laniloa

Thanks also for the off board suggestions of where to avoid!

Believe me, impressing the boss is definitely not an issue. Not pissing him off is. I'm thinking Firefly could be a good option (thanks for the pm'd suggestion). Thanks for helping me think through this. This is much better then talking to myself.

Start at $21 is better then start at $31. I have no problem sticking with one plate or picking up an appetizer to share with my dining companions. If I thought I could get away with it gracefully with my boss, I'd simply cover the overage. Hmmm...perhaps I will magically receive a gift certificate that I can graciously offer to apply to the cost of our meal. I know I am going to exceed the per diem given the parameters I have to work with. I just don't want to completely disregard it.

Take it up with my state legislators.

Yeah, but less beyond budget then many other places then first came to mind! I'd go for a bar dinner but don't think my boss will. I thought of Mei Wah but have been advised my boss isn't fond of Asian flavors. We were at another out of town meeting recently and he chose Carrabas over a nice looking local Chinese place. I want to push him a little just not over the edge.

OK folks, I need some help. I have a hectic week of meetings and my boss and several of my staff will be joining me. My boss will only be with us for a day. He flies in at 6 so I'm in charge of arranging a working dinner. I'm figuring 7:30 to allow for potentially checked luggage and cab to our hotel -- Washington Marriott (22nd and M). Now, if it were just up to me we'd walk over to Vidalia or Mendocino. But, we get a $20 for our dinner per diem and I don't want to stress my staff who will be paying quite a bit out of pocket after a week's worth of eating out I've got them covered for some cheaper meals during the week, but don't want to put them in an awkward position). My boss' taste run simpler but my staff are into trying things and have gotten used to me picking good places. So, do we catch a cab and go to Proof (which I really, really want to try) and I think will satisfy all of us with menu choices? Walk over to Circle Bistro? Some other obvious choice I am completely missing?

They are one of the things I miss most about living in Hawaii. If you have ever had an Italian zeppoli, they are very similar. Might be easier to find in the DC area - at a San Genaro feast at the very least.

I learned to scuba dive in Antigua so it is one of my favorite places on the planet. Twenty years later I can still taste the sweet local baby pineapples. The perfect snack after you've been in the water for hours and you are convinced you will have the ocean in your mouth forever.

My grandfather used to send us a care package from Cushman's each winter. I usually went for the tangelos and red grapefruit, but my mom loved the white.

I was just helping you get used to it.

But does it pair well with defeat?

You can always have a krab cake (kake?)

I've ordered from them. I forget the quantity I ordered, but I ended up with more then I expected. I have batches of both vodka and rum vanilla extract in the pantry, vanilla salt, and vanilla sugar. I've experimented with savory recipes too -- a vanilla brine for pork that was very tasty. I still gave a lot away not knowing how they'd keep but, wrapped well in a cool, dark corner of the pantry they held up fine for months.

I made my first ever biscotti tonight. I'm not a coffee drinker so was never drawn to this type of cookie. But, I needed something that would travel well and hold up for a few days. Since the people I made these for prefer fruit and nut goods to chocolate, I figured I'd give it a shot. I made the Lenox Almond Biscotti from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours. I added dried cherries. They were simple to make but I was a little anxious about how to tell when they were done. They still seemed a little soft when I pulled them out of the second baking but I thought they'd be too dark if I left them in the oven. Besides, I figured they would set a little firmer once cooled. Just sampled one and they are great. The almond flavor shines through and the cornmeal gives it a good texture. I dunked it into a cup of tea to sea if it would hold together and it did. I think next time I might use some almond meal.

I'll sum it up this way...I will never again move to a middle of no place town that likes to masquerade as a city no matter how good the job may be.

Right. If iced with buttercream and put into the fridge, you need to let it sit out or you'll have the wrong taste and texture for your icing (as discussed previously).

I regularly use a couple of cake recipes that call for wrapping the cakes in plastic about 5 minutes after they come out of the oven and chilling to improve moistness of the cakes. When I skip this step, it is noticeable. I have tried the same thing with other recipes with mixed results. I do find that when I bake in batches and freeze layers, they are a little moister. Which makes it that much more surprising that Cakelove cakes are so incredibly dry.

Used to love the wafer that came with Swenson's sundaes but they only had chocolate syrup, not hot fudge so more often we went to Jehn's or Friendly's for our ice cream fix.Thanks to all of you, I had a premium steakburger, fries, and a vanilla coke from Steak and Shake. Good grease fix and I like to say Steak and Shake over and over.

We'd get a few Haitian sailboats each week in South Caicos. They were unbelievable. The sails were patchwork from old clothes, the masts weren't anywhere near straight, the boards that formed the hull didn't line up so there were places you could see through the boats, and they didn't have engines. Would not be my first choice of transport across the 90 miles between the two islands. But, they'd bring fruit which was always welcome as South Caicos is an arid island and we'd often run really low on food and would have many days without produce. They also brought monkey ball. It was bottled in old Heineken bottles that looked at least 40 years old. A sip or two and you just weren't right for days. The little old Haitian ladies would sit on the stone fences in front of their houses and nurse a bottle all day. You can definitely get in a good snorkel off West Caicos. It is an easy boat ride over. The island is unpopulated and the entire shallow area is protected -- no fishing down to 60 ft (I think). It is one of the only Caribbean reefs I've ever seen large grouper pairs. And more sharks (both numbers and types) then I'd ever seen in one place. I mean that as a good thing. Higher order predators is a sign of a healthy reef. They won't bug you. The wall is an amazing dive if you want to ditch the BF for a morning. I'm a sucker for wall dives. Total rapture of the deep. Have a great time, I'm jealous.

I spent 3 months in South Caicos about 15 years ago. I've been back to Provo a couple of times because of the spectacular diving. If you are a diver, be sure to book a trip to dive the wall and also go to the protected area around West Caicos. I don't have much to offer food wise but can tell you that the lobster fishery in the area keeps Red Lobster going. I assure you the tails are much, much better fresh. The groupers are coming back in spades so find some fresh fish. They also have a decent conch population. There is a sizeable Haitian community on most of the TCI islands so ask around for whatever hole in the wall place is the current favorite but stay away from the monkey ball -- Haitian moonshine that'll set you back more then a few brain cells. Mostly, it is a great place that hasn't been overrun by highrise hotels and you can kick back with a nice rum drink at sunset. Or sunrise. Whatever floats your boat.

It definitely made the transfer easier. I wondered what it would do shapewise because of the inevitable folds of the paper. The loaves just had a few small waves.

Reporting back on the CI variation. It swaps 3 oz of water for beer and a tablespoon of vinegar. They claim that by adding 15 seconds of kneading, you can reduce the sitting time from 18 hours to 8-12 hours. The 18 hours worked better for my schedule so I didn't bother. I did notice a subtle flavor enhancement but since I'm not a beer type it seemed like a waste of most of a beer for only subtle improvement. I split this batch in half and baked in a 2.5 quart. Much better size for my solo consumption. Second loaf in the freezer. jparrot -- I tried this as french toast and you are correct, it was great.

Gumbo While wearing a scarf because it is freakin cold outside. What is the point of living in Florida if you are going to have hard freeze warnings????

This is down the road from my brother. I didn't realize it was a chain. We stopped in once on the way from the airport. I remember it being pretty good with a nice char but they had too heavy a hand with the toppings. I passed a Five Guys on my trip the week before last.

Made my first attempt at the no-knead bread and I am absolutely amazed at how good it is. I wish I had a camera because it is gorgeous. Thick, crisp crust with wide open crumb and a nice chew. I noticed that Cook's Illustrated has a version this month that subs beer for some of the water to enhance the flavor. I'm going to give that a shot this weekend.