theamusedbouche's Profile
Please Don't Put Onions or Shallots In Your Gazpacho
Hi Madrid, roasting is a great idea - I will try that next time. I live in DC and there were some good looking tomatoes at the farmer's market so I went for it. I will try roasting some veggies and adding that in to - I bet it will cut the bitter :)
Goose Fat in DC Area??
I'm not sure on the goose fat, and I know you said duck is a far second, but they do sell duck fat in the P Street Whole Foods in the meat area, and they might sell goose fat in the cheese area, they have lots of pates etc over there.
A Chicken Emergency.
I agree with everyone about braising! Molly Stevens has some amazing recipes you could use in All About Braising
Please Don't Put Onions or Shallots In Your Gazpacho
A friend recently gave me a recipe for Gazpacho that had raw onion in it. I can't have onions because they give me migraines (sad, I know) so I swapped it out with shallots as those don't bother me. Unfortunately, the raw shallots gave the soup a really bitter flavor and now I feel I've wasted some expensive tomatoes and good quality olive oil :(
If anyone has any suggestions as to how remove or mitigate the bitterness, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
Hi paulj,
It's not so much that it's dangerous (although I don't know either way about that) as much as it is that I'm not a fan of supporting exploitative working conditions and countries like the US and EU, while certainly not perfect, have laws in place to help prevent such things. I try to buy clothes etc that are US or EU made, and buy foods from purveyors that I think do the right things (e.g. grass-fed and finished beef, free-range chickens) - it's more about the "voting" aspect of where I spend my money - I'd rather spend it to sustain something that is positive. Just a predilection!
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
wow! I had no idea - that is good to know because I have read that tin is a lot less "sticky" than stainless steel - I have a few All Clad stainless steel pans and I hate how much oil you have to use to get things not to stick to them. Have you found the tin to be less sticky?
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
lol well it sure tastes terrible! As I mentioned before the disease rates in DC are pretty much due to the extremely high poverty rates which are part of a larger social breakdown that results in poor medical care (poor schools, poor government...). But the tap water is gross, cold or hot, for palate purposes all should avoid it.
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
I know that boiling stuff in nonstick and high heat cooking isn't safe, and I like supporting US made or at least European made where people earn a decent wage and are not under an oppressive gov, but I don't really know what's not safe other than that, which is why I asked here! I'd love your advice about it.
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
Great advice - I will look into some good stores in my area for trying different pans (I got four all clad pans as wedding presents and if I'd felt those handles first I doubt I would have registered for them!)
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
Thank you for your comments! I don't mind the rambling :)
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
It's totally the water (and the general health care as indicated by the poverty rates). Even with a good filter the water here is disgusting. And every year they send you literature in the mail from the city about not using the water to mix with infant formula and not cooking with warm water. Gross.
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
Yikes. What about copper? The reason I'm being concerned about all this is that I'm newly pregnant and I want to do the best thing for the baby, now and once it's born....
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
Really? That is amazing I thought it was like an every-time-you-cook endeavor. Good to know!
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
So I'm thinking that I need to stop boiling water and cooking sauces in my current non-stick Ikea-ware because everything ends up as cancer-water. I am ready to purchase some good pots - I have a great Le Crueset collection already and I'm not looking for cast iron - I'm looking for pots to boil things in, cook veggies etc. I don't want to buy anything made in China/Asia (the whole point of this replacement is to AVOID the carcinogens) so I would like USA or France made. Price isn't really a factor as I plan on keeping them a while - two caveats: I do not like All Clad as the handles hurt my hands a lot and I am wary of copper because between work, family and general craziness I don't think I'd have the time to keep it up properly. I was looking at Demeyere, Viking, and Mauviel but honesty I need some good Chowhound advice!
Easy Indian Sweets?
You already have a bevy of options, but this Cashew Fudge (Kajoo Barfi) looks great and super easy: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cashew-Nut-Fudge-230905
Swap for Pancetta? Catering to a Pescatarian
UPDATE: ended up making the dish with chopped kalamatas and oil-cured sun dried tomatoes and it was FANTASTIC. I used turbot instead of monkfish because that's what WholeFoods had on sale (fish for a party is expensive!) and we didn't miss the pancetta at all. It was really great. Thanks again for all the suggestions!
Swap for Pancetta? Catering to a Pescatarian
Chowhounders to the rescue! I knew I asked the right people - what splended ideas! I think I will go with adding some of the olive oil sundried tomatoes (if I can find them at WholeFoods) and some olives. Are kalamata the best option?
Swap for Pancetta? Catering to a Pescatarian
No, it's not the focal point of the recipe, but I do think that having a kind of salty fatty component really helps this dish! I am not a huge making-fish-at-home fan and I have made this like 20 times it is so good.
Swap for Pancetta? Catering to a Pescatarian
oooh this sounds like a great idea - especially because the dish already has tomatoes.
The Perfect Restaurant List for 5 Nights in Vail Valley????
Reporting back on the Vail meals -
Sweet Basil - really great - fun, loud, great food and drinks. I had lamb that was delish. would go back
La Tour - the tuna poke app and the chicken pallard were the best things we ordered. I started with a blah soup that needed salt. Service was good.
Block 16 - BEST meal of our trip. Everything was amazing. Ruby shrimp app with coconut was delish, kampachi app was also delish, rissoto with alba truffles - YUM! the beef was incredible - grass fed wagu beef from Aspen. I've never had anything like it. Can't wait to go back.
Splendido - it was uncomfortably waspy and I'm a wasp. The desserts were the best thing about the whole experience - I would go back for dessert (chocolate souffle, goat cheese- cheesecake)
Kelly Liken - the charcuterie plate was really good. my potato crusted fish was bland. I would go back and sit at the bar and get the charcuterie plate and drinks.
We didn't make it to Larkspur, next time! But I'm so glad we tried Block 16!
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La Tour Restaurant
122 E Meadow Dr, Vail, CO
Sweet Basil
193 E Gore Creek Dr Ste 201, Vail, CO 81657
Splendido At the Chateau
17 Chateau Ln, Avon, CO 81620
Kelly Liken
12 Frontage Rd E, Vail, CO 81657
Sweet Basil
193 Gore Creek Dr., Vail, CO 81657
Block 16
16 Vail Rd, Vail, CO 81657
Block 16 in Vail - any good?
Hi Kat, thanks so much for your reply - we did end up eating at Block 16 while we were at The Sebastian and it was our favorite meal of the entire trip. We also met the chef, Ezra, and I don't remember the wine directors name but he was absolutely amazing! We had the ruby shrimp and the kampachi apps, the rissotto with alba truffles, and the grass-fed wagu beef (don't remember what my husband had because I was so focused on my beef - Gass. Fed. Wagu. OMG amazing). I am so glad you loved it too because I've read a lot of reviews from diners who just didn't get it (wanted larger portions or thought that having Pig Ears was just too weird). We are so much looking forward to going back to Block 16 and I would LOVE to try Cache Cache in Aspen - I've never been there! Thanks for the recommendation :)
Swap for Pancetta? Catering to a Pescatarian
Hey Chowhound,
Having a dinner party this week and planned on making one of my favorite fish dishes EVER - Molly Stevens Braised Monkfish with Fennel and Cherry Tomatoes from All About Braising - because one of the guests is a pescatarian. However, I just remembered that Molly's awesome recipe uses pancetta to really give the dish flavor and depth. BUT I won't be able to use the magic pork product for this dinner party so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what I could swap it with or add to the dish instead of pancetta? Maybe olives? Maybe preserved lemon? I am at a loss. I already bought the other ingredients for this dish so I want to make it work!
Recommendation for Sunday afternoon lunch/brunch in Boulder?
Wow that looks INCREDIBLE
Fresh Turkey from White Oaks Pastures - Different Cooking Method than the Frozen Ones?
Thanks so much for the replies! I am excited about trying it. I will definitely use the herb butter as suggested. I was going by temperature for cooking - but I will be sure to check it frequently!
Fresh Turkey from White Oaks Pastures - Different Cooking Method than the Frozen Ones?
This is my first year buying a Heritage Breed turkey and I'm wondering if they are supposed to be prepped and cooked differently than their frozen counterparts.
Last year, I bought a normal Whole Foods free range turkey and it was frozen and I made it using Tom Colichio (sp?) Herb and Butter turkey recipe - it was very nice.
This year, I'm wondering about brining (do you not brine fresh killed birds? it my bird considered "fresh killed" even though it is vacuum packed?)
I need some serious help from the turkey-gods that abound on Chowhound!
How much is your Thanksgiving Dinner?
Today I bought my White Oaks Pastures turkey ($5.99 per pound!) and it was over $90.
We will be a party of 8 at Thanksgiving, and I think all told between wine and food it will be around $300
SUNdeVICH
We visited Sundevich for lunch and it was really good. the owners were behind the counter and seemed very nice. The steak sandwich was delish and tender. I didn't like the coleslaw side though.
Stylish suggestions for DC?
Estadio in Logan Circle is amazing food. Everything is good and the drinks are the BEST in the city.
Stylish suggestions for DC?
ooh I second Zaytinya. I love the food, the service is good, and every time I've brought out of town guests they rave about it and want to go back.
One really good dish is the Lamb Kleftico. It's not on the menu but it often on the specials, and sometimes even if its not on the specials, if you ask your waiter nicely they will make it special for you ;)
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Zaytinya
701 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
