HokieAnnie's Profile
Romanesco anywhere
I have also seen it in the fall at Whole Foods but it was sort of a one week and it's gone sorta thing. Lois' Produce who is at the Saturday Falls Church Farmer's market often has it in the fall. Oh and I've tried my hand at going it too, got a meager spring harvest and a small fall harvest another year.
Kolache - can you buy the good stuff in the DC Area?
The Epiphany church does Friday Lenten suppers from the first Friday in Lent to Good Friday. They typically have pergoies and other slavic goodies, all meatless in the lenten tradition of meatless Fridays.
They are very, very popular with police directing traffic on Woodburn Road. It's really good authentic stuff, alas a PITA for those of us in the neighborhood trying to get home on those Fridays ;-)
Maryland Style Fried Chicken???
There is a Maryland county in the country of Liberia (Remember it was founded by former US slaves.)
Citrus Sales in Arlington, Falls Church, Alexandria?
I have seen the Lions at the Falls Church Saturday morning farmer's market taking orders and handling pickups. A quick check of the Lions website has another sale at the city property yard near Don Beyer Volvo next Friday/Saturday. Looks like they are selling oranges and grapefruit.
What do you think of pans/griddles that occupy two burners?
Honestly I was considering this pan for my new range that has a middle fifth burner that is oval shaped. I figure that it will be good for fish (it is called a fish griddle after all.) and searing long meats like a pork tenderloin. Also I thought maybe for shallow frying like potato pancakes and the like.
But I'd never consider it for a round burner. You're quite right!
Latke confession
My German American family has been making "potato pancakes" for generations. A potato grater was a must for getting the texture just right. But recently I discovered an easier way: shredding the potatoes in my food processor, then squeezing the water out and putting the shreds back into the food processor with the blade not shredder for a few pulses to get the shreds smaller.
My family always used an egg and a bit of flour in the mixture as well as graded onion. In my memory we always used vegatable oil for cooking but my dad said Grandma sometimes used bacon grease and it was heavenly. Yeah we're NOT Jewish ;-)
I bet duck fat would be even more heavenly than schmaltz.
My worst food experience of 2011-Bad Garlic!
If you have a garden, try growing your own. It's as easy as planting tulips, you break up the heads into cloves and plant in the ground the same time you'd plant tulips in your area and harvest in mid-summer when the tops begin to die back. Softneck will keep longer than hardneck but typically mine will keep in my cool laundry room for about five-six months (hardneck).
French Camembert Cheese Missing After Thanksgiving?
Well at a dinner party I gave a few months ago Dusty a sweet GDS was visiting with her human and made an entire log of goat cheese go missing in seconds. It's now a running joke with us months later.
Trader Joes in Clarendon?
Does anyone know if they have parking? It's on the way home for my sister from her downtown job but would only work if parking was available.
Tarte Tatin
I bought a stove top safe pan by Emile Henry, their Flame line with a matching plate to flip the tarte onto. It works though given the material, it's not as good a conductor of heat as copper or cast iron, but it works and it's a pretty bright red. If I had the money for copper, yea I might spring for it, but cheaper options IMO are "good enough".
Lets force Massachusetts craft brewers out of business, k?
Hmmm, would the makers of Samuel Adam's have anything to do with this?
Freshly picked corn
Try your nearest farmer's market. For instance the corn I purchased today at the Falls Church, VA market was picked in the morning. Maybe someone in MD can advise you on the good markets in Montgomery county.
Do I really need a Burr coffee grinder?
I used that exact grinder for about 2 years before it died. It's cheap and it works but only until it dies. I purchased a Kitchenaid Pro burr grinder maybe about five years ago based upon googling coffee websites and reading the reviews on Amazon. I bought my parents a modestly priced Capresso burr grinder for around 80.00 bucks as a Christmas present 2 years ago and it's going strong as well.
In short the blade grinder will be "good enough" but be prepared for it to not last as long as a burr style.
Things That Make You Go, "What the......."
20 years ago while my brother was back in town visiting on Christmas break we met up with some of his buddies from UVA and ended up at a restuarant in Adams Morgan that was Italian / Ethiopian. We figured it was the whole Mussolini thing. The Ethiopian food was good the Italian so-so, I guess it was there for picky eaters not willing to try Ethiopian food.
sour cherries at farmers markets?
I bought from Kuhn's at the Wakefield Rec Center (Annandale) Wednesday and bought more at Black Rock Orchards this morning at the Falls Church farmer's market.
One batch is in the cherry pie in the oven baking. The other batch will be frozen to enjoy later, maybe in a tart or something.
Commercial Blue Cheese Dressing
Given how simple it is to make your own, I think more of us should make the time to make our own dressings.
For blue cheese dressings you could even grab the crumbles instead of a wedge to save time. A good blue cheese dressing will have mayo, buttermilk, garlic/onion powder, black pepper, maybe some parsley or chives and lots and lots of chunks of blue cheese.
Trying harder to be good these days though I've been trying to stick to vinaigrette. Take a 1 cup tubberware container with a really tight lid -- good balsamic vinegar, olive oil salt, pepper and any herbs you like. Shake and you're done. Sometimes I'll add a wad of good spicy mustard to mix it up.
Monin Syrups
I'm surprised that nobody has posted that Whole Foods carries them. At least I can confirm that the Springfield, Vienna and Falls Church stores carry them. I'm hooked on the hazelnut flavor for my morning coffee.
Where to get fresh spring produce?
Realize of course that climate drives what you get around here. Lois's Produce at the Falls Church Farmer's market did have Fava bean last spring for two weeks. It's extremely hard to grow them locally as they hate the heat.
I've had fresh greens at the Falls Church market nearly year round -- Sunnyside Orchard grows them in their green houses. But come May Potomac Gardens will be back at the market with lots to chose from .
Peas should be appearing at the markets in a few weeks, more of a "May" item and will disappear by June as the heat sets in. By June you start seeing scapes and green garlic.
But also I'd recommend learning to love the gems of our local region, like lima beans come July, sweet fragrant melons and peaches to die for this summer.
Can you ID this restaurant?
Perhaps you are remembering Second Story Books? I worked on Thomas Jefferson Street in the late 90s so I knew the neighborhood well in the time frame the OP references. That would have put you east of a block of many restaurants that have come and gone. I can't remember the name but there was a pub food type of place there in the 90s that had a nice back patio. It's long gone though might have become a Charbucks or some other chain. Georgetown just isn't like it used to be!
Where to buy maple sugar and creme fraiche in Baltimore
Whole Foods also carries maple sugar.
Boiled Peanuts
Sunnyside Orchard has boiled peanuts. They are at the Fall Church Farmer's market year round. They had some this morning. Alas though I got there too late to snag Brussels Sprouts :-(
What cheesy, out-dated, non-Chowish appetizer will you be disappointed if you don't eat on New Year's?
Can I put in a word for Sausage Cheese Balls? I love 'em but only make them for pot luck Christmas parties.
Fresh cherry availability
Cherries are a highly perishable seasonal item. Cherry season is early summer. Maybe you might see some sky high priced cherries flown in from Peru or Chile in a few weeks, I cannot recall if I've seen that at whole foods or not and I sure as heck wouldn't buy them as in season cherries are expensive enough.
Pizzeria Orso - originally posted on another website
I had a different experience at Orso. I went about two weeks ago and like the poster before the 7:00 rush. Ordered the risotto balls as an appetizer and two pies for our small group. The timing on the items was good and the beer on tap selection was excellent.
The appetizer compared favorably to what I've eaten in Italy. I didn't think my pizza was undercooked but then again I hate burnt pizza. We ordered the mushroom pizza and a special that had fennel and red onion. Both were quite good renditions of very thin crust small pizza, neither were "red sauce" pizzas.
I'd love to get back there again to try more items. But I can understand why some folks might not like the pizza, everyone seems to have an opinion on what constitutes their perfect pizza. I sure hope that Tom Setsema's raves about the place won't overwhelm it. For me it is close to home and sorely needed in my neck of the woods as good pizza is quite rare in Northern VA.
Visions Skillet
I have an old visions sauce pot I bought in college. It was horrible for um actually cooking. But if you simply need to boil veggies or hard boil eggs it works great. In fact I keep it around for hard boiled eggs as they can stain my metal cookware and I can't seem to find those old glass double boilers like my mom used for boiling eggs.
Meatballs?
Sunset's "Easy Basics for Good Cooking" has a wonderful turkey meatball recipe with water chesnuts and a sweet/sour sauce. Alas the cookbook is out of print though I think you can find it used.
A Slice of Fruit Pie and a Cup of Coffee. Where in NOVA?
Let me add to the chorus of those recommending The Pie Gourmet. They indeed have a wonderful coconut custard, fruit pies and other yummy pies such as chocolate silk and chocolate pecan.
Where to get sunchokes?
Kuhn's Orchards has had sunchokes of late and had them last fall. They are at the market in Van Dyke park in Fairfax city tomorrow morning, Wakefield Park on Wedensday afternoon and the Saturday morning market in the parking lot of the Fairfax city courthouse.
breakstone sour cream: do you know of any better??
Breakstone's is great but also good is Axlexrod's, another nothing but sour cream offering. In fact I'd say it's even thicker and richer than Breakstone's. The local WFMs here in Northern VA carry it.
Restaurants in Springfiled VA 22151 for Mothers Day
You're actually not far from Fairfax, VA and there are a number of decent restaurants there. It sounds like your sis moved into King's Park either east or west. In fact in some ways Fairfax is closer, you just cut across Braddock to Main street on any number of roads that go through.
