Anonymous wrote:Andy's Pizza at the Mall before and after the Avatar movie which we loved. We had to go out from XMAS. The only non-Asian place open with a large table was Founding Farmers. The service was fine, the food was beyond terrible.

For the life of me I can’t figure out how founding farmers still has such high reviews. on its best day it’s mediocre and regularly terrible.

Andy's Pizza at the Mall before and after the Avatar movie which we loved. We had to go out from XMAS. The only non-Asian place open with a large table was Founding Farmers. The service was fine, the food was beyond terrible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spicy curried jackfruit in a pastry. HOLY MOLY!

Was that bought or homemade? I'd love to try it.

Homemade from canned young jackfruit. Cooked with ginger-garlic, green chillies, spices, roasted crushed peanuts, coconut flakes, curry leaves... baked with deep fried onions and raisins inside puff pastry sheets.

This sounds even better once you explained the ingredients. An Indian style curry does not appeal but I can see this being amazing with a panang or red curry paste-style filling. Crushed peanuts and coconut flakes...yum. I don't know what curry leaves are. I will have to look that one up. I love thai basil leaves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you believe I didn't have anything great? (What I learned, though, is that many people think their local bakery is the greatest. But the quality is not so great. Had an eclair that was just okay, other deserts just okay.)

To make up for it though... I'll get a slice of carrot cake at Parkway Deli! The best cake in town with a slice the size of my head; heaven on a plate!

I find the bakery thing to be so true. Out of town guests always going on and on about their local bakery and bringing something for the holidays from there. Always mediocre-sometimes outright bad.

If they are fr9m it of town and they bring something for their local bakery, it is already stale when they arrive. Bakery items are best eaten immediately.

If something is purchased from a bakery in the morning and already tastes bad by the afternoon-then it was already stale/not good when it was purchased. It’s painful that these places charge $30 for a box of 12 cookies that taste like crumbly garbage.

I had some cranberry and cheddar cheese from a farm somewhere in PA.

Burgundy mushrooms. I learned about them here and can’t believe they missed my radar for as long as they did.

Anonymous wrote:My German relatives made a deliciously tender venison ragout, paired with homemade knödel, schwartzkraut, and spätzle. Normally I am not a big fan of German cuisine, but it was delicious. The knödel was made with breadcrumbs and no potatoes!

This sounds awesome. Invite me next year, please!

Bagels with homemade lox (my dad makes it)
Leftover Thanksgiving turkey posole from the freezer
Turkish manti (delicious and nostalgic but huge time commitment, won't make again any time soon)
Citrusy slice and bake cookies - iced lemon and orange cranberry, both excellent

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you believe I didn't have anything great? (What I learned, though, is that many people think their local bakery is the greatest. But the quality is not so great. Had an eclair that was just okay, other deserts just okay.)

To make up for it though... I'll get a slice of carrot cake at Parkway Deli! The best cake in town with a slice the size of my head; heaven on a plate!

I find the bakery thing to be so true. Out of town guests always going on and on about their local bakery and bringing something for the holidays from there. Always mediocre-sometimes outright bad.

If they are fr9m it of town and they bring something for their local bakery, it is already stale when they arrive. Bakery items are best eaten immediately.

Gorgonzola wagyu steak

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spicy curried jackfruit in a pastry. HOLY MOLY!

Was that bought or homemade? I'd love to try it.

Homemade from canned young jackfruit. Cooked with ginger-garlic, green chillies, spices, roasted crushed peanuts, coconut flakes, curry leaves... baked with deep fried onions and raisins inside puff pastry sheets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had the flu over Christmas and the only thing that tasted good to me was the old fashioned Chex party mix recipe.

It’s not Christmas at my house without Chex party mix. I have a recipe from the ‘70’s that was torn from a box. The new recipe isn’t the same. My family has eaten 2 large containers of Chex mix in a matter of days.

Could you share the recipe?

My favorite was the strawberry shortcake cake from Wegmans. Delicious!

NP but this is from 1982:
[/img]https://clickamericana.com/wp-content/uploads/Chex-Party-Mix-recipe-from-1982.jpg[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had the flu over Christmas and the only thing that tasted good to me was the old fashioned Chex party mix recipe.

It’s not Christmas at my house without Chex party mix. I have a recipe from the ‘70’s that was torn from a box. The new recipe isn’t the same. My family has eaten 2 large containers of Chex mix in a matter of days.

Could you share the recipe?

My favorite was the strawberry shortcake cake from Wegmans. Delicious!

Chicken parm
Shells with vodka & pancetta

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lactaid egg nog is delicious. You have to get it when you see it because stores only get so much. Just needs some nutmeg...and maybe some rum.

Someone was telling me about this yesterday. Haven’t tried it yet but they thought it was amazing.

I always make stuffed shells for Christmas dinner. This year I had a guest who won’t/can’t eat tomatoes. So I made half with a garlicky white sauce. I wasn’t sure it would work because sometimes white sauce separates. Turned out amazing - and everyone thought so. It was so good.

Recipe?

I kind of wing it. For the stuffing I use 2 small containers of ricotta, 2 eggs and 2 cups of mozzarella. I add about 1/4 cup fresh parsley and some salt and pepper.

For the sauce I waited 2 large cloves of garlic for few minutes (until my
Kitchen smelled like garlic). Then I added 2 cups of heave cream and simmered for like 10 minutes so it was getting thick. Then I added about a cup of Parmesan and some nutmeg. I simmered that until the cheese was melted. Then I poured it over the stuffed shells. I used a bit more than I’d have used For tomato sauce. I baked it at 400 for 30 minutes then added some mozzarella and Parmesan then baked another five minutes until it melted.

Surprisingly, the leftovers are as good as the original. I Hope you enjoy. My family and guests have.