FunnyJohn

Courtesy of Nccyi Nellis: Chinese New Year Extravaganza at The Source "” The Source kicks off the Year of the Horse with a two-week celebration including Chinese New year Wishing Trees, Chinese dishes, a how-to class, and a special punch honoring cultural and culinary Chinese traditions. First, on January 27, the restaurant will welcome Sichuan Chef Peter Chang for a special reception. Along with Chef Scott Drewno, Chef Chang will offer guests a range of Chinese dim sum specialties as well as a celebratory punch created by Head Bartender Woong Chang. On January 31, Chef Drewno will offer a family-style banquet menu , and on February 1, he will offer a how-to dumpling making class. Finally, on February 10, The Source will transform its dining room into a Night Market, replicating the atmosphere of a Chinese street food market for one night only. Every night throughout the Chinese New Year celebrations, one guest will receive a special gift from the Chinese New Year Wishing trees. Click over to the website to purchase tickets. (575 Pennsylvania Ave; 202.637.6100; wolgangpuck.ticketleap.com) Never mind, unless you have a time machine. I see Night Owl had a more timely post. Kong Hee Fat Choi everybody!

You might want to ask for no fruit in your water glass: "For one Journal of Environmental Health study, researchers swabbed the rinds and flesh of 76 lemons from 21 restaurants collected during 43 visits and found that a whopping 70 percent of them produced microbial growth. The samples were collected as soon as the beverage (either soda or water) was served, before drinking or touching, and while the researchers couldn't pinpoint the exact origins of the microorganisms, they speculated that they may have come from the restaurant employee or raw meat or poultry contamination, among other sources. "Although lemons have known antimicrobial properties, the results of our study indicate that a wide variety of microorganisms may survive on the flesh and the rind of a sliced lemon," the authors wrote in their report. 'Restaurant patrons should be aware that lemon slices added to beverages may include potentially pathogenic microbes.' " more here Or just quaff a lot of red wine with your water, since it has proven "antimicrobial properties".

Always loved the Yule Logs and Easter Egg cakes from Heidelberg, but didn't get the Yule Log this past Christmas, so can't confirm that they are still up to snuff. Have to obtain the Easter Egg Cake this year to see if they are still as good as they have been. The dinner rolls at Heidelberg are also damn good.

Love the euphemism for a cooked human. [now getting way off topic]: One of my colleagues while he was an officer in the USAF escorted a group of Israeli senior officers on a tour of East Coast Air Bases. When they got to Georgia, one of the Israelis pulled my colleague aside and confessed that he had heard how great barbecue in the southern U.S. is and asked if it would be possible for the group to go to a Barbecue "restaurant". My colleague delicately asked the Israeli if he was aware what kind of meat was served at barbecue "restaurants", and the Israeli said that he did indeed, and all that was necessary to make it "Kosher" would be to refer to the meat in question as "small cow". They went to a small Mom & Pop establishment and my colleage ordered small cow sandwiches for everyone. The puzzled waitress asked in a thick Georgian accent "Small Cow? What is that!?" He repied just bring us some barbecue on a bun and let's not discuss this further.

Second the sentiment above. Rats!

Somewhere there must be a recipe for Korean Fried Spam

The Lunar New Year begins this Friday and apparently, in Korea, Spam is more than appropriate as a gift : "SEOUL, South Korea "” As the Lunar New Year holiday approaches, Seoul's increasingly well-heeled residents are scouring store shelves for tastefully wrapped boxes of culinary specialties. Among their favorite choices: imported wines, choice cuts of beef, rare herbal teas. And Spam." I need to verify this with my Korean buds. I'm guessing this may be a legacy of the Korean War, when other meat was in short supply, Spam may have been available, and for some, it becomes an acquired taste. [ see Hawaii] And now that I have read the article I see my assumption is correct.

Congrats to Arrowine's Perry Soulos (Beerboy_999) who has won the prestigious San Francisco Cheese Monger Invitational as best in nation. [so Does This Make Him a Cheese Wiz?] SAY CHEESE!

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/toast-story-latest-artisanal-food-craze-72676/?src=longreads "The coffee shop, called the Red Door, was a spare little operation tucked into the corner of a chic industrial-style art gallery and event space (clients include Facebook, Microsoft, Evernote, Google) in downtown San Francisco. There were just three employees working behind the counter: one making coffee, one taking orders, and the soulful guy making toast. In front of him, laid out in a neat row, were a few long Pullman loaves"”the boxy Wonder Bread shape, like a train car, but recognizably handmade and freshly baked. And on the brief menu, toast was a standalone item"”at $3 per slice. It took me just a few seconds to digest what this meant: that toast, like the cupcake and the dill pickle before it, had been elevated to the artisanal plane. So I ordered some. It was pretty good. It tasted just like toast, but better." ok - this is San Francisco -- but $3 for a toasted slice of bread w/butter -- Really?

Little Tavern in G'town....Now Sweet Greens And Gepetto -> Mendocino -> Unum

So? Anything to report?

Full story here "New California health department rules could mean a Sriracha shortage until mid-January. According to the Los Angeles Times, the state's Department of Public Health is enforcing stricter rules that mean the hot sauce (along with Huy Fong's chili garlic and sambal oelek sauces) must be held for 30 days after between production and shipping. While so far, there are no details about how new this policy is or what caused the change, it means that Huy Fong won't have new stock until next month, company COO Donna Lam told the San Jose Mercury News. "We're backordered as it is but now we have to tell customers we aren't sending anything until mid-January'" But here are some alternatives rated

Aperol is more citrusy than Campari, but WTH, probably would work

Here's the Story And here's the cocktail: 1 part Campari 1 part sweet vermouth 1 part bourbon or rye (I tend to err on the side of rye)

I'm glad to hear 'tis the season for real juicing oranges (unlike the ubiquitous Navel variety -- not nearly so great for juicing, but good for eating) because I neeed fresh orange juice for a number of recipes. Normally one would need about twice as many navels as valencias to obtain the same amount of juice. And there's nothing wrong with eating the valencias as Don notes. [Note to self: freeze some fresh juice for later in the year]

"Have you ever gone into your local Whole Foods to look for some UK-made haggis, only to find that there was a sign that read: "UK-made haggis is illegal in the United States and why are you even looking for it and still reading this very long sign?!"? We've all been there, and the pain is very real -- there are shloads of foods that are banned stateside, and each state has its own rules and regulations for which unsavory characters it closes its floodgates foodgates to." Read More

I think most of us who have cooked many meals have experienced the "forgot about it and it burned" problem. The difference between that kind of disaster and the apparent ones on this website is that the website seems to feature intentional violence to ingredients.

Feeling a Little Down, Poopsy? Hours of effort in the kitchen not paying off the way you'd hoped? Therapy [some of these things may not actually taste that bad, but since we "eat with our eyes"...}

The Rise of Big Chocolate "Big chocolate is about to get even bigger. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that commodity behemoth Cargill plans to spend up to $2 billion to buy agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland's (ADM's) cocoa business. If the deal goes through, it'll be the second massive industry tie-up of the year: in July, Switzerland-based chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut scooped up the cocoa unit of Petra Foods for $860 million, becoming the world's largest cocoa processor."

Welcome Nizam. Your family and Ben's have been part of Washington as it has evolved from a fairly sleepy small city to a "bustling megalopolis". What do you miss about the old days and what do you think is the best thing that has happened to/in DC since Ben's opened? Also what is your impression of how Washington's reputation as a Food town has grown and Ben's role in that?

You're kiddin" -- right?

Flay, Bobby Flay No, Dean, PAULA DEAN Ferran Adria? No, No. It's Michael LANDRUM! [Tony Bourdain?????]

HEMA is a Dutch department store. The first store opened on November 4, 1926, in Amsterdam. Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands. Take a look at HEMA's product page - just wait a couple of seconds and watch what happens. DON'T click on any of the items in the picture or move your mouse; just wait. This company has a sense of humor and a great computer programmer who has too much time on his hands... http://producten.hema.nl/

Try one of the pork vendors at Eastern Market -- I know they have cured slab bacon, so maybe you could ask them to sell you some uncured.

Anyone else eggscited about this? Or is this deggsecration? [sorry]