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The Ten Most Recent Comments By Ravara

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

I have a fabulous tandoori leg of lamb recipe that I trot out a bit, though I make a mean braise too. Handmade bread always impresses folks, and I make a risotto that knocks most people's sock off. The best way to impress via produce is superb sourcing!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Nigella Express

There's nothing that reassures me like planned-overs. And if I'm doing bacon, I go ahead and do the package- same amount of dirty, and then you have good precooked bacon, not that store precooked stuff, whith which to make salads and BLTs.

From Recipes

Mario Unclogged: Marinara Sauce

In case anyone who might benefit sees this, I agree with gmunger that I'm sad to see Mario, who has seen the joys of California produce, claim you can't get good San Marzano tomatoes in the US. I assure you that Mariquita and twosmallfarms dot com have fabulous San Marzanos for cooking- they suck for raw stuff, they are TOO low acid, but holy jeez cooked.. Love Apple Farms doesn't have it on their grow list this season- http://loveapplefarm.typepad.com/growbetterveggies/love-apple-farms-2008-tom.html but I bet Cynthia can tell you something good...

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: 'My Last Supper'

I'd need a buffet style setup, with yellow pear tomatoes from my mom's garden, her sausage supper, and a couple ounces of her tri tip, then my great grandma's pot roast with veg and bacon fat fried potatoes, rum raisin ice cream and dark chocolate for dessert.

From Talk

Bunny Marshmallows - Ideas?

This may not be your cup of tea, but I think it's too awesome to not share. You see, I truly hate easter- and historically, easter hates me back. So I was delighted to discover that marshmallow looks delightfully gory when red food dye is applied to an uneven marshmallow surface- such as those that might result from careful tweezing, or, if you're lazy like me and feeling sure that no one will actually eat the finished result, nibbling off all the sugary part. Last easter, it was psycho mutant bunny cake with peeled heads on sticks. This year, who knows?

From Talk

It's never in my shopping cart, except...

In my world, french's onions exist for the sole purpose of green bean casserole, and bottled light italian dressing is used only for godmother sandwiches, while light ranch dressing is for ranch twice baked or mashed potatoes, never salad. The only bottled dressing I find pleasing in actual salad (or dipping veg) is goddess.

From Required Eating

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Fortune Cookie Chronicles'

Not a memorable fortune, but I did have quite a memorable incident with an old boyfriend that began with being fed a fortune cookie..

From Talk

school lunches, now and back when i went in the 60's & 70's

Growing up in San Jose in the mid to late eighties (I'm 24) I'm pretty sure looking back the school lunches were big industrial food. They always came in plastic topped black rectangular plastic trays, the food was always wet and soggy, never brown or crisp (I particularly recall their hideous baked chicken drumsticks)- it's pretty obvious it was just heat and serve stuff, I can't recall any kind of kitchen to speak of. Most days I had tuna salad on crackers with fruit or some other lunch from home.
High school was pathetically bad- aquiring lunch took half your lunch period, and the food was pretty much fast food (McD's, some pizza chain, and taco hell) brought in and superprocessed microwave staples- burritos, spongy breaded "chicken" sandwiches and burgers, top ramen, fries, really terrible stuff, all supplemented by contracted soda and candy vending machines. It's fortunate that I have a great fondness for sourdough bagels with swiss cheese and fruit- my mom would just stock the freezer and fridge with bagels and cheese and I would grab and go. I'd come home hungry, but my mom's the queen of planned overs so I'd always have something good before leaving for work.
My college cafeteria is also wretchedly horrible- it's super processed, expensive, and the quality is terrible- the vast majority of the meat used is that disgusting, shaggy, precooked mystery meat, and the food is consistantly completely bland and tasteless- I'm fairly convinced it's all just the cheapest versions of sysco staples. I'd literally rather go hungry than eat cafeteria food.
It irritates me now to think of the utter crap that was and is offered, but at least I can say that it made me realize the value of packing one's own lunch. I shudder to think how many perfectly delicious vegetables and healthy foods were made completely loathsome to thousands of children still forming taste preferences.

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: 'Panini Express'

it's hard to beat straight up grilled cheese with a nice slice of tomato, though that certainly isn't the only delicious choice- fridge special is usually great too!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: 'Roast Chicken and Other Stories'

When I was a kid I used to think that chicken was way fancier than duck or dove or other game birds. I used to love going hunting with my parents and so a supermarket bird that you paid money for was obviously higher class than something you shot out of the sky, though I liked all of the different kinds of fowl.
Man, I'd sell my soul for some of the elk sausage my mom's friend used to make.

Responses to Comments by Ravara

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

And we have our winners:

tacroy80, akiss, bajjmayer, clc408, zekks

Congrats and thanks for commenting. Winners will be notified by email as well.

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

a giant steak

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

BBQ meatballs

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

A crockpot roast

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

My killer lasagna!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

Thanksgiving dinner with all the works.

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

Anything on the grill - chicken, steaks, pork!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

salmon with a pecan-honey mustard topping... looks gorgeous, easy to make and people are usually surprised by it!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

standing rib roast anad yorkshire pudding!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

Lobster Bisque