Dear Two Fat Als,
I would first like to say that your blog is officially my newest guilty pleasure. It is absolutely wonderful. The writing is superb and the pictures are perfect. And the food, whoa the food, tops it all off! I seriously am in love with TwoFatAls. Ok enough of my creepiness. So I am headed to DC this weekend to go the a holiday party that my sister and her roommates are throwing. I plan to debut my new cooking desire at this party by recreating some of your delicious recipes. So far I am planning on making peppermint bark (which I already made this past weekend and it was yummy), the fig/blue cheese cracker deals, and the crispy baked latkes. Any other suggestions that you think would be good holiday fare? I have one slight problem though. My sisters place has no food processor and no grater. She said she will try to get a grater. Is it ok to grate the potatoes and onions here on Friday before I head to DC for the party Saturday evening? Do the onions need to be grated (into a mush) or sliced thinly? Let me know if you get a chance!
Thanks,
Obsessed with TFA (aka Maki)

Dear Obsessed,
You flatter. We are obsessed with you too. Unfortunately, we don’t recommend preparing the potatoes or onions in advance — the potatoes will oxidize and turn gray, and the onions will be smelly and kind of gross. Graters are pretty cheap though, and you shouldn’t have trouble finding one. Also, you are probably better off dicing the onions with a knife than grating them to avoid the mush factor. As for the figs, you can definitely mash them up with a potato masher or even a fork — no food processor necessary. And finally, you might consider whipping up some homemade drinking chocolate. It’s so yummy and will go great with your peppermint bark. Good luck!
Love,
Two Fat Als

I am pleased to announce that a TFA recipe has facilitated the hook-up of a dear friend and loyal reader. The friend concocted our peanut-butter brownies, posted earlier this month, to top off a meal prepared for a potential suitor. Needless to say, he was swooning.

Read on for excerpts from the gchat:

Dear Two Fat Als:

We’re planning to have dinner this friday with friends who are currently vacationing in Maine. The good news is that they are bringing live lobsters for dinner which we are planning to grill. The bad news is that one of their daughters is a vegetarian, and won’t eat lobster. Here’s the question: what preferably grillable vegetarian entree goes well with lobster (besides,of course, cole slaw and corn on the cob)? We look forward to your prompt reply, as we only have 2 days to plan. Thanks, and by the way, I love your blog.

Stumped in CT

Dear Stumped,

Vegetarian grill options can be difficult to come up with, as most grilled vegetable make better side dishes than main plates. Yet we think we have the perfect recipe for you! Cooks Illustrated has a truly UNBELIEVABLE recipe for homemade veggie burgers. It takes a bit of time, but they turn out smoky and light and delicious. Additionally, we believe that veggie burgers will accompany any other side dishes that you decide to conjure, and the fact that you made them from scratch will compensate for the fact that veggie burgers may not stereotypically be as classy as lobster. Don’t be scared, this recipe is beyond good. Click here to view it!

Two Fat Als

Yay for this feature! We (mostly, me) are so obsessed! Slight feeling this may be a reader from the room on the other side of the wall… meet us for snack at 11? An excellent question in any case, and one about which Two Fat Als have definitely given a lot of thought. Please keep submitting, everyone! Email alannak@sas.upenn.edu.

Dear Two Fat Al’s,

I am new to the Philadelphia/Penn area, and have been following your great blog. Everything you make looks delicious, but I am worried about obtaining all of the ingredients you use in your recipes. Do you have any advice for someone on a tight budget on how to get the freshest and tastiest ingredients for the best prices? Where are the best stores to buy from in the area? When and where are the local markets? Where can I get hard to find ingredients? Please help.

Poor and puzzled at Penn

Dear P Squared,

When overwhelmed with questions, categorize:

Produce: The best places to buy produce are definitely the farmers markets. Fruits and vegetables cost the same as at the local food stores, and the quality is supremely better. Find links to all of the local markets here, and visit specific web sites for their schedules.
Meat and Fish: Sadly, we have found that good meat and fish meat can be hard to come by near Penn’s campus. For decent prices and great goods, one might travel to the Italian market (9th and Catherine). A closer but overpriced option would be Reading Terminal Market (13th and Market). We’ll buy chicken, sometimes red meat, and the occasional tilapia fillet at the Fresh Grocer (40th and Walnut), which is awesome at being close to our apartments– not so much at selling good food. Ofen, it is best to buy frozen from Trader Joe’s (22nd and Market).
Hard-to-find Ingredients: West Philadelphia has amazing ethnic and specialty stores. Supreme Supermarket (43rd and Walnut) has a huge Asian foods section (you can also head to the stores in Chinatown for this, but that requires public transport) and also a decent selection of South American ingredients. Check out Mecca Market (42nd and Walnut) for middle eastern goodies, including the best baklava ever, as well as the Indian spice shop down the block.

Two Fat Als

One April Fool’s Day, my parents sent me a letter informing me that I had been selected as the next advice columnist for American Girl Magazine. I cried when I found out the truth. It has always been my dream to provide cliched, written counsel to those in need — and anyone else who will take it.

Why is this relevant? Well, it is with great pleasure that we announce: Dear Two Fat Als — a food and cooking advice column! The idea is inspired by one of my very best friends, who submitted our first inquiry. Are we qualified? Depends. Are we going to launch it anyway? Most definitely. PLEASE send us questions at alannak@sas.upenn.edu. Please.

Dear Two Fat Als,

I was recently baking a cake with two friends for an upcoming birthday party. We were all particularly excited about using festive funfetti frosting to top it off. In an attempt to make myself useful, I decided to prepare the frosting as I had always thought funfetti frosting should be prepared: by stirring in the sprinkles. But no sooner had the sprinkles hit the frosting than I was greeted by horrified screams from my co-bakers. Apparently they are of the frost-then-sprinkle funfetti persuasian and were convinced I ruined the cake. I have been conducting something of a survey amongst friends and family, and have discovered that this is a surprisingly contentious and divisive issue. I have also done some preliminary internet searches and visited the Pillsbury website but found nothing conclusive. I am hoping that you will be able to put this matter to rest once and for all.

Sincerely,
Bewildered in Bethesda

Dear Bewildered,

Two Fat Als are thrilled to see that you are using funfetti, which we love. In fact, it was the first dish that we prepared for Alex’s Korean subletter, Eunjoo, to introduce her to the wonders of American cuisine. To respond to your question, we are of the strong opinion that mixing funfetti into the frosting is completely acceptable, and even encouraged. Firstly, this allows the funfetti to soften slightly, making it all the more fun. Secondly, once softened, funfetti will melt slightly into the icing and create a light swirling effect. Happy Birthday to your friend, and we’re sure that the funfetti will be a hit!

Two Fat Als