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Last night we went to Grotto for their recreation of the multi course Big Night dinner, from timpano to whole roasted pig. Thought I would share. I didn't get pictures of everything... Started off with an antipasto buffet - proscuitto, mozzarella and tomatoes, crustini with herbed goat cheese and foccia. Next was the chicken consume with carrots and 3 hand rolled pasti. Finally something I took a picture of - the tri-colored risotto consisted of: green - pesto, white - parmesan - red - seafood. The timpano was a much lighter version than in the movie - simply stuffed with pasta and sausage and baked in an egg washed pasta crust. The sauce was magnificent - tangy and spicy. My neighbor didn't eat meat and had the chef make him gnocchi for his 4th course instead of the timpano. This is where things start to get hazy. We had artichokes, mushrooms, asparagus, sautéed broccoli rabe, seared salmon, seared scallops, truffle crusted prime rib, roasted lamb, and suckling pig. I only managed to get a terrible picture of some of the vegetables. Finished off the evening with mixed berries in a light sauce, dusted with sugar.

A restaurant here in Boston is recreating Big Night's dinner from timpano to whole roasted pig. We're dressing in fifties-style evening wear and are really looking forward to it. While murder rather than dinner-centric, I find the food references in Clue adorable: "And monkey brains, although a popular Cantonese cuisine, is not often found in Washington D.C."

That is such a cool idea. I'm in awe.

I am a man. Spelled M....A....N. No B...O...Y. (apologies to Muddy) I like cake. Theory shot to hell. ← Thanks for the update. I was concerned, but thankfully, my fears have been abetted.

This discussion is one a certain group of friends and I have been having for a few years now, however ours veers slightly. We are trying to find evidence to support our claim that men prefer pie while women prefer cake. Other than eating a lot of desserts together, we have come to no discernable theory. That being said, I'm for pie. Preferably walnut or ricotta. Carrot cake is the only type of cake I truly enjoy. Where ever have you been eating ricotta pie? Good lord. It's not dry at all. Now frosting WITHOUT cake? Sign me up. Straight out of the bowl. Butter cream, cream cheese, you name it. But no cake for god's sake.

We do this too! We have two work kitchens and 4 fridges - we have a monthly clean out everything cycle, and people are pretty good about their own messes.

For some unbeknownest team building reason, my company has decided to have a Cinco de Mayo potluck. I am supposed to bring something. We have the following appliances: toaster, microwave, and toaster oven. Any ideas?

I applaud your decision to switch from bag to loose! The world needs more like you! I'm a bit passionate about the subject of tea, and hear too many people complain about all the trouble it is to prepare loose tea, choosing to go with grocery store bag teas instead. As you seem to be concerned with cost, you don't need to spend great amounts of money for a tea for everyday use. Maeda-en sencha isn't a bad choice, as long as you make sure to keep in mind the proper water temperature, as sencha can become bitter if too hot of water is used. Quite likely, you have chosen a normal quality sencha, since you have not specified anything else the package may say about it. I believe both Maeda-en and Yamamotoyama (two companies whose Japanese tea can be found in the US, if that is where you are) sell a type of tea I like to buy from time to time called fukamushi-cha (深蒸し茶). It's a type of sencha which is steamed a bit longer in the production process than normal sencha. The ending result is a rather smooth tea with a wonderful green color liquid. The infusing time is typically slightly less than that of normal sencha as well. Of course, other companies sell fukamushi-cha too, but I'm just mentioning those two companies, since they are good brands one may find in the right store. As with all sencha, fukamushi-cha has higher grades as well, and prices will reflect that. As for white tea, an affordable white tea I enjoy at times is shou mei. However, shou mei is a lower grade of white tea (although, that does not necessarily mean bad). Some people may complain about the the delicate flavor of a higher grade white tea (as in lacking depth), but shou mei has more depth, so may appeal to some people. Of course, if you prefer higher grade whites, go for something other than shou mei. I was just trying to keep cost in mind. Well, those are just a couple suggestions for some everday teas... ← Thanks for the ideas! I actually really enjoy the flavor of white tea. Do you have any other suggestions?

I'm really not trendy, but I own both square and round plates - The round ones have been in my family for many generations; they're for special occassions only and have to be hand washed. I decided to go with square plates for every day use. I find that stacking them maximizing my cabinet space - that's really why I bought them.

Sandy - thanks for your blog this week - your attention to detail paired with your photos have been so much fun! In a nice coincidence, I was in your fair city on Friday night after a hellacious flight from Providence where we circled above the Philadelphia airport for an hour. However, we managed to regroup and head to Tattoo Mama's on South Street for a pint or 3. I don't often see PBR on tap where I live currently - Boston - and the bumpercars were pretty badass. Oh and of course the Yuengling was a bonus!

Thank you for your recommendations. Our plane arrived at 8am in Providence, and we decided it was a bit too early for dim sum. We ended up at the Modern Diner in Pawtucket - excellent suggestion. D had the custard french toast which was crisp and sweet and I had the grilled polenta. Slighty cheesy and salty, my only complaint was that the homefries weren't particularly crisp.

I am consistently being told "You eat like a rabbit" because I have a salad for lunch every day. But I love them! Mmm lime juice on greens. Actually these two posts combined reminds me - I'm a big fan of quinoa salads dressed with lime juice as the acid. For yesterday's lunch I had shredded arugula, crumbled goat cheese, marinated artichokes, and mixed olives under a sauce of aji. Did I mix too many regions in there? Who cares! The "dressing" had such a nice kick to it!

Oh god I love dim sum - is it cart style or do you order off the menu? How does it compare to NYC and Boston dim sum (Boston's being inferior)?

Heading to Pawtucket next Sunday for a game - have been urged to try Mad House Cafe - has anyone been? Otherwise - can someone mention a great brunch spot in either Providence or Pawtucket that will be open on Sunday? Thanks!

Sfoglietti are made from flour and eggs, but no water and then baked. They're pretty decent in soups. Also for the original poster - artichokes with peas or just sauteed would be a great addition to any meal.

We're italkim - here's what we make for passover: click. The matzoh ball soup is not traditional, but my mom's friends seem to like it. We really should have a rice & chicken soup, but we don't. Call it living in the states for too long now - assimilation is a killer The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews is really amazing book. I highly suggest it to anyone with tastebuds.

Swiss (formerly Swiss Air) has excellent meals. I often fly from the East Coast to Europe and have been known to take my flight to Zurich and then switch planes just because I like their food so much. Sound loony? Well, I find that the 40 minute connection flight from Zurich to Paris isn't really so much of a hassle after such a nice flight on Swiss. Flying into Tel Aviv fron NYC on a regular basis is tough - their food is actually not that great. Israeli salad is the only decent thing going for them really. I travel for work in the US and you're right, Daniel, many flights have stopped serving food. Southwest has beverage service and a zip locked snack pack - granola bar, pretzles, and peanut butter sandwich crackers. American has something similar - as does Delta. I usually pack water, fruit, and some sort of munchies. Once I tried to bring a salad, but the dressing spilled into my bag and was a nightmare. Chips are out too because of the crumb issue. Nuts, fruit, cheese, and pate work well for me. I try to find non-crumbly crackers like ak-mak or wasa crispbread to accompany. You can have a nice little spread without a messy clean up. Like marlena spieler, I like lemon in my water for flights. There is something invigorating and bright about the flavor.

Rather than a pot, I would use one of the boxes that can be found in the home and garden stores. Then you will have room to plant a number of plants. They also look nice as an edge to the deck. ← Excellent idea - thanks! Great advice! Thanks!

That's so funny. Mine was $2.99 for 5.3 oz. I like it too. Are there any other loose teas that you've tried?

I don't want to start a brand new thread..... I have a cup of tea every morning at work. I've recently decided to stop buying teas in bags and just bring a tea pot with a strainer to work and have some looseleaf tea around. Does anyone have some recommendations for loose green or white tea to buy? I like some of republic of tea's tins, but seems expensive to me. I recently bought a maeda-en sen-cha green tea. Other ideas? Thanks!

In a blizzard last year, my roommates and I ran out of coffee beans - the only open store was a DD around the block. We bought some beans and made our coffee. The flavor actually wasn't that bad - of course we didn't make the pot nearly as weak as the stores seem to. Seems to me like the coffee beans aren't the issue - it's how they're brewed in store. Their turbo coffee tastes on par with most coffee I've had in independant shops and brewed at home - it should be with a shot of espresso in it! As a side note, I do a good deal of business with DD and one of my clients there once told me that they could give their donuts away to customers without it effecting their profits. Crazy.

We have a deck of our own this year - hurrah - and plan to do a couple of potted plants on it. We want to have one of the pots filled with herbs - can someone help me out here? I've always lived in a cement jungle where gardening is a bit out of reach, so this will be my first time planning something like this. If I want 3 or 4 different types of herbs in a pot, how big do I need to go? Spacing? Herbs that won't be fussy growing near each other? Thanks in advance.

Wow, I guess I'm a cheap fuck. Do you leave 20% to the server at Applebee's who keeps calling you "you guys" all night and who says everything is "wicked awesome", and 20% to the well-informed server who makes excellent wine recommendations and knows something about the food? Not that I've ever been to Applebee's... ← Ummm...I don't so much frequent Applebees. I don't even know where there is one near where I live. You guys? We mostly go out to eat at places that are either a) so cheap that a 20% tip is something like $4 (yay Hometown in Union Square, Somerville!) or b) slighty to very upscale where the server better be well-informed or else I'm going to ask for another (rah rah Troquet in Boston!).

I just suggested this appetizer in another thread! An old stand by for me.

I have a friend who does salmon gefilte fish each year - it's...interesting. Not being a big fan of the method myself, I have to say with salmon it's at least bearable .