So. Let's see. First, I am seriously tired of all the initials to represent people. Mostly this is because I know an inordinate amount of people whose names start with the letter J. I am debating moving towards something more exciting... like nicknames. Those would give me endless amusement. I'm still debating.
Moving on, we have been cooking some over the holidays.
I started on vacation last Tuesday while J was working at home. I made a cream of broccoli soup (Joy of Cooking recipe) with a chicken salad with pesto sammich. The cream of broccoli soup was far too thin so I thickened it up with a big roux. Still not as luscious as I would like. The chicken salad was awesome and is based off a sandwich I used to like at a deli that is no longer around.
Wednesday, I made a tasty cream of grilled tomato soup and grilled extra cheddar cheese sammiches. Those were super tasty. Somewhere in between, I also made a big pot of minestrone.
We ventured out to Mediterranean Grill. I actually really despise falafel starting from the first time that a roommate made it and it smelled like week old gym socks. However, at Mediterranean Grill, the falafel sandwich was huge (probably eight inches long) and incredibly tasty. I really enjoyed it. We also got the grape leaves which came with a side salad which had a lot of red wine vinegar and oregano. I didn't care for it as much.
In other news, a Capozzi's has opened next to Athens Pizza, Pyng Ho, Moya, and Bhojanic on Clairmont. It's not actually owned by the same people of the Roswell in Marietta fame, but he is a silent partner. In case you are wondering, that means many of the recipes are the same. Capozzi's claims to have NY-style pizza (mostly like everyone else) but they also have some "chef-inspired dishes" which are a little more foodie using terms like gastriques. Exciting.
We like to try out new pizza places with just a simple cheese pizza. Although it was good, I found the crust to be a little thick and a little too much cheese. I asked about scungilli, which of course wasn't on the menu. The server hadn't heard of it but said he would mention it to the chef. I'm sure any chef who claims "chef-inspired dishes" on a big banner on the front of the restaurant is horrified to hear someone asking for scungilli, but oh well. I will have to go find some whelk or substitute with conch for myself and try making this at home.
In other news, we saw that a Five Guys has opened in the Tucker corridor. J was very excited. We went today. I got a little cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and light mayo, ketchup, and mustard. It was okay. Really, there was too much lettuce and I thought the bread was ... I'm not sure what was wrong with the bread but I started to offend me at the end. Next time, I resolve to try no lettuce or tomato and see how that goes. Maybe I am just ordering wrong, not that I like going to places where it's possible to do that.
I've read some reviews that the fries here are amazing. I really like that they show on a board where today's fries are from. I did really enjoy them though. Crispy and crunchy on the outside. Intensely potato-y on the inside. Yum.
Lobster prices are low. They are, on average, $4 lower per pound than it was this time last year. I can attest to that. I remember being horrified at the lobster prices around xmas last year when I wanted it. $13.99/lb for large lobsters. The Dekalb Farmers Market has lobsters this year for $9/lb and the Atlanta Farmers Market formerly known as Hong Kong Supermarket) has them for $8/lb. They also have live dungies for $8. Yay!
We also plan to pick up some enormous stone crab claws from Costco tomorrow when their new shipment comes in. We have a recipe that N sent me from Joe's Stone Crab. We bought the Colman's mustard and we are ready to go!
For now, I'm eating leftover Capozzi's pizza with a mountain dew. All this no work is making me lethargic. Tomorrow I plan to make preserved lemons and fried rice.
We stopped by a new used book store today. I picked up Dorie Greenspan's Baking with Dorie at a bargain $15 and also Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen for $8. I also spent a ton of money on big band/swing and Christmas music, but that part isn't important.
I also caught up on my blog reading. Hooray for me!
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