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Is this the same restaurant that makes the awesome calamari? If so, call them and tell them who you are and ask for the recipe . . . the worst that they can say is no! I don't make ziti very often but when I do, I use the method described by lcdm. I add roasted garlic and plenty of herbs to the ricotta and I never use low fat cheeses. The low fat cheeses do weird things in the oven. Are you using whole milk ricotta?

Thanks to the tips above, I had the opportunity to have lunch at both Cafe Sebastienne (inside the art museum) and Blanc Burgers and Bottles during a couple of quick trips through KC last week. The atmosphere at the museum cafe was very nice and the service was impeccable. The food was good, but not great. We ate lunch on a Tuesday and if I would guess that the "regular" kitchen staff had the day off. The menu selections sounded much better than they tasted. Nonetheless, we did not go away hungry and we definitely enjoyed the museum! We had lunch at Blanc Burgers on Saturday and wow, the food was great (as was the service). I was disappointed that they were out of birch beer and that they did not have any malt vinegar for the homemade fries, but other than that, the food was really special - and unexpected in such an unassuming place. (Our waiter said that when he asked the chef for the malt vinegar, he asked if we were from New England - I guess that malt vinegar on fries is an east-coast thing). Thanks again for the recs.

Your description is even more tantalizing than the photo. This dish is on my must try list! Thanks for sharing.

Wow. Your dinner looks amazing. Can you please tell me more about the lobster dish and how it was prepared?

On the plus side, my Amazon order today arrived with 2 coupons - one for the breakfast biscuit and one for the southern style chicken sandwich. On the minus side, I finally tried the breakfast biscuit last weekend. Call me a hater, but it was awful. Both the biscuit and the chicken were so dry that it was almost impossible to eat. I was hoping for some pickle flavor but didn't taste any. Since I have the free coupon, I'll try the sandwich. But, wow, gotta say, now I know why it's been 15+ years since I've eaten at McDonald's.

How big is your crowd? I regularly make sandwiches for 75-125 people and I find that the fastest way to do so is to use Italian bread (like a giant sub sandwich). One loaf yields eight servings. Plan on approx. 2 oz. of meat and 1 oz. of cheese per person. Line up all of the prepared sandwich ingredients such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, mayo etc. then assemble all of the sandwiches at once. Mrs. Dash (no-salt seasoning blend) makes a great addition to these sandwiches. As Randi mentioned, a hummus sandwich is a great option for vegetarians. I like hummus, roasted red pepper and alfalfa sprouts in combination. Working by myself, I can prepare 8-10 whole loaves (64 - 80 servings) in about an hour including clean-up, if that helps you. I do use a mandoline for slicing, it really saves time. To keep salads cool, I line a hotel pan with ice, then put another one inside and keep my salads in that. You could do the same thing with two big bowls. Hope this is helpful and good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Umm, are you single? I think that I'm in love . . . . OK, you host "implausibly complicated dinner parties" and you quote Top Gear? I'm definitely in love. I can't wait to see the pictures of this dinner!

What are you buying from Amazon that includes coupons? I've never gotten a single one (and I usually order 2-3 times per month, mostly books, music and cookware). In fact, I just received a book order about 20 minutes ago. I double-checked the box, to make sure that I didn't overlook anything. There was nothing included but the invoice!

Geez, and I was afraid to mention that "tip" because I thought that the real cooks here would blast me for "cheating"! I started adding a bit of oil to the noodles before putting them in the wok because otherwise, I had to add so much oil to them in the wok that I was swapping gloppy noodles for greasy noodles. I find that I use much less oil overall if I add some oil to the noodles and toss before adding to the wok.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone. I'm driving down to meet Randi (she's staying in a hotel near Miami). We're going to have lunch and then try to hit a restaurant supply store. Neither of us like chain restaurants so I think we may start out at the Tin Muffin Cafe. Robyn, I'll bring my cooler just in case I find a few stray yellowtail fillets looking for a good home! (I still can't eat pompano after a bad case of food poisoning at a local place nearly 10 years ago. Shame, because we can catch them surfcasting here during certain times of the year, but when I see pompano for sale or on a menu, I have a horrible gag reaction. )

In addition to all the great tips mentioned upthread, one thing that I have to be careful about is not over-loading the wok (or pan). I usually divide the noodles into 2 batches and cook them separately. If your wok is super hot, your second batch should be done before the first batch gets cold. Also, if I'm wokking particularly sticky noodles, I toss them with a bit of oil before adding them to the wok. Probably not an authentic technique, but it will definitely prevent your noodles from sticking together!

I agree. I've been watching for a long time as well, and I wish that he would get rid of some of the celebrities and focus more on the food prep. Thankfully, I have the episodes recorded, so I just fast-forward through the celebrity gibberish. So true! Chef Boulud reminds me of a younger Jacques Pepin, who I've had a crush on for over 20 years.

This sounds perfect and we can also spend a little time at the musuem. Thanks so much - egullet is the best!

I have the good fortune to be in KC tomorrow with a few hours free around noon. I'll land at MCI around 10:30 am and then I'm free until around 4 pm when I have to check in for a conference at UMKC. Any recs? (Not looking for BBQ, but otherwise open to suggestions!)

Any good recs for a casual lunch place for a couple of egullet members to meet this Saturday? Also, are there any good restaurant supply stores or unusual markets worth shopping in that area? Any other suggestions on how two foodies should spend the day in the WPB or Boca area would be welcome!

Great job all the way around! Hope that you took lots of notes on quantities for the next gig! Please PM me the sex-bread recipe. OMG that looks delicious. Actually all of your food looks delicious. I wouldn't mind going to the camp, skipping the drumming and dancing, and just eating all day! PS Thanks for the extra photos!

i think i went into a ranch market in san gabriel valley just north of LA a couple weekends ago. it is a chinese supermarket, no? i didn't go into the supermarket proper, but it is just as big. the food court stalls there was seemed more chinese with some vietnamese. yes, h-mart sells other asian products besides just korean. ← I went to the 99 Ranch Market in Cupertino last September when I was visiting relatives in CA. I was on my way home (via SFO) and the stop at the 99 Ranch Market made me miss my flight. On the bright side, I ended up with an extra 12 hours in SF which I used to visit the Ferry Terminal Building. The 99 Ranch Market that I visited was huge and had a variety of Asian products, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino, etc. I'm hoping that the Super H-Mart in ATL will be similar. And since I'll be driving, I won't have to worry about missing my flight.

Woot! I have to drive to Atlanta next month. I am going to add an extra day to my trip so I can spend it at the H-Mart. If anyone knows, how does H-Mart compare to 99 Ranch markets? I presume that H-Mart specializes in Korean food, but also sells other Asian products, correct? (This trip is getting longer and longer . . . I'm already taking a detour through Jacksonville to go to a new dim sum cart restaurant and hopefully Penzey's).

I'm looking forward to hearing how the pulled pork sandwiches turned out. I forget if you are serving that today or tomorrow. Everything looks fantastic so far - your clients must be thrilled - and of course that would justify a price increase should you decide to do it again next year! PS If possible, can you post a photo of the women drumming or at least the drums? I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the clients are doing when they are not eating your food.

That's exactly what I was going to say - Chad beat me to it! I forget what other sides you are serving with the pulled pork meal. But as long as this is not a buffet, you will have total portion control and 4 oz is plenty IMHO. If it is a self-serve buffet, I recommend putting the meat at the end of the buffet line (so their plates will already full by the time they reach the meat). Since you can't get anymore meat - I wouldn't sweat it. Add another side if you really think you need it. But remember my experience from last week serving 225 and all of the leftovers because of the other volunteers telling me that 4 oz pp wasn't enough? In a buffet situation (esp. with other hearty sides), 4 oz of protein pp is plenty!!! Also, I have kitchen envy! That looks like a fabulous set up for the task at hand.

Thanks so much! I will be sure to leave my house at the correct hour to hit Jax at the dim sum cart time.

I live in a very small town and there are not many breakfast options. Actually, there are not too many options of any kind. We don't even have a diner. But recently, a small Cuban place opened that supposedly serves breakfast, so I will go and see if I can find beans in the a.m. Typical breakfast fare around here involves eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy, etc. (Not that there is anything wrong with that - it's just not my favorite way to start the day).

I hear you. When I did my dinner for 225 last week, I was able to buy boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins for $1.87/lb. (case price). OTH, I hate to think what they are paying the chicken farmers and the butchers at that price point. When I was in high school, I had a temporary job cleaning chicken coops (on a farm in NH). On that basis, I say that even $8/lb is a bargain!

I also live in a small town and feel your pain. Our local supermarket started selling sushi a few years ago, and I made a point of talking with the nice Thai lady and her husband who were usually there making it. After awhile, they began suggesting different items and making special rolls for me to try. While of course it is never going to be the highest quality sushi experience that one could have, it was not bad and it helped me to learn more about a cuisine that I love. Just a few months ago, the husband and wife left their jobs making sushi at Publix to open their own Asian food store - the first in my town! Now I talk recipes with them and ask them how to use different ingredients that they sell. It has been a very enriching experience for me.

Sounds like fun. Last week I made dinner for 225 at my house and transported the food 2 miles to the local high school cafeteria for an event there. The hit of the night was a "loaded" baked potato salad. I baked 60 lbs of red skin potatoes, then diced and sprinkled with malt vinegar while still warm. Then mixed in grated onion, sour cream, mayo, parsley, S & P and chopped bacon. Everyone loved this salad and it was easy for me (a home cook) to make because I was able to bake the potatoes rather than boiling or steaming them. BTW, 10 lbs of potatoes fit on one oven rack! You probably need about 25 lbs for 100 people. Mixing the potato salad: Also popular was southwest corn and bean salad. To round out the menu, I served a simple tossed green salad w/herb vinaigrette and grill-seasoned chicken tenderloins (roasted in my oven because I don't have a grill large enough for 65 lbs of chicken). Also dinner rolls (purchased). Personally, I think that for people like me (a non-professional) it is important to keep menus simple when serving large quantities of food. Through trial and error, I find this to be the most successful approach (both for me and the diners). Good luck with your event - it sounds like a "blast".