FoodMan

Toss them with some braised lamb shanks or in a beef stew. That's how I've usually had them in Persian restaurants. Elie

Houston Press Dining Section: Odd Timing Robb Walsh on Bruce Auden cooking a benefit dinner for the scandal-ridden James Beard Foundation Fried in the Heights Robb Walsh reviews the Barbeque Inn. the 50 year old restaurant is a gem for great fried food and the best CFS. Houston Chronicle Dining Guide: Despite a few irks, a Turkish delight Alison Cook reports about the fourth Turkish restaurant to open its doors. Elie

Thanks Adam that makes sense. Yes I am interested in this sort of thing, more details would be great. Elie

Planning on trying my hand at some terrines pretty soon and I do have a question. Most recipes ask for Cognac or armagnac, can I sub a good quality Bourbon or Rum for this? all "authenticity" issues aside (and hopefully Julia is will not be looking when I do this), does the quantity of alcohol used need to be adjusted to account for the difference in taste between one liquor and another? Thanks Elie

Highlights from today’s W&D: -Apparently more Houstonians are ticked off about the Valet parking situation in some restaurants. It never really bothered me much, that could be because I did some valet work in my early college years. I guess I can see the “whiners” point though, it is annoying for the valet to take up all the preferred spots. How do you feel about the Valet parking situation in your neck of the woods? - Did bob Kietzman really wait three years to try out that restaurant? Did he save the paper clipping or something? Or maybe it was all a big mistake and it should be three WEEKS instead of years? I wonder. -Rant: The Woodlands aka “The Bubble” is really a chain-restaurant hell! I have never heard of a decent establishment over there. With all the money in the area I would think a fine dining restaurant would be appreciated. Today, Mr. Schlesinger raves about PF Chang’s “delicious food” among other things. Other things they might have, “delicious food” they don’t. With all the great Asian/Chinese/Vietnamese restaurants in town PF Chang’s food is nothing but a poor/lame/bland imitation of the real thing. Elie

Chef(s) - A question was posted earlier and I don't think it was answered, but I am also very curious to know. Are you still going to serve the Caramel orb creme brulee even though, Jose andres is doing something similar? It just looks amazing and it had a lot of time invested in it for it to go to waste. Elie

did u check with Spec's and/or Central Market? Elie

Ludja- I was also very interested in the Prune tart. Sounds like it was very sweet. was it? How did u like it? Elie

Sunday Dinner: Mussaman curry with beef steamed rice Dessert: Tart Tatin with creme Fraiche Elie

Trillium, that sounds perfectly mouth watering. I'm going home now, I'm hungry Elie

Wow, everyone's food looks so wonderful. Saturday- Chinese dinner: -Tea and Spice smoked chicken. Chicken stuffed with ginger and other aromatics, then steamed till almost done. Then it was smoked in the wok on top of black tea leaves, orange rind, rice and brown sugar. I've never had this before and was a little intimidated, but when I uncovered the wok and saw that wonderful golden colored chicken I knew this will be a regular menu item. It was amazing, and very very juicy with a good smoky flavor and soft texture. The leftovers were excellent cold and today I had smoked chicken salad on homemade multigrain bread for lunch. -Pan fried noodles. Homemade egg noodles, cut thin cooked, tossed in some sesame oil and scallions, then pan fried to resemble what Barbara Tropp (both of these are her recipes) calls a "pillow". these were also great, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. I wish I had my camera with me... Elie

Explorer- Overall I do agree with you, especially concerning mudardara and mujadarra. However, at least in Lebanon the terms are used interchangebly. I grew up in Beirut but I am originally from North Lebanon, and I had never thought of mujadarra other than what you call mudardara. Basically bulghur, lentils, onions and olive oil. Later on my mom made one of her sister's recipes, and called it Mujadarra Msifaya or drained mujadarra. This was what you call mujadarra with the mashed lentils. Some time later I hear the term mudardara and when I ask my mom what that was she informs me : oh! it really is mujaddarra and the true mujadarra is the one with the mashed lentils!! So, it is very confusing and the terms are used in different ways but as a reference, your explanations are accurate. Elie

Really both names are one and the same, just slightly different pronounciations. In Northern Lebanon (where I come from) it's pronounced "Mjaddarra" in other areas such as Beirut or the Bekaa area it sounds more like "I-mJaddarra". It has nothing to do with "mother of" as far as I know. Come to think of it I do know what it means, but the only other meaning for the word "Mjaddar" or "Mjaddara" that I know of is "infected with chicken pox" . It is not the most appetizing name, I know, but maybe it is refering to the lentils. Elie

My suggestion would be to make a stew with the lamb shoulder and cook the Frikah seperatly, like a pilaf, using broth instead of water for more flavor. I'll hopefully have more suggestions when I get home and review one of my books. Elie

I cannot believe we are actually observing this process, the Alinea R&D oner could call it. It really is one of the most amazing things to see how these delectables are created. With the broccoli dish, it is very interesting how rustic the stem/bread combination looks right before plating and how refined it becomes after it is plated. Thanks for sharing this with us. Elie

Houston Press Dining Dumpling Democracy Who has the best dumpling in Houston? Robb Walsh attempts to find out. Order in the Kitchen! The Lancaster Hotel made a big mistake by firing their Bistro's chef and Brian McManus is trying to set them straight. Houston Chronicle Dining Guide Your Cajun soul-searching is over Alison Cook reviews a wonderful new mom and pop eatery in the Third Ward. Sounds like another must-eat. The cure for the common meal The lost art of charcuterie is making a much needed comeback. Dai Huynh tells us who is part of it among Houston eateries. Elie

I just had lunch at another local favorite, Riviera Bakery and Patisserie, on chimney Rock between Richmond and Westheimer. They have wonderful baguettes, boules, and large French breads in addition to fabulous breakfast breads (brioche and croissants). For lunch they serve a few sandwiches and some salads. The owner/baker is of Asian decent whol lived and learned to bake in France and he makes the best baguettes in town, the kind that is crunchy and chewy with a real bread taste. You really will not care what kind of ham he is putting in the sandwich, high quality or Oscar Meyer. Elie

We ahd a very similar discussion about a similar article here. I guess writers are running out of stuff to write about. Elie

Thanks for the review and I have to say I am a little surprised at the lack of interesting meat dishes. Were the steaks and duck simply grilled or roasted? From all the rerviews I read I would expect them to be more...well elaborate for a lack of a better term. Elie edit: typo

Ahhh....here's your problem I've never tried Villa Acros either and it sure is out of my way for breakfast but I will keep it in mind now. Elie

We are glad that finally houston is "growing on you" ...when it comes to mexican and Tex-Mex San Antonio has great offerings and I would like to think that so does Houston. So, first tell us, where have you tried Tacos and did not like them much? How are they different? Do you think maybe it's part nostalgia and part taste that tacos here "do not compare"? I personally like tacos at "La Mexicana" on Montrose (You should go there for Sunday breakfast) but many other Taquerias also offer pretty good tacos. Elie

Friday dinner: Pork loin with apples. Seared the loin and then deglazed with pretty good apple juice, and tossed in some choped apples and onions, and finished braising/roasting in the oven. Mashed steamed sweet potatoes flavored with maple syrup and cinnamon. All was blended with butter and milk. Chocolate crepes for dessert Saturday: mainly leftovers and a simple roast chicken. Sunday: I'm not sure why, but I had this urge to make pasta. Since I had some leftover roast chicken in the fridge, I was sure something could be concoted. So I made a batch of pasta and cut it into tagliattelle (Tortellini's were a little too much work). I cooked it and tossed it with leftover chopped roast chicken, fresh sage and oregano, garlic, olive oil and a healthy dose of Parmiggiano. Of course like Mario teaches us everything was finished with some cooking water, it's amazing how many people ask if the pasta has a lot of cream or butter and are shocked to learn that it's just the starchy cooking water and cheese that has this effect. In short, it was fabulous and so satisfying. Dessert was chcolate again (not sure why, we have been craving that a lot lately). I remembered that I had some of of Fergus Hendersson's "Treacle Tart" nut crust dough in the freezer, so I defrosted earlier and blind baked three individual tarts. I then filled with a chocolate tart filling from Jamie Oliver's first book and baked it. It was absolutely the best chocolate tart I've ever had, and it looked like it came out of a Paris sweet shop instead of my kitchen. I so wished my stupid camera was functional (hopefully soon it will be). Elie

Thanks for the review Ranickben, hopefully next time I am up there I can get a reservation. Please do educate me, what is Gnocchi de susine? Elie

It's just you there is no need to draw all kinds of conclusions/comparisons from this one article. All I'm saying is the writer has a point. Besides with all due respect, who heard of Emeril Lagasse outside of North America? Oliver has fans all over the world, from Tokyo to Brazil to Australia. Elie

Brooks I really do not think the writer meant that Oliver and Presley are in the same league. Basically Oliver's influence on what people, everyday people, think of food and cooking is comparable to what Elvis did to music. I think it is valid. Elie