DTBarton

Just returned, here are our favorites from the trip. Key Largo/Tavernier Returned to the Fish House for a great lunch and some wonderful take out smoked tuna and amberjack. http://www.fishhouse.com/ As mentioned here, Snappers is a fine place for a waterfront beverage. http://islandfun.com/snappers/page2.htm We found the food to be OK and served in pro linebacker sized portions. Biggest chicken wings I ever saw. Breakfast at Harriette's was OK, we were disappointed in the oleo spread and McDonald's style hash browns. Their delicious biscuits deserve real butter! Big Pine Key: Tried the No Name Pub after seeng it in a Wash Post travel article recently. http://www.nonamepub.com/ Packed at lunch, good fish sandwich, conch fritters and nachos. Pizza looked great, next time I'm doing pie. Lots of attitude, walls and ceiling covered in autographed dollar bills. Tough to find, heading towards Key West, turn right on Key Deer rd (I think) at the light about mile marker 30.5. Follow to Watson and turn right. When Watson ends, turn left (on Watson again!) Pub is about 1/2 mile on left. Key West: Returned to opera for great homemade pasta. http://www.operarestaurant.com/ Found terrific fish sandwich, burgers, and the BEST conch fritters ever at B.O.'s fish wagon, corner of Caroline and William near the marina. http://www.foodreference.com/html/kbo_sfishwagon.html More good Keys attitude here. They take their simple food seriously, I like that. Miami: Went for a birthday dinner to Joe's Stone Crab in South Beach. http://www.joesstonecrab.com/ Had heard about Joe's for years, heard that it was maybe too touristy, expensive, but had great stone crabs. All somewhat true, but the food was really good. Steak house style a la carte, had wonderful chopped salad (with peanuts, weird, but it worked) Maine lobster claws, decadent potatoes Lyonnaise (basically mashed potatoes and onion fried brown in a pan, yum), and the BEST stone crab claws ever. Best claws, best sauce, no competition. No reservations taken, we went early (at 5 PM opening) and walked right in, supposed to get really crowded and have long waits later in the evening. With cocktails about $10 each, don't want to wait too long in the bar unless you're on expense account. A fun trip and some good eats.

My parents lived in Holland for 5 years and I have fond memories of going to Antwerp on the weekends (less than an hour's drive from their home in southern Holland) and going to the bird market. I must admit, we didn't buy any live birds to wrestle with. http://www.myantwerp.homestead.com/market.html

I guess girl scout cookies would be innappropriate Sorry! Congratulations to the Eagle scout (and family), we have 2 nephews who both made Eagle and it's a fantastic thing.

Fiorella is a great store. I don't get there nearly often enough. Thanks for the reminder. ← Absolutely one of my favorites. Going in there is like stepping back in time. Best cash register ever. They have a limited selection of items, but everything I've ever gotten there is top quality.

Here's a link to a list of knife and sharpening resources: http://users.ameritech.net/knives/links.htm#services I've heard several people speak highy of Mr. Leonard in Richmond, VA. He sends you a kit to box up your knives to send to him.

I'm from Maryland. We'd say, what do you want nuts on your crab cake for anyway?

We're headed to the keys in a few weeks. Anyone have any faves in Key Largo or Key West? We're already fans of the Fish House in Key Largo and Opera and Cafe Marquesa in Key West, looking for some new gems. Thanks in advance!

Last time I was at Fiorella sausage (810 Christian street in Italian market) I bought a pound of packaged bacon based on the woman working there's recommendation. She was right, it was lean, nicely smoked, and not too salty. $3.50/pound.

Thanks from me also. The La Bella are low sodium also, 20 mg/serving. Some of the good quality canned tomatoes I've run across have been as high as 400 mg/serving, too much for my tastes. ← Good question - I was wondering the same thing, but assumed (and hoped) they were low-sodium, which seems to be typical of authentic San Marzano tomatoes. ← Ok, I made the trek down to the basement to grab a can. This is what the can says Serving size 3 piece( spelled peice) servings per container about 6 calories 20 fat 0 sodium 15mg, so basically a can would have 75mg of sodium. btw, these are not DOP, but I was still happy with them. ← Thanks a lot for the info. ←

Question for pennbrew or calipoutine: What's the salt content on the La Valle tomatoes? I like them not too salty. Hoping someone can read a can label for me! Thanks.

This is true. In my long ago (1976) days at a fast food place (Gino's), the initiation for a first timer working the french fry vat was we'd sneak a piece of ice in the vat when his/her back was turned. Several seconds later, the vat would bubble and sputter (not enough to cause injury) and we'd all run over yelling "What did you do?, What did you do?" Most folks saw the humor after being pissed off at first.

I've had La Bella before, and I agree, they're very good. And the shipping is very reasonable. I assume that was $12 total for 2 cases, not $12 per case? BTW, are those 28 oz cans? Thanks. ← That was $12 total for both. I got one case of 3 kilo chopped (6 BIG cans)and one case of 1/2 kilo peeled (24 small cans). I called and left a message and a very nice Italian guy (Nick, I presume) called me back a few minutes later. He said, helpfully, you sure you want 3 kilo cans? I usually sell them to restaurants! I assured him I make large batches of sauce. Need to order more, actually.

I love chicken legs on the charcoal grill. Season with salt and pepper, grill over indirect heat for about an hour. Baste with barbecue sauce (I like Bull's Eye original thinned down with an equal portion of white vinegar, add a shot of mustard and hot sauce if you like) and finish over the somewhat cooled down coals until you get some nice browning and char. Devour immediately.

I've had good luck ordering from here: http://www.sanmarzanoimports.com/ The on line form is cumbersome, better to call in your order. Another plus, they don't mark up the shipping. Got 2 large cases (almost 50 lbs total) shipped for $12, UPS cost. Been very satisfied wuth the product.

I believe this is the same chef that has been quoted in the Washington Post as saying she refuses to provide any extra condiments or anything to customers because the dishes are essentially perfect as delivered from the kitchen. So don't ask for salt, pepper, mustard (or horrors, ketchup). Quite a departure from the customer is always right. I guess I understand the concern about having unlimited people on the web, who may or may not be knowledgeble or have an ax to grind, putting out pics and critiques of restaurants. Seems like there's a better, less heavy handed way to handle it. but this method appears to be in keeping with Ms. Greenwood's track record.

Top the linguine with grated parmesan and black pepper.

Gnocchi with a sauce of butter, pancetta, fresh sage and black pepper. Thin slices of Reggiano Parmesan dressed with good balsamic vinegar. Linguine with a sauce of olive oil, prosciutto, onion, chicken broth, white wine. Portabello mushroom caps baked with pesto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. When mushrooms are soft, top with gorgonzola and pine nuts and broil briefly.

To serve crab salad as first course, put a mound of salad on a bed of baby greens dressed with a touch of vineagrette.

Crab salad on crackers 1 lb backfin blue crab meat (pick through for shells) 2 green onions, minced 2 TBS diced red bell pepper 1/3 cup mayonaise 1/2 tsp sweet curry or Chinese 5 spice powder (or more to taste) ground black pepper to taste Add all ingredients to the crab. Mix gently until combined. I like water crackers with pepper or thin sliced baguettes with this. Simple, elegant, colorful.

I think the Chinese idea is great, we use Chinese dishes at Holidays a lot. Some favorites: Steamed dumplings with spicy sauce- everybody loves them - I like a pork/shrimp/cabbage combo Fried oysters served over shredded iceberg lettuce with spicy sauce - I made this for Thanksgiving appetizer to rave reviews. hot and sour soup - great for cold weather Szechuan dry cooked string beans (see Tribune article below) spicy sauce recipe - make 1 day ahead 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1 TBS diced garlic 1 TBS diced ginger 1 diced hot chili pepper (or more to taste) 2 TBS fish sauce (nuoc nam) 1 tsp hot bean paste diced cilantro (if desired) As an aside, there was a long thread about Thankgiving traditions and other more exotic options: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=74158 It was used to write an article in the Chicago Tribune which appeared on November 28th: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/showcas...1,4975110.story (may require free registration) Several egulleteers are quoted, including yours truly

I buy Australian Wagyu beef from a local butcher occasionally and have found it to be very good (I usually get ribeye steaks). The butcher says that even if he could get genuine Kobe he believes the cost would be prohibitive for all but the wealthiest customers.

Prohibition never works. As the Nebraska poster said, all the stores just off campus will be Coke heavy. Kind of silly if you don't ban all sugary soft drinks and kind of heavy handed if you do. Meaningless gesture. I read an article a while back where Rob Reiner was crowing about a large tax increase placed on cigarettes in CA that he had advocated and how it was reducing smoking. The article then went on to interview a guy who ran a store in AZ just over the border. He said, thanks Rob! I've had to build a new building just to house the increased cigarette supply. Prohibition never works.

I n many families I know, the English type tradition of rib roast and Yorkshire pudding is the Christmas dinner. In my family it's usually a large roast, sometimes rib roast, sometimes pork shoulder or fresh ham. Sides vary, much more open than Thanksgiving.

As mentioned above, Fiorella's on Christian bewteen 8th and 9th (Italian Market) is my absolute favorite for basic italian sausage, hot and sweet, with or without fennel. I like some of the other vendors on 9th street (D'Angelos) for more tricked up sausage (spinach and provolone is very good). But for your sausage and pepper sandwiches, I'd say Fiorella all the way, hot and sweet.

Biscuits I can do (plenty of butter and buttermilk, use some cake flour, and don't knead them too much, as little as possible). I find that eggplant is a difficult thing to do well consistently. Fried in thin pieces it comes out well, but grilled is inconsistent as is sauteed dishes. Soaks up oil like a sponge sometimes. Love it when it's good, though.