KatieLoeb

FlaJoe: Lombardi's is pretty good, but Tacconelli's is more or less the standard by which other pizzas are judged here in the City of Brotherly PizzaLove. Problem with Tac's is that you have to call and reserve your dough ahead 'cuz they only make so much per day. However, they have just opened a branch in Moorestown, NJ (about a 20 minute ride from downtown Philly) where they serve without reservations. YAY! I haven't had the pleasure yet, but it's high on my list of "to dos" and the South Jerseyites are quite fortunate. I still miss Sally's and Pepe's. I haven't been to New Haven in probably 16 years and I still recall how damn good that pizza was! I pnce drove all the way to New Haven from Philly just to prove it was the best pizza ever to some skeptical friends. We drove, we ate, we turned around and came back. Oh to be young and foolish again!

Yesterday between Head House Square Farmers Market (I only got beautiful red field ripened tomatoes) and Reading Terminal Market (carrots ($1), 2 bags yellow tomatoes ($1/each), shiitake mushrooms, fresh thyme, a big melon, gigantic bag of Brokly Wokly ($1), fresh eggs, dairy fresh heavy cream, habanero jack cheese (made a killer quesadilla for lunch today with this cheese and a sliced yellow tomato between two corn tortillas), and chicken livers. Couldn't find the duck livers I really wanted so I had to go to the Italian Market and D'Angelos butcher shop. Three markets in two hours. YIKES! I was all shopped out by the time I got home and took a nap! Made a couple of pates from the livers, eggs, cream and shiitakes with some jarred truffles and truffle oil I already had at home. Tried one this evening with friends and it was a hit. A bit underseasoned for my taste - next time lots more salt and white pepper, but nonetheless the texture and flavor was pretty good. Never tried my hand at charcuterie before so I was relatively pleased for a first effort.

Local Hero is still, and will always be one of my favorite films of all time. Utterly quirky and hysterical, alternately bizarre and touching. Great stuff and a must see rental for anyone that hasn't seen it. Get a bottle of wine and get a little loopy before you watch and you'll laugh your butt off.

Jeff: Welcome to eGullet and especially the Pennsylvania forum. Looking forward to many more posts of yours in the future. Great writing and great attention to detail! Good luck with the twins too! That's a lot more daunting...

I'd love to say something clever, but all I can say is: Damn! That sounds amazing...

Dave: I can't compete with Fifi's expertise and excellent post, so I'll just say that I will often simmer seeded and coasely chopped tomatoes that are similarly lightly seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and just a bit of herbs, S & P, and then I will leave some chunky and whirl some in the blender so I have both a pureed version and a chunkier version to grab out of the freezer for whatever I might wish to use it for in the future. I just got a food mill myself, at a thrift store and am looking forward to using it. I'll be making one of those tri-color layered vegetable pates later this week and will probably try use it for the yellow tomato layer. Other layers will be spinach and carrot or mushroom. I can't decide on the final flavor. I think the mushroom will taste better, but the carrot will be more aesthetically pleasing. Any suggestions from anyone?

Batch of gazpacho for immediate consumption over the next few days. Cauldrons of tomato sauce for the freezer.

Check out this article from the Inky Philadelphia Inquirer Crab article This pretty much covers everything anyone wanted to know.

Like Water for Chocolate is an incredibly sensual food movie. I nearly weep when I think of the rose petal sauce. Nothing could possibly sound more delicious. The passion between the lovers is really remarkable. Babette's Feast is more intellectual, but also a very serious foodie movie. How come no one mentioned Soul Food? Great cooking and family eating scenes in there. Chocolat was a very sweet movie (pun intended). They found the only thing that could make Johnny Depp even sexier. They gave him a wonderful brogue. I remain a fool for a guy with an accent

That's what I was thinking. Especially at this time of year. I know how many UPS and FedEx drivers I've seen sitting in their trucks parked in loading zones in the blazing sunshine, eating their lunch at a leisurely pace. I know how hot my closed car gets so I'd be loathe to ship anything perishable or temperature sensitive before it cools off significantly.

Whazzat? This? Yeah, that's the stuff. Fabulous bread and the very best hoagie places in Philadelphia will only use Sarcone's bread and rolls. Crusty outside with a decided snap to it, soft inside. Great stuff and probably the best thing in the world for sopping up picked pig.

Martini Beach in Cape May, NJ has this on the dessert menu. It's called "encrusted cheesecake", so as not to scare folks off. I suggested we wrap it in bacon and just call it "Heart Attack on a Plate" ! All kidding aside, it's surprisingly delicious. Lethal actually, on the decadence scale. For all of you who think this would be your food fantasy come true, you're probably right.

Exactly! This is just what I was talking about when I begged you on groveling hands and knees to make these. Assouline & Ting is the Philadelphia purveyor of all things D'Artagnan and caviar related in Philadelphia. Whenever there is a city wide food event that they attend, there is always a tray of the French Kisses on their table. It is the D'Artagnan foie gras mousse piped into the pitted dates and then soaked in Armagnac. They are incredibly delicious and addictive in a truly decadent sort of way... I'm certain there is a local purveyor of D'Atagnan products near you, but if not, Assouline has website at Clickety

Heirloom tomatoes Figs Fresh melons that perfume the entire car on the ride home from the farmer's market and for days afterward Apricots Crosnes Asian pears and heirloom apples from Northstar farm in Chester County, PA White Asparagus in May in Austria. It's only in season for about 3-4 weeks and every single restaurant serves it as one of many blackboard specials and every farm stand has it. Big honking stalks, but cooked until tender as a gratin, in rich cream soup, or any one of a million clever ways, every one delicious

Yeah - but the cleanup after someone knocks it over and it soaks into the carpet is a nightmare... Not that I'd know anything about that.

Tommy - I knew you would say that before I even opened up the thread. But of course your right. The water here is awful, and seems to be getting worse as time goes on. I can actually smell the water when I turn on my shower. Yech! There's a filter on my kitchen tap for cooking/drinking water. That makes it vaguely passable.

Fried Oyster BLT on soft roll with pesto mayo A "Katie Special" from Koch's deli - Spiced Beef, Chicken Salad, Jarlsberg cheese and cole slaw on an onion roll with just a hint of Dijon mustard. I had a smoked salmon, asparagus and brie panini for lunch today! Yum!

Ohmigod! I LOVE these! They are sooooo yummy. The local purveyor of D'Artagnan products always has these out at food events and I always sneak back for seconds, and thirds... Oh pretty please - make these!

SouthJerseyEpicurian and myself were contemplating making a few large pans of Pastitsio. Does everyone like eggplant and Greek food??? Will there be room to lightly reheat said pans in the big-assed oven? If not we could just bring sangria if everyone likes that.

A friend of mine just told me he had a really great meal at Rio Bravo. Whole Snapper Veracruz and some other things that sounded good. But, I'm also pretty sure he hasn't tried La Lupe, Garibaldi or Tacqueria Veracruzana either. So perhaps his opinion is based on a lack of comparison of the other authentic South Philly Mexicano to be had. I usually trust his judgement, foodwise, but I also trust y'all, and so far the concensus seems to be just average for Rio Bravo. The shrimp dish with mole sauce at La Lupe is pretty damn tasty. Herb shared it with me, so I'll let him pipe up for himself, but I thought it was delicious. Mole was quite dark, qith a complex flavor that was really hard to describe, but clearly had a lot of stuff going on in it.

Oh - sorry. I thought it said "Women ARE bitter" Article is silly and doesn't really make it's point too well. I like my coffee blonde and sweet, or even dark and sweet, like my men! I LOVE bitter chocolate. I don't like acrid aftertastes, for instance tonic water. Yech! And I don't mind "bitter" overtones in my wine, as long as the rest of the wine is pleasing.

I didn't realize that "Greek" oregano was a different plant. My understanding was that it was the flowers, not the leaves that were used. That seems to be true if you've seen Greek oregano packaged. It looks like little dried yellow blossoms, more suited to a potpourri or a dried flower wreath than the spice rack. But I could be wrong. Anyone else here know the answer? Any Greek chefs out there???

In past summers I've made an herbal syrup out of 1.25 cups Mint leaves, .5 cup each cilantro and basil leaves. Place in blender and cover with still hot, just made simple syrup (about 2.5 cups or two to one volume-wise with the greenery). When it cools, whirl it up until the herbs are finely chopped and the syrup is a light green, fragrant elixir. A few tablespoons of this in a highball glass with some good bourbon and topped with lemonade or bitter lemon soda is quite refreshing. I'm certain other cocktails would benefit as well, I just never got past the first recipe since I like it so much

Right. I was having a vision of them over a big dish of pasta with a seafood sauce.

At the risk of offending you, which I really don't want to do. If I were a wine salesperson, which I'm not , I would have taken a different approach. I would have laughed inside and then told him the truth and suggested some appropriate champagnes for him to celebrate with. He might have become one of your best customers. Someone learning like him might have become a real wine officianado. His ignorance was only exceeded by his interest in learning. You haven't offended me, but trust me, this was hopeless in this particular scenario for several reasons: 1) He REALLY wanted to drink that wine, but only if it was AT IT'S PEAK. Having had the experience of getting the nuances of his tone of voice, etc., as well as other parts of the conversation which were left out, believe me, he was all about that unknowable nanosecond, and he wasn't looking to "learn" anything. At least not that night. 2) It was already quite close to closing time and he clearly wasn't coming out. He just wanted an "expert" to tell him it was OK to crack open the Gloria Ferrer Brut. The phone call was about seeking approval. 3) I did suggest he come by another time to purchase some "replacements" for his wine rack once he'd celebrated the millenium in style. I also wished him a Happy New Year. I don't know if he ever did come in or not. He never gave his name. Most of our regular customers would unfailingly do that when looking for help (either in person OR over the phone) because we kept a database of all their past purchases so even if they didn't remember what they'd bought, we could find it for them again, or suggest other wines based on their taste preferences.