chaofun

My favs as of today are: Pupatella 2 Amys American Flatbread Mia's Radius With a handful I still want to visit.

I stopped by last night right at closing to grab a quick, to go, real Margherita. Even though I came in at closing they were happy to make the pizza. Man was it good.... I think it rivals 2 Amys. I am happy to see another really good pizza joint in the Ballston-Clarendon area (the other being American Flatbread). I also love that they have Mexican Coca-Cola. I am slightly addicted to the stuff after visiting Mexico.

Great food, great drink, great people... what more can you ask for in any event? Special thanks go to leleboo for organizing this awesome event. Thanks to agm for the experience of a whole roasted pig! To all who attended, cooked, brought, whatever, what amazing food and drink! Last but not least many thanks go out to DonRocks for without this site, we would not be able to get together like this! BTW jchao made the Graham Crackers and Marshmallows and I made the smoked back ribs (shoulda made more in hindsight).

My wife Jenna (jchao) rarely posts so I will go ahead and post the Graham Cracker and Marshmallow recipes for her which are from Alton Brown: Graham Crackers: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/graham-crackers-recipe/index.html Marshmallows: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html

Alright, it looks like we got a good count of people coming, I'm going to bring some smoked back ribs as well. That in addition to the lumpia.

One of my volunteers bowed out this morning, she has a work emergency that will keep her too late. Sorry for the late notice. So I'm down to a +1.

I could not find a topic on Simply Sausage so I'll go ahead and start one (if I'm mistaken please feel free to move). Slow Food DC had an excellent event this weekend at the home of Simply Sausage founder Stanley Feder. It was a lot of fun, talked about the sausage making process, stuffed some Bauernwurst, and finally grilled some up and ate it. It was a of of fun. Oh and he sold everything he had for half price at the end. Stanley provides sausage for many restaurants in the local area (and famously for Jose Andres' Jaleo), and I have never had anything of his that wasn't excellent. I'm glad the DC metro has so many sausage/charcuterie options now!

I have done ok reheating on the BBQ, but either way I would make sure to put some of your basting liquid on whatever you are reheating. Two other notes, when you do reheat, specifically foiled reheating, you are going to soften up your bark. This is most significant to brisket. The other note is that ribs do not reheat well, or at least you loose quite a bit compared to pulled pork or brisket, at least in my experience. I usually BBQ the meats that reheat well the day before, and BBQ everything else the day of.

Daniel can you add +2 to me? THX!

Hey does anybody know what markets Jamie is sellling at now that the farmers market season is in full swing? Thx!

No, you are right it does for me as well. I have a weber smoky mountain, one set of coals if you do it right can last 13 hours (or even longer) so I only open the lid to turn the meat, or baste. Every time the smoker comes up to temp fairly quickly. Ideally however you don't want to have too much fluctuation in the amount of heat the meat sees, or its going to take even longer to pass "the plateau" when the internal meat temp sits at around 170 for an extended period of time.

After cooking a shoulder loses a bit of weight/size with the fat that renders off. Plus factoring in the bone. Historically for me, I've needed a lb per person, but it depends on the kind of eaters you have. You could probably get away with half a lb per person. I have never done a hours/pound ratio. With a smoker (or mine at least), everything is variable. Each cook is diff, depending on the humidity, temp outside, etc. Instead I just measure the temperature of the meat. Once the temp is 180-190, preferably 190, I am good to go. As far as the cutting in half the shoulder, this may work BUT you want to be careful as the bigger the mass, the more fatty juicy goodness it keeps inside (and def keep the bone in). I actually go the opposite route, I get the biggest whole shoulder I can fit on my smoker. It does take forever though (~17hrs). Oh and be sure you stay in the range between 275-220 in the smoker. 250 is always my goal. You could try, but be mindful of how much you cut it. When you use a kettle, you would lose about half the area for indirect cooking, that said you could easily fit 2 butts I would think on there, maybe three. I would think you could feed 30. I don't know of one

Finally found it. After going to Wegmans, MOM's, Balducci's, 2 Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Shoppers (a suggestion from a Whole Foods employee), I found Graham flour at Harris Teeters in Ballston. Its tricky... the brand is Hodgson Mill, the Whole Wheat Flour. In very small lettering it mentions its Whole wheat flour is in fact Graham flour. Internet order avoided!

Both are wonderful ideas!

Stopped by on my lunch break scored something I could never get at the farmers market from eco-friendly.... short ribs! Win! Maybe I can push my luck and ask for Pork back ribs next time.....

A fresh ham can be used in place for a shoulder (picnic and butt) for the most part, though there is slightly less fat in a ham. Roasting the whole thing is always a good idea, but if you are willing to cut the meat off the bone you will be able to find more recipes referring to pork butts or picnics.

Yeah the texture is the hassle to get right. Worst case Internet wins.

Does anybody know where I can get some Graham flour in the DC Metro? I've gone to MOM and Whole Foods in Clarendon, and they have every flour but Graham Flour. This is for the homemade graham crackers Jenna is going to be making at the picnic...

When I have a minute, I'll try to compile everything that's been discussed into a list form. Just need to get that minute!

Does someone have a list/guide of Dim Sum in the DC Metro area? I love Hollywood East Cafe, but it would be nice to know of other options. If I missed this somewhere on the site please move appropriately.

This is happening today at the Arlington Central Library in Ballston. If anyone else is going, Jenna and I will be there.

I am in. Jenna can't do it this month so it's just me.

The May happy hour is at 15ria: 15ria 1515 Rhode Island ave, Washington DC 20005 Tuesday, May 18th 6pm - 8pm The restaurant is extending their happy hour discounts until 8 PM just for us, so we can enjoy their signature cocktail with fresh blueberries and mint and $5 menu specials all evening. Chef Janis McLean focuses on providing "fresh and honest" American comfort food with style. Everyone is welcome, so bring your friends, too!

Ramps and Parsley pesto and spaghetti. Simple, seasonal, and yum!

You should be ok till it gets consistently hot. Even the early gardeners will just now have their first crop ready, and will be re-seeding for the next round.