legant

I've been working from home a lot more recently. Lunch usually consists of ramen noodles (I don't know why I've suddenly developed a craving for the stuff), english muffin with cheese or PB&J, or apples & cheese. All very quick, minimal effort foods. For the work-at-home crew: what's in your lunchbox?

Went to the Sunday brunch. My favorites: Pasta e Fagioli and pork and brocolli rabe. I'm not a fan of fried eggs (runny yolks -- eeww!) or eggs that are cooked by the dish but Bebo's fried eggs and spaghetti carbonara have changed my mind. Both were quite good.

With the recently implemented DC smoking ban* and several great meals (Eamonn's, Talulla, that Vietnamese restaurant with the caramel fish, walking distance from the Clarendon metro -- my first DR.com $20 Tuesday -- and now Bebo) I might just make Northern Virginia a regular hangout. Might.

*Not all VA restaurants allow smoking but, given that it's a tobacco state, my odds of smoking at the bar are pretty good.

I would be a tad cautious. Morgan's family/SO sold the restaurant years ago. The new owners kept the name but the quality of food and the atmosphere quickly deteriorate. Word on the street at that time was they closed because of "criminal" activity although insurance coverage might have been an issue.

I left the neighborhood right before the subway opened, after enduring years of Metro construction. The demographics of the neighborhood have changed since Metro arrived so I can't really talk about the current state of affairs.

If they are proclaiming themselves "family owned" I would ask whose family.

Anyone been to Morgan's Seafood in Petworth - or is it Columbia Heights? - (3200 Georgia Ave. at Kenyon) since it reopened this summer? Family owned, home-cooked soul food and steamed crabs. It is open until midnight, Mon- Thurs., and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. No website but they are "working on it."

Apparently they had closed many years ago because cars were crashing through though the storefront at the busy intersection. The insurance company dropped coverage and when there was another crash during a police chase, with no insurance coverage, the restaurant closed.

[so...if you go? watch your back!]

Cod poached in a spicy coconut sauce (from Best Ever Indian) and Basmati rice

I wouldn’t say it was the “Best Ever Indian,” but anything with coconut milk gets points with me. The combination of coconut milk and tamarind resulted in a sweet-sour curry. Could have used more chiles, but had originally planned on halving the recipe. Used kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves), rather than fenugreek seeds. Didn’t particularly care for the cod; it didn’t seem “cooked” and was rather bland. Next time I'll probably try this with eggplant. Seconds were the curry sauce over the rice. Dinner was salvaged.

Two questions: Would I have gotten more “flavor” from the cod if I had browned/sautéed it prior to adding it to the curry? And, can coconut milk be frozen?

Speaking of Zengo... Have you ever requested a recipe from a restaurant? I've sent two e-mail requests for the short ribs recipe featured at the winter 2006 Restaurant Week. Is there a trick to getting restaurants to share? Or, do I have to go through Gourmet or Bon Appeit?

Dude. Any who choose to use this word do so at their own risk.

Q: Is that a feminist rant brewing on the horizon?

A: A gale warning is in effect. Those in the vicinity should take precautionary actions to ensure their safety.

I use bacon as a base for most bean dishes. I cook the bacon. Remove the cooked bacon then saute the veggies (onions, celery or whatever) in the remaining fat. Add the cooked bacon to the finished dish (or the last few minutes of cooking). The bacon fat flavors the veggies and the cooked bacon adds a certain depth to the dish.

A souffle w/ smoked gouda, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and shallots.

I was slightly disappointed with this effort. The inside wasn't as set as I would like -- too moist. However, after sitting for a while, it did firm up. Wonder if it was too much cheese. Or, the ratio of yolks to whites (1:1). Or, too much filling. However, it was wonderful today for breakfast.

Pig Foot. It was a legend back in the day, in the Woodbridge area. By the time I was of age, it had closed. Rumored to have good southern cuisine (until Gillian Clark, a contradiction in terms) and fine music. Now it would be called dive bar. But a damn fine dive bar at that!

Lentilles du Puy with garlic and onions

Baked herb-crusted cod

(The lentils were over-salted; the cod, under-salted. Oh well. Should've had the wine with the meal.)

Green beans almondine

2 people left. Laaaaaame.

I guess this calls for a reschedule. Or I could just make a nice big, lavish meal and y'all can be very envious.

Laaaaaame doesn't even begin to describe it! First y'all complain because we're too exclusive. Then, when we invite the whole of Upper Northwest, you don't want to play in our sandbox! That's okay. I'm going to the LAME DUCKs event @ San Marco instead.

synaesthesia: wanna crash their party? Or, does your lavish meal include duck?

TMB - Upper Northwest will be rescheduled at a later date and time.

Why oh why do I wait till the last minute??!! I'm thinking -- hard -- on cooking a duck. synaesthesia pointed me in the direction of several asian markets that sell duck at ~ $3.00/lbs. So I'll rent a car and scour the suburbs in an 11th-hour effort to prepare a solo holiday dinner. Will probably add zoramargolis's polenta cakes and brussel sprouts.

One question though about cooking the duck. I found a duck recipe that calls for BBQing the duck. I like the idea of slow cooking. How can I adapt the recipe for the oven? Cook at 250 for the same amount of time?

Did I scoop DR on this one?

It is physically connected to Zips cleaners.

Which means it's not open Sundays or evenings after 8 p.m.

So the time is near, opening will be delayed possible till the 15th or so, having the usual problems with equipment etc etc etc.

Any update on the opening?

Is it safe to keep them there when the oven is on or could this harm them somehow?

Wouldn't they "warp"? When using muffin tins, I fill the empties with water or beans to prevent the pans from warping. (I dunno; it made sense at the time my mother told me.)

Upper Northwest Gathering

Wednesday 12/27, 7p, Uptown Cathay

(5018 Connecticut Ave NW, Btwn Fessenden St NW & Everett St NW)

Anyone in Upper Northwest (including, but not limited to: Van Ness, Cleveland Park, Tenley Town, Chevy Chase, Woodley Park) who wants to join is always welcome!

So far:

legant

hillvalley

JLK

synaesthesia

NCPinDC

DCinDC

eating out

_{(Updated 17 December)}

pros and cons of having your butcher remove...

Who has a butcher that does this? Although I'm on speaking terms with the guys at the Safeway, they gave me such an exasperated look when I asked them to bone a leg of lamb that I won't bother. In fact, are butchers still in existence? Aren't they on the endangered species list?

Tylenol Cold with a Canadian Club chaser

Out of curiosity, what else does the recipe call for?

The halibut is marinated in a glaze of Guinness, honey, lemon juice, hot sauce and salt.

From someone who's had beer only twice in her life: what's the difference between "stout" and "lager"? I have a halibut recipe that calls for (Guinness) stout; can I substitute a (Sam Adams) lager? Or should I wait for the next BYOB party to score the Guinness?

Pancetta questions here: when buying pancetta how thickly/thinly do you have it sliced? My first experiment with pancetta produced a lot less oil than I had anticipated and very few edible bits. In recipes that call for pancetta, are they (impicitly) suggesting using the largest slices possible? Can you buy pancetta is a roll/log that you can then cut yourself?

Hmpf! Who needs a ride or can provide a ride from the Rockville metro to Bob's? I'll coordinate.

Just make sure you are prepared to get a little snark for not being willing able to walk it

Or, the alternative:

Lloyd Burgess from Masterchef has argued that freezing lobsters is a humane alternative. He said: "Live lobsters can be humanely killed by putting them in a plastic bag in the freezer for about two hours. They slowly lose consciousness and die."