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Meaghan

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Posts posted by Meaghan

    Memories Of Trick Or Treating

    in Events and Gatherings

    Posted

    Tell me more stories.

    Today in the coffee shop, I overheard a table of ladies talking about how Three Musketeers is called that beacause it's a combo of three candies that already existed. Is this true? Then they were talking about Nestle Treasures. I was actually listening in on a conversation about candy. Yucky candy.

    On a whim, what are you up to?

    in Events and Gatherings

    Posted

    That's because in the rest of the world, Daylight Savings was this morning. Your computer must be older than Congress' silly law changing DST in the U.S. :blink:

    Oh yes, the Energy bill. Speaking locally, I think our running the AC in mid-October canceled out the proactive work of the energy bill (you've been missing warmish weather, MBK. No frost yet.).

    Fresh Tomato Recipes

    in Shopping and Cooking

    Posted

    A very generous client dropped off a huge amount of tomatoes from her garden on Thursday, and they unfortunately sat in their box and paper bag until I brought them home this evening (we weren't there to receive them Thursday, and I wasn't told about them until late today).

    I've washed and sorted them into various collanders, and I estimate that I have 2-3 quarts of beautiful, firm Roma tomatoes, and about the same of large round, over-ripe, soft tomatoes. I hope they will hold up until tomorrow morning, when I can actually do something with them.

    I'm thinking some sauce, and some oven-dried tomatoes. I want stuff that I can possibly stow in the freezer to use at my leisure.

    Can anyone share some recipes or guidance? Is there such a thing as a recipe for tomato sauce that doesn't require peeling first? (I have Fibromyalgia, and don't know how long I can peel tomatoes before I fall over in a heap on the floor.)

    I'm determined to do my best for these red beauties, and will appreciate any and all advice. I am a total novice in this area, so I guess I need "Tomato Recipes for Dummies."

    Porcupine, would you mind sharing your sauce and confit recipes--by PM if not on this thread? Anyone else?

    Thanks in advance for any and all input.

    I am going to a tomato-themed dinner on Sunday. I will let you know how it turns out....

    Chicago, IL

    in The Intrepid Traveler

    Posted

    Steppenwolf’s production of “august: osage county” didn’t let out till 11, so avec made sense. The kitchen on Friday and Saturday is open until one, and it was only a few blocks from my hotel just over the river on west Randolph.

    A door up or down from blackbird, avec spills out onto the sidewalk through a glass front but inside you would almost think you’re walking into a giant sauna, except everyone has kept their shirts on and the air is cool. It’s deep and narrow, paneled from floor to ceiling in under-varnished blonde wood, a stainless steel-countered bar running up one side and low wood tables and squat and boxy low-backed chairs and matching banquette backed along the other wall, into which a few square windows have been punched. The strict geometry here tells you one thing, but the expertly prepared food says another, and this small restaurant delivers a surprisingly comfortable, semi-communal and informal dining experience.

    The Mediterranean-inspired cooking is behind the bar toward the rear (like crème café on our u street). A menu of more than a dozen small plates and large plates and as many cheeses – all suitable for sharing – is accompanied by an extensive list of splashy wines and beer from france, italy, spain and portugal.

    A glass of mas de bazan rose accompanied an English pea crostini. The bread remains crisp under a light spread of pureed peas and a manageably heaped salad of pea shoots, watercress and red onion, with long lashes of pickled lemon zest and dressed in a ricotta salata vinaigrette containing a small dice of the cheese itself and a mustard seed here and there. The prime ingredients are simple enough, but bundled together in this open-faced sandwich they provide a delicious excursion in contrasting flavors and textures.

    A taste of bucatini in a pepper and pancetta ragout from a generous neighbor landed a piece of braised octopus that was as tender, sweet and good as what can be recollected from a trip to Barcelona.

    A stew of generously portioned, moist haddock is also redolent of spain, piquant and mildly fiery. Circular mustard leaves colored a swirling jewel-green settle and slowly wilt onto a tomato and roasted red pepper sauce spiked with chopped caperberries and bacon. A glass of 2005 domaine la croix belle held up well to it, I thought. (But to avoid some confusion, it is better to ask for “les champ des lys.”)

    Service here is top-drawer. If you don’t know where next to eat in Chicago, the staff here is friendly and knowledgeable. Hot doug’s, the vegetarian green zebra and custom house were all on the list. Whatever you may or may not think of its food, Schwa is not in the best neighborhood and can play hard to get, not answering the telephone or taking the staff off for a spur-of-the-moment trip to new york. Spurring some conversation about minibar, Alinea is at the top of the pack, but its young chef, a non-smoker, is suffering from mouth cancer. This was an odd coincidence, since the lead character in the play I had just seen – a pill-popping and brain-damaged Oklahoma matriarch, the mother of three daughters and the wife of an alcoholic poet – also was suffering from mouth cancer. Sometimes I wish I could fool the way my mind works, but after such a pleasant late dinner ($60), as I made my departure, my tongue was burning and I was wondering if I could have it too.

    Great review! I visited Avec one Sunday not too long ago, as the sun hung low and as the night opened its big fat mouth: why, the finale of Sopranos waited at home. Only Central Time!! Do'h. Anyway, I liked the whole package there. It was perfect for what I wanted...it was even perfect for what I might not have wanted. Parking is pie on Sunday. There's food, there's wine, there may even be chalkboards. I can't possibly tell you anymore.

    Johnny's Half Shell, Capitol Hill - Owners Johnny Fulchino and 2004 James Beard Award Winner Ann Cashion Now in the Original Cashion's Eat Place Space, Adams Morgan - Closed

    in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining

    Posted

    Does anyone know the details of the current happy hour specials at Johnny's?

    M-F 5-7:30 p.m. Just apps and salads are half price. Not sure about the bevs themselves, but they sure are cold and stiff. Very generous. August is a good time to go b/c there are less of those cuff linked, searsucker-wearing politicos.

    Winston-Salem, NC

    in The Intrepid Traveler

    Posted

    I was in Winston M-W of this week. Sadly, Sweet Potatoes isn't open for dinner Monday or Tuesday nights (during the

    I went to dinner at Sweet Potatoes a few days before you posted this. I was happy to be there and found the meal to be comforting and akin to a hit-n-miss night at Colorado Kitchen. Good food to eat when wearing draw string pants. Otherwise, there isn't much to eat in W-S...there are some Smoothie King franchises , though. And drive through Starbucks (specially designed for sloths who need caffeine).

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