hillvalley

Thank you to everyone who has completed their PayPal transaction. I've never had people take care of it so quickly. I sent out the wine pairing PayPal to those of you who have already paid (or talked to me) and requested the pairing. Again, please take care of this as soon as you can. We could actually have all the planning done by Tuesday! Thanks

The fall picnic, organized by participants on Donrockwell.com, will be held on Sunday, October 2nd at Belle Haven park in Alexandria. Time is still to be determined. Our Spring picnic was a raging success with over 40 members in attendance. Since then our members have more than trippled in number. We hope all our new members will join us. This time around we are going to be a bit more organized and I have enlisted help from Jacques Gastreaux, mktye and crackers. We have been working behind the scenes and have a few surprises/ideas up our sleeves. Among the changes you can look forward to are an eCookbook of our dishes that are brought to the picnic and a tasting of some sort. More details to follow. As the date gets closer we will be ask for volunteers to help with site sitting, set up and clean up, etc. We also thought of having a t-shirt made to commemorate the day. If anyone has any experience printing t-shirts or wants to take on this challenge please let me know. For now let's start finding out who is joining us and what you would like to bring. I don't think we are going to have a theme this time, although anyone who can incorporate ventworm nuts into their dish wins bonus points

Unfortunately you have missed Solitude Farm's two week season. Last week was their second week

I'm going to stop the voting in an hour or so. If you haven't, vote early and often

Thank you Frank!!!!!!!! My soup is back and I am told by my father that it spectacular Kelly, you made my father's night.

They do and it's free Just pull into the hotel's driveway.

[Rocks, I know I am off topic for the thread, sorry. Love, your woman behind the scenes] I work it when I can The reason why I suggest a generous tip, usually at least 20%, is because for the dinners I have put together the price is lower than what it would cost if the diner came in alone. The Eve dinner is a perfect example. We are getting the tasting for around $20 less than if we were dining in the tasting room on another night. Multiply that by 34 at 20% and that's around $128. It's the difference between an okay and good night. And that's without the alcohol. Also, although the restaurants receive attention on our board, they are still helping me out by putting together events for you. Although the tip won't go to the Chef or Gm, whom I usually deal with, I feel it is a sign of our appreciation for all the effort that went into the dinner.

I assure you that the only reason why Rocks has not shared his news is because he has not been given permission to do so. Out of respect for those involved he is waiting until he receives their permission. I have a feeling he thought he would be able to break the news by now.

You realize that now there is no way it's going to be as exciting as you all think it is going to be

There is a deadline. If I have not received payment by then I will start working my way down the list

FYI-I will not send you a Paypal for the wine pairing until you have paid for the dinner. Like I said in my PM, I would really appreciate it if you took the time and completed the transaction today. Don't forget to let me know if you are interested in the wine pairing before Friday. If I don't hear from you I am going to assume you are not interested.

I second the lobster, pork belly and purple basil margarita recommendations. The pork belly is just divine.

Cooked dinner for a friend a few nights ago to celebrate a couple of special occasions. Broiled goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms Prosciutto and melon Cold tangerine heirloom tomato soup with creme fresche and basil-parsley oil Marinated lamb chops on a bed of roasted crimini and shitake mushrooms "Oven Fried" zucchini pecorino chips Brownie topped with berries Last night was my weekly roma tomato, basil and garlic over spaghetti

I started off with by finishing my goat cheese stuffed squashblossoms but I have moved on to just eating the cheese straight from the piping bag

From the official OpenTable sales kit: One-Time fees: Set-up and Activation is $1295 per restaurant which includes the computer console, configuration, installation and training. Monthly fees: $199 for technical support & marketing Cover fees: It's $1 per seated cover if they go through the OpenTable site...the party must cancel through the system or call the restaurant to cancel them out or else they are considered no shows. The restaurants are not charged cover fees if the reservation cancels prior to the reservation. If the reservation is made through a link on the restaurant's site, they are charged a $.25 per seated cover. Phone reservations made manually are not charged. There are tons of other fees associated with the system depending on what you want/need...desktop software for the back office, remote access, card printers, the 1000 pt. club, etc.

Doubt he will break it.....of course it's possible it will be announced and because no one knows where to look you'll miss it Doc, is the show you searching out evidence to prove that Rocks really is Sietsema?

Reservations are only accepted for parties of 7 or more. Obviously then, no Open Table. Even if they did take reservations remember that OT is very expensive and costs the restaurant $1 a person even if you don't show.

Farmer's Market gripe #2: Melons come with a natural container. It's called the rind. Why do people feel the need to put it in a plastic bag so they can then go and put it in their grocery bag? Those bags stick around for hundreds of years in landfills. I understand using one for green beans, tomatoes, etc. but cantaloupes and melon? Come on people.

Dino is getting three more bottles of that 98 Barolo, and Notti Bianche is extending their happy hour ten extra minutes this evening, but only for members of donrockwell.com

He's finally combining his career (follow Monica's advice above) and love of food

Rock's a tease and won't tell. Start pontificating here

We are going to start planning our last picnic before the weather becomes too cold. Please choose which of the two dates works best for you and your family. The picnic is family friendly and we hope you will join us. You can read about our first picnic this spring here. Once the date is set I will start a thread to being the planning.

Brownie topped with blueberries, raspberries and whipped cream

I have them for my birthday every year

I'm not a big fan of the stemless. I have tiny hands so most glasses are hard for me to handle because of their size. I either am paranoid about dropping the glass or have to use two hands, making me look like a two year old