MsDiPesto

Ha ha, my parents had a chest freezer in the basement....it was a time capsule for food of the past! Things would disappear on the bottom for decades, so you definitely need a filing system. "What's in that thing?" "Hitchhikers."

The first time (probably last too) I made butter was as a kid, in a blender. I think there was ice involved. I have been thinking of doing the Kitchen Aid stand mixer method (I read that article in the NYT too).

Sometimes they have a few packages of ground lamb, sometimes they're just not there. I can only speak for the 3 NoVA stores I frequent (Falls Church, Bailey's XRoads and Fairfax).

That explains why I've seen their sign on a building right near El Pollo Campero on Columbia Pike!

Oh yeah, I'm in a research job where I have seen the news releases popping up from the abstinence enforcement crowd that is having heart attacks over beer that is delivered in a non-labeled format (namely, the 'sicle itself). On an already steamy at 9:30 a.m. day like this, I think everyone could use a treat like that.

Totally agree, stopped in there Friday on the way to our farm in Etlan, stocked up for the house of guests, was glad this bunch left enough for me to bring home most of a bag of their Panama.

That's the impression I got too, I remember they emphasized patting the meat dry before cooking or it wouldn't brown the proper way.

I did this last Wed for our 20th Anniversary. It came out better than any steak I've ever done in my life. It didn't hurt that I used a nice Prime RibEye from Wegman's, but I felt like this method is much more controllable than others. The butcher was great, I said I couldn't decide between a RibEye or Strip (Strip was used in the CI article). "Do you like fatty foods, ma'am?" "Yes!" "You want the RibEye." Sides were roasted asparagus, and roasted French fingerlings in a coating of flour and Parmesan. Whee!

Ah, OK, I'll keep looking.

I've seen bunches of different sodas in the store with the "K" on the cap, so I picked up some of those to try. Haven't seen any "yellow caps" though.

I roasted vegetables all day Sat for a party we had that evening. I did cauliflower, carrots (w/balsamic), new red potatoes with sea salt and rosemary (the rosemary still grows through the winter on the south side of the house), cippollini onions, tiny red onions, (onions were roasted in balsalmic too), parsnips, red pepper slices, and decorated with these baby tiger squash that I had blanched for 3 minutes prior to roasting them. They looked beautiful arranged on a large white rhomboid shaped platter.

It's not just in restaurants, it's everywhere, as there are certain parents who have impressed a bogus sense of entitlement on their spawn. Usually, the parents are just as unbearable. One hopes the parents responsible will meet with some form of behavior correction one of these days. Someone had a good term on here sometime ago: EAF, which stood for entitled a**h*le factor.

I've always wanted to do that! ...next time I get bronchitis...

I too have boxes filled with clippings, stacks of magazines, etc. They are very gradually being transcribed to Living Cookbook software on the computer...and frequently backed up!

Since we're hosting 14 people for dinner Xmas day, including a visiting family of four form El Salvador, we're keeping it simple! A baked ham and smoked turkey are on their way, and we'll do a buffet style presentation. The mentions of goose above remind me of the one and only xmas for which we attempted to cook a pair of geese...the fat just never seemed to stop coming off the birds, dinner was late, and the guests filled up on snacks and drinks and became very... "snackered"! The highlight of the evening was the drunken performance of "12 Days of Xmas" (we had water glasses - each glass representing one of the 12 days) that took place right after dinner. Our dining companions included a couple of people recently immigated from the former Soviet Union that day, and it was quite an introduction to American holiday customs for them.

Well, as a matter of fact, they shall contain fennel, apparently it's the law. From the FDA web site: TITLE 9--ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS CHAPTER III--FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PART 319--DEFINITIONS AND STANDARDS OF IDENTITY OR COMPOSITION--Table of Contents Subpart E--Sausage Generally: Fresh Sausage Sec. 319.145 Italian sausage products. (a) Italian sausage products are cured or uncured sausages containing at least 85 percent meat, or combination of meat and fat, with the total fat content constituting not more than 35 percent of the finished product. Such products shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) (1), (2) or (3) of this section, and shall contain salt, pepper, and either fennel or anise, or a combination of fennel and anise. Such products may contain any or all of the optional ingredients listed in paragraph ( of this section.

I used to work for someone who belonged to a club in Chicago that had a Burns Night dinner every year, and one year the Haggis they had sent over from Scotland didn't make it through customs for reason of "Not Fit For Human Consumption". The person told me "We knew that already, what's the big deal?" I had the Haggis experience in 2001, staying in a small hotel outside 'verness. We used the hotel for our "base of operations" and usually only had morning coffee and dinner there. One day, the cook we hired for the two weeks we were there procured a Haggis and made a whisky sauce (very important) to accompany. Although I began the day dreading the thought, I had seconds! She had told me "If you like liverwurst, you'll be OK with Haggis!". She was right. Spouse did a Burns Night dinner for a Directors meeting at a nice hotel in Santa Barbara some years back, with a Burns impersonator/reader and piper, and even persuaded the Asian chef to create a Haggis after providing the recipe. Of course, in CA, it's not considered within code to cook anything in a sheep's stomach, but it was OK to do it for "display purposes only". Some of the attendees who were made of stouter stuff did sneak up and try it.

I saw that about Falls Church being one of the new locations, looks like Im getting my wish for a Penzey's in my backyard.

When I was a kid, one of the adult neighbors who had kids my age would put a quickie ghost outfit on (classic white sheet with eye holes) and show up at the other neighbors doors with a sign taped to his chest that read "Trick Or Beer".

That's great news to hear. I Just ordered a new supply of can't do without items from Penzeys last night (including their fantastic cinnamon). Open near my house, pleeeeeassseee!

If you're in Falls Churrrrrch, you could go to Arrrrrrgia's and get a plate of calamarrrrrri!

I like my Taylor Model 9840 so much, I have been known to take it with me for cooking at the in-laws. It has a range of -58/302º F. Over the years, it's been abused, blackened on the grille, etc, yet it still works. And only around $15.

While I love traditional pesto (just basil), I have a fondness for introducing arugula into the mix, and have made an all-arugula pesto. It's bitter at first, but after a few bites, it's addictive. Kind of like taking that first sip of Resina.

I drove by that yesterday, and it's a Harris Teeter.

Walnuts are a good substitute. But if you have any Macadamia nuts lying around throw them in instead.