NadyaDuke

My husband doesn't like turkey either, so we alternate turkey and non-turkey years. One of my favorite alternatives is crown roast of pork with some sort of stuffing in the middle.

One of my new favorite restaurants Imperial - the chef is Vitaly Paley, of the well regarded Paley's Place. I also just went to Mucca Osteria and all four of us found it delicious. For bars in the SE, Slow bar is cozy and has a great burger. Bunk Bar and Dig a Pony are bigger, but appropriately dark and have good cocktails and beer lists. Have a great time!

You'll be here during Portland Dining Month, which is when lots of restaurants, including some of the best, offer a prix fixe menu for $29. A couple of my favorites on my list are Imperial, East India Co. and Oven and Shaker. http://downtownportland.org/dining-month/ A combination of dinner and a food experience is Simpatica Supper Club. Friday and Saturday nights different chefs prepare a menu which is served at communal tables (though usually plated individually.) The kitchen is open, and the chef comes out and tells you about each course. I've been close to a dozen times and the food is always great. You can see the menus here http://simpaticapdx.com/ If one interests you, call to make a reservation. Finally the biggest fanciest area Farmers Market is Saturday morning in downtown Portland. There are vendors selling not just fruits and vegetables but meats, pickles, cheeses, kimchee, baked goods, chocolate, etc. and usually the maker is there selling to tell you all about it. They also have cooking demonstrations featuring local chefs. http://www.portlandfarmersmarket.org/index.php/markets/psu/ Have a wonderful trip! Feel free to PM if you have questions.

Thanks for all the great ideas! The asparagus wontons have me drooling, but I think I have enough on my hands, since I'm a wonton rookie. I'm leaning towards some time of salad or slaw, probably based on what looks good at the market tomorrow. And I love the idea of just using olive oilntobdress it because it gives me an excuse to buy some higher grade olive oil than my usual all purpose! But I'll have some lemons in reserve in case they're called for.

I'm cooking dinner for some vegetarian friends this weekend. I plan to make The Very Full Tart from Plenty (roasted veg and cheese), and garlic roasted mushrooms. The dinner will be accompanied by 2003 Oregon Pinot Noir from various wineries, to have the fun of a horizontal tasting. My husband suggested I need something crispy or crunchy to round out the meal. Since Pinot Noir is a focus, vinegar or very spicy foods are out. Any suggestions, wise eGulleters?

Last time I faced this, I went with a grain-based salad. E.g. a couscous salad. Quinoa is popular now..... You can add cheese or even meat to make it more hearty and they stand up well to delays.

I quite like a Boulevardier made with Rye instead of Bourbon. Or a Negroni made with Rye instead of gin, however you want to look at this!

I'd try an Old Tom gIn. I can't wrap my head around the pairings of London Gin and apple juice, or bourbon and Tonic water. (Not saying they wouldn't work, I just cant imagine it and would have to try it.) but an Old tom might fit.... I'd probably try bourbon and soda water if you wanted to go that way.

I'm just starting on this adventure myself. I can't vouch for the results, but the well-respected bartender who sold us our barrels recommended we start with the Coopers Cocktail on her site. I tried one and found the Fernet too strong for my taste so I cut its proportion in half. I'm aging a a batch of Gin Bijou as well. Both recipes are available on her site: www.babybarrels.com

I use a jar of chopped ginger, instead of fresh. I usually use canned chicken stock because I don't like using freezer space for homemade. Ever since college I've cooked pasta in "not enough" water, long before McGee wrote about it. Lemon Pepper is my secret ingredient.

Last night I made a Purgatory. This was delicious, the Rye nicely balancing and complementing the other ingredients: 2 oz Rye (I used Bulleit) 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse 1/2 oz Benedictine Another bonus is that it see my seldom used Benedictine

I view the Penzeys folks as true believers and a little quirky, kind of like those fine eccentrics at Dr. Bronner's soap. Witness the Arizona Dreamin blend they came out with after Arizona passed its immigration law. I assumed it was their comment, though I had to read between the lines to guess what point they were trying to make.

I seebthebimmediate problem has been solved, but I wanted ton throw a vote in for a different model of Screwpull: the portable. http://www.amazon.com/Screwpull-S1115-31-Pocket-Corkscrew-Black/dp/B0001UZOF0/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1295576708&sr=1-3 It's super easy to use as the twirly top gives me a bit of leverage instead of having to just crank. I find rabbits awkward and too darn big. Glad you found something for your friend!

Several years ago, at Paley's Place in Portland, Oregon, they had pickled some end of the session tiny green tomatoes and were using them as garnish. They were adorable and tasty.

I love my iPad in my kitchen. I've been using Evernote to flag recipes I want to try (you use an Evernote browser plugin or you can email your Evernote account a link and it automatically files it.) I'm slowly moving recipes I have on my computer in documents into Evernote as well. I also use the Epicurious app and I have Bittman's iPhone app but haven't cooked from it yet. And of course, there's the web. I use an M-Edge trip folder case which is not particularly kitchen friendly as it's fabric. However I have a eating bar in my kitchen near the prep area so I put it there. Since my case doesn't include a stand my husband made me a very high-tech one out of a piece of cardboard. Works great.

The one cookbook that has left my collection with extreme prejudice was Great Good Food by Julee Rosso. That cookbook was so poorly written: ingredients were listed and never used and vice versa as I recall.

I adore Peg Bracken, as well. Her books are thoroughly entertaining. And while some recipes do rely on canned soup or processed cheese spread, a lot do not and are quite sensible recipes with real food. I think the standards for what constitutes easy cooking are a lot different now. I have a Betty Crocker cookbook from 1960 or so and It gives the impression that an easy cake was a scratch cake where you didn't have to beat egg whites by hand. Whereas now cookbooks have to explain how to mix butter and sugar because they can't assume people know what "cream" means.

But I have to take them apart and eat each half separately. If one side comes apart with less frosting I eat that one first.

Thanks Chris! I haven't replace my bottle yet, and it's been difficult but not impossible to find in Oregon. At the risk of seeming like an ignorant Westerner: Can't you pretty much throw a rock in Rhode Island and hit a liquor store in a neighboring state :-)?

Maybe not a sauce exactly, but this is a pasta dish that got me out of a rut, and made me think about pasta more creatively. It's Cavatappi with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Cannelini Beans. http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2007/04/the_dinner_im_a.html I often keep dried tomatoes around (not in oil), in which case i just rehydrate them in some hot water, and add a bit of olive oil. I'm going to try the ricotta and zucchini recipe with some of the zucchini the zucchini fairy left me!

Chris - I'm out of the loop - why no CAF for 4 years? Is this a world-wide problem? EEEK!

For the kids you might make some of the sandwiches plain - i.e. no mayo, mustard or other sauces. I just watched my 8 year old cousin trying to miserably pick around a sandwich with mustard on both sides. And you might do some chicken skewers with just salt and pepper or other light seasoning. Some kids will love it all as is, but some like things much simpler, in my experience. Looks like a great menu! Nadya

I hadn't thought about using my stick blender - I don't think I use it enough! How deep is deep? Like 4", 6", 8"? I'm notoriously mess prone.

Thanks for the suggestions. The good news is that today the mayonnaise has more green chile flavor - not surprising that the fat brought out the flavor. But I like the ideas of pureeing the chiles - I'll try that. I also didn't add any garlic, and a bit of garlic might add some depth. Re aioli: I have this vague memory of reading a rant about how real Spanish aioli didn't have eggs, but who knows where, or what that person was basing it on.

This started when we were at dinner last week at the Davis St. Tavern in Portland, Oregon. We had a great Steak Frites served with what the menu called "green chile aioli." It had a fabulous green chile flavor and I want to try to replicate it at home. When I started pondering recipes I got confused. I believe that the standard definitions would sort out along the lines that an aioli doesn't have egg in it, mayonnaise does, and a hollandaise is cooked. But I'm not sure that's how restaurants use the terms these days - at least with respect to aioli, which seems to be a popular term. What do you think is the "proper" definition and what do you think is common in restaurant parlance? On a cooking note: yesterday I made mayonnaise and added roasted Hatch green chiles to the food processor at the end. There are noticeable, though not objectionable, green chile pieces in the mayonnaise. What we had at the restaurant didn't have these. I'm pondering infusing the oil with green chiles and then making a sauce. Any other ideas?