ktmoomau

Perhaps when it first opened, we all just weren't used to eating so much Indian food and it seemed new, some of the best dishes we have now had, they aren't a surprise and we eat more Indian than we did before and are more open to a few more items on an Indian menu than we were before?  The dining room was shiny new and pretty, it seemed exotic.  But now it just isn't a surprise, the jewel box it first was?  A thought.  I haven't been in years, just reading the above, I kind of thought this.

Going in March so also interested in details too!

I have been eating the leftover of a large tub of costco waldorf chicken salad the last two/three days for lunch???  I will do something different tomorrow, as I am a little sick of it.  But it is pretty good.  Waldorf isn't my favorite style chicken salad, but it isn't bad.  Today I added apple to add a little more fruit.  Yesterday I had it on some ok sourdough bread with spinach (not quite basic store, but not really good sourdough either). 

Dinner last night was short ribs I had done sous vide for 72 hours, seared off in a pan with a little red wine, balsamic, Worcestershire.  I made mashed potatoes via the instant pot, and roasted Brussels sprouts in balsamic, maple syrup, salt, pepper and a little lemon juice towards the end.  All made in about an hour because I thought I had a meeting that is actually tonight- hahahhahahha, so not funny, really.  This dish could have really been more perfect had I dedicated a little more time, oh well.

18 hours ago, curiouskitkatt said:

Charleston is certainly one of the top restuarants not only Baltimore, but the Greater Mid Atlantic. Chef Wolf has been at this for over 2 decades. I hope that this year, being that women are kicking up dust, 2019 will be the year for Wolf to be crowned Best Chef Mid-Atlantic. 

How does this happen? Chatter. Especially buzz that is generated on a forum like ours. With that being said, I would like personally invite members to join me for dinner at Charleston. I have been in contact with the events person.  What  would be the preference ? Private DR or in the main. The price will be approximately $125/++ per person food only, then a supplement if you opt for wine pairings. I will be planning this to take place in the month of Feb. I'll create a survey to see what day of the week works best, if you can’t make this one, there will be others. Consider this the Inaugural DR. Supper Club. I’d like this do be an intimate group, so I'm gonna cap attendance at 10 ppl/  max. 

We used to have great events. No reason we can’t have that again. 2019& moving forward, I’d like to revive the ”In real Time” happenings of this forum. I can’t do this all alone. I’m gonna need help from each & everyone of you. 

I'll follow up with deets in the Events forum. I promise these will be fun, and delicious, but best of all, we’ll do what we do best. We will engage, in real time about our dinner. In the new  year,   I hope to revive the  DR dinners.

Cruise Director, 

kat

Kat,

My February is a bit crazy right now on the trial schedule, but could you keep me on the list for the event/other events.  I am certainly interested in attending some if the timing can hit right.

I got my Mom a case of sonoma cutrer at the Virginia Costco it was much cheaper than her local Maryland retailer, but only about $4 less per bottle than Total Wine in Virginia, but for a whole case that makes a difference.   I haven't tried too many other things yet.  

Another batch of leftover wonton hot and sour soup.  I am not sure the broth this time around was quite as good, it was a smidge different and I don't know why, still very good.  I did add onions this time, but I think those were a good addition to the complexity.  Of course, I also added a good bit of sriracha to mine while I was eating it and made it quite the keep the sinuses running experience.  Hubby really enjoyed both renditions.

Mount Vernon is an independently owned non-profit and run by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and is not a government museum, open 365 days a year 9am-4pm daily. Also, the grounds are dog friendly.

On 1/4/2019 at 9:08 PM, astrid said:

Grilled cheese sandwich made with brie?

I had some extra brie!  My life would be so much more simple if it didn't pain me to throw away things I think I could use.  So I made some little toasty sandwiches with brie with a spinach salad on the side.  I also made croutons and put it in egg strata cups with apple, ham and cheese.  The croutons might end up being in salad or be used for stuffing!  Thanks all.

Garrett County

So we checked out the Alder St Diner across the street from Englander's on Alder St in Oakland, MD.  This is owned by the same woman who owns Tomanetti's.  It was the first day after they were closed for Christmas for 3 days.  She said it was the first time she had ever been off for three days.  I think she was cursing it though.  She apologized to us as the ice machine wasn't working, she remedied that with ice from the back, and the cooks being slow.  She is very nice, and they seemed to get it together after about an hour after opening, we just were the first people in.  Autumn is very nice and just honest, so she laughed and apologized and said she had to get them whipped back into shape.  The decor is cool, lots of car and 50s stuff, jukebox which works, very kid friendly- they have hamburgers, hot dogs (bratwurst and italian sausage), some sandwiches, soup, salad and a few entrees too.  Generally open for lunch and dinner.  I got MD crab soup and a hot dog (topped with something- can't remember could have been kraut, chili, who knows).  The MD crab soup was ok, I liked that it had a lot of veggies in it, the crab was just not very chunky.  I make a really good MD crab soup, and mine is definitely better, but for Oakland I thought this had potential.  The hot dog was really good, no complaints.  I am not sure why Oakland is going through a diner phase... we have Sloppy Dawgs, Denny's, Englander's, The Diner.  Apparently, it's a thing.  But this one was pretty good, I'd go back with the limited options in Oakland.

We went out to check out the Gourmet Store at the Fort at the lake.  It was a nice little shop with nice gift options and spice blends which would be nice if you were up for vacation and cooking.  I bought some cleaning towels I wanted, little signs to put in my cheese and dips and a few other things.  I was hoping that the little cafe there at the Fort was open, it was not.  They should have changed their sign which said, "Good food, every day." So we went up to Moonshadow Cafe.  I have to say I love the food at Moonshadow- it has the most different food in Garrett County.  You can get quinoa bowls, I had a falafel sandwich, their buffalo cauliflower is really good, etc, etc.  But the service is ackingly slow.  It is worth it, but I really wish they could afford to have just one more staff person than they do at any given time.  I know the space they were in before was perhaps too small, but I think the space that they are in now is perhaps too big.  Anyway, great place, good, different food for GC, slow service.  Also lots of live music.

Heidi's bakery out near where my Amish nanny lives was on a hiatus for winter until February- I don't blame them, but update google (to be fair I asked Hubby to call and confirm they were open- he googled, I didn't think that was sufficient, but I went with it), so we came back to Oakland and ended up at Subway.

We also ate at Uno's, I hadn't been here in a long time and went with a classic, the cheese and chunky tomato deep dish personal size pizza, which was surprisingly one of the lower calorie options on the menu.  It was a throwback to high school.  It wasn't necessarily good, but it wasn't bad, and it has a certain nostalgia which made me happy.  We also got their crab dip.  I really like the bread they make with their crab dip- they aren't quite crackers, they aren't quite breadsticks, I wonder if there is a recipe to make a copycat version somewhere on the internet, as they are kind of weirdly amazing with crab dip.

Sipside beside Flipside the cool record store in Oakland, and a few other restaurants in Oakland are supposed to open soon.  I will endeavor to try some new places out next time I am up...  At Christmas so many places are closed, I am subject to the whims of my family and I also cook a lot of our meals.

In sad news, one of our favorite dives- Ken's Irish Pub in Friendsville closed.

Thai Peppers Menu

Hubby and I wanted to try out Thai Peppers as people had talked about it around the hood.  I have to say as soon as I saw their menu- I knew it wasn't Thai Square (although they have taken a few of my favorite weird things off their menu), Bangkok 54 or even Thainida. The menu was fairly pedestrian, but I am sure most people think it is fine.  That being said my veggie panang curry was serviceable, flavors I expected, nice brown rice, nice and warm, a little spice, but not over the top.  The chicken satays were large pieces of meat, not bad in flavor, I just think could have been marinated a bit more.  But again, nothing bad.  They seem to be a pretty bang out carry out business and service was very responsive.  We sat downstairs which has 0 ambiance, and no music, but as I we went out because I was trying to recover from the crud, we really weren't all that particular.  Anyway, it's fine but there are a lot better options just a few miles further.

I had some veggie (bean, spinach, corn and tomato) filling and a little shredded chicken filling that I had leftover from making taquitos.    Tonight I mixed them and then used the filling, added cheese to make quesadilla.  Served with some avocado and plain greek yogurt.  I have been trying to get back on track with my previous goal of eating more vegetables and having meat as a smaller part of the dishes I eat with meat, it doesn't always happen, but I am trying.

8 hours ago, Al Dente said:

I lost custody of my All Clad pots and pans in the divorce.      They were wedding gifts.

It happens... replacing them is cheaper than fighting over them!  Makes you wish you found one on the street in a trash bin that just needed cleaned!

1 minute ago, DonRocks said:

You know ... cream cheese is awfully good on those.

I don't think you understand the amount of slices I have left, I would end up eating a whole tub of cream cheese, hahahhaha.  Stuffing is a good idea, thanks!

Since you all haven't failed me yet... any ideas for using leftover cranberry walnut bread that was cut into serving size slices.  I know the normal thing would be a bread pudding or french toast, but I was hoping for some less sugar filled ideas (If I weren't watching my figure it would be french toast sticks for sure). 

I thought about making them into croutons? Or maybe using them in a strata?  

Last night I made rice and topped it with the black eyed pea puree I had leftover from being a NYE dip and then the leftovers of the beef empanada filling, it was sort of like rice and beans.  I was sick, it was the most energy I could muster up.

Well the head cold I seemed to be narrowly avoiding caught up to me last night and today.  So to follow Sundae in the Park's advice, I am hoping to soup it out.  So last night I made a broth with chicken soup base, with lots of carrots, celery (leftover from making a crudite platter) and ginger.  I added some lemongrass paste, dried chili flakes and a little rice wine vinegar for a little balance of flavor, let it cook a bit.  I then dumped in one of the leftover bags of dumplings from the party- I think they were the chicken terriyaki ones.  Topped with some fresh basil leaves.  It turned out better than I expected it would.  Now Hubby will want me to try to recreate it sometime, to me soup isn't something you really follow a recipe you just make something with ingredients on hand and taste and add until it is tasty.   

4 hours ago, Kev29 said:

At this point, eating at National Airport is like a visit to DC's culinary graveyard

Hey, hey now, don't you say anything bad about my beloved Bao Bar.  They could take over some Taylor Gourmet spots that have died and I would be happy.

7 hours ago, dcs said:

Do you use the powder or liquid?  I have never tried this product and was thinking of getting some.

I have had both, but I prefer the powder for dishes, sinks, bathtub, etc.  It is like a more mild chemical version of Comet that you can use in more places- if you look up the cleaning uses online there are a lot, some I haven't tried.  The liquid can be handy in the bathroom and shower, and on SS and silver, but honestly, I think the real cleaning power is the powder and would get that one, you can use it in many of the same places and I think the powder just cleans a bit better, it's just sometimes can be a little harder to apply to things like the fridge than a squirt of liquid stuff.  But I actually got a reusable cloth set that cleans the appliances really well using just water, and when they get dirty you can wash them, so I have been using those for the fronts of the appliances.  

Thanida Thai - Our Story

This place replaced Royal Thai and is mentioned in the Royal Thai threads, but doesn't have it's own thread.

Hubby meant to say he wanted to go to the Vietnamese restaurant near my office, but he said Thai.  So I drove to the Thai restaurant.  Since it is so close to my office so we get take out from time to time, but I don't like writing reviews on places I have only gotten take out from.  My first in restaurant visit was over the holiday with Hubby.  We liked the variety on the menu.  I had the dried crispy beef combo with papaya salad and sticky rice.  Hubby had a rice dish.  He said his was very spicy and he liked it- I think it was Kra Proa Fried Rice.  I thought the sticky rice could have been a little more moist, but it was fine and we were there kind of late in the afternoon.  The beef and papaya salad were good, service was nice.  It's a very small restaurant, but they seem to be fairly kid friendly and do a fair amount of take out.  

On 12/28/2018 at 2:04 PM, Sundae in the Park said:

Sure, this story on the Bar Keeper's Friend website is a promotional entry, but it is still hilarious/awesome and that is the same pan I just bought, looking so very shiny and new after a good scrub! So...I think I'll be getting some. Well played.

Hahahhahhaha, I applaud Sandy, and I do love me some Bar Keeper's Friend, it is a staple in my pantry.

Christmas dinner was fajitas.  I also while at home made vegetable soup to use a bunch of veggies my brother and I brought up so they wouldn't go bad, and ham and bean soup which used a ham bone taking up too much space in my Mom's freezer.  I also made Tuna tetrazzini, one of my brother's favorite meals.

For NYE I made empanadas with a traditional beef filling, and veggie and chicken taquitos.  I also had frozen dumplings we warmed up, and assorted desserts and cheeses. So last night was leftovers, as will likely be the next couple days.

Happy New Year to all!  I will join you in this challenge!  I also just need to get into a new work-out routine since moving.  I don't like to say it is a resolution, it's just something that I always need, and just fell by the wayside as other things took priority, but needs to be back in the spotlight.

I ended up making a sangria style punch with pomegranate seeds, raspberries, blackberries and cherries, vermouth, triple sec and some ginger ale and club soda.  It wasn't as fizzy as a champagne punch which I like more, but it was passable.  But as with a lot of punches, a lot went down the drain at the end of the party too.  

Tonight I made tuna tetrazzini for the family.  Mom wanted to double recipe, so we ate the pasta, not baked in a casserole tonight.  I put the rest in a casserole dish and put in the fridge for later.  Contemplating what do with all the left over parm.