Always thinking food!

I have baby on my mind these days and I have little food to talk about except cafeteria food and what I can grab on the run. However, this woman is always looking for an angle and I found one. This came with the new moms food tray.

Not much cooking going on

Parker Lane Anderson

I became a grandma today. Me! So, the cooking has stopped until mom, dad, and Parker come home from the hospital. Then maybe I will get to cook some more. If I move on the Foodbuzz Challenge is going to be a HUGE challenge seeing that I won't be in my kitchen. Hmmm. I will worry about it when I get there.

A gratuitous message from my dog and a gratuitous recipe

I got through to Round 2 of Project Foodbuzz. Thank you for voting for me (if you did). Can you please vote for me this time?

Lime Slaw (Cole Slaw)
(Got it years and years ago and I don't remember from where)

1 onion
several carrots
1 head of cabbage,
shred onion and carrots in food processor
slice cabbage in food processor (3mm blade)
mix

Dressing:
juice of 2 Limes
2 oz. Rice Vinegar
1 oz. oil (safflower)
2 Tbsp yogurt
2 large cloves garlic
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp honey
dash salt
black pepper

Blend and pour over slaw. Let sit a while.

Lets Go to Nepal - FB Challenge #2

Challenge Prompt: Ready to tackle a classic dish from another culture? Pick an ethnic classic that is outside your comfort zone or are not as familiar with. You should include how you arrived at this decision in your post. Do your research then try to pull off successfully creating this challenge. Try to keep the dish as authentic as the real deal, and document your experience through a compelling post.


When I started thinking about PFB Challenge 2 I started to sweat. Not because I was afraid of cooking from another culture, but because I have cooked most other cultures food and I needed something different. I would have loved to have fallen back on Ethiopian food or Korean food or any of the others that I feel comfortable with. I thought and thought. I thought about doing food from Tuva although I did wonder how I would find throat singers to make it seem authentic. Not only that but I think throat singers would annoy Dr. Food to the point he wouldn't eat the food. Hm, maybe not that bad but it would give him indigestion.

So, I did some more thinking and it dawned on me that I had never really cooked Nepalese food. You see, my friend Lori always told me about recipes but never wrote any of them down. Lori is in California and so I don't get to see her anymore. Her husband Ajit is from Nepal and she has learned recipes from his mother. That is it! I will do Nepalese food.

First off I needed to get into the mood. I always have prayer flags laying around so why not put them to good use.



Pretty authentic. Wait but there is more. I had to get my menu together and to tell you the truth there just isn't that much out there. I searched and then I searched some more. I did it! I came up with authentic.



So, as you can see I went and foraged for a chicken. As luck would have it I found one at Whole foods! yay.



Next the chicken was boiled in spices (I will give you the recipe later because I KNOW you will want to make this).

This is the part that it gets authentic. I have to preface this picture by telling you that I sort of have a phobia about food that is left out or that isn't refrigerated or that is old. So, here you have the part of the challenge that is out of my comfort zone.

You hang the chicken to dry for at least 4 hours.



This is what my kitchen looked like and I was praying that a neighbor didn't "stop by" to say hi.



So time went by and it was time to start the rest of the meal. I enlisted the help of my Sherpa. His name is Rajesh Kumar (I did my research on Nepalese names...see? AUTHENTIC).



Rajesh Kumar was willing to help cook as long as I lifted him up onto the counter so that he could get a good look at what was going on.



He did refuse to help with the dishes though. He said something about his dad telling him to come right back home after he helped Auntie Janis.



Fair weather sherpa I tell ya. Onward with the food.

The chicken was put on the grill with wood chips and off the fire to the side for 2 hours.



After 4 hours of hanging in my kitchen and 2 hours of sitting there on the grill (oh I can't tell you how this is making me nervous and HOW out of my comfort zone this is) the chicken was done. For simple food this was a LOT of work. I felt like I was risking my life with the chance of salmonella .



Meanwhile as this chicken was on the grill I was making Nepalese Gizzards. Grow up! They are really good. I grew up eating them but then again, I also ate Gefilte Fish. I like the Nepalese version even more than the kind I grew up with which was pretty much boiled gizzards .



Ok, so not the prettiest sight but I have to tell you that they tasted incredible. We ate these while we were getting the other stuff ready.

Through research I found that mustard greens are a very common vegetable in Nepal. I went to the store and bought some. Unfortunately it ended up that I grabbed kale instead of mustard greens but I figured they were both green and no one is perfect.



I then went for a lentil and rice dish that through reading, found that this really was the staple of Nepalese food and what is eaten almost every day. I also really liked this dish.




There you have the dinner. It was not my favorite (expression my mother reminds me to say instead of HATED IT). I just snuck a taste of the chicken and hid the rest under my napkin because *I* didn't want to get sick. I had asked Dr. Food 100 times if he thought it was ok, which he said he thought it was fine (he has the PhD so I let HIM eat it if he thought he was so smart). He really liked the chicken. I opted for the greens (which I really liked) and the lentils and rice. When it comes down to it lentils and greens is probably what the Nepalese eat more often than chicken. So, *I* ate AUTHENTICALLY.

I leave you with a word from my sherpa Rajesh Kumar:

"Don't eat chicken that has been hanging around for four hours"



Gizzards Nepalese Style
by Lori Rana who got the recipe from her nepalese mother-in-law See? Authentic!

I usually make about two packages of the gizzards and hearts from the meat section of the grocery store. I would think this is about a pound to a pound and a half.


Bay leaf
1/4 t Methi
1/4 t Coriander seeds
Whole dried red chili pepper
1 medium sized Onion slivered
3 Jalapeño chili (discard the seeds and membrane)
2 T minced Garlic (you can adjust up on this if you wish, I usually use about 8-10 cloves)
1 T minced Ginger (you can adjust up on this if you wish, I usually grate about a 1 X 1 inch portion of ginger)
1 T Ground Cumin (you can adjust up on this if you wish, I heap my T)
1 T Ground Coriander (you can adjust up on this if you wish, I heap my T)
1/4 t Turmeric
1/8 t of ground chili powder
1 t Graham Masala
1 to 1 1/2 lbs Gizzards and Hearts
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cilantro

1. In a frying pan use approximately 2-3 table spoons of oil and bring to a medium/high heat. Add bay leaf, Methi, Coriander seeds and dried red chili pepper and fry until items start to turn a golden brown.

2. Add slivered onions and fry until golden brown. Add chopped Jalapeño, minced Garlic and Ginger, reduce heat slightly and fry for a couple of minutes.

3. Add Cumin, Coriander, Turmeric, Graham Masala and Chili (You can adjust quantity up a little as needed).

4. Add Gizzard and hearts (I usually cut the gizzards in half). Continue to fry until completely done and slightly tender. When all ingredients are in the pan I will sometimes add a tiny amount of water and cover for a little while so the meat braises slightly. However, you really want to end the cooking on a medium heat frying them to cook off the liquid for a more dried/fried consistency.

Garnish with cilantro.


Mustard Greens
Website: http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/recipes/v-mustardgreen.html

1 lb. Musturd greens, washed, peeled, cut into small pieces (I made it with Kale by accident and it was really good)
3 dried red chilies
½ teaspoon jwanu seeds (lovage seeds)
½ teaspoon musturd seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole timur (szchawan pepper)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons musturd oil
2 tablespoons fresh dill weed, finely chopped
Salt to taste


1. In a non-stick pan heat 3 tablespoons of musturd oil. Splitter jwanu seeds, whole timur musturd seeds, and cumin seeds until they turn dark.

2. Fry dried red chilies for 15 sec. till it turns dark.

3. Add garlic, ginger, ground pepper, and turmeric; fry for 1 min in low heat. Add musturd greens to the spice-mixture, and stir-fry for about 2 min. Salt it. Increase the heat to high; cook the musturd greens until wilted and the excess liquid has evaporated off. Do not overcook the greens. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped dill weed. Serve with rice.

Chicken Sukuti

(Crispy Smoked Chicken Marinated in Nepali Spices)
Website: http://nepalicooking.tripod.com/poultry.htm

INGREDIENTS
3-4 lb. whole chicken
1 tablespoon cumin powder
2 tablespoons ginger paste
1 tablespoon chili paste
1 teaspoon ground timur (Szechwan pepper)
1/8 teaspoon asafetida
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and Pepper
10 cups water for boiling

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot, boil water combined with cumin powder, ginger, timur, asafetida, nutmeg, half teaspoon of turmeric, salt and pepper.

2. Dip chicken into the boiling water and cook for about fifteen minutes, turning frequently.

3. Remove the chicken from water to drain.

4. In a small bowl, combine a half teaspoon of turmeric, chili paste, molasses, honey and salt; mix well. Pat dry the chicken and rub inside and out with the spice mixture.

5. Tie the marinated chicken around wings and hang for at least four hours to allow a complete marinating and dryness.

6. Place the air-dried marinated chicken in the charcoal grill further away from direct fire. Allow smoking for about two hours, or until the inside meat temperature reaches 160oF and the skin has turned crispy.

DAL BHAT (RICE AND LENTILS)
from Website: food-nepal.com

Plain Rice (Bhat)
2 cups rice (Basmati or Long grain preferred)
4 cups (1 lt) water
1 tsp butter (optional)

Lentils (Dal)
1½ cups lentil (any kind)
4 to 5 cups of water (depends preference of your consistency of liquid)
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp garlic, minced
6 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
3/4 cup sliced onions
2 chillies (dried red chilies preferred) (depends on your preference)
Salt to taste

OPTIONAL
¼ tsp (pinch) asafetida
¼ tsp (pinch) jimbu
1 tbsp fresh ginger paste



PREPARATION
Rice:
Wash rice and soak for 5 minutes.
Wash rice and soak for 5 minutes.
Boil the rice over medium heat for about 10 -15 minutes. Stir once thoroughly. Add butter to make rice give it taste as well as make it soft and fluffy.
Turn the heat to low and cook, covered, for 5 more minutes until done.


Lentils:


1. Wash lentils and soak lentil for 10 minutes.

2. Remove anything that float on the surface after it and drain extra water.

3. Add drained lentils in fresh water and bring to a boil again. Add all spices.

4. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes until lentils are soft and the consistency is similar to that of porridge.

5. In a small pan heat the remaining of butter and fry the onions, chilies and garlic.

6. Stir into the lentils few minutes before you stop boiling. Serve with rice.

Anonymous commenter made me make this chicken

I posted the Best Chicken Ever and got this comment:

Anonymous said...
Chicken thighs cooked with Janes wild mixed up crazy salt (you can buy at super market) at 180 deg.s for 1.75 hours is awesome as well.



I tried it. It was awesome. That is all. You should try it too.

Dr Foods Birthday Dinner

It was Dr Food's birthday and instead of going out to dinner we decided to cook. Truth be told, we couldn't think of a restaurant to go to that we didn't have to go into the city for. There is some stuff close by but for what it would cost us we could do better cooking ourselves.

Seeing that I gave Dr. Food 3 cookbooks as part of his birthday gift we looked to those first. I bought him the Fat Duck Cookbook and well, you really can't cook anything out of it unless you happen to have a lab for a kitchen. I bought him Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World and last but not least Spain... A Culinary Road Trip If I hadn't seen this cookbook and also seen the DVD's that showed the trip I would have never picked this book. But having seen both I fell in love with this cookbook and so did Dr. Food.

We picked Fideos with Seafood out of this book and then worked around that to find other things we wanted to make.



We decided to make a couple of starters. We went to another favorite Spanish cookbook (The New Spanish Table) that we have and found this delicious Tapas made with eggs. It was called Revuelto de Setas. Not only was it delicious but it is pretty. I even had a gizmo to take the top off the eggs.



We picked an assortment of mushrooms from Whole Foods.



We also had Scallops with Pistachio Vinegarette. Yum.



I probably should have made these my dinner and called it quits but I didn't. Last but not least was the Fideos with Seafood.



Pasta was browned.



Lots of seafood was cleaned.



Also a tomato sauce is made. Damn, didn't get a picture of that.



And there you have the dinner. We knew there was going to be lots of food so we invited our pal Denis to come eat with us. He made a Tiramasu! Now how good of a neighbor is HE?



Not a bad birthday dinner if I do say so myself.



Fideos with Seafood
adapted from Spain...A Road Trip Mario Batali


¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound fideos (or substitute angel hair pasta broken into 1-inch pieces)
1 large onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon hot pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
6 cups fish or seafood stock
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
A large pinch of saffron threads
1 pound mussels, scrubbed
1 pound medium shrimp in the shell
1 pound clams, scrubbed

Directions
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the fideos and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until well browned. Using a skimmer, transfer the fideos to a bowl. Add the onion, garlic, and pimentón to the pot and cook until the onion is beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your hands as you do so, and their juice, raise the heat to high, and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the stock, wine, bay leaf, and saffron in another large, heavy pot and bring to a boil. Add the seafood, cover, and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until all the clams and mussels have opened and the shrimp are opaque. Transfer the seafood to a large bowl and add the shellfish cooking liquid and fideos to the tomato sauce. Add the fideos and cook, stirring frequently, until the fideos have absorbed a lot of the liquid and are soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the shellfish, simmer gently just to heat through, and serve.


Scallops with Pistachio Vinagerette
adapted from The New Spanish Table
1/2 cup of Txakoli or Protuguese Vinho Verde
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
1 medium garlic clove crushed
1 Tbs. minced shallot
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup good olive oil, plus extra for scallops
1 small pinch of sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
18 sea scallops
A handful of baby lettuces, for garnish
2 Tbs. minced chives
1/3 cup lightly toasted, finely chopped or ground
6 bamboo skewers soaked in water 30 minutes


Directions

This makes 6 servings, three scallops in each serving, or one skewer

1. Place the wine in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the wine to a bowl and whisk in the vinegar, garlic, shallot, and lemon juice. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, then season the vinaigrette with the sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Let the vinaigrette stand while you prepare the scallops.

2. Light the grill and preheat it to medium or preheat a ridged grill pan to medium-hot over medum heat.

3. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels and lightly sprinkle salt and pepper over them. Thread the scallops on each skewer through the sides, placing 3 scallops on each skewer. Brush both sides of the scallops lightly with olive oil.

4. Grill the scallops, working in batches if necessary, until just opaque inside and lightly browned on the outside, about 3 minutes per side.

5. To serve, place each skewer on a small appetizer plate and arrange a few lettuce leaves along side the scallops. Stir the chives and the pistachios into the vinaigrette and dab the vinaigrette on the scallops. Serve at once.

Wild Mushroom Revuelto
adapted from The New Spanish Table Anya von Bremzen

6 jumbo eggs
3 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 Med garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press
6 oz assorted wild and cultivated mushrooms (porcini, chanterelles, cremini, oyster and/or morels), trimmed, wiped clean and finely chopped.
1 Tbl minced fresh chives
Course salt and pepper

1. Prepare the egg cups. I used a little contraption but you can do it anyway you like (I am too lazy to type out how the book describes but basically it sounds iffy to me.

2. Remove the egg and pour into bowl. Repeat with all the eggs. Use only 4 of the insides of the egg. You need 6 shells but only 3 eggs for the revuelto. Rinse the eggshells under warm water and let dry.

3. Heat 2 Tbl of olive oil in a nonstick skilled over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, raise the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring, untl they have released and readsorbed their liquid, about 5 minutes, adding a little more olive oul if the skillet looks dry. Stir in the chives and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the remainig Tbl of olive oil to the skillet. Working quickly, pour the 3 eggs into the skillt. As soon as the egg whites turn opaque, about 20 seconds,vigorously stir and scamble the eggs with a wooden spoon or spatula until they are barely set, 45 seconds to 1 minute. (Do not let the eggs overcook). Quickly spoon into the prepared eggshells. Serve at once.

You love me don't you?

Time to vote. Come on you can do this one little favor for me. If I get famous I will make you any dinner you want (including lobster if you have to have it). I will even do the dishes and not complain while you sip cognac or coffee or whatever you want. I will even let you listen to YOUR iPod and I won't subject you to mine unless you like opera and Pink Floyd and lots of Joni Mitchell.

Oh yeah and here is a recipe because I love you. I know everyone loves cookies.


Ginger Almond Cookies

Recipe By : I don't really remember where I got this but I think it was a person I knew from Rec.food.cooking which was a Usenet group before the Internet. Yes, there was a BEFORE the internet and we were talking about food back then BEFORE blogging.


Ginger-Almond Cookies

2 1/4 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 piece peeled, grated Ginger, 1"x1"x1/2"
1/2 cup Crystallized ginger, finely chopped
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Dark Molasses
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Almonds, blanched

1. Sift dry ingredients.
2. Cream butter, add ginger, sugar, molasses, and egg. Process.
3. Add flour mixture and mix.
4. Refrigerate dough 2 hours.
5. Form into walnut-sized balls. Top with almond.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.






Isn't she cute? She would love for you to vote for me. Just click on the FoodBuzz icon above and vote vote vote!

Thank you.

Breaking a fast if I would have fasted

It was Yom Kippur which is a very important Jewish Holiday. When I was a kid we used to fast for the day. Now that I am an adult I choose not to do this. However, I sometimes want to do something that is connected with tradition. Although I usually end up getting it wrong anyhow. So, what I am getting at is that I didn't fast. I did make a Beef Brisket and Potato Pancake dinner that I would have wanted if I DID fast. If truth be told this dinner is way too heavy to break a fast and it is more traditionally a Hannukah dinner but hey my heart was in the right place. Not only that but it is Dr. Foods birthday weekend and he LOVES this dinner.



I even got a bottle of one of my favorite "Cooking dinner and drinking wine" wines. I like it pretty much for the sinister label. I can just see a mom with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth saying (in a really raspy voice) to the kids "Hey go play, it is Mommy's Timeout".

Love it...ok, don't give me that weird look like I have gone nuts. If you have been reading this blog for any time (which I pretty much believe that you might have just ended up here by accident and that is ok too) you know that I ramble. Yes, but I CAN cook if I do say so myself.

I also made potato pancakes. Shut up! I KNOW this isn't really what we should have been eating for a make believe "break fast". It probably should have been something very light and sensible.



Ooops, picture is a little blurry. Maybe a little too much "Mommys Time Out". It is ok because this mommies kids are grown up and can fend for themselves (although I like to pretend that they still NEED me).



Um, I was famished from my pretend fast and ate before I got a picture, but this is sorta what it looked like before I wolfed part of it down.

Aunt Irenes Brisket
by Kay's Aunt Irene (Kay is a friend from the past. Actually, she was my cooking guru. Not aunt Irene....Kay.)

Aunt Irene's Brisket
1 4-pound beef brisket
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup prepared chile sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 12-ounce bottle beer

1. Salt and pepper both sides of the meat.
2. Place beef in a roasting pan.
3. Cover with onion.
4. Combine ketchup, chile sauce, brown sugar, garlic,
and beer. Pour mixture over meat.
5. Cover securely with foil.
6. Bake at 300 degrees F for 3 to 4 hours. When the meat is tender, remove foil
and bake uncovered for an additional 35 to 40 minutes.
7. Puree the gravy while hot.

It is easier to slice the meat when it is cold. It is a good idea to let it cool all the way down and then slice. It can then be reheated.

Foodbuzz fed my oyster addiction... I love you Foodbuzz

Since we have moved here I have wanted to go to the Island Creek Oyster Festival in Duxbury Massachusetts. In 2009 Island Creek Oyster Foundation began funding and building an aquaculture project in the country of Tanzania. They are constructing a shellfish hatchery and an eventual production of a native shellfish population to create a sustainable protein source for a number of local communities in Africa. All the proceeds of this festival went directly to the foundation. So, you see? I was doing a good deed.

I proposed to Foodbuzz (I love you Foodbuzz) that I go to this festival as part of their Foodie Correspondent Program for featured publishers. Before I knew it Island Creek Oysters sent me a pass to get into the festival. Dr. Food was on his own, but I took pity and since it was such a good cause, we bought a ticket for him to get into the festival. Onto the business of slurping oysters!



We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. The weather was perfect. Not only that but the festival was held right on the water and the view from the tents was amazing.



All I could eat oysters was more than I could stand. I had to pace myself though. Not only were there oysters but there were all kinds of local awesome chefs that were whipping up unbelievable food.



Before I go on discussing all the food I want to mention how impressed I was with the environmental friendliness of this festival. Every aspect of this festival was geared around being green. Oyster shells were being donated to the University of New Hampshire’s Jackson Estuarine Laboratory. Those shells will be placed in the water, where oyster larvae, will settle, thus encouraging the revitalization of the mollusk in New Hampshire.

There were even volunteers helping you to know where to put the recyclables.



It was hard to miss the volunteers





Perhaps most importantly



Ok, onto the fooood!

In the VIP lounge the first thing I tasted was Razor Clam Chowder and Rabbit Hoagie by Jody Adams, Rialto



I snagged this and took a bite and a picture, but it was Dr Food that snapped it out of my hand and enjoyed the rest of it. I didn't get a chance to taste the Razor Clam Chowder but I was pacing myself.

I also must admit that I didn't get to most of the food that was inside the VIP lounge. It was very crowded in there and I was hanging out with Dr Food (who didn't have a VIP pass) and some newly acquired friends in the general crowd area. I have to say that the food in the general area was mighty fine. In the VIP lounge the menu was great. The lineup:

Green Chile Crack + Tuna Tartare with Green Olive and Goden Raisin Tapenade - Seth & Angela Raynor - The Pearl, The Boarding House, Corazon del Mar

Grilled Lobster Tails with Scallions, Lemons Chorizo - Jeremy Sewall - The Island Creek Oyster Bar



I did taste this one. YUM!

Grilled Oysters with Garlic Black Pepper Sauce - Ming Tsai -Blue Ginger



Ming understood that I had to pace myself so I couldn't eat every dish. We had a laugh over it.



Ok, not really. I sorta coerced him into a picture by begging.

Last but not least in the VIP tent was Grilled clams, Thai Basil with Pistou-Dashi Broth - Tony Maws, Craigie on Main

Um, Grey Goose was sponsoring a happy hour and I might have grabbed a drink or two.



I had the Highball. It was GOOD. Ok wait.. You guys are my closest friends so I can tell you a little secret. Don't tell anyone though because it might embarass Dr. Food. I know I can trust you. Dr. Food drank my girlie drink and *I* was chugging that Harpoon Hefeweizen. Shhh.





There was also Pascal Jolivet Sancerre. Good wine! Another funny story... Pascal Jolivet came over to our little table and asked to borrow a pen. After that he told us to taste his wine and gave us a glass. I loved it. I have to show you this "magic" table.



We are talking LITTLE table. Dr. Food and I got to this shindig early and we just so happened to stand at this table. Good place to stand because I wouldn't have met all my new friends if I hadn't been standing there. First Ming (who put his beer down on MY table) and then Pascal (we are all on first name basis now).

Ok more food.




This was the first thing I tasted and um, I don't remember what it was. How could I? I was intent on eating that is how. Ok lets move on fast.



This is from Harvest and is Squid Salad in Tortilla Shell with Guacamole, Lettuce and Salsa. On the Janis scale I give it a 3 out of 5.



I know this doesn't look all fancy schmancy but this was by far my favorite dish of the day. It gets a 5 out of 5 on the Janis scale and I would LOVE this recipe. It is from Arthur and Pats and is Oyster Stew with Shoestring Potatoes and Grilled Oysters on the side. This oyster stew was the best I have ever tasted.



Next was Sel de la Terre, Sausage and Corn. Um..yeah...3 out of 5 on the scale.



East Coast Grill had Pulled Pork. I had my taster taste this one. Didn't get a rating.



Next off was one of my favorite things in the whole world. A Reuben sandwich from Hungry Mother.



Ah, a PoBoy. It was an Oyster PoBoy and boy was it good. It was from Lineage.



Fried Lobster Taco from Garden at the Cellar. No folks I did not taste this one myself. I had "helpers".


See? Here are my helpers. They wanted to stand at our table too (it was a "magic" table I tell ya). They came in handy these new friends. When I couldn't put another taste into my mouth, they brought their food over for a picture and even gave me the whole scoop of where it was from. I love my new friends (waving to them in case they read this).



Last but not least Spicy Falafel from Gaslight.

I was honored to get to taste food from all of these fine restaurants. They all made me want to have dinner at every one of them.

The day was long and we headed to the car. I was full as a full belly clam. No, wait. I was stuffed to the gills. Eh, lets just say we didn't need to eat again for a long time. Thank you Foodbuzz for making it possible for this amazing day of food and fun.