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What about one restaurant week every month?
you obviously have never worked in a restaurant that has participated in restaurant week. i would quit if i were forced to more than one a year. as would the entire waitstaff and most of the other cooks. i can't deal with the picky cheapskates that come expecting the world and not even willing to give a decent tp.
confused nougat
corn syrup is fine when making nougat. i've never continued cooking it AFTER adding the the cooked mixture A.
or adding additional syrup later.
it's basically an italian meringue method. usually, you heat the syrup, water,sugar mix to hard ball stage, 248 degrees f?
start mixing the egg whites before it reaches that & then pour the mix into the egg whites while they're still beating. beat until stiff & then add in nuts. i've never put butter in the mixture...i've butter than pan.
i think you're just going to have to experiment. good luck!
Is Street Food the New Bacon?
it's like saying mcdonalds is going to go out of business because of the DB burger. different strokes for different folks. dirty water dogs will always be around. creme brulee trucks will come and go.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Looking for Lao food in New York
not exactly in the city, but might be a lead, kwan thai
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/dining/17larb.html
my mom's from the isan region. the food and language are very similar. she can speak/understand lao.
What about one restaurant week every month?
you obviously have never worked in a restaurant that has participated in restaurant week. i would quit if i were forced to more than one a year. as would the entire waitstaff and most of the other cooks. i can't deal with the picky cheapskates that come expecting the world and not even willing to give a decent tp.
confused nougat
corn syrup is fine when making nougat. i've never continued cooking it AFTER adding the the cooked mixture A.
or adding additional syrup later.
it's basically an italian meringue method. usually, you heat the syrup, water,sugar mix to hard ball stage, 248 degrees f?
start mixing the egg whites before it reaches that & then pour the mix into the egg whites while they're still beating. beat until stiff & then add in nuts. i've never put butter in the mixture...i've butter than pan.
i think you're just going to have to experiment. good luck!
Is Street Food the New Bacon?
it's like saying mcdonalds is going to go out of business because of the DB burger. different strokes for different folks. dirty water dogs will always be around. creme brulee trucks will come and go.
Bitter dandelion greens
also, pumpkin/squash blossoms are a delicacy around the world. i've had them in italy-stuffed with ricotta and fried and in soup in thailand.
Bitter dandelion greens
@poultrygeist, yes those are dandelions. the "parachutes" grow from a stem that shoots out of the greens. usually the greens are pretty low to the ground/grass, unless they're really big and out of control.
How to Make Apple Cider
we always left a bottle of the fresh-pressed cider on the back porch in the fall. in massachusetts, in only takes a few crisp cool days to make a nice sparkly cider.
Cooking Greens
i've seen fava greens at the market for a short time as well. delicious, without the tedious bean peeling!
What to do with all the chiles I got in Oaxaca?
the flowers are jamaica, not jicama. the spanish word for hibiscus.
Topless Coffee Shop In Maine Burns Down
i think they'd keep the thermostat down ;)
although, it'd get really cold in maine.
hungrychristel, what are you thanking god for? for ruining someone's business? for putting a bunch of people out of work in this economy?
i really don't understand people sometimes.
Forgotten Breakfast Cereal Follow-Up Question
i saw star trek cereal at the store yesterday.
i used to live near the weetabix factory in massachusetts. that cr@p smelled like dog food. i've _never_ eaten it.
do they still make count chocula and frankenberry? i remember tricking our grandma into buying it for us.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 65: 'Call Me Papacito'
papacito, you need the nice salesgirl to properly fit you in a pair of jeans. at said young-peoples' store, jeans ONLY come in flat-front. only grandpas wear pleated jeans, and even they shouldn't.
you need a little more length, but congratulations on the weight loss! a better fitting jean will really show it off!
fava bean help
it's hard to say without seeing them.
when you peeled them, do you mean you shelled them or actually peeled the skin off each bean? were the shells green or yellow? how big were they? was there any black on the pod?
i'm assuming they were fresh, not dried?
because fresh ones don't need to be cooked "until tender". they can practically be eaten raw & they're tender. i usually do a quick blanch and shock to peel them & then saute quickly in some butter. poaching them seems like it'd overcook them.
Are Himilayan Salt plates reused?
@phila, stock gets boiled, so why not ;)
@ bobbie, you got me! i told EVERYONE i know not to get the pumpkin soup once i started working there. blech.
Specialty stores that only deal with one type of food item?
are we writing a blog, term paper or article for you?
Photo of the Day: Salmiakki Ice Cream
there's a ice cream place in seattle offering a salted licorice flavor.
@michaelkroe, brings back horrible memories from amsterdam when i visited "coffee shops" and then the grocery store for munchies, and instead of delicious candy, i had a mouth full of bitter, salty licorice. yuck.
'Julie & Julia' Trailer Now Available Online
gracemetcalf, agreed. i HATED the book. what a whiny loser. i love that Julia didn't like her, wasn't really a part of the book, and they've still managed to make this movie about her. :(
Critic-Turned-Cook Misses Gravy Train
i enjoy reading this column, but i've gotta say, as an out-of-work skilled chef in this city (seattle), along with many other cooks/chefs in similar positions, it's really hard to listen to the whining. we bust our @sses day and night. most of us have never had the money to partake of the "gravy train".
if you're really interested in this industry, i suggest you seek out some of the other restaurants in town, good ones, where you can experience the kitchen outside of a corporate environment. tom douglas is one of the most generous employers in the restaurant industry. i was amazed at the rampant racism and sexism, the extremely poor pay for most behind-the-scenes employees, the unwritten code of never claiming workers' comp after falling down stairs, nearly cutting off fingers. the expectation to never call in sick, no matter how deathly ill you are.
leslie, you could write The Jungle for our times.
Ramps
oh, and with spring onions you use more of the onion bulb, but with ramps, you use the whole vegetable (mostly leaves).
Ramps
spring onions are different from ramps, at least in america???
spring onions are look like baby onions, rounder and more bulbous than ramps (wild leeks), skinnier onion bulb with broader leaves than green onions, scallions, spring onions. ramps are more garlicky.
i love them fried with bacon and potatoes, great with meaty fish (seared tuna, white beans and ramps) and we pickle them to have all year.
Most eagerly awaited spring vegetable
summer tomatoes ;)
but if i have to wait, fava beans and peas.
Safe to mix tahini with other foods?
two words: woo woo.
The Chinese believe eating tiger penis cures impotence or cobra hearts in Vietnam. Cannibals have been eating people for thousands of years. Does that make it good or true?
i come from a long line of superstitious asians (and latina friends). i've been told to put coffee grounds on my feet, give my son scallions to teeth on, lucky bird crap, etc.
i, personally, have had no problem mixing foods, but i don't have the digestion/allergy issues you have, so whatever works for you!
Help! My Future Housemate is a Vegetarian
a vegetarian that eats chicken broth is not "not picky", she's not a vegetarian, so let her eat what you cook or let her cook for herself.
Eat for Eight Bucks: Gravy Cheese Oven Fries with Roasted Garlic
@mdeatherage, consider a sense-of-humor-plasty, seems yours is obstructed.
Tea
creme de la earl grey from tealuxe. lady grey, english breakfast (for a little more kick) from twinings.
i brought back a few tins of mariage freres from paris. soooo good, but soooo expensive: eros and french breakfast.
bring to a full rolling boil, steep 3-5 (depending on the tea) and add milk & honey for my first cuppa of the day.
save the tea & do a second steep for 5-6 minutes for my evening tea.
'Julie & Julia' Trailer Now Available Online
LOVED the book and the whole thought behind it!
Can't wait!
'Julie & Julia' Trailer Now Available Online
I loved the book! I laughed so hard, I cried! The bone marrow part, OMG! I hope the movie does it justice. Maryl as Julia, brilliant! Plus, Nora Ephron is directing it, love her stuff. I'm really looking forward to it, probablly will buy the blue ray too!
Bitter dandelion greens
Yall know we southerners eat about anything and I'm sure dandelion greens are great but in the south they just don't grow big enough to (as we say) "pick a mess". Down here it would be like making a pecan pie out of hickory nuts - could be done but it might take a few days.
Anyone tried any Texas Pete pepper vinegar on them and some cornbread crumbled in their pot liquor? Gawd I never met any greens I didn't love.
As for turnips we refer to the two parts as either the greens or the roots.
confused nougat
Hmmm, I think you're right saltcrystal. I may have to take guidance from the links from you guys and just experiment to see what I get. If I stumble on something good, I'll post the findings!
Thanks!!
Is Street Food the New Bacon?
What's exciting about the foodservice industry is that there's room for (almost) everyone. While I don't think that gourmet food trucks will push all of the Mr. Softees or the Hot Dog Stand Man's of the world out of business, we will likely soon see fewer of the latter and more of the former types of businesses. There are only so many street corners, vendor licenses and consumers to be had. The roving eateries that offer what consumers perceive as a good value--and successfully market themselves--will thrive, those that don't won't. That's true now more than ever. Right now, a growing number of consumers think gourmet foods like artisan ice cream, custom cupcakes and fresh steamed dumplings from an restaurant on wheels offer a better value than hot dogs, sno cones and ice cream from old school street trucks or carts.
confused nougat
Nougat a la Food Network
Nougat a la How to Make Dot Com. Lot's of pictures with this one.
Sicilian Nougat a la Delicious Days. Nice photos here as well.
Nougat a la RecipeZaar. One of the best recipe repositories on the web.
I have never made nougat, but the recipes are all very similar and all give about the same warnings.
Bitter dandelion greens
When I was a child in Newfoundland, my Dad would send us out in the early Spring as the Dandelions started to grow, to pick the green, tender leaves before the flower blossomed. It was a great treat in those days to have fresh greens in Newfoundland, as nothing much grew there and the shipping of fresh fruit and veg was much more problematic than today. We would have big feeds of them, as well as beet tops and turnip tops. They were quite bitter as I remember, but very welcome.
I now live in Ontario and I chuckle when I see someone in a park with a bag harvesting dandelions, because dollars to donuts, if you asked if they were a Newfoundlander, they would answer, "Yes, b'y!"
How to Make Apple Cider
As a total cider dork (I know, you didn't even know we existed) I could go on and on about this, but I'll try to keep it brief. To start, I applaud Savvy Housekeeping (and, by extension, Serious Eats) for encouraging people to make their own cider--it will be a miliion times better than garbage like Woodchuck, which has about as much to do with cider as strawberry wine coolers have to do with strawberries, or wine for that matter. It’s also dead easy.
That said, I would urge people to think of cider more like wine and dig a little deeper. It’s not that much harder to make truly delicious, complex stuff—it’s really a matter of ingredients. You probably wouldn’t recommend that people make their own wine with Welch's, so why recommend that they use storebought apple juice? It's vastly preference to use fresh "sweet cider" aka the unfiltered juice that you can get from orchards in apple season. UV-treated or raw is preferable to pasteurized, which robs the cider of its delicate flavors. Again, do you think a winemaker would cook their grape juice before fermenting it? And finally, if you have an orchard that grows them, many older apple varieties (especially traditional cider varieties) have more complex flavors with tannin, acid and sugar in balance, which will create very complex and satisfying ciders. Finally, if you do want to take it seriously, learn a bit about the methods—the recipe above is very quick, but you’ll find that you can produce finer results from fermenting slowly at cool temperatures and giving it some time to meld and mature (I just tasted and bottled my cider from last fall for the first time last week).
I would never urge folks NOT to do whatever they can—as I said, even cider from storebought juice will be better than most storebought hard cider—but I would also urge people to give real cider a chance. If you want to buy some good, traditional cider to see how good and can get, I love West County in MA, Farnum Hill in NH (but available throughout the Northeast), and Foggy Ridge in VA. Slyboro in NY is pretty good too, and there are a few solid cidermakers in the upper Midwest and Northwest too. Less locally, good French cidre is pretty easy to find, and Basque cider is starting to show up on these shores too.
OK, end rant! And thanks for giving cider the time of day, SE!
What to do with all the chiles I got in Oaxaca?
I bought a bag of dried chile pequin because I missed seeing the fresh ones around where I used to live in TX, but then had no clue what to do with them. I found this recipe for pequin chocolate cupcakes on the cupcakeblog--and they turned out great! Very intriguing and delicious with a little bite to them. Took them to work and they were a hit!
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 65: 'Call Me Papacito'
It is. I try to ride to work at least twice a week, weather and schedule permitting.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 65: 'Call Me Papacito'
High 5, Ed. That's terrific! Is that a bike strap around your leg?
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 65: 'Call Me Papacito'
Ed, congratulations on week 65! I discovered SE just before you started losing weight...can't believe it's been 65 weeks! I enjoy SE and especially your comments.
'Julie & Julia' Trailer Now Available Online
I am not a reader, but I picked up the book and couldn't put it down. I'm really looking forward to seeing the film. Only one thing though; Amy Adams = Julie Powell? I don't think so.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
Critic-Turned-Cook Misses Gravy Train
'After 15 years of countless meals and hundreds of reviews, I was on the brink of total burn out. (Oh no! Not another over-the-top beet salad! I’m going to scream if I’m served another silly slider. Or deep-fried mac-and-cheese! Please, just bring me a dry piece of toast.)'
You were an unpleasant reviewer in Seattle.
fava bean help
OH! of course! the liver is what made it so bitter! i forgot to trim it!
fava bean help
You didnt serve them with a man's liver and a nice bottle of chianti...LOL
fava bean help
got them out of pods and then peeled the skins away from the beans. still bitter. it must have been a bad batch.
Specialty stores that only deal with one type of food item?
@therealchiffonade
I live right near there! I don't know Ravioli Fair though.. maybe its not there anymore? Queen Anne's Ravioli came to mind, its further up on 18th avenue. mmm... so good...
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 65: 'Call Me Papacito'
Way to go Ed, you've done it by hard work and dedication and it's awesome.
fava bean help
By "peeling" them did you just mean taking them out of the pods?
Fava beans have pods and shells; if the favas are young you only need to take them out of the pod, if favas are older & large they my also have to have the shells removed to get rid of the bitter taste (kind of alot of work).
Oh, by the way you can cook them in the pods, in the shells or totally peeled....
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 65: 'Call Me Papacito'
YAY ED!!!!! so proud of you!!!!
fava bean help
I puree the fresh ones (pinch of nutmeg, butter, splash of cream) and serve in small portions with something roasted. Problem is, you have to either peel them before pureeing in a processor, or use a food mill, because the skins will not puree, they just end up as little unpleasant bits determined to lodge in your throat.
In the middle East, the dried beans are cooked and pureed, not unlike hummus. I believe this is Egypt's most often consumed dish- Fal Mudamas, or somegthing along those lines.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 65: 'Call Me Papacito'
you look hot, papacito! mis felicidades!
fava bean help
The only way I have eaten them is the fava bean puree that we made at a restaurant I worked at. Cook the fava beans until tender then garlic, lemon, and some olive oil and puree it up and serve on a mezze platter with some flatbread. Absolutley addictive!!!!!!
Recent Posts
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Cook the Book: Cheddar and Chile Bread
Posted by Michele Humes, March 6, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Meat Lite: Brussels, Beemster, and Bacon Gratin
Posted by Tara Mataraza Desmond, March 6, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Dinner Tonight: Jacket Potatoes with Mushroom Ragu
Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, March 6, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Meat Lite: Lentils with Caramelized Leeks and Sausage
Posted by Joy Manning, February 25, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Dinner Tonight: Curried Pork Noodles
Posted by Blake Royer, February 24, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Blogwatch: Whoopie Pies with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Posted by Grace Kang, February 24, 2009 at 10:30 AM
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not exactly in the city, but might be a lead, kwan thai
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/dining/17larb.html
my mom's from the isan region. the food and language are very similar. she can speak/understand lao.