DTBarton

"On another note, I would strongly advise against the fresh/frozen crawfish. In my experience, they are nasty." I'm going to second bavila's opinion here, the frozen crawfish products I've tried were not satisfactory, no flavor and a mealy texture. Anyone have a brand or source of frozen product they think is good?

If I had to pick 5, they would be: Siracha Tabasco green (jalapeno) Gold habanero from Half Moon Bay trading company http://www.halfmoonbaytrading.com/products/products.cfm Texas Pete La Costena green mexican salsa

I catch a good many spanish mackerel in North Carolina and Florida. It is a very good fish for smoking and is terrific simply broiled when it's fresh. Brush with melted butter, season with salt and pepper and run under a hot boiler until just done. Squeeze of lemon, it's wonderful.

Pizza threads: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=99405&hl=pizza http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=6865&hl= http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=66396&hl=

You have better oriental shopping where you live than I do. I can find some of that stuff somewhat cheaper in big cities, but not too much here. The local groceries have some stuff, but it's mostly from big national producers like La-Choy or Kikkoman brands. I didn't find $3.89 for what appears to be enough good curry paste to make about 100 servings to be too dear. I did pay $6 for shipping from Washington state, but that's a lot cheaper than gas, train, or plane tickets!

I think steak houses broil because using, maintaining, and cleaning a gas broiler is easier than the same for a grill indoors and sufficient heat for searing is provided by commercial broilers.

I always think anyone visiting Philly who loves food should hit the Italian market also. It's on 9th street in South Philly between Christian and Washington streets. Like a little trip to Europe without the plane fare. Much good prepared food and beautiful stuff to take home and cook. Personal faves include Fiorella sausage (between 8th and 9th on Christian), Claudio's and DiBruno's (on 9th) for cheeses and meats, Fante's for all kitchen equipment (on 9th) too many butchers and produce mongers to mention. Lorenzo's at 9th and Christian makes a good cheesesteak (I like mine provolone wit', i.e. provolone for cheese and yes to fried onions). Good roast pork next door at George's and excellent hoagies north a couple blocks on 9th street at Sarcone's deli. See some of these and many other Philly casual eateries at the venerable Hollyeats.com in the Philadelphia section. http://hollyeats.com/ Have fun!

Just received some curry pastes from this place: http://www.importfoods.com/ I got the panang (my favorite) and the green. Tried the panang last night and it was excellent. As good a panang chicken as I've ever had. They offer a few different pastes, this is the one I got: http://importfood.com/cphb5003.html They have one in a can, one in a tub, and this one's in a pouch. Touted as the gourmet version. It's 40 cents more than the tub! With respect to preparation, use the paste judiciously. I looked at several panang recipes and the amounts of curry paste are all over the map. I think I ended up using about 2 tablespoons with maybe 1 1/4 lbs boneless chicken and 10 ozs of coconut milk. The paste is mildly spicy, I added some fresh chiles for heat. It is also very salty based on the label, so start slow, you can always add more. Looks like they might have a bunch of other interesting stuff. Prices and shipping are reasonable and I got my stuff in 3 days. I noticed they do offer golden mountain sauce as touted in this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=100385 http://importfood.com/sagm0705.html

Crab seems to me to be quite a bit more watery than shrimp. Not sure it would "paste" as well.

For rubbing on roasted meats, pork especially, I love Penzey's Bavarian seasoning blend. http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-p...ysbavarian.html

Some would say "only in America". I would add, or Monte Carlo, or Dubai, or Hong Kong. Conspicuous consumption will always have its fans. So it seems the pizza crust is just a blini on steroids!

Here's a new destination for those intrepid pizza clubbers! 8 ounces of caviar! Woo Hoo! http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_073150337.html

This place has popped up in the media a few times. I always get a chuckle out of the people who are so offended (nurses health nuts, etc.) The guy's probably laughing all the way to the bank. Good for him! http://www.heartattackgrill.com/ Way more clever than Hooters. It's just the latest take on a time honored way to market to young males. Big cheeseburgers, beer, and good looking waitresses, rocket science, it's not.

Agreed. Whether you buy a particular bottle from a state store, or from a restaurant, it still comes from the same distributor. At least in PA. However, every state seems to be different. Perhaps in MD. the stores are able to bypass local distributors and buy direct from suppliers (wineries) or other sources. (I don't know if this is the case... just thinking out loud...) __Jason ← I don't know why, just that it is that way. Like many states, lobbying from the liquor distributors maintains the prohibition against having wine shipped to you in MD also. Perhaps this law stems from lobbying by restraunteurs who profit well on wine sales. The bottom line is, this is MD state government. Logic usually doesn't enter into it, unless the logic lobby coughs up some serious coin!

I make potato chip nachos sometimes. I use Utz kettle cooked chips, a little grated cheese, and diced sweet onion. Run under the broiler until melted and heated. Simple and delicious.

A look at the Philly BYO scene (and a bit of jealosy) from today's Post food section. BYO is illegal in my home state of Mryland where the alcohol distributors have owned the legislature for ever so we can't join in the fun. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7030600285.html May require free registration.

An interesting discussion that has identified some places to try on my next trip to Philly. It is fun, however, for those of us who don't live in a big city with all its resources to hear the big city folks complain about a lack of eating options. Oh, if only we had an affordable eatery for every kind of domestic and ethnic cuisine on each street that was open 24 hours a day! Just kiddin' folks. I love Philadelphia and all it offers, as many of you residents seem to be saying. And, FWIW, the greater Annapolis area where I live keeps getting better. And Philly, Baltimore, and DC are only down the road.

roasted brussel sprouts work well in this presentation also.

We had a very nice snowy Sunday brunch yesterday that featured a big fat shad roe set from Annapolis seafood on Forest drive, $10.99. As an aside, I found the selection at Annapolis seafood to be better than usual, perhaps due to Lenten demand. I'm usually not a big fan of that place, but they had some decent looking stuff in there. The selection is always better at the Forest drive store, the one in my home base of Edgewater is usually pretty lame. One other tip on shad roe prep. Prick a few small holes in the roe sacks to let steam out. Wife didn't do this yesterday and had a pretty impressive explosion of one of the sacks. About a 10 foot range of coverage.

I've ordered Berkshire pork a couple times now and really enjoyed it. My favorite cut has been a bone in loin roast. Fabulous on a rotisserie with a nice glaze. My one comment would be to not overcook it, even with the higher fat content. The place I buy mine (Prairie Pride Farms in Minnesota) http://www.prairiepridepork.com/ recommends cooking the roast to 150 internal temp. I cooked the last one to 145 and it was great. I noticed that Ina Garten cooked one on her show and said take it off at 138. As an enticement to try, Prairie Pride farms is offering free shipping for orders over 15 pounds right now. No, I'm not affiliated with them in any way.

I really like shad roe now that I finally learned how to cook it. My wife's family likes it a lot and I used to make it for her. It will be available in the DC area all during the early spring. I've gotten it at Whole Foods, Annapolis seafood, and Frank's in Jessup to name a few places. It's a classic southern breakfast fare, bacon is pretty much required. Fry some bacon in a skillet and remove. Dust the shad roe with a little flour mixed with salt and pepper, not too much, just a dusting. Brown the shad roe quickly in the bacon grease. Add a little water to the skillet, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer gently for a few minutes. It should still be a little pink in the middle. My problem for years was that I fried the shad roe over high heat in the bacon grease. It got too done (all grayish brown inside) and that made it chewy and fishy. Adding the water and cooking it gently keeps it moist and really reduces the fishy/liveryness. Serve the shad roe with bacon, soft fried or poached eggs, and nice warm bread or toast. Some folks like a squeeze of lemon on it. I prefer to dip it in egg yolk and put it on the toast.

Bills gets invited to all the snazzy wine tastings, he's always popping out a top notch list. I've had a couple bottles of '66 Haut Brion that were well kept in the last couple years and they were really nice. Haven't had the pleasure of trying any others.

My Larousse Gastronomique has a great paella recipe that uses a healthy shot of squid in the base broth. It infuses the paella with a wonderful calamari flavor.

I forgot to add a new find from this year's trip to Key West that we enjoyed. Monsoon Cafe is on the corner of Margaret and Fleming streets. It's an eclectic place run by a nutty Boston ex-patriot. Half Indian/Asian restaurant, half laundromat in what appears to be an old gas station possibly. A few outdoor tables to sit and eat at while your shorts dry. The chef (and I believe owner, the guy from Boston) waited on us and cooked our food to order. Said he really enjoyed running the place when he wasn't smoking Ganja . Everything was fresh and interesting and mostly delicious. It was great to find an informal place in the keys with an eclectic menu, not just conch fritters and fish sandwiches (which I like, BTW). The menu on the web site is somewhat different than the one we had. My panang curry was delicious and fiery. There was a scooter that looks like a camel parked outside. The camel appears to be the mascot of the place, it appears in the phone number and bellows at you when you open the web site. Check it out. http://monsooncafe.net/

not surprising that it would be somewhat rubbery after "cooking" in the acidity of the lime juice for 5 days.