Emily_R

Auds -- I think what you're describing is not what's frustrating people here... It is true (at least in my opinion) that good hosting usually involves a little chatting / drinking / snacking before the meal itself. But I think what some of us here are complaining about is when someone invites us over for normal person dinner hour, and then upon arrival none of the food is ready -- as in, even the basic components of the meal have not been prepped, etc... And in my particular gripe, no snacks to be had either!

I've been to many friends houses where they'll invite me over for dinner at 7, and not only is dinner not made / not even close to being ready, but there are no snacks / appetizers to tide people over. Even for a casual invite that seems like bad manners to me. GRRRR. Drives me crazy.

I had a delicious cocktail at a restaurant in NYC this weekend, and then just called them up to ask for the recipe. They called it a ginger martini, and the bartender told me... Around 1 tsp grated ginger, muddled with a bit of sugar 1 oz orange vodka 1/4 oz apple schnapps 1/4 oz lemon juice Shaken hard with ice (it had those nice little frosty shards in it), and garnished with a twist of orange. Really really summery and refreshing. I never would have imagined putting those flavors together, but it really worked.

I can't possibly see how that size differential would warrant the price differential... And if anything, I think the family style shape might be a disadvantage when I want to submerge items for stock in liquid -- for chicken carcasses or large beef bones, submerging them would be much harder in something only 5 inches tall (especially given that you can't actually have liquid all the way up that five inches -- my guess is that 4 inches would be the max liquid height... Similarly, even getting a particularly large roast might be tricky given the low height of the family style pot. And while some people certainly do molds / puddings / etc in their pressure cooker, my guess is that for the vast majority of home users, that is not the main function they serve...

For what its worth, I just discovered that while TJ's cocoa is terrible for baking, it makes wonderful hot cocoa!

I don't order any of them often (maybe once a year?) But to me, I prefer Dominos over Papa Johns, and both of those to Pizza Hut. At least in my memory from a few years back, the Domino's sausage actually tasted decent...

Hey Andie -- I realize it is not Dutched, but I'm pretty sure the Ghiradelli is not Dutched either, and I've had good luck with it...

Ooooh boy, I've got a flop to report. I love the TJ pound-plus chocolate bars, so I was excited when I saw their natural cocoa powder for a really great price. I used it tonight for the first time... I typically use Ghiradelli cocoa powder, and when I opened the TJ's I immediately noticed how much lighter it was in color than the Ghiradelli... But I forged ahead with my usual chocolate bundt cake recipe and made... Something that to me is unservable. You would barely know it was chocolate cake if not for the dark color. Argh.

Hey all -- With the return of home-grown asparagus, I made the Potato, Asparagus, and Pancetta hash that I mentioned earlier in this thread. Fantastic! Really recommend it...

I'm amazed at your equanimity Steven! I've had just a small portion of the frustrating results you have (including with super-fresh raw milk that I sourced from a farmer down the road from me), did a whole lot of cursing, and vowed never to try it again.

Hi all -- Thanks again for the recommendations! Several of the places recommended in this thread were too pricey for me, but my husband and I did go to out to Fuschian on Saturday. Fuschian was great -- the vietnamese spring rolls were the best I've ever had, my spicy sate noodle soup was to die for, and his Chicken and Asparagus in black bean sauce was fresh and tasty. On Friday we went to Bistro St. Jacques -- a french restaurant in Le Gatineau, as I was in the mood for mussels. The food and service were very good, though not gasp-inducingly so. Nonetheless, we had a lovely meal there. Other highlights were Bread and Son's on Bank Street -- Their puff pastry is probably the best I've ever had, which made for amazing cheese borek's (puff pastry, filled with feta, topped with sesame seeds and caraway seeds) and palmiers. And their chocolate hazelnut cookies were fantastic.

I use 1.5 to 1 for jasmine, but 1.75 to one for basmati, and cook both in a pot on the stove... Any lower than that for basmati and I end up with something crunchy...

Thanks for the recommendations... Elsie -- Is there a good Vietnamese place you'd recommend?

Hi everyone -- Hoping to revive this thread to get some current recommendations for where to eat in Ottawa? My husband and I are going this coming weekend for my birthday, and would love some good eats... A range of pricing would be nice -- one fancy dinner out is fine, but it would also be nice to find the less expensive local spots you love... And please tell me where the best Chinese food is? Thanks in advance!

This recipe on Food 52 is wonderful -- super fast, easy, and more than the sum of its parts... Pasta e Fagioli on Food52

All I can say is that I've tried several times, and have never been successful at making anything other than what amounted to polly-o rubber-ball mozzarella. So while I've made it past the stage you got to (I guess I was able to knead something...) that alone doesn't guarantee a good product... Might I suggest making ricotta as your science fair project instead? ;-)

Dcarch -- Just had to chime in today to say you've really been out-doing yourself lately!. Absolutely stunning pictures, and every one of them something I'd actually love to eat!

I agree with you on preferring stock without mirepoix, but disagree on tomato soup... I prefer tomato soup with at least some carrot in there for sweetness, (but generally with onion and celery too) to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes...

In my experience that is normal - its what cilantro looks like just before it "bolts" (as in, right before the plant starts to set seed)...

Thanks all... Toliver, I just made essentially a spaghetti carbonara fritatta... Fried up some pancetta, added the pasta to coat with oil, poured in a mix of beaten eggs, romano cheese, and milk, and cooked until it was a solid pancake. Pretty tasty -- made a decent lunch. Could have used a little more salt / flavor - I wish I'd remembered that I had fresh sage in the house!

For freezing plain -- do I need to oil it? Or can I just put it in freezer bags as-is? And I've heard mixed things about whether frittatas freeze or not -- some places I've read they'll freeze just fine... Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks! Emily

My husband volunteers at his church, where they put on monthly community dinners. Tonight was spaghetti and meatballs. They were worried they wouldn't have enough spaghetti, and made extra... Resulting in about 15 pounds of cooked spaghetti left over! They were going to throw it out, and my husband said he'd take it home to feed our chickens... But I'd love to use as much of it as possible in casserole type things I can freeze, both to eat ourselves and to give as gifts to new moms / people going through illnesses, etc... So, suggestions? What should I do with this gargantuan amount of cooked spaghetti?! :-) Thanks, Emily

Steven -- I guess my point is, even if at one point there were people being paid $2 a word for food writing, the number of people making a living that way was very very small. Such that the relative difference today is in the number of people fantasizing about being food writers, rather than in the reduction in the small number of people who could support themselves doing food-writing full time. If anything, that number likely got larger if you include the (still very small) set of people food blogging for a living...

I've got to say I don't understand what all the fuss is about. I agree with one response I read (can't remember where), basically saying -- food writing has never really been a viable career choice for more than a very very small group of people. So while sure, maybe more people are dreaming of being food writers now, that doesn't make it any better of a career idea than it was 30 years ago or 60 years ago or 100 years ago.

It doesn't go perfectly with your side dish, but I do love Chicken Kiev...