Stephanie

I've personally had good luck making, freezing, and reheating baked ziti and lasagna. Hearty soups and sturdy vegetable stews would hold up well too. I have a winter beef stew that I like that could easily be modified to be meatless.

I'd probably want to spend no more than $75 pp. Surely we can get an excellent meal for that. I personally am not all that interested in some of the "special" ingredients (was underwhelmed by sharks' fin soup; don't really like abalone)--what matters to me is the quality of the preparation.

My favorite winter beef stew. It consists of stew meat, roasted garlic, assorted root vegetables (parsnip, rutabaga, carrot, potato), red wine, beef broth, thyme, sage, parsley, and pepper. Throw together in a Dutch oven and simmer for 1 hour. The red wine that went into it was a Cavas del Valle 2000 Malbec. Spicy and sturdy--flavor did not disappear that a less-strong wine like a Merlot would. Good drinking too.

Unless it's on a Tuesday, I'm definitely there.

I had a fairly decent meal there a few months ago. I definitely recommend the casserole with taro, chicken, and Chinese sausage.

Thanks for the advice everyone. We've actually determined that the asking price of $150 pp is a little too much for our budgets.

A friend of mine was thinking of having a bunch of us go to Peter the Great for their New Year's Eve festivities. Having never been to one of the big Russian restaurants a la Rasputin or Odessa in Brighton Beach, I was wondering if anyone's been to this place, and if so what's it like? Potential for a big ripoff or lots of cheesy fun?

My mom made something like this, but she called them salmon croquettes.

I wish I had posed this question a couple of weeks ago when I was baking my cake. I was trying to find parchment paper to line my cake pans and failed; had I known I could have used waxed paper, I would have & the cake layers wouldn't have stuck to the pans (even with the buttering & flouring, which is all the recipe said I had to do).

Nina, that was hysterical!

Both times I've had sufganiyot, they've been leaden--twice the size of a Dunkin' Donut or Krispy Kreme and far greasier. If anyone knows where to get "lighter" ones, let me know. My mom sometimes makes three-vegetable latkes, with potatoes, carrots, and zucchini. A nice variation on the traditional and a very good accompaniment to roast beef or pot roast.

My mistake--"The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook" doesn't have it. It just mentions kishke as an optional thing to throw into cholent.

I believe "The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook" has a recipe. I've had their kishke at the deli and it's pretty good.

From The Curious New Yorker: "Built in 1879, it was called The Corner, and was the beer hall annex to Koster & Bial's Vaudeville Theater/Concert Hall, where Victor Herbert conducted his forty-piece orchestra." The Wakamba Lounge is where Patrick Dorismond was killed by police a few years ago, by overzealous narcotics cops who were trying to goad him into a drug sting.

Update: found the Rubbermaid version at Bed Bath & Beyond. Wish me luck in baking the actual cake! (A "Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee-Chocolate Frosting")

Last night I got to have my leftovers (venison chop, potatoes, plus a little daal and some okra), and I very much enjoyed eating that wonderful food again! I shall have to venture to Diwan again on my own. Does anyone know how accomodating they are towards solo female diners?

Yeah, I may need to forgo the handle this time around. The cake will be schlepped to NJ in a shopping bag anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions. Steve, I'll check out The Container Store; if they sell square carriers then they ought to sell the round ones I'm looking for. Stefanyb: If I am completely unsuccessful at acquiring a "permanent" carrier, I will certainly take you up on your offer. Thanks!

I didn't know where to post this, but I need to find someplace in the 5 boroughs that sells cake carriers (useful when you are bringing a cake somewhere). This is for Thanksgiving, so mail order is pretty much out of the question. New York Cake & Baking Distributors doesn't sell them and they were pretty snippy when I asked if they knew who might. It doesn't have to be fancy, and I'd prefer it had a handle. Ideas?

Oy I am STILL full. What a wonderful dinner and many thanks to Suvir for the all the hard work he did in planning this event. My only complaint: a bit too much fried food at the beginning and finishing the meal with 3 successive chops led to heavy stomaches all around. (As much as I loved the boar chop, I could not finish it because at that point in the evening it was just too rich.) I took my venison chop, potatoes, and scoop of dal home. I want that okra to snack on at work--just amazing. Cauliflower was superb--my favorite too. Lamb was sublime. And what a revelation to taste freshly baked naan hot out of the oven! It was also great to meet so many people for the first time, including Mr. Plotnicki and the Fat Guy himself. Everyone was so nice, especially in sharing their booze (thank you Johnsons for the taste of 12-year old Scotch). I knew this was going to be the social event of the season and I was not disappointed.

The bill of fare at Mom & Dad's: Chips + dip & crudites to start Roast turkey with Arnold bread stuffing (with celery, onions, and turkey liver added to it) Cranberry-orange relish Green beans almondine As-yet-unknown sweet potato dish Pumpkin pie Whatever chocolate dessert I decide to either make or buy X-factor: my cousin's contribution, which will either be dessert or wine. We are not big drinkers in my family, so if they don't bring wine it will be a non-alcoholic affair. If everyone comes, we will only have 10 people and that includes 2 small children.

How is Mexican Coke different from the American version? Is it made with sugar rather than corn syrup?

I try to only eat out once a week, lunch prices in NYC being what they are. I've been mostly brown bagging it ever since I got out of college and it's a regular part of my routine at this point. (I try to prepare lunch the night before, just like Dad did for us when we were in school.) Therefore, lunch is usually one of the following: cold cuts on sliced bread w/mustard, homemade tuna salad on pita w/cheese (I like tuna melts), hummus on pita, or a low-fat, low-sodium noodle/couscous soup cup. Sometimes I'll make salmon salad rather than tuna; sometimes I'll just have a hunk of good cheese, bread, and yogurt. Occasionally I'll have dinner leftovers. Along with the "main course" I'll have a piece of fruit and a cookie. It's not very exciting, but since I eat out dinner so often at least I'm saving money during lunch.

I agree--not a big fan of Bereket's gyro. I may have to give their falafel a chance though. I always had a soft spot for the gyro at Karavas on West 4th Street. Huge portion and lots of onion. One day I ought to sample the ones in Astoria.

If anyone feels that their homemade goodies are underappreciated, bring them to my office. Absolutely nothing put out is left over, and I'm even talking about hours-old salads & sandwiches from client meetings. We have some really big gals in our call center and they take no prisoners when we have birthday cake or special lunches. You'd think everyone in the place was starving.....