researchgal

Hey--I saw John Whiting's face on that site! When I clicked on it, there was a wonderful memoir of P'town from Mr. Whiting himself! Cool!

Halved the heads and started with cut side down and then turned them over half way through, probably cooked them a total of 5 minutes--the inner leaves were not thoroughly cooked, but warm and flavorful. The heads were on the small side, that might have helped. Also grilled with lid on the WEber, maybe that helped deliver some of the heat to the center of the heads.

Soba--what's ginger vinegar--something you infused yourself or pre-bottled?

Tried Tommy's grilled tomato idea last night and also gave the same treatment to radicchio--sooo delicious, the tomatoes, but especially the radicchio. Drizzled the both of them with a bit of balsamic after grilling, served with grilled halibut steak (halibut was good, too, but sounds like the side dish the way I've described here!).

And don't forget: Who Wants to be a Sommelier The Young and the Meatless Slaw and Mortar Tex-Mex and Spaghetti

Hi big bear--tell us more about Christians, I've never been there. Do they have music at the bar? Food?

Here are few suggestions for that area of the Cape: Brewster Fish House (Route 6a in Brewster)--excellent seafood, but very popular place so gets crowded and no res accepted. There's also a place across the street from the Fish House that I don't know the name of but it's supposed to be good and less of a wait. Land Ho' (Route 6a in Orleans)--probably your best bet for casual dining w/the family--has menu w/something for everyone--nice tavern-like atmostphere Impudent Oyster (downtown Chatham)--cute place, casual and nice atmosphere, also in location conducive to strolling around the town of Chatham which is adorable Rosina's (Route 28 (I think), Orleans)--cute little Italian place--don't know if the waiters will rate w/your daughter! If all else fails, go to Emack and Bolio's for icecream (Route 6a, Orleans)!! Have fun.

Not to stray too far off topic, but how was your meal at Christophers, Holly? We ate there last fall and had a really nice dinner. I don't, however, recall any writing on our plates--I would've remembered that.

Million dollar spaghetti It's a spaghetti in meat sauce casserole-type thing involving cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, green pepper. It's great comfort food. It's part of my repetoire of dishes I make to bring friends after they have a baby, crisis, etc. (maybe that's an idea for another topic--what dishes you make to bring to family/friends in need?)...

Eagerly awaiting your next post! Rochelle, thanks for taking the time to do this, it's really interesting.

I grew up with my Greek grandfather encouraging me to eat kalamatas and calling them "Greek chocolates"! I'm a Greek choco-holic to this day--not only Kalamatas, but any olives. My favorite for munching straight are the mixed olives marinated in herbs and/or spices. There is a lebanese shop in my area that sells spicy cumin marinated olives, they are addictive. One of my favorite winter dishes to make is a cuban pork, string bean and olive stew with nicoise or picholines...deelish.

Tuna salad on Cape Cod potato chips--like a very sophisticated canape

There are so many great places to choose from. Empire located across from the Trinity Rep is great and probably would be considered new American. There's always Al Forno, especially if you've never been there. Also, Neath's is fantastic, they have a Thai lobster noodle dish that is killer. All of these have very good wine lists. Haven't been to the Providence Oyster Bar, but heard it is very good for seafood, obviously oysters in particular. Haven't had sushi in Providence, so not sure what to recommend on that front. Have fun!

Best of luck, Malawry! Looking forward to reading all about your experiences. I just finished Bourdain's KC and wholeheartedly agree w/Tim D's recommendation. Keep us posted!

I have a recipe at home and can post it next week. It's pretty much a basic onion soup recipe, but instead of all one type, calls for shallots, yellow onions, white onions, red onions and leeks. It's yummy.

I'm with you on the iced coffee. Also, Sangria Spanish Rosada or Provencal Rose Margaritas Dark-n-Stormy

Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup with Lemongrass (Canh Chua Tom) Boeuf Bourguignon 5 onion soup Avgolemono Spanish pork stew (has green beans and olives in it) I love soups and stews!

shrimp wrapped with basil and prosciutto and broiled (or grilled) crostini topped with chopped sauteed spinach and garlic, then melted fontina (Italian not Danish Fontina!) re: Brussels Sprouts--hated 'em until everyone was talking about them on egullet, now they're one of my favorite sides.

BH, come to think of it...you're right! I can't really think of anything that doesn't go well with bacon. Sounds like an ad for the bacon council But, one thing I will say about bacon is, when it's good, it's really, really good and when it's bad, it's...ew

ditto what soba said. Also, if you're a gadget-happy type there are these tubular garlic peelers that work well, too. You roll the garlic inside it and peel comes right off (my mom uses one!).

Blue Heron, that sounds deelish! I just had boring, healthy, Kashi! I just had a flashback of a really baadddd but good thing we ate as kids--Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches on toasted bread. It is an amazing combination. I just don't think I could bring myself to eat it today unless it was all I ate for the entire day.

Yup, they do. I think if you get them fresh you have to steam or boil them for a bit before you can work with them, or maybe you have to cook them in the stuffed phase for longer. Regardless, they're pretty tough when fresh... But, Wifred sounds determined to do the fresh thing.

Wilfred, you might try a Greek market in the area, but it's typically difficult to find fresh grape leaves, at least around Boston. When I make Greek Dolmades, I use a brand called Orlando (I think they're better than Krinos). To ready them (not that you asked for directions, but just in case) for stuffing, you should take them out of the jar, rinse them thoroughly in water and dry them off as much as possible. Also need to trim the little stems off, then you're good to go. Let us know what you end up making!

We typically bring wine or flowers or wine AND flowers. For the wine, we usually wrap it or put a nice ribbon around it and make it clear that it's not necessarily meant for dinner, in fact we'll often bring something that's meant to be saved and aged a bit longer. For flowers I'll always offer to arrange them for the host/hostess since so it's not a big disruption. Depending on the season, we may also bring some berries or something of that sort picked up from the local farmstand. We always try to make it clear that we don't expect what we bring to be served with the meal. I personally find that disruptive and kind of presumptious when guests have that expectation.

Try Chef Chang's House in Brookline on Beacon St. near St. Mary's. Or, Peach Farm or Grand Chau Chow both in Chinatown.