legant

Thai-Style Chicken Soup (Cook’s Illustrated, Jan/Feb 07) with Jasmine rice. Pretty good. Anything with coconut milk makes my knees go weak. [Okay, now my Epicurious.com-styled comments: Couldn’t find lemongrass so I used Gourmet Garden’s lemongrass herb blend. Wasn’t too crazy about it, but it worked in a pinch. I think actual lemongrass would have added the extra “kick” needed. Does red curry paste lose its potency? Don’t know how long that bottle has been sitting there: although the recipe called for 2 teaspoons, I added 4 teaspoons and still couldn’t get the “pow” that I wanted. Finally add a (very) generous splash of Sriracha; that did the trick. I was out of lime juice (forgot to check the freezer before going to the store) so substituted lemon juice. Could/should have added broccoli or spinach to get in my serving of green vegetables. And, varied the mushrooms. Shitakes would have been a nice addition. Oh! And, I really need to work on my knife skills. Or, get my knives sharpened. I was really hungry and a bit careless slicing the chicken and mushrooms into uniform, consistent slices. Rather big chunks of each. (Yet, nothing goes to waste; I’ll be making chicken stock next weekend.) It has been a while since I’ve had Tom Khaa Gai, but this version worked for me. Four forks. If (when!) I do this again, I would try roasting the chicken, shredding it and then adding it to the soup. Would have preferred the chicken with a bit more “umph” yet realize this may distract from the overall flavor of the soup. Who knows? This may become my I’m-sick-and-need-comfort food. (Let’s be real – anything with coconut milk is de facto comfort food.)]

Roasted spaghetti squash w/ Gruyère and fresh ground pepper

Any information on why she left Red Dog Cafe? That was her "baby."

To be filed in the "As if I really need an excuse" category. Several friends, tired of me extolling the merits of scrapple, have offered to treat me to a post-birthday scrapple meal. Several places come to mind: Bob & Ediths, Nick's (University & Viers Mill Rd.), Florida Avenue Grill, Tastee Diner (all locations?). Other suggestions for where to go to eat scrapple? Preferably with banquettes and bar stools.

Anybody else going to the fundraiser? I'll meet you at the bar.

Anybody else going to the fundraiser? I'll meet you at the bar.

{{GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!}} (It's been a really long day folks. Valentine Day sales -- and customers -- were way down. Although I take immense pleasure in snickering at last minute shoppers, it just wasn't happening today.Right now I'm getting my laughs wherever I can.)

Confession time: I am so not a baker. I do gingerbread, a chocolate ginger cake, and a chocolate chili cake. That's it. However, txaggie made this wonderful Tiramisu cake (from Dorie Greenspan's book) for my birthday that I want to add to my repertoire. (Egad! I sound like one of those folks who write into Bon Appetit! I had a wonderful meal at Chez xxx, but I especially loved the dessert. Would you ask the chef to share the recipe?) Although she sent me the recipe, I want to halve the cake. I have 6-inch cake pans that I use expressly for that purpose. The question is: what do I need to take in consideration when halving the recipe. The ingredients are listed below. I'm okay up till the 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk. If I used two whole eggs how will that affect the texture of the cake? I'm guessing that the baking powder and soda amounts remain the same; or, do they need to be adjusted for half a cake? Anything else I should keep in mind? For the Cake 2 cups cake flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt 1 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, room temp 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs 1 large egg yolk 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract ¾ cup buttermilk

TMB Upper Northwest is on again! It seems that DCPS is a fan of Hillvalley's short ribs. Don't worry: I'll bring enough Bailey's for the whole crew.

Although it took me a while to figure it out, here's a totally different cultural context. Perfect for a "snow" day.

Sounds like TMG Upper Northwest is meeting -- finally! -- at Hillvalley's.

Before posting I did a search of the Board (for Bourdain) and didn't go far enough back in the thread. Didn't realize those recent posts referenced the same article.

Bourdain socks it to the Food Network

My 2 ¢: (1) Believe or not: it was THREE heads of broccoli. (2) The fried trout was not as good as the chicken but the six pieces were more than enough. Definitely needed the hot sauce on that one. The tarter sauce didn’t help; it was basically mayo. (3) The broccoli was overcooked and limp; previous visit yielded huge, crisp heads. (4) The chicken holds up well the next morning. (5) Ordering advice based on two visits: For a party of four or less, order a half-chicken for the table – now this is important – without any other entrée. You can add sides, in addition to the two that come with the dinner, if you think there won’t be enough food. (6) Even with two drinks each, redefines the $20 Tuesday concept. (7) This is the third time, in recent memory, that I have had a religious (“To eat good food is to be close to God”) food experience -- cjsadler’s creamy polenta and Brendan Cox’s “fresh corn polenta.” The Hitching Post's fried chicken rounds out the list; Omigawd! I left praising the Almighty/Creator/Divine One/Food Goddess and speaking in tongues.

Conversely, I can't log out. Even tried “delete cookies set by the board” yet it still kept me logged in.

Count me in as a "tentative." Yeah, right. You do know it's uphill from Woodley Park, right? Or, better yet: walk up from Dupont Circle. The Ellington bridge is lovely this time of year. Hmpf! I'll meet you there.

Count me in. Synaesthesia: Popeye's is having a special on the wing, leg and thigh dinner. Whatcha doing Saturday?

Ditto! (Would prefer Wednesday.)

Noooo! Not Cleveland Park! CP eateries don't need our support; those few NORTH of CP (e.g., Uptownn Cathay , Las Lomita, the Greek tavern place) do. However, Pidgey, if you want to organize something by all means, do so. (BTW: according to the sign Coat of Arms is "suppose' to open under new management, not as an Indian restaurant.)

My first and (to date) only Potbelly experience: I got stuck trying to solve a problem at work and was running late for the theatre. I knew I had 30 minutes to grab something to eat and ride Metro the four stops to be on time. Although I had never eaten at Potbelly, I figured I could grab Big Jack’s PB&J and be out the door in no time. Really, how long does it take throw some Jiff and Smuckers on two slices of bread? Answer: enough time to throw off my schedule and force me to take a cab to Penn Quarter! Granted, it was huge: enough for two (it was at this point I found out my date is allergic to wheat) or next day’s breakfast. But come on! 15 minutes! Puh-leeze!

Patience, Grasshopper. Patience.

It had been going off earlier than that. I passed the restaurant ~ 7 p.m. Also noted: the COA signage is down.

Please provide an update. Did you talk to the manager? (Maybe it's too soon but) Was there an "extra" charge on the CC. And, finally, did you enjoy the meal at the (unnamed) restaurant?

Oh, come on. You can't leave us with a teaser like that and not spill the beans. Who is it? A beauty? or a geek?

I’m liking that Pepin fellow. However, I’m titling my book Burnt Food My Way. Today’s show featured shrimp and scallop mousse potstickers. JP makes things look so easy. Instead of shrimp and scallops, I used ground turkey that was nearing its expiration date. I also had on hand: cilantro, water chestnuts, ginger, jalapeño, and scallions. Chopped that and mixed with turkey and used as filling for the potstickers. I didn’t have round wontons like Jack but I did have squares. Again, following Jackie’s lead, I rolled out half the wontons so they would be a bit bigger than the rest. Placed filling on wonton and used larger wonton to seal. Crimped – Ha! That was a joke – the edges. Q: How does one get consistent looking potstickers, ravioli, spring rolls, etc.? A: The same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Or. Using Juan's method, added oil and water to heated pan. Cooked, covered, one side until water evaporated – this is where they burned – then flipped and continued cooking (without additional oil or water) till browned. Those suckers were huge. I used one wonton (rather than two) for the second batch. Much more manageable. Browned in oil, flipped and then steamed. Evaluation: Pretty good. Could have mixed more of the cilantro/water chestnut/jalapeno stuff with the turkey. (Note to self: ground turkey needs to be over seasoned.) Had enough leftover filler. Mixed it with some Mae Ploy to “kick it up a notch.” And, since I was going with an Asian flair, could have used a bit of sesame oil/seeds. Overall: four (4) forks.