Ling

Saturday night: -late night snack at Hapa Izakaya. I shared a bottle of the Indigo Wind sparking sake, and had a glass of the Quail's Gate Chardonnay. Also had a really good dish of beef tongue ("gyutan steak" on the fresh sheet)--rather thick slices of chewy, rich meat. It was so good, we ordered a few more dishes of tongue to share. (I've only recently begun eating tongue again, after overcoming my childhood fear that eating it would mean I've french-kissed a cow. )Friends had the bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms, the unagi on rice, the seared mackerel, and beers. Conversation revolved around my poor driving skills. Everyone had a different story to tell about how I'd endangered each and every one of their lives at one point.....*shakes fist at non-Egullet friends* Sunday night: -Feenie's for Burger Club. I like the burgers at Feenie's--sesame on both the top and bottom of the toasted bun, thick patty with a hint of pink in the center. I think it's a good deal for $12, considering you get a nice serving of some pretty darn good fries and a few interesting dipping sauces (I'm partial to the dill mayo). Shared a bottle of the Inniskillin Dark Horse Meritage. I've been feeling sick, so I guess tonight will go down in history as the day Ling had to take home half her dinner in a doggy-bag. A bit of good-natured (I think? ) mocking about my driving skills, which ends when peppyre insisted on taking my keys and driving us over to Lee and Tricia's place. After a glass of wine on the rooftop, I drove over to La Terrazza where one of the guys I'm seeing had a white chocolate cheesecake waiting for me. Unfortunately, I got lost and was driving onto oncoming traffic at one point, so I arrived a bit later than expected. The cheesecake (wrapped in phyllo, topped with sour cherries) was still warm when I got there. It was not your standard NY-style cheesecake; it had a lighter mouthfeel and I'm quite sure it contained ricotta. Evening ends with my date making fun of my parking job (a mere 3 feet away from the curb!) as he walked me to my car.

^I'm not canucklehead, but I just get really thirsty after eating something loaded with MSG. Some people get headaches.

I know your currants are fresh, but you could use them in a version of Spotted Dick. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/103210

1 cup of butter for 12 cookies, and I ate 4 cookies...so I only ingested 1/3 cup of butter (plus a few ounces of chocolate.) I'm kind of watching my weight. Manjari is my favourite for drizzling over cookies, and I like Guanaja for baking. I also like Scharffen Berger semi-sweet for straight eating, and bittersweet and unsweetened for baking. Breakfast today was a croissant, and an apple struesel muffin. (And then I spooned some peanut butter straight from the jar and ate it with chocolate...sssshh! )

It was my day off today, so I woke up and made 2 batches of shortbread. Big, buttery slabs covered in Valrhona Manjari chocolate. 2 cups of coffee. Delicious way to start the day.

Did McKim's in Richmond used to be called Mak's (phonetically "muck ung gay")? You are revealing all my favourite places to eat with my family.... The congee at Mak's is also very good--my favourite is the one with the fresh, sliced pieces of fish (sole, maybe?) The portions are indeed "civilized" (i.e. small enough for me to order 2 bowls of whatever I'm having...so it can get a bit pricey.) You can also get extra noodles for a small charge, correct?

I think Crepe Montage is in that price range.

I ran a search for hangar steak, and this is how I cooked mine last time: ************ I just finished cutting the gristle off the the steak as best I could. Then I cut the steak into largish pieces (about 2 inches by 4 inches) because the steak was pretty ragged looking by the time I was through. It's marinating in the fridge right now with a generous amount of chopped garlic, slices of shallots, red wine (about 1/2 cup), worcestershire sauce, cracked black pepper, and a bit of sea salt. Tomorrow I plan on serving it blue rare (same way I do all my steaks) with some crumbled blue cheese on the top. (Or maybe I will saute some mushrooms, add some more red wine to deglaze the pan, and mount with butter. Maybe a bit of dijon in the sauce?) Diced avocado with fresh squeezed lemon juice and sea salt on the side. Starch will be polenta with cheese, or tater tots. ************* And the 2nd time, I did it without an overnight marinade, but made a sauce of anchovy, olive oil, parsley, and garlic to pour over the steak.

The effects of weiners and sweet liquids can be quite intoxicating.

My mom is of the same opinion. I didn't notice either to be particularly dirty when I went...although I didn't sneak a peek in the kitchen.

scallops, gai lan, and mushrooms mapo dofu a few pieces of the coffee chiffon cake I made this afternoon Yesterday: -pan-fried chicken thighs and mushrooms -si gua (cooked them, but did not eat them) -chocolate truffles (not homemade)

This week: -a rather forgettable take-out dish of chicken curry my brother bought for me (pieces of dark chicken meat simmered until they were rather dry in a very watered-down sauce) -Sushi King: cheap take-out sushi en route to my friend's house. I haven't eaten here in years. The tuna sashimi was gray. Quite bad. -Earl's: Ok, I had a date but by the time I had dinner with my family (complete with the Frog Commissary carrot cake--made by yours truly ) it was almost 11:00p.m. So my date picked me up and asked me where I wanted to grab dessert...I knew it was probably too late, but I suggested swinging by West and then Cin Cin's (both closed!) before ending up at Earl's across the street. I had the Yalumba Cab. Sauv. and their version of an apple pie--pastry was a cross between brioche and puff pastry, apple filling was a bit boring (not enough spice, apples rather mushy), topped with some decent vanilla ice-cream, swirls of caramel around the plate.

Ok, I need the recipe for the Coconut Curry Beef Brisket. Is it like a dry version of Thai beef curry? ← Sorry to disappoint, but my curry-making skills are pathetic. I just use Glico, add some Indian "curry" powder to the pot, and add most of a can of coconut cream.

Ann, that meal looks delicious and colorful. Arne, I can second that the duck confit from Oyama is quite good, and relatively inexpensive compared to the duck confit in the coolers at Les Amis, and at Stong's (from Hill's Foods).

Oohhh...some fine lookin' tripe soup and pastitsio on the same day. You are a lucky, lucky guy.

Actually, I would ask him this question: Do you eat there because you think it is good food? If he says yes, kick him to the curb. If he says no, it's crap, but it's next door and I have to eat, well, benefit of the doubt Maybe he is saving money eating at Subway so he can afford to wine and dine you in the manner to which you have become accustomed. But who am I to say...my husband was the king of the 5 day'er...and he loves a good meatball sub from Subway! But since I got ahold of him, he also has an appreciation for a lot of fine foods he never would have tried without me. ← When I read your post about the 5 day-er, my stomach turned...especially when I got to the part about the ingredients... He says he eats there b/c it's convenient. But he did take me to Morton's on our first date and polished off the entire porterhouse by himself! And he did order it rare! Chef Fowke: The Mars bar kolachy sounds good. Nougat-y, chocolate-y bread...Mmmm. Gingerbread kolachy not so much--I wouldn't want the dough (delicious as it is) diluting the taste of the warm caramel and heady spices in the dessert.

Wow, how do you get your pie crust crimp to look so neat? Mine always looks..err...rather rustic. That's a beautiful pie.

My friends always order nachos as a group appetizer. I eat it, but it's not something I particularly like.

I always think if it as fresh baked chemicals with a hint of decomposition...reminds me that the morgue at Shaughnessy was WAY too close to the cafteria. Creeps me out. ← Aw man...one of the guys I'm dating eats Subway twice a day. A footlong meatball sub for lunch and a footlong tuna sub for dinner. Should I stop seeing him?

I haven't grilled the chops yet, but the ground lamb from Tenderland made *fantastic* lamb burgers. ← I love the meat at Tenderland. I buy venison there...and gigantic lamb shanks for braising.

Dairyland's "European-Style" butter is cultured.

I've adapted the recipe I got off the back of a package of raisins...here's my recipe. 1 cup of shortening 2/3 cup of brown sugar 2/3 cup of granulated sugar 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 cup flour 2.5 cups quick-cooking oats 1 tsp. vanilla 2 tsp. cinnamon 2 eggs 1 1/4 cup raisins Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes. Makes about 24 generously-sized cookies. I am happily eating them now...

The lady at Seafair told me that there's some sort of strike going on, so the trucks aren't delivering stuff like game meat to Richmond for awhile. All they had in the freezer were buffalo burgers. I ended up going to Stong's for buffalo tenderloin from Hill's (frozen). They also had buffalo chuck roast, and cross-rib roast (dry aged, not frozen).

Thanks! Going to Seafair now.

Anyone know where I can get game meat in Richmond? (Heringer's, perhaps?) Looking for buffalo, venison...anything...