hjshorter

I brined a crown roast in apple juice two years ago. Boiled the brine down for a glaze, and served with a spanish chorizo stuffing. It was excellent. If you're interested I can PM you the recipe. Edit: I looked it up, and the brine included apple juice concentrate as one of the ingredients, not just juice.

My kids like all sorts of things that American kids aren't "supposed" to like. Emma (age 5) likes raw oysters, any kind of grilled fish, broccoli, cauliflower, olives (picholine are her favorites), goat cheese, rare steak, salads, Thai and sushi. She will try almost anything. Ian's tastes are a little less adventurous (he's 2 1/2), but he loves vegetables, steak, seafood, Indian and Thai food. The only veggie that neither will touch is parsnips, and stinky cheese is a no-no. They are fiends for fresh fruit - clementines are in season right now and they chow on 2-3 per day. We went out to lunch today at our favorite Cantonese restaurant. Emma devoured turnip cake and gai lan. Ian stuffed his face with curry rice noodles with shrimp. Their dislikes are weird. They don't care for anything deep-fried, except for frites and the occasional fish stick. They won't eat mac and cheese from a box. Emma doesn't like hot dogs or potato chips. Ian doesn't like peanut butter. It makes the average restaurant "kid's menu" challenging. As babies they both preferred jarred baby food to homemade, because of the smoother texture, but once they started on table food they got the same meals with the spiciness toned down.

We have bought it at Sutton Place in Bethesda more than once. Call ahead though.

For everyday we usually buy an inexpensive set from Target or the like, use it for a year or so, then give it away. Our casual dishes are Bridgewater Pottery's Black Toast and Marmalade. I love this pattern, it's very unusual in the US, funky, and suprisingly versatile. Replacements have to be shipped from England. They were slightly more practical before the dollar tanked again the pound. The kids (age 5 and 2 1/2) use Ikea Kalas plastic dishes. $.99 for a set of 4 plates or bowls. Our china is Wedgwood Amherst, platinum trim. It almost never sees the light of day. As Susan said, when the kids get older it will be time for nice dishes again.

All better?

What an interesting point, Redfox. And I think exactly right.

Some go to have a decent meal with competent service.

I've had bad food and bad service, each time I have been. Over cooked steak, soggy frites, off-tasting mussels, no drinks offered, plates uncleared, etc. I don't bother anymore.

I'm looking forward to visiting the fish market. Addie's consistently has excellent fish, and some inventive cooking. It is the only bright spot in a sea of mediocre Rockville restaurants with aspirations to be something more than suburban chain hell.

I don't think it's appropriate to think of people in a rush as self-important asshats. If you needed your coffee fix during the day and the coffee in the office was typical crap, would you have the luxury of sitting at Starbucks? I enjoy the eGullet forums very much and mostly people do not look down on people at different levels of food knowledge. Why is it different here when we talk about coffee? edited to correct grammer. ← Don't get me wrong, I love Starbucks. I mailed ordered their coffee for years before it became available nationally. And I certainly have no reason to look down on anyone for their lack of food knowledge. And I know what its like to be in a rush. But where I live, an awful lot of people aren't just in a hurry, they are rude about it. They are the people that snap at the counter people, and slam on the door on my kid because they are in such a hurry. Those people, in my opinion, deserve to be called asshats.

DC is an area bristling with self-important asshats. Very few want to linger over coffee. They don't even want to wait a couple of minutes for their venti caramel whatevers.

Those in my area all have real cups if you ask, and people do ask for them. Market research must show that customers want a paper cup unless they ask for the other.

Bob Evans? ← I believe you can get them in the frozen section at Costco. Seriously, I think Klc is right on the money in his post above. Edit: Rocks, bluefish is delicious with Bearnaise. Try it sometime.

Ha! We have been dining on cocktail weinies and mini corn dogs around here for some time now. When you have toddlers, "mini" isn't really trendy anymore.

Oh man, I hope so.

I go to MOM for some things - they have a great herb department, vitamins, homeopathics, etc., and a big selection of teas. Their food selection is nothing to write home about although they do carry Firehook bread, which is better than Whole Foods' bakery. And their prices are pretty high.

If they've hit Cheesecake Factory then they are most definitely a fad that has jumped the shark. ← Actually, CF may have been at the front of this trend. I can recall ordering those for Emma at CF at least 3 years ago. I won't go into why we were there in the first place.

I just read somewhere, or saw somewhere, that the prices of the minis and the regular are the same..but you get a third less in the minis... ← It's true. The mini cookies are a total scam, but they are toddler sized and convenient occasionally. Another one - the butter cookies with the jam in the middle.

My kids love the Chessmen (and the mini Chessmen - so cute) and the Pirouettes. And the little peanut butter filled goldfish. I love Milanos - but only the regular kind. Pepperidge Farm cookies are the only packaged cookies I buy anymore, because they are eliminating all partially hydrogenated fats from their products.

The 14th is good for me.

Count me out, because we don't live anywhere near Eastern Market. I made a trip to Sutton Pl...excuse me, Balducci's the day before Thanskgiving to pick up some goodies: olives, baguette, Crottin, French butter, etc. I was expecting crowds, but it all was painless. Apparently I was the only one buying ingredients instead of picking up my expensive catered Thanksgiving order. Their cheese selection is reduced somewhat but the cheese is still kept in much better condition compared to Whole Foods, and D&D.

Turkey Tetrazzini is on the menu this year. Very old fashioned, but I love it. And turkey jambalaya.

Yes, unless my children are at school and the school might need to reach me. When I had a newborn, it was off more than it was on. If it was important, the caller could leave a message. No. That's what answering machines are for. The only call I would answer at a restaurant is one from the babysitter. In our house, it is the same as turning on the TV or opening a book when conversation is expected. Dinner time is family time. How will we teach our children to be considerate diners if we interrupt them to take phone calls during dinner? No.

I will be cooking a small turkey, Brooks Hamaker's oyster dressing, dried cranberry/spiced pecan/goat cheese salad, and cranberry compote. My brother and his wife are bringing a pumpkin pie, and my sister-in-law's mom is bringing green beans. We'll eat, drink, watch the kids run around and maybe play cards after dinner. Later I will pack up a plate of leftovers for my dad. He'll be spending Thanksgiving Day with my stepmother's family but prefers my cooking.

The Moosewood folks have two great cookbooks for kids, Pretend Soup for young kids, and Honest Pretzels for age 8 and up. The recipes are very good, and the books have many helpful suggestions for the grownups helping them. I will try to figure out the Amazon link and edit.