KatieLoeb

Yeah - Nightscotsman pretty much has it covered unless you can get guarapo (real cane juice) instead of simple syrup. Muddle it up with the mint leaves (NOTE: there is a special variety of mint from Cuba called "Yerba Buena" that gives a true mojito it's unique flavor) and add fresh lime juice, generous pour of white rum, half a lime (needs the oils from the peel) and top with a splash of soda water. That's it.

Does this have anything to do with the water in the toilet swirling in the opposite direction in the Southern hemisphere??? If you swirl clockwise, does it go counter-clockwise?? Yes - I think you're mad. And I think I'm insane for considering this at this late hour.

Oh come on! This has to be better than How to Marry a Millionaire, or any of the other Fox TV "reality", or recent Bachelor and Bachelorette thinly veiled prostitution scams. At least you know they can COOK (crucial information) and they aren't golddiggers!

Nah. Unfortunately the spring load is strong enough to prevent that. I had an old friend that really confounded the nuns at Catholic school when he was able to actually demonstrate the sound of one hand clapping that they had intended as a purely rhetorical question. Sounds like he'd have been a worthy partner in crime for you...

This reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live routine... "It's a floor wax!!! It's a dessert topping!!!! It's a floor wax AND a dessert topping!!!! The more "stuff" an appliance claims to do, the less I believe it. Does it walk the dog and empty the dishwasher too???

Wow - cool thread. I'm right there with the microplaner and citrus reamer. I'm also quite fond of my immersion blender, toaster oven and microwave. Not sure if the basic meat thermometer counts as a gadget or a necessity, but I wouldn't roast a thing without it. A cool gadget I'm quite fond of is a pair of wooden tongs/tweezers that I purchased at a craft show. They fold flat in one direction and turn into spring loaded hinged tongs if you fold them "inside-out", so to speak. Great for stir frying, serving salad, and fishing toast out of the top loading toaster. They look like this: They also don't scratch the good cookware. I've gifted them to several chef pals and everyone loves them. I suppose I could order them from HERE, but I'm no sure it's the same folks as my other pairs, and would hate to be disappointed with inferior quality. If I were more organized I'd know where the damn order form I saved was, but that would be too easy

Turkey, Black Bean and Chorizo Chili Serves 12 as Main Dish. I created this recipe years ago after a conversation with Chef Robert DelGrande of Cafe Annie in Houston. There had been an article regarding his expertise on the subject of chile peppers in Bon Appetit, and since I was working on a chili recipe for a local cook-off, I called him and he was gracious enough to give me some great advice. The secret is the seasoning paste made from dried chiles that have been lightly toasted to bring the oils to the surface. He also suggested that the blender would give a better textured result to the flavoring paste than a food processor, and wouldn't "pulverize" the chiles and seasonings too much. Lastly, he explained to me that sweet ingredients (sugar, molasses, honey, etc.) "slow down" the attack of the heat of the chiles, so you don't blow out your palate on the first bite. I decided to do the black beans for the smokey flavor and as a bow to my Cuban mother's very best kitchen creation, to use ground turkey to be pseudo-health conscious (and different than the other entries) and the chorizo, just because you can't have NO fat or flavor, right? Here's the final result. I've won two local chili competitions and the hearts of several ex-boyfriends and one ex-husband with this recipe. 2-1/2 c black turtle beans 2 14.5 oz cans chicken broth water as required 2 lb ground turkey 12 oz chorizo sausage 3 14.5 oz cans diced, peeled tomatoes in juice 2 large bay leaves 3 large dried Ancho chiles 5 small (2") dried Chile de Arbol 3 T Sherry wine vinegar 1-1/2 T cumin powder (preferably freshly pan toasted and ground seeds) 1-1/2 T Mexican oregano 3 T pure Maple syrup 1 large or 2 medium Red bell pepper 1 large or 2 medium Yellow bell pepper 2 medium Onions 4 large cloves fresh garlic, minced 1/8 c Goya or other flavorful Spanish EVOO 1 8 oz can tomato sauce 1/3 c loosely packed fresh coriander leaves Hot cooked Rice 1 Lb shredded Monterey Jack cheese Wash and sort the beans. Soak overnight in 3 cups of water. Place beans and any remaining soaking liquid in a very large pot. Add 1.5 cans of broth plus .5 cans water to the beans. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Turn down heat to medium-low (simmer) and continue to cook. Meanwhile, saute and mash turkey in non-stick skillet until browned. Drain well and add to pot. Remove chorizo from casing and saute in same skillet, breaking up well with a fork until browned. Drain very well and blot excess fat with paper towels. Add to pot along with 3 cans of tomatoes and juice, and the bay leaves. Stem and seed the dried chiles. Toast in a small saucepan over medium heat about 4 minutes or until fragrant. DO NOT BURN CHILES. Carefully add remaining .5 can of broth and 3 T of Sherry vinegar to chiles and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook 7-9 minutes, until chiles are softened. Add chiles and cooking liquid to blender along with half of minced garlic, the cumin and oregano. Blend briefly to chop. Add maple syrup and 1/8 cup water and blend briefly again. Add chile flavoring paste to pot. Rinse out the blender container with 1/8 cup water to access all remaining chile paste and add to chili pot. Stir chili very well to incorporate ingredients and continue cooking for approximately one hour and twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, wash, core and seed bell peppers. Cut into 1/4" dice. Peel and dice onions to similar size. Saute peppers and onions and remaining garlic in 1/8 cup EVOO over medium heat until onions begin to turn translucent and peppers are softened. Add vegetables to pot after skimming any fat that may have risen to the surface while simmering. Stir well to incorporate. After 15 minutes, whirl tomato sauce in blender with coriander leaves until leaves are well minced. Add to chili and stir well. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until chili is thickened and beans are softened. Total cooking time for chili is about 2 to 2.5 hours. Serve over hot cooked rice with lots of shredded Monterey Jack cheese as garnish. Keywords: Turkey, Beans, Main Dish, Tex-Mex ( RG287 )

Amen to this. I put the Verdad on the list last year at a restaurant in Cape May, NJ where I play at sommeliere over the summers and it flew out the door. Reasonably priced and absolutely delicious. I hope this year's vintage is as tasty. This one is a no brainer for a return engagement on the wine list.

I've been making a sort of improvised Sephardic charoset for the past several years that is always a hit and much tastier than the "standard" mortar. 2 or 3 apples - cubed 2 or 3 pears - cubed 1/2 cup each walnuts, almonds, filberts and pistachios, finely chopped 1 handful each dried apricots, golden raisins, and dates, finely chopped Ground Cinnamon Ground Ginger Pinch ground Nutmeg Kosher White Concord wine 1/3 cup Honey Mix together fruits and nuts. Moisten with enough wine and honey to create "mortar-like-texture" and season to taste with ground spices. This is delicious and particularly easy since I cheat and pulse everything through the food processor and then dump it in a big bowl. I get the fruit stickyness out of the bowl with the wine and honey and mix the spices into the liquids in the processor as well. Makes for a very evenly flavored mixture. Voila! Couldn't be easier. This seems to be particularly popular with children and is a great way to get them to eat something half good for them.

Tommy: I'd highly recommend coming in for dinner, or if you'd like just a "taste" of the Bass, come in for a $26.00 three course prix fixe lunch Mon.-Fri. or Sunday for brunch. Many of the same preparations as dinner and a bargain for the caliber of food. And yes - that was a shameless shill for anyone who missed it The rib cook-off you recently saw on TVFN was from a few years ago. The current chef is Terence Feury, formerly of Le Bernardin in New York. We have a few special events coming up, including a wine dinner with Walt Flowers of Flowers winery on April 30, if that's something that would interest you. You can check out the menu and more info HERE, if you're interested.

Bethb: Sorry we couldn't accomodate you at Striped Bass, but May is going to be difficult at almost any top restaurant (depending on the EXACT date of your dinner) because of the multitude of graduations all over town. There are parents, grandparents and siblings from all over the planet descending on Philadelphia to watch Muffy graduate from Penn, Drexel, Temple, etc. There isn't a hotel room or a restaurant reservation to be had ANYWHERE some weeks. Depends on your exact date, but it's going to be tough, I think. Brasserie Perrier has a lovely private room on the second floor. Capital Grille is a fabulous steakhouse, and far better than the others in town IMHO. White Dog Cafe in West Philadelphia is also quite nice. Perhaps if you check some of the restaurants in Manayunk or the suburbs you might have better luck. I don't know how "transportable" your group is, but I suspect they might get around better than some of the out-of-towners I've had the displeasure of dealing with at graduation time at various restaurants in the past

Sephardic Charoset From the Passover thread: I've been making a sort of improvised Sephardic charoset for the past several years that is always a hit and much tastier than the "standard" mortar. 3 apples, cubed 3 pears, cubed 1/2 c each walnuts, almonds, filberts and pistachios, finely chopped 1 handful each dried apricots, golden raisins, and dates, finely chopped Ground Cinnamon Ground Ginger Pinch ground Nutmeg Kosher White Concord wine 1/3 c Honey Mix together fruits and nuts. Moisten with enough wine and honey to create "mortar-like-texture" and season to taste with ground spices. This is delicious and particularly easy since I cheat and pulse everything except the hand cubed fruit in batches through the food processor and then dump it in a big bowl. I get the fruit stickyness out of the bowl with the wine and honey and mix the spices into the liquids in the processor as well. Makes for a very evenly flavored mixture. Voila! Couldn't be easier. This seems to be particularly popular with children and is a great way to get them to eat something half good for them. Keywords: Kosher, Fruit, Condiment, Jewish, Passover ( RG264 )

JAZ: The vanilla vodka makes a pretty tasty Vanilla Cosmopolitan if you're fond of the usual recipe. I find that fresh lime juice and just a tad bit of Triple Sec (or Cointreau if you're feeling large) makes the best cosmos. And it's definitely a more adult cocktail. Black & White (like the milkshake) Martini can be tasty too., although more of a dessert drink. A splash of Godiva chocolate liqueur and the vanilla vodka works well. Also falls into the "amateurs"/college kids sweet "girlie" drinks category, but they're quite popular at one of my bars.

Oooohhh yes! The Nachtsmarkt IS fabulous. The beautiful produce, the huge barrels of sauerkraut, the fish and oyster vendor that has a Scandinavian sounding name, and the best oil and vinegar stall ever! Go and buy your lunch/snack and other canned and bottled goodies to take/ship home with you. There's also a very good Italian gourmet products and wine shop right across the street from the Nachtsmarkt as well. Sorry - I don't remember the name, but I could find it I were there.

Gruyere: Try this site Via Travel Design. It's run by two friends of mine that specialize in "foodie" vacations in France and Italy. James and Lori are two of the nicest folks in the world, and are utterly obsessed with travel throughout Italy and France. Check out the entire site and see if this is something that would be useful to you. Have fun!

You could retrace the steps of the September 2002 DDC Rib Run through central Jersey. Three roadside rib joints in three hours. YIKES! I was comatose for two days afterward, but man was that fun! The rib places are mostly in the Hammonton/Buena area so I'd guess it would be about an hour and forty five mnute hike from Gotham.

All the wine suggestions so far are excellent. Go for "spicy" reds (Cotes du Rhone, Zinfandels [cautiously], Tempranillo or Rioja, even a serious Beaujolais like a Morgon would be great) with softer tannins and you can't go wrong. Another delicious option for the non-beer drinkers would be a good dry hard cider. I really love that with BBQ and smoked meat.

I have to check and see how late the store is open on Wednesday evenings, and more importantly, how early I can skate out of my office that day. I'd like to figure out how close/far from eventual dinner destination the shop is. If it all works, you're on - I'd hate to be that close by and not have a chance to leave with a half a case or so! They also always have several bottles open for tasting, which definitely scores points with me.

Varmint: I agree that the Southern Italian twist might be refreshing this time out. If you're doing wines for that definitely try to find some Primitivo from Puglia (the "heel" of Italy's boot) or Sicily. It's genetically the same grape as zinfandel and would compliment anything you'd normally serve a Zin with, like roasted meat/lamb or even BOAR! The wines are always a bargain and absolutely delicious. Other red varietals are negroamaro or nero d'Avola from Sicily. For whites, I'd try some Malvasia (dry with dinner, or sweet for dessert) or try some wines from Regaleali, a more "modern" winemaker that is experimenting with Chardonnay and Cabernet. You could also serve a nice vermouth as an aperitif, or cook something in Marsala. Possibilities are all over the map, so to speak. Sounds like a LOT of fun too! P.S. While visiting Baltimore check out Bin 604. Way cool wine shop with great customer service. If it were closer to Philadelphia they'd be vying for my regular business along with Moore Brothers.

But what is Beanie Weenie Casserole, if not Trailer Park Cassoulet? A rose by any other name....

Thanks to all of you for your kind advice. Unfortunately, my friend has changed her travel plans (or at least her destination) due to meeting up with family. However, I am now very interested invisting Savannah myself, so I will print out and save this information for future reference. Again, many thanks for all of the great suggestions. Katie

I'd be more concerned about a competent local caterer having the appropriate equipment and experience than I would be about them following a recipe or finding ingredients. Interesting conundrum. If you're looking for volunteers I'm holding up a sign that reads: Will Do Prep for Wine

Kenny: Delighted I could help. I'm sure the special effort is appreciated and now I raise a (non-alcoholic) toast to you, the mother-to-be and the baby's good health! Salut!

Hi all: A friend and co-worker is finally getting a well deserved vacation (hopefully I'm next ) and has decided to visit Savannah. I'm hoping all of you serious travelers and gourmands as well as food professionals can recommend the not to be missed places there for a fellow foodie/restaurant person. Thanks in advance for your advice!

YESSSSSS! Also a Polish mustard with horseradish that I've found at a local ethnic grocer is fabulous. Chimichurri is good too. I prefer the compound butter toppings for less flavorful cuts. I occasionally like shallots and wild mushrooms with a bit of fresh herbs sauteed in just a smidgen of good EVOO too. Yum. I've also been known to make the mushrooms and end up delglazing the pan with balsamic and tossing it on top of baby spinach for a warm wilted salad on the side of my steak as well.