Tuesday, July 29, 2003
blogging might be a little slow the next few days while i'm in boston. if you have any ideas of where i should eat while i'm there, send them to imanandh - at - hotmail - dot - com.
It's official! My fried rice is better than Kirin's. Even though their version had peas and mine didn't. Connie and I were in agreement on this.
With the barbeque pork fried rice we had - beef with chinese greens which might have been our first off menu order (it was very nice, mushrooms being the surprise secret ingredient) and stir fried scallops, which were pretty standard.
But yay! I win!
With the barbeque pork fried rice we had - beef with chinese greens which might have been our first off menu order (it was very nice, mushrooms being the surprise secret ingredient) and stir fried scallops, which were pretty standard.
But yay! I win!
Monday, July 28, 2003
Spicy roast chicken.
Cut the backbone out of the chicken with kitchen scissors, pull out wish bone, break breast bone dislocate thighs to flatten. Mix together juice of 2 limes, 1.5 tbsp chili powder, salt, pinch of turmeric, cumin, garam masala, a touch of oil. Rub the thick paste all over the chicken, both sides. Place skin side up in a roasting pan. Crush 4 cloves of garlic, toss with diced potatoes, salt, pepper and a little oil. use the potatoes to cover the pan around the chicken.
Cook at 400 degrees Farenheit till done.
Verdict - perhaps a bit too spicy. Substitute a little sweet paprika for the chili powder next time. A little mustard would add an interesting twist...
The breast was a little dry by the time the thighs were done, too. Crank the heat higher to 450. Something green would be nice tossed in there as well - or maybe a fresh tomato-onion-cucumber relish.
Cut the backbone out of the chicken with kitchen scissors, pull out wish bone, break breast bone dislocate thighs to flatten. Mix together juice of 2 limes, 1.5 tbsp chili powder, salt, pinch of turmeric, cumin, garam masala, a touch of oil. Rub the thick paste all over the chicken, both sides. Place skin side up in a roasting pan. Crush 4 cloves of garlic, toss with diced potatoes, salt, pepper and a little oil. use the potatoes to cover the pan around the chicken.
Cook at 400 degrees Farenheit till done.
Verdict - perhaps a bit too spicy. Substitute a little sweet paprika for the chili powder next time. A little mustard would add an interesting twist...
The breast was a little dry by the time the thighs were done, too. Crank the heat higher to 450. Something green would be nice tossed in there as well - or maybe a fresh tomato-onion-cucumber relish.
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Kababs, kababs, kababs. All based on recipes in Prashad.
1. Non-tandoori chicken. Skin chicken, cut out the backbone, flatten out the chicken. 3 levels of marinade. First, brine for 12 hours - soak chicken in a light solution of sugar/salt, add chili flakes, thyme, juniper berries. Then a thick paste of chili powder (what's called chili powder in an Indian store, roughly equivalent to cayenne pepper), lemon/lime juice, and salt. Let this sit for around an hour. Lastly, mix yoghurt and cream and saffron, a little cumin, and a little garam masala, and some sweet paprika for color. Coat the chicken with the yoghurt, and let it marinate for several hours. Grill at high temperature. Today I forgot to look at the clock (rather hard when you are at the barbeque) but otherwise 15 minutes is probably pretty good. Stop at an internal temperature of 140 degrees farenheit.
2. Malai seekh. Into the cuisinart go - 2 eggs, handfull of cilantro, 2 large jalapenos, 1 small onion, 2/3 cup cashew nuts, 4-5 tbsps ginger paste, 1-2 tbsps garlic paste, salt, pepper, a little cumin and garam masala. Grind into a paste. Add to 2 lbs of non-low fat ground chuck or lamb (if necessary, add in beef or lamb fat). Wrap handfulls around skewers, grill at moderately high temperature.
3. Paneer Tikka. Possibly substitute fresh mozzarella? Today I did get Paneer, from an Indian Grocery store. Cut into a large (1" dice). Coat with a mix of - shahi jeera, ajwain, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, white pepper, salt. Let the dry rub marinate for about an hour, then coat in a mixture of yoghurt, cream and a little garam masala. Cook on open grill, medium-low setting.
The paneer and seekh kababs turned out quite well. The chicken had good flavor, but... Seriously, it's not enough to have a meat thermometer, you need to use it. Even if you do use it it's possible to end up with undercooked chicken. But at least you have a fighting chance. Oh well, lesson learned.
1. Non-tandoori chicken. Skin chicken, cut out the backbone, flatten out the chicken. 3 levels of marinade. First, brine for 12 hours - soak chicken in a light solution of sugar/salt, add chili flakes, thyme, juniper berries. Then a thick paste of chili powder (what's called chili powder in an Indian store, roughly equivalent to cayenne pepper), lemon/lime juice, and salt. Let this sit for around an hour. Lastly, mix yoghurt and cream and saffron, a little cumin, and a little garam masala, and some sweet paprika for color. Coat the chicken with the yoghurt, and let it marinate for several hours. Grill at high temperature. Today I forgot to look at the clock (rather hard when you are at the barbeque) but otherwise 15 minutes is probably pretty good. Stop at an internal temperature of 140 degrees farenheit.
2. Malai seekh. Into the cuisinart go - 2 eggs, handfull of cilantro, 2 large jalapenos, 1 small onion, 2/3 cup cashew nuts, 4-5 tbsps ginger paste, 1-2 tbsps garlic paste, salt, pepper, a little cumin and garam masala. Grind into a paste. Add to 2 lbs of non-low fat ground chuck or lamb (if necessary, add in beef or lamb fat). Wrap handfulls around skewers, grill at moderately high temperature.
3. Paneer Tikka. Possibly substitute fresh mozzarella? Today I did get Paneer, from an Indian Grocery store. Cut into a large (1" dice). Coat with a mix of - shahi jeera, ajwain, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, white pepper, salt. Let the dry rub marinate for about an hour, then coat in a mixture of yoghurt, cream and a little garam masala. Cook on open grill, medium-low setting.
The paneer and seekh kababs turned out quite well. The chicken had good flavor, but... Seriously, it's not enough to have a meat thermometer, you need to use it. Even if you do use it it's possible to end up with undercooked chicken. But at least you have a fighting chance. Oh well, lesson learned.
Saturday dinner - Steak with waffles.
I finally tried something I've wanted to for a while - waffles for dinner. Savory, whole wheat waffles with sauted diced red onion mixed in. The steak wasn't very good, I'll have to improves on that. I've a feeling that duck might do better still - slices of duck breast in orange sauce. Would present well too.
I finally tried something I've wanted to for a while - waffles for dinner. Savory, whole wheat waffles with sauted diced red onion mixed in. The steak wasn't very good, I'll have to improves on that. I've a feeling that duck might do better still - slices of duck breast in orange sauce. Would present well too.
Now that you have diced pancetta and garlic, you can make some Perciatelli alla Carbonara! Or at least, that's what I did last night. This is how I did it. De cecco perciatelli takes 11 minutes to cook. Around the time that I tossed the perciatelli into boiling salted water, I started heating the saute pan. Pancetta (bacon will do) into the pan next, followed by a drizzle of olive oil. I keep skillet at medium-high heat, and brown the pancetta. The little bits of fat render flavor and crisp around the edges. Then I add the garlic, stir just once and immediately add a splash of white wine, stir and take off the heat. Separately, I break an egg or two (2 extra large for 1 full box of pasta) into a bowl, grate in a lot (2/3 cup for a box of pasta) of Parmigiano Reggiano, (add some pecorino if you want to mix it up a bit), add salt and a lot of freshly ground pepper.
When the pasta's almost done, I get the saute pan back on the flame. I add the cooked pasta to the saute pan, stir to mix with the pancetta and garlic, then turn the heat off and drop in the egg-cheese mixture. Stir and serve immediately.
I find this dish is perfect for that too-late-to-eat a real meal but some eggs would be really nice dinner. As it was, again, last night.
When the pasta's almost done, I get the saute pan back on the flame. I add the cooked pasta to the saute pan, stir to mix with the pancetta and garlic, then turn the heat off and drop in the egg-cheese mixture. Stir and serve immediately.
I find this dish is perfect for that too-late-to-eat a real meal but some eggs would be really nice dinner. As it was, again, last night.
Saturday, July 26, 2003
In praise of prep skills.
I submit there is no kitchen ability, no recipe, no praise that makes as much of a difference in one's enjoyment of cooking as the ability to prep well. And mostly, this means being able to dice and slice vegetables efficiently, reliably, accurately.
I'm in no way ready for the kitchen olympics yet, but my technique works for me, and at the risk of giving you bad habits, I'm going to describe it to you. (Note: I'm right handed, so make adjustments as needed)
Today we will dice some pancetta and a few cloves of garlic. We will use a non-serrated knife.
The left hand positions the blade and holds the thing to be cut. The right hand is only responsible for the actual cutting. I use the little finger and thumb of the left hand to hold what I'm cutting, and the remaining 3 fingers to guide the blade. The principle of the thing is to try to be certain that my fingers will be out of the way of what will be a rather fast moving knife. To begin, try an experiment. Let your left hand hand limp from your wrist, So your fingers are vertical, and touching the cutting board. Now hold the knife in your right hand, and place the knife vertically flat against your fingers. Move the knife vertically in a cutting motion, keeping it stabilized with your left hand. If you're doing this right, it should be pretty obvious that no part of your left hand is going to come under the knife. Now keeping your fingertips in the same place, bring your wrist down to the cutting board. Your thumb and little finger should touch the board, but still be in no danger from the slicing action of the knife.
Now place that slice of pancetta on the cutting board. Move your left hand into cutting position. Hold the slice with the little finger and thumb, around an inch behind the other fingers, which are flush against the knife, which is about 1/4 inch from the end of the slice of pancetta. Bring the knife down against the board to cut. Lift the knife, and move the 3 fingers of the left hand a 1/4 inch closer to the little finger and thumb. The knife should move with them, and will now be in position for the next cut. Repeat till you run out of space between holding fingers and guiding fingers. Then move the holding fingers further back, and repeat.
At this point the pancetta has become long thin slices. Now pile them up, turn the stack so that you can, by repeating essentially the same motion, dice the pancetta. The only difference is that you will hold a bunch of strips together with little finger and thumb, instead of a single slice.
Now the garlic. The principle here is the same. However, there's a trick to garlic and onions. With and onion, you will generally discard both ends, and with the garlic cloves, you'll discard one. Don't cut it off at the beginning. Instead, orient the garlic so that the bottom is toward the little finger of your left hand, then use the tip of your knife to slice all but a little bit of the clove. Now, rotate the garlic on its axis so that you can sliver the garlic, and slice - again leaving the end of the clove so that it can hold the slivers together. Lastly, orient the garlic so you can cut a fine dice off the slivers, right down to the root end... when yo get close enough to it, you simply discard it.
I submit there is no kitchen ability, no recipe, no praise that makes as much of a difference in one's enjoyment of cooking as the ability to prep well. And mostly, this means being able to dice and slice vegetables efficiently, reliably, accurately.
I'm in no way ready for the kitchen olympics yet, but my technique works for me, and at the risk of giving you bad habits, I'm going to describe it to you. (Note: I'm right handed, so make adjustments as needed)
Today we will dice some pancetta and a few cloves of garlic. We will use a non-serrated knife.
The left hand positions the blade and holds the thing to be cut. The right hand is only responsible for the actual cutting. I use the little finger and thumb of the left hand to hold what I'm cutting, and the remaining 3 fingers to guide the blade. The principle of the thing is to try to be certain that my fingers will be out of the way of what will be a rather fast moving knife. To begin, try an experiment. Let your left hand hand limp from your wrist, So your fingers are vertical, and touching the cutting board. Now hold the knife in your right hand, and place the knife vertically flat against your fingers. Move the knife vertically in a cutting motion, keeping it stabilized with your left hand. If you're doing this right, it should be pretty obvious that no part of your left hand is going to come under the knife. Now keeping your fingertips in the same place, bring your wrist down to the cutting board. Your thumb and little finger should touch the board, but still be in no danger from the slicing action of the knife.
Now place that slice of pancetta on the cutting board. Move your left hand into cutting position. Hold the slice with the little finger and thumb, around an inch behind the other fingers, which are flush against the knife, which is about 1/4 inch from the end of the slice of pancetta. Bring the knife down against the board to cut. Lift the knife, and move the 3 fingers of the left hand a 1/4 inch closer to the little finger and thumb. The knife should move with them, and will now be in position for the next cut. Repeat till you run out of space between holding fingers and guiding fingers. Then move the holding fingers further back, and repeat.
At this point the pancetta has become long thin slices. Now pile them up, turn the stack so that you can, by repeating essentially the same motion, dice the pancetta. The only difference is that you will hold a bunch of strips together with little finger and thumb, instead of a single slice.
Now the garlic. The principle here is the same. However, there's a trick to garlic and onions. With and onion, you will generally discard both ends, and with the garlic cloves, you'll discard one. Don't cut it off at the beginning. Instead, orient the garlic so that the bottom is toward the little finger of your left hand, then use the tip of your knife to slice all but a little bit of the clove. Now, rotate the garlic on its axis so that you can sliver the garlic, and slice - again leaving the end of the clove so that it can hold the slivers together. Lastly, orient the garlic so you can cut a fine dice off the slivers, right down to the root end... when yo get close enough to it, you simply discard it.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Kirin night... Sweet and Sour Pork and Ma Po Tofu. Not the best combination, as Connie points out. The sweet and sour pork wipes the floor with the tofu... But individually they both have their Americanized Chinese charm. The pork is actually good quality, probably butt (which in the odd parlance of butchery, is actually the shoulder), and has a reasonable ratio of meat to fat. The half inch chunks then in turn are coated with less than excessive batter, and deep fried to a deep brown. At this point almost anything would make them good. Kirin douses them with a minimally ketchupy sauce, pineapples and bell peppers. Personally, I have dreamt of, but not actually made yet, a simple sauce of balsamic vinegar and caramelized sugar. The tofu is another respectable variation on the standard. The chili (red flakes and green, sliced) and the reconstituted dried shiitakes both do their part to offset the silkiness of the tofu, as does (Connie points out) the slime of the cornstarch...
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
So what do you do when you get home to 4 chicken thighs and every recipe you look at seems to require cilantro or parsley, of which you have none? Someone with more energy might go out and buy some parsley. Me - I heat the saute pan till it's unreasonably hot, add olive oil, and place the seasoned thighs in it, skin side down. Cover the pan with a splatter guard. 10 minutes later, when the skin is nicely browned, I turn it over, and brown the other side. Deep brown. Can't emphasize this enough... That's where the flavor comes from. I toss in a few cloves of garlic, skinned and smashed under the heal of my hand. When the garlic's browned, add some tomato chunks or sauce - today, Mario's fennel tomato sauce. Half a bottle, got to use up those left overs... Some water too. Cook with the cover on for 15 minutes, stir, cook for another 10. Works out nicely, because on the next burner over, I've cooked rice for 15 minutes, then let it steam for 10.
The fennel in the sauce got somewhat cooked off, but enough is left to make a plain dish special. Got to try that - tossing in some toasted fennel - the next time I'm making something like this and don't have the benefit of Mario's hard work.
And maybe a touch of parsley at the end...
The fennel in the sauce got somewhat cooked off, but enough is left to make a plain dish special. Got to try that - tossing in some toasted fennel - the next time I'm making something like this and don't have the benefit of Mario's hard work.
And maybe a touch of parsley at the end...
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Apricot Clafoutis, roughly based on a recipe from the classic. I baked the halved apricots for this one, to intensify their flavor. Started off with the open side up, then, because juice seemed to be pooling in the cupped half, I flipped them over. Intense flavor? Yes, but that includes the bitterness. Whether you think that is a good thing is up to you...
The rest of the clafoutis was pretty standard - pate brisee sucree, a rich custard (2 eggs, 1 yolk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup ground pine nuts, cream). It turned out to be a pretty good clafoutis, mellow egg flavor offset by the sour/sweet of the fruit... And the bitter of the skin.
Ideas - The air in the custard didn't help any - it added some volume in the beginning, but that didn't stay. So - need to beat the eggs and sugar to lighten the yolk, but not add air... I think its the whites that are catching air, so I'm going to separate all the yolks, add sugar, then add the whites back in at the end.
Or to get really fancy, separate out the whites altogether, beat them stiff, and add in the nuts and sugar to create a merangue of sorts, and just layer that over the top, propping up the apricots.
And yes, I have to try this without the apricot skins.
The rest of the clafoutis was pretty standard - pate brisee sucree, a rich custard (2 eggs, 1 yolk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup ground pine nuts, cream). It turned out to be a pretty good clafoutis, mellow egg flavor offset by the sour/sweet of the fruit... And the bitter of the skin.
Ideas - The air in the custard didn't help any - it added some volume in the beginning, but that didn't stay. So - need to beat the eggs and sugar to lighten the yolk, but not add air... I think its the whites that are catching air, so I'm going to separate all the yolks, add sugar, then add the whites back in at the end.
Or to get really fancy, separate out the whites altogether, beat them stiff, and add in the nuts and sugar to create a merangue of sorts, and just layer that over the top, propping up the apricots.
And yes, I have to try this without the apricot skins.
Are they good?
A qualified yes. What now? Mario Batali's Sugo Arrabbiato, eaten plain, on penne. Well, plain, but with my best impression of Mario's best drizzle of good olive oil. Somewhat thinner than I would expect, less spicy than I would like, but beautifully fragrant.
Definitely a good component, I'm going to try the Cioppino recipe from the bottle. For a sauce flying solo, though, I'd make one from scratch.
A qualified yes. What now? Mario Batali's Sugo Arrabbiato, eaten plain, on penne. Well, plain, but with my best impression of Mario's best drizzle of good olive oil. Somewhat thinner than I would expect, less spicy than I would like, but beautifully fragrant.
Definitely a good component, I'm going to try the Cioppino recipe from the bottle. For a sauce flying solo, though, I'd make one from scratch.
Monday, July 21, 2003
Connie's cooking tonight - beef short ribs, a recipe by JZ Cool. I wasn't around for most of this, though I know the basic steps - sprinkle short ribs with garam masala (it turns out well, even though I'm not sure I approve), brown the ribs for around 45 min, add garlic, carrots, and such... roast in an oven for 1.5 hours, add beets... roast for one hour. Now well browned ribs, roasted for two and a half hours, and you're pretty much guaranteed fork tender, delicious beef. But the recipe improves it in two ways. The beets - oven roasted beets are a revelation, complex, intense. And when the whole thing is done, Connie took the rest of the stuff, roast drippings, onions, carrots, garlic, shallots, spices... and passed them through a food mill. Decadence...
Especially on a work night!
Especially on a work night!
Sunday, July 20, 2003
Sunday dinner... Chelokababi. My method will never get you rice like this... Soak for 12 hours... gently steam... magic, magic. When I figure it out, I'll let you know. They somehow they make their koubideh chewy in a way I've never had it - and it works, locking in flavor like no other Koubideh. If you've ever wondered if saffron actually has a flavor, the Joojeh kabab has a point to make that the rice will second. We rounded out the meal with a veggie combo (the Kashko Bademjan is the only outstanding item on that platter - order a bowl of it for its smoky eggplant flavor). And some Baghali Polo rice (just the rice since they'd run out of the lamb shank).
Beyond the meats, though, there's a play of sour flavors in Persian food that takes some getting used to. The Baghali rice with its preponderance of dill is heading in that direction, as did the spices in the sour cream dolloped into the Kashko Bademjan. Thus far it's just enough glimpse into a wholly new world of flavors to keep me coming back.
Beyond the meats, though, there's a play of sour flavors in Persian food that takes some getting used to. The Baghali rice with its preponderance of dill is heading in that direction, as did the spices in the sour cream dolloped into the Kashko Bademjan. Thus far it's just enough glimpse into a wholly new world of flavors to keep me coming back.
Sunday morning... we woke up at the San Benito House, a heavily floral, authentically quaint bed and breakfast in Half Moon Bay. Done with bed, we went down to breakfast. The choice was... soft boiled eggs. What's with these tourists anyway, who want choices in their breakfasts? This is the way it should be - you eat what you get. That's the way it was when my family headed out to my mom's company guest house in Khandala... and that's probably the last place I had a soft boiled egg as well.
Connie finds the concept of eggs for breakfast revolting, and especially the tender yellows of these eggs... I have to admit they're a bit alien, but oh... so warm and tender...
Fortunately for Connie, there were also raisin and nut muffins, stuffed to the gills with raisings and nuts, some rather dense crusty white bread. The bread is interesting - very pronounced and deep browned crust, soft interior, the overall shape seems a little flat for being baked in a pan, but it was sweet and wholesome. I don't doubt that they made great sandwiches. Wish I had the space to try one after that breakfast.
Connie finds the concept of eggs for breakfast revolting, and especially the tender yellows of these eggs... I have to admit they're a bit alien, but oh... so warm and tender...
Fortunately for Connie, there were also raisin and nut muffins, stuffed to the gills with raisings and nuts, some rather dense crusty white bread. The bread is interesting - very pronounced and deep browned crust, soft interior, the overall shape seems a little flat for being baked in a pan, but it was sweet and wholesome. I don't doubt that they made great sandwiches. Wish I had the space to try one after that breakfast.
Saturday Dinner - Cetrella. First impression - this place is big, the main dining area is cavernous, with a big lively open kitchen ... and with echoes to match. Good thing I let them know we wanted a table in a quiet corner, they have one, and they put us there.
Extras - the Focaccia with cheese and red onions was baked salty goodness. The olive and almond snack was odd, especially the wedge of orange. Odd, but good.
Primi piatti - Connie went with the frito misto, batterfried artichokes, olives, beans... The batter wasn't fluffy, rather it was thin and crisp. I would guess no baking powder. I've only deep fried artichokes naked (alla giudia) ... these quartered artichokes weren't the stuff of Giggetto but they were undoubtedly tasty, and showcased the juiciness of the artichokes. Reminiscent of treet vendor fare... thinking about it now, I'm wondering if the batter didn't have a touch of chickpea flour, a ligurian touch.
I had perfectly pan-fried sardines, silver black skins shimmering in the light of the setting sun (points to me for looking that up!). The sardines were extremely fresh, with just enough sardineness to offset the bed of luscious tomatoes and olives they came with. Olive oil and fennel frond a plenty... (though it might have been dill?)
Secondo - Connie had the roast quail, stuffed with figs. The corn salad complemented the main course beautifully, offering another, different, sweetness and a crunch to contrast to the quail. I had the milk roasted shank, which was beautifully done on it's own, but overly complicated by garlic potatoes. A simple side of bitter greens would have been just fine. I have a little pet peeve about the frenchification of Italian food in upscale Italian dining in the US. Cetrella does really well to avoid overintensifying the flavors in their sauces... But do we really need every pairing set up by executive order? Cetrella does try to push something along the lines of a contorno, offering sides of asparagus and french fries. What would I give, though, for a slow browned cippoline onion, or an extra helping of those delicious bitter greens... I really think the american public would go for it... especially if the menu were to suggest pairings, like some places do with wine...
Speaking of wine, we did well to go with a half bottle of Brunello de Montalcino... Less was more, indeed. One of these days I'll learn about pairing food and wine in a professional manner. Till then, I'll pat myself on the back and think tonight's choice was pretty damn good.
Besides a wine list that features an impressive and expensive list of Italian wines, Cetrella also features a cheese list of impressive and expensive Italian and French cheeses. The tasting plates, while far from a steal, still border on the reasonable. I went for a trio of Pecorino Lucano, Epoisses De Bourgogne and Gorgonzola Dolce. These are some babied cheeses... Having ruined several cheeses on trans Atlantic flights I know. The Pecorino was smoother than a Toscano (at least in my memory) in texture, also mild, but a little nuttier in flavor. The Epoisses is sweet and spicy... The rind is actually very mild. The only disappointment was the Gorgonzola. I'd been hoping for a punchy blue, but it was almost ashy tasting. Guess that's what they mean when they say it's sweet...
Connie had the trio of sorbets, blackberry, papaya and passionfruit. The blackberry had the lusciousness feel of the fruit, the papaya was intriguing, though very mild. Passionfruit... Always a winner, always everything you expect a sorbet to be. Tonight was no different...
The best thing about going Italian... something about the exchange rate, a French meal of roughly equivalent quality always ends up costing twice as much. Even at Cetrella.
Extras - the Focaccia with cheese and red onions was baked salty goodness. The olive and almond snack was odd, especially the wedge of orange. Odd, but good.
Primi piatti - Connie went with the frito misto, batterfried artichokes, olives, beans... The batter wasn't fluffy, rather it was thin and crisp. I would guess no baking powder. I've only deep fried artichokes naked (alla giudia) ... these quartered artichokes weren't the stuff of Giggetto but they were undoubtedly tasty, and showcased the juiciness of the artichokes. Reminiscent of treet vendor fare... thinking about it now, I'm wondering if the batter didn't have a touch of chickpea flour, a ligurian touch.
I had perfectly pan-fried sardines, silver black skins shimmering in the light of the setting sun (points to me for looking that up!). The sardines were extremely fresh, with just enough sardineness to offset the bed of luscious tomatoes and olives they came with. Olive oil and fennel frond a plenty... (though it might have been dill?)
Secondo - Connie had the roast quail, stuffed with figs. The corn salad complemented the main course beautifully, offering another, different, sweetness and a crunch to contrast to the quail. I had the milk roasted shank, which was beautifully done on it's own, but overly complicated by garlic potatoes. A simple side of bitter greens would have been just fine. I have a little pet peeve about the frenchification of Italian food in upscale Italian dining in the US. Cetrella does really well to avoid overintensifying the flavors in their sauces... But do we really need every pairing set up by executive order? Cetrella does try to push something along the lines of a contorno, offering sides of asparagus and french fries. What would I give, though, for a slow browned cippoline onion, or an extra helping of those delicious bitter greens... I really think the american public would go for it... especially if the menu were to suggest pairings, like some places do with wine...
Speaking of wine, we did well to go with a half bottle of Brunello de Montalcino... Less was more, indeed. One of these days I'll learn about pairing food and wine in a professional manner. Till then, I'll pat myself on the back and think tonight's choice was pretty damn good.
Besides a wine list that features an impressive and expensive list of Italian wines, Cetrella also features a cheese list of impressive and expensive Italian and French cheeses. The tasting plates, while far from a steal, still border on the reasonable. I went for a trio of Pecorino Lucano, Epoisses De Bourgogne and Gorgonzola Dolce. These are some babied cheeses... Having ruined several cheeses on trans Atlantic flights I know. The Pecorino was smoother than a Toscano (at least in my memory) in texture, also mild, but a little nuttier in flavor. The Epoisses is sweet and spicy... The rind is actually very mild. The only disappointment was the Gorgonzola. I'd been hoping for a punchy blue, but it was almost ashy tasting. Guess that's what they mean when they say it's sweet...
Connie had the trio of sorbets, blackberry, papaya and passionfruit. The blackberry had the lusciousness feel of the fruit, the papaya was intriguing, though very mild. Passionfruit... Always a winner, always everything you expect a sorbet to be. Tonight was no different...
The best thing about going Italian... something about the exchange rate, a French meal of roughly equivalent quality always ends up costing twice as much. Even at Cetrella.
Saturday ... Lunch? More breakfast. Masala dosas and pooris at Saravana Bhavan.
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Breakfast - Pancakes. I thought I'd bought some unbleached flour... but on adding it to the tub of unbleached I found out it was whole wheat. So the pancakes were half whole and have white. Not bad!.
Now tell me - who keeps buttermilk on hand? I don't use it for anything but pancakes and fried chicken, so it's usually a complete waste. And when Connie decided to use yoghurt to marinate the chicken with great results, I decided the time had come to make a change to the pancake recipe. So this is what it looks like now.
Dry ingredients - 1 cup flour (whole and white mixed works well), 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt.
Wet - melt 1 tbsp butter. In a measuring beaker, add yoghurt till you get to 1/4 cup mark, stir. Add 1 egg, stir. Add milk to 1 1/4 cup mark, stir.
Mix wet and dry together, but not too much, keep it lumpy. Let stand heating the griddle, and cook...
Eat with butter and Grade B maple syrup. Why B? Because it has more flavor. Grading of maple syrup is based on color, not flavor, and does not reflect on the quality... move up to Grade B.
Now tell me - who keeps buttermilk on hand? I don't use it for anything but pancakes and fried chicken, so it's usually a complete waste. And when Connie decided to use yoghurt to marinate the chicken with great results, I decided the time had come to make a change to the pancake recipe. So this is what it looks like now.
Dry ingredients - 1 cup flour (whole and white mixed works well), 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt.
Wet - melt 1 tbsp butter. In a measuring beaker, add yoghurt till you get to 1/4 cup mark, stir. Add 1 egg, stir. Add milk to 1 1/4 cup mark, stir.
Mix wet and dry together, but not too much, keep it lumpy. Let stand heating the griddle, and cook...
Eat with butter and Grade B maple syrup. Why B? Because it has more flavor. Grading of maple syrup is based on color, not flavor, and does not reflect on the quality... move up to Grade B.
Friday dinner... All experimental, all the time. Sometime it works, sometimes... you learn that pasta was maybe just not meant to be sweet.
The menu - cornish game hen with mushrooms, kale, and dessert.
The game hen is easy and a treat for 2. It's small enough that it fits in a 2.5 qt saucepan, so just heat some butter and sage till the butter foams, and add the (salt and pepper) seasoned bird and brown. It doesn't have to be too brown right now, a light golden will do. Toss in the 'shrooms (had some abalone mushrooms) and water (our shrooms were dry, so I pre-soaked them in some warm water and just used that. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top, cover. Around 15 minutes later, at medium heat, all the water was evaporated, and then I browned the hen in the mushroom flavored butter. To serve, I cut the bird in half and placed it over the mushrooms, pouring the sauce on top.
I was a little worried about the kale as contorno, but it turned out to match the game hen quite well. Simple garlic saute... very hot pan, olive oil, whole peeled cloves of garlic, and then the kale leaves. Salt aggressively, cover. Turn heat to less than ridiculously hot, and 5 minutes later (approx.) make sure the leaves are dead, killed, soft... and serve.
Dessert. I used cocoa powder, around 2 tbsps, and around 1 tbsp sugar in my pasta recipe (110g flour to each egg). I just tossed everything into the Cuisinart and let her rip... Usually it comes together perfectly. Today it was a little sticky, so I added a little more flour.
Rolled to #6.
Filling - ricotta, sugar, diced fresh cherries, bits of chocolate.
I made pretty large ravioli, boiled in unsalted water, and served with raspberry sauce, since I found that we didn't have anything else that would work.
Now sweet noodles aren't a bad thing. The problem here was the filling... it was just ... tasteless. The bits of chocolate didn't melt and were gritty... the ricotta became a grainy mess, the cherry flavor dampened to a simple sourness. And the flavor was just not enough to match the pasta. Sigh...
It might work best just as a tagliatelle, sauce on the outside. Stay tuned for updates.
The menu - cornish game hen with mushrooms, kale, and dessert.
The game hen is easy and a treat for 2. It's small enough that it fits in a 2.5 qt saucepan, so just heat some butter and sage till the butter foams, and add the (salt and pepper) seasoned bird and brown. It doesn't have to be too brown right now, a light golden will do. Toss in the 'shrooms (had some abalone mushrooms) and water (our shrooms were dry, so I pre-soaked them in some warm water and just used that. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top, cover. Around 15 minutes later, at medium heat, all the water was evaporated, and then I browned the hen in the mushroom flavored butter. To serve, I cut the bird in half and placed it over the mushrooms, pouring the sauce on top.
I was a little worried about the kale as contorno, but it turned out to match the game hen quite well. Simple garlic saute... very hot pan, olive oil, whole peeled cloves of garlic, and then the kale leaves. Salt aggressively, cover. Turn heat to less than ridiculously hot, and 5 minutes later (approx.) make sure the leaves are dead, killed, soft... and serve.
Dessert. I used cocoa powder, around 2 tbsps, and around 1 tbsp sugar in my pasta recipe (110g flour to each egg). I just tossed everything into the Cuisinart and let her rip... Usually it comes together perfectly. Today it was a little sticky, so I added a little more flour.
Rolled to #6.
Filling - ricotta, sugar, diced fresh cherries, bits of chocolate.
I made pretty large ravioli, boiled in unsalted water, and served with raspberry sauce, since I found that we didn't have anything else that would work.
Now sweet noodles aren't a bad thing. The problem here was the filling... it was just ... tasteless. The bits of chocolate didn't melt and were gritty... the ricotta became a grainy mess, the cherry flavor dampened to a simple sourness. And the flavor was just not enough to match the pasta. Sigh...
It might work best just as a tagliatelle, sauce on the outside. Stay tuned for updates.
Friday, July 18, 2003
Ooooh Pho. Found a new place today... Pho Nam. Well, it was new to me, so there.
We sat down, we ordered and a few minutes there was Pho... and it was Good.
Pho Nam is unique among the vietnamese restaurants I've been to in this area in carefully letting you know what you're ordering. They have little thumb nails of brisket, fatty brisket, tripe... Plus translations into 4 languages (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, English... maybe more) on the menu. And even better, this focus on ingredients extends to actually serving beautiful cuts of meat in the pho. Easily the best I've seen. Downsides? I'm not an expert, but the stock seemed a bit onion heavy and (horrors) salty. Still, with a decent dose of siracha chilli paste and plum sauce, annointed with basil and sliced jalapeno, it was an excellent lunch. The finishing touch of the Vietnamese bean drink was almost unnecessary... but when has that ever stopped me. Beans, coconut milk, jackfruit and ice. Who would have thought that would work? But oh it does...
Formica chic, wedged between a 7-Eleven and a bar, this restaurant might even qualify as a dive... but it doesn't, thanks to the waitstaff, solicitous in the extreme, and the against-all-odds cleanliness. Not that I have anything against dives. Just - you should know what you're getting into.
We sat down, we ordered and a few minutes there was Pho... and it was Good.
Pho Nam is unique among the vietnamese restaurants I've been to in this area in carefully letting you know what you're ordering. They have little thumb nails of brisket, fatty brisket, tripe... Plus translations into 4 languages (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, English... maybe more) on the menu. And even better, this focus on ingredients extends to actually serving beautiful cuts of meat in the pho. Easily the best I've seen. Downsides? I'm not an expert, but the stock seemed a bit onion heavy and (horrors) salty. Still, with a decent dose of siracha chilli paste and plum sauce, annointed with basil and sliced jalapeno, it was an excellent lunch. The finishing touch of the Vietnamese bean drink was almost unnecessary... but when has that ever stopped me. Beans, coconut milk, jackfruit and ice. Who would have thought that would work? But oh it does...
Formica chic, wedged between a 7-Eleven and a bar, this restaurant might even qualify as a dive... but it doesn't, thanks to the waitstaff, solicitous in the extreme, and the against-all-odds cleanliness. Not that I have anything against dives. Just - you should know what you're getting into.
Thursday dinner - In-n-Out. They cook the burger too damn long. Their oil temperature isn't high enough for their fries, so they aren't crisp enough and taste a little starchy. It takes a few sucks before you can tell what flavor shake they gave you. But still, it's the best damn fast food around.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Fried rice. Simple, easy, quick. Especially if you have some left over cha siu....
Well actually, this was my first time making fried rice so I was still finding my way... you stick to the basics, though and you'll do ok. So here we go.
Start with a ridiculously hot wok, or wok-like device -
Add some oil. This is all the oil you'll use, so a goodly amount - say 3-4 tbsps.
Add one finely chopped clove of garlic.
Add 2 eggs, beaten. Let it form a light skin, then break and stir.
Add a bunch of spring onions, whites sliced fine, greens coarsely chopped. Stir.
Add about 1/2 inch of ginger, shredded. Stir.
This should be a pretty fragrant mixture you're stirring around now.
Add in the meat you're using. Fine dice cha siu tonight. And veggies if you feel like it, I didn't.
Stir till the cha siu is warmed up.
Add in the rice. (I've been told day old rice is best, I reduced the water by 10-20% when making the rice to approximate this.)
Distribute the flavor mixture through the rice.
Flavor with a little soy sauce, light or dark (I went with a 2:1 mixture), sugar (just a touch), salt (yes, don't try to get all your salt from soy sauce, it get's too strong... and unappetizingly brown), sesame oil, and some pepper - black, white and szechuen.
Not bad for a first try. The ideal fried rice, in my opinion, is more fragrance than flavor. This is still rice, and should fundamentally be something you eat things with (though you might top the fried rice with something with a strong flavor as in fook yuen rice). Accordingly, I'd drop the soy to a barest hint, and sprinkle the peppers on right at the end, before serving...
Well actually, this was my first time making fried rice so I was still finding my way... you stick to the basics, though and you'll do ok. So here we go.
Start with a ridiculously hot wok, or wok-like device -
Add some oil. This is all the oil you'll use, so a goodly amount - say 3-4 tbsps.
Add one finely chopped clove of garlic.
Add 2 eggs, beaten. Let it form a light skin, then break and stir.
Add a bunch of spring onions, whites sliced fine, greens coarsely chopped. Stir.
Add about 1/2 inch of ginger, shredded. Stir.
This should be a pretty fragrant mixture you're stirring around now.
Add in the meat you're using. Fine dice cha siu tonight. And veggies if you feel like it, I didn't.
Stir till the cha siu is warmed up.
Add in the rice. (I've been told day old rice is best, I reduced the water by 10-20% when making the rice to approximate this.)
Distribute the flavor mixture through the rice.
Flavor with a little soy sauce, light or dark (I went with a 2:1 mixture), sugar (just a touch), salt (yes, don't try to get all your salt from soy sauce, it get's too strong... and unappetizingly brown), sesame oil, and some pepper - black, white and szechuen.
Not bad for a first try. The ideal fried rice, in my opinion, is more fragrance than flavor. This is still rice, and should fundamentally be something you eat things with (though you might top the fried rice with something with a strong flavor as in fook yuen rice). Accordingly, I'd drop the soy to a barest hint, and sprinkle the peppers on right at the end, before serving...
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
I have got to figure out how many tablespoons of chilli flakes add up to one red chilli. I do know it's a few fewer than I added to the prawns today.
Goan dinner tonight. I really detest generic Indian, but even so we outdid ourselves by making 2 goan dishes. Eggplant, rice, and of course the blazing prawns. The key to goan food appears to be simple, at least going by the books we have. Generally it goes something like... saute chopped onions, add chilli paste, cook to mellow the chilli, then add prawns/chicken/pork and cook till done. The chilli paste isn't especially complicated either... chilli, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, ginger/garlic, and vinegar for that characteristic sour. Malt vinegar if you can manage it (I haven't found it anywhere near), and apple cider vinegar is the closest that I've found. I used prawns with the shells on. I usually keep them on, I find that I overcook prawns a less often if I do. Of course, never say that... say something like Molto Mario... "it shows that they're closer to the sea". The sea in the ziploc bag in my freezer....
OK I do know that there are other kinds of Goan, there's the ground coconut recipes, etc, etc... but there's a characteristic goan flavor, that's completely missing from $7.99 buffet vindaloos... And I'm really psyched that's the territory I stepped into with this dinner.
Goan dinner tonight. I really detest generic Indian, but even so we outdid ourselves by making 2 goan dishes. Eggplant, rice, and of course the blazing prawns. The key to goan food appears to be simple, at least going by the books we have. Generally it goes something like... saute chopped onions, add chilli paste, cook to mellow the chilli, then add prawns/chicken/pork and cook till done. The chilli paste isn't especially complicated either... chilli, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, ginger/garlic, and vinegar for that characteristic sour. Malt vinegar if you can manage it (I haven't found it anywhere near), and apple cider vinegar is the closest that I've found. I used prawns with the shells on. I usually keep them on, I find that I overcook prawns a less often if I do. Of course, never say that... say something like Molto Mario... "it shows that they're closer to the sea". The sea in the ziploc bag in my freezer....
OK I do know that there are other kinds of Goan, there's the ground coconut recipes, etc, etc... but there's a characteristic goan flavor, that's completely missing from $7.99 buffet vindaloos... And I'm really psyched that's the territory I stepped into with this dinner.
Monday, July 14, 2003
Pork chops, not smothered.
Pork chops, of course, from Dittmers. Brined the chops in apple cider vinegar (after Alton Brown), water, sugar, salt, juniper berries and chili flakes. Random pork and veal rub as a dry rub went on next, held on with juice of half a lime.
Grilled on the stovetop grill-pan, squeezing a few drops of lime and sprinkling spice on each side after turning. I go for the 4 turn Jaques Pepin system... I think it does spread the juices around better. And the most important step - the final rest, around 10 minutes was quite adeqate for these 1 inch chops.
Served on a relish of heirloom tomatoes, finely chopped red onions, corn and cilantro. Dressed with the rest of that lime, salt and pepper.
On the side - green beans. And about those, only one comment - taste before you serve. There is always the option to cook longer.
I did something right today, the pork chops were really quite good.
Too bad I didn't time them... or take the final temperature...
Dessert? Fresh strawberries.
Pork chops, of course, from Dittmers. Brined the chops in apple cider vinegar (after Alton Brown), water, sugar, salt, juniper berries and chili flakes. Random pork and veal rub as a dry rub went on next, held on with juice of half a lime.
Grilled on the stovetop grill-pan, squeezing a few drops of lime and sprinkling spice on each side after turning. I go for the 4 turn Jaques Pepin system... I think it does spread the juices around better. And the most important step - the final rest, around 10 minutes was quite adeqate for these 1 inch chops.
Served on a relish of heirloom tomatoes, finely chopped red onions, corn and cilantro. Dressed with the rest of that lime, salt and pepper.
On the side - green beans. And about those, only one comment - taste before you serve. There is always the option to cook longer.
I did something right today, the pork chops were really quite good.
Too bad I didn't time them... or take the final temperature...
Dessert? Fresh strawberries.
Phew... almost caught up :)
Sunday dinner! We had some baby bak choy in the basket this week... and sweetie decided to cook it. Magic with braised noodles, ginger, green onions, cha siu (barbeque pork), sauces and of course the bak choy... I decided that wouldn't be enough and for some odd reason decided to add rice and shrimp to the mix, just to make sure everyone was stuffed to the gills. So I did... the shrimp with spinach and red onions. And an orange sauce. From actual orange juice. I carmelized some sugar, added orange juice, and let it thicken... it seemed a little thin, so I added some chili paste. I think it needed some bitter. The carmelization should have been taken to a deep brown, and some orange peel wouldn't hurt...
Sunday dinner! We had some baby bak choy in the basket this week... and sweetie decided to cook it. Magic with braised noodles, ginger, green onions, cha siu (barbeque pork), sauces and of course the bak choy... I decided that wouldn't be enough and for some odd reason decided to add rice and shrimp to the mix, just to make sure everyone was stuffed to the gills. So I did... the shrimp with spinach and red onions. And an orange sauce. From actual orange juice. I carmelized some sugar, added orange juice, and let it thicken... it seemed a little thin, so I added some chili paste. I think it needed some bitter. The carmelization should have been taken to a deep brown, and some orange peel wouldn't hurt...
Sunday lunch. More sausage. A fine selection of the double-smoked and ready to eat... perfect for a picnic. Add Acme bread, potato salad and some warm very fruity zin and you can even be happy sizzling in the sun.
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Saturday dinner. Penne rigate with sausage sauce. Garlic beans on the side.
But first, the sausage. Dittmers. You walk in these store, and pick a number. You wait around and have the feeling that you're being indoctrinated by the traditional german music (the internationals?) to completely disregard the fat content of anything you might buy... And by the time your number is called and you elbow yourself some counter space it's true... you don't care. This is where the heel of pancetta comes from that graces my fridge with its presence... and of course, the sausages.
Simple sauce today, never tried it before. A pound of italian sausage, hot and mild, mixed. At Dittmers this is 3 sausages - at any other place, probably 4.
Slip off the casings, break off 1/2 inch pieces, slap on a hot non-non-stick pan to brown. Toss in some olive oil when the first side is brown to help pry from the pan, then brown the other side.
Add Mario Batali's Sugo Finocchiato, from a Trader Joe's near you. Half a bottle for a pound of sausage. Add the penne to the water, and they should both be done at the same time. A pinch of red chilli flakes or a pile of Parmagiano...
My sausage sauce is usually a fair production, with onions-carrots-celery, sausage, wine, dried reconstituted porcinis and their soaking juices, milk and a can of the Muir Glen all being added and cooked till the oil separates out... This sauce isn't as deep or rich, but it is nice and fresh and the fennel is a wonderful complement to the sausage... And it took all of 10 minutes, besides the time to actually make the pasta (25 minutes altogether).
Just noticed that the sauce is Puglian... Next time I'll try toasted breadcrumbs as my final touch.
Sweetie made green beans with garlic. I usually go with olive oil, or even peanut for something like this... but on the advice of the bible she went with butter. Small negative - lower temperatures, so you don't get that black/brown thing going on with either the beans or the garlic (whole with the skin on, just lightly pounded to crack the skin...) . Big positive - resuscitated bean flavor, almost as good as the fresh thing. And garlic infused with butter infused with garlic, which is a joy in itself...
But first, the sausage. Dittmers. You walk in these store, and pick a number. You wait around and have the feeling that you're being indoctrinated by the traditional german music (the internationals?) to completely disregard the fat content of anything you might buy... And by the time your number is called and you elbow yourself some counter space it's true... you don't care. This is where the heel of pancetta comes from that graces my fridge with its presence... and of course, the sausages.
Simple sauce today, never tried it before. A pound of italian sausage, hot and mild, mixed. At Dittmers this is 3 sausages - at any other place, probably 4.
Slip off the casings, break off 1/2 inch pieces, slap on a hot non-non-stick pan to brown. Toss in some olive oil when the first side is brown to help pry from the pan, then brown the other side.
Add Mario Batali's Sugo Finocchiato, from a Trader Joe's near you. Half a bottle for a pound of sausage. Add the penne to the water, and they should both be done at the same time. A pinch of red chilli flakes or a pile of Parmagiano...
My sausage sauce is usually a fair production, with onions-carrots-celery, sausage, wine, dried reconstituted porcinis and their soaking juices, milk and a can of the Muir Glen all being added and cooked till the oil separates out... This sauce isn't as deep or rich, but it is nice and fresh and the fennel is a wonderful complement to the sausage... And it took all of 10 minutes, besides the time to actually make the pasta (25 minutes altogether).
Just noticed that the sauce is Puglian... Next time I'll try toasted breadcrumbs as my final touch.
Sweetie made green beans with garlic. I usually go with olive oil, or even peanut for something like this... but on the advice of the bible she went with butter. Small negative - lower temperatures, so you don't get that black/brown thing going on with either the beans or the garlic (whole with the skin on, just lightly pounded to crack the skin...) . Big positive - resuscitated bean flavor, almost as good as the fresh thing. And garlic infused with butter infused with garlic, which is a joy in itself...
Friday dinner - Kababs at Rose! We did takeout (we took out?), which was a little more dignified and comfortable, but sacrificed a bit the fresh of the grill ridiculously goodness of the kababs. Koubideh and chicken... the chicken with a clean saffron flavor I've been unable to replicate, the koubideh pretty standard but still very good. Need that charcoal grill!
Sigh. You can eat, or you can write about it. Big backlog. Once of the disadvantages of this system is that I can't backdate my entries. Hmmm maybe that's a good thing.
Anyway, I did not stop eating on Thursday at lunch.
Dinner was (post movie) at Kirin. Our standby, the "Pepper Salted Prawns" are bigger and more peppered and more perfectly salted (which I think should be a little over salted) than at any other comparable restaurant. Today, since we had company, a few appetizers and "Saday" beef. The latter was really interesting, combining a curry flavor with chinese thin sliced beef. They tarted it up with some pineapple, onions and peppers. The combination of the chinese technique with (somewhat) Indian flavor was a lightbulb moment. I have to try this sometime. The appetizers... Spring roll was crispy, but the insides were a mediocre mush... I'll let you know when I discover the secret to this. In general, though, I'd give the staff at Kirin credit for doing a bang up job on the "american chinese" classics, even though the probably find them contemptible to cook. Their sweet and sour pork is the best rendition I've ever had, and the mongolian beef, though not Darda, is quite good... In that vein taste the potstickers, with their hand made, chewy, deeply browned casings... Again, the filling could be better, but I'd rate this restaurant up there with the best in its class in this area.
Anyway, I did not stop eating on Thursday at lunch.
Dinner was (post movie) at Kirin. Our standby, the "Pepper Salted Prawns" are bigger and more peppered and more perfectly salted (which I think should be a little over salted) than at any other comparable restaurant. Today, since we had company, a few appetizers and "Saday" beef. The latter was really interesting, combining a curry flavor with chinese thin sliced beef. They tarted it up with some pineapple, onions and peppers. The combination of the chinese technique with (somewhat) Indian flavor was a lightbulb moment. I have to try this sometime. The appetizers... Spring roll was crispy, but the insides were a mediocre mush... I'll let you know when I discover the secret to this. In general, though, I'd give the staff at Kirin credit for doing a bang up job on the "american chinese" classics, even though the probably find them contemptible to cook. Their sweet and sour pork is the best rendition I've ever had, and the mongolian beef, though not Darda, is quite good... In that vein taste the potstickers, with their hand made, chewy, deeply browned casings... Again, the filling could be better, but I'd rate this restaurant up there with the best in its class in this area.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
lunch - by-th-bucket. sadly, the barbeque on the menu had dwindled into nonexistence. sad only because this was to be a goodbye lunch for chris, and chris had been promised bbq. as what it was, a seafood restaurant with a minor in italian, it made a very commendable showing. the coleslaw was remarkable, with the addition of a little spiciness in the mix of sweetness/tart/crisp that is usually coleslaw. allan opened my eyes to the uses of spice in salad by tossing a little chili oil into his grape and baby green salad last weekend, and this coleslaw reminded me that i have to try it myself. squid - there are extremely few places that do a good job on fried squid... and this is not one of them. but their deep fried catfish with corn meal breading was a treat, and their fries are french bistro good... i didn't really like their tartar sauce, it seemed very mass produced. just a simple housemade mayonnaise with a touch of flavor would have been so much better.
to end... illy coffee. the best. almost.
note: i've been told often that macdonalds fries are good, some people even call them the gold standard of french fries. not so. try this experiment... eat a couple of mickey d fries, plain with no ketchup/mayo/anything. then don't do anything. don't swig your drink, don't bite that hamburger, just savor the aftertaste... all kinds of nastiness. bad oil flavors... wierd meatiness... an odd sweetness... a powdery potato flavor... your experience may vary, but in my opinion, though the texture is quite crisp and good, that does not a good french fry make.
to end... illy coffee. the best. almost.
note: i've been told often that macdonalds fries are good, some people even call them the gold standard of french fries. not so. try this experiment... eat a couple of mickey d fries, plain with no ketchup/mayo/anything. then don't do anything. don't swig your drink, don't bite that hamburger, just savor the aftertaste... all kinds of nastiness. bad oil flavors... wierd meatiness... an odd sweetness... a powdery potato flavor... your experience may vary, but in my opinion, though the texture is quite crisp and good, that does not a good french fry make.
dinner out - Ton Kiang. dessert - Tart to Tart.
according to the iron laws of chinese restaurants, Ton Kiang shouldn't exist. but it's a good thing that it does. it's clean, well lit and designed, has slightly premium prices, the waitstaff is curteous... and the food is not a fusion of chinese with something else, or funky in anyway, just standard issue chinese. well, they do serve dim sum at dinner time, and that is a tad funky... overall, food that isn't overwrought, or unnecessarily greasy.
ideas - the mustard greens stir fried with garlic reminded me of the burned garlic pods in the talasani i used to love in bombay (mumbai now). it's always confused me to hear mario batali and alton brown talk about how browning the garlic is a good thing but burning it is a no-no... for a fine dice that's probably true... but with large chunks or even (as in talasani) with the pods whole and skin on but cracked you get a wide variety of flavors between the unique bitterness of the burnt bits, the caramel browning, and the almost sweet cooked garlic flesh. hard to control, but in a simple dish, it can be all the flavor you need.
we had the lemon sweetheart tart for dessert. the place justly deserves the reputation for its tart crusts, that are almost better defined based on what they are not. they are not flaky, not hard, not soggy (blind baked, so not soggy even under the filling), not crumbly (except at the very center of the tart) not crisp. not dry, yet not especially buttery. just the right neutral complement to the lemon custard filling.
according to the iron laws of chinese restaurants, Ton Kiang shouldn't exist. but it's a good thing that it does. it's clean, well lit and designed, has slightly premium prices, the waitstaff is curteous... and the food is not a fusion of chinese with something else, or funky in anyway, just standard issue chinese. well, they do serve dim sum at dinner time, and that is a tad funky... overall, food that isn't overwrought, or unnecessarily greasy.
ideas - the mustard greens stir fried with garlic reminded me of the burned garlic pods in the talasani i used to love in bombay (mumbai now). it's always confused me to hear mario batali and alton brown talk about how browning the garlic is a good thing but burning it is a no-no... for a fine dice that's probably true... but with large chunks or even (as in talasani) with the pods whole and skin on but cracked you get a wide variety of flavors between the unique bitterness of the burnt bits, the caramel browning, and the almost sweet cooked garlic flesh. hard to control, but in a simple dish, it can be all the flavor you need.
we had the lemon sweetheart tart for dessert. the place justly deserves the reputation for its tart crusts, that are almost better defined based on what they are not. they are not flaky, not hard, not soggy (blind baked, so not soggy even under the filling), not crumbly (except at the very center of the tart) not crisp. not dry, yet not especially buttery. just the right neutral complement to the lemon custard filling.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
a new dessert... a ricotta and strawberry tart. a work in progress.
i used storebought puff pastry, a pepperidge farm puff pastry sheet. as per the directions, i thawed for 30 min. i did the little pyramid thing that alton brown did on his show to stop it from sticking together and to help it defrost a bit quicker. crimp and roll and do whatever you can to stop the sheet from falling apart in 3 strips.
i then piled sliced strawberries over the middle of each quarter, and slathered some lightly sweetened ricotta (sugar and ricotta, hint of nutmeg and black pepper) over the strawberries
i folder the corners of each quarter up over the filling.
standard baking procedure for puff pastry - 400 degrees farenheit, 20 min or so, till pastry is golden brown and delicious. actually i prefer a rather deep brown.
results?
plus: the fresh strawberry and sweetened ricotta mixture is a winner. like a subtle, understated and fresh tasting cheesecake. the lumpiness of the ricotta is exciting in a rustic sort of way.
minus: the puff pastry was good for a weekday, but lacking... the cheese didn't brown enough so it didn't have those caramel flavors i was looking for.
ideas: browning - add less sugar to the ricotta and and sprinkle some over the top. add no/very little and splash concentrated sugar syrup over the top. strain the ricotta a bit so it's less moist and browns sooner. pre-bake the shells, then fill and broil for browning. in the extreme, the creme brulee torch should do the trick
garnish: mint
and chopped pistachios for extra special decadence....
i used storebought puff pastry, a pepperidge farm puff pastry sheet. as per the directions, i thawed for 30 min. i did the little pyramid thing that alton brown did on his show to stop it from sticking together and to help it defrost a bit quicker. crimp and roll and do whatever you can to stop the sheet from falling apart in 3 strips.
i then piled sliced strawberries over the middle of each quarter, and slathered some lightly sweetened ricotta (sugar and ricotta, hint of nutmeg and black pepper) over the strawberries
i folder the corners of each quarter up over the filling.
standard baking procedure for puff pastry - 400 degrees farenheit, 20 min or so, till pastry is golden brown and delicious. actually i prefer a rather deep brown.
results?
plus: the fresh strawberry and sweetened ricotta mixture is a winner. like a subtle, understated and fresh tasting cheesecake. the lumpiness of the ricotta is exciting in a rustic sort of way.
minus: the puff pastry was good for a weekday, but lacking... the cheese didn't brown enough so it didn't have those caramel flavors i was looking for.
ideas: browning - add less sugar to the ricotta and and sprinkle some over the top. add no/very little and splash concentrated sugar syrup over the top. strain the ricotta a bit so it's less moist and browns sooner. pre-bake the shells, then fill and broil for browning. in the extreme, the creme brulee torch should do the trick
garnish: mint
and chopped pistachios for extra special decadence....
the secrets of stovetop boiled rice. listen up.
- know your rice not all rice, not even all aged basmati, or jasmine, is the same. if you're trying a new rice, expect to have to fiddle a little bit. but you should know what to fiddle with.
- know your quantities if you're making a small quantity of rice, my formula will work. don't expect it to work directly when you multiply it by large numbers (greater than 4 cups)
- wash your rice at least 3 times, or if you're really picky, till the water is pretty clear
- drain the water you used for washing. then (for most aged basmatis) add twice the quantity of water as rice most other rice will require less water than this... non aged basmati around 1.75 x, jasmine rice about 1.6 x. this is one fiddle factor. the water should be at room temperature
- bring to a boil a full, rollicking boil.
- add your salt and stir for the last time i find a 1/4 tsp satisfying for a cup of rice
- turn down the heat to achielve a low bubbling simmer if you are using an electric stove changing burners might help change quickly, but it isn't absolutely necessary
- do not, do not lift the lid for 15 minutes. this is the second fudge factor... first get your water right so your rice is pretty good, then fiddle with the time till it's perfect
- turn off the heat, remove from burner but still do not lift the lid for 5-10 minutes
- fluff your rice not absolutely necessary, but while doing it you can savor the the first breathes of your perfect rice
Monday, July 07, 2003
ah the joys of pork fat and bitter greens. what does it say about us that we have an inch think heel of pancetta in our fridge at all times? well we do, and so i cut one or two 1/4 inch slices off the end of it, dice (of course, 1/4 inch dice), and saute in olive oil. toss in a shredded head of radicchio and saute on high heat to carmelize a bit (i cut this part short today, leaving the end product a bit too bitter) then salt and let cook on low for a couple of minutes... toss with penne and grind fresh pepper over the top.
(for the detail minded, start heating your pan when you have 9 minutes to go on the pasta and your penne and your radicchio should be ready at the same time).
a pasta dish that's beyond good and evil... i kind of had a hankering for a clean white (pinot grigio?) to go with it today, but didn't do it. had the red zin i left in the hot car all last week glaring at me....
(for the detail minded, start heating your pan when you have 9 minutes to go on the pasta and your penne and your radicchio should be ready at the same time).
a pasta dish that's beyond good and evil... i kind of had a hankering for a clean white (pinot grigio?) to go with it today, but didn't do it. had the red zin i left in the hot car all last week glaring at me....
just one day and already i'm veering from my promised course... what's a lunch review doing here?
went to lunch at Su's Mongolian Barbeque. the restaurant has the feel of an exciting hole in the wall. people weren't pouring out of the joint in the lunch hour, but it seemed to be doing adequate business. the greasy walls, the plexiglass cases all promised an exciting and cheap meal. it wasn't either. sadly, the meal was pretty much wasted...
no matter how finely you slice it, beef and pork and chicken take different amounts of time to cook... without a little steaming action your broccoli once dry (from sitting in a case for an hour or so) is going to stay dry... i (roughly) used the proportions of the sauces recommended, but in my experience, creating a good sauce requires a little more work than mixing up a bunch of premade sauces and dousing food with it. this experience did not contradict those that came before it. unfortunately this indictment is of the mongolian barbeque concept itself, rather than the particular restaurant and i would gladly learn that mongolian barbeque can in fact be done well.
if in fact mongolian barbeque has anything to do with this kind of food at all.
went to lunch at Su's Mongolian Barbeque. the restaurant has the feel of an exciting hole in the wall. people weren't pouring out of the joint in the lunch hour, but it seemed to be doing adequate business. the greasy walls, the plexiglass cases all promised an exciting and cheap meal. it wasn't either. sadly, the meal was pretty much wasted...
no matter how finely you slice it, beef and pork and chicken take different amounts of time to cook... without a little steaming action your broccoli once dry (from sitting in a case for an hour or so) is going to stay dry... i (roughly) used the proportions of the sauces recommended, but in my experience, creating a good sauce requires a little more work than mixing up a bunch of premade sauces and dousing food with it. this experience did not contradict those that came before it. unfortunately this indictment is of the mongolian barbeque concept itself, rather than the particular restaurant and i would gladly learn that mongolian barbeque can in fact be done well.
if in fact mongolian barbeque has anything to do with this kind of food at all.
dinner at Saravana Bhavan... first rate thali as usual. a rava idli with which the ubiquitous green chutney actually makes sense... slightly soggy uthappam, probably because it was spread a little too thick... still, nothing but admiration for the ability of the chain to pull off fantastic south indian food in this region famously rich in souring bacteria...
Sunday, July 06, 2003
i've wanted to do this for a while... so here i am. i'll probably eventually move this to a place where i can place recipes and pictures and such. right now, though it's just names, places, hints and links...
