Oh, and you're forgetting Four Sisters! I haven't been there yet, but have heard nothing but good things about it. We're hoping to try it soon.

Thanks, both of you! So, it turns out I was thinking of McLean NOT Reston (for some reason, I tend to confuse those two often) and was thinking of Bistro Vivant!

About a month ago, I read about a new-ish French restaurant that had gotten some good reviews, I believe it was in Reston. However, no amount of Googling or searching here on Chowhound has led me to this thread again. Can someone help me?

Thanks -- it DID seem like an awful lot of butter to me. But as a first-timer, I just thought that was "normal." Also, the total lack of humidity in my house right now (heat running for months) could have made a difference, too.

Ah.. I guess I could have read the description of the bread in the recipe, instead of just diving in and beginning to bake! I hadn't noticed that.

First time bread-baker here, and I'm trying to understand the science behind it all, so I can learn what I'm actually doing right and wrong. I tried this recipe for white sandwich bread :http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo... .

My final product, aside from not rising as much as I wanted, tastes OK, but it reminds me very much of the brioche I used to buy in France -- not the good stuff from the bakery, but the bagged grocery-store variety. It's not sweet, but the texture, crust and appearance very much remind me of that bread (not of a white sandwich bread!). Can someone help me figure out *why* that might be? I followed the recipe closely, but due to time constraints, and my inability to read the directions, a few hiccups came up which I will mention, in case they played a role:

1. I mistakenly put the salt and softened butter in with the flour mixture that I sprinkled all over the sponge. I then refrigerated all this for about 18 hours.
2. I might have used the wrong yeast -- I added "active dry yeast" but I don't know if that differs from the "instant yeast" called for in the recipe.
3. My dough was not nearly as sticky as the recipe suggested it would be.
4. After the first rise, I put it back in the fridge overnight. For the second rise, I placed in an ever-so-slightly-warmed oven (to get it closer to that 70-80 degree mark the recipe suggested).

Thanks for any suggestions!

I use this recipe whenever I need to use up milk - it's a nice Indian pudding, but with vermicelli (called "shev" in Marathi) instead of the rice you so often see in restaurants.
I alter the original recipe by cutting down the sugar to about half (personally I don't like things too sweet) and by adding some saffron.

http://annaparabrahma.blogspot.com/20...

I thaw and drain as much as I can through the holes in the box. Then I take paper towels and wring the water out. I know some people have mentioned the towels shred, but this doesn't happen if a) you have the expensive, thick paper towels and b) you use only a small amount for each towel. I generally have to use 5 or 6 towels for a box of spinach.

I agree, when I was first cooking Indian food, I was too lazy/ confused to buy asafoetida (also, curry leaves). Once I finally did, and started using them in various dishes, I realized it made a huge difference (especially the asafoetida).
Also, using ghee instead of oil improves most recipes, adding a richer and deeper flavor, in my opinion.

I'm a vegetarian, and make a LOT of bean dishes... At least half of which use canned beans! These are two of my go-to recipes. The first is a black bean orange and cumin chili ( it's so easy and quick to prepare): http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2009/01/vegetarian_black_bean_chili_with_orange_and_cumin

The second dish is a pasta, Swiss chard and sundries tomato dish, with 2 cans of white beans mixed in: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe...

Count me in!

Wow, they have palakachi takatli bhaji on a restaurant menu?? My mother-in-law makes this when she visits us from India, but it's definitely "home cooking' " - I will have to,try it if I'm ever in Bethesda. An interesting find indeed!

I used to have 1-2 diet cokes every day, all,through my twenties. Last year, I realized I was nearly addicted to,it, and quit cold turkey. After a few weeks, my cravings for it slowly went away. Now I might have one every month or two (I still haven't found anything that tastes as good as a coke with movie popcorn, unfortunately, so that's my occasional downfall!)

Yes, I love TJs blood orange soda! If I really want something fizzy, thats what I have!

My husband and I were hoping to meet up with a couple visiting DC at Brasserie Beck for dinner this weekend -- but they have a son (around 2 yo, I think) and I'm second-guessing if that's a good idea, since I've never been there and don't know if they are a good place to go with a toddler.
Would I be better off somewhere else? I've seen Masa 14 or Rice mentioned on previous boards as good, kid-friendly options...

Thanks for the advice!

I love the Locro de Papa recipe on the "Laylita's Recipes" blog -- it's potatoes, annetto seed, milk, chives or green onions, avocados and queso freso (well, that's what I use, I think she uses something different?). It's a great detour from your typical American potato soup, and the avocado and cheese make it a full meal in and of itself.

Several years ago, my husband and I went to a Christmas market in Cologne, Germany. One of our favorite foods we ate at the market was labeled as simply "knodel (which I discovered meant, "dumpling") and cabbage." It came served in a bowl, tasted like spaetzle, and had cooked cabbage and what appeared to be sour cream(?), which melted a bit and made a nice sauce. It was clearly doused in butter. It was delicious. Since then, I've tried to find out if this is a "typical" German snack or street food, and, if so, to find a good recipe, but I've had no luck. I know I could just make dumplings, cook cabbage and dollop some sour cream on top, but does anyone know if this is a typical German food or have a recipe? My google searches have been fruitless. Thanks.

Thanks for all the ideas.. It does seem that the starch in the water is key, here. We did mix it in with the pasta, but that was BEFORE we added the cheese. I'll try adding the cheese to the water, and oil/cream, in a warm bowl, and THEN adding it to the pasta, and see if that makes a difference.

Otherwise, you're right, tadao, I might be overheating everything!

For such a "simple" recipe, it certainly is tricky to make. I'll update you once we try this again!

I've tried replicating the delicious cacio e pepe we had in Rome, at home -- three times. But no matter which recipe we use (Epicurious, Saveur, and the one from the restaurant we ate at in Rome), the pecorino clumps, instead of making a nice, creamy sauce. We're following the instructions to "stir vigorously until a sauce forms to prevent clumping" but it doesn't work!

I'm wondering what we're doing wrong - can someone help? Could it possibly be the type of cheese we bought? I bought a fairly expensive pecorino from Whole Foods, which I'm assuming is the "correct" type of cheese to use for this, but it doesn't seem to be working. We grated it coursely, the first time, and finely the other times -- but nothing worked.

Help!

souvenir -- Yes, that's it!

I love the version at Hong Kong Palace in Falls Church. in Seven Corners. It's unlike any other Mapo tofu I've had anywhere else -- and really numbs your mouth!

I'd recommend Lotte Plaza in Chantilly. High turnover, huge selection of Indian, and other Asian and Middle-eastern, spices.

As a native Wisconsinite, I'll weigh in on that one: Cheese curds are great, but if you are doing a buffet, it will probably be hard to fry them and keep them tasty. I think an easier option might be a cheese plate of Wisconsin cheese--and cheese curds. Or, if you would rather incorporate the cheese into the dish, I'd suggest a macaroni and cheese, or a beer-cheese soup. Of course, bratwursts would also work here, with a good sauerkraut. Or, you could always go dessert and do Wisconsin's 'official dessert' -- cream puffs.

My favorite fall salad -- which would work really well for Thanksgiving -- is an arugula and spinach blend, topped with warm french lentils, oven-roasted pieces of squash or pumpkin (seasoned with either paprika and cinnamon or ras al hanout), and crumbled mild goat cheese. You can also add toasted nuts. Topped with a vinegrette. I think this was an old Bon Appetit recipe...

I like adding sambar powder to scrambled eggs or omelets, along with onion and tomato. I've also seen some recipes online for an egg curry with sambar powder, but I've never tried making one so I, unfortunately, can't recommend any specific ones.

I've been pretty worried about this after reading this news -- my husband is from India, and we eat A LOT of rice at home (as in, 5-6 days of the week). I'm also not sure what to make of the "new" cooking recommendations -- if I were to boil my white rice for 25-30 minutes, I would have mush! My standard cooking procedure for it -- as taught to me by my mother-in-law -- has been to soak it in water for 10-20 minutes, heat a pan with some oil (and seasoning, if I am seasoning it) and to add the rice and water. When I do this, it takes roughly 6-8 minutes to cook. So... note sure what to make of these rice-cooking ideas. I don't think I could cook my go-to recipes like that.

I guess I'm just not going to worry too much. Our rice is from India or Nepal, which according to the study has some less arsenic. And since I rinse it well, that helps, too, I guess. But when we have kids, I may have to rethink all of this!

Hey everyone,
I just tasted, for the first time, an Indian dessert from Kerala called "unniyappam." They're basically mini rice flour cakes, with banana, coconut, cardamom, etc., and then appear to be fried, so they have a rather oily texture. They're delicious. Here's a link that describes them well: http://panchamrutham.blogspot.com/201...

Anyhow, I'm wondering if I could make something that would taste like this, but without the special molds and all the frying. I thought of a banana bread. The obvious, I guess, would be to just make banana bread with coconut and cardamom and brown sugar (instead of the jaggery) but I'd like to get a bit more of the actual flavor of these -- is it at all possible to do a banana bread with rice flour??? Does anyone know how I could substitute for that? Also, would I need more oil if I were to bake with rice flour? Could I use some coconut oil in there, or is that a horrible idea?

I know I'll have to experiment a lot with this, but I'd love some advice before I start out, so I can avoid the "obvious" mistakes.

Thanks!

We went here the other night. My husband had the duck noodle soup - he said the noodles were great, he was so-so on the soup part, but said he'd like to go back and try more dishes from their very long menu. He thought the ducks hanging in the window, in particular, looked really tasty. I had ma po tofu, which was fine, although not as good as that at Hong Kong Palace. My father had the shredded chicken pan friend noodle, which he raved about (it was really tasty). So, we definitely plan to go back sometime soon.

It's a cute place, too, on the inside.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone, these sites looks great!...This might make a good separate thread, you're right. J
JohnFrancis, bread was just an example. I know you can search for individual ingredients in an index, but I was thinking more of a repository for finding recipes for things "no longer good" -- for example, what to do when your yogurt starts to get a little too sour (an Indian kadhi works nicely) or what to do when you have rice that has started to go dry, etc.

I don't know if this is new, or not, but I quickly became addicted to the Green Tea Lemonade... it does have a little 'bottled' taste, but it's not too strong, and the drink is really refreshing....