blakegwinn

Plus as per Alton Brown I always let them rest for awhile after I stretch them. Sometimes I even let them rest between two stretching sessions in order to get them as thin as I like without tearing.

Yeah I was thinking more like choose one of those that I listed. Whatever is handy. Dude I am not making it. I already told you I don't have the cajones. Hahaha, I was trying to talk you into making it first.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I used a hybrid of the Iberia, Taunton and Tyler Florence methods. After having made it I really think this is the best way to do it, half winging it and half bits and pieces of other recipes. Because of the differences in the pan, heating method, rice variety and choice of add-ins I think you need to have a certain amount of flexibility. I used the Arborio rice since I already had it in the cabinet. It worked just fine and not having a true paella pan I had to use my biggest Caphalon skillet. I have some aluminun pans which would have made a nicer crust probably but they are all too small for the amount of paella I wanted to make. For add ins I used chorizo, squid, chicken legs, clams, shrimp and a few reallllly good sea scallops. I cooked the chorizo and sea scallops separately and added them, and all the other sea food elements, with about 10 minutes of cooking left over. The chicken legs were browned and left in from the start. Oh I also topped it with a bunch of thawed green peas with about 5 minutes left. This really turned out better than any of my expectations. I was really proud of myself. I didn't think a crust was forming so when I put in the green peas I turned my burner all the way up for the last five minutes just to kind of artificially toast the bottom. That actually worked pretty well. I will say that I find this to be a pretty difficult/labor intensive dish. I think risotto is a lot easier because you can gauge the liquid levels, eye it and make adjustments during the process. With the Paella you pretty much have to guess the correct amount of liquid pretty early if you want a crust to form on the bottom. I feel like I didn't use enough liquid at the start and my late addition of extra liquid is what kept the bottom from crusting up and created the need for the high heat blast the last 5 minutes. But if you overestimate and put too much liquid in at the beginning, the rice will soak up too much water by the time the bottom starts to crust. Seems like this could be pretty tricky and a good reason to use the same type and brand of rice every time.

So Dan, I have an idea. I thought it up when I was running this morning and I don't have the balls to try it when I have my guests over this week. Maybe you could give it a go. They have pre-made jars of tikka masala sauce at Whole Foods. Get one of those, grilled chicken cut into chunks or shredded, maybe some extra tomatoes (dried out in the oven or something), shredded and blanched carrots, green peas, shredded spinach or something for a little bit of color and variety and some paneer. Use the jar of tikka masala to sauce the pizzas and top with the veggies and chicken and crumble paneer over the top. It won't melt but I think it still might be good. Then when it comes out drizzle some yogurt (mixed with mint lemon and garlic) over the top. Indian pizza. A pizza crust isn't that far from naan anyways. The only concern I have would be the lack of melted cheese but I don't think replacing the paneer with mozarella would be a good idea.

I may have covered this in previous posts, but I will say it again, you can't look at Brickskeller's list to get a represenation of their beer selection. Maybe things have changed but when I used to go there in my late and post-AU days you would have to make 3-4 selections to find one they actually had in stock. That huge list is great and all but if you are continually out of like 40-60 percent of it what is the point?

I am headed down this weekend for the half marathon. I am planning a return visit to Tautog's but also looking for a few good lunch, breakfast, or inexpensive dinner spots that are easily accessible from the boardwalk. A lot of the suggestions above are good but also seem like they are a little bit off of the main strip. We are staying on the beach and I am trying to avoid getting in the car all weekend.

Ok so here is a question. I am making pizzas for some guests in a few days. I usually make it the day before and do a cold ferment but that still leaves a considerable amount of waiting/work/mess the next day that I don't want to deal with when the guests are there. I am thinking of making the dough 2 nights before and cold fermenting until the next night when I will make shape and stretch the dough, then stacking them up on wax paper or something in the fridge overnight so that the next day when the guests are there I can take them out, let them come to room temp, top and bake. My concerns are that they second night in the fridge will be too much rise or the integrity of the thin stretched crust will be breached by rising air pockets somehow, or that the dough will stick to the wax paper as it rises and I will get a giant mess when I pull them out. So what do you think? Should I just suck it up and do the dough the night before or do you think my plan will be fine?

Dan, you posted last year about trying different freezing techniques but never followed up with the results. I was wondering how that turned out? Did the "par-cooking" method work? I was worried that this wouldn't get the same rise and fresh-baked, chewy texture as the stuff that is frozen directly after the rise.

Anyone have a really good recipe or any tips for making Paella? I have never made it but I got a good deal on some Saffron at this Indian grocery store and I was thinking of making Paella this weekend.

Hahaha. When I saw this thread I thought the exact same thing. Highland Park of all places. I guess it is only funny if you have seen it. It would be like a NYC food blog having a string devoted to Takoma Park. Anyways, I think 7 Hills is a little over-priced for what you get but I may be tainted by the fact that I routinely get Turkish fair of almost identical quality at Efe's in New Brunswick for half the price (although in a much less fancy setting). White Rose Systems is awesome. I love how they have it ready for you so fast. Literally 45 seconds after you order you get your burger. This is not exaggeration. They have the grill guy partitioned off so you can't see how they do it. Not sure how long ago since you were back but they recently opened a 5 guys at Route 1 and Old Post Rd (? I think). It is where all the korean joints are. That has cut into our White Rose Dining though as we prefer the fries at 5 guys. And yes the place I wrote about was Jerusalem. The falafel was decent but as I said, soggy due to being in a steamed up tray and completely lacking topping options. The place right across the street is the one that advertises Pizza, Sushi and Falafel. A couple of other notes, if Sedutto's is the old fashioned soda place I am thinking of it shut down about a month or two ago. I get my haircut next door and he was telling me that the space is now for sale/lease. Also, if your parents haven't tried the greek place Pithari, it is pretty good. Service is odd but the food is good. BYOB from the attached Greek Store. The Greek family who owns those also own three or four other businesses along that strip.

Highland Park.

There is a large orthodox enclave near the place I moved in NJ about a year ago. Out of the three or four falafel shops around none can even come anywhere near the same universe that Max's is in. I really didn't appreciate it until I left Silver Spring. One of those shops was recommended to me by a few people in the neighborhood and I went by to give it a try last week after getting my haircut across the street. When I walked in the place was pretty crowded, good sign I thought. Kosher certification and fridge stocked with homemade kosher fare, good sign. Fryalator with falafel mixture and scoop next to it, good sign. Wait what is that, PIZZA? SUSHI!!? Alarm bells were going off but I decided to try it anyway. First problem I had was that he took the falafel out of a giant chafing dish with a lid instead of making them fresh with the scoop and falafel mixture. When he lifted the lid, I could see steam coming out and I knew that, while they might have been made recently, the premade falafel were probably going to be pretty soggy due to the moisture. Then he asked me what toppings I wanted. I asked what they had and I was told I could have lettuce (which turned out to be one of those Dole iceberg salad mixes with the preshredded carrots and cabbage pieces) tomato, onions and sauce. After I got to my table and took my first bland mushy bite, I realized how badly I took all those wonderful sauces and pickles at Max's for granted. Max's was the first and only falafel place I have really frequented and I just thought all that stuff was standard topping choices for falafel. Boy was I wrong. Anyways I still have one place i have been told to try but I don't have my hopes up. They have a neon sign out front that advertises sushi, burgers, pizza and falafel.

Side note, I actually hate it when a restaurant has the really nice, non-throwaway polished chopsticks. They have no grip!! I am pretty handy with chopsticks but I just feel like the polished ones make it damn near impossible to grab noodles. On the other end though I hate the really cheap ones that give you splinters. Anyways, when eating noodles, I have always copied the move I saw some old chinese woman doing at a restaurant one time. Scoop up some broth with the spoon, then use the chopsticks to pick up a bite of noodles and kind of set them on the spoon, into the broth. Then bring the spoon to your mouth, using the chopsticks to hold the noodles in place if need be, and slurp the whole thing down. I like this two handed method better than picking the whole bowl up because 1) it allows for a nice mix of broth and noodle on every bite and 2) it doesn't induce the Western-breed, Pavlovian cringe I get from picking a bowl up and bringing it directly to my mouth. The only food where I find chopsticks clearly superior is sushi (or just using fingers). A fork really does a number on a well constructed piece of sushi and if it is a roll the seaweed wrapper is next to impossible to cut.

I found this discount liquor store up here in NJ that was selling the 2007 Bastianich for 10.99 (credit) and 9.99 (cash) per bottle last week. Beth and I typically don't like the same Rose's. I like a more dry European style and Beth likes hers a little sweeter and fruitier but we both love the Bastianich. I bought 3 and I think I am going back for more tonight.

Oh man I am right with you on this one. I will get a small bit of cheese on a plate and the box of wheat thins, long after the cheese is gone I will be pinching the last crumbs out of the bottom of the wheat thins bag. I have definitely eaten these till my stomach hurts. Heather, do you do the same with generics? I have yet to find another brand that does it to me like the actual Wheat Thins. There is just something about them that I can't put my finger on...

If anyone is really serious about stopping their junk food habit I know this place called Quitter's Inc. that might be able to help...

Maybe this belongs in that recession topic that was alive a few months back but I am too lazy to find it. Do you think the same factors that allow big corporations to squash and push out small individually owned restaurants (large scale ordering which allows for lower prices, ability to set prices at razor thin profit margins due to volume, all other economies of scale type effects, standardized menus and quality, large marketing departments, etc. etc.) also make it sluggish and more susceptible to recession? I feel like a smaller individually owned restaurant can duck and move much quicker. The filet mignon isn't moving? Switch it to hanger steak tomorrow night. The whole menu is too expensive? Rewrite it with cheaper options. You notice the price of green beans is rising faster than asparagus? Don't buy green beans this week. High end booze isn't selling? Start serving gourmet sodas and make a "value" section on the wine list or have discount corkage nights. Budget is still too tight? Run the door with one hostess instead of two. Price of gas is cutting the number of people driving to your restaurant? Provide free valet or something. The large corporate groups can't make these kinds of decisions on the fly. A menu change must take months of focus groups, recipe development, supplier contract negotiation etc. Also when the economy starts turning down the large numbers in the marketing, development and corporate engines that allow these companies to expand during the good times must be breaking their back during the tough times. Laying people off takes time and money and you run the risk of getting rid of someone you will want around in a few months when things turn back around. Anyways, just some random thoughts I had while sifting through the GDP data today...

Instead of peppercorns the steak au poivre is coated with crushed Cialis. By the way, I DON'T reccomend the brandy mushroom cream...

Funny story I worked at a place that didn't take reservations and probably wouldn't be tops on Sietsema's to-do list anyways. Someone called in one time demanding a reservation claiming to be Tom. I just happened to be talking to the hostess at the time and overheard her end of the conversation. The funniest part was that the hostess was from El Salvador, a high school senior and most importantly didn't have a freaking clue who Tom Sietsema was. Partway through she muted it and and asked me what to do the guy said he was somebody important, "Tom Ssssma? Tom Steema?". After hearing her butcher it a few times I figured out it out and said Sietsema? And she said yeah. I told her not to worry about.

After reading through the comments over there I remembered a scene in that Jeff Bridges/Tommy Lee Jones movie Blown Away. I don't know if anyone but me remembers it but they go on for awhile about the moment you realize you stepped on a mine. You hear the click of the trigger engaging and you know as soon as you move your foot it will blow up and you are frozen because you know as soon as you do anything you are dead. In the movie Jeff Bridges went so far as to demonstrate it on Forest Whitaker in a bomb squad class room. I have to imagine a similar sensation went through that Tammy chicks head right after she posted the comment about people being open and using real names. Realllllly don't think she gave any thought to were that string of logic ended up.The second thing I think both her and the authors of that story failed to realize is just how much industry particpates on here. I originally started lurking on this board not as a diner but as an industry professional. For someone in the industry this really is the best place I know of to keep up with openings, closings, trends, wine finds, new cocktails and just plain old networking. That is why I doubt Tammy is an industry "professional" at least in my mind. Maybe she is a hostess, a waitress or maybe even a manager but if she can't see the value of this site than I don't know what to tell you.

When I was living in their delivery radius, we used to always use the online system. It was pretty easy and allowed you to do some customization that I think would have gotten lost if dealing with someone on the phone. I never thought their pizza was out of this world but it was much better than any other delivery places and I really like their salad options. I never considered their competition to be Comet or 2amys or even Mama Lucia (carryout only) it was more like Domino's and Papa John's, places where I didn't have to leave the couch.

Just so happens I live in NJ. I checked out wine library and didn't find it. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough? Are you referring to somewhere in particular?

I had that Bastianich as well and it was most excellent. Anyone know where this can be found retail?

Yeah once I read that part I sort of agree. I forgot about seeing people do this in starbucks before. I guess the only solution is maybe to give it to them in one of those small plastic cups like you get at the dentist to rinse. That way there is no room to add copious amounts of milk. Also, does anyone else find this kind of humorous? I mean it is a COFFEE shop. I would just sneak over while he is out and dump a few shots of espresso down his gullet and when he jumps up just yell, "HA! Let's see you take a nap now jerk!" I don't know why I just thought it was kind of funny that the guy is taking naps 10 feet away from all the caffeine he could drink.

Espresso itself was probably thought of as an abomination to the coffee Gods at the time of its invention. It was a quick and dirty way to make coffee so some dude could cut the length of employees breaks. Then around the turn of the century I'll bet some dude asked some 1900's era barista for some steamed milk with his espresso and the barista shouted "SACRILEGE!" as the customer dumped the espresso into the coffee.(I did get the sarcasm Heather I just quoted you because it was a good lead in to what I wanted to say)