It might be a little bit out of your way, but if you happen to find yourself in the Akron area you could try Hana Asian Market (http://hanaasianmarket.com/) They have homemade Kimchi and a friendly staff that would probably be more than willing to show you what ingredients you need to make it.

When I was getting my graduate degree at Kent I was a big fan of Taco Tanto's. They introduced me to the amazing combination of sweet potato and black bean.
http://www.tacotontos.com/

Ray's Place is also popular and has good pub food, but lots of students. Looking at their website I see Michael Symon recently gave their burgers a shout out on the Food Network. I didn't see the episode, but they do have good burgers.
http://www.raysplacekent.com/

If you are looking for something a little more upscale, try The Bistro on Main. I have not eaten there, but have heard great things from friends.
http://www.bistrokent.com/

Another restaurant I haven't had a chance to get to, but have always wanted to try is Moe's in Cuyahoga Falls (Just a short ways from Kent
)http://www.moesrestaurant.com

I'm preparing my Super Bowl menu and am rooting for the Giants. I'd like to serve Sabrett's Hot Dog's but don't know if that's going to happen. Is there anyplace in the NEO area that these dogs have been spotted?

Thanks!

Louisiana Cookin'....That is now on my birthday wishlist. Thanks!!

Hi Everyone,

While deciding on some holiday DIY projects, I stumbled across a recipe for Medivka in a 1978 cookbook published by the Ukrainian National Women's League of Cleveland, Ohio. This will be my first time attempting an infusion and am hoping that seasoned spirit makers can give me some tips on what to look out for. The recipe is:

1 C. dark honey with good flavor
1 1/4 C. Water
2 1/2-3 C. 100 proof vodka
peels of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
3 whole cloves
1 whole allspice
1/8 of a whole nutmeg

1.Simmer peels and spices in water for 10-15 minutes
2.Add the strained water to honey, bring to simmer and skim the foam.
3.Warm the vodka slightly and add the honey syrup to it. Combine well, and filter through cotton.
4.Taste and add more vodka-personal preference
5.Keep in tightly closed bottles for at least a week

My biggest questions are:
1.How the heck do I measure an eighth of a nutmeg?
2.How should I tell giftees to store it?
3.Can I filter through a coffee filter?
4.Will it be cloudy? Is this normal?

I'm super excited about this project, as this cookbook is one of my favorites. Any advice on making sure it turns out perfect would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Thanks! I think I'll try this recipe...I'll feel better knowing it's been tested for me. :-) Does grind matter at all? I bought Hodgeson Mill Stone Ground, FWIW.

Hi Everyone,

I'm making homemade cornbread for the T-giving dressing. I have 2 recipes, both are no flour recipes, but the ratio of cornmeal/buttermilk/ and eggs differs.

#1 calls for:
2 C. Cornmeal
2 C. Buttermilk
2 Eggs

#2 calls for
2 C. Cornmeal
1C. Buttermilk
1 Egg

Which recipe will give me the better cornbread for dressing?

Thanks!!

I would be interested in the Honey Stout mustard recipe, if you don't mind sharing :-)

It sounds like the restaurant wasn't prepared for what happens when you have an active FB page as a business. They received an inquiry that they weren't prepared to answer, panicked and deleted the question rather than answer it.

Of course, the better customer service solution would have been to just politely admit that no vegetarian/vegan options were available. I think that it's perfectly valid to pose that question on Facebook. I've used FB to contact businesses before and they have always politely answered my questions.

Thanks Everyone! As usual, you have all been so helpful. I feel much better about being able to continue home cooking, even with a busy schedule!!

You had me at flow charts! This sounds like a technique for idea mapping that could really work for me. Thanks!

I sometimes use frozen strawberries as ice cubes in ginger ale. As they thaw, I mash them up a little bit with my straw to get the full berry flavor.

Hi everyone,

I recently took a new job that involves a bit of a commute. I went from having lots of time to plan and cook meals to having very little time. I know what I need to do is make better use of my freezer and free time on the weekends, but I'm not quite sure how to do this. I'm quickly falling into the take out hole and I want to stop that from happening. What are your best tips for eating well all week when you don't necessarily have as much time as you would like.

--Laura

P.S. I can't decide how I feel about leaving a crock-pot on all day when I'm not there.

P.P.S. My apologies if this has been discussed in other threads. I did a preliminary search, but couldn't find any. Links to relevant threads would be much appreciated.

I'm surprised nothing turned up when you did a search. Athens has gained a reputation as being an Ohio local food haven. It's been a while since I graduated, but while I was there I loved o'betty's hot dogs. (http://www.obettys.com/). I also love Casa Nueva (http://www.casanueva.com/) I've driven four hours from northern Ohio just to have a Casa meal. I seem to remember hearing good things about Restaurant Salaam (http://www.restaurantsalaam.com/), but it opened after I left. There is also Purple Chopsix (http://www.purplechopstix.com/)

-----
Casa Nueva Restaurant & Cantina
6 W State St, Athens, OH 45701

I'm pretty sure that I saw Tasso at the West Side Market the last time I was there. I can't tell you the name of the booth though.

-----
West Side Market
1979 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH

Thank you so much! This is exactly what we needed, can't wait to experiment.

I work in a food pantry, and one of our initiatives has been collecting spices to give out at pantry. Our initial drive yielded us lots of spices and even some money to purchase spices. We've been buying spices in bulk to hand out. This month we did T Tbs. bags of curry powder along with a recipe for spinach chickpea curry. The curry powder made me think that there might be other spice mixes we could make using bulk spices. We have some bay leaves, some thyme, some oregano, some nutmeg and access to whatever other spices we might need for mixes. What are some good spice mixes and what can they be used for? I'm especially interested in a spice mix that could be used to flavor soups and stews.

P.S. I've introduced several of my team members to the collective brilliance that is the chowhound message board and they are loving it.

Comeaux tasso definitely looks like links of sausage, that was my first clue that it might not be what I was looking for. I think Poche's might be my best bet.

I want to make a few recipes that require tasso, but here in Ohio it's hard to come by. What is the best brand to order online? I'm thinking of using cajungrocer.com and possibly ordering Comeaux Tasso. Also I noticed that comeaux has gator sausage. Has anyone tried it, and would that be worth ordering as well?

If it's not too much trouble, I would love to see that recipe. Another thing that we are working on in my program is ways to encourage healthier eating.

Thank you all for the fantastic ideas. I'm now inspired to buy some prunes this weekend and experiment.

I think the display is a great idea, and photos could really jazz it up.

A compote would be great. That's another thing that we could whip up and put on a sample table.

I was looking for a way to incorporate them into something Moroccan, this sounds perfect.

That is such a simple, fantastic idea. We usually put out coffee and cookies for shoppers to snack on while waiting to shop, maybe next week we can put some prunes out too.

We do have meat at the pantry, but we never know what kind we are going to get. It's great to hear that it goes well with the meats we get most frequently. (beef, pork, turkey/chicken)

I work in a food pantry and we have some dried plums that are just sitting on the shelf, they never get chosen. I suspect that there is still a "prune" stigma even though the package says "Dried Pitted Plums". We want to hand out idea cards with the plums, to give shoppers an idea of how they can be used. What recipe ideas do you all have for dried plums AKA prunes?

THE NEW BOOK OF MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD and ARABESQUE

Okay, so I found the baby heirloom tomatoes that I wanted at the farmer's market today, halved them and now I face a conundrum. Do I put this mixture in the fridge until I mix everything together this evening, or should I let it sit at room temperature. You're not supposed to refrigerate tomatoes, right?

P.S. I know I could mix everything including the bread together now, but I'm going by the less authentic method of adding croutons last minute. Less chance of mushy bread that way.

Yup, that's the plan. At first I thought about Mozzerella, but thinking about the previously mention bruschetta and the awesome goat cheese at the market I decided to go with that.