weezy

Was so glad to meet so many of you at the picnic and put faces to names. Wonderful food, wonderful company. Can't wait for the autumn picnic!

Last minute and I'm sorry, but I don't have a big cooler. Must have lent it out at the end of the season last year and didn't get it back. I'm still coming, but I'm not packing ice.

I'll bring a cooler along and I know there's a 7-11 on Elkin, just a little north of the park, so I'll pick up a couple of bags of ice there. I've got a few disposable plates that I can add to the fray as well. I'll also be bringing 2-3 bottles of some sorts of Chardonnays that I have no idea if they're any good -- Boss keeps buying me a bottle here and there to show his appreciation, which is sweet, but he gets me Chardonnay b/c that's what his wife drinks and I don't particularly care for Chards and he's not a wine drinker, so he doesn't know if it's any good

Just a traffic warning -- Telegraph Road, at least up near Duke Street & the Beltway interchange, is going to be closed all this weekend for yet more road work. It probably won't interfere with many folks' routes, but I'm putting it out here just in case.

confirm me with the chicken Marbella. I don't make it often, and now that I've said it, I've got a hankering for it. Plus, I haven't come up with any other ideas.

Ate at Raaga tonight with some friends. We're picking a restaurant to cater a retirement luncheon, so we picked a menu similar to what we've tried elsewhere to get a fairly apples-to-apples comparison on flavors and pricing: Samosas, Butter chicken, veggie korma, and an eggplant dish, with assorted breads. I very much liked Raaga's rendition of the butter chicken; I know the recipe was originally concocted using tinned tomato soup as a base for the sauce, but Raaga's sauce was lovely and missing the obvious tinned soup flavor. The veggie korma was also quite good, although a bit heavy on potatoes compared to other vegetables. Eggplant was outstanding; I don't recall the exact name of this dish, but a stewy consistency and had a slightly sweet-sour component to the flavor profile. A big hit at the table. Breads were good, although I like my naan with a very buttery flavor and it was just average here. We also had the Palak Chaat appetizer which was very nice as well. I haven't been to Rasika to know how it compares, but I definitely would order it again. Four of us, two glasses of wine, a table full of food, a pleasant atmosphere and attentive friendly correct service, all for $90 before tip. I'll definitely be back to explore more.

Thank you so much for catching that and correcting me! That's what I get for trying to read DR and work at the same time.

My boss walked by while I was drooling over those tortas, and now he's drooling, too.

[ Cafe Mozart in the City of Fairfax

Brabo in Old Town Alexandria is just a few blocks from the King Street Metro. Don't know how crowded it is on a Friday night.

I have it on my calendar and intend to come, can't guarantee a +1 but hope to bring someone along. Also have zero idea just now of what I'll bring to eat & share, but if my inspiration doesn't gel, I'll fall back on chicken Marbella.

Met some friends for lunch here today and we made pigs of ourselves ordering the appetizer platter (falafel, baba ghanouj, hummus, dolmades, tabouli, foul meddamas and mudjarrah (?)) with fresh pita, the vegetable makluba, fettoush salad, spinach pies and pistachio baklava. All of it was excellent, although I wish I had thought to ask if they had some harissa -- I would have liked to add some kick to the makluba. Also had the cardamom tea with it. For four of us and more food than we could finish (and believe me, we tried very hard), $48 before tax. Service was very friendly, relaxed and responsive. We hoped to try the cheese pies or spinach and cheese, but we had gotten there too early and they hadn't been prepared yet, so just a note for the mid-day diners that a few things may or may not be available.

Lunched today at the Old Town location to celebrate (what was formerly known as) Secretary's Day. Yes, a day early, but we wanted to beat the rush. All the 4-tops were taken on the patio so we ate inside. Service was friendly and attentive without being obtrusive. All the entrees were well cooked and delivered to proper person -- no plate auctions at tableside. None of us were being adventuresome today, but all the basics were handled well: Ceasar with grilled flank steak, margherita pizza, flat iron sandwich w/ blue cheese potato salad, and crispy salmon sandwich w/ housemade chips. Two tiny imperfections: the homemade chips tasted like they had been held for a while, not stale but the heat to them came from a heat lamp or a quick slide into the oven, not the lingering heat from the fryer; and Boss got the crispy salmon sandwich that was served on what would have been 4 slider buns that hadn't been cut apart, that turned out to be messy to eat, as the mini-buns split away from one another as he would take a bite from a different area of the sandwich and then fillings dropped out. It would have been better served as 4 salmon sliders or 1 large bun. No beer samplings or wine for us today.

Second the recs on the brands of pre-made beef broth; have also seen on ATK that they recommend using about 3 parts chicken broth to 1 part canned beef broth for a better flavor outcome. Straight canned beef broth has an off-putting flavor (so they say....I follow their recs). For the wilting bell pepper, dice it and sautee it in a little olive oil, then freeze it in a baggie to add a flavor shot in another dish somewhere down the line.

I'm really hoping to be able to attend. It looks like the lead dates will work out for me.

making ground bison meatloaf, with steamed asparagus and either grits or rice

Maybe opt for a birth year scotch instead?

Several Giant supermarkets in NoVa carry a small selection of British goods. A few phone calls may help. There is also a Brit food specialty shop in Old Town on the 100 block of S. Columbus Street.

Does anyone have a good contact for getting a garden plot tilled that you're willing to share?

I have some sympathy for those folks writing in. I think the problem is too many choices when they do research online for a restaurant coupled with getting a "someone to blame" if the restaurant does not suit their tastes/budget or "aren't I smart that I got the Post critic to recommend a resto especially for me."

Don -- your new plan coupon plan sounds like a winner to me. Sorry that you're struggling with sleepless nights and career worries. That's a real bummer and I'm sending hopes & prayers that they are both cured very very soon.

Egg yolks, I believe you have to beat them with some water, freeze in ice cube trays, and then pop out and coat with a thin sheen of oil for storing. And they don't have a long freezer life, maybe a couple of months at best. I just save leftover yolks for a couple of days in the fridge, either add to an omelet, make a mayo, or make spaghetti carbonara. I usually forget about them in the freezer until its too late.

Jalapenos freeze well for use in cooking in the future. Like any other pepper, the texture will be mushy when they thaw, so using them raw won't work. Just wash & dry them and throw them whole into freezer bags and toss in the freezer.

I think so as well. However, I've found it very handy to have packets of dehydrated coconut milk on hand where I can just mix up what I need and the rest hangs out on the shelf in a baggie until next time. You can find this at the various asian groceries around town. Haven't seen it show up yet at mainstream groceries around here.

I don't know if any of you are Top Chef watchers, but seeing it on Bravo last night, one of the contestants used sweet potato ribbons (cut with a vegetable peeler) simmered in stock or water as a pasta substitute, and Colicchio thought at first he had actually made sweet potato pasta. I think the Bravo website has recipes or links to things made on the show. Anyway, watching the show last night made me think of this discussion.