Barbara

I have to agree with DCDuck (above). It is simply too noisy for a gathering of old friends--if the weather was warmer, I would suggest the roof bar. I also can't speak to the food anymore since Michael Hartzer is no longer affiliated with the place. Those $20 monthly dinners seem to have disappeared. Cashion's or Mintwood are much better alternatives for you--certainly for the food and the ability to hold a conversation that doesn't involve screaming and they both have bars with congenial barkeeps.

If you're not sure about this, just ask the 300,000 or so people in West Virginia who suddenly found themselves without their usual source of water. It's one thing to be in a place where bottled water can be delivered by the many hundreds of truckloads and a place where your sole water source is contaminated and nobody locally seems to care or have any solution. Is water a human right? Is life a human right? These two things seem to go together, don't you think?

This reminds me of a scheme promoted by the World Bank, no less, (or maybe it was the IMF--which doesn't have the goal of eradicating poverty as its raison d'etre) back in the 1990s to privatize the water supply to a large population of Bolivians. It wound up impoverishing already impoverished people and political unrest ensued. What a surprise. You wonder why a Socialist like Evo Morales was elected? And yes, for the record, I believe a clean water supply is a human right.

To Jason Brown. I thought today would be the last time I would see him perform this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_X_F8zJ8k8 (from earlier this year. He skated even better today--when it counted the most) But, the boy's going to Sochi!

Chef Seb, I haven't been to your restaurant--I don't have a car, so usually don't go the burbs for meals--but I did read this last year and then passed it on to Nena: http://www.amazon.com/Pomegranate-Soup-Novel-Marsha-Mehran/dp/0812972481/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389196698&sr=1-1&keywords=pomegranate+soup Your pictures and discussions of Persian food are very tempting. I think we are going to have to try and make some of the recipes that are included in the book.

Reading this in the WaPo this morning made me feel very, very old.

Yeah, I'm wondering how many of my perennials are going to be lost in the next week.

I had actually printed out the recipe a couple of years ago, when the recipe was first published on ATK's site. However, if you don't pay them some $$, you can't access their older recipes. I was looking at other websites that talked about this recipe to see if it had caused problems for others and just posted this one because it was the same recipe as posted on the ATK site. Using everybody's suggestions here, I could obviously make this again (it really looks impressive--even with the goofs--and tastes just fine); but not without a better bottom layer. I may try adapting St. Julia's flourless chocolate cake for this. Maybe for the DR.com Spring Picnic, if we have one.

That would probably work. However, that isn't the only problem with this recipe. I had to wash out all the mixer equipment THREE times in order to make all the layers, and the bottom flourless chocolate cake is marginal at best. It shrinks too much, so that getting perfect layers is problematical. I'm going back to cheesecakes and layer cakes. I'm just surprised that ATK would publish a recipe with so many problems.

Here is the America's Test Kitchen recipe for Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake: http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/1865990-Triple-Chocolate-Mousse-Cake If you will notice, the second layer calls for melted chocolate which is then blended with hot water blended with cocoa powder. Can somebody please explain to me how you can add water to melted chocolate and not have it seize up? So much for their "fail proof" recipes. This mess will be dessert for tomorrow night's dinner--but I have already thrown the printed out recipe in the trash. There must be a technique involved that they didn't mention and I don't know about. How can so many people make this cake and not run into the same problem???

Since you weren't there (of course you weren't) at the DR.com picnic after this thread was started, the "Don Rockwell" cocktail was served: cognac and Limoncello--that latter made by yours truly. Squids brought a rather exceptional bottle of cognac for this. Been too many years ago.

Corduroy is open on Christmas, as per usual, but getting a reservation through Open Table may be problematical. Juniper (in the Fairmont Hotel at 24th & M Streets, NW) is also open. I know this because I just learned that the chef, Ian Bens, lives in my building and he told me they would be open. I've not eaten there, yet, but hope to in the near future. The menu on the website looks interesting.

That was my first thought. Thanks for the validation. (I'll leave the discussion of making stock to others).

Julia Child's recipe will be used, once again, for dinner on NYE. I've served it with egg noodles before, but am not entirely happy with those. Other kinds of pasta just seem wrong somehow. Does anybody have any ideas on what else to use? No gluten or dairy restrictions are at issue here.

I'm far more likely to make these because they don't require rolling out and cutting. I'm really bad at the rolling part. They sound just delicious!

I know exactly what you mean. I still simply marvel at what has taken place as I ride the Circulator Bus from AdMo to WF down 14th St. to P. Modern technology led to the demise of the "block" of sleazy businesses; but, where did the "ladies" go?

In the oven right now is that pumpkin cheesecake I was going to make for the Fall Picnic. It will be served tomorrow at my building's Holiday Party. Fried turkey is on the menu, too (I'm not cooking that)!

It appears that you hit the nail on the head.

I see this as another step on the "inequality paradigm" that has been developing for years in this country. The folks who treat their local Applebee's as fine-dining (because it has table cloths and doesn't require a refi on the mortgage to eat there or because it is in the only non-fast food option in the vicinity) will probably be happier not to deal with a waitron. Still, I see it as a dumbing down of the restaurant experience. Not that it hasn't already been occurring.

Who knew the Air Force Band was so hip? "Flash Mob: The United States Air Force Band at the National Air and Space Museum" on dvidshub.net (Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System).

Having sat across from lackadaisi, I mostly concur with her comments. The problem with the risotto is that the winter squash in it was woefully undercooked. While summer squash can be eaten raw--or barely cooked--I just don't appreciate crunchy pieces of winter squash. Much of its flavor was lost in that way. The rice itself was accurately cooked and seasoned. There just isn't any excuse for the overcooked pork chop or the mahi-mahi, although the quality of the ingredients was quite fine. Another tomato sauce with the fish? Why? That was the third dish with a tomato sauce. A simple lemon sauce would have worked better and have been more appreciated. I remind myself, however, that this was a $40 dinner and not one of those expensive "extravaganzas" I have suffered through in the past. Dame Edna didn't cry when he paid the bill. Thanks to DanielK for the organizing and cat-herding. It was great to see so many familiar faces again, even though there wasn't much chance to talk with the others at different tables. That will surely be corrected at the next picnic.

Clarification, please: were the eggs fried two days before or laid two days before? Inquiring minds want to know.

I suspect you remember this, too, but I can sure recall my Mother having to tweeze out a bunch of pin feathers from the supermarket birds she used to get. Perhaps we have just gotten spoiled by the Industrial Food people who pay slave wages to people who do that these days.

I tried to call and give my credit card info to Dean, but got somebody who seemed clueless. Left my telephone # and a message. Will it get through? Who knows? Maybe I didn't march to the exact steps. Too bad for me!

Because my nephew is living in an apartment off-campus and has to do his own cooking. I'm still using my cast-iron pan and I found a really good deal on a new Lodge pan, so got that for his birthday this month. Everybody needs a cast-iron skillet and sometimes you just can't find exactly what you want when you need it. Also, a lot of extant pans have been badly abused; so, it's cheap enough to buy a new one rather than trying to rehabilitate an old one--especially if you don't have the knowledge or means to do that.