October 2007


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Bad Bites

alfredo bites

It’s true. Wedding invitations DO get lost in them mail. And when I was the victim of an invite sent to the wrong address, I realized I had to be in Elkins, otherwise known as the ‘heart of west Virginia‘, in one week.

So I packed up a last minute dress, a cute date, and an excitement for a taste of small town life. Little did I know that wasn’t the only thing I would be tasting. I was introduced to the strangest food concoction: Alfredo Bites.

We found these edible oddities at CJ Mackeys in the ‘downtown’ district of Elkins, which, well, only had the fine dining establishment: CJ Mackeys. I wondered if that meant this CJM was the ventricle of the heart of West Virginia.

CJ Mackeys is comparable to any establishment that serves appetizers ending in ‘poppers’ or ‘trio.’ Upon getting our 2 liter sized Cokes, we glanced at the 56 page menu, where the side dishes alone ran 3 pages. But the term “Alfredo Bites” stood out amongst the taters and Caesar salad.

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in Cheese / Food Travel 4 comments
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Hott Links: Okay, Smile…Say Cheese

cheese person

With the July like weather heating up October, it can be hard to determine what’s exactly seasonal.
Well, you can always turn to cheese.

JoeHoya has the blues [DC Foodies]

Categorized and cross-referenced [Wash Post]

I’ll take mine grilled, please [Gluten Free Mommy]

Photo: what about the plastic animals?

in Cheese 6 comments
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No, Arti Choke is Not a Pitcher for the Mets

artichoke-699-x-509-350-x-254.jpg

Since it’s apparently appetizer week here at Endless Simmer, here’s another one that I got from my momma. Actually, this recipe is originally from my half-brother-in-law’s grandmother, who maybe clipped it from a newspaper, so you might say it’s a Spiegel family secret. Anyway, my mom makes it all the time and it’s killer.

Recipe after the jump.

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in Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
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Top Chef Recap: Finale

gailsimmons.jpg

Editor’s Note: I didn’t use any silly puns in the headline today because I don’t want to give anything away, in case you haven’t caught the finale yet. That said, this is a recap, so, you know, it says who wins. If you haven’t watched yet, don’t read on if you don’t want to know.

OK, so my fav part of the Top Chef finale is that Frank Bruni penned a lengthy rant in Wednesday’s NYT about how all these celeb chefs (Collichio, Bourdian, etc…) get the big bucks to appear on Top Chef and similar shows, but never even have to cook anything anymore. Then, in the finale, they actually made the the big guys get in the kitchen, awarding each of the cheftestants a big name sous chef.

Hung got Rocco, Dale got the ubiquitous Todd English and Casey was paired with that lady who looks like Sandra Bernhrardt. The catch was that none of these guys got to offer any advice, and they were only there for the prep part, just to chop garlic, boil water, and allow Dale to say “Todd English is my bitch.”

There weren’t any dumb cowboy or airplane themes for the finale – just pretty basic orders: make the best damn meal you can. The only trip-up was that with an hour left, Collichio came in and told the cheftestants they had to make one extra course, and their sous chefs this time would be the losers from earlier episodes.

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in Fish / Fowl / Red Meat / TV 11 comments
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Who Are You Calling a Chick, Pea Brain

chickpea toasts

Editors Note: The following is post two of a multi-post series detailing my first catering adventure.

Although many of the ES fans were pulling for me to re-make the simple, beautiful and delicious Tomato and Goat Cheese Toasts, I decided to try something new using those same ingredients – Tomato and Feta Sticks. But, I still wanted to use the idea of “toasts,” especially taking advantage of the fresh bread from the DC bakery and sandwich place, Breadline, sold at my farmer’s market.

I also wanted to get away from using cheese in this dish, as I used it in the previously mentioned T&F Sticks and other apps (to be identified in later posts.) Trying to think what else I could use that would be creamy and act like a spread, and using JoeHoya’s idea of hummus, I settled on the base of chickpeas.

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in Recipe / Veggie 3 comments
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