masha's Profile
Best Recipes you have ever found on Chowhound Home Cooking board
HillJ, you are welcome. Of all the cookies that I made last Christmas, they were clearly the favorites. I've been meaning to make them at other times of the year but haven't quite managed to.
John Hancock building for a drink with a view.
The Lavazza Cafe is on the floor with the observatory. You can instead go to the Signatures Lounge on the 96th floor, which is one level below the observatory, and skip the fee for visiting the observatory.
Shelburne, VT
Not restaurants, but 2 other places that you may want to check out are:
1. Village Wine & Coffee, in Shelburne, which is a specialty food shop with an excellent selection of wines. (Not tried the coffee so I cannot comment on it.)
2. The Ferrisburg Bakery has very good sandwiches and other lunch offerings to go. (There is also a small area inside and picnic tables outside, if you want to eat there, but the atmosphere is minimal.)
I have finalized my Napa / San Fran Itinenary
We ate at Redd Wood earlier this year and agree that the food was good and affordable, although the service was somewhat spotty (but not so spotty that I'd not go back).
Strategies for Dining in Barcelona with a 10 Year Old
We visited Barcelona with our son when he was eleven. Like yours, he had a reasonably adventurous palate, with experience dining in fine restaurants.
In terms of dealing with the later dining hour, it probably helps that our son has always been something of a night owl, and that we arrived in Barcelona directly from the States, so our internal clocks were a bit off anyway. We tweaked his schedule by sleeping somewhat later than we might at home, eating a late-ish lunch -- i.e., about 1:30 pm -- and then heading out to dinner right about 8 pm, which means that we were typically the first diners to arrive. Each child has his own clock, but for us dining at 8pm without a nap (or perhaps a nap from about 5-6 pm) worked better than waiting until 10 pm for dinner.
We did go to a tapas bar one evening, and our son was definitely welcome. Despite his adventurous palate, much of the offerings did not much interest him, except that he loves omelettes, so the torta was a big hit. At other restaurants, as I recall, he opted for seafood dishes.
Need non-fussy fish or Italian recs near James Hotel for 2-hour window on Saturday night
I just went to OpenTable and found no listing at all for Slurping Turtle (would have made a reservation, if I could). And, the following appears on the ST website: "Patrons of Slurping Turtle will be seated on a first come, first serve basis. Currently reservations are not accepted."
Best Recipes you have ever found on Chowhound Home Cooking board
3 that I've made with great success:
The Wilton recipe for Spritz Cookies, that was linked by Hill J in this thread, along with a lot of helpful hints from her on decorating. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/751308
The recipe for spicy, samosa-filled wonton wrappers by Layne Murphy in this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/720583
The recipe for Danish cookies from Cathleen H in this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/748811
Need non-fussy fish or Italian recs near James Hotel for 2-hour window on Saturday night
They do? I had not realized that. Thanks. (And sorry for the misleading info to the OP.)
Need non-fussy fish or Italian recs near James Hotel for 2-hour window on Saturday night
I have not been yet but agree that by all accounts it is great. The problem is that the wait for tables is long. Not sure that it will fit into your 2 hour window.
Soft Shell Crabs for Lunch
They are on the menu at Trattoria No. 10 currently (both lunch & dinner). I've not tried them so I cannot comment on the preparation.
1st time in Chicago-Picky Eaters-Dinner Suggestions Please
There is plenty of meat and potatoes on the menu at The Gage, so go there with your friends. Substitute it for RPM, which I hear is only fair. That way you can keep Quartino as your other resto. to go to with them.
Accomodate large parties
Sun wah in Uptown. Preorder a few of the Peking ducks, and then order additional dishes when you are there.
Help a poor Los Angeles hound visiting Baltimore and DC
See comments below regarding safety issues. As I don't currently live in Balto, I am unsure about the light rail but might hesitate to use it later than the evening rush hour. I'd think it would be fine during the day.
Help a poor Los Angeles hound visiting Baltimore and DC
As a former Baltimorean, I really enjoy Woodbery K when I return. It doesn't serve the quintessential Maryland cuisine of my youth (think Crab Imperial), but its commitment to local sourcing means that much of what is served is distinctly local -- e.g., when we were last there, the seafood offerings were centered on rockfish and oysters because that is what was in season. And, the atmosphere and service are excellent. The challenge for the OP is that it's not easily accessible from his lodgings in the Inner Harbor, without a car.
Downeast Maine - North of Ellsworth
Also in Sullivans, there's Tracey's, which is a roadside stand with great tasting & inexpensive lobster rolls. Last year, they were 2 for $15. Here is a link to a thread on Maine Lobster Rolls that includes my review from last summer: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/740772
Guided Burgundy Wine Tours
Thanks. I was being apologetic mainly because I cannot recall any of the details of the food served at either LeFlaive or le Montrachet, which strikes me as a flaw for a report to ChowHound.
leftover wonton skins
It may be that the moisture from the fruit was the problem. If you follow the link embedded in my upthread post, there is a lot of information about making dessert wontons. As noted in that link, I made them with a filling of Nutella & ricotta with success, basically by following the procedures shown in this link: http://steamykitchen.com/7646-chocolate-wonton-recipe.html, which was suggested by one of the other posters in that linked thread.
Guided Burgundy Wine Tours
Sure. It was 3+ years ago so the details are a bit hazy. And, I confess that I am not that knowledgeable about wines in general or white Burgundies in particular. My husband knows wine, but is more of a red wine guy. We just like getting off the beaten path, into the villages and enjoying good food & drink.
The tours of the vineyard and of the cellar were plenty informative for us. Indeed, the vinoculture guide was probably disappointed by the simplistic questions that we asked; but he was very patient and answered them all. The tour of the cellar took us right into the production facility, where grapes were being moved on a large conveyer directly from the trucks in the parking lot; that was one of the pluses of being present for vendage. Indeed, we were invited to climb up on a large metal scaffolding above the vats and use a manual crushing device (picture a hybrid between a rake & potato masher) to participate in the initial crushing of the grapes -- not quite Ethel & Lucy stomping them in bare feet, but still fun to do. That was followed by a tour of the cellars themselves, by one of the senior members of the LeFlaive family, who explained the entire aging & storing process.
As to the hotel, the room itself was very comfortable -- spacious, good size with a gorgeous bathroom with lovely soaps etc. As I recall, the WiFi signal was weak, but there was also hardwired Internet available; that's about the most negative thing I recall about the accomodations.
As to the food & drink, the package that we signed up for included both dinner the night we arrived and then the paired tasting of wine (14 wines?) & food for lunch the next day. This was probably the most disappointing part of the trip because the food, although not bad, was unexceptional. We much preferred the dinner that we had the second night down the street at Le Montrachet, which was one of the best meals that we had on that trip.
Overall, we had a great time and would recommend it. And, because LeFlaive is consciously oriented toward "vino-tourism," going during the vendage is no problem.
Guided Burgundy Wine Tours
We were in Puligny-Montrachet on the last 2 days of the vendage in 2008 and found the timing great. There was considerable celebratory buzz throughout the village on the night of the last day of harvest; like what you would expect on New Years Eve - crowds of inebriated workers and cars circling the village with horns honking. It was fun to be an observer to that local culture. Note, however, that we were not trying to get entree to small, exclusive wineries. We stayed at the hotel associated with the Olivier LeFlaive winery and toured both the vineyards and cellars, as well as partaking of the wine & food pairing menus in their restaurant.
leftover wonton skins
See this thread on the same subject that I started about one year ago. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/756760
Butter Chicken Recipe - needed for 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
J Cattles, this looks very easy and delicious. A few questions relating to your estimated measurements of the ingredients. I realize that all of your measurements are approximate, but want to be sure that I have the right sense of the proportions.
What is the quantity of chicken breast that you use? 2 halves? 4 halves?
When you say "one container" of plain yoghurt, I assume that you are referring to an individually-sized container of about 6-8 oz, and not the 1 qut size, correct?
Simple budget friendly appetizers and dips to go with pita chips and veggies for 50 ppl.
I just realized that my recitation of the recipe omitted adding the arugula. It gies int the FP in the first step.
How to make an egg patty?
I make them free form on a hot griddle -- basically a small 1-egg omelette without any filling. Pour beaten egg onto hot griddle and as it begins to set, fold over with a spatula to approximate the shape that you want. May not be as pretty as what you get at McDonalds but works fine.
Sticky Question re: no-Knead Bread
My enameled pot is more than 25 years old. We occasionally clean it with Soft Scrub to remove discoloration. (And, regardless that there evidently are some abrasives in SS, it's not affected the surface -- at least it's fine for no-knead bread, which I've made in it more than once.)
Learning to Cook [Bases for Simple Dishes]
5 words: Bittman's How to Cook Everything. This is a great basic cookbook with emphasis on flavor combinations.
Sticky Question re: no-Knead Bread
Make it in a different vessel and see whether you have the same problem. Any vessel that is 3-5 qts should work. The last time I made it I used a Corningware casserole.
Fish-friendly restaurants on a budget DOWNTOWN
Given your price point, the best I can think of is a restaurant in Greektown, such as Greek Island or Parthenon, which offer a number of fish & seafood entrees, as well as various meats, especially lamb.
Special Occasion dinner?
Note that May 19 is the first day of the 3 day NATO summit, which may pose some logistical challenges. You may want to plan on eating within walking distance of your hotel or locations accessible via the L. Vehicular traffic in the Loop and South Loop is likely to be problematic. Street traffic north of the Chicago River and away from the lakefront is less likely to pose challenges.
Simple budget friendly appetizers and dips to go with pita chips and veggies for 50 ppl.
Here is the basic recipe. You obviously will need to ramp up the scale, given the size of your party. Also note that I typically do not add as many tomatoes as the recipe calls for.
BLT Dip
3 green onions
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Greek Yoghurt (low or no fat is fine)
¼ cup chopped arugula
4 slices bacon, cooked, drained & crumbled
fresh ground pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
Combine green onions, mayonnaise, and yoghurt in food processor, and pulse until still chunky.
Transfer to bowl. Stir in bacon, tomatoes, and ground pepper.
Taste and add a bit more salt (depending on saltiness of bacon) and pepper, if needed.
first time visitor from alabama
The South Loop is fine (it's where I work), but most visitors in Chicago tend to spend most of their time eating/playing/shopping north of the Chicago River, in the area closer to the Gleacher Center. There is only a mile separating the 2, but your original post mentioned some trepidation as to cold weather; it's a lovely walk today but in November, it can be cold & blustery.
