DTBarton

Congressional hearings are called for. Make mine rye, with a thin shmear of cream cheese, lox, onion, and tomato (if the tomato has flavor). I can finish both halves.

Buy a couple of cheap whole chickens. Around here, someone always has whole chickens on sale, let's say 10 bucks for two. Cut the breast meat off. Use the carcasses w/dark meat to make a pot of chicken stock. Use 2/3 of the stock with carrots and onions to make lentil soup for first course. Save the dark meat. Roast the chicken breasts with herbs. Chop up with the dark meat from the stock. Add onions, potatoes, and gravy made from remaining stock and put in greased baking dish. Make some simple pastry with the flour, Chicken pot pie entree. Use your remaining $5 to buy some more fruit and make pies or cobblers for dessert, could also get some more veggies for pot pie.

In general, if someone is kind enough to be hosting me, I will happily partake of the free hospitality and would think it a little offending if someone ordered something else. A little different if a finite amount was provided for the table and when it was gone, a guest decided to provide a little more.

Thanks, LD

Many times the anise/licorice flavor is an essential part of the dishes that call for these ingredients. I like it a lot, but it should be subtle, not like chewing on a licorice whip. So, my first suggestion would be to go easy and see if you like just a touch of the anise. I find it goes really well with lamb or game dishes and in seafood soups. If you really don't like any anise flavor, try substituting a curry powder that doen't have any anise flavored spices in the mix, many are available or mix your own from your spice rack.

thin slices of russet potato layered with sauteed sweet onion or shredded leeks, sauce each layer with a little white sauce with gruyere. Give the sauce a good shot of black pepper, cayenne if you like and a healthy shot of fresh thyme.

I love balsamic vinegar on thin slices of reggiano parmesan.

If I'm making a dish for a modest amount of people, (no more than 4 or so) I really enjoy using some of the dinner wine in the dish. Makes for good conversation and I'll pick a moderate to good red that likes to be open for a few hours to allow time for the shanks to braise and the wine to breathe. Also, I tend to not use a ton of wine in dishes, just accent the stock and veggies to get a balanced braising liquid, rare for me to use more than about the equivalent of one glass. If I'm making a dish for a lot of people or that calls for a larger dose of wine, I'll get a lesser version of the same wine I'm serving with the meal to use in the pot. I do generally agree that if it's so nasty you won't drink it, don't put it in the stew.

Pizza flavored goldfish - Chianti

I use the same recipe most times. Learned from my Mom who learned from my grandmother who started making it in Houston many years ago. I use tomato when there are good tomatoes to use and sometimes add cilantro if all eating parties agree, some folks seem vehemently opposed to cilantro. Also, my grandmother swore by Lawry's seasoned salt for guacamole, about the only thing I use it for, family tradition. ripe avacado finely minced red onion fresh lime juice Lawry's seasoned salt to taste (not much)

We got married at the Chamberlin Hotel on Fort Monroe in Hampton, VA. Great location and view, was not renowned for the food. My father in law and I planned the reception in the roof garden (wife and MIL planned the wedding held in a ground floor waterfront room), all the out of town guests stayed in the hotel. Travel by elevators. Dad in law was very generous. The only time in my life I got to go all out for 250 people. Top shelf champagne, wine, booze. We had a hilarious meeting with the head chef. They had a standard printed event menu with stuff like swedish meatballs on it that he gave us. It took us about 20 minutes to convince him that: 1. We wanted him to be creative, think outside the menu. 2. Dad in law was willing to pay for the creativity. The only time I've ever seen the cartoon light bulb over somebody's head when he got it. Then the ideas came out. Grilled dolphin in a pesto sauce. Now you're talking, we said. Smoked salmon roulades. Assorted grilled fall vegetables. Wedding was on Halloween (insert joke here), so we wanted a harvest type theme. Two centerpieces were carving table with roast turkeys and whole roast suckling pigs and an ice carving boat with raw oysters, clams and steamed shrimp. I wish I could go back as a guest. Other than a couple of oysters and some champagne, didn't get to try much. Others said the food was great. In a personal request, send out some good karma to Dad in law. He's very ill with cancer. I remember him smoking a big cigar and reveling in watching all the guests indulge.

I wouldn't assume that they won't like Asian food. My parents lived in Holland for 5 years. The best Indonesian food I've ever had was in Holland. Indonesia was a Dutch colony for many years and there's still a sizable Indonesian population and influence in the country. Best place to get a ristaffel outside of Indonesia, I'd guess. As for dutch food, I know a little. For fast food, they're partial to fried croquettes and fried potatoes (frites), those would probably be popular with the kids. Croquettes usually filled with a mild chopped up chicken mixture. Frites served with mayonaise, of course. The dutch are very partial to cured meats, dark breads, and cheese, these were common lunches and snacks and universally available. The most common fresh meat was pork, followed by chicken, and lamb. Beef was much less common, no space to raise it. The local vegetables are those common to northern latitudes, always had a lot of brussel sprouts and belgian endive (Belgium is right next door). And although it may sound stereotypical, many dutch meals are cooked in one big pot on the stove top (Dutch oven! Who'd a thunk it? ) Also, it's a small country, so a trip to the big city now and then for ingredients, if you want to do it, shouldn't be too long of a journey. The train service is great. Good luck!

I've not personally experienced a wine that was good the two years after the vintage and then closed down. The reds I've aged have been closed from the start or more accessible from the start. My only recommendation if you're aging wines is one I've posted before. Do some research on wines from regions you favor in your price range and when you decide to buy, commit to at least 3 bottles. Then you can taste the first one at what you think is a proper time based on grape, producer, etc. Now you have a baseline and can go from there, wait or enjoy. Nothing more frustrating than having one bottle of something 10 or 15 years old. If you're putting the time, money and effort in to aging wine, buy multiples. In general, I agree that rhones, even very good ones, often shine young. The Rhone grapes are not nearly as tannic and severe as big time cabernet. Lesser Rhones I usually consider to be drink nows, or shortly after I buy them. More expensive Chateau Neufs I find drink very nicely at about 6 - 10 years of age, some go longer. I just finished my 3 bottle stash of 1998 Cuvee du Vatican in about 2 months because the first one I opened was so good, great balance between fruit and structure, time to enjoy. In my personal experience, red Burgundies are the only wines that have been very unpredictable in the bottle over time, confounding the user by getting better, or worse, on their own schedules. And when Burgundy is bad, man, it's bad!

This lengthy article was in the Washington Post food section last week. I live east of DC, but we're considering a Texas trip soon. Thought I'd bounce this off the true Texans and see what they say. Agree, disagree, additions, deletions? Thanks http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...6-2005Mar4.html

You could just have a palate that doesn't like wine, not that there's anything wrong with that! 1. Do you like any alcoholic beverages? Some folks really don't like alcohol or are mentally turned off by it (don't like feeling any buzz, had an alcoholic relative, etc.) 2. Sounds like you've tried wine with knowledgable people, i.e. they were probably serving decent stuff. I have had friends who said they didn't like wine, but this opinion was hungover from college where they'd only tried Boone's Farm or something. When i gave them some decent wine, they said, Oh, that's very different! 3. Try to find a friend whose culinary experience you trust and have them pick a good wine/food combination to try. Some folks don't get the wine thing by itself but can taste the glory of a good match.

I was born in Wilmington (many years ago) and my Dad worked there for Dupont (of course). Haven't been downtown in a long time. It's always been a business district, not too much going on downtown at night. They've tried to revitalize around the Grand Opera House, so there might be some places near there. Interestingly, if you're a music fan, David Bromberg has a shop near the Grand where he makes violins, I believe. Don't know your budget, but the Hotel Dupont has always had some nice dining options, again been a long time since I've been there. Used to have a good cafeteria in the basement, The Brandywine Room was kind of the men's club look, dark paneling, etc, and the Green Room was the fancy restaurant renowned for it's Sunday brunch.

Here's Hollyeats review of Charcoal Pit on 202 (Concord Pike): http://www.hollyeats.com/CharcoalPit.htm I notice from the address that it's close to Casapulla's, now there's a high calorie twofer for lunch.

You can get good sandwiches in Wilmington. Here's one place I like, Capriotti's, which has been touted elsewhere on these boards. Web site has locations, including in Wilmington. Good Italian and turkey subs. http://www.capriottis.com/ I also like Italian subs at Casapulla's. No web site (I don't think, could be wrong), but search turned up 2 Wilmington locations: 514 Junction Street 2707 Concord Pike

You know spring's on the way when the shad roe shows up at the seafood store. Not my fave, not bad, but the wife loves it. Good excuse to eat bacon, eggs, and grits.

And another nice thing, they work with the food bank, so it's also a charitable contribution in a way.

I bought a share in the Claggett farm in Upper Marlboro two years ago, had the same problem as far as torrential rain impacting the crops. Found the harvests to be somewhat repetitious, lots of salad greens and cooking greens in varying quantities. Also small portions of things, like one carrot. Again, all this could have been climate related. Chose not to do it again as it's quite a drive to pick up, no delivery to my area. The do deliver to Dupont Circle. Best stuff was pick it yourself tomatoes and broccoli, they open the fields at the end of the harvest. Got a bunch of nice stuff to share with neighbors. Also nice cutting flowers for members to pick. http://www.clagettfarm.org/

I'd take the meat off the bone and wrap it in plastic wrap tightly, then put it in a ziploc freezer bag and freeze it. Save any crispy skin, ditch any flabby skin unless you want to fry it up later. When you're ready, thaw it out and do anything you want. Easy to make some Peking style duck, chop up the meat and warm it up in a pan, either make some chinese pancakes or cheat with tortillas, roll up duck and shredded green onions in pancakes with hoisin souce. Also easy to mix duck, whatever asian type sauce you like, saureed green onion, cilantro, ginger, and rice noodles.

I wasn't paying all that much attention to the dates when I posted yesterday. I would say VETO on Maria's. I've walked out of there due to a non-service/ignored situation. Last time I went with work colleagues for lunch (within last year, their choice) and was served the lamest excuse for pasta fagiole, like canned vegetable soup with about 6 beans and 4 pieces of tiny pasta. Anyway, much better options available. Does everyone want to be downtown? My two favorites for a group would be Jalapeno's or Les Folies, but they're not downtown. http://www.jalapenosonline.com/ http://www.lesfoliesbrasserie.com/ For downtown, Joss is my favorite, but they don't take reservations, can make for a wait on Saturday night, don't know if your crowd likes Japanese. Plenty of non raw offerings for the sushi squeamish http://www.josscafe-sushibar.com/josshome2.htm O'Leary's is good also, but it's in Eastport on the other side of Spa creek from downtown. Nice walk in nice weather, too cold, no fun. Consistently good, a little more expensive. The crispy grouper is really good, I had a duck entree last time there that was excellent. http://www.olearys-seafood.com/about.htm Anyway, let me know if you have more detailed requirements, I can try to make recommendations.

As I continue to monitor my 1995 Bordeaux, tried a botle of Mondot Saint Emillion last night. A little astringent and tannic upon opening. Some cherry fruit, but not enough to balance the tannins. Balanced out somewhat after being open 3 hours or so (while some was used in the braising liquid for lamb shanks). Final judgement: OK, but still lacking fruit. Don't know if more aging will improve, fruit fading. Somewhat stern by itself, but tasted good with a bite of lamb. A little fat in the mouth was a big improvement. 95s continue to be slow maturing.

As a 14 year Annapolis (or nearby) resident, my $.02 Sushi: Joss, Joss, Joss Get some okra tempura and spring roll salad also. Lewnes: earlier guy right on, good steaks, sides marginal at best, pricy. O'Leary's: Very consistent quality, can be really noisy. try to get the little room to the left as you enter. Deli: Chick and Ruth's on Main street is fun, good sandwiches, good breakfast, Pledge of Allegiance at 8:30 AM. Best value: Jalapeno's in the Forest Plaza shopping center in Parole across from the Outback steak house (avoid, obviously). Spanish/Mexican, good tapas, consistently good food at good prices. Say hi to Gonzalo for me. Crabs: Cantler's is overrated IMHO, OK for crabs, other stuff spotty, crowded (insert flames here) running on reputation. But you can get decent crabs at most of the local spots. I like Mike's on the South River on Riva Road. Not fancy, not fine dining, stuff other than crabs ranges from OK to good. Crabs will be from Louisiana this time of year. Mike's! I can hear the Cantler heads saying Mikes???? Maria's: Way overrated IMHO, go next door to McGarvey's and have a beer and a burger. Bistro french: Les Folies on Riva Road. Consistent good raw bar, bistro chow, nice atmosphere. Bar: Acme Bar and Grille, next to Chick and Ruth's on Main street. Local's hang out. Food OK, wings and sandwiches.