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Everything posted by thistle
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Even though I wasn't particularly fond of him on his season of Top Chef, I developed a soft spot for Mike Isabella, after watching him cook, in a 'Top Chef' style cook off, against the university president at the GMU parents' weekend. I had a prime spot on the balcony above,& it was the highlight of my day (parents who've gone to these kind of things will understand). I let my husband & younger child do the 7 am 'fun run'.
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- Tysons Corner
- Tysons Galleria
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Cooking For A Team Of Hungry Young Athletes
thistle replied to thistle's topic in Shopping and Cooking
Revisiting cooking for a crowd, when my son asked me for BBQ for his GMU homecoming back in Dec., I said, "sure". Little did I know I'd be smoking at the coldest time of the year (ok, I didn't have to dig the WSM out from a snow bank). I did 2 pork butts, 1 brisket ($, should have done more pork) & tons of drumsticks, which I cooked in the Instant Pot, & finished in the oven w/ BBQ sauce. After all that work, cooking & reheating, when I brought it over today, the sterno (for the chafers) wouldn't light- who knew sterno expires? I drove all over Fairfax- Giant, Home Depot, & finally, the hell that is the Fairfax Costco, to get them some sterno (they were also out of lighter fluid for their grill) & when I got back, most of the 7 pans of food were gone. Proof that college kids will eat anything, as long as they have drinks. I was disappointed though- I'll try & cook them more BBQ when it's warmer. Live & learn..... -
Busted! I have not made larb myself lately, but tonight I am enjoying larb from Thai Nakorn- a welcome break from the endless soups I cooked while we were snowed in. I think I have Zac Pelaccio's 'Eat with Your Hands', it's a good cookbook, but a little fussy, lots of ingredients you would have to hunt for. [You have to admit I'm good.]
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- West Village
- Cocktails
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We definitely should! (or hit the Mount Vernon Inn some night for happy hour)... I have had such a strange day today, first my credit card was hacked, so I'm on the cash economy until I get a replacement. I know it's pretty common, but I feel so violated. I had to wait around all day for a UPS pickup for some well meant, but unsuccessful Xmas presents from my MIL- a bundt pan (I think I already have 4 & don't bake much anymore) & a Breville electric pizza oven (I rarely eat pizza & don't need another single use appliance), & while I was waiting for the UPS guy, my neighbor's kid (who I didn't recognize at first) showed up at my door, barefoot & in sweats, having locked himself out of the house & needing to phone someone to let him in. This is all totally off topic on the Cedar Knoll Inn, but the idea of a good crab cake gives me hope for the future.
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- Mount Vernon
- Inn
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Arghhh! Come on everyone, let's crush the Cedar Knoll Inn! JK, I'm not sure that I'm even going to try it, & I'm right around the corner, it would be SO nice to have a place to go to close by, where you could get good food...In the absence of a wandering heart & wallet, I'm grateful that I can cook good food for myself (now in my Instant Pot), & pretend that I'm eating out...I love a good crab cake...
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- Mount Vernon
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My SIL makes a very nice, traditional corn casserole for T'giving & this year, my MIL wanted 'get creative' & add sundried tomatoes & raisins or green beans & bamboo shoots (I am searching for a barf emoji). I didn't bother to find out what she went with, just steered clear of the corn casserole.
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Onions, I'm still working on also, I understand why they are in so many recipes & I use them, but raw- I can only tolerate chopped scallions or red onions, in small amounts, surrounded by lots of other stuff.
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Same here, I can avoid them, lots of other stuff I like, but I keep wondering if there's something wrong w/ me, WHY DOES EVERYONE LOVE BEETS? (excuse the shouting)-is it something that's in my DNA? (probably not, my mom loves beets, too). I did see a recipe on 'Come Dine w/ Me' today that almost sounded palatable- the beets were shredded (red & gold beets) w/ apples, & dressed w/ a vinaigrette, & I think they added walnuts.
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At what point do you give up trying to appreciate ingredients that you've just never developed a taste for? I will try almost anything, but there are certain things that I can't wrap my head around- beets, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, liver. Maybe I haven't found the right way to cook these things, & I keep looking at recipes, wanting to like them, but I cannot leap this hurdle. Guess I should feel blessed that there are many other things to eat....
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& I just got the idea from Poivrot Farci's post, that I need to save the turkey necks (which for some reason freak me out), freeze them, smoke them, & make stock- this is going to be long term, since I don't cook whole turkeys that often.
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- Massachusetts
- Plymouth
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I cooked a turkey (because I didn't get much of the turkey I smoked at T'giving), I tried out the tamarind glazed turkey that's on the cover of Nov Saveur- it turns out, that even if you soak 6-7 oz of tamarind paste in 1/2 cup of boiling water, & chop it up, & try to pass it through a sieve, you get next to nothing & almost ruin a sieve. I gave up, chucked it in w/ the honey, fish sauce, & garlic, basted the turkey as directed, & while it smelled lovely, nice & sour- I don't think it made a big difference in the turkey. It sort of burned the on the skin (which I don't eat anyway, & feed to the pups), turkey was great, pulled off the meat, & have stock cooking in the Instant Pot.
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Yay, TC is back! SPOILER- of the local chefs competing, 1 is kicked off in the first episode & 1 wins the 2nd episode.& it's amazing how quickly certain chefs can become annoying, even after maybe 10 minutes of screen time-unfortunately, lots of these will stick around, because quiet, competent chefs make for boring tv.
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I can certainly understand why many chefs would prefer to focus on cooking, rather then having to be an administrator/manager-if you can cook what you like, w/ a great support system, & reach a broader audience, why not? I personally avoid chain restaurants, if I can, but I wouldn't classify Jose Andres' various restaurants as a chain, although there are quite a few of them. There's interesting differences in them & I don't see them as squeezing out small,independent restaurants.
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I want one here, Mt. Vernon area, south end of Rt. 1- that'll never happen....if they put one in at the PX on Belvoir, it would clean up. There's a similar fast/casual/Med place right off post, Baytna, across from Wegmans in Lansdowne Center, but it doesn't have as much variety in the toppings.
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- Local Chain
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Yes, Tubby's has folded, I should write a piece on Rt. 1 revitalization (& car title places & motels). It's still a better place to get good food than where I spent my early years- we have Thai Nakorn, El Paso, Su Pollo, Kimchi House, Tacos El Costalilla, ThaiBox, & Afghan Bistro- my DH likes Cosmopolitan Grill, & I'm just happy that I live in the middle of an area where I have choices for good food (& I'm lucky in many other ways, none of which I control). My SIL hit up Johnny Macs for milkshakes the last time they visited, they said it was great.
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Is there a Bozzellis post I can put this on? Because I order a very simple sub, 12" cheese delight (i save half for a second meal, they put on a lot of cheese), lettuce, tomato, black olives, DRY-no mayo or oil (because I add my own salsa mayo at home). First screwup was the worst- I was getting ready to go on vacation, so I had been eating down my stores at home for awhile, had almost no food left, ordered, came home & found a ham sandwich/sub. Called & complained, they told me I could come in & get another one, but I didn't want to drive back- dogs got a ham sub. Second time, there was mayo (which made it soggy & gross) & 3rd time (this kills me, cause I checked it in the car & it looked ok) there was onion (which blended w/ the iceberg lettuce). This sounds like a bad sitcom plot/Seinfeld episode (or maybe I'm just obsessing over nothing), & these were spread out over a couple of months- long enough to forget, but not enough to just capitulate.
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- Local Chain
- Deli
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I've eaten at both Bozzellis & Jacalito, but this place is really off to a good start- it's small, but comfortable & nicely decorated, the gentleman who was handling everything at lunch (& it got busy pretty quickly) was very nice, explained all the specials to us, & managed to keep everyone happy (it was like watching an expert juggler, just a joy to see such good service). As a side note on Bozzellis, I go to the one on Ft. Belvoir, but the last 3 times I've gone, they've screwed up my order (& I get takeout, so I don't discover until I'm home), so I'm going on hiatus.
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- Springfield
- Alban Retail Center
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I've usually had pretty quick service, too, but I generally go for lunch- when I picked up a friend for lunch today, I asked her if she wanted to go someplace safe (Mamma's Kitchen, where we've eaten several times-I love the express lunch chicken gyro w/ a side salad) or try something new, & she agreed to try a new place. We ate at Afghan Bistro & it was a winner, definitely going to go back & try some other dishes. But Mamma's Kitchen is closer & someplace that everyone in my picky family can find something they want, the trio of dips is always a hit.
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- Alexandria
- South Alexandria
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We've also been going to the El Paso on Cooper Rd for years, it opened about 5 months after we moved here, we were there on opening day, & countless times after that- my kids have El Paso salsa running through their veins, my daughter & her friends go there after school for chips & queso & lunch specials, which go until 4, I think.
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I tried out this new Afghan restaurant for lunch today with a friend & had an excellent meal. Tucked in a small strip mall, near Bozzellis & a giant Puppy Palace (the Olde Towne Pet Resort), there were 2 tables seated when we arrived & it was full when we left, with several people coming in for takeout orders. My friend & I split an order of the spicy beef dumplings, mantu ($4.95) & we both ended up getting the chicken kebab ($9.95) which came with basmati, salate, avocado chutney (I thought it was more of a green yogurt sauce & delicious) & they very kindly subbed out the potatoes it came with, for eggplant. It was all delicious, great service, & I look forward to going back & trying some other dishes. It looked like quite a few people were going for the beef shank qabuli or the lamb shanks. It's an excellent choice for dining near Ft. Belvoir or the Newington area.
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Reopening the end of December? "Historic Cedar Knoll to Reopen with Seasoned Culinary Team" by Mary Ann Barton on patch.com
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- Mount Vernon
- Inn
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Halloween - Giving Out Candy, and Scary-Monsters Turnout
thistle replied to TSE's topic in Shopping and Cooking
This year, I was picking up my husband at the airport, so my daughter had to hand out candy for the first time. When we got home, she was traumatized -"they just keep coming!". We ran out of candy by 8, turned out the lights & closed up shop, then had someone banging on our door at 9:20. -
Another Instant Pot lazy meal- cooked black eyed peas, added Rotel tomatoes, & braised beef (cooked in a bulgogi marinade), a little chicken stock & chile powder- I don't know what you would call it, but it's delicious. The best thing I have added to my kitchen this year has been the Instant Pot.