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KatieLoeb

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by KatieLoeb

  1. Tonight's effort - spurred on by my freshly made batch of ginger beer and a recent visit to a local Indian BYO that serves lovely pitchers of mixers in which to add your own vodka or rum. I tried a pomegranate-ginger mix that was so refreshing I couldn't wait to try and recreate it. Mumbai Mule 1.5 oz. Pearl Pomegranate Vodka 1 oz. pomegranate juice 1 oz. homemade ginger beer .5 oz fresh lime juice .75 oz. spiced simple syrup Shake over ice and drop into a Collins glass. Add a splash each of soda and ginger ale. Stir and garnish with a lime wedge. This is going onto the cocktail menu at work this coming weekend. Everyone that tasted this loved it!
  2. Were the restaurants supposed to be ranked in order? Because if that's the case they've got some 'splainin' to do. Han Dynasty needs to be way higher on that list and Positano Coast??? Seriously????
  3. Awesome. I can hardly wait for the rest of this blog. Love the new kitchen! Congrats on the end of construction. That's always a nightmare. May you cook in it in good health for many years to come ... Happy Birthday to Mr. Fabby! Party preparations should be interesting. I look forward to seeing the festivities take shape. Any chance you could scan up some of your son's comics? I think we need to actually view Snakey Boy, now. As for the utterly adorable pup - he needs a name that suits him. But pets should also have names that convey some sense of majesty and importance. Because we all know that's how they humbly see themselves. My dearly departed dachshund was named Elvis. His proper given registered name was Elvis Nothin'-but-a-Hund-Dog. I vote for Wallingford. Wally for short. It just seems to have enough pompousness to match his rumply little face. Guillaume aka Willy could work well also. The family that lived across the street from me growing up had a basset named Willy that was best buddies with my poodle.
  4. I didn't think Supper had been opened long enough to make the cut, myself.
  5. There's always Rajbhog in Cherry Hill, in the Springdale shopping plaza. It has all the ambiance of a bus station, but the food is good. Service is sketchy at best, and the language barrier (and I'm not really certain they don't speak English as well as the next person) can lead to confusion on your bill at times. YMMV.
  6. Tim: Jim Beam Rye is on the shelf everywhere. It's listed. Noilly Prat dry vermouth is usually at the Specialty stores (I pick mine up on 5th Street usually), but the search page currently shows it only at Franklin Mills in Philadelphia County. Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Narberth and Jenkintown stores are all listed as having some in Montgomery County if that's not too far out of your way. The Ardmore store usually has a pretty good selection of everything, including spirits, so that might be a place to make a field trip to for "research". They have the Wild Turkey Rye as well. Bryn Mawr seems to have a couple of bottles of the Sazerac 6 year old limited distribution stuff. Report back with your findings, soldier...
  7. Apparently, these things make a hellacious mess. Or at least so I'm told by my former coworkers at Amada. Seems a small private party came armed with marshmallow guns and made a mess of the place as part of their "festivities".
  8. Thrift stores and consignment shops are a great place to find that stuff too. Or eBay...
  9. The coffee doesn't suck, it just has a bitter and burned taste to it. I don't like that, but others seem to. It's subjective, as are all matters of taste. I personally prefer the coffee at Dunkin Donuts, or Wawa locally. Or La Colombe when I'm near there. Fortunately, we serve La Colombe where I work, so I get it when I'm there. I'd really rather give my money to independent coffee shops provided they have a good product. There are several that I frequent here in Philly whose product I like far better than Starbuck's. Besides, Starbuck's is an evil empire much like Walmart. I don't like to give them my money to put those small independent shops out of business.
  10. You can come visit me at Chick's Cafe & Wine Bar if you'd like. I'm always happy to meet fellow eGulleteers passing through Philly, and your hotel is not far away at all. We're not a fancy place, and should be on the quieter side on a Wednesday night, and I can absolutely promise you a well crafted cocktail, nice glass of wine or an interesting beer alongside your dinner. You can check out the menu at the link above and see if it's up your alley. It's pretty up to date.
  11. Just passing through the housewares department at a suburban Macy's this evening, I noticed they had sets of either two small individual lidded casseroles or 2 individual gratin dishes on sale for at half price for $14.99! They were very pretty - a beautiful Robin's egg blue shade and heavy as they ought to have been. I'd have bought myself a set, but I don't need them right now and I've promised myself not to buy anymore kitchen gadgetry until I clean out some cabinets and neaten up the explosive mess I already own. But someone wants these at this price. I'm sure of it.
  12. If you're still in town tomorrow (Wednesday), I'll be back at work behind the bar at Chick's (614 South 7th Street). I'd be happy to mix you up either something classic or one of my own variations of a classic. Southwark is an excellent suggestion. It's where I go when I don't want to mix it myself. Kip and George will take good care of you.
  13. I'm sipping a glass of the Richard Hamilton Gumprs Shiraz 2005 right now. It's an inky black huge fruit bomb of cherry, blackberry and pepper. It's so viscous anad concentrated it's actually staining the sides of my wine glass. A bit overwhelming on its own, but was a delicious accompaniment to my lamb chop dinner earlier this evening. This could undoubtedly rest for a little while, but is tasty if accompanied by food right now. A very nice bottle for $11.99 and certainly something I'd buy again.
  14. Carole: I've always considered the Bianco a sort of pre-made "perfect" vermouth, in that it has a bit of sweetness to back up the dryness. The Bulleit is very tasty stuff and is the best balance of higher proof and good flavor without burning out the esophagus, IMO. The idea of a simple and straightforward Manhattan made with these components sounds right up my alley. I have the Bianco at home and plan to fix my lack of a bottle of Bulleit post haste, to give this a whirl. Thanks for the suggestion.
  15. David: My pleasure to have helped! More converts, YAY!! My work here is done... Patience is a virtue with producing Limoncello, although the microplaning helps move along the infusion process, it really does mellow a bit with time in the bottle. It's an honor being the annointed Limoncello Queen of eGullet, but the thought of so many happy smiling faces enjoying the "fruits" of a recipe I scribbled on a cocktail napkin so long ago warms my heart. I'll think of all of you as I raise my glass of Limoncello, as I know you do for me. Cent' Anni!
  16. Toby's prose could make a girl want for a good <ahem> stiff drink and a cigarette afterward. Brilliantly done, Toby. You have such a way with words.
  17. :sniff: I guess my invitation got lost in the mail.... I wish I'd known about this. I'd most definitely have rearranged my schedule and come up to attend this event. Sounds like it was awesome.
  18. Dove Sugar-free dark chocolate squares are on sale this week at CVS. I'll be stocking up in anticipation of my next lunar cycle induced binge. That way, I can feel like I'm at least trying to be righteous.
  19. They are thin, long and straight green noodles I found with the soba noodles at my local Asian Market. I'd never used them before, but they're pretty tasty. They are opaque, and a very pale green color. They cooked in about 4 minutes. My Asian Market probably has about one hundred different types of noodles. An entire aisle, in fact. I was a bit overwhelmed yesterday when I was looking for something to put into my "faux-pho" soup. I started reading the packages and looking for English descriptions and directions. That cut out at least half of the possibilities. The spinach noodles looked good so I bought them. I was pleased with the result. They're definitely kind of like a thin soba noodle. But green.
  20. I'm impressed with the dedicated setup in the car for keeping the sandwich hot! That's some serious tailgating prep. I did some shopping at RTM today. Found several great grab bags of produce at both Iovine's and OK Lee. Mushrooms (both button and Portobello), red pears, two ginormous eggplant (in one bag for only $1!) and some huge yams. The mushrooms will end up in tonight's dinner, an Asian shrimp noodle soup and the eggplants will be roasted for Eggplant Kuku, one of my very favorite ways to eat eggplant, ever since a former coworker turned me onto the recipe.
  21. Cleo: I never thought about using beans to thicken soup (other than bean soup, of course) but it certainly makes sense, as long as it doesn't give the soup a mealy texture. I like the mashed potato or rice + a little bit of low/no fat dairy to get a cream soup texture and flavor without all the calories and fat. Works with almost anything. edited to add: Tonight's dinner was a riff on a Rachel Ray recipe from Food TV that I accidentally caught her cooking while flipping channels a few days ago. My version uses more bok choy, only one pound of frozen shrimp with the addition of some cubed firm tofu, vegetable broth and shrimp boullion, fresh Thai chiles instead of red pepper flakes and Japanese spinach noodles instead of vermicelli. I served it with a big squeeze of fresh lime and some chopped fresh cilantro and it was delicious. I have leftovers enough for a couple of days of lunches too. Pretty easy and quick after all the slicing and dicing was done. And very tasty as well. Definitely something I'd make again.
  22. Brownies with a cream cheese ribbon in them. There are dozens of recipes out there. Blondies with butterscotch or cinnamon chips in them.
  23. World's Quickest Broccoli Soup recipe, for the time chellenged, or the lazy. Take one bag of pre-cut broccoli florets and dump into a microwaveable casserole (shallow and long is best - I use a glass baking dish). Cover with one carton of vegetable stock, add two or three garlic cloves and a half cup of frozen mashed potatoes or leftover cooked rice. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for four or five minutes until soft, stirring once halfway through. Season to taste (I like Penzey's French Four Spice and salt), add a negligible amount (1/2 cup or less) of fat free half and half or evaporated skim milk, drop it into the blender in two batches and puree. Reheat gently and serve. Total time start to finish is about 15 minutes. This works for caulifliower or baby carrot soup too.
  24. Thanks for the props, Tim. Glad you both enjoyed everything so much. The wine your gf had was a glass of the Pio Arneis. Sadly, we just sold out of it last night, but I hope we'll be getting it back. Working behind a bar with a great wine, beer and spirits selection is like a playground for me, since I have such an arsenal of things I can suggest to accompany your meal or mix up for your imbibing pleasure. Makes for me having fun and it filters over the bar, I hope.
  25. Of course it is my full intention to purchase the book. I was just waiting for Dave to have his book signing in Philly so I could attend, get the requisite signature on the inside cover and take Dave out for some cocktails around town.
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