Msk

I have been to both the one in Madison and the one in Cranford or Westfield. One is BYO and one has a liquor license. Food was good at both, I live in the area. I certainly would not drive from NYC for it. I have several friends who like it more than I do. I personally don't think they overdo it with garlic since most dishes use roasted garlic as stated above. Both times I have gone were in the past year and the restaurant is usually very busy according to friends who frequent the place. Msk

OK I did his too, though without pictures unfortunately. I have been having a serious craving for chicken and dumplings and figured this would satisfy that urge. HOLY COW! This rocked, and made my sick pregnant wife sooo happy on a rainy day. I used 1 1/2 cups uncooked jasmine rice (it was what I had on hand and somehow was the perfect amount and tasted great) While this was alot of rice, I used all of the broth that was produced so these offset. The dumplings had a great flavor but next time I think I'd use my own self rising flower from AP flour. Like fifi I like a heavy chewy stick to your ribs dumpling. The crust, was indescribable. Part biscuit-part flaky with a bottom that was perfectly gelatinous from absorbing the chicken broth/dumpling gravy. This was worth every second of effort cooking and cleaning. Thank you. Msk

Millburn Deli: Sloppy Joes This is the NJ version which is a triple decker deli sandwich of meat, cheese, cole slaw, russian dressing on Rye. They use homemade russian, homemade cole slaw, and slice fresh baked rye very thin on a slicer. I love Taylor Ham, and am embarrased it was brought up in the same sentence as Spam. Msk

I have had fresh mozzarella made with non-animal rennet that is very good. Though it was not officially marketed as Kosher. I belive it was Hoboken Farms and sold at my local Farmers Market in NJ. While I would not vote for it as "Best Mozz" it did pass for good stuff. I would imagine it is then possible based on the other information provided above to make quality Kosher fresh mozzarella. Jason, what restaurant was it? Msk

Umm I'm pretty sure you can't get away with this statement here without a recipe or two. Msk

Joe's is a can't miss for reasonable italian that teens would enjoy. They do their version of he breadsticks and salad that olive garden does. It is a bit more touristy though. I believe Coyote Loco was in the process of closing (or did). Its a shame, I loved that place. Msk

Homemade Hot Sauce Msk

3 Chips for Sister Martha--Good Eats Transcript For the sake of information in this thread. Msk

I love Cali Sauv Blanc too, and prefer mine without too much oak. Some of my favorite affordable ones are. Beringer $12ish (Prices are NJ) St. Supery $12ish Mattanzas Creek $20ish Charles Krug I think thats $15ish too Those are thw quickest 4 off the tp of my head. I'm sure there are more. Msk

Thanks Paula. Your book is on the top of "to purchase list." Thanks for the recipe in the meantime. These sound so up my alley, I can't believe I have never heard of them let alone tried them. Msk

These sound so good, I'm in. However Paula's link doesn't seem to work anymore. Can someone PM me the recipe? Any help would be appreciated. Msk

Thank you so much for doing this class. As you already know (by referencing my plea for help thread) tackling Mexican has become an important cooking goal for this year. This class, combined with what Jaymes has taught me, gives me all the building blocks I need to create tasty and inventive salsas. The mix 'n' match chart of the basic components to make a salsa is priceless. It provides endless opportunites for innovation by teaching salsa theory. (Which is consistent with so many other great eGCI courses) The funny thing is, I actually thought I was a good cook before eGullet. Learning from you all has elevated my cooking significantly. (As well as humbled me) Msk

Thanks for the information. I believe in part the first issue was that the roast wasn't dark enough. I have roasted a bit longer and that has helped. I am now going to increase the coffee to water ratio. I generally don't hear a first crack, but the second crack seems to come around 6:30 or so. I plan on getting a french press to try it that way also to get a general idea for comparison. (Although I do not have a burr grinder yet) Again, I love the taste, just looking for some added strength. Msk

Leftover poached/shredded chicken Avocado Roasted Cauliflower Rolled in Nori Voila! Low-carb Sushi Substitute. Msk

OK i got my Freshroast Plus 8. I fired it up on several occasions and passed out my beans to get several different coffee drinkers opinions. Everyone said, the coffee was great, but it was not as "strong" as they like it and is there a way to make it stronger. Every time I make coffee in my Cuisenart Grind 'n' Brew drip, the coffee is extremely clear. It has zero bitterness and tastes very good but a little weak. Is this a function of roasting time? Does fresh roasted coffee need to have a larger number of tablespoons per pot? Is this just the way it tastes? Is it the type of bean I am using? Is this why people go the presspot route? I really do enjoy it but would like to make it a bit stronger. Msk

Bleu, Thanks for the insight. I purchased some dry husks when I recently bought my tortilla press from mexgrocer.com. I plan to try the first time using them. I do plan to try and get an appreciation for the traditional way before making substitutions and assesing the tradeoffs. Knowing that I could use parchment in a pinch is important to me since I could decide to make tamales without multiple days thinking ahead. I occasionally see Foil also suggested as a substitute as well, have you tried that? Thanks again. Msk

Bleu, Can you give me some insight on your use of parchment for making tamales? Im interested since finding corn husks is a challenge. Any helpful hints? Msk

You could add an egg to the ricotta mixture too to help bind it. Msk

Jaymes, I had a bunch of tomatoes lying around that my father-in-law dropped off and were on their way out. I remade your salsa using those tomatoes broiled (as Diana Kennedy suggests in several recipes). The result was goot but basically not discernable from the canned tomatoes. Certainly not worth the effort, though I will try again at the peak of tomato season to make my final decision. More support for your "Do it this way first." suggestion. Msk

Could it be that how fresh the onions, or what type of onions they are, makes a difference in the amount of liquid they release? The onions I used were not really all that fresh since I figured it really would not make that much of a difference. I did on occasion take off the lid and wipe the water from it, but I highly doubt that is was more than a teaspoon each time I did it. Msk

Well I got my Freshroast Plus 8 two days ago. The coffee it produces makes me wonder if what I have been drinking all these years, is in fact, coffee. I can taste things in the coffee, subtle undertones, that I never knew existed. Its more than astringency and burnt. Plus its so much fun to watch the beans jump up and down, and it makes the house smell great! Msk

Please let me elaborate having made this last night. This recipe tastes nothing llike any commercially made salsa I have ever had. I love salsa and have tried dozens of brands in an effort to find a really good one that rivals the ones I come across in good mexican restaurants. In my first attempt, I surpassed the quality of any canned/jarred salsa I have ever had. I have no doubt that with some experimentation this recipe will evolve into many great variations. I used high quality San Marzano-style tomatoes, the kind I use to make homemade Italian sauce, so I guess the Parmalat ones would work great. I even gave my wife the juice from the tomatoes as Jaymes suggested and my wife said it was the best she has had in a long while (she loves the stuff)! Msk

Too much oil/butter would certainly explain why it didn't concentrate any further. Msk

ExtraMSG, You are correct those are the two I have, FMMK and Essentials. I was at work and wasn't sure. I guess I got their timing messed up. I did purchase a press, and will eventually try to make tortillas sometime after it arrives. Jaymes, I made that salsa exactly as you described tonight. It was INCREDIBLE! Thanks so much for sharing. I put some cheddar cheese in flour tortillas and crisped the outside in a hot dry pan. Covered them in salsa and it was such a gratifying meal, simple and extremely tasty. My wife couldn't believe how good it all turned out. It is one of the best effort/reward ratios I have ever made and I'm excited to have it for the coming summer. Thank you so much for sharing. Thanks again to everyone for all the advice, its very helpful. Msk

Duhhh, makes sense. Not sure why I never realized canned tomatoes were cooked. Msk