NancyH

If you have time and freezer space to prepare in advance, save some 16.9 oz water or 1 liter soda bottles, fill with water and freeze. When it's time to cool the soup, use the cold-water-in-the-sink method but add frozen bottles to the sink instead of ice cubes. Once the temp is under 140 (you have an infared or other thermometer don't you?), add the ice paddle into the center of the pot. Chills it down in no time.

jsmeeker - how did your trip go? We're headed in a similar directoin soon, looking for great eats to the west of town (and downtown, but that's another thread).

It should be ok in the rice cooker on the low setting. For insurance, you could wait for the final "finish" on the risotto until just before you serve and stir in the final butter/cheese/cream or whatever in the rice cooker on low.

Beautiful food! Thank you for sharing.

I have a friend on this diet. For breakfast, we made a big pot of brown rice and he added hard cheese (which doesn't have lactose), sesame oil, salt and pepper. It actually made a pretty tasty breakfast cereal.

I routinely do that with my brisket. I cook it low and slow to a 1/2-2/3 done, then pull it from the oven and slice it, then chill it and finish it within a day or two. My mom used to sometimes freeze the brisket after the first cook, and finish it a week later. Always delicious. Go for it.

Biggest concern for me is the widespread use of antibiotics in feed - supermarket lamb almost certainly has it. Shop your local farmer to avoid antibiotic-fed lamb.

I've never had a problem cooking gefilte fish in a stainless steel pot. Sounds like a bubbe-meintze.

Bumping this topic up, as I will be visiting Virginia Beach soon, and would like recommendations for delicious eats. I know crabs are out of season in winter, but is any local fish/seafood in season during the winter? Looking for both restaurants and retail, and would prefer fish/seafood focus. Thank you!

It is with a most heavy heart that I report to the EG community that Chef Dominic Cerino passed away earlier this week. The public details are reported here.

Where did you get it?

Just to be clear - we didn't dine at Sable but more than one person recommended it to us. Other downtown recommendations from people I trust included Au Cheval (more than one rec), Xoco, Big & Little's, Franks N Dawgs, NaHa, Antique Taco, GT Fish & Oyster and Mexique.

I snagged my G&TG reservation the day before- keep checking Opentable as you get closer as there may be cancellations. I can heartily recommend The Gage, based on our lunch there. Other places highly recommended to me were Sable Kitchen & Bar, 505 N State St Chicago, IL 60654‎, Avec, Publican (I've eaten at Publican once and it is outstanding), and Acadia, 1639 S Wabash Ave Chicago, IL 60616‎. Takehashi also takes reservations: 1952 N. Damen Avenue 773 772 6170 HOURS Tuesday - Thursday 5:30pm - 10pm Friday 5:30pm - 10:30pm Saturday 5pm - 10:30pm Sunday (Kaiseki Menu Only)Dinner 5pm - 9:00pm Monday closed

So sorry I haven't had a chance to post - we were in Chicago for 5 days about a month ago. Izard's restaurants are both winners. We loved our lunch at The Gage (the Elk Poutine was "best bite of trip" for us). Purple Pig and Slurping Turtle were both terrific. The only under-performer we experienced was lunch at Mercat a la Planxa. Lou Mitchell's is solid for breakfast or lunch. Elk Poutine Pork Secreto with Roasted Red Pepper, Leeks & Pickled Watermelon Rind, from Purple Pig I did a six part blog series chronicling all of our eats on my blog, beginning here.

Had a server last night who demanded that I not look up the on-line drink menu on my phone, because the one I was handed was completely different from the one I'd looked at before I arrived, and the on-line one had an ingredient that intrigued me so I wanted to ask about it. His shitty attitude ruined the entire evening for me (and the cold, dried out pork belly and uninspired ghocchi served without a change of silver didn't help). But then, this pretentious place was empty on a Friday night, so I guess that tells me all I need to know.

When in doubt, throw it out. No egg is worth days worshiping the porcelain god. You've been through enough already - don't ask for trouble.

To be fair - there is such a thing as a deathly allergy to RAW onions - my friend Mary Lee has an anaphalaptic reaction to raw onions (even just the smell of them can make her visibly sick, and I've seen it happen when her burger plate or salad arrived with raw onions even after she asked that none be put on her plate), but she can safely consume (and loves) onions in cooked or processed form. She's not a prima donna about it - just politely asks that no raw onions be served to her, and her friends know that if they want raw onions on their plate, they have to sit a few seats away from her.

Great post - thanks for sharing!

You can also get tamarind already processed into a useable paste. If you don't have any Asian groceries near you, look online.

Coke Zero contains the artificial sweetener acesulfame-K, which to my palate is plain nasty. So I understand your pain. Tap versions of Diet Coke (for fountain dispensers) have always contained some saccharin to extend shelf life; perhaps that is what you are tasting?

I wish that we could join you, but we must be someplace else this weekend. Looking forward to all the photos and eating vicariously!

Sounds like you won't be far from Delray Beach. My folks winter there, so I've gotten to try a few decent places. For deli, try Glick's Kosher Market. I had my first noodle knish there - super carby, but so delicious! Their potato and kasha knishes are also excellent, as are their smoked fishes, and they bake savory and sweet in house. The salads are freshly made from scratch. Even though they are kosher, they sell both meal and dairy items. We also enjoyed Delancey Street Deli Restaurant, 14590 S. Military Trail, Delray Beach (no website, 561-495-4422) a couple of years ago. They are "Jewish Style" (aka not kosher) - but did a nice knish (just don't let them reheat it for you in the microwave!) which featured beautifully caramelized onions. The kosher hotdog was expertly grilled, though the sauerkraut left me a little flat. I blogged about them here. Another favorite is The Bagel Tree, (561) 498-9758, 6580 W Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33446 - it takes me right back to the coffee shop at the Nevele (in the Catskills). Though they lose points for carrying only Nova and no belly lox (you can get the belly lox at Glick's), the food and atmosphere are definitely worth a visit. Jason - would you share the Asian goodies that you found?

I don't think anyplace Edsel mentioned is stuffy/formal. My top choices for festive dignity would be Lolita or Dante in Tremont, Crop or Flying Fig in Ohio City and Lola or Greenhouse Tavern downtown (I haven't been to Hodge's or Pura Vida yet, so I can't speak to the atmosphere in either, though the food should be excellent at either).

The late great Dom DeLuise had a great recipe for Father Orsini's Eggplant Balls in his book "Eat This, You'll Feel Better"; the recipe also appears in Father Orsini's book. I've used it as a vegetarian meatball with great success. 3 tabelspoons EVOO, 3-4 cloves of garlic minced, 1 large eggplant peeled and diced, 1 tabelspoon of water, 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs, 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped, 2 eggs beaton, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, marinara sauce if desired, more grated parm. In a large saucepan heat oil and gently saute garlic until golden brown. Add diced eggplant, the tablespoon of water , cover and simmer under low heat until eggplant is VERY soft. Combine eggplant, bread crumbs, parsley, eggs and cheese in mixing bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes. Form into balls and you can either fry in olive oil or in a 325* oven, bake for 30 minutes, add the extra cheese and marinara on top and bake another 10 minutes.

In follow up to all of the above - assemble your professional team and sit down with them before you sign anything - an attorney (preferably one with some experience in restaurant start-ups, or at least business start-ups) and CPA. Make sure you cover both ends: the relationships between/among you and your partners from the internal end (this should include forming a business entity right from the get-go), and a sound business/financial plan for financing and organizing each aspect of the restaurant-to-be. Make sure you have funding in place before you sign anything. If you have an "angel" helping with financing, make sure that your professionals are independent of that source.