Busboy

I recall reading somewhere about a classic recipe combining baked oysters and good old Virginia country ham -- surely this is a classic Chesapeake Bay-area combination -- and, while I'm sure I could riff something up, I'd appreciate listening if anyone actually knows a real recipe. Or, anyone who wants to take a blind but tasty stab at soemthing. I'm thinking spinach, cream and breadcrumbs, fwiw.

I don't actually eat at Lauriol Plaza unless someone makes me, but I've never quite understood the visceral hatred it draws. It always seemed perfectly OK, and even a cut above chain restaurant Latin -- not that that's not setting the bar pretty low. Is just because it's so dang successful?

I don't want to sound unenlightened, but I've had some damn swell truffle oil (and some brutally awful stuff), and people like Tommy Keller call for it in their recipes, so I'd suggest that not all truffle oils are a dead loss. Just look for the smallest, most expensive bottle you can find (the stuff we get runs about $15 for an airlplane liquor bottle-full), and avoid anything that looks to be a bargain.

I was just at a cooking demonstration by Michel Richard, DC's top French chef, and -- to make his soup -- he just sliced the squash in half and slow-roasted it for an hour-and-a-half. Very rich and carmelized.

please tell me they don't actually LOOK like miniature hamburger buns or rolls - just maybe shaped like them? when I'm in a hurry and can't make homemade, I confess that I roll out pilsbury in a can and then cut miniature biscuits from it - a far cry from homemade, but not bad in a pinch. (I might get booted off of egullet for this kind of confession). If theirs are an upgrade on this, and I don't have to do the cooking or ham stuffing, that would be a huge help. ← I just glanced at them, overtired and a smidge hungover, so don't take my word as gospel. But, at a quick glance, they looked more like "rolls" than "biscuits." Of course, it's the texture once you bite into the things that really tells -- yeast versus baking powder. Having not bit, I confess that they may well be lovely. The just didn't look right to me. (my confession: I love the biscuits from Popeye's. Not Grandma's, but pretty tasty.)

Just spent a few days in Boston and wasn't blown away by most of the joints I hit, but did like two: Pho Republique and Number 9 Park. Pho R. in the South end is very hip, with food that is occasionally very good. Go for the pho, the ribs and flank steak, don't get the kung pao (looks great but is bland). Just had two nibbles at Number 9 Park, not their main menu but their cafe stuff. Best steak tartar I've ever eaten, wonderful truffled gnocchi.

I know that buscuits are subject to regional differences and personal preferences, but their buscuits didn't look at all like my Grandma's -- they were more hamburger bun-shaped, wide and short, than the taller, cylindrical biscuits I'm used to. But, for all I know, they taste great. Keep in mind, with all the Yankees around here (I am one myself, but Mom's from Alabama, so I have dual citizenship), many of your guests won't know the difference but, if you make your own someone will taste the difference and it will make their week. Not to lay a guilt trip on you... BTW, a friend of mine from Texas made ham biscuits with jalopeno jelly, once, and they were quite tasty, if you're looking for variations.

In the spirit of scientific inquiry, and because I had to bring my daughter on an errand, I motored out to the Alexandria Farmers Market this morning about 8AM to pick up a Calhoun's ham and pick the brain of whomever selling them, on various questions that have arisen in this thread. Unfortunately, having been up until 4AM due to the Galactic show at the 9:30 Club (y'all owe it to yourselves to hear these guys' brand of N'awlins swamp funk before you die), I was not at my investigative best. I did learn a couple of things, though: The ham I got from Calhouns is not the same ham I got from Laynes. This could be because the Layne's ham was from a different source, or because the ham I got today had been hanging longer. The voices in my head are telling me that the Layne's guy mentioned when we bought ours that they were younger hams, but the voices are unreliable. They lady who answered the phone at Layne's just now didn't know the name of their supplier. At any rate, the Calhoun's ham is a little saltier and the texture a little less velvety -- it's a more countrified country ham and how you feel about that depends on your mood, I guess. It also wore a cryovac bag, rather than sitting naked and proud on the counter, but that may just be local health regs. The ham lady at the market says they "don't recommend" eating it raw. The cooking magazine they had open to an article about country ham said that the feds have never been asked whether eating raw country ham was safe, possibly because the ham-curing elite don't wan't an official "no". It further said -- while taking an oblique shot at Southerners' reputed tendency to boil the hell out of everything, that traditional Southern cooks always soak and cook a ham. But it clearly implied that thin-sliced, uncooked country ham was a delicacy. I think the photo caption read: "They don't liken their ham to proscuitto or serrano, because then they'd have to admit that they eat it raw. For what it's worth, I'm eating sliced ham on Breadline bread, with a smear of mustard as I type this. It's pretty damn good. I'll report back if I notice any ill effects.

Uncooked.

Is there a book tour schedule?

Just for the heck of it I called the Inn At Little Washington just now -- figuring that they'd know as much about this as anyone, certainly more than me -- and one of their cooks was kind enough to take my call and assure me that a fully cured country ham does not need to be cooked. (Though that's certainly an option).

My wife and I ate ours uncooked over a period of weeks (definition of eternity: two people and a ham). It was the texture that surprised us and reminded us of proscuitto, much silkier than anything we'd had before. And, though we'd been warned we might have to soak it overnight, it seemed perfectly salted to us. We've eaten country ham in country-diners and from city-groceries before (goes great on a Cubano sandwich, btw), but this was a whole different ballgame. It frankly never occurred to us to cook it, any more than we'd boil and bake a Serrano. You should try one and, if you don't like it, I'll come 'round and take it off your hands.

Nah, the hanger steak at Ray's. ← Where is Ray's -- I've never tried hanger steak and would love to ... ← Are you in the DC area? Rays is in Arlington, 1725 Wilson Blvd, in between the Courthouse and Roslyn metro stations. 703-841-7297 Reservations are hard to get, but worth it. Easier-to-get Hangar Steaks are at Les Halles, 13th and Penn. NW, and Bistro du Coin, Connecticut and S NW.

A friend of mine who lives in the Valley went to Laynes at my request and bought us both some of their country ham. Excellent stuff, per my friend (I haven't tried ours yet). However, in the course of the conversation he had at Laynes, they said they are selling hams from a vendor in Culpeper, i.e., they don't cure their own. I suspect they are getting them from Calhous, but don't know for sure. Re cost, 1/2 a bone-in country ham (~7 lbs) from Laynes cost me $25. ← Good to know -- especially since the Alexandria Farmer's Market is a hell of a lot closer to my house than either Lexington or Culpeper. I think a field trip is in order. BTW, how can you have a ham in the house and not eat it? You're a more disciplined person than I.

Should we assume that turkey is on the menu? My personal favorite is whatever my friend Mark decides to buy a case of and leave on my back porch (nature's wine-cooler) the night before. Of course, we usually have such a grab-bag of stuff that any pretense of precisely matching food and wine pretty much goes out the door.

From another thread: "First, the best damn country ham I ever ate was bought at a contry store called Laynes, near Lexington, Virginia. No website, but you can call 540-463-7170. It was exquisite stuff, with a velvet texture and a light hand on the salt, kind of a plantation prosciutto, so it didn't need to be soaked, as some country hams do. I left in the fridge wrapped in butcher,s paper for weeks, the only effect being that it seemed to get a little saltier as the moisture continued to evaporate."

I don't get to France much; I can't afford too much starred dining. But some of the most delightful meals I have ever eaten have been at Bib Gourmand restaurants -- known, in my family, as "happy face" restaurants, for the head shot of a smiling Michelin Man next to their listing in the Guide. Personally, I think it's the most helpful category of all to most travelers -- anybody can deliver a great meal for a small fortune, too few can do it for a reasonable price. I swear by them. Congratulations, you are running with a great crowd of talented chefs (not that we had any doubt). If I ever get back to South Carolina...

Heh. ← That's so lame. I suppose the Pizza at 2Amy's is next.

One group that I've noticed as having some sort of social significance in DC are the Congressman's Wives. Are they generally too busy in their days divided between doing good acts and studying Macchiavelli to "lunch" I wonder? Or is there some special place they have their own indulgements as ladies who lunch? Edit note: I've been reminded by a friend that not all members of Congress are men and not all spouses of Congress members function in the traditional sense of supportive "seconds" to the major, but instead have their own independent careers. This is of course, completely true. My use of the term "Congressmen's Wives" was meant in a way that would be inclusive of all those who would fit the general concept of that term as it has been traditionally understood in times throughout history - it could even include men if it were a man in the role. If the term offended anyone, my apologies. To me, though, the group that I speak of does seem to exist and to be of a definite shape. What it should be called I can not imagine - new terms for old things that will redefine our society is a mindbendingly awesome task. ← Although Washington is a place that pushes "wives of" into at least the trappings of traditional roles (note that Ms. Rodham became Mrs. Clinton), my experience is that, much of the time, the permanent campaign keeps them almost as busy as their husbands. Think of them as "Ladies who Luncheon" and look for them at the Hilton, addressing a lunch meeting of the Greater Minneapolis Board of Trade or the "YWCA 5th Annual Women Achiever Awards Luncheon." Though they are found at many a non-gender specific event, they do carry a disproportionate share of the women's group burden. Also note that, today, many stay back in the home state or district, since their husbands are home every weekend to campaign, and many more, of course, have jobs, meaning that it's harder to reach lunching critical mass. I think, back when the Congressional Session was shorter (when Washington had a "Season"), transportation back home took longer, and Congress was a Boys Club, you had a bigger Congressional LWL contingent. LWL now are more the Permanent Washington Upper Class -- think Sally Quinn, not Mrs. Dennis Hastert. Washington is so enmeshed in tradition, good and bad, that we still haven't figured out what to do with Congressional Husbands, who do not yet have either a group personality or stereotype to fall back on.

It all depends on your own preferences, but I don't find butts give me the richness I prefer in my sausages. I find the trend towards lower-fat sausages unfortunate. I add about one part fatback for every four parts meat.

Hee hee! Or maybe they're too busy dealing with their offspring to cook! ← Priorities.

That dish seems so Mediterranean that I'd go with a lighter red from that part of the world. A DOC chianti, a Cote du Ventoux, or maybe just a well-structured Costieres de Nimes pink.

Neither my mother nor I was ever a lady who lunched, but it seems that one of the blows to that demographic -- at least here in DC -- has been the demise of the department store restaurant. The big old department stores -- the 7-story downtown Woodward & Lothrop and the tonier Garfinkles -- has what passed for decent restaurants back in the day. Megan and her mom wouldn't have even have had to leave the store. DC being less rich and more button-downed than New York, I wonder if the ladies would have gone to La Grenouille even if an equivalent had been available. I notice that certain restaurants in upscale neighborhoods, Black Salt, for example, seem to be extra hard to reserve at lunch, though they are far from the business crowd. Perhaps that's where the ladies are today.

Not to get all Miss Manners-y, but unless the host specifically requests that you bring the wine and that it match a particular course, they are under no obligation to drink it that night or share it with you. Now, if you come to my house, we always get around to drinking everything in the house by the end of the night, including the cheap swill tucked into the back of the fridge. But, generally, if someone else has planned the meal and -- especially -- matched the wine, it's something of a faux pas to spring a bottle on them and expect them to pull the cork at your behest. I am told that this is why, in France, people generally bring champagne (which goes with anything) rather than wine, which might be construed as a critique of the host's choice.

According to the sign hanging from the Eifel Tower outside the Belgian joint on my walk to work, BN arrives November 17th -- midnight tonight.