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Jambalyle

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    Redwood City, CA
  1. I think I'll make my chicken soup stock this weekend too... I'l let you know how it goes! -Lyle
  2. Pam, thanks for the advice. I think I do have a couple of chicken necks buried in the freezer and I think I can get plain ole wings at the market. I wasn't sold on the roasting/browning the feet before adding to the stock pot, so that's one less pan dirtied. Those times when MIL's soup was on the bland side, a dash of salt and a grind of pepper went along way to cure the problem. Do you use any other seasonings besides salt and pepper in your basic chicken soup? How far in advance do you make your soup before seder, or do you make it that day?
  3. Hi all... We're hosting two seders at our home, mostly potluck family and havurah affairs. Since traveling with a large amount of liquid is often a recipe for disaster, we've offered to make the chicken soup for others' matzo balls. My MIL swears that the best chicken stock/soup is made from chicken feet. Yesterday, my MIL calls me at work and tells me that she put 3lbs of chicken feet in my fridge and would put the $ on "my tab"... Anyway, my MIL's chicken soup is good, but sometimes bland - some years better than others - but she always starts with chicken feet. So, in an effort to kick the chicken soup up a notch, my questions to you are: Should I roast or brown the chicken feet before adding to my stock pot? Do you have recommendations for adding other vegetables to the stock pot, besides onion, celery, carrot, and parsnip? Thanks in advance! -Lyle
  4. I'm with Jennifer... the traffic flow looks off somehow. I'm not seeing a benefit in the change? edited to ask: what is the space around the kitchen?
  5. Jambalyle

    Salsa

    Here's one of my favorites: Avocado Cherry Tomato salsa 6 ripe, but firm avocados, diced 2# cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 1 red onion, fine diced 2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced small bunch fresh cilantro (or basil will work) 2-3 limes (fresh juice) kosher salt black pepper olive oil Slice tomatoes in half and put in large non-reactive mixing bowl and sprinkle with some salt to bring out their flavor. Place diced avocado in another large mixing bowl. Squeeze in the the juice of 2-3 limes and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and toss lightly to cover. Add chopped onion, minced jalapeno, and chopped cilantro. Add sliced tomatoes. Mix gently. I usually cover and chill for an hour or so before serving, then do a quick adjust with salt and pepper. The jalapenos provide the only "kick" - two is often sufficient. The proportions are "to taste" and are relative/approximate... I usually make a ton - I typically start by buying a bag of 6 avocados (a couple of days before I need them just to make sure they'll ripen) and 2# of Santa Sweets cherry tomatoes at Costco. You can scale up or down from there.
  6. I'm sending back my brand new GE Monogram 42" refrigerator!!! My west coast butter won't fit in the butter dish that came with it!!
  7. Jambalyle

    Making Butter!

    Were we in the same first grade? We did the exact same thing! It was yummy... and didn't take long at all. In fact the last kids to get the jar didn't have much luck getting anything in the jar to shake. -Lyle PS: It's a shame that schools probably can't do this anymore... given all the kids with dairy allergies (at least in my kid's classrooms).
  8. 9-out-of-10 times = hate 1-out-of-10 times = OK, not love Cilantro is fine...
  9. Thanks Jennifer! So far it's a fun kitchen to work in... though I haven't done too much serious cooking yet. I did, however, have four burners going at once for one dinner last week! For Superbowl, we used the small oven to keep things warm, mainly the extra batch of pulled pork. In the large oven, I roasted a 12lb sirloin tip roast with a pepper herb rub. I used relatively low temp and convection - worked like a charm. I left it in a tad too long and it was a little too medium for my tastes, but it was a big hit with our guests. We've baked cookies no problems. On top of the range, it was nice to bring a large pot of water for spaghetti to a boil in a third of the time it used to take! I broke in the infrared grill with a marinated tri-tip. Worked well, but I don't think it will replace the BBQ grill outside. I love the new GE big fridge and little one. It is certainly nice not to have to store beverages in the main fridge. We're still getting the hang of the dishwasher... it holds an amazing amount of plates and traditional place settings, but we're struggling with how best to place Tupperware and other weird-sized things. I appreciate having the large stainless sink - definitely a good investment. My wife loves the garbage disposal - she prefers the strong silent type (which made it the perfect birthday present for her). Last night, I finally installed the halogen spotlights on the monorail track lighting system above the island. That makes a big difference, both for functional work lighting for the island, but also adds ambiance to the space. Anyway, I plan to post some final pictures of the greatroom sometime soon and keep people informed of my likes and dislikes in the new space. Thanks again and good luck with your remodel! -Lyle
  10. Thanks for your patience... we're almost done - hooray! - but we also feel the last 5% of the project will take another year (and more money). And another year after that to unpack all the boxes. First some quick advice about blogging your remodel on eG: 1) Do not use disposable cameras... the turn around sucks and the quality of the pictures is worse. 2) Have a functional computer and Internet access to facilitate your blogging. 3) Commit the time needed to do this - time to write, time to document your progress, time to upload photos, but keep your patience when there's nothing blogworthy happening. I feel I've failed in my blogging and documenting our project, but am generally happy with how the remodel/addition have turned out. So here's where we stand... Our first night back in the house was Feb 16th and as of last Sunday all of our boxes and belongs are here. Thank you mom-in-law for letting us live with you for eight and a half months (the first seven and a half months were terrific) and we could not have done this with out you! We successfully had an open house and Superbowl party on Feb 4th. Over 75 people came through our home, feasted on sandwiches of pulled pork and carved sirloin tip roast, watched the Colts beat the Bears, and debated the pros and cons of Prince's rain-soaked halftime performance. Overall everyone had positive comments about our project and loved the kitchen/greatroom areas. What's left to be done... Interior: just some trim work, some touch-ups with spackle and paint, swapping some electrical switches and adding a dimmer or two. Exterior: install AC condenser, exterior paint, garage door, exterior lighting, downspouts, deck, and landscaping, in general... OK, it's more like 10% to go. I have yet to have my photographer friend come in and shoot final pictures, but to give you another near finished glimpse of the kitchen area, I have attached four, poor-quality disposable camera pictures showing the overall kitchen area, the island, the buffet/beverage area, and the entertainment center:
  11. It's been a while since I've eaten in Portland, but three memorable meals come to mind: 1) The best kung pau chicken I've ever eaten was in Portland's chinatown, down by the train station... don't know the name of the place or even if it had a name. It was 1:00am, it was upstairs, the fluorescent lights had a yellow hue to them, and the fly strips were hanging... but, my god, the food was good. Might be worth exploring in chinatown to satisfy your ethnic food cravings. 2) There's some strip club up the river that offers a really tasty ribeye, but that's a whole other story. 3) McMenamins Brewery/Alehouses are scattered around the Portland area and I really enjoyed their food and drink. Memorable... I can't remember.
  12. Under the category of "it worked for me" and "try at your own risk"... Years ago, living in Alaska, I had the flu and fever had been in bed for days. None of the medicines I tried seem to help. I needed to eat and my cupboards were bare. I managed to drag myself to a wonderful, hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant near my home. I ate a family size bowl of hot and sour soup (very hot, very sour) and drank a warm carafe of sake. Not quite Jewish Penicillin, but I slept like a baby and my fever broke. I've tried several occasions since... works every time! -Lyle
  13. I'm enjoying your thread! The plans look fabulous and I think it's great that you are trying to keep the traditional/original look and feel of the place. Bravo! -Lyle PS: a house in Redwood City for $8-$9K... and I thought housing values in my neighborhood had improved.
  14. I just installed an Independent 27” x 54” Incline INHL54SS (w/ heat lamps) over my Wolf 48". I chose a 1400CFM external, roof mount blower. Works great and relatively quiet! I had it on low during our Superbowl party and no one knew it was on. I chose it over a Wolf hood. Here's a picture (toward the end of our remodel): My whole remodel thread can be found at: Jambalyle's remodel. Edited to add: There is a good hood comparison guide on the Independent website (Hood Comparison Guide) that compares Independent hoods against Vent-A-Hood, Broan, and Abbaka. Shows pricing too!
  15. Thanks for the encouragement Dave... but am really enjoying the look of the "transformed, sealed" tumbled marble. Thank you for not posting until it's too late. And Porthos, it has really grown on me!! Dave, I look forward to posting on your kitchen remodel thread. We are getting close now and I have arranged for a friend with a highend digital camera to come take the final shots. We did hit a bit of a setback yesterday - looks like we won't move back in for another week or two. Our floor guy came to put the final finish on the new hardwood floor and noticed it had "swollen, but not yet buckled" due to recent weather and inadequate ventilation in the crawlspace. We need to let it dry out for a week, then he'll come back to finish it. So, we still plan to have our SuperBowl Openhouse, but I doubt it will be totally finished by then. Thanks everyone... more to come!
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