hongda

In terms of dessert, vietnamese have quite a few dishes that resemble rice pudding, like a sweet rice and black eyed peas dessert with a topping of a sweet syrup of coconut milk and palm sugar. There is a strong french bakery influence on vietnam also, with the addition of pandan as a flavoring agent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_amaryllifolius A good dessert that a lot of people around me like is a soft tofu served simply with a syrup consisting of brown sugar (block form) and ginger.

Hmmm, maybe something like this? http://www.packagingprice.com/productsheet...oilBrochure.pdf http://www.packagingprice.com/forms/produc...productID=10918 # Provides short term thermal shipping protection for perishable items # Inner surface - 2 layers of 3/16" FDA Approved Bubble # Outer surface is a layer of 100% Aluminum Foil # * This product is meant to be used in conjunction with Gel Packs or Dry Ice *

Do you mean bubble wrap to hold dry ice? If that's the case I think normal bubble wrap would work http://www.coldpacksystem.com/products/technical.html "In order to minimize this effect, when packaging with dry ice, Cold Pack System recommends that the dry ice be wrapped or bagged in a simple bubble wrap pouch prior to its placement in the AirLiner."

Well, that's how they do some individually quick frozen (IQF) items. http://www.airproducts.co.uk/food/technolo...QF_freezing.htm On a small scale, rasberries and such can be IQF using dry ice.

It's not that freezing via liquid nitrogen does not produce ice crystals, it's just that the ice crystals are smaller. The slower something freezes, the bigger the ice crystals, and analogously, the faster something freezes the smaller the ice crystals. I think it would depend on the choice of meat. If the piece of meat is large, the liquid nitrogen won't be effective in freezing it quickly.

For breakfast Coffee: stumptown on second and ankeny Food: Byways cafe 12 and glisan Dinner: Bluehour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIk_CM73Nww Gordon Ramsey on Eels. Near the end he has a recipe for eels, where he boils them for a few minutes, then covers them in a breadcrumb coating and bakes them off

I've used alton brown's recipe about 3 times and it has turned out well all three times. Make sure to watch it near the end, as it can burn real easily... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-b...cipe/index.html

Alton Brown in his book mentions that he prefers baking and steaming his eggs in the shell, rather than boiling them... I'll look it up tonight when I get home

I've dined at Le Pigeon solo a few times. Just cozy up to the counter and watch the chef at work. The people are usually really friendly (both the customers and the chefs)

BBQ spaghetti

http://www.htyusa.com/shop.php?bgcol=EF6510 Saveur seems to like their brand. It's been a while since I've had it. Regarding cut, sirloin or bottom round, according to this recipe: http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/grilln/Vie...hit_Bo_Kho.html

Meatloaf filling with a roasted red pepper dipping sauce

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/dining/192hrex.html Is that the recipe for scallops with miso sauce? I tried making it last night after seeing your pics, but it didn't taste quite right. The taste of miso was overwhelming and it was too salty for my taste. I'll have to try it again, with a different brand of miso.

The toasted quality is from getting the wok really really hot. Not something a typical household burner can do. I think alton brown in his show (good eats) on Phad Thai, put the wok on top of a charcoal chimney that was red hot.

I would think a layer of plastic wrap would help a lot in either case (pan or straight on the block)

Sounds more like a ceviche than sushi. You might like ceviche. Usually the fish is marinated in something that has high acidity. This acidic marinate denatures the protein, similar to heating, so that the finished product has a firmer texture.

When I use a wok over a high flame, I would squirt the wine on the perimeter of the wok, where there was no veggies/meat. Maybe try adding the wine first. Are you making a mixture with the sauce ingredients first before adding it to the stir fry? or adding the components individually?

For ice cream, see if your high school chem lab has Liquid Nitrogen :-D

Hahaha, yeah my bad. Dishwasher on the dry cycle

Hmmm, have you tried a few leaves in lemonade?

A few notes: Make sure to plan well. Double check your grocery list, clean utensils, plates, etc. It's nice to use a washing machine or oven if your aren't using it to heat your plates. Do a check of what's in season and available. A good bakery is a god send. Ideas: Breakfast for dinner. Breakfast dishes with different twists. maybe a savory french toast made with olive oil, cream, herbs and eggs with prosciutto as a starter etc... Different cuisines. Portugese, korean, vietnamese, maybe regional dishes that aren't common in your area. Ask the guest(s) what their favorite protein is. Sometimes it's a lot easier to have limits than not to. Good luck!

Sorry about the loss Ce. our local coffee house does lemongrass tea. It's got that nice citrusy smell. All that is in there is lemongrass and hot water. Nice with a little honey. Nakji: do you have any asian stores with a butcher counter? I've noticed asian stores offer different cuts of meat just from american butchers.

How about a quick roast under a broiler after removing them from the oil? It would crisp them up even more and hopefully remove some of the oil.

I usually do something similar to this http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1739,128176-251193,00.html then use the boiling liquid to cook some rice. Some people will toast the raw rice a bit in rendered chicken fat before cooking.