curls

@donk79 thank you for the correction and thank you for operating Kline's. Will miss seeing their seasonal opening this year. Best wishes to you and your family.

@saf just checked the Trader Joe's bag of dried bing cherries I have in my pantry and it is labeled as unsweetened and unsulfured. Only ingredient is cherries. So, a change for the better in their dried fruits. I agree with porcupine, Chukar cherries are excellent. It would be interesting to do a side by side comparison of dried cherries.

Trader Joe's has dried pitted cherries. They always has sweet dried cherries and sometimes they have tart dried cherries.

If your looking for herbs, tomato, pepper, etc. plants, DeBaggio herbs in Chantilly has any amazing selection. http://www.debaggioherbs.com/ Previous location was in the yard of a small home in Arlington. The father started the business and his son has continued it.

Pretty sure I've seen whole nutmeg at Wegmans, Penzeys, and Whole Foods. Will double check the spice aisles the next time I'm in a grocery store.

Made this gingerbread bundt from King Arthur Flour. I added some candied ginger to the batter but other than that, followed all the instructions. Really liked the way it turned out, will be making this recipe again (with the added chopped candied ginger).

Also closed, Appalachian Spring.

I’ve seen kougin amann at BreadFurst; don’t know if they are a regular item.

On 12/7/2017 at 5:45 PM, Kibbee Nayee said:

Me Jana is my choice for best Middle Eastern restaurant in our area, and I love the hummus there.

Mediterranean Gourmet Market is not far behind.

The hummus at The Green Zone in Adams Morgan is delicious.

11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I've sat there twice - it's a wonderful place to dine if you enjoy watching the food being prepared.(Get the Glen Manor Sauvignon Blanc.)

Thank you! That helps with the seating decision. I also appreciate the wine recommendation. Any reds on the list that you would recommend?

Any other reports? I'm hoping to visit soon. Has anyone reserved the Chef's counter/area? 

I second ktmoomau's recommendation of Le Creuset for braises. I use them for all of my braises -- while they aren't non-stick, a soak in soapy water should loosen up anything that is stuck. For risotto, I tend to use All-Clad or other heavy stainless steel clad cookware but enameled cast iron might be fine for risotto too.

After 53 years in business, Kline's Freeze of Manassas is closing this weekend. Per the sign at Kline's Freeze, the owners are retiring. While on line, I heard that they wanted to remain open but a car dealership outbid them for the space. Don't really know the real reason they are closing but I'm going to miss them.  😞

Not a food processor cookbook but an author of vegetarian cookbooks -- I would suggest that your daughter have at least one cookbook by Deborah Madison. 

Sadly, I'm out. Will need to take care of some family matters that weekend. Was looking forward to meeting the DR group. Hopefully there will be some other events that I will be able to attend. I hope you all have a wonderful picnic.

22 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Well we never really know how many people are going to come, but it's a great time to spread the word to people who may be interested in joining DR.com... what I have done in the past is to make something that has at least 12-15 small serving sizes, so at least a large skillet size, or small casserole size.  I have debated changing the cheese biscuits to a more rustic bread due to the tomatoes, but I like the cheese biscuits as an appetizer kind of thing, maybe I will do a test run this weekend.  I would go savory, as if it is likely going to be hot (just a guess on that) I think people eat more savory than sweet?  Just my two cents.

Thank you, that helps quite a bit! Currently I'm leaning towards making a non-chocolate dessert item... just can't think of too much savory picnic fair that does well sitting out at 90 plus degrees. Bread and biscuits are good options as is a tomato tasting.

12 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I could certainly add it to the events calendar (actually, I can give every single member here the ability to add events to the calendar (similar to how every member here has the ability to post); I just didn't think anyone used it anymore after our Calendar Girl became less active). Is this something people would be interested in?

I could also tweet about it, and ask members to retweet, if you think that will help.

Well, I would definitely like it to be on the calendar and think it would be helpful to allow all members to add events to the calendar.

Not sure about the tweeting but if others think that would be a good idea, I'm not opposed to it. 

Could this event be added to the events calendar or is that calendar only for birthdays? It would give folks another way to find this thread.

I've looked at the spreadsheet to figure out what people are bringing and it looks like there are a lot of holes in our menu -- trying to figure out how much to bring and if it should be savory or sweet. Any advice or preferences to help me make up my mind?

I've seen whole briskets at Costco, BJ's, and Restaurant Depot. There is a great butcher out in Catlett who probably has whole briskets -- if they don't have them in stock I'm sure they could get them for you.

Glad to hear that The Canopy is still doing well! @curiouskitkatt welcome to pit beef! I'm glad you gave it a second chance.

On 6/28/2018 at 2:39 PM, curiouskitkatt said:

Is the Canopy also known as Pioneer Pit Beef? Just wondering. Word is that it is the best.

The Canopy is a separate establishment from Pioneer Pit Beef. It has been years since I was at either one but back then, the Columbia/Ellicott City Canopy was far superior to Pioneer Pit Beef.

1 hour ago, astrid said:

Would anyone be interested in a tomato tasting?   I am growing about 50 varieties of tomatoes this year and I am seeing fruits on most of my plants.  So most should have ripe fruit by end of July.

Definitely interested in a tomato tasting!

Hoping to have the time to come and meet folks. The DR picnic is penciled in on my calendar. 

Weezy, your cake looks beautiful and quite festive! Did the elderberry flavor come through?

@Smita Nordwall thank you very much! Will give that a try -- probably next year.