LauraB

I heartily recommend Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I use this book at least once a week and I've not found a bad recipe yet. Many of the recipes are sublime. (I should add, we are not vegetarians, we just appreciate and need a vegetarian meal a few times a week.) In contrast, the Moosewood Low-Fat Cookbook has let me down more times than it's succeeded. The more I use that book, the less I like it.

We dined at a restaurant on Thanksgiving, so there are no leftovers So, forced to cook tonight, it was an early dinner of: Risotto with chanterelles, tomato-mushroom broth, leeks, white wine, grated Pecorino Romano. Baby spinach salad with ginger roasted beets and red onion, riccota salata, orange vinaigrette.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner at 1789. Of course, none of us ordered the traditional turkey dinner! Pumpkin gnocchi, chestnut soup; braised beef short ribs with parsnip puree was heaven on a plate; rack of lamb with roasted yukon gold potatoes, cooked perfectly; apple strudel with cinnamon ice cream, gingerbread with molten chocolate. A delicious cabernet sauvignon. Service was acceptable, if not stellar; it was a holiday, after all. While not a traditional Thanksgiving meal, it was a lovely autumn meal. The evening began on kind of a weird note; as our table was not ready, we were invited to wait downstairs in The Tombs, along with a few other folks who were also waiting on their tables. The last time I was in the Tombs was 1981! And it's still the same! Still smells the same! Oddly, they were playing Christmas carols down there. The host brought our cocktails down and I begged him, "Please tell me they're not playing Xmas carols upstairs!" I just couldn't abide Thanksgiving dinner with Xmas carols. He assured me that classical music was playing upstairs, and it was. I would gladly return to 1789 for a Thanksgiving meal.

I believe she was in a car accident as a teenager.

Braised beef short ribs Shredded red cabbage and granny smith apple braised in red wine with caraway seeds Mashed red potatoes and parsnips with parsley

What does that mean?! I'm well aware of what the word means. I'm just wondering how it relates to the quality of the food at this restaurant.

I was very surprised to see Eat Washington listed as a dead blog. It's very much alive, with the most recent post on 11/4/09. It's one of my favorite sites for info about local ethnic markets.

I could not find a thread for this restaurant. I'm curious about it as it's very near my house and it made Sietsema's restaurant guide for 2009. Has anyone been there? Can you recommend any particular dishes? Any other advice? Thanks.

We have been really happy with the variety and quality of the produce that we've purchased from Bending Bridge Farm at the Bethesda Central Farm Market this season. Granted, not all of it was grown by Bending Bridge, some of it they bought from Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative -- let's say that they shop well! I would be happy to participate in a CSA with Bending Bridge, especially if I had the option of choosing the produce -- that's rare for a CSA. Usually you just have to take potluck.

Last days of Gourmet

Chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle -- I'm sick with a bad cold and don't feel like cooking or going out -- husband went out for carryout. Haven't had that in about 6 months -- amazingly tasty. Also, mini M&Ms stolen from the giant bowl of treats at the front door waiting for the trick or treaters. May they please take the rest!

Wow! I want to dine at his restaurant! I know these are only half of his rules, but even if the servers followed only these, I'd be really happy.

We normally go to either Central or Tosca for pre-theater meals. However, last Saturday we decided to try something different and went to TenPenh. They have a $29/pp pre-theater deal in which you have a choice of 1 of 3 apps, 1 of 3 desserts, and ANY entree from their regular menu! Considering that some of the entrees are priced at or near $29 by themselves, this seemed like a very good deal.

We were fortunate to be able to attend the dinner at Indique Heights on Thursday evening. I am a relatively new member of DR.com, so it was especially nice to meet other members. I have been told by DanielK that, as the only newbie at the event, it’s my duty to post first about the dinner. Well, here goes.... This event was a journey through South India. The evening began in the bar where we were treated to several passed hors d’oeuvres, including: Shrimp Varuval Chicken 65 Cauliflower Bezule Cashewnut Pakoras All of these were delicious, with the pakoras as the standout. I never did get an explanation for what ‘Chicken 65’ meant, but they were very tasty. This part of the evening concluded with the serving of Konchan Chaar, a seafood broth from Kerala with ginger, curry leaves and coconut milk. This may have been my favorite dish of the evening. It was flavorful and spicy, yet the spice did not overwhelm the flavors. By the time we entered the dining room we were so full from the appetizers that it was hard to imagine eating any more food, and yet we were served SO MUCH food and somehow we managed to eat it! This was a different dining experience. The place setting was a giant banana leaf...no utensils, no plates. All of the food was placed on the banana leaf and we used our fingers in place of forks. We learned later during the slide show that banana trees play a very important role in southern India, with every part of the tree being utilized in some way. The dishes came so fast and furious that it was hard to keep up with all of them. Here is a list from the menu we were given: Plain Rice Aleppey Fish Curry Chicken Chettinad/Chicken Vepudu Syrian Lamb Coconut Fry Fried Okra Bhindi Sholapuri Sambar Mathan Erissery (pumpkin, lentils and coconut) Hyderabadi Baingan Vegetable Stew with Idiyappam Tomato Rasam Pineapple Menaskai Banana Chips/Bitter Melon Chips Sarkara Varatti (Jaggery-coated banana chips) Inji Puli (Ginger, tamarind and jaggery) Lemon Pickle Fresh hot Mango Pickle Small baby Banana Almost everything that was served to us was really delicious. There were a few stand-outs. I’ve never been a fan of Okra, but I have to say that the fried version served this evening was outstanding! The Tomato Rasam, which was served near the end of the meal and almost overlooked, was a wonderful broth with spicy accents. It was my second favorite dish of the evening, a true highlight of the meal. The Fish Curry, the Syrian Lamb, the Chicken Chettinad and the Pineapple Menaskai were all very tasty. And finally, there were 3 desserts: Paurpe Pradhaman (black lentils, coconut, pistachios, spices including cardamom) Shreekandh Brule (a yogurt brulee) Mango Cheese Flan The paurpe pradhaman was a real highlight. The cardamom flavoring was perfect. The meal was followed by an interesting slide show which was an overview of the cuisine of South India, presented by Chef Vinod. This entire experience was ours for the incredibly low price of approximately $26 per person (including tax and tip). Thank you so much to DanielK for organizing this event and to Chef Vinod and his staff for their gracious and generous hospitality.

Tom Sietsema wrote about it on Sept 8th.

Just returned from a trip to Boulder and, for the most part, we were very impressed with our dining experiences. I highly recommend: Frasca My daughter and I had an incredible dinner here. Everything from the food to the wine to the service to the ambiance was perfect. If you have only one night in Boulder, make this your dinner destination. I'm dreaming about the Hamachi crudo with pickled horseradish. Salt My husband and I had lunch here and it was so good that we decided to return for dinner with our daughter and her roommate. This is a laid-back, casual restaurant with excellent food and wine. I'm still thinking about the curried corn soup with pesto sauce; and the 7-hour braised lamb. The Kitchen Cafe We had lunch here and it was delightful. All organic, locally-sourced ingredients. Lucile's Lucile's is a funky, down-home, creole cafe that serves outrageous breakfasts. Every meal is accompanied by biscuits that are, I'm not kidding, 5 inches square! The homemade strawberry-rhubarb and blueberry jams were great on the mammoth biscuit or the beignets. I was just sorry that I was catching a plane later in the day and could not take a doggy bag of my creole omelet with me --- it could easily have served 3!

Please include me +1

Zora, can you say more about the Hasty Bake? What are the features that make it your latest culinary love?

Town House now offers overnight lodging accommodations in its newly renovated house, Riverstead Given that TH is 5 hours from DC and in the middle of nowhere, this option might make it possible for more of us to think about going there.

I just discovered this new website and thought some of you might be interested as well. It's called Eat Your Books and it's essentially a search engine through the contents of cookbooks. Just as you can go to Epicurious or any number of other online resources and search for a recipe, this site allows you to search for a recipe within the cookbooks you actually own. This is a quite new site and it says that, as of today, they have 15,934 cookbooks in their Library. Of those, they've entered 700 books into their searchable index. I just spent the entire afternoon entering the names of all of my cookbooks into 'my bookshelf' on their website. As it turns out, only 50% of my cookbooks are in their 700 book searchable index. I haven't yet tried searching for a recipe, so I can't comment on how well that function works. They offer a 30-day free trial. After that, it's $25 per year, $50 for a lifetime membership. I think this is a great idea. If something like this had existed in 1996 I might not have abandoned all of my cookbooks in favor of Epicurious. Time will tell if it lives up to its promise. http://www.eatyourbooks.com/pages/Overview.aspx

Well, Dave, that was one hell of a chop!

That has to be very gratifying for you! Everything you modelled all those years clearly made an impact and is now manifesting. My children are all in their 20s now and I have come to realize that how they were as kids has very little relation to who they are now. I'm constantly astonished by their grown-up attitudes and tastes. My daughter, whose teenage bedroom looked like a bomb went off, now complains to me about her roommates, who she considers to be slobs! My son, who wouldn't eat a vegetable as a kid, now eats salads every day!

Eventide Everything a Restaurant Should Be We made our first visit to Eventide on Saturday, September 19th. Our reservation was for 6:00 pm as this was a pre-theater dinner. We arrived early and spent a few minutes in the bar where we witnessed Steve prepare a perfect gin martini in record time. When told that our table was ready, we ascended the staircase and I have to remark about it. The stair treads used on the very long staircase are a material that resembles rubber (and may be rubber, for all I know). I do know that these treads are the best Ive encountered in any building. They may not be esthetically pleasing, but they are great from a practical point of view, as they provide very secure footing. As someone who suffers from a bit of vertigo, I didnt even feel the need to hold the handrail. When we arrived in the dining room, the hostess initially tried to escort us to a 2-top in the corner, right next to a large table that had just been seated with several boisterous diners. We expressed our misgivings about the table and, after consultation with her colleague at the host stand, we were seated at a lovely booth on the opposite side of the restaurant. This location was perfect and we greatly appreciated the restaurant accommodating our request without question. We were especially amused by the gates on the end of the booth similar to those you might find in an amusement park ride, except these are covered in a dark blue plush fabric. I joked to the hostess, So, if you drink too much, these make sure you dont fall out of the booth? She responded, Actually, these are here so if you dont pay, you cant get out. A nice touch. A further note on the booth: as someone who is small in stature, I often find restaurant booths to be awkward in that the table feels too far away. The booth at Eventide was perfectly proportioned and, while it could have held 4 diners, it offered a lovely intimacy for just the two of us. The décor in the restaurant is an interesting mix of then and now. The room soars to 18 feet tall and the walls are the original terra cotta. The carpet is a blue and gold pattern that is faintly reminiscent of carpets you might find in upscale hotel corridors. The room is sectioned by floor-to-ceiling blue draperies that work. The overall effect is to produce a room that is user-friendly it is understatedly elegant and you can actually hear your dining companions conversation. Our next encounter was with Jason, the sommelier. We described what we were looking for in a wine and his recommendation of a Patricia Green Cellars Willamette Valley 2007 Pinot Noir was perfect. The wine list emphasizes wines of the Americas (North and South) and is extensive. The amuse was a mushroom risotto fritter on a crème fraiche and pumpkin sauce. The fritter was light and airy and so well-prepared, we could taste every component. We could have eaten many more of those! Our visit was in mid-September, so for our first course, I chose the Heirloom Tomato Salad served with basil "chimichurri", Queso fresco, sherry geleé, and paprika breadcrumbs. This dish was ethereal and beautifully presented, it cascaded across the plate in a wave…every component was delicious and the sherry gelee delivered a concentrated vinegar bite. My husband had the Corn and Potato Soup with roasted corn, jalapeno salsa, sage, red pepper, prosciutto. This was lovely to gaze upon and was earthy and crunchy…a perfect late summer/early fall dish. The bread basket contained delicious, light biscuits which hardly required butter. For entrees, we both ordered the La Quercia Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Chop with lemon-braised swiss chard, peach & bourbon compote, and heirloom peppers. The chop was cut into 4 portions, 3 boneless and one on the bone. All were perfectly cooked and the accompanying chard and peach/bourbon compote complemented the pork perfectly. Our only complaint was that there was not enough of the compote, simply because it was so delicious, and more was delivered on request. This plate was so much food that I could not finish it, and since we were on our way to the theatre, we could not take leftovers with us. I hope someone enjoyed that last chop! For dessert I had the Pumpkin Bread Pudding with currants, bourbon caramel, and cinnamon whipped cream. This dish tasted like Autumn on a plate. And unlike many bread puddings, it was quite light and simply divine. And heres a first: my husband normally never wants to taste any dish of mine because he doesnt like to mix tastes. He made an exception in this case and insisted on tasting my bread pudding because it looked so good and he agreed, it was wonderful. His dessert was gelatos sourced from Boccato down the street: tiramisu and chocolate. I was allowed a small taste of each and I can confirm that both flavors were divine. Finally, the service at Eventide is simply excellent. Everyone we encountered was friendly, helpful, and very professional. I want to acknowledge our server, Berkeley, and Dave Pressley, the general manager. Dave stopped by our table a couple of times to make sure everything was alright. We had a pleasant conversation about FarmLink, a local farm cooperative where they source their tomatoes and other produce. And Dave even delivered our desserts personally. He is truly a hands-on GM. A final note about the service: no empty plate was retrieved by the wait staff until both parties had finished. We appreciated that. Eventide is aiming high. Not as high as the very top-tier, but in its class, its at the head of the class. We cant wait to return.

I'll definitely be there! However, after 2 mediocre experiences at Comet Ping Pong prior to other P&P author events, we'll be dining elsewhere, probably at home, since there are so few options in that area.

Pan-roasted pork tenderloin with tamarind pear chutney Sauteed kale with garlic