mrbigjas

let's face it: when you're down there, just go to chick-fil-a. unless it's sunday. ok let's face it REALLY: just go to john's. or tony luke's. unless it's sunday. in all those cases, just go to wendy's. or ikea! meatballs in dingleberry sauce!

now that's what i call adventures in eating! nice job, chappie.

you don't say... that's interesting. and how would you cook the chicken, to go with this? wow, that sounds great too, but unfortunately the cherries got made into a clafoutis tonight. don't tell the france board folks that i used sour cherries for it! (see, i told you i was a heathen...)

really? does condensed milk whip up like cream? i never knew that. i learn something new every damn day around here.

i know they're fruit; you don't have to be insulting about it! hahaha i bet no one's ever made that joke before. anyway, fool, yes.... i've never had that either, but fruit puree and whipped cream--what could be wrong with that? i think i'll try it!

that was my first thought--i've never had something like that before, and it sounds great. but these are definitely darker purple than what jack was using, and he specifically said 'only heathens add blackcurrants.' now, while i definitely have many heathenish habits, i don't know if i should express them the first time i make something.... i should add, i also have a bowl of small red sour cherries which are delicious. if that gives anyone else any other ideas.

ok so i have a bowl full of currants here. i don't know if they're black or red--they're kind of a reddish purpleish color. i bought them on a whim, and don't know what to do with them. i don't really eat much jam.... they're pretty tart. anyone have any thoughts?

i had kind of a weird pinotage the other day at tria (it's not on their website right now) that started off with a funky fruit bomb and ended up tasting like mesquite or an ashtray or something--but of course, in a good way. and the first thing i thought was that it might go well with smoked meat of some sort...

yeah you got that right.... i wonder what herbs some of those are, though. it's a gentian-based liquor, here's a pic i just took of it and the centerba i have: (you can tell which i like better...)

one quick thing about fries: when the kitchen is on at brasserie perrier, there isn't a better pile of fries in town. there i said it. alongside what could very well be the best burger in town, these fries are golden, they're crisp, salted just right, pillowy on the inside. they're actually perfect. however, i have also had them where they were kinda limp and not so good. but when they're good they're the shiz, yo.

I think McGillins Old Ale House makes a better overall basket of wings, crispier and hotter than Moriarty's. That said, Moriarty's Jameson's wings are exceptional. ← mcgillin's has great wings, true. and at happy hour time they're cheap. order a whole pile; they'll bring them out on a cafeteria tray for you. damn good.

you could have substituted green chartrueuse for it and no one would have been the wiser.... they even taste kinda similar. oh man, too bad you didn't think of it earlier; check it out, there's a recipe here: http://www.igrass.it/ricette/liquori/centerbe.htm the same friend who gave me abruzzese saffron gave me a small bottle of centerba and a small bottle of genziana... they're nearly gone now; i wonder if she's going back anytime soon.... centerba is amazing stuff when you overeat. you can feel it burning through the food in your stomach, and afterwards you feel a hundred times better. 70% alcohol, though...

whoa, you guys picked crabs indoors, on a bare table, with regular cloth napkins? not out back, with brown paper on the table and rolls of paper towels everywhere? that's hardcore, yo. are you guys just really good at picking crabs, or did you hose down your house afterwards? because in my experience, that stuff ends up getting everywhere...

no joke. damn tasty. but your tomatoes have to be good or there's no point, really.

and here we've been, up here in pennsylvania eating tomato sandwiches our whole lives, never realizing it was a southern thing...

i do! and i do treat it like gold--i think it's past its official expiration date but it still smells and tastes good...

excellent. when blending, am i looking for the mix to be almost totally smooth, or should it still be kernel-y?

it sure does. thanks!

excellent, thanks! i swear i've gotten more ideas from this thread than almost any other in recent memory. in other topics, i have some saffron from abruzzo, and it's excellent stuff. i've enjoyed the looks of things this month. i have a friend whose husband's family is from abruzzo, and her descriptions of what they've eaten while there makes my mouth water.

ah ha! thanks for the information, inespm. do you have a recipe you could post?

i've been meaning to start a thread that's basically an 'i love jacques and believe that he can do no wrong, but he says X is done this way and i always understood it to be done that way' kind of thing. gotta get on that...

OK i've got another question: if we want something that's not in the state store system at all, is it possible to order it somehow, or are we out of luck? i'm wondering because of other things that i like that are not available. take for instance plymouth gin. that company makes a fruit cup thing--kind of like pimm's--nowadays. (click here if you wanna read about it) and i want to try it. but i realize, really, how many people would buy that? i bet you'd sell like two bottles (one of them would be to me, and i'm guessing there is probably one other weirdo out there who likes this stuff enough to buy a bottle). so it makes sense that it's not on all the shelves. but is there any way to get it legally? or other things like that, that aren't in the system at all? just curious.

I thought the original poster said romantic. romantic? how about the 'lounge' in back of the midtown IV on chestnut? hahaha

it was like..... like a little bit of a crumbly dough. when i first mixed it, it was pretty chunky but as i stirred it, it smoothed out, and then after it sat for a bit and i guess the starch in the masarepa absorbed the water, it became... i guess the closest thing to it that immediately comes to mind would be cold mashed potatoes, maybe? before i continue though, keep in mind that i'm no expert on these things. i've eaten a lot of them, and the one time i made them they turned out like i've had them out. i'm sure if i'm wrong someone will be around to correct me. so anyway, looking at the recipe on that site you posted, it seems to me that it's straight up too much liquid--the water plus the liquid in the corn kernels would have made your dough more sticky than just the masarepa alone. i mean, the recipes i've seen mostly have roughly equal parts of masarepa and water--that one has that, plus another half-measure of water, plus the half-measure of corn kernels. anyway, that's my guess. damn the picture looks good, though. looks like an arepa-based grilled cheese sandwich. wait, that's pretty much what it is, isn't it?

i've tried making arepas before--oddly enough just a couple of weeks ago--but not those specific ones. i used the recipe off the back of the goya masarepa package and it turned out exactly like what i've had before at a local venezuelan restaurant. the recipe didn't involve milk, though, that i remember. but looking on goya's website here they definitely do include both cheese and milk. good stuff. i really like them. at the venezuelan place they'll stuff them with everything under the sun--chicken, beef, beans, cheese, eggs, tuna, you name it.