Anna Phor

I've been making the Mark Bittman recipe. My point of comparison is the G Street foods version, which is thicker and not crispy, I think. (And looking at the pictures above, now I want to go to Nice.) The Bittman recipe makes up very like the one I get at G Street Foods. I use a cast-iron skillet heated in the oven, and pour the batter into the very hot skillet.

I shop frequently at Yes and I don't believe they sell polenta in their bulk bins. I bought a package of Bob's Red Mill polenta there recently. Over a pound for probably about 3.99? I don't remember the price off the top of my head but if it had been more than that, I would have!

I should have done that, Zora.

Instead, I doubled the amount of gelatin, stuck the whole thing in the microwave for a minute to dissolve the additional gelatin, cooled to room temp, then folded in the whipped cream.

End result? Whipped cream on top with strawberry jello on the bottom. It all separated out in the fridge. Edible, but not the result I was after.

Tried out the Berry Bavarian Cream from the Joy of Cooking.

The recipe calls for you to dissolve the gelatin, add to macerated strawberries, and then, "when it is almost set" fold in some whipped cream.

How long would one normally wait for it to be "almost set"? I gave it 30 min at room temp, and it was still pretty runny.

I am entirely frustrated by the fact that I know exactly what it is that I want to make, but am unable to translate that into words that will enable google to give me back an answer. Curse you, imperfect language. Why can I not just download my sense-memory into the search engine??!!

I think I need to experiment with gelatin and whipped cream. Marshmallow fluff has the right kind of texture, I think, but the wrong kind of taste (too sweet) and mouthfeel (too sticky; should be creamier).

I would like to make a mousse. A fluffy, preferably strawberry mousse, that will hold up as a layer in a cake. Lighter than buttercream or whipped cream.

I'm reading through various recipes online but I can't work out which ones are likely to produce the texture I want. Is this a cream + gelatin kind of confection? I know what I want it to taste like (and I'm hoping "fluffy" is enough of a descriptor to help someone else figure it out!!); I don't think what I want to make calls for eggs.

Help?

It's not Vietnamese, but Banana Leaves chicken Tom Yum was my go-to cure for what ails you when I lived in Dupont.

http://www.mybananaleaves.com/

Wow. Those pancakes look awesome, but we'll be doing a Sunday excursion, and they are closed Sundays! In fact, looks like a lot of the Amish folks don't do Sundays.

We'll certainly look out for the apple dumplings.

And thanks also for the hotel recs--we are tagging along on Mr. Phor's business trip so we have a room, but appreciate the thought!!

Heading up to Philly in a couple of weeks for a mini-vacation. Me and my 4 yo son.

Planning to visit Reading Terminal Market, for either brunch or maybe to grab some things for a picnic lunch, and also any goodies that should come back to DC with us. What's good? What's "don't miss"? (And what's "not cheesesteak"? I've had them. I'm not sold.)

I moved to DC in 2001, and have been popping in and out of The Reef pretty much since it opened, I think. Countless brunches on the roof and extended happy hours on days where we'd find ourselves there as early as we could on a Saturday (and sometimes a Friday) to get a bar spot on the roof, and find ourselves full and happy and slightly stumbly in A-M several hours later.

Most recently as I am now more of an Upstanding and Respectable Member of the Community than a barfly (aka "we had a kid"), I've been a regular at their kids' happy hour on Friday nights. My boy learned to pee standing up in that bathroom, inspired by the slightly older boys doing the same. Now that The Reef has closed, my family, and quite a few others that I know, are at a loss.

Anyone know of anywhere else in the vicinity doing a kids's happy hour? A spot where like-minded parents and their young children can spend a couple of the early evening hours kicking back with a burger and a brew, nicely isolated from the rest of humanity so that my kid's ketchup fingers are not grabbing someone's pack of lucky strikes? Anyone reading here want to start one up? We tip well and we leave by 8!!

They stop by Weygandt Wines in Cleveland Park; first Tuesday of every month, 5-8pm.

I dropped off my chef's knife with them, took my kid for an ice-cream, and it was ready by the time we got back. Great service, excellent quality product, and very reasonable pricing. I'd definitely recommend these folks.

Perhaps of interest, this new book:

Culinary Linguistics: The Chef's Special

I agree with monavano--I haven't noticed any marked difference between bottled soda water and sodastream water. You also can control the amount of carbonation, to some degree.

Mark Bittman has a YouTube channel. http://www.youtube.com/channel/HCx5R8KbPOQwk

Alas, I do not know the answer to this question, but I'm resurrecting this thread with another watermelon question.

How long can I keep an uncut watermelon? If I buy one this weekend at the market, and don't open it up, will it still be good next weekend? And do I need to keep it in the fridge?

The roof at The Reef in Adams Morgan is nice, although they don't open until 5.

What will the hours be for the farmstand?

My quibble with this is that, as we learned from Julia, all those recipes weren't tested before publication--something I learned on my own much earlier, having made a few things that simply didn't work. I agree that it is full of info. The problem is that I don't necessarily trust it. Still, a case could be made for her inclusion.

Really? I've never had any problems with the Joy (and would be interested to know which ones you had tried that were duds). I use mine mainly for (a) baking and (b ) American dishes that I didn't grow up with and so don't know how to make. Things like homemade baked beans or clam chowder. Although if I'm not baking, I do tend to riff some and not follow a recipe to the letter, but I think maybe I used to?

Irma Rombauer! I feel like the Joy of Cooking is the quintessential American cooking encyclopedia, much more so that Julia Child's. Not to diminish her stature one bit, but I bet if you measured pound for pound in dishes produced, TJOC would outweigh Julia's work.

What's the recipe? If it's a cake, you should be perfectly fine using regular refined sugar. I use that for all my UK recipes that need caster sugar.

In Georgetown, Cafe La Ruche.

Raspberries today at Dupont, and signs saying that there will be blueberries in next week.

I would think that the bacon should be prewoven, raw, then cooked.

And thanks to all above for suggestions! There is no microwave/refrigeration available in the room, alas, but I'm planning to leave a small cooler.

I need to crowdsource a breakfast menu--I'm seeking help.

Here are my parameters. Guests arrive late at night (after midnight) after a day and a half of air travel. (Really. My people live in just about the farthest away place you can get to from here.) They will be staying in our building's guest rooms (so no cooking facilities), and I want to leave them food that will work for a late night snack or an early morning breakfast, depending on their sleep/hunger needs. I was going to do some bagels or rolls, cream cheese, smoked salmon, fruit, a couple breakfast pastries. BUT, just learned that on doctor's orders, my mom is now on a gluten free and dairy free regime.

I would love any ideas for packaged/baked goods that might work, or alternate menus. I don't really have the time to cook something. My shopping options include Giant, Brookville, Yes, and Whole Foods. I've seen a bunch of package gf products, but I have no idea if any of them are any good!!

Strawberries!!

At the Foggy Bottom freshfarm market, which has changed up its configuration this year (now in the pedestrian plaza next to the hospital rather than west of 24th street), so I do not know which farm. I got the last punnet.