Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Hey all, I'm a long time lurker and infrequent commenter. I thought I'd jump in since everyone else seems to be coming out of the woodwork. This is a well written and thought provoking piece. It's more or less moot for me, since the idea of eating filter organs just icks me out.

One argument that seems to keep popping up is the idea that it's "unnatural" for a duck's liver to get that big. Newsflash folks, the vast majority of things we do with food are unnatural in one form or another. Poultry with huge breasts, well-marbled beef, and the large size of the veggies you eat, yes, even the organic ones, are not naturally occurring things. If you really want to push it, one could say that cooking food isn't natural. So really, that argument is a complete non-starter.

I just moved from Baltimore after living there for 20 years. My advice is to avoid the Harbor. It's tourist trap after tourist trap. Woodberry Kitchen is great. Salt has a great rep, although I never had a chance to try it before I left. A fantastic place that is more or less for the locals is Peter's Inn. High end food in a low end setting (it's more or less a bar) for moderate prices. Get there early-ish, because they don't take reservations, there's limited seating, and it's a good hour wait if you don't make the first seating. It's totally worth it though. If you're up for "gourmet" burgers, Abbey Burger in Fed Hill is worth a visit. They have a good list of Belgian beers, too. Brewer's Art is wonderful, too. If you're up for bagels, Greg's Bagels in Belvedere Square is AMAZING. They aren't traditional bagels (they're kind of soft), but they are SO good.

Cous cous and black bean salad with whatever raw veggies and herbs are on hand plus olive oil and whatever acid suits the veggies and herbs.

My mom was a TERRIBLE cook. Meat was not burned, it was immolated. Lots of packaged and heavily processed foods, frozen dinners, etc. I took over the cooking when I was 12 out of self-defense.

Was it just me, or was Gail positively fawning over the littlest Volt? I thought she was just going to get out of her chair and jump him at some point. Yeesh.

I just don't get how they can say that Kevin and Michael each had the best dish for one course and Bryan had the best for two, then give it to Michael. It makes no sense. If it was truly based on that night, then Bryan should have won, and if they took the whole season into account, then then Kevin should have.

I was pulling for Kevin, and thought that Bryan should have gotten it if he didn't. Obviously this doesn't even come close to the Hosea fiasco last season; all three are extremely talented and deserved to be there. I just don't see what criteria they were using when they picked Michael.

Harborque in Baltimore. I'm a northerner by birth, so I have limited experience, but this place is super tasty.

Is there still room on the anti-fake meat bandwagon for me? Yuck. I spent seven years as a vegetarian, and I loathed (and still loathe) meat substitutes. I'm not talking about things that are actually foods in their own right, like tofu and tempeh. I strongly object to "food" of any kind that looks as if it may still be wrapped in plastic when it isn't. Bleh. @Brownie, the mushroom dish sounds fantastic. Where'd you find the recipe?

brussel sprouts and bacon!

I don't know that I'd want them for T-day, but the chipotle meatballs look tasty.

@thatgrrl Thanks.

Brussels sprouts and BACON!

I've been making pie crusts since I was a kid, and I've never seen why people find it so difficult. I usually use one from the Joy of Cooking, but, for the most part, the recipe is seldom the issue for most people. Basically have your fat and liquid as cold as possible, and do everything as quickly as you can. In order to get the dough into the pan easily, I usually roll it out on a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper that I've taped down to my counter.

The pumpkin pie brulee looks pretty tasty.