BabyLitigator's Profile
Bone-In Leg of Lamb -- How Should I Cook
I have a six-and-a-half pound, bone-in leg of lamb currently sitting in yogurt marinade in my fridge, to roast tomorrow night. My question is, how to go about it -- I've seen varying advice online.
-- Low and slow (325) or high then low (450, then 325), and how does a convection oven affect the cooking time on this?
- Keep the yogurt on or clean it all the way off?
Much appreciated.
Park Barbecue suggestions?
Headed to Park Barbecue tonight. Any suggestions for a party of two? Thinking short rib + pork belly + doggy bag.
Subbing Lobster for Crab
Kind of an odd question. Making a recipe for cold tomato soup with lump crabmeat. Oddly, I've been finding that fresh lump lobster meat is substantially cheaper than lump crab meat in my area (very odd result of the financial crisis).
Can I sub lobster for crab?
Substitute for All Purpose Flour
Planning on making some cookies today, and discovered my flour (for the second time in six months) had flour beetles -- will be abandoning my ceramic flour holder for a better metal one.
In the meantime, I have whole wheat flour, cake flour, pastry flour, and bread flour. What's my best best for substitutions? Just making a shortbread cookie.
ISO Chili Recipe
Got a rainy weekend, so planning on making up a mess of chili. Getting information overload on chowhound/internet, and the magazines seem only to have turkey and vegetarian recipes. Any suggestions for a particularly good one. Thinking spice and w/ beans, but not much beyond that.
Tipping/Cash Only Question
Random Tipping etiquette question. I was at a cash-only restaurant the other day, and when the time came to pay, I had enough cash for dinner and a not quite adequate tip (less than 15% - was a few bucks more expensive than I expected). Do I leave a small tip, or pay $3 to use the ripoff ATM in the restaurant (to add maybe $5 to the tip).
Similar question re: tipping when no small bills.
Decent Chow on 10 between Blythe and Phoenix?
Driving out to Phoenix on Friday, and will likely stop for lunch sometime after passing Indio, but before hitting Phoenix. Any suggestions? Don't want to go more than a few minutes off the 10. Thanks.
Decent Chow between Indio and AZ Border on the 10
Driving out to Phoenix on Friday, and will likely stop for lunch sometime after passing Indio, but before hitting Phoenix. Any suggestions? Don't want to go more than a few minutes off the 10 (also posting on SW board}.
Flageolet Bean Question
I'm making a recipe (James Peterson Pork and Bean) that calls for cannellini, great northern, tongues of fire, or navy beans. I stumbled on Flageolet beans in Whole Foods, and was wondering (1) if they were a good substitute, (2) whether they are an improvement in this type of dish over the other types of beans and (3) if there are any cooking changes. Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Good sushi/hot dishes near financial district?
Does anyone have any suggestions for a good sushi place with a good assortment of hot dishes within a short cab hop from the financial district? Thinking along the lines of Katsuya/Matsuhisa in LA or Umami in the marina. Thanks.
Dan Dan Noodles in W. LA?
Any suggestions for where to find decent dan dan noodles west of La Cienega? Thinking maybe Hu's but open to suggestion.
Sushi Zo
been too long since I've been back to Zo, but probably my favorite sushi place in the city. big fan.
salt-packed anchovies in West L.A.
Anyone know where to find salt-packed anchovies in West L.A.? So far I've tried two whole foods, vicenti foods, and bay cities, and no luck. Whole Foods said they used to carry them. Any ideas?
Westside Rehearsal Dinner for 50-70?
We did ours at Spark Woodfire grill on Pico, seemed about that price range. Very good, but not too innovative.
Quail Springs, OK?
Heading to Quail Springs (north Oklahoma City) for a few days this weekend. Any suggestions? Thanks.
baby-friendly near LAX?
Meeting with some friends pre-flight, and they have a baby. What is a good, baby-friendly place around the airport? Thinking Pann's for now.
'Gusto 28 - report
I forget the names, but they were the mid-range places recommended by Frommer's, two near Via Veneto and one near the Spanish Steps. Probably not the finest cuisine Rome had to offer, but I assume they were at least somewhat representative.
'Gusto 28 - report
The Drago restaurants in L.A., in addition to La Terza and Vincenti, seem on similar wavelengths to a lot of the restaurants in Rome, and at least in the same ballpark in terms of quality.
'Gusto 28 - report
Been in Rome for a few days, and went to our first recommended restaurant, 'Gusto 28 in Piazza Augusto Imperatore. It is a modern seafood and vegetarian restaurant, comparable in price and type of food to somewhere like Drago in Los Angeles.
We had the fried anchovies, the pacherri (kind of like a larger homemade rigatoni) with tomato and eggplant, the pacherri with artichoke hearts and mussels, the salt cod in a tomato broth, and the fried fish. All were excellent, and the first meal we've had here that we could not get in L.A. The pacherri and salt cod were particularly good. Although we did not have the whole branzino, it was prepared next to our table for two other parties, and it looked excellent (we woul probably order it if we went back)
One random note though. I had heard that portion sizes were smaller here in Europe, but I have not found it to be so. The size is consistent with what one would find at a similar restaurant in L.A (as opposed to someplace like Osteria Mozza, where the primi are very small). I have no idea how people manage to eat a primi and a secondi without getting huge.
Also, even with the euro (1.58 right now), the prices seem more or less in line with Los Angeles, a bit less than NY, and more than Chicago.
Italy Restaurant Itinerary - Any additions?
Heading to Italy for most of April, and have a few meals lined up. Looking for any other suggestions, probably more mid-range ish.
Antico Arco - Rome
Quattro Possi - Marina del Cantone, Amalfi Coase
Castello Banfi - Tuscany
Antica Trattoria Botteganova - Siena
We're also doing a Parmagolosa tour in Parma.
We will be in Rome, Amalfi, Cortona, Siena, Parma and Milan. Any further thoughts are appreciated.
Wild Game in Italy
I'm heading to Italy next week, and will be in Rome, Amalfi, Cortona, Siena, Parma, and Milan. Wild game being illegal to sell here in the states, I was looking to get some in Italy (I'm assuming farm-raised elk or boar isn't the same). Any suggestions?
Looking for excellent restaurant on Westside
Big fan of East Coast Grill (though haven't been back for a few years, and an even bigger fan of Craigie St. Bistrot).
Anyway, I second all recommendations for Nook - it is one of the best mid-priced restaurants in the city.
Don't know any restaurants one the west side along the lines of East Coast Grill (avoid Gladstone's at all costs), but Santa Monica Seafood just opened a restaurant. Not sure how it is. Otherwise, you might try driving to Hollywood and trying Hungry Cat.
Santa Monica Sushi Lunch?
Kiriko and the Hump have good lunch specials, and the Hump is probably a good place for tourists (on the runway at SM airport). Zo is excellent, but a bit more pricey for lunch (no special last I checked)
Antica Trattoria Botteganova - any comments?
We are looking into hitting Antica Trattoria Botteganove while in Siena in April. Anybody have any experiences there? Thanks.
ISO Good Restaurant to Watch Election Returns
Ended up at Barney's Beanery. Lots of CNN tvs, think I stumbled into an Obama rally. Their kobe burger is surprisingly decent.
ISO Good Restaurant to Watch Election Returns
Heading out for a relatively chill dinner tomorrow night (a la Nook/Father's Office), and looking for somewhere with good chow that will be showing the CNN on a big screen. Spend the NH primary night at Nook, and although the Shrimp 'n Grits were good, the political junkie in me was very unhappy. Any suggestions?
Fry Oil Disposal in an Apartment
A random question came up at dinner the other night how to dispose of leftover fry oil after deep frying. Most of the the websites I have found suggest either a mason jar or some sort of disposable container large enough to hold the oil. Nobody I know keeps mason jars in their kitchen, and the few containers I have large enough to hold the amount of oil it takes to deep fry are not disposable (in any event, my building uses a garbage shoot, so the container would just explode after a 50-foot drop).
The two times I've deep fried in my kitchen I've (1) used the drain -- yes I know I'm not supposed to, but I couldn't figure anything else out -- and (2) kept the oil in the original container (which was empty).
My question is, what is the best way to easily dispose of fry oil using commonly found items in the the modern kitchen. If I fried more often, I would be more comfortable buying containers just for it, but it's a rare thing for me.
Hate to rant, but just curious.
Omakase: Zo or Mori?
Zo will cost you somewhat less. Mori has a variety of dishes, while Zo is limited to Nigiri and Sashimi. Something of a toss-up on atmosphere, but probably advantage Mori there. Both have excellent fish.
Half-day cooking class in Rome, Amalfi, Cortona, or Siena
We will be running around Italy in April, and spending a few days in Rome, Amalfi, Cortona, and Siena. We are looking to take a cooking class while in Italy, 1/2 a day or a bit longer, and were wondering if anyone could suggest one in one of these cities. Thanks.
