marina13's Profile
Vegan dinner for 6
just fyi, there are several brands of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (no anchovies).
ISO 'real' Black forest cake recipe
cherry preserves is like basically cherry jam (i actually don't know the difference between jam and preserves - maybe preserves have more/bigger pieces of fruit?). in any case, i wouldn't substitute pie filling for it - it wouldn't be solid enough.
Need the best Tgiving stuffing recipe EVER
i make these every year - they are great and everyone gets their own portion without any mess.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Corn-Stuffing-Balls
ISO 'real' Black forest cake recipe
i made this for my husband's birthday a couple years ago - i think it was the best cake i've ever had (lots of work though):
http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Black-Forest-Cherry-Torte
you can make the cake itself ahead of time, and just assemble it the day of (or maybe even the day before). i used trader joe's cherry preserves for the filling.
upscale vegetarian in Vegas?
i've spent the last couple days searching for a "fancy" restaurant that has at least 1 appealing vegetarian entree and i haven't found anything. the closest option i found was at Bouchon, and imho a plate of gnocchi is not worth $27. most menus that i looked at (Alex, Boulud, etc.) did not have a vegetarian option on their menu. am i SOL?
Bon Appetit Cover - August 08
ditto. i was so disappointed/surprised that i wrote them about it. i couldn't believe that they would have the gall to publish a bunch of recipes made with prepurchased ice cream. that's sandra lee cooking, not real cooking.
Guacamole with Mayo/Sourcream
is this what was wrong with my guacamole? we went to San Francisco recently, ate at 2 mexican restaurants, ordered guacamole at both, and what came to the table was some sort of silky smooth green concoction that had tomatoes and onions in it. it tasted nothing like avocado, and imo, was inedible. i could not believe that chicago has better guacamole and now i don't take it for granted.
To give you all a laugh at my expense...
i think what i've seen done on tv before is that you take small bowls, cover the outside with plastic wrap, and "paint" the outside of the bowls in chocolate. place in the refrigerator to cool, and they should come off with little problem since the plastic wrap is touching the bowl and not the chocolate.
Bakery in Western Suburbs?
i know it's probably too late, but i just had to recommend Upper Crust Bakery in Lisle. my office gets our monthly birthday cake from here, and it's always different and amazing. in fact, everything i've ever had from this bakery is awesome - pound cake, muffins, turnovers, eclairs...
Vegetarian and Carnivore in town - need rec
i've only been to opera, and i was very happy with their vegetarian menu (may be vegan, i can't remember).
Babbo, Lupa, or Del Posto?
ok, i think i'm sold on lupa - it has a good location as well, since we'll be going to the comedy cellar after dinner. thanks everyone!
the best vegetarian food "products"
if you can find it, i enjoy worthington products, especially their turkey. you can buy it in a frozen roll, and then chop it up however you like. i like to slice some thin for sandwiches, cube some for salad, or slice some thick and serve it warm with gravy. so good! buying it in the form of a roll is a lot cheaper than buying it in slices. they also had an excellent frozen tuna substitute (tuno) but i'm pretty sure they discontinued it.
also, trader joe's has great tex-mex burgers (i forget the brand), and they just came out with chicken-less and beef-less strips.
Cranberry KIND??: BIG PLUMPY!
we had a similar experience in oregon - we visited a cranberry bog and they were huge and dark - gorgeous! the farmer told us that the majority of cranberries grown in the US are from wisconsin/new england, and that's where you get the small red ones.
Babbo, Lupa, or Del Posto?
Hubby and I are planning on going to NYC in a couple months and would like to eat at one of Batali's restaurants, but can't decide which one. I'm vegetarian, if that makes a difference. We've been to Babbo before, and I would like to try something different since I think that Babbo only had one vegetarian entree, but hubby really liked the osso bucco (sp?) so he would like to maybe try something else there. I would really appreciate your advice!!
thanks in advance,
marina
Boystown Veggie
no, they don't, but you can always map it out to see what's closest. i think that pick me up cafe might be closest to boystown, it's farther north on clark. it's not a strictly vegetarian restaurant, but they have lots of options.
best mail order treats
just wanted to second this suggestion - they have an amazing array of jams and baked goods.
Food Quests
Will Owen, that pie sounds delicious. i really miss lilikoi from my honeymoon and whenever i see something passionfruit i have to pick it up. if you perfect that recipe would you be so kind as to share it?
Any preferred *brands* of olive oil here ?
we use Kirkland evoo in our house most of the time for cooking. if we want to use something a little richer, DaVinci is fantastic - it won the taste test of Cooks Illustrated for supermarket olive oils, and both the regular olive oil and evoo are excellent. they're not that easy to find though. of course, nothing beats homemade - we picked up a bottle on the side of the road while we were vacationing in Croatia a few months back.
Chicago E European [Moved from Midwest]
ahh, nevermind. someone already pointed out the kruskovac. it's fairly easy to find at liquor stores.
Veggie-Friendly Appetizers (Preferably Vegan)
i made these one time and they were a big hit (and easy to make!): top small slices of crostini with guacamole, then place sundried tomatoes on top.
Vegan Desserts for 2
there's a really easy way to make chocolate mousse that requires no cooking time or lots of ingredients. i think alton brown calls it moo-less chocolate pie on the food network site, but you basically just puree 1 box of firm silken tofu with a teaspoon of vanilla and a tablespoon of sugar or agave nectar (honey if you're not against eating it). drizzle in 1 1/2 cups melted chocolate chips (trader joe's has vegan chocolate chips). pour into a pie crust to make a pie, or you can just put it into serving dishes and garnish it with berries. it's very rich tasting and super easy to make (my husband made it the first time he cooked me dinner while we were dating!)
Dread pesticides; can't afford all-organic diet.
not only that, but i would assume that pesticides are *in* the fruit, not just on the fruit. much like meat/dairy.
Specialty stores selling chickpea miso?
you should be able to find it at a decent asian store (maybe try Super H Mart or Mitsuwa?) i bought some a few years back at Apple Valley (in Westmont).
Favorite recipes from Saveur magazine?
i recently made the Schwarzwälder kirschtorte from the June/July issue (i think) for my husband's birthday. it was one of the best cakes i've ever had and i was sad when it was all eaten. i'll include the page number when i get a chance to look for the recipe.
