ScotteeM

I found a website that offers fresh porcini in season: Oregon Mushrooms .According to the website, they are in season late June through August.

I had problems last night (Safari could not find the site) and was about to call out the Mounties to find you, Rocks, when it came back up. No problems so far this morning (I've been on for all of 3 minutes).

Enrollment in that particular class is limited to, erm, women, according to the email I received.

Santa left my Handi-Vac at the North Pole on Christmas Eve, so I bought myself one yesterday at Safeway. It's so much fun! Strawberries were BOGO, and theiy're now nestled in my produce bin in vacuum bags, so they should keep for a day or two. I'm heading north this weekend to my ancestral home for holiday celebrations and one of those crazed gift exchanges. The price limit is "about $10", so my contribution will be a Handi-Vac. My dogs are safe, as they don't fit into the little bags, but I've vacuum-sealed some of their food (chicken wings)--very cool.

Leftover wine? Now I've heard everything! :(

Don, Thank you for your comments, which are quite timely, since we have reservations for tomorrow for a belated birthday dinner for me.

I loved the place when I went there . . . twenty-some years ago. I confess that I haven't been back in a while, and certainly not since the fire. I've enjoyed the few dishes I've prepared from their cookbook, especially the chocroute and the herbed cottage cheese. As Walrus said, it is solid Alsatian food--not as fancy as some other cuisines.

My husband and I mounted an expedition out to the WF at Fair Lakes today, aiming for the seafood restaurant counter first. A dozen Wellfleet oysters on the half-shell were very fresh and nicely shucked--a real treat, even at 11:30 am. I really don't like the sides they offer (soggy "chips", parslied potatoes or rice) so I opted for a caesar salad with fried oysters. They were a dozen nicely fried fresh-tasting oysters over a reliably decent, if huge, salad. My husband's fried shrimp were just OK--the fried coating wouldn't stay on the shrimp long enough to get into his mouth, and the chips were, well, soggy and flabby. I noticed that the Osteria was shut down and given over to a large selection of non-food gift items (Crocs shoes, cosmetic gift sets, etc.). Is the Osteria permanently closed? I don't get out there often, and I haven't tried the Osteria's food, but it always has seemed busy when I've been there. I scored a lovely hanger steak for our dinner tonight, and turkey wings and necks which are simmering for stock now (Brown Turkey Stock from Epicurious.com). They had duck carcasses in the meat case, along with boneless duck breast and legs.

He's on the CBS Morning News, 9-11 AM (which is now).

Just watched the beginning, with the teasers for the stories, and an interview with Cathal was included.

The farmer who supplies the co-op/buying club of which I am a member feeds his hogs milk, but I think they are also allowed to forage--I'll have to check on that. I do know that his pork products are delicious!

My sister and her new sweetie came down from Pennsylvania and wanted to meet me in DC for brunch today. Sister and I have similar adventurous palates (she's in the business), but I was warned that her SO has more "traditional" tastes. OEB was perfect! Sis and I shared a dozen oysters on the half-shell (assorted) while SO looked on with curiousity and mock revulsion. The oysters were fresh and clean-tasting, and arranged from first to last so that one variety didn't obliterate the palate for the next one. I love oyster season! SO was extremely happy with pumpkin French toast and sausage, while Sis and I had the Eggs Long Island: scrambled eggs, fried oysters and spinach on Englilsh muffin halves topped with Dijon Hollandaise. The eggs were perfectly cooked, the oysters were fresh and crisply fried, and the sauce was a lovely complement. The home fries were tasty, too. SO had a glorious-looking dessert of espresso and chocolate and ice cream--don't know the name. I enjoyed a creme brulee. Both were wonderful. We had a great visit and a very satisfying brunch. Oh, and I arrived about 10 minutes ahead of them and was seated to wait for them--no waiting for the party to be complete before seating. I could settle in with my Virgin Mary and examine the menu at my leisure till Sis and SO arrived. We all left very happy, because of the visit, and the food. And I haven't seen my sister so happy in years!

Even more priceless was one of Julia's shows, where a guest chef was using a mold to make croquembouches, and Julia expressed her delight at this, saying "...not like Martha 'Perfect' Stewart!" I fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard! (I had seen the original Martha Stewart special, so I got the joke.)

For about the second or third time in my 3 decades of adulthood, I'm cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving. More specifically, a pasture-raised turkey from an organic farmer. It's not a Heritage bird, AFAIK--the photos I saw were of white turkeys. They've been raised on pasture with mobile hoop houses, in the company of chickens (my farmer employed the "buddy system" hoping the chickens would teach the turkeys how not to self-destruct). Last year I had a lot of success with an organic bird from Whole Foods (thanks for the instructions, Dean). Is there anything I need to do differently for this pastured bird? It will be fresh, not frozen, delivered on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, probably processed a few days earlier. I'm very excited about this turkey. The chickens and other products I've gotten from this farmer have been outstanding. Unfortunately, it is a private buying club which is at capacity now, so I can't refer other Rockwellians to this source at this time. Sorry!

Chef on a Shoestring this morning on the Saturday CBS Early Show. Even on a "shoestring" you can have Chanterelle mushrooms! Go Fabio!

It's been 25 years since I dined at Sarris's. I still remember the decor, if not the food. I occasionally make Green Goddess dressing at my house--from the Penzeys' mix, but I don't offer a salad bar like the Orleans House.

Sietsma's first take on Fiamma.

Wow! I just had a memory of eating kibbeh nayee in Detroit in 1979. It was the one and only time I've had it, and I loved it! I'll have to go in search of it now, or learn to make it myself. Raw meats are an essential part of a well-rounded diet.

I was looking forward to adding Hank's to my Thursday lunch rotation in Alexandria. Maybe I went on an off-day, but I was very disappointed in my lunch last Thursday. I ordered the special Autumn salad and a daily special of fried Ipswich clams. The salad sounded great on paper: watercress and frisee with roasted butternut squash, goat cheese, and toasted pecans in a sherry vinaigrette. In practice, the long strands of watercress were clumsy to eat without cutting, and it wasn't possible to get anything else on the fork with the watercress. I set my salad aside halfway through to eat the clams when they arrived, and when I got back to my salad the watercress was wilted by the vinaigrette. It just didn't work for me. The clams themselves were soggy and greasy and mushy. They just didn't have the same taste and texture that I remember from orders at Kinkeads. It was an appetizer-sized portion, but by the time I was done I had had enough, if you know what I mean. At $18, I expected more. I might give it another try, for the oysters, but with all the great choices in Old Town and nearby, I won't be rushing back.

My Swiss-born sister-in-law (now living in Pennsylvania) orders products by mail from the Swiss Bakery to assuage her homesickness. I noticed last weekend that there seems to be a second location in the Ravensworth Shopping Center on Braddock Road just west of 495. Didn't have time to check it out, but it certainly would be more convenient for folks to the north and east of Burke.

I'm inferring a difference in perception between "Italian" and "French" or "New American" or whatever the latest trend is being called, on the part of some folks (not in this thread), in terms of their expectations regarding ingredients and presentation. I'm not at all familiar with the NYC restaurant scene, but are we seeing a little discrimination here? This isn't "traditional" Italian (or Italian/American) cooking, so it must be inferior, no matter how wonderful it really is? I agree that Fabio and his staff should continue to do what they do best and not try to conform to what the critics expect of "Italian" cuisine. Tomorrow will mark three weeks since their soft opening (and a little over six weeks since his last night at Maestro). It's way too soon to draw any conclusions. He does have 92% of his kitchen staff from Maestro, including his wonderful sous chef, Nicholas, so he is surely off to a great start. And maybe he'll return to his faithful following here if he finds himself unappreciated in the Big Apple.

Cucumbers are in season right now in this area--I know because I'm getting lots in my CSA share. Cucumber gazpacho sounds great!

Thanks for those suggestions!I have no idea how large a group it will be. And I think the hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn, but I'm trying to confirm that. I don't handle uncertainty well--this is very frustrating for me.

I'm meeting out of town relatives tomorrow night for dinner. They're staying at the Holiday Inn in Courthouse. (They're in town for an interment at Arlington National Cemetery.) I'd appreciate any recommendations or cautions for eateries in that area. I may suggest Ray's, but it might be too big a group to get in there. I don't know most of these folks, so I'm not aware of cuisine preferences or aversions. Thanks for any info!

I finally got my husband to go to Gamasot today for lunch. I had the Bi bim bop in the hot pot, and brought half of it home. He had the Galbi tang and enjoyed it very much. I liked the Sollongtang broth, so I got an order to go (I'm supposed to consume "bone broth" daily for the health diet I'm on now, and I like this one much better than other broths I've tasted). I liked the privacy offered by the screens, but I felt like a bull in a china shop, 'cause I kept bumping into them. The staff were wonderful and very helpful to us neophytes. I'd been there once before, months ago, with Grover and Escoffier, but they did all the ordering that time. Our waitress was extremely patient with us and explained things to us. I'm sure we'll go back before too long.