I'm going to be in Chicago next weekend. I am a huge fan of sipping chocolate - the kind you find in Paris or elsewhere in Europe that's basically a melted chocolate bar.

Where is the best place in Chicago for Sipping Chocolate?

On my last trip, I tried Vosges (good for chocolate, hot chocolate only okay) and Hot Chocolate (excellent, plus I loved the Cream of Asparagus soup).

I definitely want to try Xoco. Where else should I try?

Thanks,
Alison

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Hot Chocolate
1747 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

XOCO
449 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654

We're going to be on a long driving trip on Thanksgiving Day. We should be arriving in Cedar Rapids or Iowa City around 12 or 1 PM, so we thought we'd stop there for dinner.

What are some decent restaurants in Cedar Rapids or Iowa City that are open for Thanksgiving dinner? Preferably something that serves the standard Thanksgiving foods. Some vegetarian options would also be appreciated, but aren't essential.

Every summer, I pick up a few bunches of beets from the farmer's market. And every year I aspire to really like beets. Yet my relationship with beets continues to be "meh." Obviously, the world will not end if I don't like beets. But I really want to...

Usually, I roast the beets and put them in a salad with a vinaigrette and goat cheese. I like this well enough to eat, but it's nothing special.

This year, I'd like to try something different. There has to be some way to really enjoy beets. I was thinking of shredding them raw and making a salad out of it.

What are some good beet recipes?

Thanks,
Alison

I haven't been to an Italian restaurant in La Crosse, but I had a fabulous dinner at The Waterfront a few weeks ago. I ordered Pecan-Crusted Tilapia and my husband had Sesame Ahi Tuna. Both were good. I think there may have been a pasta dish on the menu. Their desserts were delicious. And the service was superb.

We went to Fayze's for dinner one night as well. I thought it was just okay. But their muffins are very tasty. Breakfast is very crowded.

It's a bit early to be thinking about Thanksgiving, but it'll arrive sooner than I expect.

My husband works until 5 on Thanksgiving Day. I'm interested in going out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner but am wondering whether most restaurants would close early those days.

I know there are some restaurants that serve good Thanksgiving meals - do you think any of them would still be open around 6? If so, do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Alison

I'm going to be in Madison next week for a short weekend. We'll get there mid-day Saturday and leave mid-day Sunday.

Do you have any recommendations for dinner on Saturday and breakfast/brunch on Sunday? I'm not sure where we'll be staying but we'll have a car, so we can drive.

Dinner:
We love ethnic foods of all kinds. But more "American" foods are good as well. Also, good desserts are highly desired - either at the restaurant or perhaps at another place nearby. I'd prefer a moderately priced restaurant. I really don't have many parameters - just looking for an overview of what's good in Madison.

Breakfast/Brunch:

Any quintessential brunch places would be good. Either a cozy/tasty breakfast place or a fancy brunch. I can't decide.

Thanks,
Alison

I hope this is within the acceptable topics for the board.

Are there any places around town that offer free or inexpensive knife sharpening - and do a decent job? My knives are woefully dull.

Thanks.

Does the St. Paul Farmer's Market have any fresh produce yet?

Alison

We'll be staying at the Westin in Long Beach on Saturday night. Can you recommend a moderately priced restaurant nearby? Preferably within walking distance.

We love all types of food, especially Asian food. And dessert. :-)

Thanks,
Alison

I like drinking a packet of hot chocolate in the mornings, but don't want to be saddled with all the calories that typical instant h.c. mixes have. I recently bought the Swiss Miss No Sugar Added hot chocolate packets (60 calories). I really am not impressed with the taste - very artificial. I doubt any low cal hot chocolate packets can really taste that good given that it has to be made with artificial ingredients to keep calories down...but there's got to be something better than this.
I'm sure that if I made my own, I could find something that tastes better, but I'm more interested in finding pre-made mixes that I can just pour into a coffee cup.

Can any of you recommend any better brands of low calorie instant hot chocolate?

Alison

It turns out we probably won't be going there after all. Our guest went there once and didn't like it, so I'm going to pick somewhere else. I'm thinking Midori's, Birchwood, or Brasa - the first two place I love but haven't been for awhile and the last I've always wanted to try.

I cooked a large batch of chickpeas and froze the unused leftovers in 1-cup portions. What is the best way to thaw them? Does the microwave significantly effect quality? I prefer a quick thawing method, if it doesn't negatively effect quality too much.

Thanks,
Alison

We're thinking of going to True Thai on Friday. I've been there numerous times, but have only ordered their curries. I may do that again on Friday, because they're so good, but I'm also curious about their other dishes. What are some of their non-curry specialties that you'd recommend?

Alison

I'm considering shifting to free-range poultry and grass-fed beef from your standard chicken and beef. My main concern is doing this without spending a fortune. Key to keeping the expense reasonable is, of course, eating less meat. That's do-able. We already eat vegetarian one or two days a week.

Where will I get the most bang for my buck in MSP on free-range/grass-fed products? The options I'm thinking of:
Cub/Rainbow/SuperTarget;
Costco/Sam's Club;
Byerly's/Kowalski's
Van Hansen's Meats
Local co-op (I'm closest to Valley Natural Foods)
St. Paul Farmer's Market

I know that you can buy a quarter of a cow or something similar, but that is not an option for us, since we don't have an extra freezer.

I'd prefer to buy local chicken and beef, since long distance traveling negates a lot of the benefits of organic/free-range products, IMO. I'd presume this would make Cub/Rainbow/SuperTarget a less desirable option.

Which of these options would be the best to go with for decently priced chicken and beef? Other suggestions would be appreciated as well.

Alison

I am a huge fan of Redstone's cookie sundae dessert: a large, warm, partially cooked chocolate chip cookie in a cast iron skillet served with huge scoops of ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Old Chicago makes a similar dessert, but it's not nearly as good. Green Mill used to make the dessert, but stopped last year.

Do you know of any other restaurant that makes this? I really like Redstone, but it's a bit overpriced and I would love to find another place to try this dessert.

(I first had this dessert at a restaurant in Phoenix called Oregano's - they call it a Pizooki. I know there's a brewery in Phoenix that serves it, so perhaps some of the breweries here have it as well).

Thanks,
Alison

I remember the name of the CSA that delivers to Valley Natural Foods: Featherstone Farm. Its website is: http://www.featherstonefarm.com/. It looks cheaper than Harmony Valley, although I don't know much about either one. These are the only two I've found that deliver South of the River.

I am interested in signing up for a CSA this year. Do you know of any that delivers south of the river? There is one that delivers to Valley Natural Foods. Are there others?

Thanks,
Alison

I recently returned from a trip to Taiwan where I fell in love with all the different fruits there that I've never seen in the U.S. I'm wondering whether these fruits are actually available anywhere locally - perhaps at some Asian markets.

Specifically:
Jujubes
Wax Apples (aka Java Apple, Bellfruit, Love Apple)
Custard Apple (known as Buddha's Head in Taiwan, aka Cherimoya)

Has anyone seen these fruits in town?

Thanks,
Alison

I just got back from a week in Taiwan for Chinese New Year. After feasting on copious amounts of delicious food, I now need to lose a few pounds. I'd like to still treat myself and my husband for Valentine's Day, but don't want to be tempted by a week's worth of leftover dessert.

Can you recommend a good dessert I can make that only serves 2-4 people? Preferably chocolate.

Thanks,
Alison

I'm heading to SLC next week. I've heard great things about the Red Iguana and would like to try it. My husband (who is from SLC) mentioned that the Blue Iguana is affiliated with the Red Iguana. He prefers that restaurant, because it's in a better neighborhood. He thought that the food was the same. What do you think?

Should I stick with the Red Iguana for the best food? Or is there much of a difference?

Thanks,
Alison

How long can you store a regular bottle of wine versus cooking wine? I've always heard that cooking wine is quite inferior to regular wine. My problem is that we do not drink wine at all. I'd like to cook with some wine, but if I use a 1/2 cup or so, I'll have no use for the wine until the next recipe that calls for it.

Can I just store it in the refrigerator indefinitely? I am assuming that cooking wine has more preservatives that enable it to last longer.

Am I stuck with cooking wine?

Alison

My parents are coming to town in late September to see the Little House musical and will be treating us to dinner beforehand. We will park at the Guthrie before dinner and then walk to a restaurant to eat.

What are some good restaurants within walking distance of the Guthrie? Alternatively, we might walk down to the light rail and take the light rail into the main part of downtown Mpls. But, my parents definitely will want to leave the car in the parking ramp.

Thanks,
Alison

Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is my go-to cookbook. I'm wondering whether it's worth any of his other books - i.e. Best Cooking in the World and his new vegetarian book.

I'm wondering whether there's a lot of overlap between How to Cook Everything and his other books, either with the exact same recipes or similar recipes.

What do you think?
Alison

My friend's husband refuses to eat vegetables. She's looking to lose about 20 pounds and is really struggling to make healthy foods that both of them will eat.

She asked me for healthy meal suggestions where she could prepare one dish and add vegetables to her half. My main thought is stir-fries and maybe omelets.

Do you have any ideas? In addition to not like vegetables, he doesn't like many ethnic foods - or at least in any preparation other than Americanized versions.

Where is this new sonic?

Follow up from OP:

I ended up just using just using tomato sauce. Tomato puree was too hard to find at the store. I don't know why the recipe called for tomato puree. Tomato sauce worked just fine.

Can you recommend any place in the twin cities to buy fresh fava beans and shelled edamame? I see lots of frozen edamame in the pods, but I would like to use the actual beans without the bother of shelling them.

Thanks,
Alison

I have a recipe that calls for 14 oz of tomato puree.

What can I substitute for the puree? I'm assuming it's a little thicker than tomato sauce. Do you think I could use about an equivalent amount of tomato sauce thickened with 1 or 2 T of tomato paste?

Thanks,
Alison

It says 2.5 tspns agar flakes.

Alison

I'm trying to make one of Heidi Swanson's recipes that calls for Agar Flakes. My local co-op only has Agar Powder. How would one substitute Agar Powder for Agar Flakes?

Thanks,
Alison