Ilaine

Yes, plus one, please.

Head count? There are three in our party, possibly four.

I am coming plus one. Possibly plus two or even three, will contact son and see if he and girlfriend are in and edit post.

I would like to order some snails but before I do, I am wondering which size is tastier, petit or large? Or is it just a matter of preference? Also, how should one prepare them for a simple, classic dish? Putting them back into the shells as they do in fancy French restaurants is not my style. I would think garlic and butter and parsley.

Speak to me about whether I would actually use a mortar and pestle. Food 52 is selling a very nice-looking one, but why would I want one? If you have one, what do you actually do with it? I mash guacamole with a potato masher, I don't mind chunky. I grind spices in a mini-Cuisinart, which works OK. I make pesto in the big Cuisinart. Would a good mortar and pestle change my ways?

As a bankruptcy lawyer, I am able to say that there is no prohibition against paying one's debts post discharge. You certainly have no legal obligation to do so, but if you feel a moral obligation to do so, you may. F'ing over people is very bad karma. Especially freelance writers. They trusted you, you screwed them. You need to make this right. I f' people over for a living. I know what I am talking about. F'ing Capital One or Navy Federal Credit Union feels good, they need to be on the receiving end once in a while. F'ing your friends financially is bad. You don't sh!t where you sleep.

I'd cook the red meat but not the chicken. I've only ever gotten food poisoning from chicken, so it scares me.

We went and it was a terrible disappointment. First, I did not enjoy the venue, it's hard and cold, and the loud booming music made me wonder if I was going to start seeing scowling Victoria's Secret models striding down a catwalk. Second, the food was terrible, and the portions were too small. Yes, for once, the Woody Allen joke actually fit. The food was mostly very small hors d'ouvres passed around on tiny trays by servers carrying toothpicks and paper napkins. The various wonton wrappers were tough, cold, hard and unforgiving. The crispy pork belly nibbles were so crispy a toothpick would not penetrate them, and I resorted to picking the bits up with my fingers. The punch was Maker's Mark with blood orange juice and ginger juice, a wonderful sanguine red, but an unfortunate combination to the taste. I did drink a lot of it because most of the hors d'ouvres were Szechuan hot, single bits of one of Chef Chang's variations on his bamboo fish, with a lot of chopped hot red pepper, cumin, garlic and cilantro, all of which were of course quite good but not a revelation since I can get an entire platter of this at one of his restaurants for less than $20.00, and could not tell you how many platters we have had in the past. Many. There was an entire roast pig, served with great fanfare, and they were not stingy with the meat. That was nice. We left earlish, around 7:30. Maybe it got better. Had to drive to Fredericksburg to rescue my son, who did not read the text or the email I sent him, thought we were meeting up in Fredericksburg, and forgot his wallet. He enjoyed his meal there, as always. Wish we'd eaten there.

Going but with minimal expectations. They say it will be dim sum, which usually means dumplings, and I avoid wheat. Nevertheless, it should be interesting.

Where I come from, canned sardines and kipper snacks are poor man's food. Maybe poor woman's food, whatever. Eaten by blue collar workers with a sleeve of saltines sitting outside at a work site. A can of sardines and a sleeve of crackers. Used to be one of my favorite things until I became gluten intolerant. Not that I am blue collar, far from it. I just loved it, back in the day. Wish I hadn't read this thread. Feeling sorry for myself, now. Edited to add, actually with Glutino gluten free bagle chips about the same, except that the chips are too sweet, alas.

Not exactly a chain, but definitely dumbed down. Whatever magic there was, is gone. And there WAS magic. I remember it well. Sorry, Escoffier, I am still stuck on Memory Lane. I can't help thinking about the dipping sauce for the steamed eggplant his wife used to make. A little bit of toasted sesame oil, a little bit of black sesame paste, a little bit of star anise, I don't know what else, if I could taste it again I would continue to try to replicate it, but how many years has it been since they cooked at China Star? Don says nine? Can it really be nine? They still make the bamboo fish and the etherial scallion bubble pancakes about the same as they ever did. Whoever is the line cook, they still get that right. But no more magic. It's perfectly decent food, though, and how many Chinese restaurants in America can you say that about with a straight face? Peter Chang in Fredericksburg is probably the best restaurant in Fredericksburg, and that's actually not faint praise. My stepmother is from Guangzou, and she's a fairly decent cook. She cooks plain food simply, and well. Joe H would not travel a thousand miles to eat her food, but when I eat it, I get a sense of what it really means to cook Chinese food. It's very different from the way I cook, and yet it's very similar. I would never put glop on my food, and I would rather never eat at a place that serves glop. You know what I mean, day glow colors, sweet and sour abhorrences, heavily breaded pieces of unmentionable meat. Don't. Just . . . . don't.

Zora, I am from New Orleans, and cannot imagine cooking without the Trinity, but my own version, onions, garlic, celery, and flat parsley (not really a Trinity), NOT bell pepper. For most dishes, I feel that bell pepper does not really bring anything essential to the table for most recipes. Similarly, mirepoix, I just don't see what carrot brings to the table. I mean as part of a mirepoix. Why does one pre-cook carrots? I don[t see the point. Or, for that matter, bell pepper. Flat parsley, on the other hand, is essential. And celery, too. Neither of which benefit from sweating or browning. But UBER essential are onion and garlic, which are MUCH much better sweated first, or even, in the case of onions, not just sweated but cooked down towards caramelization, and garlic is better lightly toasted to a golden color. And then, of course, herbs. I cannot be a happy cook without fresh thyme. Cooking without fresh thyme is as impossible as cooking without salt and pepper. Our big pot of thyme in the front yard is still going strong even after snow storms and ice storms. And, of course, bay leaf. Hmmm. Thinking about it, what really needs to be browned are the onions and the garlic (lightly). I guess it's not so hard to brown the onions after chopping, while cutting up everything else.

Cards Against Humanity sounds like something we need to try ourselves. Seriously. I am not responsible for the 2014 in the thread title, my own title was edited, not by me, and I don't seem to be able to edit it again. I guess we can resurrect the thread next year, when it fits. Nice that everybody seems to have gotten into the spirit of the season. Why is Thanksgiving dinner so much more pressure to perform heroic acts of foodie-ism than Christmas dinner? Dunno, but it is. I did not roast the duck on Christmas day. I was feeling under the weather, so older son and husband went to 100 Degrees Farenheit for Chinese and brought me some roasted duck. Spell-check says I mis-spelled farenheit, but I did not. On the other hand, the real name of the restaurant is 100 Degrees Celsius. Which spell-check thinks I spelled right, and I did. The roast duck was good. I don't really want to roast another duck now. Duck soup? Duck gumbo?

Hi Zora, I was specifically wondering about making a sofrito for the aromatics vs. just putting them in raw. I would never omit them. What ice circulating pump do you recommend?

Well, we did the Christmas thing last night because Nick and Sheena were going to Cville this AM, and we partied until 3:00 a.m., ending with heavily spiked eggnog, brandy Alexanders, and watching the Hogfather on Youtube (Terry Pratchett science fiction version of Santa Claus, a family tradition). Just got up with a mild hangover. All the Christmas presents were unwrapped last night and the Christmas dinner was eaten. Husband and older son are still asleep. Nick and Sheena are headed to Cville for round two. I am going to make Marcella Hazen's roast duck later. She really is a treasure. Dried with a hair dryer? OK, why not? Zora's root vegetable recipe looks good, think we'll try that, too. One thing I observed last night. Plain old Whole Foods rib roast on sale for $11.99 a pound, normally $14.99 a pound, was incredibly tender and flavorful, much more so than the fancier and pricier roasts we have been getting from the Springfield Butcher and Let's Meat on the Avenue. We do rib roast for every major holiday, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, and that was the best meat we've had in years. Six pounds of meat is almost gone.

My Kitchenaid stand mixer, Cuisinart, and Vitamix now live on a small table by the window, not on the countertop. If I had a smaller kitchen, they would live on a moveable cart.

Joe, since Emeril suggests discarding the fat (which we actually do not), if using marrow bones, I would pause at the point where the marrow was well-roasted, and take out the marrow to eat as one does, on a piece of toast or on a steak, then continue roasting the bones. The idea of discarding good marrow fat makes me shudder. We don't throw out the beef fat after making the stock, either. We pour it into a container, refrigerate it, and use it for cooking. It's great for browning beef or cooking a steak, better than butter or oil. Tallow is what it's called. A good butcher will gladly sell you sawed off pieces of marrow bones, which he will keep in the freezer for you if you ask. We simmer all the roasted bones and aromatics in a couple of very large crock pots for at least 12 hours, or more. This is one thing that the crock pot does well. You can sleep peacefully without fear of burning the broth, although the smell will permeate the entire house and may disturb your sleep. I would also use meaty shanks when making this broth. I think the meat adds flavor. Roast them with the marrow bones. Consider short ribs, as well. Back to the boeuf bourguignon. I would serve with roasted or boiled gold potatoes on the side, not mashed. You can crush the potatoes with your fork. Transcendent.

Zora, I have been thinking about your reply since you posted it. Of course you are correct, but that is not the end of the question. I work full time, and also do some volunteer stuff. If I cooked everything perfectly, the way I think it should be cooked, I would have time for nothing more than work and cooking. I come home around 6:30, and I am hungry already, and I go to bed around 10:30 or 11:00. Same for my husband. So to me, the question posed is, what corners can I cut and still be reasonably satisfied with the results? I already know frozen food purchased premade from the grocery store is, in general, not satisfactory to me or my family. I already know that canned food ditto. I am especially conscious of planning ahead because I am soon to have foot surgery, which will keep me off my foot entirely for weeks, and then my husband will be driving me to work and picking me up afterwards because it's my right foot so I can't drive for at least two months. At least I won't be in a wheelchair, but probably a knee-based rolly thingie. I will be bringing my lunch with me, and delivered food is out of the question health-wise or gastronomically. I work in an industrial area midway between Springfield and Annandale. The nearest restaurants are McDonald's and Burger King. What to do? Right now the only think I can think of is to make lots and lots of bone broth, because it seems to me that bone broth is a good thing to consume when one's bones are healing. Other than that, my husband's standard repertoire includes pot roast, beef stew, chili, and meat loaf. I guess one solution would be to make a massive pot of generic sofrito, onions, celery, parsley and garlic, and save that in the fridge or freezer, as one makes and saves a massive pot or two of stock.

Unlike Thanksgiving, which is always a foodie ordeal, Christmas is generally relatively low key. Younger son Nick's birthday is on the 23rd, we always have a feast Christmas eve, so by the time Christmas Day rolls around we are kind of partied out. This year, even more so, because younger son is dating a woman whose family is in Charlottesville, so they will celebrate Christmas here on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day in C'ville. Today, Christmas Eve, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, gravy, and braised little onions, the family version of old reliable. Some kind of green vegetable, I am leaning toward escarole, others are suggesting broccoli. Might compromise on broccolini/asparation. Will attempt gluten free brioche again, this time with Thomas Keller's recipe and his Cup4cup flour. Tomorrow, older son can have leftovers and I will roast a duck. Nobody but me and my husband like duck, but what the heck, it's a three rib roast beef, 8 pounds of beef, there will be lots of leftover roast beef, etc. What are your family traditions? Or, are you doing something different this year?

Oh, that's clever! Whatever will they think of next?

It's that time of year. As part of my annual de-cluttering, I need to take a lot of loose change somewhere. I know Wegman's in Fairfax has a machine that will count it and give you a ticket towards shopping there without charge. Any others? And, yes, I know I could donate it but I'd rather donate via check and get a tax deduction. It's that time of year, too.

The cool (well, not, not cool) thing that a bacon press appears to do is that it will get hot, which cooks the bacon from the top while it's cooking from the bottom. Some people say heat it in the skillet, which means that the skillet will be hot when you put in the bacon, which seems just wrong. Let the bacon come to room temperature and start it in a cool pan is what I always do. Reviews on Amazon say that having heat from both sides will help cook the bacon in two minutes. I don't really care if the bacon is flat, you have to be pretty OCD to care, methinks, but not standing over the stove flipping the bacon every minute or two would be nice. I use two cast iron pans when making grilled cheese sandwiches, one on the top, and that works pretty well. Never tried it with bacon. Might work the same as a bacon press?

Surfing around on Amazon, looking for a bacon grease holder, which led me to a bacon press, which now I also want. But the cute one with the pig on top is nine inches in diameter and won't fit in Old Reliable, my ancient cast iron skillet of unknown provenance. So then I wandered far, looking at various cast iron skillets, only to realize that I have no idea what the diameter means when the vendor states the measurement. Is it the external diameter at the top of the pan? Because the busines end of the pan is the internal diameter at the bottom. Anybody know? Or do I need to go to the store with a tape measure? Also, anybody use a bacon press? How do you like it? Maybe a rectangular or square pan would be better for bacon, which is also rectangular and about 9 inches long. Am I right? And then I would probably want a rectangular bacon press, I guess.

I am the only one who attended both dinners. I disagree that the food at the first dinner sucked. There were things I liked and things I did not like at the first dinner. I liked almost everything but not entirely everything at the second (did not like the wild boar pasta but my son loved it, and also ate mine) (did like the wild boar pate, and everything else) (I have decided I really don't like gluten free pasta, it's not close enough to real pasta to bother with, IMO). The comments on the first dinner remind me of a Woody Allen joke, "the food was terrible, and such small portions!". Everything at my table was eaten except for some butternut squash which I should have rescued before it was taken away. Ken's girlfriend ate all the second serving of pork and smiled and nodded as she ate it. If nobody else liked the food, how come it all got eaten, and people asked for more (a second serving of pork)?

OMFG! It was good! I am glad I wore pants with an elastic waistband, because I needed it. A much smaller group, a more intimate setting, only twelve people were perfect for that room. We were seated in a square, so we could all talk to each other. Much good conversation. I enjoyed seeing old friends, and meeting new ones. The food, excellent. More than enough for everybody. Everything I liked, but the standouts for me were the two pates, one pork with mushroom, one wild boar with pistachio, the pork rillettes (gluten free crackers on the table), the brisket, the mashed parsnips, and the braised shallots. Oh, and the cheese. And the tiramisu; I scraped the creamy part away from the cake part, but then they brought us gluten free people our own gluten free dessert, a molten flourless chocolate cake with a base of something like a ginger snap, with whipped cream, so I actually had two desserts. Oink. Oh, and the risotto, with butternut squash, perfectly cooked. My son particularly enjoyed the papardelle with wild boar. My husband particularly enjoyed the cioppino, the pates, and the brisket with mashed parsnip. He also scarfed up all cheese that was not spoken for. The wine, too. We had a Brunello de Montalcino, my husband forgets the vineyard. It was a $180 bottle of wine knocked down to $90, and very, very nice. We all finished with a house made apple rosemary cello, and then Escoffier persuaded some of us to try cedro, and it was as good as he said. My husband finished with a 20 year old port, which he drank with relish, and savored with appreciation. Dean was able to spend a lot of time with us, talking about the menu, and also about his plans for his new place. He enlightened us with an explanation of the provenance of the wild boar, which starts out as feral pigs in Texas. By eating them, we help cull these voracious, destructive animals, and they taste good, too. Win-win. The lovely Kay put in a special appearance. We loved our server. We had a wonderful time. Thank you, Dean and Kay, for hosting us, thank you DanielK for herding cats, and thank you ktmoomau for suggesting the menu. A good time was had by all. Hope to see you all again soon.