I don't know that we will be cooking inside, but we will most likely be outside around our new webber charcoal grill :) We bought it a few weeks ago and have only used it once so far. But it was soooo good to cook on charcoal, after having used gas for the last few years. Something about that smell that gets me all ready for spring and summer

favorite grilled dinner: boned leg of lamb with a coconut-cilantro marinade (from Bittman's HTCE)

I'm thinking about buying a citrus juicer of this type or this type for making tons of margaritas this summer. Does anyone have experience with either type? I have one of the hand squeezer types (not the cone-type but the lever which squishes the juice out), but for the volume of margaritas I'm planning, that will be kind of a pain, I think. Any thoughts, oh wondrous Kitcheners?

Erin,

I would not buy either of these. They are not well constructed and will break, bend and fall over. The hand squeezer is essential. But if you need to make a whole lot of juice and you don't want a workout you could get an electric reamer--either one that stands alone or one that attaches to your Kitchen Aid.

I have a juicer sort of like this, and it's much faster than the electric one I also have.

I have a juicer a bit like the one Joan A. linked too. Mine is stainless steel. I just used it this morning (lemon curd). It is not that much work to use it. I put in on the table. Then I can have my arm straight and just push down and turn. Easy-peasy.

It works really well with lemons, and okay with limes and oranges. The limes are little too small for the shape of the reamer and the oranges are a little too round, so you have to be a little more careful. But for $7, I really can't complain.

i was thinking of doing a pasta salad with canned salmon peas and something oniony. can anyone suggest a dressing and/or other vegetables or herbs i can toss in?

i don't eat a lot of salmon so i'm not sure what goes well with it besides cream cheese and bagels. :)

with salmon and peas, dill, sliced scallions, and olive oil is really nice. even better with smoked salmon, but canned is good, too.

thinking woman: we just made this recipe, or at least a variation of it, and highly recommend it. I could definitely see the addition of more red wine vinegar, olive oil and pasta.

I'm in San Francisco until Sunday. Are there any absolute must go restaurants that anyone can recommend right now?

I'm also looking for any stellar Russian River Pinot Noir wineries.
Thanks for your help
art.

art-

in sf, millenium is a great vegan restaurant.(http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/)

also- thep phenom (http://www.thepphanom.com/) is amazing.

does anyone have ideas for an interesting pureed fava bean soup? It's for Easter dinner, so I'd like ti to seem tasty with glazed ham.

There's one at Epicurious... any suggestions?

Cara,

You could use either fresh or dried favas. Fresh would definately scream spring in the most refreshing way but it would be a lot of work. For fresh fava bean soup you could peel a ton of fresh favas, hence the work. In a soup pot, sweat some julienne onion until it is soft then add some home-made vegetable stock. Bring the stock to a boil, add the shelled and peeled favas to the boiling broth with some salt to taste and as soon as the favas are tender, a couple of minutes, take the pot off the heat and puree until smooth. The trick is not to add too much vegetable broth. It is better to end up with a thicker soup that needs a little more broth added to it than to end up with a soup that is too thin. Re-season the soup with salt and white pepper. You can serve this right away or chill it down rapidly to serve later. You could serve this soup just as it is with some fresh mint and a drizzle of the best extra virgin olive oil you can find.

The other method would be to use dried, peeled fava beans. There is a traditional Mexican soup which consists primarily of onions, chicken stock and dried fava beans. You could make this like a traditional bean soup but keep in mind the soup will be sort of a yellowish/brownish color after you puree it. The first recipe is a lot of work and fava beans can be expensive but it's really worth it. Hope this helps.

art,
bar crudo, in s.f.
am familiar with russian river but don't recall pinot being a big varietal there...definitely drive Westside Road (runs between russian river and healdsburg) if you want to see smaller wineries and gorgeous scenery

Thanks for the recommendations. I've been to Thep Phanom before--by far the best Thai I've ever had.

I'm going to try to hit Bar Crudo.