Poodles

Today we made 4 pumpkin pies and chocolate dipped treats; dried apricots dipped in dark chocolate; pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate, milk chocolate and butterscotch then decorated with colored sugars and various holiday toppings. "Dried" everything outside on platters on the deck and then will put into holiday bags with ribbons tomorrow. The kitchen was a mess but my 7 year old and I have memories and goodies to cherish (as does my DH of course)!

1 TJ chicken apple sausage, 2 hard boiled eggs, k-cup of Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice coffeee . . . yum

Love my Keurig coffee maker, enjoy the flexibility of making different flavors, blends in the morning. Found a guy on eBay who sells plastic covers with a hole which you can use to cap off the top of a used cup after you fill it with your own brand/blend of coffee and reuse it several times. Better than the K-cup reusable filter, great invention and very inexpensive.

Greetings, originally from upstate New York, home to the best "wings" in the country but have lived here for a couple of decades. I am an educational consultant/teacher/tutor in Alexandria and dine out frequently with my husband. We have introduced our 7 year old son to a variety of ethnic dishes, so thankfully, when he is with us, he can always find something to eat at Indian, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Greek, Italian, Mediterranean and Indian restaurants. I am an avid cook who focuses on growing and using fresh vegetables and herbs in my cooking.

I am extremely excited to be a member of this community so I can learn about different eating establishments and broaden our dining experiences since we tend to visit the same places repeatedly.

Marla

Hollywood East for Dim Sum

11160 Viers Mill Rd

240-290-9988

We ate there Sun. Nov.14, had to wait about 15 mins for a table. Food comes out a little slowly which is probably why patrons tend to linger longer at tables. Dumpling cart comes around quite often, but if you are waiting for specialties such as clams in black bean sauce, chinese greens, etc., you may have to wait 15-25 mins for those dishes to appear.

You can also order off their regular menu during dim sum hours. Service is hurried, but can be easily overlooked due to the quality and selection of the food.

Why not try Yamas Meditteranean Grill - http://www.yamasgrill.com/ - on Rugby Avenue a few blocks away? It's new to the area and although I haven't eaten there yet, it gets very good reviews and would be open at 4 on Sunday. (We may try it out soon, and if so, will report.)

Menu looks delicous, Thanks for the recommendation!

We are looking for a place to have dinner after a 1:30 p.m. play at the Imagination Stage in Bethesda on a Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving. Early dinner around 4 p.m. Since we are from NOVA, not really sure what is good around that area. Open to any and all suggestions. We love asian, greek, italian cuisine if that helps (2 adults and 1 second grader). Thanks in advance.

Doctored up version of Trader Joe's in the box pumpkin bread/muffin mix. I add 1 extra egg, 1/4 cup extra vegetable oil, 1/2 can of pumpkin, pumpkin spice and cloves (about 1 tsp pumpkin spice and 1/2 tsp cloves) and then bake in muffin tins or loaf pan. Either way, the end product comes out moist and delicious! I think the cloves and the added canned pumpkin give it the extra kick. Try it!

Home made eggplant lasagna, roasted butternut squash & cucumber, sweet onion, butter lettuce & questo blanco cheese salad. I made a delicious family dinner tonight and am looking forward to the leftover eggplant tomorrow!

I've looked into the popeyes thing in the past. Not sure if anyone has bought this but I just didn't have the heart after hearing what it was. They fry the bird at a facility somewhere, then it is vacuum packed, frozen and shipped to the popeyes franchises. You basically get a box with a fried turkey that is frozen. I was hoping for a bird that was fried at the local franchise.

Soup

Believe it or not, they are quite good. Have purchased them in the past and I am not by any means a Popeye's fan . . . never even eat there, but a friend turned me onto the fried holiday turkeys. YMMV.

We ate at the Rita's in Chinatown last week after a Caps game. Great service, good flavors of ice, two different flavors of custard but we were the only 3 people in the entire place. The owner said that weekdays he is busier than weekends and that he will close the shop for the winter because it is not profitable to stay open! The Rita's in Landmark Plaza in Alexandria also closes for the winter season.