divalasvegas

Thanks spaghetttti since I was beginning to think that I was weird or something.

Now that I would truly like to see. ← Yeah Marlene that shelving is awesome and her damn kitchen is totally the shit as well. High btu stove, double sink, granite countertop island, more than enough storage space, herb/vegetable garden right outside the kitchen............... I'm really hatin' on her right now.

My boss has an incredible set up for her cookbooks. Right before you enter her kitchen she has a built in, revolving shelving unit (sorry, but I don't have any real carpentry terms to describe this). It runs from floor to almost ceiling level and has, as I remember, about six or seven shelves. It's really great and gives her or her husband, or guests like me, instant access to her cookbooks. I think the woman has hundreds of cookbooks since her husband says that she has even more downstairs in her basement. Edited for spelling.

Okay everyone, I just had this tonight. My brother's girlfriend made fried chicken and it was delicious. That's not actually surprising since we both make pretty damn good fried chicken, except this was extra crispy, juicy and very tasty. When I complimented her on how wonderful it tasted, she said that the secret was mustard. WTF? I asked her what kind of mustard she used thinking she would say dijon, honey mustard, creole mustard, something. But no she showed me the squeeze bottle of plain old "yeller" mustard (a co-worker told her about the secret ingredient). Not even French's mind you but grocery store brand. But the chicken had no mustardy taste just the best crunchiest chicken crust one could imagine. That's why I came to you my eGullet brothers and sisters. How the Hell did regular yellow mustard create fantastic fried chicken? And do you have recipes that include bizarro ingredients that result or improves upon a standard recipe or even a not-so-standard recipe? Please share.

I admit that I've been lusting after Le Creuset, especially after reading through this wonderful discussion on this eGullet thread: Le Creuset: Worth the Price? Why? Versus Lodge? However, it is extremely expensive, IMHO (which will probably not stop me from purchasing a piece, anyway). My question, is do you think all of these "imitators" will cause Le Creuset to start lowering their prices to remain competitive? I sure hope so, especially if, as has been said previously, there are no major discernible differences in the resultant dish prepared.

I agree BryanZ, doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. But as srhcb said $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and the fact that, sad to say, there are so many people today who can't taste the difference.

Bless you moosnsqrl. I saw this same episode today and wondered the same thing as Blondelle. I love great recipes for inexpensive cuts of meat. Question though, seems like a lot of cloves. Do you think this would dominate the dish? I could always use less, but usually prefer to follow a recipe as written the first time.

I've never been a big fan of the Cosmo. It's okay, but I don't understand the adulation that this cocktail has come to enjoy. However, I think that if you like Cosmos you'll like this. It's a drink made with Absolut Citron (1 jigger), Triple Sec (1/2 ounce) (I actually tried substituing Gran Marnier to "improve" it, but it really didn't), Creme de Cassis (one teaspoon or to taste) and ruby red grapefruit juice (a couple of ounces), the latter of which I never drink. This my variation on a cocktail made by Emeril Lagasse TVFN except his calls for ruby red grapefruit juice cocktail, but I think that would make it too sweet. I moisten the rim with lemon and dip it into raw sugar crystals. I think it's delicious and has a greater depth of flavor and more substantial mouth feel than the Cosmo IMHO.

I most definitely could not. I think that everyone has his/her own personal threshold of kitchen carnage. I can cut up whole poultry, gut and fillet whole fish, prep chitterlings (not the most pleasant thing in the world), or cut the faces off of live soft shell crabs. But that's it. I have no illusions as to how meat, fish or poultry gets to my table. Bleeding it in my kitchen? No way. Ditto for skinning anything.

Diva Las Vegas: I am glad you like this recipe. As you can see from my pictures, I only use a frying pan to make Chinese food. I don't even own a wok. For explanations... see this post. ← OMG. I'm amazed by two things: 1) the fact that I got so wrapped up in your pictures, the recipe and your explanations of the cooking techniques, and what ingredients you used, I completely missed the fact that you were using a frying pan, and 2) after clicking on the link you included how you said that the first thing a lot of people do before they attempt to prepare Chinese food is to go out and get a wok! LOL That's was exactly my thinking. I happily stand corrected.

This looks so wonderful and so easy hzrt8w. I don't have a wok right now. Can this be made in a regular frying pan? I know, I know I need to get a good wok. BTW, what is your wok made of exactly? Is it the traditional Chinese hammered stainless steel?

Hello again Magus. Sorry to hear that Plan A fell through, but I was totally unsurprised that you have a plan B. You seem to be someone with a can-do spirit. As for your answer to my suggestion for naming your burger after my screen moniker, Dressed to the 9's as in the Original Number 9!? Hmmmm. I love the color scheme of your logo. Would it be too over the top to adapt that to the exterior colors of the cargo trailer? The logo could be on the side of the trailer done with a white background using the antiqued gold and burgundy red for a border and the lettering. You have my deepest admiration and best wishes.

Hi Magus. I'm so glad to here that you are forging ahead with your plans. I must address your last point first. Regarding your use of a trailer, which I think is a spectacular idea, what stigma are you speaking of? Are people where you live snobbish about such things? Unless I missed it upthread, it's not clear on the kind of demographic you expect: working class, immigrants, minorities, basic middle class good guys/gals, the rich and terminally hip? Or a mixture of all of the above? I can only say that a trailer would not deter me whatsoever. The only thing that would deter me right up front about any eating establishment is hygiene and it sounds that you have that covered, due to your previous successful experiences. Frankly I think that with those wonderful smells billowing in the air of burgers sizzling, people will be flocking to Old Number 9 like lemmings. Go with your gut and I think your gut its telling you to go with the trailer. Sounds like the "brick and mortar" may be more headache, and money, for you than it's worth. As usual Shalmanese's comments are dead on. Also, once you have established a set menu--do you have an idea of what the final menu will look like, btw?--would you consider serving burgers in different sizes, a la a mini-size like a "White Castle"-type burger; a regular 4 or 5 ounce burger; and maybe a monster burger, 8-10 ounces? This would be down the road, after you are well established, of course. One request: could I be the first egulleteer to have a burger named after me? The "divalasvegas" burger could have so many tasty possibilities! All the best to you.

I watched Tony's Sicilian adventures and thoroughly enjoyed it. The food, of course, looked amazing as did the architecture. I especially liked Tony pointing out that the male statues were "hung like hamsters." World class chef, globetrotter, successful author and art critic, all wrapped up in one! How cool was it for the President (theirs, not ours) to hang out with him and dine with him. If that was prearranged then I'm awestruck by the connections the man has. However, I'm torn as to what was most impressive: a) him climbing 100 feet up a cliff and maybe jumping to his possible grisly death? Or b) him shoving a palmful of assorted mystery meat from various animals into his mouth served by a man with his bare hands from a covered, steaming basket? Why was it covered exactly? Do we really want to know? The thought of him contemplating cracking his head open and being feasted on by those he has previously feasted on, fantastic. Tony Bourdain and the circle of life. Next week: exotic Las Vegas. I can't wait.

Although I've never had their brunch--only been there for lunch--several people whose opinions I trust have told me that Georgia Brown's on 15th Street downtown serves a fabulous brunch. Check out their brunch menu here. Georgia Brown Brunch Menu Those who've had it tell me that there's so much to choose from on the brunch buffet that you never get to eat your entree. Wow, that Mai Tai on their menu sounds pretty tasty. Also, there's Bubba Muscogee's Restaurant on Rhode Island Avenue, N.E. Address and directions here: Bubba Muscogee's Absolutely nothing fancy. I've eaten there many times, but not brunch, and always left with a smile on my face. The fried chicken is amazing. I couldn't find a menu online, so better check if they serve breakfast food. And like Holly said, do not write off Ben's Chili Bowl.

Thanks so much judiu. First of all, so sorry to hear about your house fire. It's terrible to lose things precious to us. And thanks for giving me a name for this dish. 45 minutes? Wow. I guess I shouldn't complain about my 20 minute prep. Megan thank you for the recipe sources. I really want to do this dish justice and you've made that possible. Take care. ← First, you're very welcome. Second, YEHAW! Amazon actually has the Nero Wolfe Cook Book and will be sending it out shortly. Shoulda looked ther in the first place. When I receive it I'll make a point of p.m.ing you that recipe;watch the How Many Cookbooks thread for more info. ← Thanks a bunch judiu and I'm glad you'll at least be able to replace the book you lost. Yum. I can't wait.

Thanks so much judiu. First of all, so sorry to hear about your house fire. It's terrible to lose things precious to us. And thanks for giving me a name for this dish. 45 minutes? Wow. I guess I shouldn't complain about my 20 minute prep. Megan thank you for the recipe sources. I really want to do this dish justice and you've made that possible. Take care.

I'm calling on all gilders to please provide information on the egg dish I made above. I winged it, actually. As I said, they were good, but I was doing this from memory and would really like a proper recipe and the name of this dish. I know it's supposed to take a long time to prepare, at least much longer than regular scrambled eggs, but 20 minutes did seem too long. Thanks. And keep lily gilding.

Oh thanks everyone for adding to this thread. I was inspired to post because of a recent reference to lily gilding by racheld goddess of lily gilding. Keep 'em coming.

I'd like to add an "unintentional" gilding of the lily this past weekend. I'd been craving just a simple toasted bagel, with a bit of butter and cream cheese, maybe a little lox. That's really all I wanted. Just a quick trip to the grocery store. Well, I bought of the above (except for the butter, which I already had at home), but since it was Sunday I decided that maybe I could fancy it up a bit. So, in addition to the lox I bought smoked trout and whitefish. Then I decided that some tomatoes and onions might be quite tasty on the side. So I got those too. Orange juice and a couple of other things and I'm on my way home. It's early afternoon by now so I'm thinking, well this is really brunch for me so I definitely need some eggs but I wanted something more special than just scrambled eggs. Better get some cream and chives for what I had in mind. I think those eggs called for caviar as well, but forget about the good black caviar on my budget so I got salmon caviar. I remembered a recipe I saw demonstrated by David Rosengarten. He was the guest chef on Sara Moulton's long gone (and very missed) Cooking Live show. Essentially it's eggs that are beaten with cream and a bit of salt--fresh pepper is added when plated--poured into a metal bowl over boiling water in which butter has been melted first. And then you gently stir and stir and stir in a back and forth and folding type motion until the eggs become luscious and curd-like. He gave the name for these eggs but I can't remember it. Anyway before doing the eggs I got everything else ready: sliced the tomatoes and onions, sprinkled them with some capers since they looked a little "naked" and set them aside, plated the fish with the cream cheese. Moved on to the eggs. I'm doing all of this from memory so maybe that's why the cooking process for three eggs took ALMOST 20 MINUTES! I'm sure they weren't as good as David Rosengarten's but they were damned good, all curdy and rich and kind of pretty, too. So here's what my simple bagel, cream cheese and lox mutated into: Creamy, curdy eggs topped with snipped chives Toasted bagel (plain, of course) with butter AND cream cheese Lox, smoked whitefish and trout Salmon caviar Sliced onions and tomatoes with capers and homemade vinaigrette and a dollop of mayo Orange juice and coffee, with Sweet 'n' Low, of course (just kidding) Whew. All eaten at a very leisurely pace with the Sunday paper. Yum. Any other lily gilders out there tonight?

Hi Magus. There's a thread here at eGullet on White Manna. White Manna Discussion Take care.

It's a pretty soft filling, similar to a lemon curd. If it's served cold, I don't think it would be a problem. You may need to add gelatin, but if you add too much, it might get rubbery. I use a nut-crumb crust, which stays crunchy. If you want or need to use a pastry crust, consider a chocolate or white-chocolate lining before you pour in the lemon cream. I don't think the proportions need to be changed; you may not even need the gelatin (except see my felling about question #1). Full-fat lemon custard will be rich. You could consider folding in some zest of lemon or lime for contrast with your lemon curd. Let me know how it turns out. ← Thanks for all your help Jay. Regarding your responses: 1) I think your original recipe sounds perfect, including the gelatin. I'm looking for a texture somewhere between a lemon cream and a cheesecake, so if it's a little firm, it's okay. The only change I might make is to substitute vanilla extract for the almond extract. 2) I will definitely be using a pastry crust, so I think your idea for using the a white-chocolate lining will work great. 3) I agree; I was thinking of adding some zest to the bottom cream layer. As for the other layer, I'll be using a pretty standard recipe for the lemon layer of a lemon meringue pie which uses less butter and egg yolks than a lemon curd, but I'll be tasting and adjusting as I go along. I guess it's no secret now that I really love lemons. Again I appreciate all of your advice and I'll report back with the results.

That sounds like a delicious recipe Jay. I've been looking for an easy lemon cream pie filling recipe and this sounds perfect. A couple of questions for you or anyone else here: One of my favorite pies, if not the favorite is lemon meringue pie. What I was thinking of was a two-layer pie. The bottom layer would be your lemon cream recipe. On top of that would be the standard lemon curd type filling that one would find in a lemon meringue pie. Lastly, there would be the meringue on top. 1) Do you think that the bottom cream layer, once adquately chilled, would support the top two so that when cut you would see distinct layers and nothing "squished" on the bottom or have uneven layers? 2) Since this pie would have to be assembled in three stages, what would you do to ensure that the crust isn't ruined. When I say stages, I'm thinking that one would first prepare the lemon cream pie, chill, then top with the cooled lemon curd mixture and chill again, and then top with meringue and brown in a very hot oven. 3) Just for my own tastes, I would be more inclined to use regular cream cheese, sour cream, and sweetened condensed milk. Do you think proportions would need to be adjusted or more lemon juice added to cut the extra richness? Thanks.

I agree with Shalmanese's colorfully made point upthread. Also, if you serve a portobella burger as a vegetarian option, will you have a dedicated portion of your grill just for that? You really don't need the headache of vegetarians complaining that their burger has come in contact with beef grease and I'm sure space is a premium. As an aside, there's a bbq joint near me that serves pretty decent bbq. I once ordered greens as a side order and noticed that they tasted pretty terrible. I asked the proprieter if she used any pork products in her greens and she said no because of her vegetarian customers (her exact words). Why vegetarians would frequent a bbq joint is beyond me. Haven't been back there in a while. As always, I wish you the greatest of success. Edited to correct my misspelling of Shalmanese's name. Sorry.

That's exactly the taste experience I had RebelRose; you've described it perfectly. I recently achieved the opposite results a couple of months ago when I ordered an apple tarte (served cold with ice cream, but that's another issue) and definitely the wrong dessert wine. The waiter, though very nice, didn't have a clue as to which dessert wine I should order and just kept saying that they were all "good." I believe the word tawny was part of the name of the wine, so I winged it. Bad choice. The wonderful pairing of the other dessert/wine I described above was not realized here. The fruity qualities of the wine did not blend at all with the apple flavor and I had to finish the dessert with coffee and the wine by itself. The word tawny seemed to imply something more caramel-like. Since wrong pairings are a total waste of money and an unhappy ending to a meal, I've been looking into various wine pairing guides online. I found a website with some interesting resources. Food and Wine Guide There a several links on this site. The one called Allied Domecq Wine's Food and Wine Pairing I found (at least to my novice's eye) particularly informative, although of course they're only suggesting wines from their winery. At least I hope it will help me avoid throwing money down the drain. All opinions, suggestions, guidance are deeply appreciated.