zoramargolis

How about the $10-$15 simple blow-torch for making creme brulee?

They also work well for blistering and peeling the skin off of red peppers and chiles.

Why doesn't everyone bring their own brown-bag breakfast and eat it there?

Mitu-mitu!

It may be true that they may look at the ratings and not read the description, but maybe this may be a good starting off point for many. It's an ever evolving process and maybe that is where those of you in the business should take it upon yourselves to educate the consumer.

I subscribe to Wine Advocate and I do read the tasting notes. They are what pique my interest in finding and tasting particular wines-- but if I am lucky enough to remember the name and vintage date of the wine, it is usually the score I remember, not the particulars of the tasting notes. I'm afraid I don't have that many neurons available anymore to store that much information. But I do keep the hard copies on my bookshelf, so I can go back and re-review the reviews.

I read movie reviews in the New Yorker before I decide what movie to see, too. I don't have the time or money (or interest) to see every movie that comes out--even from directors I have liked in the past. I rely on professionals whose judgement has seemed sound to me, and use their assessments to guide my viewing. Sometimes, I disagree with them, and maybe I miss out on movies I might have liked, that they didn't. And the backers, producers and directors of those films all hate reviewers who have too much power to determine success or failure, etc. etc. That's the way it goes...

I don't recall anyone on the forum mentioning this place before, which I stumbled on today, well not really. I drove on an unfamiliar route, saw it, and went in to check it out.

It is called The ORGANIC BUTCHER of Mclean (6712 Old Dominion Dr.) across the road, sort of, from the McLean Balducci's. It's only been open since November.

Well, to those like me who were bemoaning the loss of locally raised, fresh organic beef with Sunnyside Organics getting out of the Wagyu business, weep no more. The proprietor, Don, gets whole carcasses from local (at least one is in Loudon Co.) organic farms, and cuts the meat himself. He's got dry-aged Angus beef -- no super bargains, which is to be expected. But given the quality of the product, his prices seem fair. He also has veal and pork--beautiful, thick-sliced veal liver for $6.99 a pound. I bought some big, meaty short ribs for $6.99 a pound. More expensive than Eastern Market, but these are dry-aged, which Don says will make a difference in taste even in a braised dish. He has also offered to save tri-tips for me, if I call a day in advance.

Other than meat, he sells fish and a few things that are quite special--Strauss Family Dairy cultured butter, from Northern California, and Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, which won't be hard to get once their new store opens, but are right now. He also has a small selection of wines and other gourmet products.

I took a multi-class pastry course taught by Michel Richard in 1978, when he was proprietor of a pastry shop in Beverly Hills. I was a mere toddler at the time, of course, and his voice hadn't changed yet--NOT! (The class was held at Ma Cuisine, a small cooking classroom affiliated with Ma Maison, one of the earliest California-French restaurants, owned by Patrick Terraill, a member of the Tour d'Argent Terraill family. I took another course there, taught by the young chef at Ma Maison--Wolfgang Puck.)

All of you are well aware that Michel Richard has brilliant technique, but he is also a natural teacher, charming and informative and generous of spirit. It would be fun to go, if I had the dinero, but I would recommend it to those who do.

If you do a Georgetown/C & O Canal lookaround, consider a mid-afternoon pick-me-up at Ching-Ching Cha at 1063 Wisconsin, between M & K Streets. It's very serene and cool inside, and they have brilliant Chinese teas and tea snacks.

Or head to Leopold's Cafe in Cady's Alley, behind (and below) the 3400 block of M Street for seriously good Viennese pastries and coffee in trendy surroundings.

Monday nights Lavandou has, in the past, had a no-corkage fee policy. Haven't been in a while, so I'd call to make sure it's still true, if you plan to go.

I give Olivia nine hundred, seventy-seven points!

It's nice to see you folks in the wine business being so supportive of each other...

It is very good, but it could be a little more cultured for my taste.  Does it come in an unsalted version?

This reminds me--have you noticed that the Trader Joe's Unsalted Organic Cultured Butter is now just labeled "Organic"? It seems to have become uncultured.

As time goes by, it loses a bit of its velvet texture and the salt concetrates, but if you can slice it as thin as they slice proscuitto, you can still use it for most of the things the more effete European stuff gets used for. 

It's not the same, but it's pretty good.

There is plenty of smoked ham in Europe: among others, there are speck in Italy, Schwartzwalder schinken in Germany and the equivalent in Holland. (I tasted the latter two the other day, at the home of a friend who had just come back from Holland and Germany. They tasted exactly like speck.) The Virginia counry ham that I have eaten has been saltier, though. Symptomatic only of longer aging? Or are there more differences?

There are some good California and Washington State Merlots also.

Back in the late 70's, much of the available, affordable California (non-jug) varietal red wine that wasn't zinfandel was cabernet, much of it tannic 100% cab with an unfortunate tendency to vegetal bell pepper and green bean notes; merlot was a softer, tastier alternative, with berry-fruit flavors. Clos du Bois was one I remember liking a lot, back in the early '80's. As the quality of winemaking and blending improved in California, and the spectrum of varietals increased, merlot simultaneously became the mass market go-to red wine and of much less interest to California wine geeks.

I have had a couple of opportunities to drink Leonetti Cellars Merlot from Columbia Valley, Washington, thanks to Joe Heflin, who is on the Leonetti mailing list. It is excellent wine--certainly nothing to sneer at.

The more kitchen gadgets I buy the less I use. 

The more I buy, the less space I have to put them

I missed this thread, first time around. I'm surprised that no one mentioned Amma Vegetarian Kitchen on M Street in Georgetown (much better than the Vienna branch). For $5 or $6 you can get a totally satisfying masala dosa, with sambar and coconut chutney. This is one of the two great cheap eats places in Georgetown, the other one being Moby Dick, the anachronistically named kebab joint that also has branches in Bethesda, McLean and elsewhere.

I tried Oohs and Ahhs for the first time, at lunchtime a couple of days ago. Sweet people, seriously funky atmosphere. I had the lunch serving of wings, which was HUGE for $7.99, hot crunchy wing segments with a sticky, salty, sweet- spicy bbq sauce. It came with one side, and I asked nicely for two half-portions, so that I could taste the mac 'n cheese and collard greens. Both really good, and I loved the greens. No hot sauce needed, they had enough cayenne and vinegar going on just as dished up.

Randolph's on Lee Highway next door to Arrowine in Arlington. Beautiful cakes and pastries--made with all butter.

CHACON A SON GOUT, BABY!

To me, a lot of wines and varietals the "terroiristas" are all gaga over are thin, sour and astringent. They call a lot of the wines I like "pancake syrup"...

If I've got a plate of grilled beef in front of me, or lamb, or anything with hearty flavors, I want to drink red wine that is mouth-filling, full-bodied, and tastes primarily like fruit, not damp earth, acidic underbrush and fungi. So go ahead and consider my palate "unsophisticatd" if you like. Fortunately for all of us, there are a vast multitude of different wines in the world. We get to drink what we like! You don't like zinfandel? It's okay by me. I'm not all that fond of Chianti or Dolcetto, or most of the French Burgundies I've tasted--admittedly, not that many.

I still have not been able to "get" zins.  Plus, I have never found a dish that makes me say, "you know a Zinfandel would really go well with this."

Try Hartford Russian River, Seghesio Old Vines or Home Ranch, Storybook Howell Mountain, any Elyse zin or Rosenblum Carla's Vineyard (and other Rosenblum single vineyard bottlings) before you write off zinfandel. These are all complex, elegant and interesting wines that show what the grape can do, beyond knocking you over the head. They are a fabulous match with spice-rubbed grilled beef, lamb in most forms, anything with some char or smoke flavor going on. We had Hartford Russian River with our Weber-kettle smoked heritage Bourbon Red turkey at Thanksgiving and it was a brilliant match.

Check with Magruder's in Chevy Chase. I've seen some there in the past.

Hemingway actually drove an ambulance.  He shares my birthday, too.

Lucky you. I share a birthday with Richard Nixon.

I had a good cooking night.  Never did I think that I would enjoy and even look forward to cooking, but it's getting easier and more fun each time.  Tonight I made the braised short rib ragu served over penne featured on the cover of Fine Cooking (March 2006 issue).  It was delicious.  My boyfriend, who is so generally complimentary about my new interest in cooking that I have begun to question his sincerity, raved enthusiastically and ate two bowls of the stuff.  Score!  Personally, I loved it.

Don't question his sincerity, girlfriend. Just keep on cooking. Food is love, and the more you love the process of cooking for the two of you, the more love he will feel for you. Trust me on this.

My boyfriend was mine, totally hooked after I prepared chicken marengo, rice pilaf and asparagus with hollandaise sauce for him on a two-burner electric hotplate. We are still together, 35 years later!

I just ran across this comment from Robert Parker, from the Mark Squires Wine Board, regarding his recent critics:

I did catch-up on board reading this morning and must say it is sad to continue to see what once were reasonably responsible,talented,and accomplished British wine writers behave with such paranoia...exaggerating,distorting,falsi fying, and just exhibiting appallingly prejudiced and narrow-minded palates...as I have said and so fervently believe, the glories of wine are it's diversity....that it does come in so many shapes and sizes....no size fits everyone, but it is this remarkable assortment of smells,flavors,textures,and personalities that has fueled my work and kept me endlessly fascinated for over 30 years....and contrary to the cheesy deception and obstinate repetition of falsehoods offered by a handful of writers who appear to have a sense of being dispossessed as well as a loss of power, the irrefutable truth is that we have so many more styles of wine and what...100 fold+ more high quality wines than existed 20 years ago.....feel free to express a dislike for this or that...hell that is what wine connoisseurship is all about...but to arbitrarily call for wines to be made by some strict and ancient recipe(do I detect the Illuminati at work?)...one where only a handful of "gifted" writers are capable of appreciating such complexity and nobility...and decree them "acceptable" for all of the uncultured slobs in the USA and the rest of the world....ummmm... wouldn't this lead us to fewer and fewer choices, and a sort of vinofascism that would be intolerable.....

Some friendly advice to them...as they all seem to be droning on about the same "talking points".....when you are in a deep hole....common sense says....stop digging....

And I also have no doubt as to why that's what the wine smells like....

Is this, by any chance what you are hinting at?

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=80974

it was that darn elusive depth-of-flavor thing again.  The dish tasted fine - it just didn't taste... enough.  Needed umami.  It was like the beefyness had been leached out of the meat.

Sounds like maybe too much liquid/meat. It's always best to braise in a pot that isn't lots bigger than the piece of meat. If there is a lot of liquid--reduce, reduce to concentrate the flavor.

i have a 32-oz. jar of toigo orchards bourbon peaches. the ingredients are sugar, water, bourbon and ascorbic acid. it has been sitting on the shelf since the autumn of 2004. they still look good. do you think that they are?

Vacuum sealed fruit in syrup should last for at least two or three years. Toigo peaches in bourbon syrup would taste mighty good right about now.

So if I am reading your post correctly, other than eliminating the juniper berries and gingersnaps, you followed the recipe exactly as written. You found the meat mushy and the flavor one-dimensional.

Having never made this dish, I can only analyze the recipe as it is written in the book and by your report to suggest what may have "gone wrong."

The cooked wine marinade is fairly straightforward for a typical beef braise, except for the vinegar, which might make it more acidic than straight wine, unless the added water dilutes the acidity so that it is the same ph as the wine. A higher concentration of acid in the marinade might have contributed to the mushiness of the meat, as acidic marinades do break down the meat. The ultimate goal of the dish is the sweet-sour flavor spectrum, however, and the vinegar is an important element, as evidenced by more vinegar being added to the sauce in the final step.

I think that the 300 degrees called for in the recipe, for 2 to 2 1/2 hours is too high, and your oven may be hotter than that. I find that the texture and flavor of braised meat is better at lower temp. I'd also add celery, fresh parsley and fresh thyme to the braising pot.

Finally, the sauce, which is the strained braising liquid thickened with a cooked roux, with added raisins, sugar, vinegar and gingersnaps. Where in the first step, the marinade, you may not have lost much by eliminating the juniper berries (although I really like the flavor, and I would have used more than the two called for in the recipe), I think you left out a significant source of flavor by eliminating the gingersnaps. Clearly, they are being used as a source for spice flavor -- primarily ginger, cinnamon and molasses, since there is clove in the marinade-- and sweetness. If you don't have gingersnaps, you should add ginger, cinnamon and a little molasses, honey or more sugar to the sauce to calibrate the sweetness/sourness to taste. With those additions, the flavor will be much more complex. I'd also reduce the braising liquid to concentrate the flavor before adding it to the roux. If you don't like gingersnaps because you don't like ginger, you probably wouldn't like any sauerbraten, since that is a central flavor element in the dish.

Hope that helps.