ktmoomau

I made a clam pasta last night with frozen in the shell clams with spinach and red sauce.  I sauteed the clams in olive oil and garlic, they opened up and it worked well, but the clams ended up although not being off, just a bit more clammy/sea tasting that if I had used absolutely fresh clams. 

Do nicer restaurants usually use straws?  I can't recall having a straw at a nicer restaurant, except for maybe a metal one on a mint julep or something like that.  I am not a big straw person anyway, but I wouldn't not go somewhere that uses them, but I do think you are unsure of the cleanliness of your glass rim if you provide me a straw at anywhere that isn't casual.

I really was basic last night- I made chicken thighs pounded flat, rubbed with a seasoning blend from Penzeys, sauteed in butter and lemon.  Then I warmed up a bag of broccoli and cheese in the freezer, which was watery, but I had bought it for a night I was gone for Hubby, and well emptying the freezer and didn't feel like dirtying a pan to reduce freezer cheese sauce.  I also warmed up squash I made the other night to go with steak.  The freezer is pretty darn empty now- there are some odd bits here and there.  My baking supplies have vastly dwindled, except for the extreme amount of cocoa powder I accumulated, the fridge is getting low, there are still some odd staples in canned and dried goods, but I won't be moving vast sums of items.

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

I put a hex on biscuits for having so many calories.

I would assume that some of this has to do with the amount of butter/lard needed to make a biscuit versus an english muffin in general.  But also most of the biscuits come with worse for you toppings than the english muffins, but they all seem to be lower in calorie now, so maybe they also changed recipes when they had to publish calorie counts.

On 8/25/2018 at 10:01 PM, Pool Boy said:

1. Things that are a pain in the ass to prepare (like lobster bisque (not hard, but time consuming and annoying) or Frank Ruta's Consomme (purely becase it is magic and partlybecause I suspect it is annoying to get done right, reeeeally right))

Yes, anything that requires straining more than once, it's a restaurant dish for me!

To use the rest of the bag of shrimp, I made a risotto topped with shrimp and spinach.  The rest of the week we had REALLY good BLT sandwiches to use up the rest of some amazing bacon.

I really wish he would sell off Kapnos, I really appreciated all the vegetarian options, and I liked the roast meats, it was a great compromise when dining out with picky eaters.  I wish a judge could order that the company went to "the ladies" and they would just rock it.  I know that isn't what happens, but what a loss for all the employees of all these places and the people under him who weren't apart of all this.  Haven't seen anything on all the stuff in the Liberty building in Ballston, but if one goes, assume they will all go, although I believe it is two leases (maybe three separate, but I think he did one for two places, and the other for one).

5 hours ago, curls said:

I second ktmoomau's recommendation of Le Creuset for braises. I use them for all of my braises -- while they aren't non-stick, a soak in soapy water should loosen up anything that is stuck. For risotto, I tend to use All-Clad or other heavy stainless steel clad cookware but enameled cast iron might be fine for risotto too.

I just did a risotto last night in my Le Creuset and none of it stuck, turned out fine (it wasn't quite as good as Michael Anthony's but it was good).  Also, if you overcook something- a soak with dish soap and/or baking soda if it is really bad has always done the trick for me.

I don't think I have any, I did a big purge, but I still have some magazines to go through, if I have any, I will let you know!

Just now, silentbob said:

Braises, Thai curries, risotto...stuff that could be made in a Le Creuset dutch oven but may require more room and a more reliably non-stick surface?

See I was going to ask why you wouldn't just get a Le Creuset, I have several and use them all the time- there are very big ones, they are pricey, but they last forever. They just came out with some really cool dutch oven, stock pots that the lid turns into a skillet or grill pan that I was drooling over at the SC outlet.  I don't know that I have any stainless steel pots that are more non-stick than my Le Creuset and if the enamel on the pot starts wearing it has a lifetime warranty- my Mom just got a 40 year old pot replaced.  I have two cuisinart stock pots I rarely use, except potentially for spaghetti.  There are other enamel coating brands too, I just like le creuset as it is what my Mom always had.  And when we go to HHI the outlet is right there and it is better than the normal outlets, they have some super good deals.  But you can find a good deal at Home Goods or TJ Maxx from time to time too.

I try to order stuff that I would prefer not to make at home.  If I am out with my Mom and Brother we all talk about what looks good to us, order different things and share.  But if it's just Hubby and I then I order what looks best to me.  I am a very visual person so sometimes I also look up images from the restaurant before I go too.  For instance the rabbit at San Lorenzo looked really good on instagram and I can't easily source rabbit...  But there are also times that something just sounds good to me- normally when I am at a more neighborhoody type of place.  My big triggers at nicer places are normally- harder to source meats, homemade pastas, complicated sauces or cooking techniques, seafood, very seasonal items.

I got this too.  I thought about going, that is a really busy time for us, but I would love to go.  Anyone else signed up?

Shrimp pasta with garlic, white wine, lemon butter sauce.

Very interested in this topic.  I have one I am sorry to say that I have never used, but would be interested in some fun recipes.

19 hours ago, u-bet! said:

Just be sure to keep your head on a swivel 😯

"Coffee Meeting Culminates in Stabbing at Maryland Mall" on usnews.com

Oh my.

2 hours ago, dracisk said:

Yikes. I didn’t even know they had gators there. Maybe the golfers don’t, either.

Gators are in Virginia now, even, due to rising temps- not a huge population mainly around the border still, and definitely in NC, SC, GA, FL and then west to TX.  They are pretty visible in HHI, you will see them laying on the banks of ponds.  I think a lot of places post signs.  Most people think if you are in salt water you are fine, as they typically live in fresh or brackish water, but they can come into full salt water for short periods and there have been some rolling in with the tide onto beaches the past couple years in HHI because the beaches are pretty close to brackish water, but it is rare and they generally want to avoid people, so nothing to really worry about.  They are more active April-June when they first wake up and mate.  This attack was pretty surprising, but it's been hot with not a lot of rain, so maybe they have had less to eat in their lagoons because the water levels did seem low.  Sea Pines also has a lot of renters so you might be right- the woman may not have known either.  I am very careful as my dog is a very appealing snack size, especially at night when they are more active and up on land more.

Off topic, but did you hear about this:

"Woman Killed by 8-Foot Alligator while Walking Dog in South Carolina" by Kalhan Rosenblatt on nbcnews.com

I randomly came across it earlier, don't even remember how.

Yeah, it was on the news there- very sad, there was also a bull shark in Sea Pines last week, and they are doing a bunch of road construction down there- we stayed clear of that section of the island as it seemed to be a hotbed of not good things last week (of course last year when I was in HHI, there was a HUGE rattlesnake that rode the tide onto the beach at Port Royal, luckily we weren't at the beach that day). 

I am REALLY careful with my dog when I am in Hilton Head, this time I didn't let him go to the beach as often due to how hot it was and the shark sightings, I let him go a couple times, but he got to get his feet wet only and mainly ran around when it was low tide (we are in Port Royal and on our beach when the tide goes out there are lots of little water pools as the tide goes out really far and it is very shallow, but still I am careful).  It was so hot though, we mainly stayed in our pool, so he got to swim in the pool instead.  I also steer way clear of the ponds,  many of which have gators and really keep my eye on stuff.  I am to the point that I also try to be careful of bushes and pine straw for snakes, etc.  I try to be very, very aware when I am out with him.  I bring a VERY short leash for my dog when I am down there too.  I am amazed how many golfers go to retrieve golf balls down by or in the ponds, not smart.  I have never been a big ocean person- I will take Deep Creek Lake any day- and the amount of gators and sharks around and on the island this year, by the beaches seems to be higher due to warming temperatures.  Oh and jellyfish too, ugh.

Just got back from HHI:

Skullcreek Boathouse:  Part of the Surge Group Restaurants, with a really nice setting by Hudson's (I heard Hudson's got a new chef and is better than it used to be) where Charthouse used to be located.  They have a huge outside bar area, lots of indoor and outdoor seating.  We had deviled eggs and tuna stack for appetizers, both were good, but not anything you couldn't get elsewhere.  I got grilled shrimp and flounder with rice and beans and steamed veggies.  The steamed veggies were better than I thought they would be, not mushy.  The beans were not red beans, but a mix of butter, black eyed peas and etc, I thought these were really tasty.  Note the carolina gold rice is not actually carolina gold, not sure whey they call it that.  The seafood was good, the shrimp were a touch overcooked, but not in a way that really made them bad.  They have a huge menu hear and the views are great.  I would go back.

Annie O's Kitchen: This place is on Arrow road by all the furniture consignment stores.  We stopped in for lunch and it was cute inside and the manager was really nice.  Everything was made fresh.  We got BLT and Fried Green Tomato BLTs.  They were good, the menu had a lot of other good looking things on it, and it was nice and casual.  It is also enough off the beaten path it would likely not be too hard to get into.  They had really good sounding deconstructed pies in mason jars, but I didn't have any room after my sandwich and homemade chips.

Cahill's (Bluffton): As good as ever, if you are ok with country cooking in a not fancy setting, just go, they have great meat and threes and etc.  I had fried chicken, butter beans (delicious), collards, corn muffin and bean salad.  

Captain Woody's:  I got a grouper sandwich and I really liked it.  My Mom had a shrimp basket and it was fine (Up the Creek is better).  The live music was fun though.

Michael Anthony's Cooking Class (Demonstration):  So the demonstration class is more about socializing and drinking wine than actually learning how to cook.  I was laughing as what they did versus the recipe had some differences in each course, but the food was good and it was a fun activity.  We had amazing shrimp risotto during the class.  All the food we had at the class was tasty, it just wasn't a super serious culinary class, but we had a great time and were sitting with fun people.

Jane: I had the steak frites,  I think the steak was cooked sous vide and they didn't sear it off, it was fine, but could have been better.  They also serve it with big thick steak fries even though the burger was served with really thin french fries, the dressing also could have used more lemon.  This place was fine, but I am not in a hurry to go back.

There is now an Orange Theory on the island, just FYI.  And Belk had a huge selection of Lily Pullitzer, some of which was on sale.  The water was so hot there were a few shark sightings.  Also, they expanded the HHI runway, so airline prices directly onto the island have fallen some as bigger jets can now land.

What will you generally use the pot to make?

On 8/16/2018 at 10:15 AM, lion said:

Has anyone visited near the Blackwater Falls State Park in WV and if so any dining recommendations? 

Yep,  In Thomas/Davis you have a few good options.  Sirianni's for pizza, pasta, parmesan wedges and salads- it is excellent, we make a trip over from Oakland to go here a lot.  Mutley's isn't terrible.  The burrito place- Hellbender has big as your head burritos, they are ok, I am not a big burrito person though so I don't go here a lot.  I head the food over at White Grass was good too.  Blackwater has it's own sit down restaurant, but I haven't been in years.  Which train are you doing?  The one in Elkins?  Elkins is a pretty good ways from Blackwater Falls still, just FYI on pretty curvy roads.  I take my neices to CJ Maggies in Elkins, it isn't fine dining, but it has sandwiches, salads, bar food, etc none of which has ever been bad.  But the area around Blackwater Falls is very pretty.  There are some cute shops/galleries in Thomas/Davis now.  You aren't too far from Seneca Rocks and the smoke holes either if you want something else to do.

The Purple Fiddle is fun, and the Tip Top has nice coffee and pastries, and at night has cocktails.  They I think also have an outpost of Mountain State Brewing, we like the one at Deep Creek.  Good pizza and beer.  If you go up via Wardensville there is a nice little bakery and farm market at the stop sign.  And the Kakapoon is good "country cookin".  I doubt there are very nice hotel/motel options in that area, so camping is probably not a bad option.  There are also lots of vacation homes for skiing that you might be able to rent in summer too.  There is a nice little B&B in Lost River though that I stayed at.

I used to eat at the Annapolis one frequently when I worked for Lord and Taylor in college.  The salads were very good and reasonable and it was generally fairly quiet.  It was a nice little escape from the rest of the mall.  Of course now that mall has a lot more eating options, but back then it was more limited and places were pretty crowded.

I haven't had to go to PWC in a while, but I will miss my post-court treat stop, this was a really fun little stop for me.

I am getting out of dodge and heading to the beach- everyone who is opposing these alt-rights groups please stay very safe.  

Casserole of wild rice and quinoa blend, black beans, spicy italian sausage and spinach with cumin, epazote, cilantro and garlic, roasted vegetables and cheese (american, pepperjack, jack).  

Tuna with roasted veggies and rice.