moosnsqrl

Next thing you know, they'll be putting broccoli raab on pizza. ← Um, they've been doing that for years - nay, decades - perhaps centuries.

Inviolable? Great little pizza place in Praiano (Amalfi Coast, between Sorrento and Positano) featured a pie called simply "Che Viene, Viene" (what comes, comes). It was a leap of faith and a roll of the dice but never failed to please. Maybe they are genetically (or geographically) programmed in such a way that they are incapable of creating a bad combination of toppings? Maybe the quality of ingredients helps. Whatever, this "clean out the fridge" style of pie opened my eyes and almost convinced me that anything goes.

So, is everyone else available January 5? Aaron, chilihead, Dividend, Mamagotcha? jgm, joiei, are you coming up? ← Thinking about it, seriously. Just get all the snow and ice melted before then. ← It's like 75 degrees today! No excuses! When do we eat? ← Well, either before January 6 or we have to wait until Z's next trip to Richmond. I'm fairly certain we're going on the 30th with some out-of-town company (including Osnav if any remembers him - he's too busy working on his Martha Stewart impersonation to post these days). If anyone else is interested please PM/email me.

So, is everyone else available January 5? Aaron, chilihead, Dividend, Mamagotcha? jgm, joiei, are you coming up? ← Thinking about it, seriously. Just get all the snow and ice melted before then. ← You wish is my command - it's gone!

Just noticed this on "The Beeb" website. Very interesting. The phrase "you've come a long way, baby" comes to mind.

So, is everyone else available January 5? Aaron, chilihead, Dividend, Mamagotcha? jgm, joiei, are you coming up?

I finally couldn't stand the suspense any longer so I stopped in for a glass of wine Friday. I didn't have time (or appetite) to eat but observed the open kitchen and other diner's fare. The marrow bones looked yummy, juding from the looks on the faces of those enjoying them. Cannot wait to check out the baby octopi.

I've received multiple requests from a regional growers list serve to write to my congress persons encouraging them to stop Vilsack's confirmation. I haven't had time to do adequate research but the concern seems to be further erosion of organics standards that will enable large agri businesses to still be certified and market their wares to (what was burgeoning but now, in the current economy, appears to be waning) conscientious consumers. I hope to read-up on this over the weekend. If anyone has what they believe to be a reliable source of objective information to recommend I would appreciate suggestions. Batali is ALL ABOUT the so-called Mediterranean diet. If he comes up for confirmation as Surgeon General, I'll throw all of my weight behind him

Wow - I had heard of her demise, then heard it was a false report so I stopped looking for news on kansascity.com. I won't try to pretend I was a fan or in agreement with her (too many postings to the contrary) but certainly sad to see her untimely demise. And my sympathies to her daughters and to Tim. Agree with her or not, she was a Missouri farm girl, well-traveled and a great supporter of the locals. She will be missed. I spent two days lamenting her loss; a day grateful that the news was errant, and now this. Perhaps a memorial fund at Broadmoor would be in order.

Amen to that, Howard. I am hopeful that, between the emphasis on fuel conservation, alternative fuels (think we can agree corn isn't the answer yet?), economic recovery and global warming, someone will put 2 and 2 together and figure out that localized, sustainable agriculture will help on all fronts. At least he is appointing people with scientific expertise to DoE . . . dare we hope he'll do same for Ag? Fingers crossed that Monsanto et al. don't get one of their yes men in the mix.

Oh, Man - I was looking at this for inspiration. I saw these picks and am so depressed at my lack of creativity I think I'll just crawl back into bed and read a trashy novel instead. These are absolutely beautiful! And now back to swilling Grolsch so I can fill the stoppered empties with my lame homemade Irish cream. I am humbled. Bravo to you, though! ETA: This was meant for Kim Shook and her lovely turkey lacer skewers - in my zeal to save space and not include the photos I deleted the entire reference!

At first I was disappointed to see the schnitzel wasn't still on the menu last week, but after tasting its replacement I was more than happy to have the cassoulet. That is the ultimate cold weather dish..... ← WHAT??? The schnitzel ist kaput gemacht? Ich bin am Ende! Cassoulet better be damn good.

A friend described a very special dining experience and we're interested to know if anyone has any information or knows if this is still possible. Here is what he could recall: At first I assumed Isola Tiberina (there isn't another island on the Tiber, is there?) but later he says it was on the same side of the river as the Jewish Ghetto. There is a well known order (fatebenefratelli) who run a hospital there but I cannot find anything food-related about them, apart from their apparent use of the pommegranite as a symbol.

Maybe I will start a new thread of young chefs who I WISH would leave town I don't mind 'em going but there should be a limit. Colby learned everything in a couple of years - surely anyone can! Joe, send Doolittle back and we'll call it square.

Turns out Howard's choice of words ("going places") was prophetic. As some of you already know, and finally announced officially in today's Star, young Joe West is going west - to Las Vegas, specifically. Very sad for the KC diner, but I know we'll be hearing more about him for years to come. Best of luck, Chef West. You will be missed.

No reason to wait until the holidays, Judy. I say just invade your local grocer, fill up a cart with stapes such as oatmeal, grits, soup, canned corn and whatnot and drive the cornucopia to a food pantry. You'd be amazed at the amount of food that five $10-donations will buy. ← You're right (for once!) Fresser. I am just waiting until the holidays to do an official 'drive' at the office because that is when it will be graciously sanctioned (in lieu of tacky decorations). The demand is way up and the supply way down and it really doesn't take much to make a big difference.

Bravo, Fress and jgm! I'm planning a holiday food drive at the office but perhaps we can do something with the local eG folks and have some fun in the bargain. Any thoughts, KC folks? If so we can start a "planning" thread.

Curious about the name as in what it will be called? If so, it's going to be called Manifesto. As for why that name was chosen - not sure. ← yeah, the origin, I meant, sorry. It's just an unusual name for a place of relaxation. I'm sure there's a story behind it.

Nice. I'm curious about the name. And does anyone know where in the Crossroads? In any case, good to see another local rattling the chains.

I, too, feel your pain. And moreso Maggie because she had to fly. I spent ~6 months in Wichita during my mother's decline. Everything you've all said: thin pans, smooth-top electric range, several thousand pieces of tupperware and not a sharp knife to be found. I drove home for a couple of days every other weekend to try to save what little sanity I had left (under the circumstances, it was hardly worth saving) and would take another few creature comforts with me each time. By the time she succumbed, I essentially had everything down there and nothing up here. What can I say? The only solace was going back to her house after visiting hours were over and cooking. My car looked like the chuck wagon from a cattle drive on the long, sad trip home (well, a high-tech version). Hang in there, jgm. As awful as it is, you'll never regret it and will someday find a way to look back fondly upon this time.

I'm going to make one last visit to the "big" market tomorrow (City Market, where we hope many of you will be shopping with us next July/August at The Heartland Gathering - pardon the shameless plug ) in hopes of getting some canning tomatoes, but I am dubious that I will find any - it just got too cool too quickly around here. This has been one of the strangest growing seasons of my adult life, I think. Another reason to appreciate our growers and what they endure to bring us the best. I guess I'll stop by the bakery on the way and get treats for Farmer Appreciation Day - a holiday that I declare at my whim each fall to thank my 'peeps' for all they do.

Yes, if they made Cambro in smaller sizes they would be the perfect solution. They are more geared to professional kitchens and sized accordingly, but if they (or someone) would do that for home use it would be great. In fact, that is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find when I posted this. So much of the previously "professional" kitchen stuff has spawned home ware due to the popularity of food tv (writ small) I had hoped that there might be such stuff available in less-industrial dimensions. And note to BeeZee (cute kitty, BTW) - yes, glass seems to be better at preserving. I read about some plasticware that had FDA-approved silver content that was supposed to prolong the life of food. Sounds a little dicey to me but just thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone had any experience with it.

So far the R-Maids look good for lunches (assuming I get the right ones, jgm) and the lock and lock look promising for general home storage. Every time I get fed up with my "situation" and throw out all of the current babies with the bathwater, I buy into some new system (yes, I'm embarrassed to admit, I have the stack-n-store from the "as seen on TV store") and it works for a few months, but then the warts begin to show. This is exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for - keep it coming!

I searched through 5 pages of threads on "storage" but not finding what I am looking for. I have a Food Saver and that's all well and good but the bane of my existence is tupper-like ware. Criteria: stackable, collapsible or otherwise storage-friendly (ditto the lids) - hence square better than round microwave/freezer/dishwasher (top rack) safe air/water tight (not prone to spill, providing reasonable shelf-life for contents) available in a variety of sizes - bonus if the same lids fit multiple capacity containers Does anyone have anything they're especially impressed with or, conversely, anything to be avoided at all cost? TIA.

Per Joyce Smith's article in today's Business Section, Jon Dallen is taking another shot with this space . . . set to open next week. Tonic seemed to suffer from an identity crisis, among other things, but I sure liked having a "real" restaurant in the space. I hope this attempt is more successful.