Emily_R

I've just got to jump in to say that I personally don't consider Dano's a must-visit at all. Austrian food isn't my thing, and despite the general quality of the food, that wasn't enough to make me want to eat there again... In terms of recommendations, I have friends (whose food opinions I really trust), who said that the brunch at Simply Red Bistro just outside of Ithaca is the best they've had in a long time...

I was born and raised in NY, and I think H&H fresh out of the oven were the only bagels I've ever really relished eating untoasted. For any bagel more than 4 hours old (H&H more than maybe 12 hours old) I think toasting (and slathering with butter) is a huge improvement. Especially for things like sesame bagels, where the sesames grow more flavorful with toasting...

Scottyboy - the picture of that pig skin nearly made me cry it looks so good. Why are all the computer programmers working on video chat when they should be working on taste-o-vision?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone -- some great ideas here! I'll be trying a bunch of these over the coming week or so, and will report back.

This sounds fantastic -- can't wait to try it! I love love love saltines...

So I've got a huge glut of sugar snap peas from our garden. Right now maybe 5 or 6 pounds of them in our fridge. Any ideas for something just a little unusual to do with them? And by unusual, I mean something other than eating them raw or putting a few into a salad?

The recipe looks great. Do you just reheat in the oven? If so, seems like they would be great as appetizers for a large group that can be made in advance. Have you done that? Hey -- I have definitely made them in one-bite appetizer size! I've always reheated in a frying pan, but I have no doubt an oven would work -- might just take a little longer to heat them through in the middle. Somehow even when reheated, they manage to stay pretty much just as moist as when they're first cooked. Also -- I really recommend a little guajillo chile puree as a dipping sauce. Guajillo chiles, soaked in boiling water, pureed with a little honey and lime. Really nice to have a dollop of that on each little mini-cake!

Kim -- I'm so glad you liked the Shrimp Cakes! There are times when I forget about the recipe, but then as soon as I make them I kick myself for not having them more often! And did I mention they reheat beautifully? Mmmmmm. I may have to make them again soon...

My husband makes pancakes the way I like them -- really thin, almost like crepes (Basically he doubles the amount of milk in a standard batch of batter). I'm like TheNoodleIncident's wife -- I sprinkle them with granulated sugar and cinnamon, and roll them up like a cigar. That said, I've got homemade black raspberry syrup that is also damn good on pancakes...

Hulling strawberries. And its a good thing I like it, because the garden is producing four pounds a day!

Oh yes -- Judith's post made me remember the virtues of inviting someone dining alone to eat with you. My husband and I were out with a friend at a tea shop in DC, where we were having tea and cookies and planning to play cards. I started up a conversation with man eating solo at a table next to us (I think by waxing rhapsodic over one of the cookies and insisting he go get one)... After chatting a little while, I invited him to play cards with us. Long story short, he's now been dating my friend (who was there with me that night) for 9 months! :-)

I don't dine alone often, since I just rarely have the opportunity. When I have I've sometimes had mixed feelings -- little pangs of loneliness, but at the same time it allows for my favorite activity in restaurants: eavesdropping. Which is to say that dining alone is much more fun for me at restaurants where the tables are close together and the clientele is likely to be intriguing...

Hi all -- Perfect timing for this thread getting bumped, since I had a really yummy salad for dinner tonight. Mixed spicy greens (arugula, mustard green sprouts, etc), avocado, hard boiled egg, shredded carrot, and homemade pancetta. Dressed with the oil from rendering the pancetta and some lime juice. Husband declared the pancetta oil a major winner.

Ok, so preface this with the fact that I drink gin entirely in mixed drinks -- with tonic, club soda, etc. No martinis. And I'm certainly not a gin expert, and probably can't accurately describe what I love about it... But I have been totally converted from being primarily a Tanqueray drinker (which I preferred to Bombay and substantially preferred to Hendricks) to Citadelle. And several friends who are much more dedicated drinkers than I were also wowed by it. Here's their website with more information... http://www.citadellegin.com/#/en/spiritueux/gin/citadelle Has anyone else tried it?

My recent favorite is rye bread, topped with thin sliced peppered hard salami, slice of tomato, and muenster on top. Toast in the toaster oven until the cheese is melted. Wow. This is seriously making me want a sandwich.

Very intrigued by the shrimp chips. How fishy are we talking about?

The allrecipes method is intriguing because I wonder if the high heat serves the function of the initial sear in the CI recipe, thus saving a step / a dirty pan...

Agreed -- SobaAddict those look amazing -- that pillowy cloud of ricotta, the crispy potatoes, and the poussin looking so moist... Sigh. Feed me please?

Hold on a second. I just looked up the Modernist Cuisine chicken stock recipe, and the version I found cited in a newspaper article lists using 1.5 pounds of wings and 1.5 pounds of ground chicken to make four cups of stock? Or is it 8 cups of stock? Is this the recipe people here are using? And I assume that the meat is thrown away at the end of the process? This is so colossally wasteful of food and the resources that are required to raise a chicken that it actually seems almost unethical to me. I make 8 cups of chicken stock in the PC using maybe one and a half roast chicken carcasses and a few wingtips. Is it crystal clear? No. Is it delicious? Yes.

Ah -- I was wondering if it was a boiling water dough. I'll have to just give it another try -- maybe the first time I made it I rolled it out too thin. Also, do you use cubes of the gelatinous stock, or do you blend / emulsify the stock into the filling?

!!! Dcarch! I've tried multiple times times to make XLB but the soup always leaks out of my dough. Did you make the dough yourself? And if so, could you share your recipe? Drooling here...

Wanted to come back and say thank you! As it turned out, I still had the chicken solids that I had used to make the 30 minute stock -- they were in the fridge, getting ready to be given to the cats. So I pulled out two cups of that stock, put the rest back in the PC with the solids, and gave it another 30 minutes. (I couldn't bring myself to leave it there for a whole hour -- maybe next time). Then my husband and I did a blind taste test, 30 minute vs 60 minute stock. No question, 60 minute was better -- fuller, richer mouthfeel. Glad I checked this thread!

So a few weeks ago I got a HUGE bag of leaf lard from my local butcher. Rendered about 1/4 of it in the crockpot, and thought -- this is one of the most disgusting things I've ever looked at. I sure hope this makes a pie crust that's worth it. And I must say I was skeptical, as smelling the rendered and cooled lard, it still smelled porky to me. But ok. Made a batch of my favorite pie crust, using 3/4 lard and 1/4 butter. Last night rolled it out and made one of Ann_T's rhubarb pies. If you haven't tried this recipe (which I think is in recipegullet), you must. Its incredible. My only change is that I swap the lemon juice for orange zest and a little orange juice, since I love the taste of orange with rhubarb. The pie has two eggs in it, which makes it custardy and amazing. End result? Without a doubt the best pie crust I've ever made. No hint of porkiness, just crazy deliciousness! I think the only pie crust that I've ever just wanted to eat straight up, with no filling. And as usual, Ann_T's recipe is heaven!

I know this isn't quite what you asked for, but just chiming in to say that to the extent that you'll have beer, wine, and something bubbly, its not clear to me why you need mixed drinks at all. Particularly if budgeting is an issue. If its late-afternoon early evening, it seems to me that people should be just fine with beer and wine. The other option that hasn't been mentioned is some kind of specialty punch, which can be pretty, laced with alcohol, and prepared ahead of time.

Wow -- I'm shocked it can go that long, since the flavor I get after 30 minutes is beautiful! Next time will try for 60 or 70 minutes and see what I think...