Lisa1349

Thanks everyone for the recommendations! As the week progressed the bachelor party got parlayed into a mini rehearsal dinner with the whole family at Brit's Pub. (Poor groom)The night before we sipped some late night drinks watching lawn bowling also at Brit's Pub. Food there mediocre, but great people watching and drinking. We also made it to The Local where I was very impressed with the food. After The Local we listened to some late night funk at the Dakota Jazz Club. We did a lot of driving around town, so I passed by most of the recommendations. The bachelorette party was at Chino Latino. A riotous good time for a bunch of 20/30 something cats looking to relax. The lo mein there was particularly good. The reception was at the skyview room in The Walker Art Center. Wonderful food by Wolfgang Puck's catering branch. Rarely have I been served hors d' oeuvres that are hot when they are supposed to be. I was very impressed with the city overall. Us former New Yorkers forget there's life to the left of the big apple. The skyway is perfect and the light rail from the airport very easy to maneuver. I hope to eat at more places around town next time.

Thanks for the recs and I'll report back. The bride and groom have been to Mancini's and I've heard many tales about it. I'll champion Manny's and Murray's to them. Vicious Wadd: I agree that steakhouse fare isn't exactly haute cuisine, but the groom is a meat and potatoes guy and as the chef of the family (me) won't be attending pre-bachelor party dinner, fine dining might be a little lost. Doesn't matter if it's good or bad as long as it's what he wants, right?

We'll be in town this week for a wedding. We need to host the groom and a friend for dinner. Being so close to beef capital U.S.A we are looking for a great steakhouse. I've found Murray's and Fire Lake Restaurant. Any suggestions or recommendations? I looked at Erte but they only have 2 or 3 beef options. Thanks kindly! We'll be in the uptown and downtown areas.

Shelby: Welcome to breakfast! The tomatoes look delish. Brenda: I love that the amount of butter on the grits = the size of the yolk on the egg next to it. Coming in September: breakfasts from our NEW kitchen when we upgrade from a tiny apartment to our first house!

I like to slice them lengthwise with a peeler to make ribbons. Drizzle with rice wine vinegar, salt and scallions. Add a fresh red chile if you want some heat. Yummy. I also make a salad where I chop the cucumbers into chunky quarter-rounds and dress with a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, dijon, salt, black peppper and great olive oil. I often make this when we have store bought rotisserie chicken or dinner.

Precisely. Breading size matters. As an example, it'd be difficult to get a whole shelled hazelnut to adhere to chicken. Ground hazelnuts would be fine. Panko comes in different size flakes based on brands. You can crumble it in your hands like dried herbs or give it a whiz in the processor. The flour before egg is important. It absorbs moisture from whatever you're frying to keep the breading on. Without it your breading is likely to fall off after cooking. With the flour it will stick firmly after cooking. And season all layers of breading - flour, liquid, and top coating. I prefer dredging via products laid on the counter (in paper plates or wax like anna auggested) to putting in a bag and shaking. The bag method doesn't ensure even coating. For cutlets I like to press the final breading on quite firmly. For something where you don't want such a firm coating, calamari, for example that will be deep fried place the breaded product in a medium strainer and shake. For veal cutlets I like to add some grated parm and lemon zest to seasoned Italian breadcrumbs (I prefer 4C brand - they make iced T and breadcrumbs, I wonder how that came about?) The temperature of the cooking fat is also quite important. You can follow proper breading procedure all day but put it into cold oil on the stove and you have a soggy, fat laden mess. Happy frying. My mom used to bread and fry zucchini sticks and tell me they were french fries. The epitome of health edited for spelling

I par boil then broil with full fat sauce. Crispy and tasty, nice alternative to frying which I avoid simply because I don't want to grease up my kitchen. It has nothing to do with fat content. I once coated grilled chicken breasts with buffalo sauce I had leftover and needed to use up and topped with crumbled blue and roasted for 5 minutes. Tasty and different, great with coleslaw on the side.

I just made some the other day! Sometimes I start the bechamel with chorizo or andouille and onions, infusing it all with porky goodness. In a standard M&C I occasionally add horseradish to the breadcrumb topping. As a main dish, I would like a poached egg on top. I've noticed this is the one dish that doesn't keep well. After cooling it's just not the same. Must be eaten right out of the oven! I confess I am a recovering Kraft Deluxe addict, but I don't consider the 2 to be the same dish at all.

I adore Square on Square on Chestnut and 20th. Mango chicken, and chicken with japanese eggplant is fantastic. I nominate them for best wontons.

The Boathouse in Conshohocken has a great bar atmosphere. You could all gather at the sushi bar at Bluefin, lots of opportunity to chat (and BYO) A little further away, the Drafting Room is Springhouse has loads of drink/beer/food specials at happy hour.

The upstairs bar at Devil's Alley on Chestnut. Perfectly sized, nice atmosphere, above average bar food.

It's been discussed, but I need to point out that the Dutch Festival would have been a big revenue bump for the Amish, and the market as a whole. Therefore, the cancellation of it must be to show allegiance for Mr. Oliveri. As much as I like Tony Luke's, I'd hate for them to present themselves as market bully.

Here in the burbs flank is $7.99 at Genuardi's and occasioanlly goes on sale for $5.99. The only place I can find skirt steak is at the Giant on Chemical Road in Conshohocken. Only that Giant, not the others. A new Whole Foods is being built in the parking lot of the Plymouth Meeting mall. Along with many higher end chain restaurants. If no one goes to that mall for shopping, maybe they'll go to eat. Whole Foods has what I call "gourmet tax". And while the service at RTM and 9th street are an exception, WF offers much better counter service than Genuardi's and especially Giant.

Katie's warm welcome is what encouraged me to post on eG after lurking for some time. Her hosting has always kept the PA forum a happy place 'where everybody knows your name". Best wishes for a tasty future!

Blueberry cornmeal muffins (before) For the finished product, take a peek at my blog, link in signature.

I love Zucchini Pie I sub olive oil for veg oil and always add extra parm. Great to bring to someone's house, always tasty, I just made one the other day. In a post above there was a suggestion to slice lengthwise on a mandoline and add to pasta - that's wonderful. I also slice them lengthwise with a peeler, blanch for a second, and drizzle pesto made with a plethora of garden basil as a great side dish. Alternately, cut in 2" lengths, scoop out center with a melon baller leaving 1/4" in the bottom, and stuff with seasoned italian breadcrumbs, parm cheese, garlic and anchovies. Roast until tender. Edited to add: drizzle with liberal amounts of olive oil

Make a lot of snowmen pipes for the winter Corn broth is great in a summer risotto, as a clam chowder base, and in savory custard. Corn custard with fire roasted red peppers...yumm.

Welcome, Dolseni, to eGullet! I am not an authority on easy dinners. When people ask me for easy, they say what I give them is hard. But it's a good time to mention doing something nice for Service men/women. I was at a rest stop a couple of weeks ago where I encountered Marines on the way to "you-know-where". I bought them dinner, even though the dining option was BK. Kudos to your brother.

Ear wax cookies (kidding!) I think there are some witch's hat cake molds, or use a christmas tree cake mold and trim it after baking, to make a sorting hat cake. Toffee filling somewhere in there would be terrific. For decor, if you're really adventurous, try a crystal ball made out of blown sugar and call it "the prophecy". For butter beer, mix cream soda and buttercotch schnapps, if it's an adult potter gathering. Chocolate covered pretzel rod "wands". For a serious dessert I'd go with toffee pudding. The most recent movie shows a whole pile of profiteroles. My husband adds "Severus crepes"! That witty man o' mine.

Kumquat vodka marmalade, great with foie gras. They'd also be good in a chutney for duck. I used to have a book about olive oil - in the back there was a recipe for a polenta cake that called for a whole lemon ground up with sugar, I added kumquats to this mix as well and the cake was awesome. If only I could remember the name... came out about 3 years ago. I served it with honey whipped ricotta.

Savory gelato selection of 3: saba, goat cheese, and olive oil with hazelnut "soil". Too out there? Get Shola of SK to make it. Saba glaze on octopus with marinated olives. (I love octopus) Saba would be a nice addition to the Vosges truffle with taleggio.

Stuffed peppers! I prefer red ones. They can be stuffed with a meat/rice mixture, a pasta mix like baked ziti right in the pepper. I also like something witty, like some pasta and tomato sauce in the bottom, with browned sausage on top. After baking (cover with foil for fastest pepper cooking) you have a new rendition of sausage with peppers. Peppers are also great for using up leftovers. When I have leftover chicken parm I slice it and put it in a pepper and bake.

This thread inspired me to grind my own meat for salisbury steaks inspired by Top Chef. I used well marbled top sirloin which was looking better than the chuck. Diced small and pulsed in FP. Great results. After the meat was ground, I wizzed some mushrooms and onions that I sauteed added beef stock and reduced. Added thyme, some breadcrumbs and 2 egg yolks. Dusted in flour, pan fried, made portobello pan gravy - super tasty. I served them in ceramic TV dinner style plates with goat cheese mashed potatoes, carrot slaw and a lemon bar. Cute and tasty.

No one wishes to share interesting breakfast this week? It's like turning on your favorite show only to find a rerun you didn't like. I was quite busy this weekend so breakfast was a charbucks latte. I want some vicarious breakfast!

Words to live by. I prefer cooked sauce, it tastes like a NY slice to me. I use a 15 oz can crushed tomatoes, saute onions garlic and a little chile. Add tomatoes, salt pepper, cook 10 minutes until the tomatoes don't smell raw, add fresh oregano and basil off heat. My favorite toppings are caramelized onions and prosciutto.