hillvalley

On one burner is round two of bone broth.

On another is beef stew.

The third has tomato sauce for tonight's clams in red sauce.

I haven't cooked this much in years, if ever.

Last night was

bolognese with rigatoni

latkes with sour cream

water

sipping chocolate

Tonight was

franks (lamb, rosemary and feta sausage) and beans (cannellini beans stewed with a ton of garlic and fresh sage) 

simple arugula salad

IB whisky

roasted marshmallows

Bolognese-I haven't made the real deal version in years so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Anyone else willing to admit that they are reading The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year?  I'm finding it frustrating that he name drops first names and just assumes we know who he is talking about.  Bruce comes up every few days but I have no idea which Bruce.  I'm assuming it's not Willis or Springsteen.  And if he is going to dish on the Real Housewives he needs to name more names.  

I'm looking for the real thing.  Not some fancy dancy, let me show you how edgy/funky/modern I can be bowl of soup.  I want a crock of something that will take me back to Brasserie Balzar.  Le Diplomat is probably going to be your first suggestion but I'm not in the mood to deal with the crowds and noise.  Bonus point for easy parking.

We're making the latkes today in preparation for Tuesday.  

I need suggestions for a nice dinner during the week between Christmas and NYE.

There are few things I love more than the Olympics.  Last year I wore my USA Olympic jacket all over Athens.  When  we got to Olympia  I had a religious experience, despite the 60 Grade 9rs I had to accompany around the site. I stay up late to watch curling.

I love DC more.

There are few worse ideas than DC hosting the Olympics.  To quote my friend's four year old, "No, please NO!"

Hillvalley, I think it tastes good once you add some salt to it.  Cook it without salt because it concentrates down.  I add sea salt, tamari or miso.

Thanks for the heads up. Per Grandma's rules for making stock, I never add salt to my stocks until I use it for something specific.

The broth is simmering away and I can smell it two floors up. I don't want to make chilli for dinner because it's going to mask the heavenly aroma.

Dark chocolate covered marshmallows are evil.

Really good olive oil.

Yesterday was turkey stock made with Thanksgiving leftovers.

Today is bone broth with chicken bones and chicken chilli.

Tomorrow the cleaning lady comes and I'm not allowed to cook for a few days.

Sunday night: grilled pork chops which were marinated in lemon and rosemary, mashed turnips, roasted acorn squash

Last night: Shabbas dinner on a Monday: roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, homemade Caesar salad with anchovies in the dressing and in the salad.

Dessert both nights were dark chocolate covered marshmallows from TJs.

Hillvalley, the type of bone broth I am describing and making may not be suitable as a flavor builder in a regular recipe.  The long cooking time makes it taste intense.  The vinegar ratio is one tablespoon per quart of water so it's not very sour, but it cooks for a long time (24 hours or more) and has a lot of minerals.

I mostly just drink a mug of it a day, with a little tamari.  We do sometimes use it for cooking but something with a strong flavor like beef stew.

It's really medicine for your bones and your skin.  Minerals, collagen, glycine.

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to try it for the medicinal use but was wondering about the flavor.

What does the vinegar do in terms of flavor? Tomorrow will be spent turning the roasted chicken from dinner tonight into stock.  if I use cider vinegar will it still have that quintessential chicken broth flavor or does the cider change it?

Regarding Eastern Market, I get my necks and backs for stock from Market Poultry.  Union Meats and Canales have a variety of bones available.

To Mr. Barry

We hit Leon's at the corner of King and I Saturday night and it was great. We showed up around 8 and had about a 20 minute wait, just long enough to down our pumpkin cider. The place is staffed better than I have seen in a long time, including a guy on the corner showing you where to park, and another at the other end of the block making sure you don't drive down either of the dead end streets. The good looking hipster staff only added to the atmosphere.

We started with the grilled oysters which were topped with parmesan and garlic. The oysters were great but there was a touch too much cheese for my taste.

Next were the fried clam wraps. These were the hit of the night. Wrapped in lettuce, topped with a spicy mayo, the clams were perfectly fried and the whole concoction was delicious. It's only two per order so next time I won't share.

Finally we each had two piece of fried chicken, dark meat. It was as perfect a fried chicken as I've had in a long time: crunchy skin with a hint of spice, juicy, succulent meat.

Two apps, two mains, and one pumpkin sider cost $45 before tip.

It's a bit off of the King Street beaten path but well worth searching out. This is not a quiet restaurant; next time I go down we will take the little ones with us without concern.

To the Brown brothers and The Passenger.

Should you find yourself in Berlin and in the mood for a drive, head towards Potsdam to Braumanufaktur. The website is braumanufaktur.de; I can't get it linked from my hotel room.

It's a restaurant and organic brewery that is over 100 years old. In it's hey day, before the war, it had seating for 4,000 and a boat dock with 9 slips. Today's incarnation is much smaller with indoor seating for about 100 and outdoor seating for probably another 75 more. There is a great playground, full of equipment that the US's safety lawyers dream of in their nightmares, and a few goats in chickens.

Take this with a grain of salt because I don't know a lot about beer, but I did enjoy what I tasted and throughout our meal, on a Saturday night, locals were coming in to buy their beer. The food was fine; I had a sausage made of game meat which was as good as one would hope.

The brewery offers tour on Wednesday if that's your thing. I don't know that I would go out of my way to stop by but if you are visiting Potsdam it's a quick drive and if you are in Berlin and have a car and want to take a drive it's a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Given the unseasonably warm weather, I decided to try the bubble tea at the Barracks Row Capital Teas today.  It was a nice day to sit in the courtyard.  I'm not sure what the event was at the Barracks, but I encountered a motorcade on the way over and was serenaded by the Marine Corps band as I drank my tea and read a book.

The serving was very generous.  A small was $6.25 ($6.61 with tax).

You may have encountered the chain of command ceremony. The new Commandant took over last week.

In the matter of a couple of months that block of 8th street has gone from bubble tea less to two choices: Capital Teas and down at the corner of I Cafe Kimchi. Don't hold me to this but I think they are the only two places on the Hill where you can get boba. I can't comment on the quality of Kimchi's boba as I balked at the price, which is similar to what Capital Teas is asking.

If either is smart they will advertise/cater to the crowds that line their store front while waiting to get into Rose's.

Homemade German strawberry creme liquor. I know most of you snobs are rolling your eyes at the thought of drinking such a thing but I have no problems admitting to my love to sweet, creamy drinks.

The miniature of elderberry creme is next; I'm 2 kilos over the allowed weight limit for flying and I'm not eating the foie till I'm in the States so this is the easiest way to make my bag lighter.

Regarding Fish la Boissionerie: If you can't get a reservation go right at opening. They usually keep a table or two open. As an alternative you an sit at the bar where the don't take reservations.

You can eat at Le Comptoir Relais without a reservation. First, go for lunch which they stop serving around 5pm. Or go next door, past the creperie into L'Avant Comptoir. It's Yves Camdeborde hidden gem for the rest of us. My first time I had haddock mousse with caviar, pigs feet stuffed with mushrooms, poached egg topped with caviar, and a fois gras velouté for 21€ or about $28. Although the concept is tapas bar-esque, this ain't your papa's tapas. Should you need "safer" food the jam on croquettes and poached eggs on a pile of mushrooms were breathtaking. Just be prepared to get to know your neighbor very well as it is standing room only.

I don't want to argue but for you it is easy because you live and breath this board, which is why it still lives. But here I am, far from a technical Luddite, and from my iPhone I cannot easily figure out how to post a pic. And yes, I spent some time trying. Again, I go back to the technology. When posting from an iPhone is a matter of a few clicks it will happen. It's not your fault that the board technology is not there, but it does play into why pics aren't posted.

Regarding the comment about 9 years ago, you are right. It wasn't well thought out thanks to a glass of champagne. My point was that technology has changed but invision, or whomever runs the technical part of the board, hasn't kept up. When we chose what platform to use when the board started one conversation we had was about how easy the technology was. For posting commentary that remains true. For your average board user today, the ease isn't there.

Don, unfortunately technology gets in your way. Until posting photos is as easy as it is on FB and other sites you can't expect the same level of participation other than what occurs now.

Nine years ago, at a DR happy hour, I was admonished for pulling out my laptop and posting. I'm willing to bet good money that the majority of the people at the upcoming picnic will pull out their phone once and check social media besides the board.

Thoughts on Brela?