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baranoouji

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Everything posted by baranoouji

  1. BHC, Woohoo! A Navy thread on eG! This has been enjoyable reading. I'm ex-Navy myself. (ex-Nuke, due to a med board) My last duty station was at the Navy Yard in D.C., where I got to meet a lot of the PQCS and the Visiting Flag Quarters CS staff. Do you see yourself going for one of these posts in the future? -V/r, a former EM3.
  2. I'm not white, but my significant other is. He surprised me with GBC one autumn day and I (who can eat pork blood and random other delicacies) was totally defeated. It tasted like licking the tin can. Sheer nastiness.
  3. Harmless, but kind of weird. The thought of my poo having monetary value scares me. I once had some gold leaf caramels from Amernicks. Yummy, but I kept trying to isolate the gold leaf and see what it tasted like. Tastes like a whole bunch of metallic nothin'.
  4. And we want to watch you! ← ... Aaaaaand this is how eG initiates its wildly successful fundraising drive.
  5. So I was Googling for Trung Nguyen coffee today, and came up with this link. There was some discussion in the comments regarding the quality of Trung Nguyen coffee. Any thoughts? I am not the world's best-informed coffee drinker. I'm currently using CDM, but I really enjoyed a cup of TN recently. Were my tastebuds tricking me?
  6. How the deuce do you do this without boiling your fingers? Seriously, everytime I try to unscrew the press a turn, I end up with blisters!
  7. I just made chicken adobo last night! I pretty much cribbed Reynaldo Alejandro's recipe from his book on Filipino cooking. Delicious, but I think that my oh too secret family recipe has... sugar in it. The best part is that you end up with a sort of demi-glace the next day if you stick the sauce in the fridge. Nummy. As far as Filipino restaurants not really catching on... 1. I tend to be (slightly) disappointed when I go out to Filipino restaurants, because I have such a fixed idea of what Food A and Food B should taste like. (Drat childhood memories.) So I tend not to go so often. 2. Most USians are not comfortable with offal meat and our (fairly) unique ideas about dessert. I took my fiancé to the Filipino festival in D.C. recently and I caught him boggling at the mais con yelo! (To me, corn is sweet, and thus can be desserty in nature.) He didn't like my offeratory sip of gulaman at sago -- just a different flavor than what he was expecting, I think. 3. USians do love lumpia and pancit, and I think it conforms to the expected ideas about Asian foods being noodly and "light." The Filipino tendency to combine flavors and foods almost randomly can be confusing! I know that my fiancé does not understand how I like champorado (chocolate porridge) with condensed milk and tuyo (little dried salty fishes) on top. My favorite dishes are tocino, adobo, longanisa, siopao and siomai (but that's really Chinese, though?), champorado, fish balls, chicharron bulaklak, pancit in its infinite permutations, balut, turon, puto bungbung, gulaman at sago, bibingka, lechon/lechon paksiw, IUD (grilled chicken intestines, and I haven't had them in YEARS...), sinigang ng bangus, nilaga, daing ng bangus, diniguan and puto, camaron rebosado, menudo, and I think I better stop before I make myself too hungry... PS. My uncle used to be the chief electrician on the QE2 cruise liner, and when he took us to the galley, it was the most amazing Filipino spread ever. As it turned out, the cooks were Filipino, and pretty much cooked what they liked. I had the best surprise lunch there belowdecks.
  8. Admin: Threads merged. An interesting article about MSG. [On another note, I recently found a website that complained that MSG was responsible for gross obesity in that it made food irresistably delicious.]
  9. baranoouji

    Dinner! 2005

    Tonight, I made pork with a sweet-lemon glaze with a citrus-avocado salad. Lots of leftover pork, which means delicious, delicious sandwiches tomorrow. :crossing fingers to see if the image works!: :edited by kindly Jason, and edited once again by me:
  10. Saturday night's late excursion to RTS went spiffin'. I still can't believe that my friends all ordered cowboy-cut steaks. I barely hung in there with my hangar steak, while they were going strong all the way to the bone! (Of course, they're all big hungry boys, but what can I say?) I found the noise a little overwhelming, but I have mouse-sensitive ears and I know it. One of my friends found the bustle enjoyable, so to each his own. My hangar steak was extremely rich and flavorful, and left nothing to be desired. Great meat done right, simple but tasty sides of garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach (is that a minty note or just me?), and grilled onions that made me debate licking my plate. I know I broke down and licked the remnants of my chocolate mousse from the glass. Let me just that I remain unrepentant on this issue. :counts meager and pathetic salary until she can return:
  11. My sister and I went on Saturday morning. The exterior doesn't have a sign yet, and the interior is very clean in the "art-gallery" sort of look. Think "Sprockets" sort of German, and you'll be right on the money. Good espresso -- the sugar managed to float on the crema before dropping down, and it had no burnt taste. They presented the espresso with the requisite small glass of water and a tiny carafe of milk. My sister ordered the melange, and she said that it was good. I ordered the soft-boiled eggs with toast soldiers and my sister ordered the pastry basket. The manager was very kind and attentive and apologized for the kinks in service. (They seem really understaffed right now.) The food was good and presented in a very modern brushed-metal sort of way. A lot of people came by, tried to open the locked set of doors, got confused, and walked away. The people inside had to chase them down and let them know that it wasn't some sort of exclusive club!
  12. Marrow bones can be found at the local Giant's/Safeway. Well, it used to be, but nowadays less frequently in well-to-do areas. (They've gone missing! Along with chicken gizzards and livers... What is the world coming to these days?) Also check at Asian/Hispanic super stores.
  13. baranoouji

    Marrow Bones

    In the Philippines, we have a dish called nilaga that includes marrow bones. I happen to adore marrow bones so much that we throw in extra bones for me! I think that people tend to get put off by the "richness" factor. I like to dip my marrow bits in a patis/citrus sauce and eat it with rice to balance that richness. Marrow in D.C., you say? Should I make my reservations now? I will gladly eat an surplus marrow bit or two.
  14. ... So is it just my notorious bad luck, or is Ray's the Steaks' reservation line that hard to get through? I've been calling since the regulated time of 1400, and so far, no joy. I feel like when someone finally answers, I should get a free t-shirt in exchange for answering questions about cuts of meat. I am the nth caller, after all. (Pick meeeeeeeeeeeeee!) +++ Post script: I got through. I think my redial function was being silly, but my eGulletish tenacity won through.
  15. My sister and I had a spontaneous lunch at BlackSalt the other day -- lots of ladies who seem to lunch professionally! I had the Ipswitch clams and she had the butter lettuce salad for appetizers. The clams were nicely fried, sweet and tender. The remoulade was tasty, but the ponzu was less overwhelming on the clams, so I mainly stuck to the ponzu. Both dips (and my sugar cubes) were served in what we suddenly recognized as IKEA tea candle holders. (Egads!) The butter lettuce salad was simple: blue cheese sauce, red onion confit, roasted pears, and walnuts. It verges on the too-simple, which for me is a delightful change from the usual salads where they seem to throw in everything from the kitchen. I had the grilled scallop special with a mushroom sauce on top of a mesclun salad. My one complaint was that the mesclun salad had suffered some wiltage from bearing the scallops' collective weight and heat. (I had been hoping to play the warm/cool aspects off each other a little more.)The scallops were huge and tasted sweet with a whiff of smoke... My sister ordered an oyster po'boy and had no complaints. (I didn't have a taste, so I can't tell you how I thought it was.) For dessert, we shared a chocolate hazelnut crunch cake. I will be returning to BlackSalt again if only for the crunch cake. It tasted of gianduja and had a crunchy botton layer -- perfection against a few tart raspberries on the plate. I'll be back this Friday night, toting a party of six. I hope that dinner is as good as or better than lunch.
  16. So I've settled in (thanks to everyone who helped me to find the good stores!), got sick with bronchitis, got better, and had our first impromptu dinner party the other night. In spite of too few chairs and cutlery, it went well until people decided that they wanted ice cream. I rattled off the choices I knew: 31 Flavors, gelato at Tivoli's (unfortunately we had a few vocal gelato-haters), and some corn/durian ice cream at my local Asian food store (also encountered resistance here). We ended up going to the Baskin Robbins on Columbia Pike, since we had not a clue as to where the neighborhood ice cream gems were hiding. Kind denizens of the area, can you help me? Another one of these parties, and my guests may decide on heavy drinking in lieu of ice cream/malts. Then I'll not only have a shortage of chairs and cutlery, but also plates and breakables. -Most sincerely, E. PS. Maybe I can get York Castle to move here. Right across the street would be ideal.
  17. I just wanted to send a great big "THANK YOU!" to everyone who so thoughtfully posted suggestions to my dilemma. There were a lot of really great future dinner ideas thrown around. My throat has started to feel much better, so I was actually able to spring into culinary action yesterday evening. As it happened, I dismantled Mr. Duck, warmed up some scallion pancakes, and made some rice. I fried the duck bits in some duck fat, and served them up with hoisin sauce and rice for a "duck burrito." Regrettably, there really weren't enough bones to save for stock. I think I'll have to start getting Chinese duck routinely so that I can save up a goodly number. Once again, thank you eGulleteers, for coming to my rescue. -Fondly, E.
  18. Thank you. That's exactly what happened to the little bitty pieces that didn't make it into "ducquitos."
  19. Thank you so much for the tip! Wasting perfectly delicious food makes me sad, and now my duck can await a future rendezvous.
  20. :erm: I've been laid up with bronchitis for the last two weeks, and my sister tried to cheer me up by bringing a full-blown roasted Chinese duck. The problem is, I can't swallow anything that isn't the consistency of pudding or soup, so I couldn't do the dish justice. I also have absolutely no stamina for cooking right now. Right now, the duck sits forlornly in my fridge, uneaten. Can it be saved? What can I do with it? It seems such a waste.
  21. No, they have it surgically removed.
  22. Top hits! Saba, with all its vinegary goodness. Uni, when it's good, tastes like seawater and violets. My juvenile side likes anything with unagi. (Unagi rolls? Don't mind if I do! :a la Homer:) Toro aburi served at Sushi-Ko. Soooo expensive but delicious! Salmon, with lovely striations of buttery goodness. Tobiko is a fizzy taste sensation in one's mouth. Hotategai has a delicately nutty taste. :mmmm: Guys, I want sushi now.
  23. baranoouji

    Microwaves

    Leftovers. Melting frozen things. The boyfriend also likes to nuke hotdogs. (I prefer to fry them into little octopi.) Except we have no microwave right now. Right now, we have a saucepan and a wok and no Tupperware. So I have been diligently serving up servings for two and only two.
  24. I have both TJoC and HTCE, presents from my sister a few years back when I moved into bonafide kitchens with more than secret hot plates. I follow TJoC religiously when it comes to techniques (taking apart a whole chicken is much cheaper than buying in parts, but without an explanation, seems impossible!) and I like HTCE for the concept of "here's the basic recipe, here's the flavor variations." For all my other needs, I borrow my sister's cookbooks (I cribbed her copy of Amanda Hesser for almond cake the other week) or I look at epicurious.com.
  25. baranoouji

    Dinner! 2005

    This weekend, we walked to the grocery store in the middle of a blizzard and bought some items for a meal in our new apartment. On sale: chicken thighs, potatoes. We also bought: wine, olive oil, sea salt, pepper grinder. I threw the potatoes into the oven to bake. Learned that our fire alarm is exquisitely sensitive. I stationed my sweetie under the alarm with a fan, and cranked on the vent and the windows. I boned the chicken thighs and saved the skin/fat for rendering, and then chopped up the meat into 1" cubes. I threw some OO (not EVOO, to be honest) on a wok on medium high. Added the chicken cubes, and then some Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce that had survived the move with us. Stir-fried the chicken to completion, and let the OO and Mae Ploy combine into a sauce. Served up both items -- the chicken was delicious, though rice would have been better than potatoes. I just hadn't really thought the whole thing through. I told him to pretend we were eating fusion cuisine.
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