Al_Dente

To give you more of an idea, here is the view facing east toward my oven. See the counter space on the left? That's about it. I had to stand with my head backed up against the wall to get this shot with the camera on as wide angle as possible. For this shot, I had to stand in my closet. This is essentially my entire kitchen. So, as you can imagine, it's a bit of a challenge.

Don't get me wrong. I love my dinky little apartment. I'm in a great location (Old Town Alexandria VA), it's easy to keep clean (can vacuum the whole place from one outlet), and it's an attractive modern building (a high rise 3 blocks from the Potomac with a view of the monuments of DC on the roof). BUT, the kitchen sucks. I have a more or less full sized fridge, a decent but small gas stove, garbage disposal in the sink, but counter space the size of a postage stamp. My kitchen is well stocked as far as equipment goes-- don't ask how I store it. But I hate cooking in it. So much so that my current inventory in the fridge is a bag of sugar, sparkling water, a few veggies and fruits, and condiments. I love to cook. Any chance I get, I volunteer to cook at a friend's place if they have a decent kitchen. So, the question is, if you had to prepare dinner while standing in what amounts to a phone booth, what would you make?

It's lipstick size--five or six pumps. It is kinda funny how the fact that it's a closeup and that it's metal makes it seem like it could be the size of a fire hydrant or something. The clam in the photo above was about the size of your head. In all seriousness, another thing I liked about the meal was the pace and serving sizes. I didn't walk out of there feeling like I had too much to eat-- I was perfectly satisfied. Everything came fast enough to keep you on your toes, but not so fast that you didn't get a chance to watch how many of the dishes were prepared, chat with the minibarador (is that their official title now?), and chat with others at the bar. You had just enough time to fully enjoy each experience as it was presented. Darren-- Thanks for getting all these great shots for posterity!

Yikes. Well, start saving up. On their next significant anniversary you'll have to replace them.

I don't think I can describe it as eloquently as Vengroff. Simply put, the meal freakin' rocked. I'm not a person to just naturally sit around with a big smile on my face, but each dish made me grin. I don't think people who know me well would have recognized me. A sardine prepared in a bread crust with rasberry sauce? It was amazing. I couldn't believe I had a sardine and rasberry in my mouth at the same time, but it was like they were made for each other. I'm going to try to book my spot at the bar every 6 months for the next 50 years. I was a little reluctant to order the Uruguayan Viognier, having never tried anything from that country, but I realized that I could have been drinking Mad Dog and it couldn't have ruined the meal. Fortunately, it was a major bonus choosing that bottle. A phenomenal experience. As it was said before, run, don't walk...

Krupin's is the only place in the area I've had anything close to a real deal NYC deli. Hmmm... sounds like a plan for Sunday lunch.

Even better is the fact that the VD contains LSD. That would mean you'd be dripping and tripping at the same time!

All that effort, wow. Thanks DavetheCook, I'm even more thankful I'll be able to make it to the shindig. I can' t get this image out of my head though of what I imagine to be you as a mad scientist in a dark dank lab surrounded by bunsen burners and various colored bubbling liquids in test tubes. You're wearing goggles and a white lab coat (maybe some streaks of blood on it from the various critters you're experimenting with) with sweat pouring from your brow (secret ingredient?) from the intensity of your experimentation. I look forward to getting some VD.

Well, I was there with Chili Chick and Burger Babe. Watch this space for the review!

Memo to self. Make this....

In the course of a week a ham turned into a turkey?!?!?! This genetically modified food is SCARY... If only they could make spam that would turn into foie gras. I'd wait a whole month for that!

How bout a southern style seafood boil? Crabs, shrimps, sausages, corns on the cobs? Pretty much just a matter of dumping it all in boiling water...

What makes you think I'd want to share my hookers? Well, somebody better meet Malawry there, so I guess I'm going. We'll try to put some type of review together. Should be interesting...

Obviously my reputation has preceded me.

I should arrive sometime Friday afternoon.

I'M IN! I just booked the last available room at the Holiday Inn at the group rate. If there is anything I can do to help out, just let me know. I'd be happy to be on the pig watch. How many folks will be there for the festivities?

Now I really must go tonight. I have a hankering for a burger with a side of hookers.

I didn't realize we were on for this. Hmm, I don't even know where it is. What's the address? I might be able to make it-- depends on how long my day at the office goes. 13th & L St. Warning: It really is a dive. That sounds like a challenge. I'm a really low class guy, so I think I can handle it. What kinda vittles do they serve?

I didn't realize we were on for this. Hmm, I don't even know where it is. What's the address? I might be able to make it-- depends on how long my day at the office goes.

This was a more advanced brining experiment:

After a brief period of intense curiosity about why an Aussie would name a piece of chicken after a state in the US... it finally occurred to me. The shape of the state of Maryland kinda... sorta... looks like a chicken leg quarter. (Well... OK... You have to squint.) If that isn't correct, what is the origin of the name? It is a bit of a stretch, but I suppose if you squint hard enough... The only thing I can think of is that Maryland is a big producer of chickens (Perdue is in Salisbury). However, it isn't quite tropical enough to be a big producer of pineapples and bananas. I googled "Chicken Maryland" and found a lot of British URLs. After clicking on some of them (one site claimed it was a famous American dish), I see that there is quite a wide array of recipes.

Mmmmm..... jar of meat sticks..... (a la Homer)

Your Dad's name wasn't Hannibal was it? Were fava beans and/or Chianti involved?

If you're going to dinner at Magnolia Grill, save it for Saturday. Otherwise, bring it on for Friday. We do need sustenance while cooking our swine! If I can make it, I'd definitely like to be in on the ceremonial cooking of the swine. What time will you be beginning the procedure?

Liver Sashimi? What is his line of reasoning on this being "healthy"?