cjsadler

I made these apricot packets last night. Very simple, but a really fantastic combination of flavors (the other ingredients include tea, black pepper, lemon, and orange blossom)

1. favorite bourbon <$20 Evan Williams Single Barrel... no question. If you're reading this thread and have never tried it, you've got to get a bottle. 2. favorite bourbon <$30 Basil Hayden 3. favorite bourbon>$30 Booker's

Cook's Illustrated (of all places) has a pretty interesting tip for margaritas: zest the limes and marinate the zest in the juice overnight (then strain). I recently gave it a try and the results were excellent-- added a really nice lime flavor kick. Note to DC people: find an Asian grocery store in the burbs. Limes are 10 for $1 there.

Anyone else catch Ed La Dou? The original pizza cook at Spago, he did quite a few demos throughout the week. Wow, is that guy ever a master of pizza dough... A very engaging speaker too.

I drove by Sur La Table in Friendship Heights the other day and they had a sign out that said they were sharpening knives for $1. Anyone know how long this deal is going on?

There was an article in some cooking mag recently on ice cream makers. They rated the Kitchenaid attachment the best, saying it made superb, ultra creamy mousse-like ice creams. I currently have the Cuisinart and agree with the article's assessment that the results are 'slightly icy, but acceptable'. For high fat ice creams it does just fine (but then simply freezing a high fat ice cream in a pan works nearly as well. Try it sometime-- John Thorne has a recipe for a no-machine lemon ice cream in the book 'Outlaw Cook'. You'll be very surprised by the results), but for gelato style (ie-- lower fat ice cream) and sorbets especially, the Cuisinart results are disappointing. However, I'm not sure it's even possible to make creamy textured sorbets like you get at a place that does them well (Capogiro in Philadelphia for example) without stabilizers and such (at Capogiro especially, I think I've asked them more than once 'so there isn't ANY cream in this??') Can anyone vouch for the superiority of the Kitchenaid over the Cuisinart?

I shop at Corridor alot. If you can find the wines you're looking for there, you simply can't beat the prices, which are often 20-30% cheaper than anywhere else.

Fried frog skins in Hue, Vietnam. I'm not sure if it was because I was so drunk, but they were tasty.

There is a thread on Black Market.

Cook's Illustrated has a recipe for homemade ice cream sandwiches too (you'll need access to their online archives). I tried it a couple of weeks ago and they worked pretty well (froze soft). Chocolate syrup was their secret ingredient. The unfrozen cookies have to be cut and handled very gently, though.

The key for me has been raising the temp above what most recipes recommend. I usually bake them at 425. I know 'true' madeleines are supposed to be sorta dry (for dunking), but after having some incredibly great ones at a place called Django in Philadelphia, I've decided the best madeleines are crisp on the outside and moist inside. I still can't make them as well as Django, though. I've seen a few recipes that call for milk, which I've been considering trying.

I sauteed up some fiddlehead ferns, which are in season now. Stumbled across these at Giant, where they were on sale. Never seen these before, even at the farmer's markets. They were delicious-- taste like a cross between an artichoke, asparagus, and a mushroom.

Taste of Wheaton is this Sunday. Is it worth going to?

Having a hard time finding out much about this place. Anyone been lately? I'm especially curious about the $25 5-course prix fixe on Sundays (as that's when we'll be in town).

I'm having trouble finding this recipe. Did you mean the June issue that just came out? Doesn't seem to be there.

We settled on making a clafouti for dessert tonight, but I'm still seriously confused as to what clafouti is actually supposed to be. From recipes I've made and from clafouti I've been served in restaurants, there seems to be huge variation. Some are simply a thickened pudding and others are more like a pancake (and some are eggy, rubbery things somewhat like a sweet, souffleed quiche that are not to my liking at all). Not knowing what the end result is causes problems. For example: many recipes say it should puff and be browned.... but if the goal is a custard, then it seems like waiting until 'puffed and brown' results in one seriously overcooked custard (this is the eggy quiche version that I've turned out at home a few times. If the recipe only has one or two eggs, though, if you bake to the puffed brown stage, you'll get a pancake like thing that's nothing exciting). What would you get if you ordered clafouti in a good French bistro? (or would it vary there too?) Can puffed and brown co-exist with non-rubbery pudding?

Merkado is associated with Soigne (recently closed) somehow, right? If so, that's good news. Can someone fill in the details?

Bill, You chose a fairly doable menu of recipes from the book (especially the sabayon tart, which is quite easy (the dough is pressed, not rolled) and very, very good). However, the beet recipe highlights a problem you'll run into. A roasted beet salad is simple, but for this one you need to source beet juice as well as make a beet powder (I eventually got this to work, but it took *alot* of microwaving). 'Fairy dust' (as Busboy put it) and other multiple steps in the recipes are what you have to watch out for-- they'll kill you. I skip alot of them and still get incredible results from this book.

Where exactly is this place? Never heard of it before.

I had a glass of the Brunel Rasteau (Kacher Selection) tonight that was M. Franz's top pick in the Post article on Cotes du Rhone on Wed. Pleasant, but I didn't think it was particularly great (not meaty and robust). They have a case of it left at Calvert Woodley, as well as the Kermit Lynch wine (Domaine de Durban) that was Franz's second pick (at an advance sale price of $13.99).

A friend and I recently brewed some beer at Shennendoah Brewing. They have a Brew-on-Premises setup. Basically, they provide you with all the ingredients and equipment. You can use whatever recipe you'd like (or they can provide you one). I used to do alot of homebrewing, but now that I don't have a basement (or somewhere else to keep the fermenting beer at a low enough temp), this is a pretty good alternative. Plus, the worst part of homebrewing, the cleaning and bottling, are much easier due to the washing and bottling equipment they have. The prices are pretty reasonable. I'd recommend doing a lager there, as they use better yeast for this (cultured as opposed to dry, which they use for ales and isn't as good).

Been really enjoying cooking up a storm from this book. I've probably cooked more from this book than any other cookbook I've owned. This is high praise! "Kwalitys" Chick Peas-- Definitely my favorite so far. Delicious! Simple Dal-- I usually think Dal is boring, but this, even though extremely simple, was so good. I'll have to try the other, more complex Dals next Simple Lahori Chicken Curry-- Good and very easy. Again, I'm going to make the more complex curries next. Saag Paneer-- Much healthier and fresher tasting than what you get in a restaurant (cooking more Indian at home has made me realize just how loaded with butter and cream the dishes are at most restaurants). I think it might be improved by some buttermilk or yogurt to finish next time. Onion (Vegetable) Pakora-- The book calls for various vegetables, but we just used onions. Perfect (and quick to make). Mangalore Shrimp -- I didn't like this as much as I hoped to. Didn't use curry leaves, though, which I think would add alot Green Chutney-- I think the amount of lemon it calls for is about double what you need, but adjusting for that, it's just like what you'd get at your favorite Indian restaurant Chicken Tikka Masala-- I still have yet to make a version of this at home that I'm truly satisfied with. This was good, though. Next time I'll take some pictures. We made the paneer using ricotta, just to see how it turns out (though I don't think it's that hard to make paneer by traditional methods)-- we'll eat it tonight.

We were in Silver Spring on Sat and decided to have dinner at Jackie's. We ended up getting there far ahead of our reservation, so hung out in the lounge/bar with mini-burgers, a R. Kacher selection (they have 3 or four on the wine list at fair markups) and a couch full of furry pillows. At our table, I had a couple of appetizers in lieu of an entree: grilled shrimp, scallops and calamari served with flavorless green nut paste (aka "green romesco") and the pork riblets, which were quite good. For comfort/American food, Jackie's doesn't have anything on Colorado Kitchen. If you're going to serve meatloaf and you're not a diner, my expectations for it are pretty high. Jackie's was disappointing-- dry, dull and in need of some sort of sauce. While I wasn't enjoying the food a whole lot (except for the mini-burgers), I'm glad to see a non-chain place in downtown Silver Spring. Great decor and the prices are very reasonable. Good service, too.

I could never find much in Wilmington, but check out Deep Blue and the Iron Hill Brewery (more for the beer... and you'll need a car to get there).

Is Harris Teeter really happening? They were still going through the endless ANC and zoning meetings last I heard. The latest from the ANC 1-C Website: 1) Harris Teeter Community Forum - Tues., March 15th -- In addition to our regular monthly business meetings (on the first Wednesday of each month), the Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission will also conduct a quarterly public forum on the following Tuesdays in 2005: March 15th, June 21st, September 20th, and December 13th. Our March 15th forum will be devoted exclusively to the proposed Harris Teeter supermarket project (and associated office and retail elements) in the old roller rink popularly known as the Citadel building at 17th Street and Kalorama Road. No ANC vote on the project will be taken that evening; that vote will most likely occur at our Wednesday, April 6th meeting. But given the other business that will also be on the April 6th agenda, there will not be time that night to hear from every attendee. Thus, the March 15th forum will be the best opportunity for the community at-large to be heard on this proposal before the full ANC is required to make a recommendation to the Zoning Commission. We're giving everyone plenty of notice -- more than 30 days -- in hopes that you'll mark your calendar now and plan to turn out that Tuesday evening. The forum will begin at 7 pm, and will be held in the Community Room of the Third District Police Station, 1624 V St., NW.