at the Liberty Theater. What fun to happen on a party Sunday night's dinner was at Prejeans'; my husband had an eggplant thing with a great sauce so I bought their cookbook. Don't remember what else excpet that it was real good and the Grambling baseball team was eating there and they took in lots more food than we did. On Monday we headed back to New Orleans for the night and stopped for lunch in Morgan City at Ruby Mae's where I had a phenomenal Oyster Po' Boy and my husband had the best pork chop of his life, smothered and with red beans and rice. What a great weekend of food and also warmth and sunshone for us Northerners who appreciate such pleasures. Amy

Vanilla ice cream w/pumpkin seed oil, thanks to Chef Melissa at Wegmans.

15 years ago I was cooking for a family of 6.On worknights I would arrive home to be greeted and to greet, with joy, my 4 children, and then rush to the kitchen. Sometimes I made dinner the night before, or did prep, so that we could eat at a reasonable hour. Now, three of those children have left home and they do enjoy food and eating (Can I cliam some of the credit?). One is still here (he has a phenomenal palate, especially for a 17-year-old). But the biggest change is that my husabnd and I swtich off cooking dinner a week at a time. So I get to cook my brains out and then relax and maybe just bake the off week. Do I miss my formerly much livelier household? You bet I do. My biggest change is not what I cook, or how I cook, but the time I have to do it in.

Thanks for all of your suggestions for eating during our basketball weekend (DId I say 11 games in 4 days?). The spots look great and I wish I had more time there to devote to eating. But just knowing where to go during the breaks bewteen the first and second double headers on Thursday and Friday is quite helpful. And where to go before and after as well. To Lan4Dawg: No car is planned; and the genesis of a Buffalonian's interest in SEC hoops: For the past 4 years my husband and I (and sometimes sons) have gone to a first/second round NCAA site. The games aren't always so great. We figured the SEC has some real competitve teams and thid tournament would be intense and fun. Also I had heard that Atlanta has great food.

Molly Stevens' book is great; not only (!) recipes but also lots of extra information about braising. I made the stracotta and it was great. I usually make anything braised the day before I want to eat it. It tastes better, you can get that thick layer of fat off the top after it'sbeen refrigerated and also the itming works for me. It's great for this time of year in a cold climnate; the warmth of the oven and the great smells throughout the house really help overcome the chill surrounding us. Marlene, enjoy whatever you do with that LC.

Flourless Chocolate Cake from Ann Hodgman's Beat This! She attributes it to Lora Brody's Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet. I make it every year for Passover and everyone loves it.