RAHiggins1

Rijsttafel. Seek it out; it is very interesting. Aruba is very Americanized. If you have time, take the very short plane ride to Curacao. Much more Dutch and local influenced. Iguana soup is one of the local dishes and aside from food, the diving is awesome. ← I'm slow to respond, but I spent a week diving in Curacao and loved it. There was a fish shack down the beach from our hotel (Lions's Dive and Beach Resort) that had the best pan broiled snapper I've ever had. Curacao is also the home of Amstel Light.

I would expect to find a full page face photo of rocco on every odd and even numbered page.

Chef Fowke in Vancouver does something very intersting. He takes one day a month and dedicates it to educating his consumers by making himself available to them in a program he calls "Chef for a Day". It isn't free, he books reservations and charges a fee but he takes you shopping and then shows you how to prepare what you bought. Its very hands on. You could try to find somethng like this locally. I certain;y wish it was available here. Chef Fowke's Blog

That sounds like the makings of a wonderful Thai dish or Sezchuan.

I'm not sure if anyone here is a fan of Fark.com, but the food porn in this contest is just too good to not link to it. Dinner is Served

An excellent point. To that extent, my brother in law has a old scraggly pear that produces the most amazing fruit despite his complete neglect. It was there when their house was built. He keeps threatening to cut it down. I guess I had better get the clippers and put some of that horticulture I learned in the FFA to good use.

It's worth moving for. I'd invite you to move to Atlanta, but only if you promise not to help make the traffic any worse. ← If you want a really good Chicken biscuit in Atlanta, try "Martin's" Chicken biscuit. It's my understanding that the founder of Martin's was a partner with S. Truett Cathy the found of CFA, but split off in the early 60's prior to the opening of the first CFA. Martin's, although not nearly as succesfull is also open on Sundays. Zaxby's is also a good competitor to the McD's and CFA sammich's.

Anyone ever eat at "Old Bay Steamers"? My wife's coworker who just happens to have stayed in the condo next to the one my coworker owns recommended it. I couldn't find them directly on google but did find lots about them on travel sites and also some reviews in local papers like this one.

Look at the bottom picture on this link Ikasumi Jiru There is also a bitter melon stir fry presented. I was looking at bitter melons yesterday in the asian market wondering what could be done with it. Now I know.

I've had every variety you mention. But you left out the single most-critical fact. Where are you? The important thing is to be sure you're growing fruit appropriate for your location. Asking here is a start, and a wise one, to be sure, but you need to talk with your local nurserymen and county extension agent (assuming you're in the US) and find out what works best where you are. Citrus - I've grown Meyers lemons all over the US. But if you're in a state that gets hard freezes, you do have to grow them in a large pot that you can bring inside for the winter. I've also grown those little Key/Mexican limes. Same thing - inside for the winter, and they're not as freeze-hardy as the Meyers lemons. One of our favorite fruit trees was when we lived in Tucson. We had a 'fruit cocktail' tree. One side gave pink grapefruit and the other oranges. We loved that tree. ← An excellent point. I'm in Atlanta, GA. We get maybe one or two real frozen moments in an otherwise frosty off season. I was interested in planting different types that could be harvested in different seasons to provide fruit of some sort thoughout the year. Grapefruit unfortunately are off the menu as it interferes with daily meds. I'm going to head to the nursery this next weekend. I'll let you know what I end up doing.

Well since its just me, my wife only eats red meat if its ground. I usually pick up a cheaper cut and work with it. I've found the end pieces of the chuck eye can be exceptionally tender and full of fatty goodness and cheap at $5/lb. If I'm eating out I'll go with a filet or ribeye, but pretty much love any cut.

I'm considering putting fruit trees in this year. I'd like to know what to look for when I head to the local nursery. Questions to ask, etc.. Varieties I am thinking of getting; Apple Pear Peach Plum I've seen lime trees grow and produce fruit locally, but I don't know if they are of any quality. I also have a muscadine vine that that doesn't produce grapes on the fence. My father in law told me it was a female and I would need a male to make the grapes, but that males could also make the grapes by themselves. Muscadines are not a good grape for making wine at home, very tart, local wineries (Chateu Elan & Fox Vineyards) do make wine from it though. I thought I might try to make a vinegar instead.

Great ideas by all, I have cucumbers and zucchini coming out of my garden almost daily. Now I have something new to try on them. I also have green beans producing, I loved pickled green beans, I pick them while they are young and tender. Do you think I should blanch the beans first?

Link to a link in another thread that links to a interview with blais about Top Chef I hope that makes sense.

On our first date I cooked everything my wife had told that she liked. Now she just tells me what to cook.

Yea that's entirely possible. They live in Kin cho which is a very rural community where they spend their entire day farming their 23 seperate lots each about a quarter to a half acre in size. I remember that if you made somethng and it was not greasy enough, they would add fat to it. I know that here as very country. Just good, simple, people who ate good, simple, food. Oh, there was one time when I had just arrived and they were eating lunch. It was a squid ink soup with little clams of some sort in it.

I read this Article this morning and made Patty Melts for dinner after a quick trip to the store for some Rye Bread. Please don't ever write about me sending you all my money.

I love Thai food. I'm on the verge of making Tom Yam Kang. (Shrimp Hot and Sour Soup)

My fave painting is the Cafe Terrace by Vincent Van Gogh. If I could design a restaurant it would be to this theme with an area dedicated to Al fresco just like in the picture. It reminds me of Hemingway's "The sun also rises".

Let me know when its steak night at your house. I like ranch dressing on my salad.

Richard Blais Hometown Hero - Dishing on Top Chef by Besha Rodell Teaser- Bravo's "Top Chef" has been especially emotional for Atlantans this season, with hometown chef Richard Blais in the running. Last week's finale dashed our hopes of an Atlanta Top Chef, with Blais losing to sweet and sensible Stephanie. The morning after the finale aired, I caught up with Blais by phone, and asked him about the show, his career and some of his more controversial co-contestants. You can listen to the complete interview on the link page..

Anyone have recommenations for really good authentic Thai food in or near Norcross? Thai Star? Saimese Basil?

Buford Highway Farmer's Market (770) 455-0625 5600 Buford Hwy NE, Doraville, GA 30340

My neighbor who is an immigrant from El Salvador, came over and helped me weed the massive amount of crabgrass that invaded my garden last week. We had only waved and maybe exchanged an "Ola!" before this and we've lived next door to each other for going on 5 years. We exchanged a lot of information that morning and now know a lot more about each other. I think we will make good friends as well as neighbors. Mardo, that is his name, is a line cook and sunday kitchen manager at a restaurant near Lenox Mall here in Atlanta. I'm planning on thanking him for his help by sharing in the bounty of fruits (and vegetables) of our efforts. But I'd also like to do something for him and his family and maybe become more involved with them socially. To that extent I think that I need to learn more about Salvadorans and for me that starts with what they eat. I did some searching on the wide wide world of interweb and my usual friend Wikipedia had some good solid basic information, but I was not really able to find a great deal on Salvadoran Cuisine. To begin with, can anyone post recipes for the following; Pupusas Curtido Quesadilla Tamales Empanadas Arroz en leche Gallo en chicha

Yes, your list is weird but fortunately you're in the right place. So how long have been doing this? And how long is your list? I think it's only a matter of time before insects as food becomes way more mainstream. I've only eaten bugs by accident - but since I don't find them very appealing they're not on my life list. I'm about as interested in eating one of those crispy tarantulas on a stick from Vietnam as I am in anthropophagy. ← I ate the bugs at the Montreal Biodome. They were having a tasting and had stalls set up with chefs preparing the insects. I beleive I had Ant nachos, Mealworm banana bread and cricket sushi. I wanted to try the stirfried grasshoppers but I just couldnt do it. Lets see.. My life list. 1. Beef 2. Chicken 3. Pork 4. Duck 5. Lamb 6. Goat 7. Wild Boar 8. Musk ox 9. Moose 10. Venison 11. Ostrich 12. Emu 13. Porcupine 14. Quail 15. Pheasant 16. Alligator 17. Bison 18. Goose 19. Ants 20. Mealworm 21. cricket 22. rabbit I would love to try Horse some day. I don't incluse seafood yet. That would make the list way too long. ← Never touch seafood do you?