mrbigjas

when you say it was popular for 100 years, about when was it overtaken by sweeter whiter varieties? early 1980s, by any chance? that's about when i remember silver queen becoming pretty much the only thing available. but then again that time frame is when i was 10-12 so that's about the beginning of my remembering anything.

Cheese danish is a real New York (or Eastern Seaboard) thing, eh? No decent cheese danish in your neck of the woods? Oh well. But you have the mountains and clear air, don't you? I hope this doesn't sound very preachy, but I had an experience last week that reminded me that we all have to appreciate what we can where we are. And then again, there's always travel! ← i've had cheese kolaches in southeast texas, and they are similar to danishes. or at least they seem that way to me--a flaky dough with some sort of filling, usually fruit or poppy seeds or cheese.

word. i miss good old silver queen, which it seems hardly anyone is growing anymore, growing that super sweet variety they came out with about five years ago. and more than that i miss gold old yellow corn. that butter/sugar stuff they have early in the season each year is about as close as i can find for the most part.

katie, there were two up until about a month ago, when i bought the second to last bottle up in chestnut hill. and i've been swilling it ever since (if you can call putting .5 oz into a drink that you have one of a couple times a week 'swilling'). the drink i've enjoyed the most was the fancy free cocktail, which i made in part because i picked up orange bitters at the new dibruno's at the same time. also aviations, which are great drinks. there was one i had (might have been the tennessee cocktail) which i didn't like at all. the real problem is now i'm gonna have to go out and spend another $33 on a bottle of grand marnier or cointreau (i bought several airplane bottles of g.m. for cocktail tasting purposes). slkinsey, that's pretty fascinating about their process. i love things like that--so much effort going into a liquor that is used in such small quantities and isn't very common at all. excellent.

don't worry whitetrufflegirl, i'll be making them again soon! feel free to post your recipe, unless it's copyrighted or something.

i think i speak for every single east coast resident when i say we love it more than life itself, and would eat it every day if we could.

I've often found eating crabs to be a calorie-losing proposition, exercise really. Delicious exercise, sure, but every bit as good as a jog around the park. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. ← hmm. yes, i see where you're going with this. maybe that explains my ridiculous hangovers i get sometimes when doing AYCE crabs. i'm drinking like i'm eating a big meal, but in truth i'm not eating all that much at all. edited to say, what do i mean 'maybe?' of course that's why, and i know it.

try this - a couple hours at Philadium with friends (ayce Tues 7PM-1AM) enjoying trays of crabs, then walk across the street to Chickie's and Pete's to fill up on crab fries, wings, and mussels in the crab juice. if you don't feel like leaving Philadium, try their cheesesteak or fried sampler. wait, a couple hours eating crabs and then you need to head somewhere to fill up? you're a better eater than i am, jmbrightman.

In direct contradiction to the French, I buy the quail on Saturday, bone & brine them that day, then freeze them. Maybe it's the brining, but I can't tell the difference between these quail and those I've cooked fresh (which is pretty infrequent, to be fair). ← heh. yeah, in contradiction to that these came pre-frozen from the asian grocery. so i have no idea when they were killed...

i'm so there.

excellent tips, thanks derek. you're definitely not too late--i'll be doing them again, and soon too. i'm not sure about boning them quite yet, because i'm not sure i have the energy on a given day--i generally give myself about an hour to prepare dinner, and while that's feasible on a general basis, it gets kinda sketchy when it comes to prep like boning quails. ok my childish side just can't believe i wrote that last bit.

hey y'all thanks for all the tips. here's what happened: when i opened the quails, they were cleaned! so that was good. but they definitely had several feathers left. after some plucking and cleaning, i went with carswell's recipe there, with the pancetta and sage and whatnot, because i had that (or actually, easy access to that on my way home). and it turned out GREAT. took a little less than the 45 minutes--more like half an hour total. they browned pretty quickly. and the gravy (butter/olive oil, then as described some wine and an ice cube of reduced chicken stock), when reduced it totally emulsified the butter and whatever pancetta fat into the liquid, and the gravy was ... like gravy. awesome. served with soft polenta flavored with parmigiana and caramelized fennel. so the meal was kind of monocolor, but delicious. anyway, thanks. since they were easier and even tastier than i thought (and not too expensive), i'll try the other recipes posted another time--deep frying whole does sound good, and pomegranate molasses and tangerines? that sounds great, but wintery, so i'll give that one a few months...

sue's produce had corn yesterday from somewhere or other with a big sign that said 'picked this morning!' so i bought a couple ears for the same prices as you. and it was like you said. killer. they still had it today but the 'picked this morning' sign was gone so i would expect it to be a little more starchy. probably still pretty darn good though.

if i knew where to find the peppers here in pennsylvania, i'd make pimientos al padron all the time.

p.s. i'm all psyched now. something new, just what i needed.

those things are awesome. when we were in barcelona in march, we probably ate 10 plates of them throughout the week. but they're just not hot, despite their reputation. i kept waiting for the hot one and it never came. some were hotter than others, but none more than a mild poblano. damn they are good though.

cool, thanks!

these are all great ideas. jefferyc, thanks for the warning; i reckon i'll find out when i get home. i bought these on a whim because i was at the vietnamese grocery, and i was thinking to myself, you always see quail on dim sum menus, but they're so expensive at the poultry place... i wonder how that works. and i looked down and there was the package, 6 for $6.99! that would explain it. so i bought it. carswell and little ms foodie, when these are pan roasted like this, the skin is not crisped, i assume? and you didn't remove the carcass did you? final question, if y'all don't mind: when grilled, for how long, about? this pan roasting (and also the recipe for what basically seemed like a quail ragu i found in lidia's cookbook last night) seems to take a good 45 minutes or so till they're tender--when grilling, am i doing it kind of lower and slower like that, or are they OK faster and hotter? thanks all

so i bought a package of six little bitty frozen quails from the asian grocery. i mean they're tiny things. and they've been defrosting in my fridge, and will be ready tonight. but i'm not sure what to do with them. spatchcock and grill? is there other prep that should be done? should i roast them? or broil them? how about sauces/rubs? any thoughts? i mean, i could just try to cook them and eat them plain, but that's boring, and you guys haven't let me down yet when i need ideas. it's summer, there's produce galore, i have reduced chicken, lobster, and beef stocks in the fridge, plenty of wine, herbs and spices both fresh and dried, all manners of vinegars, oils, soy sauces, fish sauces, hot sauces, you name it. so what's your favorite quail recipe?

there's no Wawa at 4th and Queen - you're probably thinking of the one at 2nd and Christian ← yeah, that's the ticket.

the public gallery? edited to say, oh, i understand now. here they are:

actually that one was at 8th & bainbridge, and is now an independent place, not closed. don't forget --20th & locust --20th & chestnut --4th & ... like, queen or so? --18th & arch --is there still one down at 2nd & south? the real realy beauty of wawa comes when you're driving upstate and getting off the northeast extension on to rte. 80 and you're starving, and your options are mcdonalds, burger king, arby's, a pizza place (which i'm not disparaging; i've never been there), or wawa. which also has cheap gas and clean bathrooms. let us give thanks. maybe wawa discussion should be its own topic.

lisa: i thought you said it tasted terrible! bart: it does. but it's smooth and mild, and refreshingly addictive... and once again, a simpsons quote for every situation...

you know, i've been laughing about this for a day and a half now. yet more proof that there is indeed a simpsons quote for every situation.

don't forget how their cash registers make video game noises! wawa coffee is great. i drink la colombe or la cigale coffee most mornings because they're on my route to work. but sometimes, if i'm driving rather than walking to work, i stop at a wawa instead--and every time i'm taken aback yet again at how good their coffee is. it doesn't at all suffer from the starbucks-induced overroasting trend (even the dark roast), it's round, mellow, and just damn good. holly, if someone followed that agenda you posted, i would seriously bow down in awe at their eating prowess. that's a vast quantity of food. i would forgo the butterscotch swirl though--bassett's peach is still the epitome of the ice cream maker's art IMO.