junescook's Profile
a little help for watermelon
Darn, we've been craving our watermelon lately. I actually don't care about the other kinds of melon. I bought a small, round one today. I look for the most yellow spot on the part that has not been in the sun. Yellowest is the ripest.
"Least Favorite Vegetable" Poll
Gio, what's the obvious reason you don't like Jerusalem artichokes? I love them either sliced raw in salads, or roasted in the oven like potatoes. They're easy to grow -- they come back up every year, you can harvest them at any time from autumn on, and they keep wonderfully for months in the fridge.
What foods do you refuse to eat?
Ice cream and aged type cheeses are fine. I guess it's the lactic acid that naueates me. That goes out with the whey in the cheese and is sweetened up by the sugar in the ice cream.
Jason Hawkins & Carole Pecks Good News Cafe on NBC30 this morning
Hey J&J,
As you know, this is our local place to go for interesting food. We go pretty often and the only thing I had that I would criticize, is the lobster soup: a bit salty one time. I regret that we haven't had desserts there (although I took an Italian language course with her pastry chef a few years ago an that was the year the woman had her Christmas cookies made into Christmas stamps.
I guess I was surprised that Jason Hawkins would be doing a review of GNC. It has trtaditionally been scored highly in the state, much less county wide. Carole is usually there so you should ask for things to be to your liking, And while i recall that you did not like the truffle oil on the lobster mac and cheese, I wondered what you/ve been having there that we shold avoid?
Pepe's in Manchester
Since I was driving through there last weekend I stoppped and picked up a couple of pies to bring home. Both were medium, ordered with extra sauce. On one I got mozz, roasted peppers and mushrooms; the other I got with cheese alone figuring I can add my own toppings when we're ready to have it. They were both ordered cooked slighlty light and uncut since I finish cooking them when we're ready to eat.
I found the one we had that night disappointing, nothing like I remember good apizza being when I was growing up in New Haven. The toppings were very sparse, and the cheese overcooked to the point of being browned. I also thought that the crust, though nice and thin, was unremarkable. I put the cheese pie in the freezer and will be heating it up tomorrow. But I don't think that I will bother to go out of my way and get them there again. I should note that on a previous occasion we ate there and ordered the white clam pie. There were no more than six clams on it; it was really not much mre than a garlic pizza. And the prices are not that cheap either, so maybe we'll try Wooster St. again, but not Manchester.
Finger lickin' good? [moved from General topics]
Buy him a white tablecloth and find yourself a real man who doesn't look down his nose at you. Life is short -- but also too long to spend your life with someone who feels that he has to be critical of his so-called "love."
What foods do you refuse to eat?
Milk and its closely related ilk: cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese and everythig else that smells like milk.
first smoked brisket--what did we do wrong?
John, do you continue to add wood chunks to your smoker so it continues to produce smoke during that smoking phase? I did one on Sunday but it was only activiely "smoking for the first 2 - 3 hours though it continued to "cook" in the smoker at ca. 240 deg. for the balance of the time.
What do you wipe your counters with?
I'm like the family in the Big Fat Greek Wedding. I keep a spray bottle of Windex next to my (glass top) stove aind use it to clean up everything in the kitchen from that cooktop to counters to big and small appliances -- even an occasional hairball. Depending on the chore I'll either use a dish towel or a paper towel.
Asparagus Ideas?
We just started picking ours this weekend. But we got a LOT of suggestions here a couple of years ago:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/704188
Fried Oysters in Ct.
Over the last week and a half or so, I had two oyster po'boys up here in L'Fld Cnty. The first was at a new place in Morris called the Lazy frog. The sandwich had a lot of bread, but both oysters and flavor were hard to find.
The following week I had one at the Landing Zone Grill at the old Harwinton Airport. It had a good amount of oysters which were well seasoned, and overall was delicious. I'm looking forward to getting back over there and trying their crawfish po'boy.
Homemade BBQ Sauce without using Sugar.
I know I had recalled seeing sugar free BBQ sauce in the supermarket -- I think I may have tried it. So I just googled "sugar free barbecue sauce" and found a number of brands commercially available plus some recipes using stevia, splenda, etc.
Date Night Menus: order for 1?
Why not give it a try and let us know how it works out? Can you take the rest of your wine home there as well?
The Lazy Frog, Morris, CT, disappointing
DW wanted to try this place, so last week, on April 10, 2012, as we were on our way home from Torrington we thought we'd give it a shot. As soon as I walked in the door and saw that they had an oyster po' boy on the menu my mind was made up (fried oysters are my favorite thing to eat when I'm out). The wife ordered a catfish blt. The sandwiches, were each served on a long hoagie or sub roll and each came served with (possibly housemade) potato chips. Well I opened up my one half roll and found two, count'em, 2, oysters carefully spaced out atop the slaw and hot sauce. The second half had three. Now on this trip I had figured we'd stop at Crabby Al's where an oyster roll overflowing with lightly breaded oysters and accompanied by good fries and slaw would have run between 9 and 10 bucks. But here at the Lazy Frog's, those 5 little shellfish in a biiig roll fetched $11.99. DW's comments about her lunch were: "Well, that was filling".
Judging by that experience, I feel that the food does not live up to the exotic descriptions on the menu -- or the prices. I decided not to take a copy of the menu as we left.
Landing Zone-CT, anyone been?
Every so often I've read articles about this place. Today we had to run an errand over in Burlington so decided to give it a try. The place is small and the walls (and the floors somewhat) are covered with old photos, maps, signs, license plates, etc. We heeded the sign not to seat ourselves and the very nice waitress immediately came and sat us, taking our drink order in the process.
The menu is several pages long and includes tha things its signs tout outside, namely elk, alligator and oysters. They have many renditions of mussel dishes, and burgers (which looked large and pretty impressive - burgers bigger than the buns.). The po'boy item gave several options including oysters, crawfish, salmon, and several other thing that I can't remember since I find it hard to get past fried oysters. DW had their fried catfish sandwich with the house made vinegar potato chips, and I did have the oyster po'boy. She enjoyed hers and I have to say that mine was delicious, the oysters plentiful, seasoned nicely with oldbay, and topped with tomatoes and romaine with a remoulade served on the side and accompanied by fresh matchstick style fries. The service was prompt and very friendly, the waitress returned a couple of times to refresh our drinks and check our needs. I decided that next time I'll try the crawfish -- if not one of the mussel dishes....
Looking for Mae Ploy Curry Paste in Central CT
Good excuse to get to A Dong and stock up on all those hard to find things. Plus they have those wonderful roast ducks hanging there right as you walk in the door....
Favorite Frozen Food?
+ one on the MA's vegetable lasagne. Inexpensive, light on the pasta, crisp veggies.
Quick Cilantro Tasting Question - what percentage taste soap?
I love cilantro and I taste citrus. However, when you get down to answering your question, I don't think you'll have a very honest answer. How about "What percentage of CHers can think of dishes made better by cilantro, whether Latino, Thai, Vietnamese or your choice?". Seriously, maybe ask "what does cilantro taste like to you or contribute to a dish?" Just don't load your question up to be answered one way or the other.
The CHEW
We're on the like list. We watch it at lunch time. It is just a very light, funny chat show revolving around food. Mario seems most comfortable cooking, Michael and Carla are both funny and savvy cooks; Daphne is the persecuted little sister, but Clinton is really hysterically funny. If you're looking for a serious cooking class, this is not it, but if you want a bit of entertainment, -- and maybe some ideas for dinner -- this program is fun. (If you happened to watch "A Day In the Life of Mario Batali" that somebody here on CH told about, you'd see that the show is very loosely thrown together rather than being tightly scripted.)
Bakeries in Waterbury, CT
I was about to jump in with Brooklyn until I saw your response. Their pumpernickel bread lists for ingredients: pumpernickel flour, water, yeast, salt. It has such a wonderful tang and chew to it that I think that they must use their own sour to start it every day.
The Village Restaurant, Litchfield
I must be very unlucky up on West St. I've eaten at WSG two or three times. The first time the portions were outrageously miniscule and the service condescending. We went there a few months ago at the insistance of a friend who had gone there with her late husband. I had the moules frites. The mussels were okay, but the fries were tepid and soggy, obviously scooped out of a hotel pan rather than the fryer. And, as you said, not cheap.
Carole Peck closing Zee Burger April 12, 2012
We did, thanks. Cute and soft about says it.
Funny saying that you wouldn't want your restaurant to be the knd of place anyone would want to drive to. I think it is more of a political statement vis-a-vis the zoning boards and commissions. The town went through all sorts of legal maneuvers over a period of months to keep someone from opening a Dunkin Donuts (an outsider) in what has now become a huge, entirely empty brand new building, just down the street from a slightly older completely empty office type building.
Carole Peck closing Zee Burger April 12, 2012
I think that's too bad. I drove by here on Sunday, saw the sign and immediately got a craving for a juicy lucy blue burger, my favorite there. It will be interesting to see how the new operation goes. I wonder what he means when he says that he wants it to be a "town kind of place".
Side for smoked beef ribs
I made those a couple of weeks ago. Since they are very rich and flavor forward, I pair them with mashed potatoes. Go with whatever your favorite or specialty might be, with chives, or garlic, butter and parsley, or as I did, horseradish.
Brookside Inn Restaurant, Oxford, CT - Good Rustic Italian Food
We've had a couple of lunches there on occasions when we met a friend who worked down in Oxford. Both times we had fish. The first time it was excellent, the second good. (His office regularly orders food from there and has had no complaints.). We do find it a nice, unpretentious atmosphere with decent prices and good food. It has always been busy when we've been there, even early in the week.
Macaroni and cheese
Now that this thread has just been resurrected, I find myself wishing that I had ordered Carole's lobster m&c for dinner tonight (Good Friday). It's a bit pricey as an entree, ca $28, but you get the papadums and bread, and when we make a nice salad, the serving is enough for the two of us for dinner at home. Whenever either of us has had it in the restaurant we always wind up taking half home anyway.
Oh well, tonight it will be mussels in a garlic-butter sauce over whole grain thin spaghetti -- with the same big salad.
What's For Easter Dinner?
For starters: On Saturday I will smoke chicken livers and use them in a chicken liver pate. I' am also smoking a raw, Lithuanian kilebasa and we'll serve both of those along with cheeses and some freshly grated horseradish as apps.
For the main: I bought a whole, very young lamb from a local farm a few days ago. I am going to stuff one of the legs with spinach and mushrooms, lightly sauteed with shallot and garlic. I'll rub the whoe thing wioth olive oil, garlic, rosemary, s&p. Then, I haven't decided whether I'll cook it in the smoker, on the grill, or in the oven. With that we're making tabouli and some lightly steamed asparagus. My sister is bringing augratin potatoes. Finally, DW is making a strawberry rhubarb pie for dessert.
Types of animal meat you've tried
Chicken
Beef
Turkey
Pork
Duck
Fish
Shrimp
Crab
Clams
Octopus
Mussels
Lobster
Langostinos
Oysters
Alligator
Elk
Buffalo
Deer
Quail
Lamb
Venison
Elk
Rabbit
Squirrel
Crocodile (also at The Carnivore Restaurant)
Zebra
gazelle
pheasant
goose
frog legs
escargots
jelly fish (in China)
goat
horse
eels
