pcdarnell's Profile
Need Asparagus Recipe Help
I just remembered a recipe i got with a CSA delivery once that was great for roasted veggies. You just roast as noted in these replies, but about halfway through .you drizzle the veggies with a mixture of olive oil, salt, chopped garlic, and red pepper flakes. It works well on anything - asparagus, cauliflower, brussles sprouts, broccoloi rabe.
I am going to try the lemon zest suggestions as well as the preserved lemon idea on my next batch of roasted vegetables.
Need Asparagus Recipe Help
Definitely oven roasted. I drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then place in one layer on a cookie sheet(s) and roast at 425 until just tender. Depending on the thickness of the stalks, you should start checking for doneness in less than 10 minutes. I shake the pan about halfway through (or when I check them) to turn them a bit.
Potato salad secrets?
+1 for pickle juice. A friend's grandmother told me about this and it really makes a difference. Dill pickles, and just a splash.
First apartment - best cookware to purchase
An inexpensive set of Pyrex glass bakeware - 9"x13", 8"x8', and a loaf pan - are always handy whether you are roasting a chicken or baking brownies, making mac and cheese, making meatloaf or banana bread.
Tastiest stop between OAK and Yountville for lunch?
I agree with Ruth about lunch in Alameda. Alameda is incredibly safe - I joke with my coworkers who live here that the whole town is in a bubble. Plus downtown Alameda is only about two miles (surface streets) from the rental car lots.
I would eat early rather than be famished later and eat too much (that's just me) too close to dinnertime.
Burma Superstar is great. There is also DragonRouge at their new location near the Park Street Bridge, but I think they open for lunch again on the 10th after their move to this new location. It's Vietnamese, but a really cool place with great food.
THE NEGRONI
Thanks for the info. I'll try it with rye and play with the proportions. Maybe if I make mini drinks I can do a side-by-side tasting. I should probably wait for the weekend!
Steakhouses - Stop asking me to cut into my steak as soon as it arrives!
I saw this happen for the first time last weekend. We were at a non-steakhouse in Tacoma, WA called the Lobster Shop. It was a nice restaurant, right on the water. One of the folks in our party of four had ordered a medium rare steak, and when they cut into it (flashlight at the ready) it was obviously overcooked. They took it back and brought another, after about 15 minutes. I guess he would have figured it out soon enough that it was overcooked, but the whole ceremonial cutting into the steak while everyone fixated on the flashlight was bizarre. Regardless, having to send a steak back screws up the whole meal when all but one person is eating.
I have been to nice steakhouses all over the country and have never seen this before. I have never been to an Outback, Texas Roadhouse, or anything like that though.
THE NEGRONI
I have recently been drinking an Old Pal, which is 3 parts Bourbon, 2 parts Campari, and 2 parts dry vermouth. Serve up with an orange twist. It's a nice change from my Manhattan - lighter, almost summery.
I have seen recipes where the proportions are equal, but I have not tried that yet.
I thought Le Creuset didn't wear out
I have a similar problem on the one LC pot I bought that has a black faux nonstick finish. My other pots have the white enamel interiors and are fine, even after 20+ years of use.
The one with the black interior isn't blistering as much as it's just no longer smooth - going porous I guess. It retains the taste of whatever was cooked in it last, which i figured out after having cooked spaghetti sauce in it. It also manages to taste soapy after washing, no matter how well I think I rinse it.
I guess I'll contact LC. I had forgotten that option. I was this close to replacing it with an All Clad pot. Dang.
Regardless, I love all of my other LC cookware.
Found it! Hard to find ingredients and where to find them
+1 for Ledgers.
I love this place. I originally went there several years ago in search of some Pliny the Elder beer for a friend who wanted it. Of course they had it. Then I needed (wanted) some Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters for a cocktail recipe I got from a bartender in NYC. I actually called Fee Brothers and asked them where a distributor of their product was near me. I ended up buying cherry bitters and rhubarb bitters along with the grapefruit. Cherry is good in Mahanttans. I have yet to use the rhubarb.
The place is so strange - beer in boxes on the floor in no discernable order as far as I could tell. Everything is dusty. A varied clientele makes it interesting.
The Piedmont Grocery (in Oakland) has a pretty good selection of liquors, bitters, mixers, etc. Their staff is helpful too.
"A man's drink of choice , tells volumes of one's character"-- need help..
I work with mostly men, and there are alot of business dinners involving cocktails. Recently, I have seen the trend go from vodka martinis to either gin martinis or Manhattans. I see alot of guys order Makers Manhattans (made with Makers Mark rather than rye whiskey). Lots of guys order beer, no matter what. Some order wine, usually red wine. All of those seem pretty standard.
I recently discovered a drink called an Old Pal, which I have yet to order at a bar, only made them at home. It is not as sweet or strong as a Manhattan. 3 parts bourbon, two parts Campari, two parts dry vermouth. Serve up with a twist. Pretty elegant, not girly.
I see vodka tonics, vodka sodas, or gin and tonics more in the summer months.
Avoid the LI iced teas.
And most importantly, don't drink too much. There's nothing worse than a drunk at a business event (or a date).
Seeking Weight Watchers breakfasts w/ Low Points
If you have a smart phone, WW has an app (free) that is a bar code scanner. You can scan anything and it calculates the points, then you can add it to your tracker. It's a separate app from the regular WW one, but they work in tandem. I tried to see of it worked on store brand stuff and it works. It is really cool. So you can scan the barcode on the steel cut oats can and it will tell you the point value for one serving.
help with "cooking chemistry" project
That seems pretty advanced for a 6 year old! All I can think of is the old vinegar and baking soda reaction. My kids made volcanos with that mixture and food coloring for years. Not baking, though. My high school chemistry teacher had us make peanut brittle in the lab one time. She used the chemical names for everything except the peanuts. I still remember how cool that was, and it's been close to 40 years!
Since you have to do multiple iterations, fast and cheap would be the way to go, and edible so you don't have to throw away any attempts.
Lemonade? Add some pomegranate juice to one batch, then some blueberry juice to another glass(or other colored liquids) and guess what color it will turn?
what is this?
I have some of my grandmother's recipes and generally substitute butter for the shortening which seems to be very prevalent in baking recipes of old. Is that right? Or is shortening Crisco and I should just go with it?
I have a pecan pie recipe that calls for "butter, size of an egg". I laugh every time.
Her gingerbread recipe calls for molasses too.
Soup for a Group; I'm looking for soups that can be made ahead and held for 4-6 hours before serving
Tortilla soup is really easy and really good after it sits a bit. Fun garnishes are avocado cubes, tortilla strips, sour cream, chopped onion, whatever
Substituting chicken liver, heart and gisset for turkey liver, heart and gisset
It's a phonetic spelling of the New England pronounciation of gizzards. It's spelled almost exactly like my mother says the word - though hers sounds more like gissids.
Petrini's Ultimate Turkey Recipe
They mention the white wine as an option under the gravy instructions on that site. On the bird packaging, I recall it saying something like, "The key to a great gravy is...", then the wine instruction.
Petrini's Ultimate Turkey Recipe
This is the same recipe that is on the Diestel turkey packaging, except for the brandy. I have used it every year because it is so good I don't want to experiment with anything else. I might try the brandy this year - hopefully my oven won't explode! I like the cheesecloth idea too; I'll give it a try.
I do brine my bird overnight as well, using the old SF Chronicle brine recipe they post (or used to) every year.
Looking for a Gift for a Cocktail Fiend: What 'Goes With' Whisky?
I love a Manhattan (rye), and have used the Luxardo cherries as a garnish. I'll have to try this recipe. I have avoided recipes calling for marachino liquer because I have a mental picture of marachino cherry juice (red supermarket variety). After reading this I'll have to get some of the Luxardo Liquer.
Looking for a Gift for a Cocktail Fiend: What 'Goes With' Whisky?
Does he have a cocktail shaker or strainer? Or one of those implements to make lemon or orange peel twists. Or a jar of fancy cherries - which can be used to garnish a gin-based drink too (like a corpse reviver, my personal favorite recently).
I like the idea of a variety of bitters too.
All would go nicely with your bottle of fine whiskey.
Cooking for One: A Widow's Challenge
I got this book last year after my youngest left for college. It is really well done, particularly the suggestions for leftovers. For instance, buy enough mussels to have them one night steamed in a tradional French manner, then use the rest the next night in a curry. Or buy two lamb chops, eat one and chop up the meat in the second to use in a pasta sauce. Or make a tiny meatloaf and place it on a baking sheet surrounded by a couple of small potatoes, carrot pieces, whatever, and bake it all at the same time. Eat cold leftover meatloaf with some cheese and crackers and a glass of wine and pretend it's pate. An egg steamed on a bed of wilted greens is another good one. I really love this book.
I also do alot of small stir fries with a handful of shrimp (keep a bag in the freezer as others have said) and whatever vegetable I have - beans, brocollini, eggplant. Serve over rice. Make fried rice with the leftover rice, serve with a fried egg.
Cooking is not my problem - it's overbuying. I can get single meat portions at the butcher, but since I live where there are year-round farmers markets, I have a hard time knowing when to stop. I can't do the salad bar thing. Mental block. I'm still working it out.
Good luck to you and stay healthy.
My Trip to Fayetteville, NC
I just came back from Fayetteville where I was visiting my son who is in the Army. I had done some food research and was not really expecting much, but I did find a couple of non-chain restaurants, thankfully.There are multiple locations of every chain restaurant ever imagined - I am so not used to that.
First, as many of you probably know, it's not a town where you can do much walking around. I could see restaurants from my hotel, but crossing those streets is next to impossible unless you are in a car - and even then I have never seen so much red light-running anywhere in my life.
I had a nice lunch on my own in historic downtown Fayetteville after parking and walking up and down a few tree-lined blocks of that part of town. It was really lovely. I ate at Circa 1800 at a sidewalk table. It was a warm day, but the shade was really nice. I enjoyed a seared tuna salad and a glass of wine. My salad was large, the tuna done perfectly, and the bill was less than $20. The place was doing a steady business.
That night, we ate at a sushi place called Sakura which is in a little strip mall off Cliffdale. It was recomended to me by a friend who lived there a few years ago while her husband was in the Army. The food was great, although I can't call myself a sushi expert. The wine came in those little bottles like you get on airplanes, which was disappointing. I would go back, but my son tells me there are alot of really good little ethnic places like that all over town in little strip malls. It would be fun to try some more.
We had dinner another night at Pierro's, an Italian place in the historic section again. It was a really good alternative to a chain restaurant. The place was packed with alot of families, some older couples, some first date couples - a nice mix of folks. The food was pretty standard Italian fare. I had pasta primavera, and my son had some huge pork chop concoction. It wasn't earth-shattering, but it was decent Italian fare, and a really nice alternative to a chain restaurant, which by now you may have figured are not my thing. It had a full bar, and I could see people eating at tables there, which was open to the dining room.
I had to defer to my son on a couple of meal choices. He wanted to go to Smithfields which is a fast food-type joint (apparently a chain) that serves a bunch of fried items and pork barbeque. We both had a shrimp and pork combo plate which we both had with fries and coleslaw. For a fast food place, the service was great. They kept coming by to refill drinks, check on us, etc. The shrimp were those little shrimp, which don't really excite me - they are pretty tasteless. Hushpuppies were OK. Coleslaw was good. I didn't like the barbeque - the pork was very tender, but I am not a fan of that vinegar sauce. Personal preference only.
My last morning consisted of a breakfast at Waffle House! I am not breakfast person, but I have to say my fried eggs, grits, bacon, toast, and coffee was pretty tasty. There is an abundance of WHs in this town. In fact, there were two located at the same intersection. Who knew? Being from California, my kids had not had the WH experience until I took my youngest to Columbus, GA to #2 son's graduation from basic training. He loved it so much that he did a Google search on WH locations, cross referenced that with colleges on his list to apply to, and is now a happy sophmore at LSU. Thank you, Waffle House.
That's that for my Fayettville experience, Army museums notwithstanding. I hope it is helpful.
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Waffle House Restaurant
120 S Goose Creek Blvd, Goose Creek, SC 29445
Need help with Oakland recs
If you decide on Wood Tavern you should be sure to make a reservation well in advance. I love that place, but it's not something you can do at the spur of the moment.
I have been to Hibiscus twice in the past couple of months and really liked it. It is located at 1745 San Pablo Ave. I had the most tender ribeye steak the last time I went. I have heard their fried chicken is good, but I haven't tried it. I also got their bread pudding both times and it was terrific. They have a full bar and a nice wine selection.
I also like Flora, which is on Telegraph at about 17th. Both are in walking distance from your hotel.
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Wood Tavern
6317 College Ave., Oakland, CA 94618
Skirt steak
We just salt and pepper it and grill it over indirect heat 4 or 5 minutes per side, cut it into half-inch wide slices across the grain and serve it like you would a steak - side of potatoes and veggies. It is a very flavorful and pretty tender cut and really doesn't need much enhancement.
It used to be cheap, but now it has gone way up in price since it has become so popular.
Need Red Velvet cake recipe with cream cheese frosting
Yes. My recipe is similar (I don't have it with me) and I use butter. Mine uses less cocoa powder - maybe only 2 tsp. Everything else looks the same.
My cream cheese frosting recipe calls for 8 oz cream cheese and 1 stick of butter butter and 1 box of confectioners sugar and vanilla, which is considerably more sugar than todao's.
What to do with fruit flavored salt?
I've never heard of fruit flavored salt, but the minute I saw the post I thought of salting watermelon. I love salt on my watermelon. There are alot of salads out now that include watermelon, feta, etc. There also seems to be a trend toward grilled fruit of all kinds. The salt might be good on grilled peaches or pineapple.
I also like salt with unsalted butter. Maybe a sliced baguette for part of a breakfast or brunch with unsalted butter and your very strange salt.
Hipster dinner out for the Middle Aged!
I vote for Prospect. I took some work associates there from Portland recently (we are all over 50) and we agreed that it was a fabulous meal, with great cocktails, a young/hip vibe, but yet we could hold a conversation without shouting.
It's easy to get to from Oakland (which is where I live) and street parking is possible, but I opted for the valet.
Downtown Atlanta Fine-Dining Recs. Please
I had a really nice solo dinner at Peasant Bistro when I was in Atlanta on business a few months ago. I hadn't been in Atlanta for years and it was nice to have an option for something other than a Hooters or Hard Rock Cafe in downtown. It is an easy walk from your hotel across the Centennial Olympic Park. The address is 250 Park Ave. Here is the website:
http://www.peasantatl.com/
I had a fabulous pear martini which I have since replicated at home. I had butternut squash ravioli as my main, and can't remember the starter, but I know it was good. I wanted to go back when I was there last week, but unfortunately my fellow business travellers opted for the Ruth's Chris steakhouse option (on the same block). I have a couple of more trips scheduled, and I will definitely go back to the Peasant Bistro.
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Hard Rock Cafe
215 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Peasant Bistro
250 Park Avenue West, Suite 104, Atlanta, GA 30313
Cookie Exchange Books
I have never hosted a cookie exchange, but I make a lot of cookies from a book called The Wellesley Cookie Exchange Cookbook (Wellesley, MA). It is a collection of recipes from an annual Christmas cookie exchange and it has a nice narrative on how to start your own.
It is divided into sections like classic cookies, refrigerator cookies, bars and squares, heirloom recipes, Christmas cookies, etc. I highly recommend it.
It is by Susan Mahnke Peery and was published in 1986. My mother gave me the book originally, but I have ordered a copy in the past from Amazon to give as a gift.
Locanda da Eva dinner
I went a little over a week ago, a party of five women, and sat in the front room at the table by the window. I was concerned that it would be too loud, but it was not. None of us had been there before, and we all loved it.
To start, the cocktail menu was fun, and our bartender took the time to come over and discuss options with us. She was very knowledgable and the cocktails were great. I wanted a manhattan, and she talked me into their version with prosecco, and I was happy she did. Later, the waiter helped us choose a very nice bottle of wine, but I didn't write down the name.
We decided that the menu looked so good that we would just order a bunch of items and share them all. We started with the beet salad, the calamaria, pork trotter fritters, and something else which I can't remember. I didn't like the prok trotters, but as fritters go, they were nicely done.
The we ordered rigatoni with the chicken and pork ragu, skirt steak, spareribs, chicken and ricotta meatballs, and the pizza with the sardines. I didn't try the ribs. The meatballs were wonderful, melt in your mouth tender. The rigatoni was tasty, but I guess I had expected more sauce, so I was disappointed. The skirt steak was perfect, and I wished I didn't have to share. I skipped the pizza, but the comments were generally favorable.
The highlight of the meal were the vegetables. We ordered all four, and I can't rave enough about how good they all were. I could have made a meal of just those (and some skirt steak!).
We managed to find room for dessert and ordered the panna cotta and the peanut butter concoction. Everything was really nice.
We all agreed that we would add this to the list of favorite restaurants. I look forward to going back and ordering my very own meal. It was fun to be able to order almost the whole menu, but I really want to go by myself and eat at the bar.
Service was great (we were probably a challenge, but the staff treated us very well) and the place was nice, though I never made it out of my seat. Parking on the street was easy on a Saturday night.
