Hey guys, we have to travel from Philadelphia to New Hampshire today (Wednesday) on some sad business (headed to a funeral for my little cousin). To make things better, we want to eat something gooood for dinner.

We plan to travel along I-87, from I-287, to avoid NYC and CT traffic, and then cut across Vermont along VT-11 and go up I-91 to Lebanon.

Do you know of a good roadside food place along this route? Preferably along the I-87 chunk of the trip, since that will be closer to dinner time.

Thanks.

I don't like mushrooms. I don't know why. I think it is mostly a texture thing, but maybe also a visual thing (like the goomba-looking ones you get in Tom Yum soup). But I don't really mind the taste and can handle small bits of mushrooms, so I feel there is hope for me yet!

So how do I learn to love mushrooms? Are there preparations that are a good entre entree? Are there types of mushrooms I should try that might make me fall in love? Or conversely, mushrooms I should avoid to further stoking my fear?

This is my summer goal (along with learning to love olives, but I will save that for another post). Maybe, eventually, I can transition from these quality mushrooms to being able to eat ANY mushrooms! Too exciting.

Hey, I made my third cheesecake ever this weekend, after two very successful ones that I made last month. The crust (made of pistachios) turned out wonderful...the filling, not so much.

The filling kind of...broke down. It had some cracks after cooling, which I know is characteristics of using not at-room temperature ingredients (I did let it cool fully to room temperature before refrigerating), but does that also affect how the custard stays together?

Baking info: I used two eggs and two egg yolks in the custard with one pound cream cheese, creamed together briefly so not to overmix. It also had mango puree for flavor, which worked in the past, so not sure if its a factor, unless it was too cold for the mix (it was previously frozen and thawed on the countertop). I baked it with a steam bath on the bottom shelf, but not submerged.

Another factor: I took it to a party where the hostess tends to feel chilly, so the temp in the house was turned up to like 83 degrees. We kept it in the fridge until serving, but it sat out post-serving and now today (two days later) its looks like a lava slide of custard.

So was it a temp fluctuation in ingredients or does cheesecake not stay together after being in a warm room? Tips and tricks are welcome!

Somewhat inspired by @Sailordave's Serious Effort, I am also embarking on a cassoulet adventure this week.

I have decided the most cost-efficient (and culinarily entertaining/educational) way of doing the duck confit is to head down to the Asian markets, buy a couple of ducks and do it myself.

Here are my questions/problems/concerns:
1. The (Bourdain) recipe only calls for four duck legs confit. That, coupled with the fact that there is not enough fat in the ducks to confit the whole duck (though I would love to) makes me wonder what to do with the rest of the duck? Any suggestions? I've never worked with duck breast before--favorite recipes?

2. What about the rest of the duck? Roasting the giblets to make a pate was one suggestion I heard? And duck stock, of course, which I think I will sub in for water in the cassoulet.

AND
3. I'm a little nervous of deconstructing the duck myself. Roasting giblets only scares me because I have to identify the giblets in the first place. Any suggestions, guides, etc.? I'm hoping I can get them to do it at the market, but since it's the Asian store, it's often not like the local butcher.

Thanks for any help or suggestions! I look forward to the cassoulety conversation.

We are having a pasta cook-off at work next week and, as the newbie, I want to prove my mettle!

I was thinking of a simple butternut squash ravioli with a brown butter sage. But our place does not have an oven or stove. Just a disgusting microwave. I thought of a hot pot to make the pasta fresh, but what about the brown butter? Will it reheat okay?

Should I change my recipe or do you have any ideas? What would you make for this contest?

I was also considering a slow-cooked meaty ragu or doing Cincinnati chili four-way (last month was chili-cooking contest, which I missed, so this could be best of both worlds!)

The other day I had a nice long chat with my cab driver. I mistook his name for Greek, which was bad because the Greeks and Georgians have deep roots of dislike. Anyway, he was telling me about this area in NE that has a lot of Georgian restaurants and recommended a specific one that is in a strip mall. I am wondering if anyone knows of this area?

After a little Google searching, I suspect it is off of Bustleton Avenue, mentioned in a CityPaper article from two years ago, but can anyone recommend a specific restaurant or just confirm that that is the area? And once I am there, what should I eat and what else should I do?

I tried to be very specific in my title! My friend and I are embarking on a three-week roadtrip at the end of September.

We will be leaving from her place in Berkeley and heading to Death Valley, then going to the Grand Canyon for 3 nights before heading to Zion National Park (Hurricane, UT) for 2 nights.
From there we go to Bryce Canyon (Panguitch, UT) and Arches National Park (Moab, UT) for a night each.
Then we head back to the Midwest, via Albuquerque and Lubbock, TX for a night each. Then Springfield, MO and St. Louis and Chicago!

We are on a budget but still like to eat good food, of course. Love the local joints that have the best food no one outside of town knows about. We have friends in Lubbock, Springfield, St. Louis and Chicago, so I am mostly worried about the tourist areas (especially around the Grand Canyon and Utah parks) that might focus more on "familiar" fast food, so help us out! I'm particularly excited to eat lots of good Mexican flavors.

Suggestions between towns are also welcome! Here is a link to our route.

Having recently lost my job, I have started bartering for services, such as getting my hair cut in exchange for either cooking or teaching how to make Indian food.

The recent exchange I had, the person said they would pay for all the ingredients for a dinner for 6, which includes me and my fiance. I will probably pre-make a few dishes and teach how to make two.

How do I put a price value on your time? Do you think that is a fair deal for a $90 cut & color? (I am more worried that I am overvaluing my services for one meal). I am thinking of giving them a masala tin of spices culled from my collection, as sort of part of the teaching and to make it equal.

If it makes a difference, I am not professionally-trained, but I am pretty good with Indian food since that is what I grew up around.

Guys, I was lucky enough to lay my little paws on five pounds of delicious smoked sausage from Southside Market. I'm looking for a 'slaw recipe to go with the sausage. One that really pairs nicely with it.

I'm also hoping for any baked bean suggestions. I have a basic bean-water-bacon-pepper-salt recipe, but is there anything else I should have in there? Molasses? Brown Sugar? Onions? Garlic? Cajun seasoning? I plan to experiment on this, but would love opinions or recipes. Also--stovetop or crockpot?

Hey guys, we have to travel from Philadelphia to New Hampshire today (Wednesday) on some sad business (headed to a funeral for my little cousin). To make things better, we want to eat something gooood for dinner. We plan to... More

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