ilikefood's Profile
Yummy Browned Butter
America's Test Kitchen's Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Brown 10 TB unsalted butter, melt in an additional 4 TB butter after removing from heat.
2 other keys to getting multiple raves for "Best chocolate chip cookies EVER!" :
Toast chopped nuts (I use pecans and walnuts).
Use high quality chocolate chips- Guittard, .Callebaut, Ghiridelli
I'd link or print the complete recipe but I'm afraid the very nice Mr. Christopher Kimball would sue me for every penny I'm worth and more.
POLL: Can you walk to an actual grocery store?
According to the Trader Joe's I was referring to - 610 S Arroyo Pkwy Pasadena, they were the very 1st. They brag about it on signage posted in the store. Their offices and original warehouse were 1st located in South Pasadena,before
moving to Monrovia Ca a few years ago.
I live in Pasadena, but not on Arroyo Prkwy.
Thanks to all who played along. Consider my "Thanks." a special prize, just slightly below the highly coveted most valued of prizes: "Congratulations."
POLL: Can you walk to an actual grocery store?
I believe there is. Congratulations ! . But I'll take that back if someone gets closer.
POLL: Can you walk to an actual grocery store?
I live a 10 minute walk from the 1st Trader Joe's, a Whole Foods flagship store is literally around the corner (Yes, literally), Gelson's "the Super Market" (my primary grocery because it really is super in all my expectations for a grocery) is a 10 minute walk, a Von's (Safeway to the rest of the country) is a 15 minute walk.
There are also over 100 eateries within about a 15 minute walk or less (some of them actually worth eating at).
There's a huge valuable prize* to the 1st person who guesses where I live (close proximity).
* A hearty heartfelt "Congratulations !" from me.
Cast Iron Club
I'm a big fan of the cast iron club. It's a great tool for getting the kids to eat their vegetables.
As a recent new owner of my 1st cast iron pan I'm grateful to all the posters on the CI pan topics who have offered tips on its use and maintenance.
I was especially impressed by its ability to put an even excellent crust on steaks and cook them to perfection, with my help of course. By dialing down the temperature as the desired sear is close to being achieved I've been able to cook steaks evenly through to the rare side of medium rare just on the stove top without putting them in the oven, including 1 1/2" thick steaks. It does involve flipping the steaks 2 or 3 times after I've gotten the right the sear on both sides.
Probable grocery store strike?
Scuttlebutt is that the strike is being instigated by some guy who goes by the moniker "Trader Joe". He was doing very well before the last strike, but during that strike he garnered vaster riches and an even greater cult following.
I simply don't get food as competition
Obviously, in OP's title "food" = way too much of Food Network/Cooking Channel's programming
Their competition programs combine the ubiquitous cornerstones of most of cable TV today, no matter what the genre - personalities and conflict produced relatively cheaply.
THE PROBLEM w/ Food Network/Cooking Channel is that the competition shows + the constant repetition of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and the multitude of similar knock off shows have replaced "the shows with instructive or reflective content." *
For Chowhounds who enjoy cooking shows - Thank God for PBS.
* I invented a drinking game - do a shot every time I tuned to Food Network and D,D & D or Iron Chef was on, but my liver vetoed playing.
Burgers and Beers
Golden State. Great Burgers + Great Beers !
Small urban cafe N. of Beverly Blvd in Fairfax District.
A Must for Burger & Beer Hounds in LA.
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The Golden State
426 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Question about Hot Dog on a Stick
lower cost = higher profits. I'm guessin they sell a lot more HDoaS than in a bun.
They can get away w/ it because people are less likely to notice the difference in taste of the dog when its wrapped in deep fried batter.
It's a pretty sure bet they're not doing turkey dogs cause they're healthier.
Musso and frank
Cioppino Friday nights. Definitely a martini, or 3 if you're not driving or operating heavy machinery afterwards.
The Best Bouillabaisse and Cioppino in L.A.?
A couple of recommendations here from 2009 for Church and State. My wife had their bouillabaisse a few months ago. It had a decent broth and a sizable amount of fresh shellfish but it had very little, if any fish. Good, but not really bouillabaisse even w/ the requisite saffron aoli & toast. The server explained that the chef uses only the freshest ingredients. Which made perfect sense, what w/ LA being so far from the ocean. Despite that, C&S is a terrific resto.
Didn't see Musso & Frank mentioned, so I will Very good cioppino on Fridays. Old school Hollywood w/ consistently well done classics.
The "best" way to eat a Neapolitan pizza?
If ipse's not 'avn a bit of fun w/ us, then ipse's been had.
1st giveaway. "make a libretto out of the pie" followed by step 3. which duplicates step 2 if the intended meaning of libretto is little book (it surely can't mean "make a text of an opera out of the pie"). No doubt the use of Italian (libretto) intentionally aided the charade.
2nd giveaway - one of ipse's legs is now longer than the other from being pulled so vigorously.
3rd giveaway - NOBODY*, in Italy or anywhere else, eats pizza by folding a whole pizza several times till it's a triangular glob of dough..
*No doubt there's a few people who play the role of exceptions that prove the rule.
What to do with leftover buttermilk?
Marinade onion rings for deep frying.
Include the same herbs and seasonings you would use to marinade chicken in buttermilk for frying such as poultry seasoning, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, parsley, cayenne pepper, paprika, whatever strikes your fancy. I've marinated them for up to 2 days. I toss drained rings in flour, leave 'em for a while, then a mix of fresh bread crumbs and panko. Spread them out on a rack and refrigerate for at least a half hour or freeze.
Paual Deen to be Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade???
WOW ! NO KIDDING?! FOR REAL?! THAT'S AMAZING! I had NO idea they were still running that parade. You'd think after over 100 years people would've had their fill of the whole flowers on floats thing. I really need to keep up more. Maybe I should start w/ "How the heck exactly does Paual Deen grand marshalling the RoseParade affect my or anyone's life in any way shape or form ?"
Actually the most interesting thing about this (and my use of "interesting" is as hyperbole) was Jonathan Gold's reaction : " "Paula Deen? That's absolutely horrifying, Julia Child grew up on Pasadena Avenue, just a few blocks from the start of the parade, and practically everything Ms. Deen has done both exploits and despoils the culinary movement Child did so much to prod into being. As a food person and as a Pasadenan, I should be proud that the committee is honoring somebody in my profession, but the news makes me cringe."
The interesting part to me is finding out Gold is a fellow Pasadenan, Pasadenian? Pasadenman?
Now excuse my while I go off to make a batch of Paula's famous chicken fried butter. Mmmm butter. Mmmm fried. Mmmm fried chicken.
Celebration Lunch for 2 at a Paso Robles Winery?
The food at Justin (Deborah's Room) is very good though the lunch menu is limited. Nice setting w/ view of flower garden and "VIP" section of winery. It is a drive to get there but a recommended one worth taking- a very pleasant variety of changing scenery. Despite what prev poster wrote the wines are pretty good, maybe over priced but still worth a tasting to judge for yourself.
http://www.justinwine.com/visit_deborahs_dining.php
HELP!!! Fist-Size Pyrex Bowl Stuck in Sink
Use a suction cup like the kind used to attach/hang stuff to vertical surfaces (i.e. walls). 1 that's small enough to fit in bottom of pyrex dish but large enough that it has the needed pulling power.
Birthday dinner choices; Cafe Beaujolais in Eagle Rock or Canele in Atwater Village?
Happy Birthday! Both are small restos but Canele is smaller and more cramped. Food is very good at Canele. A step above Beaujolais more creative and more market driven. Though B has good consistently solid French bistro fare- basic standards.
Cooks Illustrated. For me, it's no longer the "authority" on everything.
Being an authority does not mean infallible.
I rely on CI/ATK/et al, They have a good track record and are one of multiple cooking resources I consider An Authority. But no ones perfect.
The worst example of bad advice from CI was a short cut French fry recipe that called for coating the raw fries w/ olive oil then microwaving before frying. Intuitively I thought that was a BAD IDEA, and sure enough, as I expected, the fries came out limp and greasy soggy.
Then again that could be just another of the many examples of where I messed up... but I don't think sooo.
best thing I ever ate-giada and her nut mix
So I guess we won't be seeing anything new from Giada and we know who to blame.
Here's a recipe from Giada but she's not one of the ingredients:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/spiced-cocktail-nuts-recipe/index.html
Lunch near Forest Lawn Glendale
Morton's, The Steakhouse in Burbank. Private rooms available.
Burger's good for those on a budget.
3400 West Olive Avenue
Burbank, CA 91505
Old Town Pasadena has the worst
Re: Green Street Tavern, evidently the chef has changed since ipse wrote this in Jan 09. The food is very good. The room is still very nice.
Also very good interior & food at Vertical Wine Bistro. I also recommend the food at Red White+Bluezz + live music. Dish on Union gets an honorable mention on the list of Chow worthy restaurants in Old Town.
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Vertical Wine Bistro
70 N. Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103
Green Street Tavern
69 W. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91105
Lunch in Pasadena for about $10-$15/person
ipse; " 10-15 budget per person, she'd be hard pressed to come within budget even at a place like In-N-Out."
???? That needs an explanation. When combined w/ ipse's recent comment: "I don't believe 5 for iced tea is all that out of the ordinary." I'm beginning to think (tongue in cheek) ipse doesn't pay for ipse's* food and that's why ipse's able to eat at EVERY SINGLE resto in the LA area.
*sorry, but I don't know if ipse is a man or woman's name.
anyone seen rhubarb lately??
Will, Leave some for me. I see rhubarb pie in my future.
Marche in Sherman Oaks
BearCity, If your reply is meant to add to why Marche failed, you don't appear to be familiar w/ the population of the San Fernando Valley or the number of restaurants on Ventura Blvd.
I'll suggest 1 example why Marche couldn't make it - $12 for small "plats" of vegetables (even if locally sourced organic premium veggies). Well prepared and good but not That good. You're talkin' around $60/pp-food only, 4 small plats+ pp to get your fill. Overall the value wasn't there. $60pp and even much more can be well worth it at some restaurants but I didn't think so of Marche. The Lazy Ox is better at quality ingredients small plates and has a bunch of dishes under $10.
Lunch in Pasadena for about $10-$15/person
Julienne's lamb sandwich is indeed a very fine and tasty sandwich.
I'll also recommend Julienne but it'd be tough to meet the budget. Def not if tax,tip are meant to be included.
Lunch in Pasadena for about $10-$15/person
"my mom is not going to be okay with anything "weird" and to her sushi is weird, just so you get the idea. "
I assume that restriction is why no one's suggested Daisy Mint ( a Chowhounds Pasadena favorite). But since I don't exactly get the idea, I will. Unless Asian food is weird to mom, check it out. It's pretty tame Asian food, good and w/i budget.
Menu, courtesy of ElsieDee, from 2008 is still pretty much the same:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/556154
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Daisy Mint
1218 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA
ISO romantic restaurant in Pasadena area
Anniversary, not limited by price, your idea of romantic includes 1st class Michelin starred (1) luxury (of course it does), yea, go Langham, The Dining Room.
Pasadena romantic hidden gems (not as popular as they should be) - Green Street Tavern, Madeleine's. Save these, along w/ taco trucks tour, for future date nights.
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Green Street Tavern
69 W. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91105
KFC Double Down? For Real?
"If it were slapped between a bun there'd be no controversy." - Monku
Monku's on the right track.
It's a gimmick created entirely to get attention, create buzz and increase traffic to KFC.
I guess it's easier than improving their quality control, cleanliness, and customer service.
I can only speak of KFC's in my area (Pasadena Ca) and my experiences over a year + ago.
Pasadena near Convention center if possible
and they're already sold out of croissants.
