Does anyone know where I could find Ethiopian spices and bread (eg. berbere, injera) in Paris? Also happy for restaurant recommendations, but I am primarily interested in finding a market where I could buy the ingredients.

Yes, I have gotten it at Makeda--although it is more expensive than what you would pick up in Adams Morgan. We too always stock up when we are in DC. There must be small groceries or people who sell from their home in the area, but I've yet to find them. The people who own Mesob are Eritrean (whereas I believe Makeda is owned by a Nigerian), so they might be able to point you to a grocery or individual who sells it.

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Mesob Restaurant
515 Bloomfield Ave Ste 1, Montclair, NJ 07042

Just tried it--really not good, unfortunately.

I just googled and found this and a few other links: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/ba...

I also have thrown many derby parties. All the suggestions above are good...I always serve:

mint juleps
tea sandwiches with benedictine
derby pie (extremely simple and extremely delicious)
cheese grits
steamed asparagus

I also have served KFC(!) for the past few years...just pop it in the oven to reheat, and in fact guests will think you made it yourself! It is actually surprisingly tasty in the context of a derby party, although fried chicken is not necessarily traditional for derby...

Mattkn--I just purchased one of each variety of gummy (all small packages) sold at my local gourmet shop--the Black Forest Sour Fun Bugs were AMAZING! Bursting with flavor and delightful consistency.

I also tried:
* Haribo gummy cherries and bears (both quite good but could have been more fruity--maybe these were the Czech version. I will try to find the German ones.)
* Haribo sour cherries (excellent and chewy, not too sour)
* Brummi Gummi Bears (from Czech Republic--terrible and licorice-y)

Injera and tupperware containers of Eritrean food from my inlaws (injera travels well in the garment bag compartment of the suitcase). Also lots of Vietnamese leftovers from my wedding (I enjoyed every bit but was then violently ill for the first few days of my honeymoon).

Mmm, looks great!

Mmm, thanks, I will check these out next time I am in town!

Also, glancing at a few of your other posts, it seems that you may live in Louisville? I am from there and visit frequently--which bulk food store sells the wild gummies??

Mamaciita, is it the Blinky Bills you recommend? Or the jellies?

Mmm, thanks for all these recs! Unfortunately they have only intensified my craving...

Does anyone have suggestions for a really good gummy bear--both very fruity and very chewy? I was once given an excellent box from San Diego--unfortunately I have no idea where it came from...

Just saw this thread. I think the best Indian food in the Princeton area is Crown of India in Plainsboro--I esp recommend the aloo papri chat, the chana pindi, the baingan bharta, the chicken tikka masala...but everything I have had there is great. Their lunch buffet is not as good as their food off the menu (as is probably the case in any restaurant). I think it is a lot better than Masala Grill, which used to be good but has slipped in recent years. I also like it better than Ganges and Palace of Asia, although both have their supporters.

Good idea. I recently made a chicken banh mi recipe from epicurious that I thought was quite good and at the time thought could work well vegan, although I haven't actually tried the vegan version myself:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

I think you could marinate the tofu in the chicken marinade and get a great flavor--maybe use a lower salt soy sauce. I would think you could skip the vegan pate (no pate in this recipe and it was still great).

Veganaise is a good sub for regular mayo.

Let us know how it turns out!

I am certainly no expert, but doubt it will matter. I have found cheesecakes to be quite robust to all sorts of errors and adaptations...for instance, I completely botched instructions for the cheesecake water bath (see my post at http://www.chowhound.com/topics/459509), but even that turned out deliciously. Might as well follow the pan instructions to reduce the temperature...however, I have always used a nonstick pan, but never bothered to read the pan instructions...and my cheesecakes have still been good....

Thai Origin in Sommerville! Excellent food, BYO, and they even have a special song if you tell them it is your bday. About 25 minutes from Princeton.

Thanks for all these suggestions. Unfortunately, I truly have nothing large enough to hold the (10 inch) pan, and don't know the neighbors well enough to borrow one. This may be a disaster--I actually took it out midway through cooking and tried to fit it into a wok--but it did not really fit, and all the jostling and temperature change can't have done it any good. I ended up cooking over a pan of water and lowering the temperature slightly, as Jennalynn suggested. Anyway, hopefully it will taste okay and the blueberry topping will hide any cracks. I will definitely invest in a roasting pan ASAP--for some reason I always thought that if I wasn't going to be roasting a turkey I'd have no need for a roasting pan...

I am making a cheesecake that calls for baking at 375 for one hour in a water bath, and then turning off the heat and letting the cake sit in the oven for another hour. However, I don't have a large enough pan for the water bath. Any ideas for how I should modify the cooking time/temp, if at all?

Here is a great Thai pumpkin curry recipe:

Thai Red Curry Beef and Pumpkin
(8 servings)

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. oil
1/4 cup red curry paste
4 cups coconut milk (about 2 cans)
3 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups peeled pumpkin, diced in 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 pounds of sirloin steak, cut in thin strips
1 large red bell pepper, cut in very thin strips
1/2 cup holy basil leaves

Instructions

Heat a wok or heavy frying pan until very hot. Add 2 tablespoons of
the oil and fry the curry paste briefly. Add the coconut milk a little
at a time, stirring rapidly to blend with the red curry paste. Add the
fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add the
pumpkin and continue simmering for about 15 minutes.

When the pumpkin is nearly tender, heat another skillet until very
hot. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and stir-fry the beef and
red pepper strips. Add to the pumpkin mixture and continue simmering
until the pumpkin is tender. Serve garnished with basil leaves.

I was just about to post this exact same plan! Olive's falafel is also great.

If you are feeling really ambitious, hit Halo Pub (on Hulfish) for another ice cream after your coffee, and see whether you prefer that to Bent Spoon. Both are great--but very different from one another. Another nice area to eat is the expanse of grass and little tables on Palmer Square (right outside Bent Spoon).

I will be going to a color-themed dinner party next month and have been assigned the color blue. Does anyone have suggestions for recipes that are blue? Blueberries are an obvious choice, and I'd love to hear people's favorite blueberry-centered dishes, but would also be curious to hear other non-blueberry ideas as well. The dish could just contain some blue elements, but something that is actually a solid blue color would be a plus. It can be a dessert or any other meal component.

Injera--the Ethiopian bread. I've been told by natives that it is incredibly difficult, but I thought I could handle it with a good recipe. But after fermenting for the requisite 3 days, the dough smelled and tasted awful. I've tried the Westernized version with club soda, but would really like to master the authentic version...

Yes, last time I was at Lville Inn it had majorly gone downhill--must have been the new chef. It used to be my favorite restaurant in the area, but the last time I was there the food was mediocre and the menu brief and uninspired (a $20 hamburger, a bland seafood and pasta dish, etc.) Interesting about the Peacock Inn, at which I have always had bad experiences--hopefully the new ownership will improve it.

This is one of my favorites:

Thai Cabbage Salad

1 small green cabbage, very thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
4 red tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
2 carrots, finely grated
1 Tbsp fresh lime peel
1 Tbsp garlic, crushed (or omit)
1 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
4 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp dried hot red chili, crushed (or fresh)
4 Tbsp roasted peanuts +
5 Tbsp fresh coriander + , chopped

In large salad bowl, arrange in layers the cabbage, tomatoes, and
carrots. In small bowl, mix lime peel, garlic, sugar, lime juice,
chili, and fish sauce. Pour over the salad and garnish with peanuts
and coriander.

From Delightful Thai Cooking by Eng Tie Ang.

Mmm, thanks for all these great suggestions. I am planning a salsa tasting event and will plan to serve several of these in a blind tasting and report back on the results. Of course, taste in salsa is highly personal, but this may provide a sense of what salsas appeal to the "average palate" (or the palate of the average 30-something NJ economist).

Anyone have recs for a really good bottled salsa?

Service was fine--we had a reservation, but there seemed to be tables available, and there was no wait. Food came very quickly.

I just went so will answer my own question...it was actually pretty good--Asian fusion with a nice but casual atmosphere--although located in an anonymous strip mall. Pot stickers were so-so, but shrimp and mango roll was quite good. We also had a very nice Thai seafood curry and "three musketeers"--scallops, shrimp, and chicken in spicy garlic sauce. The mango chicken and crispy scallops were also good, although I would probably not get them again. But many interesting looking things on the menu. I will definitely go back--I think it beats the other options for Asian food in the Princeton area.

Has anyone tried Elements Asia in Lawrenceville?