Profile

prunesaregood

I smell like garlic. I've been told.

  • Location: nyc
  • Favorite foods: pho tai, canh chua canh, baguettes. croissants. fruit pies. :)
  • Last bite on earth: everything in favorite foods.

The Vegan Experience: Why Does Everyone Assume Vegans Are Health Nuts?

also, sorry, I just wanted to say that I was a vegan until I realized that I was being antisocial - to avoid burdening everyone, I had to cook a special thing for me, had to avoid certain restaurants, etc. I was pushing my food choices on everyone else and reverting to hanging out with vegetarians, vegans, etc. instead of meat-eaters...

and believe it or not, the response when I gave up was, "you didn't try hard enough."

The Vegan Experience: Why Does Everyone Assume Vegans Are Health Nuts?

change the word "food" for "religion." my friend was jewish. she converted to christianity to marry someone. it's the change that's strange, not the original or end religion. if you kept up being vegan, it might end up being really hard to keep hanging out with your friends unless they changed too.

Case in point - this post from you http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/02/the-vegan-experience-days-22-and-23-charting.html:

"Brunch is still a nearly impossible meal to even consider going out for. Sunday I was meeting up with some friends who at first wanted to go to a typical American brunch restaurant—steak and eggs, eggs benedict, omelettes, pancakes, and the like. Obviously nothing I can eat there save for some fresh fruit. I managed to convince them to hit up Coppelia instead."

Why inconvenience people's lives and your own if you don't have to? I understand limiting your options to veganism as an experiment - great! but you actually do force your choice on other people, because veganism is your ideology, if only for one month, and the people who like you or love you or tolerate you now have to put up with it too.


Iin a world of SeriousEats, I think you made your point - vegan doesn't have to be boring, and no one is inconvenienced. but actually they are -

Salt Crusted Branzino

Should this be 400F or maybe 450F (per Kumiko's slideshow on how she baked branzino in a salt crust at 450F for 15 minutes?)

Giveaway: 'The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook'

Gyeran jjim :) please post a recipe.

What? No commentary on The Minimalist?

hmmm...I could go either way about bittman. he admits that he's nothing more than a talented home cook. he never calls himself a chef. but he's a gateway! he got me to bake bread for the first time (yes, no-knead bread is kind of tasteless), he got me to pair shrimp, eggs, soy sauce, and sesame oil, which is a really pretty wonderful meal (I'm eyeing the eggplant recipe he calls one of his top 25), and he got me to invest in a food processor, which opened up my world in terms of winter salads (grated beets, grated carrots, grated butternut squash, grinding my own meat for burgers and keema, etc. etc.)

So, I'm sad even though I also agree that not all of his recipes work.

I guess I like it when he took a technique or recipe that another country uses - like socca or dahl or polenta - and applied american or other flavors to it. oatmeal and soy sauce and green onions was like, "oh, I've never had oatmeal like this. yum."

I guess it's pretty sad that for me and even a lot of my coworkers, people think you can't flavor things outside what they're supposed to be flavored with.

Like I told my coworkers I like to add my own spices to popcorn - sometimes cinnamon and sugar, or garam masala or putnala podi or something. and they said that was weird, even though people eat caramel corn what's the difference??

Bittman's pretty well traveled, and for someone with trepidation about cooking, the recipes open up your world. not all of us can afford to buy a spain, thailand, french, and italian cookbook, so it's nice to know the different ways each country thinks about squid or anchovies or rice.

Bye mark! but yeah, you are a bit snobby.

Wedding Food-What would YOU want to eat?

my friend's wedding food: ceviche or salad, then ropa vieja (or quinoa for vegetarians), then cake and churros and hot chocolate (she's peruvian).

It was the best wedding food I've ever had!

I would like something like that again, but I think it was also pretty expensive.

I think it doesn't matter as long as the food is good. For myself, I would love a lobster roll and blueberry pie and some corn. :) obviously this would be a summer wedding.

barring that, quiche? brisket?

Tried three new recipes - 2 win, 1 loss

@MissBrownEyes - blondies never seem to fulfill the craving like brownies do they?
@seemunkee - I tried making these cookies this weekend:
Chocolate Tahini sables
http://www.onehundredeggs.com/?p=115

sounds great, right? but dry, dry, dry, after baking at 325 for 25 minutes. now i've got two huge logs of dough waiting to be used up.

Your recipes sound pretty, pretty good! (I had tahini from trying to make hummus and had no idea what to do with the rest of it); I feel your pain about how hummus is too expensive and it's nice to customize it at home.

kyotofu. other gems in hell's kitchen/clinton?

@ Chris - thanks for the tips! will definitely check out danji.

I thought of one more to add to the list - I also very much like tulcingo's caldo de pollo with the broth from the spicy caldo. Theirs is my vote for soup when I'm sick, or just want a good bowl of soup with homemade chicken broth and random vegetables. And I've had a lot of soup from the area. Their pipian mole (green, pumpkin seed mole) is pretty good as well. but definitely don't get tulcingo's flautas!

I prefer tehuitzingo's tacos, specifically the potato and chorizo one, and I also enjoy their posole soup.

Toloache seems like rosa mexicano to me, and I'm not sure what's a complete knock out of the park, so if there are any suggestions? Something spicy is always good. (Please don't say the guacamole, which just boggles my mind in pricing, though nyt said it's very good)

Honestly, I just wonder how a lot of places on 8th and 9th avenues stay in business. I've seen one or two restaurants change names 3 or 4 times now -stecchino used to be something else, and black bistro burger was a turkish restaurant before that I believe. I almost wonder if black burger bistro is a drug front.

And then take lime jungle (not mexican food!), which continues to prosper. I mean, what?? I just want to support the places that really should stay.

so thanks for the recs everyone!

Food related books - need a good read.

i like cooking for mr. latte. :) it's kind of girly, but a nice couple hour escape. I also enjoyed arabesque- claudia roden has a couple of introductory pages on turkey, lebanon, and moroccan culture before she delves into the recipes.

Making lemon curd - how do I 'press through a strainer'?

@PoorOldMama - I saw a recipe for Lemon Curd Ice cream in a not so recent melissa clark cookbook, instant gourmet. I think if you do a search you can find several recipes and she raves about what a boon it was to make such a wonderful, easy dessert. reviews seem to be pretty good, let me know how it turns out!

Biscuits vs Scones

to be honest i would say you know a biscuit when you taste it? and yes biscuit seems like a child of scone. but at nwcajun - true!

Happy National Oatmeal Day

@hilde-the oatmeal
with scallions and soy sauce sesame oil or fish sauce is good. if you like congee you will like it. i like to add shredded roast chicken. hopefully it turns out good for you!

help with eggs benedict and brunch timing

@G-Monkey - I had trouble with eggs benedict timing too! I appreciate it a lot more when I order it at a restaurant.

Sichuan peppercorns?

I bought mine at penzey's and if I were using them for hotpot or something, I wouldn't toast them. I am also a weirdo, though, in that when I get ma po tofu or sichuan hotpot, I search out the peppercorns for the mouth numbing sensation. I guess it's like black peppercorns - if you mind finding the spices whole, crush, but I think it's more authentic to leave them whole.

This article doesn't say anything about prepping the peppercorns for use:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/08/serious-heat-peppercorns-black-white-tellicherry-sichuan-green-pink.html

have fun!

kyotofu. other gems in hell's kitchen/clinton?

Gargupie-What are your favorite things at the Poseidon bakery? do you have any favorites among the savory pies? Also, I love Amy's for their baguettes, what do you like to get there?

Seriously Asian: Top 6 Asian Cookbooks of 2010

any chance kansha will be featured on cook the book? seems like something totally different and exciting. (I love dashi made from shiitake soaking liquid)

Cook the Book: 'The Essential New York Times Cookbook'

arabesque

Coffee Chronicles: In Search of the Legit Affogato

It was delicious at 'inoteca! perfect tiny size too.

Updating the Ol' Queue

oh, and cafe kashkar rocks. I liked the lagman (sp?), eggplant salad - just a different experience. at northern spy food company, food was pretty good but I agreed with seriouseats review - B/B+ - food was great and fresh but a little bland?

Updating the Ol' Queue

i like tiny's giant sandwich shop but it's nothing to put on a list in my opinion? if you're in the neighborhood, why not. but it's an LES thing. I would maybe go chinatown or falai instead?

3 Unemployed Recent Graduates, 3 Days, Vendors/Cheap Eats

macaron cafe for a macaron.
Petrossian for a croissant. jacques torres for a chocolate chip cookie (or wherever serious eats recommended for the best chocolate chip cookie)
Otto for some gelato/simple bites at the bar.
Kathy YL Chan has some great places on her website, a passion for food.

Also, try to hit up the street trucks http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2010/67139/index1.html
and queens can be wonderful - the flushing food court - if you're willing to ride the train for a long time.

But please- unless you LOVE hot dogs, don't go to gray's papaya. Ugh.

Post Oral Surgery - What Foods to Eat?

Yikes! I guess you had the worst case scenario for wisdom teeth surgery. Sorry, I feel your pain. My suggestions: congee/jook (rice porridge, but you can add fish sauce/sesame oil and make with chicken broth. but you may not like it, it's not too everyone's taste.)

You could also try savory oatmeal - oatmeal with soy sauce and sesame oil and green onions. I read about that on SeriousEats because mark bittman mentioned enjoying that in a radio interview.

two other ideas: dal? (you will need a certain kind of pulse for everything to get soft and soupy, like red lentils) speaking of red lentils dissolving into nothing, melissa clark has a great red lentil soup! with lemon and yogurt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09appe.html

I don't know, my friend made a sausage smoothie when her jaw was broken but hopefully you don't get that desperate. get well soon!

What IS The Best Tip, Trick, Recipe etc You've Gotten At SE?

1. the best recipe I ever got from seriouseats was for turkey - the best thankgiving turkey recipe ever.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/11/how-to-spatchcock-a-turkey-thanksgiving-butterflying-roasting-recipe.html
I posted a really long response, with things I would change and just effusively thanking grace yang - I don't want to eat turkey made another way. (well, I hear deep-fried is good...but you know, don't deep-fry a frozen turkey if you don't want your house/yard/whatever to go up in flames).

2. The tomatillo-lime sauced chicken from mario batali's Leo Maya has such a bright flavor, a great go-to recipe. (use fresh cilantro - which, I've realized, is why so many people hate cilantro. not fresh cilantro is horrible!)
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/09/unclogged-mario-batali-recipe-chicken-with-green-sauce.html

3. I also made kalua pork/sides based on this thread: http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2008/09/i-need-side-dishes-for-kalua-pig.html

Great for superbowl!

too many to list guys, thanks for everything you (the community) do and all that you are.

The Best Ramen in New York City

Hmmm...impulsivegirl has three comments on SeriousEats and she pretty much copied/pasted her same comment from above into three different discussions.
Just stating fact!
Thanks for doing this, Kenji! Just wondering - did you do any of the research by yourself? I guess this would be a tough test to conduct in the HQ in the same way as new york's best bagel, cheesecake, challah, etc. tests were conducted.

Also, @pickle - I wouldn't say Ippudo was dethroned - it was a very close decision. and the ranking has Ippudo's noodles as being better than Hide-Chan's. Those noodles are pretty heavenly...even with the 2hour wait. And it is fun the way everyone says goodbye when you leave. I don't know, I still love it! Plus, I love their cucumber appetizer and their chicken karaage.

Cook the Book: 'Around My French Table'

burma (myanmar)

kyotofu. other gems in hell's kitchen/clinton?

I know seriouseats has written about kyotofu before, but their baked goods are seriously divine. and the right portion size too. I just had one of their awesome hazelnut chocolate chip cookies and a mini chocolate chip cupcake that doesn't need any icing but is pure, perfect cake.

I was reading a thread about hidden gems in nyc neighborhoods before and I think kyotofu belongs on the list for hell's kitchen/clinton.

other places I love: petrossian for croissants, taboon for brunch (I like their eggs with merguez). Any other suggestions from people who live/work in the neighborhood?

a cookbook from food bloggers

Hey serious eaters - I've found a lot of great blogs via seriouseats - my googlereader is now so full!
Just wondering if anyone has bought the 55 knives cookbook,

http://55knives.com/the-55-blogs/

compiled from 55 foodblogs, some of which I know pretty well (ezrapoundcake, pinchmysalt, the perfect pantry) and some of which I don't know as well?

over crumbling shortbread

Hi - I recently made some whole wheat shortbread. (I didn't have any all purpose flour in the house.) I don't think I overmixed the shortbread. It seemed "sandy." But when I froze the logs and then tried to slice the cookies and bake them, they are browned on the edges and not very brown in the center. Any ideas on fixes? Thank you!!

waiting for baked goods to cool down

Hi All. my brother in law is a wonderful baker. He always waits for his baked goods (breads, pies, cookies) to cool down before digging into them because, I think there is a scientifc reason, structure sets up better, something like that. I do not wait. Lately, I've been wondering - is it really that big a deal? why do people wait? Also, if you can't contain yourself, are there any goods that are ok to dig into hot, because you have no patience? obviously, pizza you can dig into right away, right? (well, I guess there's always the chance you can burn yourself if you wait only nanoseconds for the food)

perfect soft boiled eggs every time

I adore soft boiled eggs (as in, you drink the white and yolk and they both manage to be warm) and I always seem to mess them up. There has to be a way! can anyone share their foolproof method?

(as an aside- Why don't more restaurants in the u.s. serve these beauties?)

Got Leftover Bagels? Turn Them Into French Toast

Got Leftover Bagels? Turn Them Into French Toast

Despite the ubiquity of bagels in delis and supermarket freezer sections across the country, there aren't that many "second life bagel" recipes. Challah is often used for French Toast and bread pudding—bagels, not so much. Yet so many places are littered with spare bagels, since the temptation is always to buy a dozen, even if only six people work at the office and two of them are on Atkins. So what about using a bagel to make French toast? I can hear Linda Richmond in my head now..."This French toast is neither French nor toasted! Discuss!" More

Serious Cheese: So You Want to Be a Cheesemonger...

Serious Cheese: So You Want to Be a Cheesemonger...

"Even though that complexity can be intimidating, any one of these sources will make you better informed about cheese than the average bear." Let's talk about how to talk about cheese. [Photograph: cwbuecheler on Flickr] OK, so maybe you don't want to work the counter every day but you want to know at least enough to impress that cute monger at your local cheese shop. Or you just really want to be able to hold your own at the next cheese-and-beer event your friends are holding. Or you, like me, just happen to like knowing things (and no, this does not mean you're a know-it-all... much). While the best way to learn a heck of a lot about cheese is,... More

Good Hangover Breakfasts

Good Hangover Breakfasts Get Recipe

From top left clockwise: Pancakes, chorizo and potato frittata, migas, fried egg sandwich. Got a little headache? These feel-good breakfasts should do the trick (all washed down with a Bloody Mary of course). Silver Dollar Pancakes Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes The Greatest Waffle Recipe Ever Huevos Rancheros Migas Eggs-in-Toast (not really a recipe, but just a reminder that it exists) Spinach and Cheese Frittata Chorizo and Potato Frittata Green Eggs and Parma Ham Bean Toasts with Herbs and Eggs Potato Crusted Sausage, Leek and Spinach Quiche Fried Egg Sandwich Soppressata, Egg, and Ricotta Sandwiches on Buttermilk Biscuits... More