grover

Last night: Beef Chili Jalapeno Cornbread Frei Brothers Merlot 2007

Marcel's Pre-Theatre dinner is $58 per person between 5:30 and 7:00 PM with free Limousine service to the Kennedy Center. The Oval room's Pre-Theatre dinner is $35 per person between 5:30 and 6:30 PM. At Zola, there is no Pre-Theatre dinner but their Chef's Tasting Room provides $55 3-course dinner per person without time constraints. Washington Post listed the best pre-theatre dining in the past but the price information is outdated.

Sausage, herb and chestnut dressing. We are going to eat out tomorrow but I always would like to make this one.

Tried to eat light... Porcini Risotto (recipe from River Cafe Cookbook) Linden Seyval Blanc 2009

Last night Coq au Vin Danish Apple Cake Penfold's St. Henry Shiraz 1999

TheMatt, if you are sensitive to the origin of the product, please make sure if it is 'Made in Japan'.

I believe that we were talking about a rice cooker for short grain rice(aka Sushi rice).

If you would like to use them for Thankgiving stuffing, Williams Sonoma carries peeled and steamed chestnuts in a jar.

I have been using my little rice cooker (2 cup) from Hitachi for more than 12 years. It doesn't have any special features like fuzzy logic, it just cooks rice and keeps the temperature. If I were you I would stick with Zojirushi. I have heard many good stories about Cuckoo brand but it is more expensive than Zojirushi and I can't find a small size like my current one.

Salad with red wine vinaigrette Cassoulet Jindalee Shiraz 2003

Yes, it is Brookfield Plaza. There is a small grocery store called Eastern World Market.

I saw a small Indian grocery store (Eastern World Market) in Brookfield Plaza. I am not sure if you are living close to this area, though. For the seasonings, you can find them at Penzeys Spices.

I third this.

For Tom Colicchio's recipe, click here but read the reviews before you bake.

We just had lunch here. We ordered a Soondae meal ($12.99) and a plate of dumplings ($8.99). The Soondae meal includes a small plate of Soondae, a bowl of soup, a bowl of rice, a small plate of fermented flounder and 2 steamed dumplings. The Soondae was excellent as usual and the soup came with the meal was a knuckle bone soup and was nothing special. The flounder dish should be called pickled flounder (with radish and millet) even though the term on the menu means fermented. I can't say I like the flounder but Escoffier found it okay. The dumplings were good. they were stuffed with chives, bean sprouts and something else. I can't say if it was pheasant meat or Tofu. I asked the waiter about the dumpling situation Ericandblueboy got yesterday. He told me that too many people ordered dumpling at the same time but it didn't convince me. By the way, the duck dish is indeed $45.99 but it is for 3 people. I think it is a bit pricey.

I saw the rerun last night and found me, Escoffier and the late StephenB who were on the Ray's the Steak segment (35:55).

I could't find a good ceramic knife at Homegoods so I went to Sur La Table Pentagon City location. This trip was also for sharpening my knives. A set of Kyocera ceramic knives (1 chef and 1 paring - $65.95) were on sale. I made a test and liked it very much. After purchasing it, I found a set of Silvermark ceramic knives ($29.99) at Bed Bath and Beyond. Both of them are made in China and I didn't see a big point to keep the Kyocera one, so I bought the Silvermark one. I made a test at home and the Silvermark one gave me the same result. I will return the Kyocera one when I pick up my knives.

I went to Homegoods at Kingstowne location yesterday and saw lots of Le Creuset Dutch Ovens. If you would like to get it with a bargain price, it is the time to go.

Opentable has a list for the restaurants for Thanksgiving day. Bon Appetit magazine recommended Blue Duck Tavern in DC Metro Area for a Thanksgiving dinner (in Novemver issue last year)

Escoffier and I arrived here around 6:30 PM. The place wasn't full but looked very busy. As I guessed, it replaced Chong-Jin-Dong Crabhouse. It has eight 4 top tables on the ground level and three 4 top tables upstairs. We ordered a small size Soondae plate (blood sausage - around $10 ), dumplings ($8.95) and a bottle of Mokkoli (Korean unfiltered rice wine - $12.95). The waitress told us that dumplings would be on the house. How nice! I looked around to see what dishes other people are having. Chicken soup, Soondae soup or a small size Soondae plate seemed popular. However, I couldn't see anybody having dumplings. There were a cabbage Kimchi pot and a radish Kimchi pot on every table for self-service but there was no other ban chan given when the food is served. For the table setting, we both got a spoon and a pair of wooden chopsticks wrapped in a napkin but a white plastic fork was given to Escoffier, just in case. The Soondae plate came with two separate sauces so we could dip the Soondae in a spicy baby shrimp sauce or chili paste. More than 10 slices of Soondae and about 6 slices of intestine and 3 or 4 slices of steamed liver were on the plate. The Soondae was very tasty. It is the best we've had and very flavorful. We didn't even need the sauce. The Mokkoli and dumplings didn't come while we were having the Soondae. The table behind us got a dish which smelled so nice and looked delicious. I asked them what it was but they told me they didn't know and it was a gift from the sous chef for some reason. Then, kindly they suggested that we could share it so I picked 2 pieces of meat. It was steamed duck and was very good. It is the dish I will definitely order when we come here next time. Finally, the Mokkoli came but we didn't have the dumplings because our server told us that the chef just started making them. The place was packed by the time we left. With 3 waitresses, a male cashier (he was helping cleaning up the tables at times), Ms. Ma the chef, and a male sous chef/assistant, the place was very busy but the service was unorganized. Of course, it was the opening day, however, all of the staff were inexperienced. I really hope they settle down as soon as possible so I can organize a $20 Tuesday dinner. The food is very delicious and that's a good sign. DR members, if you would like to go there, please take a friend who can speak the Korean Language.

I would like to add more to Zora's answer. America's Test Kitchen tested with 7 loaf pans in Jan. 2007 as follows: 1. All-Clad Gold Standard Non-stick Loaf Pan ($74.95) 2. Anolon Suregrip Non-stick Loaf Pan ($16.95) 3. Baker’s Secret Basics Non-Stick Large Loaf Pan ($6) 4. Doughmakers Loaf Pan ($14.95) 5. KitchenAid’s Professional Non-stick Loaf Pan ($19.95) 6. Pyrex Glass Loaf Pan ($4.99) 7. Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Non-stick Loaf Pan ($19) I am copying their result here: Bigger pans like 2 and 5 allowed the sandwich bread to bake up a bit fluffier than did smaller pans but yielded dense, square pound cakes. Narrower pans (except 2 and 5) were the only correct choice for pound cake and fine for sandwich bread. Our other primary concern was browning. Light-colored aluminum finishes (1 and 4) yielded pale, anemic-looking baked goods. On the other hand, the dark nonstick surface on our previous winner (3) actually browned the bread and pound cake a shade too much. Despite its wide availability and low price, it's no longer our top choice. Glass Pyrex browned nicely, but the real star of the show (7) had a gold-colored nonstick surface that yielded baked goods with a perfectly even, honeyed-copper crust. 7 years before the above testing date, they applauded the Baker's Secret Non-stick Loaf Pan but not any more.

How about Galileo? Chris is an excellent mixologist. (no need to mention Chef Donna)

Looks so good!

We always hear negative stories about North Korea such as terrorism, dictatorship or the horrible human rights situation. I am glad to deliver the good news that Ma Young-Ae (I will call her Ms. Ma) who escaped North Korea is opening a Pyong Yang style Korean restaurant in Annandale, VA. The grand opening date is November 1st. The menu advertised in a Korean newspaper listed Soon-Dae (blood sausage), cold noodle with pheasant broth (not typical beef broth), pheasant meat stuffed dumplings (it is considered the most delicious flavor among all Korean dumplings but I haven't tried yet), steamed duck, fermented flounder (scary isn't it? ), chicken soup poured over rice and so on. All of them are authentic Pyong Yang style. The address is 6499 Little River Tpk. across from Jerry's Ford. I guess it is replacing Chong-Jin Dong Crabhouse but I am not sure. The ad said that Ms. Ma is opening her place in order to help North Korean refugees and to promote jobs for them.

Jang Won Bahn Jom got their second restaurant at 13814 A-B, Braddock Road Centreville.