Comments

• On the article Business of the Week: A Touch of Class

  

  

  Robin Collins

  8:48 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012

  Hi Carol,
  After interviewing Laura for the article, I have no doubt she will continue to do well in her location. She has a great outlook on life and bubbles over with enthusiasm. No wonder her clients are so loyal! Thanks for your comment.
  Robin Collins

• On the article Business of the Week: A Touch of Class

  

  

  Robin Collins

  8:42 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012

  Hi Mark,
  Because much of my Patch "beat" covers businesses, I am often troubled by the same issue you mention. Interestingly, when I asked Laura Khuu how she felt about it, she didn't seem very concerned. She laughed and said her clients are...HER clients. Loyalty is the key here. I also wrote a Business of the Week article featuring Creative Portraiture and the talented owner/photographer Stephanie Mohan said something similar about the shop that had recently opened across the street. But I agree, in my opinion the new businesses are too close in proximity to the established ones. When someone wants to open a business, the location depends on available and affordable space from their point of view. Don't know how much the city gets involved, or at what point, or if there is consideration about the type of business with respect to what is already nearby, but maybe I can find out and write about it. Thanks for your input and thanks for reading Patch. Robin Collins

• On the article What's Your Favorite Thanksgiving Dish?

  

  Robin Collins

  5:24 pm on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

  My favorite Thanksgiving dishes are made of memories. I honor my mother and both grandmothers, all superb cooks, by serving their creations. The shimmery garnet red molded salad, packed with chopped cranberries, walnuts, celery and oranges - including the rind - is suspended in lemon jell-o. (Not your typical jell-o mold, it’s so fruit filled you hardly notice the jell-o which binds it together.) Add a dollop of dressing buzzed in the food processor - cream cheese, powdered sugar and orange juice. Though they are a pain to peel, another winner is a make-ahead casserole of small boiling onions, cooked and drained, then blanketed in cheddar cheese sauce, topped with sliced almonds, and baked in the oven until the sauce is melted and gooey. My great grandmother, who had a fruit orchard, baked a pie every day. Her pumpkin pie graces my holiday table and is topped with cinnamon vanilla whipped cream. She devised a fluffier pumpkin version, made on the stovetop, which can be spooned into crisp individual tart shells for guests who come and go throughout the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to our Patch readers. Thanks for your time and fun responses. Robin

  Reply

• On the article Contest: Where Did You Get That?

  

  

  Robin Collins

  1:43 pm on Sunday, October 16, 2011

  Jeremy,
  You are on the right track for sure. Yes, it's a pasta dish...from a popular and busy restaurant in Fairfax. The shape will give you the pasta name. What do you see in the sauce? Keep guessing. (This is delicious, by the way. I ate the whole thing!) Robin

• On the article How to Make Sirloin of Lamb with Port Pomegranate Sauce

  

  

  Robin Collins

  11:23 pm on Sunday, June 19, 2011

  Hi Dick,

  I wrote the article on Hanna's and wanted you to know that I just checked the video myself. Sorry you had a problem, but it is running fine for me. In fact, I watched it twice. I hope you try again and do let me know. This is a great recipe (I got to taste it during out video shoot) and it's always fun to see a talented chef working magic. Thanks for reading Patch.
  Cordially,
  Robin Collins

• On the article What Recipes Do You Want to See?

  

  

  Robin Collins

  7:11 pm on Tuesday, April 5, 2011

  Hi Peggy,
  I am delighted to tell you that Amici's was kind enough to give us the recipe for their Mustard Italian salad dressing. We shot a video today showing you (and all of our readers) how to make it, and, as a bonus, Amici's also shared the recipe for their Spicy Pepper Chicken Pizza. Both were yummy. The Recipe of the Week article, featuring the video of both items, will be on our site this Thursday. Thanks for requesting a recipe from Amici's. Cordially, Robin

• On the article What Recipes Do You Want to See?

  

  

  Robin Collins

  4:45 pm on Saturday, March 26, 2011

  Dear Peggy,

  Thank you for your idea. I will be happy to ask Amici's if they are willing to share their recipe for Mustard Italian salad dressing. Let's hope they say yes. Stay tuned and thanks for reading our Recipe of the Week column. Robin

• On the article What Recipes Do You Want to See?

  

  

  Robin Collins

  4:39 pm on Saturday, March 26, 2011

  Thanks Nicole. I will check out the papusas from Royal Franks for your twitter follower. Didn't realize that they are now serving Salvadorian and Guatemalan food. Great idea! Robin

• On the article How to Make Chicken Cordon Bleu

  

  

  Robin Collins

  4:51 pm on Sunday, March 13, 2011

  Dear Tony,

  Glad to know that you and your wife are such fans of Chalet Basque (me too) and that you liked our video. Chicken Cordon Bleu is, indeed, on the restaurant's regular menu. Because chef owner Roger Minhondo told me it is one of their most popular dishes, I asked if he would be willing to share the recipe with our readers. If you do cook it at home, please let us know how it turned out. As the video shows, the recipe is not difficult at all. And the final result is as "yummy" as it looks. (One of the fun parts about our recipe of the week shoot is that we get to taste!) Thanks for reading Patch. Next week we are featuring another delicious dish, a seasonal vegetarian penne pasta.
  Cordially,
  Robin Collins

• On the article Christmas Tabletop Decor

  

  Robin Collins

  2:10 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010

  Nancy,

  Yes, mistletoe is a pest...but wouldn't it be a pretty pest if spray painted gold! Actually that was my point about spray painting. Find anything you appreciate the shape of outside in nature (your back yard or a park as you said) and it can be turned into a (free) tabletop accessory. You can keep the items in their natural colors, or make them more festive (and coordinated to your decor) using spray paint. For a Gold Rush event I did once, we spray painted the small white garden rocks - that come in bags from the nursery - gold to replicate large quantities of gold nuggets and that made everybody laugh. So even rocks work...Spray paint can be your new BFF.

  Reply