Corinna

I'm no longer a local, but on a visit back to NYC Five Napkin Burger was recommended to me by a local foodie friend. It was a fine burger, indeed.

I wouldn't have survived college without my George Foreman grill. Have they fallen out of fashion?

Corinna, I am cracking up laughing. Toooooo funny. I'm serious! Growing up in an Argentine household had it's advantages.

When I lived in London, I was working in the City and loved exploring these restaurants. I wish I had kept notes. I probably hit Viet Grill, but can't remember. Au Lac was my favorite. All the pho I ate; I could have eaten so much more!

Not long in my house! It is delicious spread on toast for breakfast.

For everyday, we drink a lot of the Frontera wines from Concha y Toro in Chile. Their Sauv Blanc is very drinkable, and we've recently branched out to their reds-- nice Carmenere, Syrah and Malbec (grown in their Argentine vineyards.) We find these finds quite dependable, and usually pay around $8 for a magnum.

With blue cheese? Celery. I am in the celery camp overall, for reasons already stated. Although I suspect I would miss carrots. I just bought some nice ones from a local Amish farmstand and am looking forward to pickling them, and such.

No cukes in my garden yet, unfortunately (plenty of flowers though!), but got some pretty nice seedless ones at Wegman's for a salad at our 3rd of July party. With spicy chicken and rich noodles, I wanted a cooling component and came up with a combo of cuckes, red onion, apple cider vinegar, sugar and mint. Lovely!

Thanks, all, for your input. Since we're talking about 40 lbs of chicken, I've decided to go with the KISS principle and keep it simple. It doesn't sound like parboiling will save much time overall or on the day, and I'd rather not risk it with that amount of food or this number of guests. I will experiment with this method though, as it had never occured to me and it may prove useful. Thanks again!

Sounds like a great party, Linda! I bet some homemade ice cream sandwiches will be a welcome contribution. For our party, I am making: Korean Spicy Paste Chicken Drumsticks & Thighs (I am starting to like Peter's broiling idea. Is it sacrilege not to grill for the 4th?) Cucumber salad/quick-pickle with red onions Cold Sesame Noodles with green onions I'm telling people to bring sides or salads, so we'll see what turns up. I've already had promises of corn on the cob, salt potatoes and the like. To drink, we'll have: Chatham Artillery Punch Various kegs I've found that dessert generally goes to waste, so I am not stressing about it. If I have time, I might make a cherry cobbler or some sort of cake.

I'm getting ready for a big party next weekend, as mentioned in the punch topic. (Chatham Artillery Punch happily in the back of my fridge, fruit and all!) Luckily, I found a great sale on chicken legs, which I'm cutting up into drumsticks and thighs (freezing in the interim) to marinate in the wonderful Korean Spicy Paste Chicken recipe that I discovered in the discussion on chicken thighs, then grilling on the day. Yesterday, a friend asked if I would be parboiling them before marinading to speed up cook time. This never occured to me, and I can see the advantages, but I am still unsure. Will the marinade take as well to parboiled meat? Will parboiling make the meat flavorless? I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

This soup is also in my regular rotation. It's wonderful!

Thanks for the confirmation, Andy. I did see your note about the fruit, and will probably strain out most, if not all, of the fruit before serving. I just didn't want it to contribute any off flavours to the mix. Very excited!

RE: Chatham Artillery Punch Ok, I have acquired all the necessary ingredients and will be putting together the mixture tomorrow. I'm sure I will taste it a couple days in, but assuming that tastes good, I can use that as the base for my punch for our party on July 3rd. One question for those of you who have made this or other similar punches before: will the fruit go bad if I put it in this far in advance, or will all that booze act as a preservative? I will be using cherries, pineapple and maybe strawberries. Would it be better to put them in a couple days before the even? Advice is appreciated. Thank you!

Thank you, Andy! Very useful indeed. For some reason, I completely missed your post above-- also helpful. I looked at a variety of recipes online, many of which called for brandy and even gin. The one from Imbibe! is probably more reputable, and the fewer ingredients I have to buy the better quality they can be-- hurrah! I'd love to use cherries, and maybe some peaches in the punch, since they will be in season then. What to you think? Thanks again. I will report back.

It's cherry season here (I'm going picking on Thursday!), and I would love to have this recipe, if possible. Thank you, pastrygirl!

Agreed, but I am slightly biased as my parents grew up there. Their exports have been improving, but I still feel that the best wines and values (not to mention the food!) are to be had in Argentina itself. Do you have any particular favorites, Edmund?

Not unknown, but we had an excellent tour at Bodegas Norton followed by a lovely picada in the cellar. I would recommend it!

I'm preparing a batch of Chatham Artillery Punch for our July 3rd party, and finding the tips in this thread very useful. I wish I had gotten an earlier start! Have you made this before? What brands did you use and how did it work out?Catawba wine is local specialty, so there is no worry about that. I would be grateful, however, for recommendations for good values for in the white rum, rye whisky and brandy. I have some ideas for the bubbly, but would also appreciate input on this. An open invitation, should you find yourself in central New York on the day. Message me for details. Thank you!

Tracks in the station itself was a pleasant surprise for me, esp. if you like seafood, pretty fairly priced as well.

I enjoyed several nice meals at Fishers on Thistle Street, but it's been some time since I was in Edinburgh. Great food, casual atmosphere and fairly priced.

This is a simple, yet wonderful idea for asparagus, which we are eating a lot of right now. Thanks, Dianne!

Thanks, I was considering doing the chef's table. Have you ever done this? I am lucky to live very close by to Dano's, and love to take visitors (and myself) there. The chef's table is a great way to avoid getting overwhelmed by the menu, try a variety of things and get a real feel for what Dano's is all about. The Viennese Bento Box is also a great choice. Save room for dessert-- Karen's pastries and tortes are too good to pass up! While we're on the subject, anyone have any recommendations for lunch in Skaneateles?

I have also grilled romaine halves. Dressed with some sherry and shallot vinaigrette, they're wonderful! Bittman also recommends grilling endive and radicchio, which I've also tried, but the romaine is my favorite.

I've noticed the same thing here in central New York, but for a time (around Easter) I couldn't find them at all-- not even at Wegman's! I blame it on the rough winter in the US, and perhaps on the earthquake in Chile as well.