redglass

I'm a little late to this party, but for me, if I drink diet soda, it makes me RAVENOUS- I found that when I cut it out of my diet I wasn't nearly as hungry and could control what I ate much more easily. something about the fake sugar fooling your body and your body going through a sugar crash even though it hasn't actually ingested any sugar...

Since you're in Arlington, you might also want to consider Pie Tanza in the Lee Harrison shopping center in North Arlington and also Sette Bello in Clarendon. I've only had pizza at the latter, and while it's a trendy place, if you like super thin crust pizza, they have the standbys as well as some more gourmet pizzas that I really enjoy.

How about "humans have incisors for a reason"? And who knows, within 6 weeks, she may swing back entirely in the other direction. Without knowing anything about your partner, chances are within two weeks, she will feel like crap and be forced to at least eat some quinoa. In the meantime, you could make it (maybe? probably not) more bearable for you by checking out This book to try some recipes from. Charlie Trotter has lost his chef's card for basically bringing down foie gras in Chicago, but of the raw food cookbooks out there, this one is probably better than most.

We've run out of meat and put ourselves on a strict grocery budget (last month's damage-$800 for two- was a bit too much for us), so we're doing pantry eating, too. We are lucky enough to have CSA delivery every week, so I don't really have to worry about shopping for produce. Dinners lately: pasta with pesto (frozen and still edible from last year's basil) Red Lentil Dal with ginger, chili, garlic, cilantro and coconut milk- served with basmati rice (i don't want to think about how long those lentils have been in the nether regions of our pantry) Chilled Beet soup Mock spanakopita made with the greens from the CSA I am going to have to break down and buy some chicken or SOMETHING from the meat group, but am holding off as long as I can!

I subscribed out of curiousity, but they've done a couple revamps. It's at the point now that it's a pleasant surprise when I actually get an issue, b/c I've forgottent that I'm actually a subscriber (this thread serves as my most recent reminder). I've enjoyed the issues, but it's light reading- definitely not your serious, Savuer-type of food mag. Which I find a good thing. I wish them luck, but I think it'll be a tough go.

I'll put in my vote for the coffee shop just a couple store fronts down from cheesetique in Del Ray. The crust was actually - crispy and crackly, not chewy!- and the loaf had a good a good flavor. Everytime I buy some cheese from Jill, I buy a baguette (that she also sells from them in her shop) to go with. Sorry I can't be more specific on the name- anyone know which shop I'm talking about?

OT, and I'm not even sure if I want to start a separate thread on this for fear being completely grossed out, but what's this about worms in seafood? Was I absent from food school on the day they talked about this?

I finished this book in two days, just a week after reading "Julie and Julia", all without having ever taken a look at a Julia Child cookbook! Needless to say MTAFC Volume I, freshly checked out from the library, has been my current reading and I'm struck by how many classic recipes are here that I never would have thought of as "French", so much a part of the culinary landscape they've become.

I've been told by my gym rat roommate that the closer to your workout, the more simple the carbs should be, so that your body can use them immediately for energy for the workout. So, if you want something right before you workout, OJ or a banana would be a good choice. The more in advance of your workout, you could do more complex carbs- granola with yogurt, the aforementioned oatmeal, whole grain bread with topping of choice. Protein is for after your workouts to help with muscle recovery.

It really doesn't matter to me re: water. Our tap water is tasty, so I don't mind it at all (although when I bake bread I use Brita water). My favorite mineral water is gerolsteiner- good taste and nice, big bubbles. However, I haaatte Evian- I think that if someone were to bottle saliva, this is what it must taste like. Nasty.

Tonight DBF made Chicken a la King while I was at the gym. Nothing like a good workout followed by a calorie laden feast Verdict: another winner. We've never had Chicken a la King before and it's a keeper. We'll probably serve it with noodles or rice next time instead of the bread, but we enjoyed the "retro" chicken on toast. Sorry no photos- we wolfed this down waaay to fast to shoot pics of beforehand. I also made the Bobotie (not on Epicurious) a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed the crunchiness that the almonds brought to the dish as well as the sweet bites of raisin.

This issue redeems such clunkers like the music issue from last year!! I don't have any photos, but I did make the short ribs with the ancho chile sauce. My first time making short ribs and it was great! And actually pretty easy. I served with mashed sweet potatoes instead of polenta. This issue is a definite keeper- if you don't have it yet, move fast- I've already received my February issue.

Pancakes, bread, pie crusts, pizza dough, in summer- pesto and tomato sauce. I also do my own salad dressings- all brand name salad dressings are too oily for me. The main motivator for me was dollars- I could spend $3 on a big bag of King Arthur Flour and make all sorts of stuff with it, vs. buy one loaf of bread at the store that would get moldy before I could finish it. Same with sauce from my CSA's tomatoes (I mean I'm already paying for them and don't want them to go to waste, right?) Oh- and I do all of this without a food processor or Kitchen Aid.

Wow, you all are hard core!! As for me, anything involving nuts or cheese usually get a substantial tasting before going into the dish. And of course, any appetizers served for a party are thoroughly taste-tested beforehand!

This thread brings back so many cravings!! EGullet obsessions have included Larb, Pad Thai, and Lucy's tartiflette.

Thanks for the heads up re: Firefly. I've since made some changes since then: We're doing Corduroy, Zengo, Ten Phen, Rasika, and Willow. I've never been to Corduroy and am really looking forward to it.

A new grill pan a cuisinart (I too enter the food processor era!! Yippee!) TWO huge,yellow cookbooks: Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything and the Gourmet Cookbook, as well as a baking cookbook from the Williams Sonoma series (but don't tell- I'm not a big baker) A griddle large enough to cover two burners (except it will have to go in storage b/c we have no where to put it in our tiny kitchen!) Carving knives (now is a good time to start on my resolution of making large hunks of meat more often) All in all, a very nice Christmas.

Oh, Soup, you are singin' my song. Don't forget the grilled donuts as dessert!

Sorry for the duplicate post.

WOW! I'm just coming down from three lamb-centric Christmas dinners and I am lucky enough to log on to see all these wonderful meals!! Chufi, I am always looking for new celeriac recipes. Would you be kind enough to post your celeraic Xmas recipe on RecipeGullet? Bryan, my best to your Grandmother. As strange as it sounds, some of the most memorable meals I've been involved in preparing or eating have also been associated with some of the tougher times in life. And I for one think that your Christmas meal looked pretty darn good.

Here's my schedule; now I just have to find enough people willing to go with me! Mon lunch: Clyde's (business); dinner: Corduroy Tues lunch: Zengo; dinner: Notti Bianchi Wed lunch: Ten Penh (a friend's favorite); dinner: Ceiba (a Tunks twofer!) Thu (my Bday!!) meeting during lunch ; surprise for dinner Friday dinner: 21P Saturday dinner: Firefly Sunday dinner: Willow Herbacidal, if they don't have a similar program in Philly, this could be a fun trip and a good way to sample some of the normally more pricey places in DC.

Just a note on distances: Eden Center is in Falls Church; with traffic, it takes about 30 minutes from Reston. Bilrus- good calls on SBC and El Manantial.

I personally love Clyde's for occasions like you describe- a larger group with kids, all with different tastes. It's part of a local "chain", but IMHO they do an outstanding job. I can't recommend Big Bowl- from rude treatment by the hosts to having a member of our party slip and fall at their do it yourself stir fry station with nary an "Are you OK?" by any member of the staff...I will never go back. There are lots of restaurants at Reston Town Center, and this one is on the very bottom of my list.

Like JohnnyD, I also have terrine on the brain for 2006. Other "wishes": big hunks of beef, lovingly braised and short ribs with polenta.

I think we need to consider the source on this one. I have relatives that work for Southern Living, so perhaps I'm over sympathetic, but some food for thought: I'd guess your average Southern Living reader is a woman, in the 50-65 age group, who wants to travel and yet isn't too adventurous. If you were in that age group, living in Jackson, MS and coming to DC for the 1st time, these recs. don't seem too off-base. Remember that a lot of out of town dining guides don't keep up on the hot places to eat of the minute. I surely would recommend Matchbox or Moby Dick- and especially Breadline!- to an out of towner looking for good food on a budget. 3 out of 10 ain't bad.