Pumpkin Lover

Holy moly -- I've had this thread bookmarked since it began in 2006, and just came back to it now -- and people are STILL posting on it! So great. Made a stove-top batch of onion confit in my cast-iron skillet today. Fabulous -- 3.5 lbs of yellow onions, a little less than 1/2 cup of olive oil, 4.5 hours of cooking, with splashes of cassis and balsamic. However, I only got a half-quart of finished confit. I want to make more than that: I'd like to have about a full quart total. As well, I want to use my oven overnight. How many pounds of onions would you guys recommend for a 7-qt Le Creuset dutch oven (it's actually a doufeu)? Can I possibly get a quart of confit if I fill up the 7-qt all the way with onions?

Off-topic, but that barbecue thing you went to was an annual festival, not a year-round, open-air deal: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=122592

Randi, you asked how far the Ravenous Pig was from the airport -- I honestly can't say, but you can Google map it to figure out the distance. One thing to be aware of, though -- the restaurant is in Winter Park, not Orlando, technically. The cross-streets of the restaurant (Orlando and North Orange) have the same names in Orlando as they do in Winter Park -- a confusing bit of information that we only discovered when we finally put "Winter Park" in our GPS system as we were driving there.

My recent meal at the Ravenous Pig was very, very memorable -- soulful, original gastropub food. Dishes that stood out: Texas redfish with mustard spatzle and roasted brussels sprouts, and fried chicken livers with a ridiculous chicken liver pate. Amazing. And fantastic house-cured meats, and cocktails. The menu will probably be super different in June, but I'm sure it'll still be totally awesome.

I suppose I would have a preference for guksu noodles, but more importantly: Does anyone have a recipe for the sauce that accompanies bibim naengmyeon/guksu? Also, what are traditional toppings? I did enjoy the squid and vegetables very much.

The topic name says it all: I'm wondering what are the key differences between these two noodle preparations. I ask because last night, I went to a Japanese/Korean restaurant and had a ridiculously delicious dish of squid, veggies, and pasta (the menu stated that they use angel-hair pasta -- it definitely wasn't buckwheat noodles). I want to recreate the dish somehow, especially the sauce -- it reminded me of a less-industrial, better-tasting version of that thick, just sugary, sweet-and-spicy Maggi sauce that you can find at Asian supermarkets. The sauce that was on the noodle dish from last night, though, had just a little bit of sweetness -- it was a great, balanced, spicy sauce and I wanted to snarf it all. Any help, definitions, and/or recipes are welcome -- thanks!

Are these wings that you order from Hooters, or make from a Hooters recipe? I had wings at a Hooters a few weeks back, and -- I was more than impressed, happily, surprisingly. And the brea-- sorry, sorry.

I usually don't think of food in superlatives, but this one got me wondering -- I think the "best dish" for me is something that, when I have it once, I'll constantly crave it afterward. But having it the second time around sometimes isn't as satisfying as that first taste. One dish that won me the two or three times I had it was a foie gras sushi with shiso and truffle honey at Bar Masa -- fat and rice, can't go wrong. A dish that didn't work on repeat is the angel-hair pasta with Portuguese sardines at Bouley Upstairs. The first time I had it (2007, I think), the pasta was doused in an almost-fishy, almost-funky white sauce, just aromatic enough -- totally gorgeous. Went back to the restaurant on New Year's Eve night last month, though, and the pasta was thicker spaghetti, and the sauce was slightly chunky and grayish. I think it may have been fortified with grated onion, and it didn't have that ethereal scent and texture of the earlier version. So I think best dishes aren't only the product of a great recipe or a great hand behind the stove -- but of the exact moment, and mood of the chef, and any other number of factors, including how I'm feeling at the time -- there have been many times in this city when I've asserted to myself that buffalo chicken wings are the best food I could ever eat.

Susan, thanks for your reply. After I posted this, I did some research and came to understand how (relatively) rare stone crabs are in the first place. Buying them and fixing them myself is certainly an option, either preparing them in FL or taking them frozen with me back to NYC. Are they easily available at supermarkets? or specialty seafood stores, or gourmet food shops? Also, I've been trying to more research -- it's not looking good -- I think I need to get myself ready for tiki bars or something. Oh boy (but I am excited about coming to FL, overall).

Not too much about Cocoa Beach around here, but I did see on another thread that Cocoa Beach is great for BBQ and seafood. I'll be down there Saturday night with a friend who really loves wine bars. Me, I would love a great stone crab -- Grand Central Oyster Bar is currently selling a claw for $11.95 (don't quote me, but something around there). I've paid twice already and totally enjoyed it, but I'd love to be able to eat as many as possible when I'm in FL. So, either wine bars and/or great places for seafood, hopefully for a stone crab, but the best recommendations you got, I'll take em. Thanks <3

The raw crab is a fermented blue crab: you suck the meat out while holding the shell between your teeth. There's a picture of fermented crabs in this post, but the BCD ones are covered with red spicy sauce. We got the LA Galbi, among other dishes last week -- the first round arrived in boneless slabs of meat. The unexpected second round had the waitress throwing the bones on the grill -- the bits of meat with fat were excellent to chew on.

Sis and I went on Sunday night -- the atmosphere was welcoming, and the one thing I kept saying about the food was "this is out of control." The dish I was most looking forward to delivered completely, a spaghetti with lobster and sea urchin "butter" served in a sea urchin shell. Also of note was the accompaniment to an apple rutabaga soup (those BOWLS!), foie gras "cookie" sandwiches with pastry made from foie gras, and stuffed with foie mousse. Um. Yeah. Totally out of control. And amazing. Thank you, Daniel and Alicia.

Can I steal this?

Me too! Best part by far was a special of toro-wrapped raw oysters. My friend and I were licking our lips. Croquetas, polenta, ravioli were all fantastic. We were very pleased with the fois gras torchon, but it didn't blow our minds away -- really though, no complaints. And the baked alaska, which my friend and I have never seen on a menu, was TDF, TDF, TDF. Sigh. Get me back to Miami. Greatness!

On the east side: Is Menchanko-Tei still holding up? The last time I ate there was a year ago, but I loved it. 131 E 45th St | Btwn 3rd & Lexington Ave Menupages I second the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Probably not good for V-Day, but Artisanal is close by in the 30s, and I think $70 or under pp is achievable. 2 Park Ave | At 32nd St, btwn Madison & Park Ave Menupages I've only ever had an appetizer and a glass of wine at Teodora, but the service was wonderful. 141 E 57th St | Btwn 3rd Ave & Lexington Ave Menupages If you WERE willing to go a LEETLE crazy, then Sushi Yasuda? (I can't remember from the beginning of the thread if there are food restrictions): 204 E 43rd St | Btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave Menupages (although you'll want to sit at the bar and order whatever omakase) Near Times Square: I second Tintol, I love that joint. Union Square/Downtown: Otto, Casa Mono (too $$$ for my tastes, but that's close to Union Square and 15th), all good. This place, Marquet, is my secret little getaway for a glass of wine: 12th between University and Fifth (no Menupages) A lot of the burger places are in the Union Square area -- BLT Burger 470 6th Ave | Btwn 11th & 12th St Menupages Stand Burger 24 E 12th St (Cross Street: Between University Avenue and 5th Avenue) Here's a NY Mag article about burgers: http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/25300/ And Time Out: TONY And my faves in general: 'inoteca 98 Rivington St | At Ludlow St Menupages Centrico 211 W Broadway | At Franklin St Menupages Zum Schneider 107 Avenue C | At 7th St Menupages Alta 64 W 10th St | Btwn 5th & 6th Ave Menupages I think the Grand Sichuans are always recommendable. You can search for them in Menupages (I depend on this site like it's my boyfriend). I can't remember which one eGullet likes the best. Hope these are close to your mark.