Dinner Diaries

Rib roast w/ Roasted root veggies.

2004-04-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

Connie cooked tonight - the rib roast was imply tied and seasoned with salt and pepper. Roasted at 350F till it reached an internal temperature of 134F, it was tender and simply delicious. I made a bit of a sauce by simply boiling water in the fond and stirring. We ate it with Connie's roasted root veggies, very simple (this time with no herbs, just garlic cloves roasted with the veggies) and a little salad, which I made with a passion fruit/lime dressing (actually the lime pretty much overpowered the passionfruit juice...)

Veggie Chinese at Lu Lai

2004-04-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Vegetarian chinese food that's actually good... not overly greasy, to make up for the lack of fat in the faux meat... tasty, not overly spiced. This is gluten and tofu and various other culinary subterfuge, but it is subterfuge with a tradition. We were at Lu Lai Vegetarian, in the Ranch 99 mall in Milpitas for lunch. From the extensive menu, I probably selected quite badly, picking the curry tofu with okra - for a chinese food place the curry wasn't bad, it was the chinese interpretation of curry. The okra was whole, and perfectly tender, even though the individual specimens were quite large. In addition we had (all non vegetarian items made vegetarian, of course) a mixed seafood dish, ma bo tofu (which had cute little bits of faux ham), beef with bitter mellon (people in our party were impressed with the beef but wished the mellon was a bit more fake) and a mixed bok choy/mixed mushroom/hair seaweed dish that was just delicious. I'd actually eat here out of choice.

Pork Chops w/ Rapini

2004-03-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

Pork Chops - w/ Julia Childs spices (from Cooking with Jaques and Julia) - Pepper, nutmeg, allspice, mace, cinnamon, cloves, thyme, marjoram, savory. Dry rubbed into the chops - I use a lot, about 2 teaspoons for 2 3/4 inch chops.
I used the Cooks Illustrated cooking technique, actually starting the chops on the pan while the pan is cold, setting the heat to medium and cooking till browned on both sides and the internal temp of the chops is over 160F. Then I rest the pork chops in a plate, inverting another over it.
I sliced and cored 2 fuji apples and browned them in the same pan, with a little of the same spice and some lemon juice and olive oil. Finally, I added some water to the pan to deglace it.
Side - a bunch of rapini, sauted in olive oil with a little garlic.
Thoughts - the Cook's Illustrated technique worked really well, the chops were juicy and tender while being perfectly cooked all the way through. Even without any brining. This is my new chop method of choice...

Chicken Pal-Curry (Milk Curry)

2004-02-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

Generally Coconut Milk, though regular milk has worked in a pinch.
Finely slice 2 onions.
Add a tablespoon or so of oil to a dutch oven, heat over medium. Add a few cloves, cardamon pods, and a small stick of cinnamon to the oil and fry till the oil is fragrant, the cardamon pods lightly browned, and the cinnamon stick uncurls. Add the onion and fry, lowering the heat slightly, till the onions sweat their moisture, then dry to turn light brown.
Add 2 large cloves of garlic and 1 inch of ginger, both in a very fine julienne, and green chillies to taste. Saute with the onions till the fragrance is no longer as raw.
Make a paste with 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp salt and a little water. Add this to the onion mixture, and again, cook till you can no longer smell the raw spices in the mixture.
Add 1 (small) whole chicken, cut into 16/18 pieces. Cook over medium heat so the spices soak into the chicken, and the outer layer of the chicken turns opaque. This takes 5-10 minutes.
Add 1.5 cups of water, separately brought to a boil. Bring the chicken to a simmer, then cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
Add 3-4 russet potatoes, peeled and halved (quartered if they are big potatoes, but you want them large as they will disintegrate a bit in the sauce). Simmer for 20 minutes, till potatoes are quite soft.
Add 1 cup of thick coconut milk. Turn temperature to low, and simmer for a few minutes to combine flavors of the coconut milk with the curry.
Separately, heat (in a small container) a tablespoon of oil to about 350F. Add 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds (black), heat them for a minute till they splutter and flavor the oil, then about 10 curry leaves. The curry leaves will splutter quite a bit initially.
Pour the hot oil mixture onto the chicken curry, give it a quick stir, and cover.
Serve with rice, bread, or appam.

Finally, a request!

2004-01-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

The diarist's aunt requested a recipe for garlicy breadsticks. I experimented a bit - OK, just once - but found something that works. Additionally, it's lowfat (the bread portion itself includes no fat) and includes no egg...
This recipe is based on the Focaccia alla Pugliese recipe in Carol Field's The Italian Baker. I modified it is some ways, chiefly by keeping the dough overnight, and substituting a garlic mixture for the original tomato. The original tomato topping is also a highly recommended treat...
Microwave 2 smallish russet potatoes (about 320 g to start) on the bake setting (or about 7 minutes) after pricking them with a fork to prevent untimely explosion. Rice the potatoes, or otherwise mash them.
Dissolve 2 tsp active dry yeast in 1 1/4 cups warm water. Add 500 g unbleached all purpose flour (I use King Arthur flour, which is slightly higher in gluten than usual) and the riced potato (should be about 275-300 g of potato). Add 2 teaspoons of salt.
I used the stand mixer to knead this - a paddle to bring it together and the hook to knead for 3 minutes, as directed by the recipe. Hand kneading should work reasonably well, dough will be sticky, so don't worry about it, don't add any additional flour at this point.
When the dough was reasonably smooth and elastic (though still sticky) I put it into my rising container and let it rise for 25 minutes. Then I turned out the dough and "folded" it on a lightly floured surface. This process is described in "Artisan Baking". Basically, you drop the dough on the lightly floured surface, smooth side down. Then you hold on to one side, and gently pull it out, then fold it back on to the dough. You could thing of this as a very deliberate, gently form of kneading. Repeat this four times, folding the dough onto itself so that the smooth part of the dough on the bottom is stretched out and the dough is a squarish ball. Dust with flour, return dough to the rising container, and repeat after about 25 minutes. Then I put the rising container in the fridge for the night.
The next day I took out the dough (it had risen in the fridge to a little more than double, then the rising had stopped) and dumped it out onto a floured counter. I cut it into two balls, kneaded these gently to form a nice skin. I let these rest for a few minutes so I could stretch them out into 9" circles. I placed these disks on parchment paper. Then I let these rise for about 45 minutes. Since it's cold here, I put them in the oven which I'd heated for just a little bit, checking with a thermometer to make sure it was no more than 80F.
After the 45 minute rise I started preheating the oven to 450F with baking stone in it. Preheating took about 30 minutes.
While the over was being pre-heated, I cut the bread into strips using a dough scraper. I flour the scraper, then plunge it into the dough. The dough was a little sticky but it worked OK.
Then I put together the garlic mixture - 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, a tablespoon of water, a dash of salt, a little dried oregano, and a tablespoon of olive oil, mixed together thoroughly.
Just before putting the bread in the oven, I drizzled the garlic mixture over the dough and spread it thoroughly with a cooking brush.
I placed the breads on a pan, and baked with this on the stone for 15 minutes, then removed the focaccia and baked them directly on the stone for 15. Took them out when the bread was nicely browned, the creases where it had been cut showing between the pillowy breadsticks. When the bread is done it has an internal temperature of about 200-205 F.
Notes: I used a springform pan top (i.e. the springform part) to hold the disks of focaccia together while baking. This might have made them rise a bit higher, but I think you should get good results even without them.
Thoughts - The breadsticks were moist and had a very soft, moist, cakey crumb. The dough seemed as though it must contain some fat... it's suprising that it doesn't. It's not too garlicy - but the browned garlic flavor might not be to your liking. In this case, adding the garlic later should result in a fresher (but stronger) garlic taste.

TGI's Sushi

2004-01-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

We visited Chris' Sushi place today, and - it was fantastic. Big thanks to Andy (and his guide to sushi on the peninsula below). They were out of the Toro, but we had some Maguro, which was luscious. We also had some Bonito, and the Aji, Spanish Mackarel, which had just the most delicate Mackarel flavor, and which was cut beautifully. In fact, all the sushi was beautiful. The Country Girl Roll was another pretty one, and Connie said that the Spider roll was the best execution she'd had - by the time we left she was already planning our next trip there, which is saying a lot since she's allergic to fish... The anago was toasted like the unagi which was a bit unusual, but brought out the flavor a bit more. To end we asked Chris for something special, and we were brought a large scallop in the shell, with just a bit of green onion and flying fish egg... butter smooth and soft, just slightly sweet, with the muscle sliced fine into a slightly briny crunchy accompaniment. Perfect end to a very good sushi meal. Visit TGI's Sushi at the corner of California and San Antonio in Mountain View, CA.

Dosa

2004-01-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

4 little letters. The recipe is quite a bit more complex...
First you soak the ingredients. Day before yesterday evening (diarist mom and diarist) soaked 1/2 cup of urad dal (split and skinned black gram dal) with about 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds (after washing) in 1.5 cups of water. We also soaked 1 cup of short grained rice in about 2 cups of water.
Yesterday morning we poured out the water from both, reserving the water from the urad dal (the urad dal is what provides the rise, so that water is reused for a little extra umph). We ground the dal first, then the rice, both down to a fine paste, adding just the minimum amount of the urad dal water to get both ground, then adding the rest to smooth them out further.
Then we mixed the two, added a little salt (1 tsp) and let it rise for 24 hours. Then this morning we fried the dosa, pouring out a ladleful of the batter (a little less that 1/4 cup) onto a nonstick griddle, then spreading it thin by drawing roughly concentric circles in the batter with the back of the ladle. Sprinkle a little oil, flip, brown both sides lightly, serve with chutni.
Coconut chutni -
Grind 100 g coconut (I use frozen coconut, of phillipine origin) with 1 tsp tamarind (whole, or concentrate to taste), 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp salt using the minimum amount of water to create a relatively smooth paste (it'll end up a little grainy, that's ok). When it's smooth, you add a the tadka. Heat a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil to about 350F, add a 1/2 tsp of mustard seed, wait till it splutters, then add 1/2 tsp urad dal, brown gently, add 5 curry leaves, fry till fragrant. Dump this oil in the coconut mixture, stir, serve.

Hunan Gourmet

2003-12-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

Hot and sour soup - Appropriately spicy, a bit more sour than usual, with big gobs of wood ear fungus.
Hunan family style tofu - Velveted tofu, served in a slighly overly salty braising sauce flavoed with jalapeno peppers, leeks, black bean and bits of pork.
Orange Beef - the cliche dish of the evening actually turned out very nicely, very crisply deep fried beef slices in relatively irregular shapes with just enough orange sauce, garlic and whole red chilies clinging to them to be delicious.

Country Gourmet

2003-12-20T20:26:00.000-08:00

Brunch at the corner of El Camino and Rengstorff. In spite of the dowdy look of the outsides of this restaurant, as well as the floral country kitchen look of the inside, this place serves a really good breakfast. The pancakes are whole wheat hearty; the sunny side up eggs arrived sunny side up, whites just set and yellows appealingly runny. A breakfast place doesn't have to be gourmet, in fact, the only times I want to go out for breakfast are when I want something that is comforting. This place does have some twists on traditional fare - pumpkin pancakes stood out - but even the more innovative dishes showed an understanding of customers in search of the familiar.

Pulled pork salad

2003-12-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

Ingredients - Arugula, 1 large salad tomato, some salsa (I used Whole Foods Chile Morenita?) and 1 pork shoulder.
Apply a dry rub on the shoulder, (I used a mix of kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, coriander and cumin. And cinnamon, I think...) let it rest for a few hours. Then roast in a pan in a 250 F oven for about 8 hours. Then a few more if it isn't already extremely tender. I was hoping at this point that I would just be able to pull the pork off, but it wasn't that tender yet so I diced it pretty fine.
Assembly - I created a bed of arugula, then sprinked on the diced tomato, then the diced pork (not the whole shoulder, just a half pound for 2 people) then some salsa. Salt and Pepper.
Thoughts - Pork and arugula was just an inspired combination. I wish I could take credit for it - but it just so happened that we got arugula in our box and I bought a shoulder of pork...
A toast to my friend Chris, who told me about his pulled pork salad in Mississippi and inspired this dish.

Broccoli soup, roast chicken.

2003-12-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

Broccoli soup from the Monastery Soup book. It's interesting - at least my version of the soup didn't taste too strongly of - anything particular. But it did have a very interesting, warm flavor altogether. A soup that is greater than the sum of its parts? Nonetheless, I think next time I'm going to up the quantity of broccoli. We had it warm, with a little parmigiano shredded on top.
Garlic and Rosemary Roast Chicken, roughly based on the Cooks Illustrated Recipe. I butterflied the chicken, and then brined for an hour in a mixture roughly like the one suggested - salt, water, a few sprigs of rosemary and garlic. Except I added a few sprigs of lavender, some sugar, and a dash of vermouth.
Then I used a boning knife to get my fingers under the skin of the breast and thighs, and cleared a space for the flavoring. I added a mix of olive oil, garlic, rosemary (finely chopped) and salt. I sprinkled salt and pepper on the outside of the skin, and put the whole thing in our little convection oven. I cooked it at 400 for a while - possibly around 25 minutes? Then, as the skin was a golden brown, I pulled the chicken out, turned it, and returned it to the oven at 375. I let it cook at this temperature till the instant thermometer read 175 for the thigh. Unfortunately, at this time the breast read 175 as well, which is a bit high. But with the brining and the olive oil , it worked out ok.
Thoughts - the chicken skin crisped up nicely, with the oil on the inside and the salt on the outside. The brining could stand a little more punch and a little less herb. Possibly add herbs in the oven to try to protect the breast better?

Shrimp with pasta

2003-12-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Sauced up Mario Batali's Pomodoro Sauce with a cube of my seafood stock. Sauted some shrimp for a minute after marinating in garlic paste, chilli flakes and thyme. Added the sauce + stock, stir, let cook for a minute, then add the pasta (penne).
Thoughts - I thought the stock added some depth to the sauce, Connie couldn't taste it, but liked the sauce anyway. 2 minutes cooking might be on the long end of cooking time for shrimp, I should probably reduce that next time.

Cafe Colucci

2003-12-13T23:47:00.000-08:00

Better than Addis (the restaurant that is, not the place - the word is the Ethiopian food in Ethiopia can't be beat). At least to my untutored palate, the flavors just seem fresher, cleaner. I just wish they'd serve more collards in their vegetarian combination... The injira is the same pretty much everywhere - I have a feeling there's just one injira factory in the Bay Area. It's not quite as good as it could be - at its best it's silky smooth, with very fine bubbles are a rather strong tang.

Lots of Crabs!

2003-12-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

Kirin, on Castro in Mountain View, has 4 tanks full of crabs. Their prices fluctuate, but last week, when we were there, the were selling them at 9.95 apiece or $16 for 2. We had one deep fried, with salt and pepper. I really liked it - the meat seemed juicier this way than the usual scallion ginger - Connie says Tandoori Crab is still her favorite.

Yan Can... but should Yan?

2003-12-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Lunch at Yan Can. I overthought the ordering process - assuming that since this is a multi-cuisine asian place the best stuff would be from the cultures that are inherently multi-cuisine - singaporean and malay cuisine. That might be so (I'm still somewhat interested in trying the Singaporean Noodles, or the Balinese Fried Rice - which are only available at dinner) but the Firecracker Beef was a disappointment - a chop sui like sauce with beef and rice, with a little fresh tomato thrown in for ... freshness? The more traditional fare - Beef Chow Fun, Mongolian Beef, Sweet and Sour Pork... seem to be better choices. The meat is better quality than your average hole in the wall style asian joint. The advantage with this is you never end up with a mouthful of gristle. The disadvantage is that if overcooked (as was the case with a couple of dishes) the meat becomes rather dry. The prices are somewhat higher than hole in the wall as well... On the plus side, the signs are Mondrianized. And there's a TV screen with Yan, showing that he can.

Ravioli Potage

2003-12-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

From Twelve Months of Monastery Soups - a complex, flavorful soup. I started off with a bunch of olive oil, and added shallots and a can of diced tomato, strained. I sauted till it started smelling sweet, then added spinach and the leftover turkey broth (from boiling the turkey carcass from thanksgiving). That mixture simmered for 15 minutes, then I added salt and pepper. I added the ravioli 5 minutes later, because they were already cooked (I used a 3 cheese ravioli, by Cafferata). Finally, a handful of chopped parsley took the place of the chervil, and I let the soup rest (as directed) for 5 minutes.
Served with a dollop of sour cream.
Thoughts - I'm always amazed at how well Cafferata always turns out. Recommended without reservations, almost better than home made... Actually, the ravioli (I'm sad to say) is better than my home made ravioli. More forgiving too. And they're just beautiful.

Hugh's Chow Fun

2003-12-08T21:42:00.000-08:00

Except it wasn't chow fun. Ranch 99 and Marina were both out of it, so Hugh ended up experimenting with "Vietnamese Rice Noodles" - similar in color and texture to Chow Fun noodles, but shaped like udon. He used the recipe for beef with black bean paste chow fun from The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, which involves less total grease consumption than your average chinese restaurant version of the dish, and also more overall flavor. Connie's trick for the noodles - don't futz with them. Just let them do their thing (at the right temperature, of course) and eventually they'll become crispy, without soaking up too much oil...
Side dish - long beans with red bell peppers. A simple accompaniment (also from The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen) long beans, in 2 inch pieces, sauted, then steam cooked for 3 minutes, then tossed with the bell peppers for a minute.
Thoughts - the rice noodles were definitely an acceptable substitute. Getting the pan a little hotter before adding the noodles might help get the noodles crisp quicker, leaving them more intact. The long beans could use a little more searing. And my show off flip needs a little work - I sent a few pieces of long bean flying from the stove...

Tomatina

2003-12-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

Tomatina serves a decent pizza. It's not fancy, it's not "Pizza Antica" more rustic than thou... they come very close to the real thing. The crust isn't made with 00 Italian flour (I asked - they said Gold Super Leavened?), and is a bit more robust than your average Italian pizza. It's nicely blistered, with high edges, beatifully browned and with flavor to match. The dough's not crisp, either. The sauce is simple and nicely tomatoey. The only thing wrong with it? The cheese. First - add the Parmagiano *after* it comes out of the oven. Otherwise it just becomes a salty oily mess. Secondly, the odd buttery smell that accompanied the pizza - we thought it was the mozzarella.
Thoughts - next time, we're going to ask them to put only fresh mozzarella on the pizza. We know they have it - it's in one of the bruschettas... I'll update it if works.
Still - a very good pizza at a very reasonable price.

Turkey Fried Rice

2003-12-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

This is best with the leftovers from the leg and wing parts, darker meat and with more skin/meat ratio.
Dice coarse- turkey, parsnips. Dice fine - garlic, ginger. Slice fine - green onion. Mix sauce - 1/2 tbsp dark soy, 1/2 tbsp light soy, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 2 large pinches of salt. 2 eggs, beaten. 2 cups rice. A few shrimp, marinated in oil, salt, pepper and a little lemon.
Cook the rice with a little less water than usual to yield a drier product.
Heat a wok, on high heat, to beyond smoking point of your oil.
Add 2 tbsp oil, shrimp. Stir and remove shrimp to a holding area after 30 sec.
Add garlic, ginger, stir, then add eggs. Stir to break up eggs, letting them form a light crumb. Add green onions. Add mixture to the shrimp in holding area.
Add turkey, parsnips. Cover and let cook for a minute to let the parsnips just soften.
Add rice, stir.
Add sauce, stir.
Add shrimp/egg mixture, add a touch of sesame oil, black pepper, white pepper, szechuan pepper, salt to taste.
Stir, serve.
Thoughts - turkey and parsnips work really well in fried rice.
Somehow, I cooked the shrimp too long (about 1.5 min?) 30 seconds should be about right, since it will continue to cook in the holding area.

Back to blogging

2003-12-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

After a little hiatus for homework, I'm back to blogging. Some backlog from the past many weeks... Thanksgiving turkey, of course. Chard and feta pie that Connie made... Superbowl and Pho To Chau, new Pho places (at least, new to me). Crab crab crab, mango ice cream. And from last night - Turkey Fried Rice.

Andy's Sushi Recommendations

2003-11-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

Andy says - "When I first moved here I was working in Cupertino and went to Ikenohana with head sushi chef Howard. Who later opened Kitcho, also in Cupertino. But the quality for price wasn't that great so I stopped going there. My favorite sushi restaurant in Cupertino is Sushi Kuni on De Anza south of Stevens Creek. It's authentic Japanese Sushi and Cuisine with Kunio and Steve. In Santa Clara, I frequented Sushi O Sushi at El Camino and Bowers. This is a Korean run Japanese restaurant that has big portions and excellent fish. The owner, Sam, is a great guy but also Chris was my main Sushi chef. Later Chris opened up his own restaurant in Campbell, called TGI Sushi near Hamilton and Winchester. Chris always makes the atmosphere lively and carries over the traditions from Sushi O. 2 years after opening that restaurant, Chris opened up his second TGI, recently, in Mountain View at the end of California and San Antonio. Chris is making the second one more of a sports sushi bar - complete with plasma widescreen TVs showing various sporting events. And then in Mountain View I go to Yakko, also Korean run.
"Stay away from (in general) Kaiten Sushi (revolving sushi) - because you never know how long the fish has been circling. But you can always get more fresh fish straight from the Sushi chefs at those restaurants. Such as Seito Sushi in Mountain View is pretty good for that style. I'd stay away from Miyake in general. I had some really bad fish there. I should have noticed something when I walked in and they scream "Irashaimase" (welcome) because like the advice of the ramen master in Tampopo, the overexuberance is usually covering up inferior quality.
"As for sushi ordering, order whatever you like - Maki (rolls) or Nigiri (standard 2 pc sushi) or even Hand rolls. But always be willing to try stuff you haven't had before. Also break away from the generic fish - e.g. Maguro (Tuna), Hamachi (Yellow Tail), Salmon. Try the fatty Toro (fatty Tuna) or Chu Toro. Try the Shiro Maguro (White/Albacore Tuna). Aji (Mackarel) and Tai (Red Snapper?) are other examples. If you want to be adventurous try the Ama Ebi (Sweet Shrimp) but only get it if they deep fry the head in the back to get the full experience. In general, any spicy Tuna roll or Spicy Scallops will be spicier in a Korean restaurant than a strictly Japanese one. If you're a super wimp like me be sure to let them know not to go too spicy. I'd also recommend the spicy scallops sushi style (not hand roll). The best ones I've had are at Sushi Kuni but so are TGI and Yakko. Also, just because you're at a Sushi restaurant don't stick to just sushi. Try some of the cooked fish from the kitchen. For example, I often get a hamachi kama (Yellowtail Jowls). Ask your sushi chef what's good. I find that the Korean Sushi chefs are more likely to say "everything's good" whereas the Japanese chefs will tell you specifically what's best that day.
"Also general faux pas is drowning your sushi in soy sauce. If you like at that way it's fine. In general the sauce is there to accent the fish. Dip the fish in the soy sauce. Turn your nigiri upside down so you can dip it in the soy sauce.
"Recommendations for people who don't eat fish - lunch bento boxes with chicken or beef - also unagi, anago, egg, shrimp (ebi), octopus (tako), squid (ika), spider rolls and other rolls... Tell your sushi chef what you can and can't eat and they'll make something for you.
"If you want to get the best service and cuts, you really need to meet the Head sushi chef, so if you can, always sit at the bar. Try to engage in conversation.
" Eating big rolls - it's not taboo to eat it as finger food. Also, I cut it up into parts with chopsticks and eat it in parts. However you get it into your mouth - that's fine.
"Unlike most people who go to sushi restaurants in the States, sake is usually never drunk hot. The only time you have hot sake is a. in the winter or b. if it's bad sake, to mask the bad quality. Once in a while try a nice premium sake which is served at room temperature or chilled. But most people can't afford to do that all the time because it is quality. For example a large of my favorite Sake at Sushi Kuni would run 27 dollars. You can also buy small sake bottles and the large bottle and whatever's left over the restaurant will keep for you for the next time you're there. Because of course you're a regular. Right?
"Some of my favorite Sakes are Hakkaisan, also Kubota and Otokoyama. The latter 2 you'll find at most Sushi restaurants that carry premium Sake. So far I've only seen Hakkaisan at Sushi Kuni. But Chris from TGI promises me he's hunting down Hakkaisan for me."

Penne with fennel, apple and spinach.

2003-11-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

Fry some chopped pancetta in a little olive oil to start. When lightly browned, add 1 bulb fennel, cut in half and then sliced. A couple of minutes later, when translucent, add 1 apple, cut into wedges and then sliced. A minute later, add about 3 cups of fresh baby spinach. As soon as it is wilted, add the pasta, stir and serve. Begin the sauce with 6-7 minutes on the timer, and with time it takes for the pan to heat up, sauce and pasta should be done at the same time.

Pao!

2003-11-03T00:19:00.000-08:00

No, not preceded by Kung. This is Portuguese Pao, crusty as the "Brun" Pao sold in the Irani Bakeries of Mumbai. From the cookbook "Portuguese Homestyle Cooking" by Ana Patuleia Ortins. Don't be fooled by the title, this is homestyle cooking if you own a bakery and have a smoker in your backyard the size of a small hut. Unlike the sausage, the bread was doable in my kitchen - there were 2 tricks - a preferment and a couple of eggs worth of egg whites added to the final dough. The pao were delicious. We ate them with hamburgers, for which they were a wee bit too crusty. Still anything to avoid those store bought burger buns.
While we were doing the burgers we also cooked up some corn. As per The New Joy of Cooking, we soaked the corn in cool water for about 45 minutes before cooking. We placed the corn directly on the coal grate, on the edges, around the coals. They cooked while the burgers were cooking, then I took the top grate off and rolled them around to help them cook a little more evenly. This turned out to be important - I missed one and it was undercooked on one side. Next time, perhaps just place the corns on the coals directly after the burgers are done?

Latkes and Quick Apple-Pear sauce

2003-11-03T00:06:00.000-08:00

Latkes - 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and grated. 2 small shallots, peeled and grated into the potatoes. Put the potatoes and shallots in a cheesecloth, salt lightly and wring out as much free moisture as possible. Then redistribute and squeeze some more.
Add 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour, 1 of white allpurpose, some salt, pepper, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 eggs, stir to coat the potatoes evenly.
Peel, core and slice 1 pear and 1 apple. Place in a small saucepan on high heat. When "boiling", turn down to medium low, and mash a bit with a spoon. Serve when the latkes are done.
To cook the latkes - heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a large skillet to 300-325 F. Form the potato mixture into medium balls - you should have 5-6. Roll/Flatten in some flour on a plate, then place in the olive oil and flatten some more. They should end up around 1/2 inch thick.
The latkes were done when they reached an internal temperature of 180F. By this temperature, eggs are almost always solid. So it's a pretty safe temperature to go by when cooking things that are bound by egg.
Thoughts - not the most delicate latkes, but not the worst I've had by a long shot. The apple-pear sauce, born of necessity (it was the last apple we had) turned out to be quite adequate.

Delfina

2003-10-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

Ah Delfina. It is the most reasonable of places. And Italian food might be the most reasonable of cuisines. Not that Italian food isn't passionate, or that the restaurant isn't attentive to detail. They are, but with an attitude that doesn't feel obsessive. Here, things just make sense. And that, in spite of the noise and the crowded tables, makes this one of the most romantic dinners in San Francisco.
We started off sharing carpaccio. Interestingly, it wasn't all about the beef. If anything, I'd say it was a dish about the radicchio and salt packed capers. I have to buy some of those latter the next time I buy my anchovies... The beef was mainly a textural contrast to the radicchio, and it's mellow meaty flavor a baseline to the capers and radicchio. Now, I know that carpaccio isn't something I'd try at home. But capers and radicchio, though - that's an invaluable combination.
We passed over the salads. Prosecco (a darn sight cheaper than on the Piazza San Marco) and Peach bellini with the appetizer. Both were a bit sweet as apertifs - though the bellini was a lot less sweet than it could have been, nicely restrained.
Connie had, as her primi the Spinach fazzoletti with Bolognese sauce, with a glass of Da Vero "Pollo Rosso", a fruity red. The fazzoletti had me envious - thick sheets of (I think fresh?) spinach pasta, with a luscious chew, thick enough to stand up to the meat sauce and melted cheese. I ordered the tripe - alla Fiorentina - intense in both texture and flavor. This is one dish I regretted not trying in Florence, and based on how beautifully it went with my Montepulciano I'd say this is exactly the way it should be. This dish had the smallest of croutons - or the largest of breadcrumbs, toasted crisp (probably in a pan) for just the most delicate contrast to the texture of the tripe.
Connie's secondi - Tuscan spare ribs. These had a delicate, smoky rub (smoky in part from a long stint in an oven, I'm sure) and had just the right bite. The polenta with it was just a bit too cheese, in my opinion, but that's an easy thing to forgive. I had the Maine merluzzo in brodo with Sicilian cous cous. The cous cous was a most interesting thing. It consisted of rather large "grain" which had a texture more like tapioca balls than cous cous. The fish was star here - with a salty fennel rub that cooked to a crust while protecting the juicy pearly white flesh. A glass of Friulano (Bastianich, Tocai 'Plus' 2000) managed to enhance the fish without clashing with the tomato based brodo, which was quite artful.
And at last, dessert. Quince Spice Cake, for Connie - rustic in texture, chewy edges, soft warm quince in the middle. I had cheese, as I usually do in this sort of situation - a blue. On the menu this time was Moncensio, a Piemontese cow's milk blue that had more substance than the standard Gorgonzola, cut to reveal beautiful blue/green striations. Over it was strewn a vin santo gelatina - a jello, basically - that almost rendered the vin santo we were drinking superfluous. Almost but not quite.
The bread, even, was perfect - a country loaf from Tartine - chewy crust, moist and incredibly open crumb, along with a bit of Acme baquette.
Thoughts - tripe - no, can I? really? at home? Moncenisio, the next time I want an interesting blue... got to look into that Sicilian cous cous...
But mostly - Delfina is just a wonderful little place. A neighborhood eatery worth the trip from almost any other in the Bay Area. Trust me, it'll seem reasonable.

stovetop rice breakthrough!

2003-10-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

i was inspired by the discussion of the zojirushi on the egullet forums to try something different. i usually cook aged basmati rice. my usual method is to wash thoroughly, add water to rice in a ratio of 1.8 to 1, crank heat to maximum possible, bring to boil, add salt, then turn heat down to a gentle simmer for exactly 15 minutes. it's key not to lift the lid at all during the entire cooking and for at least 10 minutes after the rice is done - the water and steam are still working their magic with the rice. then i fluff the rice, mostly to enjoy the basmati fragrance.

the breakthrough? let the rice soak in the water for about 15 minutes before switching heat on, then bringing the rice to a boil over medium heat. this adds around 25 minutes to the whole cook time, for a total of 40 minutes, plus 10 minutes of rest after the cooking's done.

almost every bag of rice needs to be understood - the differences between brands of the same kind of rice can be quite considerable, and i would definitely expect to experiment a bit with this formula before expecting to get it right for jasmine rice, for example. in my experience average priced jasmine (and younger rice in general) requires less water, so i'd start without the soak and with maybe 1.6 cups of water for every cup of rice. figure out your experiment and go with it - don't try to fix it with a few minutes left on the clock, because therein lies the way of complete disaster...

Yes you can have too much smoke - Hickory smoked chicken

2003-10-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

The chicken - an unassuming 3.5 pound Rosie, organic, free range. I chopped some onion, an apple (Jonagold) a turnip, some pancetta, seasoned them, and stuffed it in the cavity. I rubbed some lime and cayenne on the outside. Then onto the grill it went, under which there were around 3 cups of hickory chips, smouldering heavily in the heat of charcoal. Actually, the fire wasn't directly under it - rather, there was a pan under the chicken, and the coals (and Hickory) were banked on the sides of the Weber kettle.
The positives - the chicken was brilliantly tender. The stuffing was - quite nice. The negative - the skin was an inedible combination of smoky and spicy, a searingly bad combination. The fact that the meat was still edible at all points to the resilience of the technique...
I'll have to try it again. And remember, that hickory is a lot stronger than cherry.

Can't have too much smoke - hamburgers

2003-10-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

We set up the grill, a cute little Weber Gold Black unit with funky ash sweeping blades. Bought the requisite grilling additions - chimney, brush (Grill Wizard, as per suggestion of Cooks Illustrated) coal (lump charcoal, which is looks less like a lump than regular charcoal) and wood chips.
For the first use, and my first real chargrilling experience ever, we decided on hamburgers. So we bought meat - organic ground beef, chuck (85% fat). Tomatoes - these late summer deep red spheres that taste almost as concentrated as ketchup. And red onions.
5oz is supposed to be the perfect size for a hamburger patty. We ended up with close to that, 4.9 oz each. Into the meat went some salt and pepper.
I started up the coals. Tried 1 sheet of newspaper under the chimney - not strong enough. 2 sheets was perfect, and in 20 minutes the chimney was glowing red, the coals inside had the requisite fine layer of white ash. During those same 20 minutes I soaked 2-3 cups of cherry woodchips in water. First I spread the coals on the bottom rack of the grill, then I added the woodchips. I was somewhat concerned that the chips would put out the fire - they didn't. Then I was concerned that the chips would burn - they're supposed to just smoulder - but the Weber lid took care of that.
I rolled the burger patties in a little seasalt, flattened them to 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch thick, made a little indentation in the middle to reduce the bulging (as per trick related in Cooks Illustrated) and laid them on the grill). 3 minutes later, I turned them over. I had the lid off for a while, and the woodchips started to catch on fire. Putting the lid back on immediately brought the flames back under control. 4 minutes later, burgers were done.
Condiments - I liked the tomatoes being small, I got 4 bite sized slices in each bun. The onion I actually cut in half before I sliced fine - an accident really, but when biting into the burger I realized that while whole onion slices photograph really well, I really don't like it when you take your second bite into burger (the first one where you really get into the meat and condiments) and you get the entire slice of onion or tomato into your mouth. You're forced into either eating the whole thing or makeing a gentle sawing motion to try to get only the part of onion that is proportioned to your bite. Halve your rings, or better yet, quarter them - and that is a thing of the past. The buns - we tried these Acme Bread buns, which were rather like flat round foccacia. Not the best, but better than the usual squishy burger bun, which was clearly inadequate for these burgers.
7 minutes is all it took to grill the burgers. This got them to 140F medium state. They were a beautiful orange brown coming off the grill, which I attributed to the cherry. They weren't marked especially well from the grill - they were nicely seared from the heat of the coals, though. I let them rest for a few minutes, then we dug into the burgers.
Results, thoughts - these burgers were so good I can't imagine what was going on in the burger experiences I've had in the past. Having the coals really hot, and using the lid appear to be keys to the perfect burger. Also, the smoke seems really awry, but it is key to the flavor of the burgers. This means that if we ever have a BBQ party I'm going to have to really control access to the grill... worse yet, with the smoke pouring out, everyone's going to think it's out of control. Most every place I've been to had an open grill with people constantly futzing with whatever they had an interest in - none of that. Fortunately, the burgers will be worth it.

Charulata

2003-10-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Bengali food. I'd be hard pressed to complain even if it weren't good - I've been whining long enough for more regional Indian food in restaurants in the US - but oh, it is good. We went for the special lunch buffet, which had a full complement of vegetables and meat, fish and eggs. I'd guess that the lunch buffet is very similar, except it is on weekdays. Though the dishes do have that thing that happens to good food when it meets a chafing dish, the meal still evoked a lot of the flavors of the meals I invited myself to at my Bengali friends places... Love the fact that all the meat and fish is cooked "bone in"... it's diner beware here, and that's for the best. Is there any other way to eat catfish cooked in mustard oil? The real winners are the vegetables - a good half dozen varieties, each cooked specifically in the Bengali style. Topped off with rasgullas, of course.

Broiled pork chops

2003-10-14T23:04:00.000-07:00

Brined the pork chops in salt, sugar, apple cider vinegar and water, spiced with chiles and dried thyme.
Placed the chops after rinsing in a hot skillet. 2 minutes later, flipped to the other side, added sliced apples, then placed under a broiler (4 inches from flame) to finish.
That's a mistake right there - what I accomplished was to broil the side I'd already cooked, letting the uncooked surface just warm on the pan. So then I had to flip it to the other side and get it browned... overall, it got slightly overcooked before it looked right, and the apples were slightly blackened at the edges.
Plan for next time - drop the chops in the pan, sear for 3 minutes, add apples, then add directly to the over for 6 minutes and call it done. Perhaps a little calvados too? Must... resist... tinkering...

Turkey Kheema, Cauliflower and Rice

2003-10-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

Connie made her Cauliflower dish, based on the recipe in Madhur Jaffrey - she has it down now. I had some problems with the turkey. I was trying a somewhat improvised dish. Started with a whole garam masala - a cinnamon stick, a couple cardamons pods, a couple of cloves, a couple of white peppers sauted in ghee. Then I added the onions, sauted them till translucent, then green chiles and the turkey, expecting that after a quick saute it would start to brown, then I could add other things. It never happened. The turkey managed to release copious quantities of water through the entire time I was cooking it, ceasing only at the end.
Thoughts - 1. use real garlic and ginger, rather than the pastes, to marinate the turkey
2. cook on a flat saute pan, rather than a kadhai
3. stick with mutton/beef?

Apple Pie!

2003-10-13T01:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you don't want flash baking, you don't want fancy lattice work, you don't want King Arthur's fancy techniques. You want a simple, old fashioned, high in the middle pie with a bunch of delicious apple. Connie's apple pie, based on the Cooks Illustrated she made with Jonagold and Fuji apples, with a Gala thrown in for good measure. Copious apple (8 cups) sliced thick (1/2 inch slices), copious crust, generously buttery (1/2 butter 1/2 shortening). 425 F oven.
The bottom crust ended up actually being nice and flaky on the outside in spite of the lack of flash baking. The inside formed a cooked but slightly soggy comforting addition to the pie. We couldn't wait the requested 4 hours, and dug into the hot pie right away... and of course, had to deal with all the juices rushing out. Connie bailed out the liquid and that tactic was very successful - the pie kept it's flaky texture till well over 48 hours later.

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

2003-10-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

The gnocchi -
1 russet potato, boiled (and still warm)
200 g all purpose flour.
About 2 tbsp olive oil.
Mix together, knead gently for a couple of minutes till just even in consistency. Roll into 1/2 inch dowels, slice 1/4 inch thick coins off the end, and use your thumb or finger to create a little sauce catching dimple in each one.
The sauce - saute one small onion, in large dice and 2 whole garlic cloves for a few minutes, then add 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes. Add a handful of fresh herbs - basil, oregano, thyme - and let cook for 30 min. Then run through a food mill, medium disk and return to the pan - the texture of the milled sauce is remarkable.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt like you would for pasta, then add gnocchi. Gnocchi are done about 30 seconds after they rise to the top of the water... scoop them out and add to the sauce. Garnish with more herbs (basil, if you have it) and serve.
Thoughts - a different kind of gnocchi, a touch firmer without the egg. With deep dimples they really do carry a lot of the sauce... so the longer you can simmer the sauce, the better. The sauce on this is very loose, though.
Recipe based on "Mario Eats Italy" - episode "Come to Sorrento".

Spaghetti with Meatballs

2003-10-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

The meatballs -
1 lb ground beef
2 salt packed anchovies, soaked in water, filleted and chopped.
2 garlic cloves
1 sourdough roll, sliced and soaked in milk
1 egg
Season the beef with salt and pepper, then add the anchovies, sliced garlic, and shred the bread into the mixture. Work for about a minute to get a fairly uniform mixture.
Pan fry in a skillet, making sure to brown all sides thoroughly. Remove from skillet, refresh the oil, and use an onion in fine dice to pick up the browned bits of the meatballs. Add 28 oz tomatoes, from can, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add the meatballs back in and braise for 20-30 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti.
Thoughts - there were still some bits of kind of milky bread in the meatballs - should probably shred finer. And the garlic could be finely chopped too... But as it was, the meatballs had a rustic charm. Of course, in Italy you wouldn't serve meatballs with spaghetti... There are many different nostalgias that this recipe draws on...

Saravana Bhavan

2003-10-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

And it was good.

Fried Chicken, Corn Muffins, Chocolate Domingo Cake. Punk food.

2003-10-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

Connie was chef for the night. She was somewhat disappointed in the fried chicken - she marinated it overnight, in yoghurt, which made for it to be very tender. But she changed her spice tactic, this time following AB and sprinkling it on right before frying. We both preferred the spice the marinade approach... The cornmeal in the flour was a good idea though, gave the final product a pleasant crunch.
The corn muffins were from Cooks Illustrated - excellent, as usual. Connie was a touch unhappy with them, since this time she'd changed the way she measured ingredients (this time she weighed them). They weren't quite as good as the previous recipe... but then, it's hard to replicate that first time magic.

Dishdash

2003-10-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

Dishdash is the sort of restaurant where the waitress is willing to let you know when you're choosing something you might not like. It's a good thing because there's a lot there is to like. The appetizer - warm pita with an oily spicy green mess - actually does whet the appetite. The lamb shank with okra was braised to falling off the bone perfection. Fact is - I'm a sucker for lamb shank, but this was really good. Add that to the list of dishes to learn to cook... The cardamon loaded Turkish coffee is a good way to end the meal, I certainly recommend it. It's not the sort of coffee you can have dessert with, so I'd go for it last. Or as we did today, instead of... it's certainly sweet/spicy enough to be a fitting end for a satisfying meal.

Zachary's Pizza

2003-10-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

We got a pizza that was supposed to be half bell pepper/onion, half sausage. They made it mostly veggie, and just sprinkled a little sausage on one half. Whoever did that knew what they were doing - the sausage is a disappointment. Much rather get one of these hefty beauties with just the veggies... the spinach slice I had at the Solano Stroll was excellent as well. These pies are certainly pies - I don't know if the dough is even yeasted, I don't think it is. But they certainly testify to the fact that you don't have to be DOCG to be good.

Guaymas!

2003-10-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

It's a bit of a hike to Tiburon, but it's almost worth it just for the duck sopes. The chalupas are terrific too. I have to try my hand at deep fried masa one of these days... These chalupas are rich in white - sour cream, chicken, onion. The sopes are richly flavored, though still quite light in their feel. Both went well with my Tequila which I sipped (I just don't believe in shots, unless you're drinking something too awful to savor. At $8 a pop, I savor). Then the tamales - I had just bite of one, a banana tamale, and it was just luscious. Why just one bite? because I ordered the grilled seafood platter, which though probably authentic (going by Diana Kennedy's snarky remark on the subject) was rather too overdone for my taste. So ignore all the chatter about Guaymas being a fishing town... stick to the tamales.

Pasta, Pizza

2003-10-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

Pasta - handmade tagliatelle with eggplant and anchovies. I broiled a large Japanese eggplant for around 20 minutes, and scraped out the flesh and sauted it with chopped anchovies in olive oil, then added in the cooked pasta. Thought the sauce was good, but subtle. Unfortunately I added too much pasta, and the pasta was slightly overcooked to boot. Oh well.
The Pizza - standard Margherita. The dough was left over from Sunday... the retardation in the fridge added to the flavor. I experimented with kneading the dough from the fridge and just putting it to rise directly - the latter turned out better. Also, tried to leave it in longer to get a more browned flavor... sadly, my oven just doesn't get hot enough to color it properly without converting the pizza into a cracker...
Dessert - Connie made chocolate cupcakes. The dough was a tad watery because she sifted the flour - what kind of cake doesn't require sifting flour? Interestingly, this lead to the cupcakes getting a little tough. Must remember that for next time.

Pasta with Anchovies and Cauliflower.

2003-10-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Pasta - Penne, this time without the ridges. The sauce - a small cauliflower, florets quartered. Flavored with salt packed anchovies, soaked in water for a bit (15 min is fine) to extract the salt.
I fillet the anchovies, and chop.
When there was around 6 min left on the pasta timer, I started heating the pan. 4 min to go - some olive oil goes in, along with the anchovies. Keep the heat on medium, cook the anchovies in oil for about a minutes, then add cauliflower. Stir thoroughly, then add some water or wine - just a splash, to steam cook the cauliflower before the pasta is done. Mix the two together, and you're ready to go...

Pizza Antica

2003-10-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

Authentically Italian, they say, and it's not bad, for sure... they have the local Amici's beat in terms of the sauce and cheese, but the crust edges just aren't high enough, and the overall feel just isn't hearty and elemental enough to warrant the trip to Santana Row. If you're already there? Sure, stop by. Of course, we ate the margherita pizza, which is the standard by which all pizza avowedly in the neopolitan style must be judged.
And if you are there anyway, get your cafe fix across the street at Cocola. The croissants aren't worth your while, but the mini cake/mousse things are a pleasant trifle.

Sushi Maru

2003-10-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

Saba Shioyaki - three enormous luscious pieces of grilled mackarel. Correctly cooked fragrant japanese rice. A little salad, a little dressing. So the dressing is a bit too sweet. Altogether, a very reasonably priced lunch.

Short Ribs with Beets and Turnips

2003-10-02T23:46:00.000-07:00

These are beef short ribs, of course, and cut lengthwise rather than across the bone. Connie roasts them for several hours, initially dry, with just a rub of garam masala and some spices over carrots and onions, later adding wine/stock/water, and finally, for the last hour adding beets and turnips. The ribs end up a deep deep brown, almost black with the wine. Given enough time it's delicious...

Jambalaya like substance

2003-09-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

I started off with a red onion, diced. Along with 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, I sauted the onion till it lost its edge. Then I added 2 cups of rice, and cooked them together on medium heat till the rice started sticking. Then, since I couldn't find the chicken stock, I opened a can of tomatoes and added them to the rice. I added salt and stirred. By the time it was dry, I had found the can of stock, and I added that. I added about 1/4 tsp of cumin, less of coriander, a pinch of dried oregano. Then I added 2 cups of water and let it cook, covering with a lid.
In another pan, I pan fried okra and added salt and cayenne. I fried them at a high temperature to get them crisp. Then I added a bell pepper, diced, then a couple of louisiana hot links, sliced. When the rice was almost cooked I added the vegetable/sausage mixture, then added some cooked shrimp to the rice. I stirred, covered, and let the rice complete cooking. When it was done, I turned the heat off and let it sit, covered, for a few minutes.
Thoughts - the chicken/tomato combination ended up surprisingly wholesome tasting. The cayenne from the okra and the spice from the hotlinks was more than enough to keep the jambalaya well spiced. Adding the spices directly to the wet rice was an odd touch, so I kept it to a minimum. The cumin did give the dish what Diana Kennedy calls a "sweaty" taste - but faint enough that it was still pleasant.

Quiche

2003-09-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

The crust -
5oz Giustos Unbleached Hi Performer
4oz Butter
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Use the food processor for this one, pulse till it forms small grains of butter, then add 2 tbsps cold water. Roll the batter into a ball, refrigerate so it's firm enough to roll (15 minutes).
Roll the dough out, place in pan, prick with a fork and bake in 425 F oven with foil and weights till the bottom is dry. This is actually rather annoyingly hard, because you can't actually see the bottom till you pull it out of the oven and remove the weights. I tried around 10 minutes, which was short... next time I'd try around 15.
The filling - saute 2 leeks, sliced, with about 1/3 lb of mushrooms, add salt and pepper and fresh thyme. Place in pan and sprinkle some cubed baby swiss over it. Beat together 6 eggs and 2 cups of dairy... I used 1 cup milk and 1 cup of this very heavy industrial whipping cream I got my hands on. Add a touch of nutmeg and salt.
Pepper the crust, add the filling, and pour in the custard. Bake at 300-325, really low to avoid the tragedy of egg coagulation... at least, this is the fear that Alton Brown put in me. Take it out when the center is still not quite set, but is close - internal temperature of around 165 F. The temp will rise outside the over to around 175F, but it should stay together.
Thoughts - the bottom crust could have used more browning, but turned out acceptably anyway. The egg ended up just set - only the edges were browned. The color of the top was more akin to a french omelette rather than the well browned frittata that store bought quiche is usually. This could probably be fixed with a flash of the broiler, but it worked out quite acceptably for me...

Pizza Margherita

2003-09-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

The Gemelli Pizza, as noted in Artisan Baking. I sped it up a bit - here's what we had today.
500g Giustos Unbleached Hi Performer
1.5 tsps yeast
1.5 cups warm water
2 tsps salt
Mix on medium in stand mixer (or by hand) till the dough comes together, let stand for 15 minutes, then mix till very well kneaded, smooth and elastic. If kneading in mixer, finish by hand with a little bench flour to get a very smooth surface. Cut into 4 equal pieces, knead into tight balls and lightly flour them.
Place in a lightly floured pan and cover gently with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1.5 hours. The balls will soak up the flour and gently stick to the wrap. This is better than the alternative - the balls easily form a crust. If this happens, there's pretty much nothing you can do about it, short of cutting off the dry bits.
Preheat the over, with stone in it, at the hottest temperature your oven can reach. Mine was at 550F today. I try not to keep it that hot for too long... but remember, it does take some time for the stone to actually get to the temperature that the oven says it is. So I only start rolling out the dough when the oven registers the final temperature.
The sauce - S & M tomatoes , a clove of garlic, a sprinkle of red chilli flakes, a handful of oregano and thyme from the garden, salt and pepper, and a touch of olive oil. Stir together.
The cheese - fresh mozarella, to taste.
Roll out the pizza gently, preferably with your hands to try not to lose all that air in the dough. I used a pin, for part of the way. The dough to ease gently into a pizza about a foot in diameter. Leave the dough a little thicker around the edges to get that high crust... Sprinkle a little semolina on a wooden peel (the large flat object you'll use to get your pizza into the oven), place the pizza dough over it, then add sauce and cheese.
Bake till edges color, approx. 6 minutes. The idea is to cook the dough and flavor it, but not to get it crisp.
Garnish with basil chiffonade.
2 hours and 15 minutes, it's the quickest truly neopolitan pizza I know how to make.
Thoughts - I love that flour. Just sinking your fingers in it is a sensual experience... And it has really nice wheat flavor. We stay quite near Giustos, so I have to believe that we're getting some of the freshest milled flour you can get in the Bay Area. We buy ours at The Milk Pail.
2 cloves of garlic is too strong, one clove is quite strong enough... use half a clove if you like your garlic subtle... It gets just barely cooked, so chop it fine.
Didn't do the final basil chiffonade today, forgot to pluck it from the garden in time. I'll do that with the leftover basil tomorrow... Speaking of which... perennial basil is a Good Thing. Consider growing some in your garden...

Seafood Stock

2003-09-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

The shells and leftovers from the big seafood dinner went into a pot, with a bunch of water, and one and a half onions, chopped. I brought it to a boil, and then simmered for around 4 hours, then strained and refrigerated overnight. This morning I reduced it to a few cups, and put it in an ice-cube tray. All that seafood went to the making of just about 24 cubes... I wish I could note how they taste, but now our entire apartment is infused with the aroma of boiling crustacean, I can't really tell. I'll let you know when I use them...

Clam Bake

2003-09-27T23:26:00.000-07:00

The Phillips Clam Bake for Two... Just the perfect insane amount of seafood for 2 people. Apparently they were out of clams, so there weren't in fact any clams in our clam bake. But there were - 2 exquisite maine lobsters, more crab legs than we could shake a mallet at, prawns, mussels, potatoes and corn. I used a bottle of beer as the steaming liquid, adding a couple of cloves of garlic and some thyme and oregano that weren't in the instructions, but worked really well. Some of the mussels were a bit overcooked/gritty... the corn was terrible it arrived mushy and stayed that way. But the lobsters were dense and flavorful, the crabs delicate and sweet, and the prawns - steamed last, over the indirect heat that percolated through the other seafood, the prawns were perfectly succulent.
For dessert, Connie made a chocolate cake "Chocolate Domingo" - recipe from The Cake Bible. It's a cake in the classic mould - it has flour, crumb, isn't a fallen souffle, doesn't contain chocolate pudding, or any other gimmic. Except that it's sublime. There's really no other way to put it.

Kielbasa and Beets

2003-09-26T00:05:00.000-07:00

Connie made dinner - Beets, with greens. She baked the beets, individually wrapped in foil, sauted the greens (with copious oil and pepper) and sprinkled fried breadcrumbs and salt over them. Served with Saags Kielbasa and Fred's Horseradish Mustard... It's always a treat to have good beet greens, and I think baking is just perfect for beets, because it intensifies the flavors... the individual wrap kept them moister than usual, which I thought was an improvement on a good thing. Beets with horseradish... who would have thought it. Turns out - Deborah Madison. One of those things that just works.

Leftovers...

2003-09-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

It's not that I haven't been eating - but the approximately 9 pounds of meat we cooked in the Mexican meal have kept us in left overs. I saute'd some zucchini, and Connie's had the pork in sandwiches with cotija... but basically, it's been leftovers.
The chicken wasn't quite as green the day after, more nutty. The pork, however, did really well. The orange in the pork sauce lost none of its zing, and the pork is still tender and flavorful.

Mad Mexican Meal

2003-09-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

No, it wasn't the Mexican who was mad... it was us!
The menu (all recipes from The Art of Mexican Cooking: Traditional Mexican Cooking for Aficionados, except the dessert, from How to Cook Everything) -
Handmade tortillas
Grilled Nopales
Camarones Enchipotlados
Pollo En Mole Verde
Pierna de Puerco Estilo Aptzingan
Creme Brulee
And this is how it went.
Get back from last minute shopping. Connie gets started on the Creme Brulee.
Bittman is less than completely precise, which leads to a question and a problem. The question - what temperature should the cream be at when it goes into the eggs? The problem - he doesn't say you shouldn't be using an electric mixer while beating the eggs and (possibly more importantly) while adding the cream. Copious foam ensues, which causes problems in cooking (the foam insulates the custard, so it takes much longer) and final texture. Still - you can't go wrong with 6 egg yolks and a 2.5 cups of cream. Not too wrong, anyway.
Custard goes in the oven, I start on the Pork Leg. Which, according to Ms. Kennedy, is best replaced with a shoulder. Tomatoes go under the broiler, Guajillos go under boiling water. 15 minutes later, the guajillos are soft and ready to blend, and the tomato skins are blistered and blackening in parts (I turned the tomatoes once). Blend the sauce, rub it into the well pricked shoulder, add sliced orange, white onion and beer, and into the oven it goes. I put in a sheet of parchment paper between the dutch oven and the lid, but I'm not sure it did much.
Then start on the chicken. Breaking down a whole chicken is easy - especially if you don't care about leaving some extra bits in (a bit of pelvic bone still attached to the thigh? Sure!) I kept the backbone around, figuring it would add extra flavor.)
Chicken goes into water, onions, garlic, salt. Making some broth, cooking the chicken.
Toast sesame and pumkin seeds. Leave to cool.
Connie starts on the prawns, butterflying them and leaving them to marinate.
Start the chicken sauce. Brown the nut mixture (with a little of the chicken broth added) and blend the greens (with too much of the chicken broth added).
Interesting points - the use of lettuce in the green mixture, which adds a light freshness and a lot of green color. And 1.5 cups of broth is way too much for the amount of greens I have. The mixture, when I add it to the nuts, is soupy, and takes almost 30 min for the sauce to thicken enough so I'm comfortable adding the additional broth (I assumed the idea was to get the mixture to almost get dry - otherwise what was the point of waiting before adding the remaining broth?)
I clean the nopales, and cut "fingers" into the paddles, leaving them joined together at the base.
Connie starts on the shrimp, and I panic. I should have the tortillas going by now... I run to the store to buy some. Will the dinner collapse under the weight of its own complexity?
I get back in time, and Connie has somehow slowed down the cooking process of the shrimp. She finishes the dish, and we dig in to the shrimp on the (reheated) corn tortillas.
Heat up the grill, and toss on the cactus. A couple of minutes on each side, and the paddles have nice deep black criss-crossing marks on both sides, and the color gets a little darker and brownish. There's a little slime dripping from the sides of the "fingers". Move them to a cutting board, chop into squares, and they're ready to be served on tortillas. A little of the chipotle sauce from the prawns is a perfect addition.
The chicken goes into the sauce, cooks for 10 minutes, and we're ready to eat meat. The sauce is delicate and complex, nutty, but refreshing.
The pork is almost done, so I crank up the heat on it, and flip it over (since the part that was submerged in the beer is more cooked than the other half). The sauce isn't really reduced, so I don't bother with basting. 30 minutes later, the meat is browned nicely, so I remove it from the pan, remove the orange and onion slices, and reduce the sauce on a burner. Slice and then chop the pork, serve on tortillas with a little of the sauce, which is an intense combination of the chiles, orange juice, herbs, and pork.
We're almost stuffed, but there's always room for dessert!
Time to break out the blowtorch. Sprinkle (or pour) sugar over the cold custard, then Connie lets go with the blowtorch... and pretty soon we have crackly caramel candy to break into our rich custard dessert.
The only thing that really didn't work the whole meal? The Agua Fresca, from Libby/Kerns. Strawberry flavor - had a bouquet of High Fructose Corn Syrup, with a lingering finish of cough syrup... Save yourself the trouble, and go to a real Taqueria for your Refreshing Fruit Drink needs...

Spinach Sandwich

2003-09-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Connie made this delicious sandwich - goat cheese, caramelized onions, fresh heirloom tomato, and one whole bunch of spinach, sauted with garlic. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a dressing. The bread - Beckmann's finest, toasted.
Thoughts - half a bunch of spinach is a lot for a sandwich, and it was bursting with garlicky spinach flavor. The heirloom tomato was a bit drowned out in the mix... a little bacon might be a nice addition, though it wouldn't be quite so healthy then, I guess. Cooking note - I think it might work better to carmelize onions in a non-stick pan for this. The stainless steel does brown a little bit better, but then the browning compounds stick to the surface, and unless there's some deglazing to follow, what's the point of that? Just a theory, something to experiment with...

Rose International (Take Out)

2003-09-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

The problem with chicken kababs? Either they're dry or they're undercooked. Or (horrors) they're made from white meat, in which case they're possibly both, and flavorless to boot. Personally, I am fine with a little pink in the chicken... But I understand that a lot of people aren't. So we're left with the vagaries of chicken subjected to a high temperature. We tried the "Barg" this time, which is steak with near as I can tell the same marination as the chicken, with good results. The kubideh was the star, as usual... Moist, meaty, but not too strongly flavored with the lamb.
Lessons from the meal - Jalapenos don't get milder flavored as they get older! The grilled red jalapeno was truly painful

In-n-Out again...

2003-09-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I prefer regular, with onion, to "Animal" style. My problem - the place I go to usually burns the onions. Carmelized is good. Which would be fine on a medium rare burger, but that's not really an option here (no matter how fresh they claim their beef is, I still wouldn't do it).

Risi Bisi

2003-09-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

Rice and peas... with a little shrimp, as a twist. This is a risotto, so follow the standard risotto technique. Mince something onionlike - today, shallots and garlic. Gently saute in a mixture of oil and butter. I hear you shouldn't brown the butter or the aromatics, but I did both today, and liked the results. Then add in the Arborio rice, stir to mix and lower the temperature. The rice gets transparent on the outside, then translucent, and it starts to smell nicely fragrant. (This is when Connie starts nosing around the kitchen wondering what smells so good...) Then add a large splash of wine (maybe 1/4 -1/2 cup), cook it off. Salt to taste. Ladle in almost boiling water, one ladle at a time, waiting till the previous water is evaporated before ladling some more. I added the frozen peas to the water, and so ended up ladling in the pea broth. When the peas were just cooked I moved them over to the rice, continuing the ladling process as before.
Today I stopped cooking at around 25 minutes, even though it wasn't yet al dente, and added some water, then let it sit for 5 minutes, cooking in its own heat. I used this time to saute some shrimp, then added some water to the shrimp to extract some of the flavor. I reduced this water and added it to the rice for a little additional flavor, and also to get a slightly soupy consistency. Serve the rice with the shrimp on top - sprinkle with salt, pepper, and drizzle a little olive over it all...
Thoughts - A touch of lemon zest would be interesting, and help bring the shrimp and peas together. Letting it sit off the flame for the last 5 minutes worked to avoid overcooking the risotto. Most recipes call for chicken stock in this sort of dish, but I really like letting the peas and rice be the main flavor. The most I'd do I think it to have a light shrimp broth, but I think the water does just fine.

Spice Islands Lunch

2003-09-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Tried the nasi lemak lunch - an assortment of strong and fresh flavors. A chicken curry, thick and intense. A boiled egg, elegantly cut to look like a mouse with long carrot tail. "Anchovies", more like smelt, salty and strong. Thick cucumber slices, minus seeds. A sweet/sour/salty pickle. Spice Islands has a ways to go before it rivals a hawker courtyard in Singapore, but at least in this lunch plate, it is closer than it's "fusion" afflicted rivals...

Pasta with tomato and mushrooms.

2003-09-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

The pasta - store bought dry egg fettucine noodle. Would probably have been better with fresh... but you don't always have the time or energy for fresh pasta.
The sauce - heat olive oil, add minced shallots and garlic, then rough cut trumpet mushrooms. Add more olive oil, and cook for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle in salt, pepper and fresh oregano, stir together. Add tomatoes (about equal in volume to the mushrooms) in this case - one very delicious heirloom tomato with a smooth fleshy texture, diced. Cook for about a minute, just enough to warm the tomato. Add cooked pasta, stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
A delicate dish, the tenderness and flavor of the egg pasta complement well the texture and flavor of the fresh tomato and mushroom. Once again I wonder how toasted breadcrumbs would work... one of these days I'll get around to actually doing it.

Fried Chicken

2003-09-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Connie made fried chicken with boiled potatoes.
Fried chicken - even with the instant read thermometer, we still don't get the temperature of oil quite right. 350F I think is perfect - I like the crust a little more brown than golden - but it is hard to manually fiddle the dial to keep it at that temperature, especially immediately after the chicken goes in. Choice of oil - peanut is traditional and better with a spicy chicken, olive oil is a bit of a treat and a subtle flavor for relatively bland chicken. Neither will burn at 350.
Connie used a mixture of Mombasa and Emeril's Cajun Essense (home mixed). She marinated the chicken in yoghurt mixed with the spices and salt. The dredge in flour (boosted with lot of black pepper and more salt). While Alton Brown frowns upon this use of spice in the flour (and it does result in the oil muddying sooner, I think) it does really good things for the flavor.
The potatoes - small red, simply boiled (for around 25 minutes) and sprinkled with butter salt and pepper.

Picante

2003-09-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

Picante - is a confusing beast. It's built like a taqueria, but a very very large one. You stand in line (a long line) read the menu, get up to the counter, stutter a bit while you make a final final decision because everything just seems so good.
And it is. The mole is chocolatey but balanced with a nice smoky chilli, the tortillas are made fresh and the taste is well worth it. The tamales are the essence of corn. The flan has really good texture, and made me question my commitment to dark caramel... though light, it had quite a satisfying bitterness. Even the tortilla chips, hot from the fryer with salsa or guacamole (though oddly not both) are special - hearty, thick chips with a very satisfying chew.
Things to try - that mole - oh yes, that mole. If tamales keep well they might make a really good lunch food. Likewise with "spanish rice" and refried beans... And once again, the "mexican" chillies here - anchos, pasillas, especially dried are such a revelation - I'm surprised that more people from other cuisines aren't yet exploiting them. A vindaloo with anchos - put that on the menu for next weekend!
Terrific restaurant - priced competitively with any hole in the wall Taqueria. Authentic? What it loses in scrappy, greasiness it makes up in fidelity to the recipe, impeccable ingredient authenticity. Now if only they offered a cabeza taco...

Mushroom Omelette

2003-09-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

3 shallots, minced. Fry till golden brown on medium high heat. Add 4 oz trumpet mushrooms, cut in meaty slices then rough chop. Cook till just softened and slightly browned. Add 4 eggs (mixed with salt and milk), initially stir vigorously, and let cook till bottom is slightly browned. I do the cowards flip - I slide the omelette onto a stockpot lid, then place the pan over the lid, and flip to get the omelette back in the pan. Brown the second side, then serve. Grace Baking's Pugliese made a nice accompaniment. I always feel like it could have been cooked longer - but I have to admit, Grace Baking bread has a lovely crumb, and excellent essence-of-wheat flavor.
I like the shallots in this omelette... But the omelette does seem a little lacking as a meal in itself. Perhaps a little parsley next time?

Embarassing

2003-09-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

In the Khichadi discussion, below, I didn't even know the right names of the daals - what I thought I had at home was in fact tuar/toor daal; this is definitely not a good choice for a khichadi. Instead, use the red lentil - musoor daal.

Konkani meal

2003-09-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

Rice, Dali Tuoy, Shrimp Ghashshi, Sprouted Moong Usal, Bhende Kaap. Recipes from Rasachandrika.
Rice - standard recipe.
Dali Tuoy - Tuar Daal (I know which one that is now), cooked with water 1:2 in a pressure cooker on low pressure for 15 minutes, with green chillies and a bit of ginger. Then add another portion of water, salt and the tadka... I forgot the tadka in the excitement at the end of the meal though... it was still quite good though.
Usal - Sprouted Moong beans, cooked with mustard seed, curry leaves, and a little water. Just before serving sprinkle a little chilli powder and salt/jaggary over it to accentuate the sweet flavor you get from cooking the moong adequately.
Kaap - cut off the ends of the okra (ladies fingers/bhende/bhendi) slit lengthwise, sprinkle salt, chilli powder and flour (I used Italian 00 wheat flour, recipe called for rice or jowar flour). I then let it sit for a while till the rest of the meal was ready... the okra exuded some juices, though, and got somewhat sticky, so I added more flour right before frying in hot peanut oil till brown. Perfect okra for people who don't like the sliminess of okra...
Ghashshi - Make a paste of coconut, red chillies, turmeric, coriander and onion. Fry with some finely chopped onion. Add the shrimp and cook...
The paste wasn't quite fine enough, should run it through the blender after the food processor next time. I need some sort of test to see whether it is acceptably smooth.
Also, need to cook the shrimp longer with the curry... but not overcook the shrimp. I think I'm going to try the Alton Brown trick of keeping the sauce at the final temperature of the shrimp, as though I were poaching the shrimp. Stay tuned... I like this dish, so have a vested interest in getting the technique down.

Char Siu Fried Rice

2003-09-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

This time I added a bit - some shrimp (strangely tasteless, should season and possibly "velvet" in shrimp stock before adding to rice) peas, a brunoise of carrots done mostly so I could practice my brunoise... And forgot a few things as well - pepper, white pepper, sesame oil. And the Char Siu... embarrasing, that. I did make a stock from the shrimp shells, and I added it to the rice... but that effort was mostly wasted. Recipe is based on Chinese Cooking Made Easy.

Beef Chow Fun

2003-09-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

Connie made Beef Chow Fun, I cooked string beans to accompany. Both recipes from The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen... Slices of Flank Steak (bought from a Chinese grocery because others seem to cut them too thin) and Chow Fun noodles (look more like a slab than noodles, you only see the cuts between the noodles up close). And copious black bean sauce. The beans were simple - fry the beans in oil for a minute, steam cook for 3 minutes, add julienned red bells, a little sugar and salt, and fry for another couple, till dry. I added a splash of soy.
The chief pleasures of the Chow Fun made at home - nicely browned noodles, plenty of good black bean flavor, and not having too much oil.

Multi-culti stir fry

2003-09-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

A quick mish-mash reminiscent of food at Synergy, the coop I used to live at when I was in school... except for the char siu... (Synergy was vegan/vegetarian). Heat the wok up to insanely hot and smokey, add the char siu (chinese barbeque pork) and olive oil, stir, add rough cut onions, ancho chillies, chopped garlic and ginger paste, stir, and sambal and hoisin sauce, stir, add soy sauce, stir, add broth, stir, add a bunch of kale (trimmed of the thick center ribs and chopped) and cook till broth is evaporated and kale is cooked. Serve with white rice.
The one good thing about this dish was the fresh ancho chillies, which I liked a lot more than simple green bell peppers. The flavor is more smoky and deep, though they aren't as juicy as bells. The sambal and hoisin were quite gratuitous... Without them, it might actually have been an interesting dinner.

Rack of Lamb!

2003-09-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

Connie made a rack of lamb (one was more than enough for us) - marinated with olive oil, thyme and rosemary. Five minutes on the grill-pan, fat side down got a nice deep brown crust on it. Then the other side for 10 minutes, and a 15 minute rest between 2 plates (the top one inverted over the other, of course). The fat did pool a bit in the middle of the grill pan an lead to a little frying that the rack could have done without... but otherwise, with a final little sprinkle of kosher salt it was perfect. Green beans to go with it... I tried a different tactic today, steam cooking the beans in a wok first, then adding salt, pepper and butter. The idea was to get a fresh butter flavor, rather than cooked. However, once again I misjudged how cooked the beans were (a good 8-10 minutes after they turn bright green seems to be about right) so I actually did cook for a few minutes with the butter to finish... And the results were quite nice. The butter solids still hadn't completely browned, and the butter flavor was still quite fresh. I'm on to something here, I think. Next time, I hope to get the butter in just long enough to flavor but not enough to soak and fry the beans.
Dessert - strawberries and peaches... rather, 1 peach that was as big as a softball. From the Milk Pail... get yours now, the flavor is everything a peach can be.

Brunch notes

2003-09-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

Blueberries - Julia's blueberry trick - she spreads dried fresh blueberries on a cookie sheet in the freezer, then, when they are frozen, she saves the individually frozen blueberries in a bag, frozen. Which avoids the twin evils of blueberry muffin making - crappy frozen supermarket bluberries, green muffins from fresh blueberries (and occasionally, green muffins from defrosted crappy supermarket blueberries).
Extra extra - Clover yoghurt is really really good. Edges out Pavels as my favorite yoghurt for eating straight - though low fat, it's got a really lush creamy texture... got to see how it does in food.

Pane al Latte e Cioccolata

2003-09-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

Another winner from Carol Field's The Italian Baker, from the chapter on slightly sweet breads. The Chocolate Bread is a rather rich chocolate, and is positively stuffed with chocolate chips from King Arthur Flour. I modified the Milk Bread slightly, bringing the temperature of all the milk above 180 degrees, to try to break down an enzyme in it that weakens the gluten structure. I modified the assembly as well, applying the technique the Carol Fields gives for the Pane Al Latte to the combination of the two. I cut the dough for both recipes into 20 parts each. Then I rolled the parts into "fingers" - small dowels. To assemble, on an oiled cookie sheet I placed 5 of these next to each other, alternating chocolate and milk dough, and then I pinched the ends together to form a circular, but still quite flat, loaf. I glazed these with egg white, so as not to obscure the vivid difference in color between the two types of dough (and also because I had only two eggs and the two recipes between them use one whole egg and one yolk). I baked the loaves at a compromise of temperatures - 425 F for the first 12 minutes, then 375 for around 8. At this point the loaves were moist and had a tender crust - it would certainly have been possible to get them more crusty.
Thoughts - Pretty successful. The chocolate dough is actually quite a bit denser than the milk, and I think I will try to get their textures closer together.
Also, while preparing the milk bread I had the idea for a saffron loaf, which would I'm sure be quite delicious.

Khichadi

2003-09-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Rice and Lentils... I'm really not sure what lentils I had, but I used them. Turns out they were the wrong kind, or at the very least, their cooking time was a good 10 minutes longer than the 15 minutes rice usually takes. This was a dry type khichadi, as opposed to the more common wet. I got the recipe from Rasachandrika. It's very simple, really - Heat a little ghee in a pot, add a couple of cloves, a small cinnamon stick, a few black peppers and a pinch of turmeric. Add a cup of washed rice and half a cup of lentils (tuar, or red lentils, preferably)... and cook for a couple of minutes, coating all the grains with the ghee and letting it get opaque, rather like the risotto... then add salt, 3 cups of water and simmer till done (should be pretty much like rice, about 15 min). In this case I think I had masoor dal, because it was definitely raw tasting when I was done... so I added some water, and simmered again, which meant that my rice was somewhat overcooked. Still, a little ghee and a lot of pickle and it was definitely edible. Comfort food.

Taqueria La Bamba

2003-09-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

Lunch at Taqueria La Bamba, off of Rengstorff on Old Middlefield in Mountain View. Surprisingly good burritos - they use the steamed tortilla method, which I much prefer to the grilled. I had delicately flavored tongue with very fresh tasting salsa. Nicely balanced quantities of rice and beans on there as well (yes, this is a Cali-Mex burrito). The orchata was surprisingly spicy with cinnamon and sweet, but still quite refreshing.

Fig and Pancetta Salad with Golden Beet Turnover

2003-09-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Slice an onion, and saute in olive oil till carmelized. I use a relatively high temperature, since I'm not going for french onion soup - I'd like to keep some of the onion texture. Add 2 medium sized beets, julienned. Add salt, raise temperature to high. When beets are starting to brown add 1/4 cup water and cook till once again dry. Remove from heat, cool.
Thaw, crimp, roll frozen puff pastry sheets, or follow whatever process you use to get them ready. I use Pepperidge Farm, since it's quick and easy. Quarter the sheet to get 6-8 inch squares, place the filling in the center of each square, fold over on the diagonal and crimp the edges together.
Bake at 400 degrees (Or whatever your pastry sheets say they should be cooked at - 400 F is traditional) for 20 minutes. Serve with a dollop of goat cheese.
Fig and Pancetta Salad - Heat some olive oil, add fine diced pancetta, cook till crisp. Then add halved figs, face down, and brown. Turn over, add some white wine and cook down. Add pancetta, and cook the sauce down to a syrup. Serve fig/pancetta mixture over a bed of arugula.
Thoughts - the plate with the two together was really pretty. Connie thought it was too much cooked stuff, and that the figs were too cooked, and I agree. Just the browning on the face would have been enough for the figs, and would have been enough to get some fig flavor into the sauce. I like the punchiness of pancetta with the fig, rather than the more traditional prosciutto... though I suppose that I shall have to try a salad of that too, just to be sure. The beet turnover - something about golden beets make them work especially well in this - the keep their crunch a lot better than the other beets. And goat cheese is just the perfect thing with any beet...

Leek Risotto with Trumpet Mushrooms

2003-09-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Leek risotto - saute 2 leeks, sliced, in brown butter. Add 8 oz risotto rice - I used arborio, but carnaroli or some other would do just fine. Stir for a few minutes, till the rice turns opaque. It starts out looking translucent around the edges, and these gradually fill in - also, the fragrance turns less raw. Add a little white wine - about 1/2 a cup. Cook on a gentle medium low (throughout the cooking process you should ideally see bubbles only when the liquid level is very low) for a few minutes, till the wine is all evaporated. Sprinkle a little salt and stir.
On another burner, pour out 1 can of water into a saucepan, toss in one whole peeled garlic, add around 3 cans of water and bring to a boil, then turn back to a simmer, so the stock is no longer close to boiling.
Once the wine has evaporated/soaked into the rice, start ladling in stock into the risotto. Stir every minute or so, and add additional stock only when the previous set has been soaked up (this does get more ambiguous as it gets more creamy, as it should). Start tasting after 25 minutes or so, and call it done as soon as you can eat a bit without actually tasting raw rice. Then add remaining stock as you need to thin it out.
When the risotto is close to done (at approx 25 minutes) saute a couple of chopped shallots in butter in a hot skillet, then add about 8 oz of fresh mushrooms, sliced. We had trumpets today, they worked out well. Slightly brown, so as to enhance, but not overpower the flavor.
Serve a pile of risotto (about 1/4 of the total) risotto on a place, top with 1/4 of the mushrooms. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the mushrooms while cooking, then again on the assembled dish.

Kheema cutlets with Fig salad

2003-09-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

Kheema cutlets - Dice 1 onion, slice one clove of garlic, saute in hot oil in skillet. When golden brown, add salt, spices. I used fresh sage, dry thyme, cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne, cumin, coriander and a pinch of mace, and right at the end a couple of tablespoons of ginger paste. Then add 1 pound of ground beef - I use regular as opposed to lean. Your choice, really. Add some raisins and chopped nuts. When the meat is cooked and the juices rendered have evaporated, remove to a mixing bowl and let cool.
Meanwhile, boil 1 large starchy potato (about 1/2 pound). Rice the potato into the meat mixture. Form into balls the size of a large lemon (I got 13 from this mixture).
Beat an egg, add a little milk and season with salt and pepper. Spread some fine semolina on a plate. Dip the meatballs in the egg, then roll in the semolina and pan fry in hot olive oil. Cook for a few minutes on each side, flattening while frying to get a crisp brown crust on both sides.
Fig salad - cut fresh figs in two lengthwise, and hollow the centers of each half out a little. Squeeze 1/2 tsp or so goat cheese onto each fig half, then press some crushed pine nuts into the cheese. Broil till the nuts turn a deeper brown and the cheese melts slightly. Serve over salad mix, drizzle over with a little good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar and grind fresh pepper over the salad to taste.
Thoughts - It worked out very nicely! I was lucky that the goat cheese we got came sealed in plastic, so getting the cheese on the figs was easy - I just made a hole in one corner of the pack and squeezed out as much as I needed. Otherwise, this is a bit of a pain. The semolina is different from the rava my Mom used to use for cutlets, but it worked out just as well. I was trying for a bit of a middle eastern flavor in the cutlets, I think the cumin and coriander detracted from that. Maybe drop those and add more cinnamon next time? These are pretty good though. And best part about it? Leftover cutlets are great in sandwiches...

2003-08-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

Became a member of eGullet yesterday! It's an awful name, and the logo is just terrible, but it's a good little community of food-geeks. A couple of people there recommended the Pork Store Cafe for brunch and it did not disappoint - the poached eggs were succulent, the pork chops were well browned and tasty... but nothing touches the biscuits (light, crumbly but not too much so, moist enough to eat even without butter) or the hash browns (the grated potato kind, with a loose light texture that belies the quantity of fat that probably goes into making it).

Sofiani Biryani, Naan, Prawns, Shrikhand

2003-08-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

Ah Biryani. Today's choice - the Sofiani Biryani, from Prashad, because I seem to have lost Mom's recipe. Biryani is quite simple overall - it's a closed casserole of rice and meat. The rice - boil in copious salted water, with black cumin, cloves, cinnamon, green and black cardamon. This isn't anything like the regular white rice recipe - you bring the water to a boil, add the spices, add the rice, and cook for just 7 minutes. Then drain the rice (I lost some of the cumin, but it was no great loss) and run some cold water through the rice to stop it from cooking any further. The chicken - in around 1/2 cup of ghee, in an ovenproof dutch oven, at medium heat fry an onion (sliced) till golden, with the same spices used for the rice. Add the meat (2-3 lbs, should form one layer in the dish) and fry a bit. Add 1/4 cup of garlic and ginger pastes, 2 tbsps of red chilli powder. Stir, fry a bit, till the moisture is all evaporated. Add a cup of yogurt, and about a teaspoon of saffron that's been soaked in some warm milk. Salt to taste. Following the recipe, I added water and proceeded to cook till about 3/4 done - but I believe this is a mistake, and the rice should just be added at this point. First sprinkle the chicken with cilantro and mint, then spread half the rice over it. Sprinkle more cilantro and mint over the rice, add some more saffron mixed with yoghurt and milk (make it pretty thin, so it easily mixes with the rice. If you feel like it, add some raisins at this point) Then cover with the remaining rice. Cover with a tight fitting lid. I made a stiff dough of whole wheat and white flours and water and ran this over the lip of the dutch over before pressing in the lid, to make an extra tight seal.
Then - into the oven at 375 degrees for 40 -50 minutes. Open, break the seal, eat!
Thoughts - the breast meat, particularly, was a bit dry. As I suggested, I think the pre-cooking of the meat isn't necessary at all. Otherwise, this is a very light, fragrant biryani, not especially spicy, but over all, quite delicious. The consistency of the rice is quite perfect - in fact, this might be a way to make rice like Chellokababi...
Naan. First time making it... 4 cups flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 3/4 cup water, 1 egg, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp milk, 3 tbsp yoghurt, salt to taste, oil to soften the dough. Knead till smooth, let rest for 2 hours, divide up into 6 balls, let rest for 5 minutes, flatten and bake on stone at 475 degrees (rather than the 375 degrees in the recipe).
Results - the bread still started getting crisp too soon, at 4 minutes, while it was still not dark brown on the bottom. Next time, I'll crank it up to 550 degrees, see if that helps. Also a bit lacking in the flavor department, a full tablespoon of salt next time, and perhaps black sesame like The Dhaba...
And Prawns, in a spicy ajwain flavored tomato sauce.
Connie made shrikhand - yoghurt reduced by straining it through muslin, mixed with sugar (1/2 cup for 3 lbs of yoghurt), saffron and green cardamon powder. Garnished with chopped pistachios. Connie's worked this out for the american palate, and I'm inclined to agree, though I like it a bit sweeter.
And fruit and cheese - not an Indian tradition, but perhaps it should be!

Simple Salad

2003-08-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

Simple salad, of a Nicoise nature. Baby spinach, oven roasted potatoes (little reds, drizzled with olive oil, crushed garlic, thyme, marjoram, and copious kosher salt), green beans (boiled and marinated in lime and olive oil with a little fresh tarragon), cherry tomatoes (almost as sweet as cherries...), slices of boiled egg (extra large, simmered for 12 minutes), anchovies (salt packed - filleted, soaked in milk to reduce the fishiness) and with a little vinaigrette of white vinegar, olive oil and mustard. Topped with a little more kosher salt and fresh pepper.
Thoughts - I love a simple salad. The pleasure in it is all in the combinations - anchovy and potato? egg and spinach? Just get it on the fork... I was amazed at the difference that Kosher salt makes, though. It was my first time using it... it's a very satisfying saltiness, and it clung to the roasting potatoes, rendering a very satifying potato skin. Can't wait to try it on steak... Perhaps tri-tip? Another ingredient I've never tried to cook with...

Pho Nam

2003-08-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

Pho Nam - this time the El Camino version, in Sunnyvale. I really like the pho there now - the saltiness of the stock has grown on me. Everytime I go to India I find the food just a bit salty, and then I get used to it... Maybe all those meals of forgetting to put salt in the food has finally got me trained to like less salt ... or maybe Americans just eat less salt in their food (and more on our snacks) than the rest of the world. The best part of the pho here, though, has to be the meat. Their cuts are just so pretty!

The Dhaba

2003-08-27T23:40:00.000-07:00

The Dhaba. It isn't a dhaba, really - it's more place to get a homey meal at a reasonable price. Dhabas in India are basically truck stop restaurants, but they invariably have brilliant flavors at very low prices, because they survive on their reputations and the competition is cutthroat. The dishes at "The Dhaba" can be categorized in 2 groups - those prepared to order and those that are served, cafetaria style, from vats behind the counter. Overall, the former (basically the parathas, nan and bhatura) have some of the spark of food from a real dhaba, the latter have a homey charm, but are often flawed - besides being lukewarm, the spices are often unbalanced. The vegetables are usually pleasantly overcooked. Overall, though I like the food, especially as an antidote to the Swagat swill. Even so, I usually stick to the parathas, hot off the griddle, and I usually ask for a second helping of pickle to go with it...
One really great idea they have is putting black sesame in the nan. I actually don't have a nan recipe, but I do have a good one for khameeri roti, so I'll have to try it in that...
Also, I tried their batata vada (potato fritter) which just made me miss the real thing more. I'll get to that as soon as I figure out how to make the pav to put it in.

Sa Wooei

2003-08-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

Sa Wooei (use the link, it has some good reviews, as well as details about what to order that we gratefully used). We did takeout, and we asked them to make all the dishes mild, so it wasn't a fair trial - but it was still extremely tasty - the mild Tom Yum Gai was just about the best I've ever had - 2 different kinds of mushrooms, 2 different kinds of ginger/galangal root, lemon grass, and who knows what other magic... Every dish showed a lot of potential. This is definitely a place I should return to - we have to experience it in its glory.

Penne with Broccoli

2003-08-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Penne with Broccoli. 3 anchovies, salt packed, rinse off the salt, fillet, and soak in water for a few minutes, then cut roughly. Add to hot olive oil, stir, then add broccoli and cover. Splash with white wine, when wine is all evaporated and broccoli is dark green (it takes a couple of minutes) add a touch of the pasta water, then the penne. Sprinkle with a pinch of red peppers, serve immediately.
Thoughts - anchovy's just a slight flavor component in this dish - just a slight salty smokiness, which is just perfect offsetting the slight sweet of the broccoli. It's a useful trick, in all sorts of food from potatoes to hamburger (which I've heard works well, but I haven't actually tried it myself).

Addis vs. Cafe Colucci

2003-08-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

Dinner - Addis. We had lamb sauted with onions, beef in berber sauce, lentils in berber sauce, and collards. The collards were a hit, as they always are. The other dishes were pretty standard. The Hakim stout was rather sweet, which I liked with the meal. Connie thought it was a bit greasier than Cafe Colucci, and I'd have to agree. Was it better? It's been far too long since I've been to Cafe Colucci, I'll have to eat there again soon before I can render my verdict...

Jasmine Tea House

2003-08-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

Lunch - Jasmine Tea House. I'm no authority on Mandarin food. In fact, I'm not an authority on food at all, and nor am I aiming to be, I'm just trying to be a more thoughtful consumer and chef. But this was very good, refined eating, at a neighborhood eatery well beloved, and frequented by the neighborhood. And ex-prez Bill Clinton, so the story goes.
We started off with tea, of course. A Jasmine Tea, but made unique by the addition of a darker tea, (to my palate) semi-fermented... The duck soup was mellow, nourishing. The dried strands of duck unnecessary... but I could see that they might have complaints without it. The julienned zucchinis, carrots and snow peas were appropriately crunchy. We enjoyed the green onion pancake, and both Connie and I thought it was the most refined version we'd eaten. It was also the smallest, and that might have contributed to the impression. We had ribs (less overpoweringly flavored than the color would suggest, gently meaty), Mandarin Clay Pot (actually metal, one of the few versions that actually brought a myriad flavors together into any sort of coherent whole), braised eel (tiny eels in a slightly sweet sauce) and Mandarin Lamb (with caramel and black bean (?) flavors, the strongest flavored of the dishes).
On the whole, a meal happily devoid of unnecessary red chillies, devoted to balanced, subtle flavors.

Mexican! Chicken Adobo and Nopales...

2003-08-23T23:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our first time making Mexican food. We looked to Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz for our education, since we have no experience cooking it at all (other than mangled quesedillas in college) and since Rick Bayless is just so hard to watch. The book - "The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking" (though ours is the first edition, from 1967) - appears to be the work of a dedicated, thoughtful cook, noting what she thought was important, often what her interlocutor, possibly a friend, possibly a nopales vendor at the market, thought was important. She is never clearer than she should be, and that is a virtue.
The menu - Chicken adobo, Nopales con queso, Flan. We decided to eat bread instead of the more traditional tortillas, considering that we had freshly baked bread available, and bread has been in Mexico almost as long as corn has been in Italy...
Connie made the chicken adobo, which in Ortiz' version has a sauce flavored primarily with ancho chillies. Anchos are an almost purple chili, thick and lush and glistening in their dried state. Trimmed and resuscitated for an hour in warm water, they have a spicy smoky scent. The chicken is pretty easy, altogether. Pan fry the chicken (Connie used thighs) in olive oil till brown, then take them out of the pan. Make a paste of onions, garlic, ancho chillies and the water they were soaking in (Connie added some guajillo chiles), spices and a tomato, use this to pick up the brownings from the chicken, cook a bit, add some chicken stock, return the chicken and simmer for an hour. Pretty standard.
I made the nopales, the "paddle" of a kind of cactus. They came with the spines, so I used a knife to clean them pretty thoroughly, cutting off all the "eyes". I trimmed the edges, since they seemed to be mostly "eyes". It was pretty easy, the only hard parts were where the nopales where slighly hollow and I couldn't get the spines by just skimming my knife over the surface. When I sliced it, it looked like it had just a little bit of gooey sap, much like an okra. The recipe was also rather like an okra dish my mother used to make - finely chopped onions, green chillies (in this case serranos), saute slightly, add nopales and epazote (I used fresh rather than dry, but it worked I think), saute till cooked. The recipe called for (and I added) cream cheese in dollops at the end - in my view this overpowered the dish, but it was still quite good.
Flan. Ah flan. One of the three recipes that didn't turn out quite as well when you cut to 1/4. Possibly the problem was that we didn't reduce the cooking time... at all. Oops.We also discovered that I like my caramel rather more bitter than Connie does... oops again. Still, two out of three isn't bad.
At the recommendation of our green grocer at the Milk Pail, where we were buying our nopales, we bought some of the nopales fruit as well. It's a refreshing treat - light, with components of watermelon, kiwi, and asian pear. It does have disconcertingly large seeds, but we just ate them. So far I don't appear to be sprouting cacti...
Thoughts - chicken fat doesn't help the adobo any - after browning the chicken, toss the fat, but keep the brownings, of course. In fact, only minimal oil is necessary for the browning anyway. Also, I would like to try a thicker sauce. Less stock, less tomato (just the flesh), more reduction.
The Nopales - it wouldn't be "con queso" any more, but I still think just some caramelized onions (and serranos and epazote) are all it needs. I'd just have to find a different name.
The Flan - Connie found a good recipe in Bittman...

2003-08-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

Dim sum!
I have to remember the name of my favorite sweet dim sum... It's something like tong yuen. These are the steamed black sesame dumpling - boiled, actually, and rolled in peanut dust. We went to Joy Luck Place, where one of the managers was kind enough to help us figure out where it was on the menu, so we could order it again without quite as much difficulty as we had this time. Joy Luck place, in my opinion, is in contention for the best place to go to dim sum on the peninsula. It's a close battle with Koi Palace... I just think Koi Palace is too big, the crowds too thick, the wait too insanely long. Joy has all the accessibility of a neighborhood place, while still being large enough offer a wide variety and have it all be piping hot. Tried a new dish today - the fried puff paste dusted/encrusted with sugar was a treat. Otherwise, it was mostly the usual - we started with deep fried taro, which they gussied up with a large prawn - the barbeque pork buns are subtle, and carmelized oniony, the dough sponge cake light. The ground beef wrapped in noodle, often rendered an inedible coagulated mass, is here delicate but still coherent. Lo Mai Gai, the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, are rather small, but bursting with flavor.
Thoughts - I need to get myself some of those plastic squeeze bottles for dropping sauces onto things.
Also, I wonder what is responsible for the texture of those fried taro dumplings. A french croquette with that coating would be sensational I think...

2003-08-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

I like to cook... but I love baking bread. Today I got to indulge in the baking... I used a recipe for Pane di Terni, from Carol Field's classic, The Italian Baker. Last night I put together the biga - a soft dough with just a 1/4 tsp of yeast for 750 g of flour. I left this in a sealed rising container overnight, and it more than tripled in volume. This morning I mixed 1/2 tsp of yeast, 500 g of flour (I used a mix of regular whole wheat and what King Arthur Flours sells as "Italian" flour, instead of the whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached regular flour combination that Field calls for), the recommended flour and 3 tsp of salt. I also spiked it with a tablespoon of diastatic malt, since this is supposed to be a golden crusty bread, and the malt helps with that...
The apartment was rather hot today, so over the 3 hours it took us for brunch the dough rose to more than triple, becoming rather spongy. When I turned it out onto my duly floured surface, though, it formed a skin nicely, and showed nice gluten development. I actually weighed out 4 parts, and shaped them into round loaves. That's when this got interesting - I had to put them skin side down on well floured parchment paper for the second rise. While they were rising, following the instructions, I dimpled them - quite aggressively, as I'd seen bakers do it at the local Forno in Rome. The dough took it in its stride. 2 hours later the dough was beautifully risen, soft and blistered. Cranked up the oven to 400, and... tragedy! The 4 loaves are large enough that they don't all fit!
I baked them in 2 shifts... the second set was a bit overproofed, but still did pretty well.
I sprinkled a bunch of semolina (didn't have any corn meal) on a peel, then inverted the risen loaves onto the peel. I sprayed the loaves thoroughly with water before they went into the oven, then a couple of times once they were in.
Results - 4 loaves, nicely crusty, deep golden brown (malt worked), with just slightly moist interiors. They do taste a little yeasty, probably because of the excessive rise this morning. The crumb is fascinating - large holes, where I'd dimpled, and where the crust blistered, intermingled with small yeast crumb. It appears to be a nice way to cheat if you don't have the time for sourdough... or if you like the look of sourdough, but not the sour flavor.

2003-08-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Gnocchi! It's really not so hard. But you have to do all the steps right.
First - the ratio. I use Mario's grandmother's recipe - 500, 100, 1. At least, that's what I remember, and it works pretty well. That's 500 grams of potato, 100 g flour, 1 egg.
Start with the potato. It's got to be a starchy potato, hopefully a dry old idaho russet type potato or 2. Boil them to just about cooked. Then rice it, while it is still hot. I haven't had good results with anything but a ricer. This is a good example of a ricer. Nice thing about a ricer - you don't need to peel potatoes before using it.
Now you should have a mound of steaming hot but rather dry riced potato. Make a well in the mound, and add the flour. Then make a well in the flour, and add the egg.
With a fork, quickly beat the egg into the flour, then mix in the potato. Switch to a dough scraper, and bring the dough together, then knead gently with your hands, dusting the outside gently with a little flour.
Now cut the dough into 4 parts. Roll each part into a 1/2 inch thick dowel, then cut 1/2 inch pieces off of it and shape. I think they're perfectly beautiful as is, but if you want a more conventional turn, roll the little dumplings off the tines of a fork, so they get little indentations. Supposedly they help the sauce hold on to the gnocchi that little bit better.
And finally, the to cook them - bring a bunch of water to a boil, salt, drop in the gnocchi. They're done about 20 seconds after the last one rises off the bottom to the bubbling surface.
Good gnocchi have a little chew, are mostly soft, and are not in the least sticky.
To sauce - a little browned butter with sage is terrific. Radicchio and pancetta work really well. Or use up that left over sausage sauce...
UPDATE: the ratio that mario uses is 500/150/1, that is, 150 grams of flour. Experiment...

2003-08-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

Saravana Bhavan for dinner. They have udipi food down to a science. The only flaw I've ever experienced there is a Medhu Vada being cold... and they promptly replaced it. Tried the mithai (desserts) today... they're really an afterthought; not bad for being such, but Rajjot is much better. Still, Kaju Katali.... mmm.

2003-08-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday dinner - Meat and potatoes. And corn. And salad. And finished up with pineapple. Connie cooked, and had most of it done before I got home... Roast potatoes, Idaho russets, open cooked in the oven have a more dense texture than foil wrapped, which is something I decided I liked. The salad was a simple cherry tomato and diced fresh mozzarella thing, fresh basil and olive oil. The mozzarella was flawed, but in an interesting way. It was from Belfiore, who do a remarkably good ricotta... but their mozzarella just doesn't seem to have been pulled tight enough, and ends up soggy... but at the same time creamy. I'll have to find something more interesting to do with this.
The steak - Connie used the cooking technique from Bittman - Heat a skillet to the point of being ridiculously hot and smoking, sprinkle on some salt, cook the New York strip for a couple or so minutes each side. The steak was a little bit thick for this technique, and our exhaust system a little weak. Looking past the slightly burnt crust, though, you get a very primal (and if you let your meat rest for 10+ minutes off the heat) brilliantly tender and flavorful dinner. Mark Bittman recommends the recipe for cuts less than 1 inch thick, and I'm inclined to agree. For thicker, I think a finish in the oven would work better.

2003-08-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Lunch yesterday - Hunan Gourmet. I went with my co-workers, and we have finally achieved the critical mass required to intimidate the table into accepting more challenging dishes. Hence - Beef tendon, pork stomach. In addition to which some more interesting (i.e. without counterpart on the "english" menu) pork dishes, some (five-spice?) pressed tofu, beef with tofu, very smokey ribs and even a very creditable kung-pao.
But was it good? I had on good reference that the pork would be, and it was. Every approach, including the ribs was a winner. The pork stomach I remembered from the boston trip (with chives and mushroom) had a better match than the mainly chilli flake flavor it was overpowered by here. The tendon was a revelation, smooth, not chewy in the least... in itself made the lunch worth it.
And then there was dessert - tapioca balls in a light custard. Oddly enough, it was a throwback to my own childhood, when "sago" or "saboodana" kheer was a favorite of mine. :: sigh :: This version had a touch of pineapple, which was a bit too nouveau for me, but seemed to be well appreciated. At least they avoided cooking the pineapple, which could lead to an awful bitter flavor. (As I can attest from a failed experiment in making pinapple profiteroles in Guyana)

2003-08-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

My recipe for pasta with sausage.
Get a saute pan very hot. Add in 1 pound of sausage, peeled out of casings, some combination of hot italian and mild italian. (I like the variations in flavor).
Add some olive oil to the sausage, and brown thoroughly.
Finely dice a red onion. Fine slice a couple of cloves of garlic. Add to the sausages in the pan. Salt and stir. Some of the moisture from the onions will be exuded, let this evaporate.
Add about 3/4 cup of red wine. Keep at moderate heat, let the wine evaporate slowly. Wait till the oil separates out slighly from the sauce.
Add some dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in a little tepid water for about 30 min. Add in the water with it, of course, and then stir and wait till the oil separates out from the sauce.
Add in 1/2 cup of milk. Stir and let the moisture evaporate, till once again the oil begins to separate out from the sauce.
Add in 1 (14 oz) can of tomatoes. Add in a pinch of chili flakes. Simmer till relatively dry.
This isn't as much a red sauce as it is a brown sauce. I (possibly heretically) serve this with Penne, Bucatini (Perciatelli) or gnocchi. This night it was the Perciatelli.
What I like about this is sauce (besides the flavor) is the technique. It is really important to get the sauce dry at the end of each stage, and it needs to be stirred so that it browns and cooks thoroughly, but doesn't stick. It's pretty much the same technique used in kadhai cooking in India.

2003-08-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Dinner - Ribs. Pork loin back ribs. Connie used a rub from Mark Bittman. An hour and a half in the oven at 300, followed bya few minutes at 500 to finish them off. A touch of barbeque sauce on the fingers would've been nice... as it was, I thought they were very good. Preceded by some deep fried beans (in chick pea flour this time - Connie liked it better, I thought regular flour brought out the flavor of the beans better... and accompanied by arugula, cherry tomatoes, and Acme's Pain Au Levain.
Dessert? Pineapple! Maui organic, flown in from Hawaii. Not exactly in keeping with the "eat local" philosophy? Pish, it was worth it. Still not quite as good as one eaten in Guyana, it was still delicious. And it even came with directions on how to cut it.

2003-08-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

Dinner - Pasta with Maitake mushrooms. The pasta - 200g flour italian flour (or 180g all purpose unbleached), 2 eggs. Combine in cuisinart, or as i did today, take 220 g of flour, make a mound, make a hollow in the center of the mound, drop the eggs in the hollow, and with a fork beat the flour into the eggs till you get just as much as you need. Personally, I think the cuisinart works just as well, but there are days you want to get your hands dirty.
I use a kitchenaid attachment to roll out the dough, and to cut it into shape (cutting goes a lot easier if you let the rolled sheets dry a little first). Toss with flour to stop the noodles sticking to each other.
The maitakes - heat up half a stick of butter, let it foam and the foam recede, and let it gently start to brown. Then toss in finely diced red onion, salt and pepper, and saute till they lose their raw flavor, then add the maitakes, coarse chopped. Drop the pasta in salted boiling water, and pretty much as soon as they rise to the surface, drop 1/4 cup of the pasta water into the maitakes and drain the pasta. Toss the pasta with the maitakes.
Wine - we had a bottle that had started to go bad. This was the first time that I'd had a wine that had just started to go bad, and it was actually an interesting smell. It was a chardonnay, and it had a smell that was slighly rotten. We went to the wheel and Connie thought it smelt like rotten cabbage, which would mean the presence of methyl mercaptan. I wasn't quite sure - rotten cabbage that had been aged in oak barrels, maybe. My guess is that it had a lot of sulphites, and was allowed to get somewhat hot, which caused the dimethyl disulphides to revert to methyl mercaptan. It was really intersting, because this was one case where the cork gave no clue about the wine being bad. The smell got worse as the wine warmed in the glass.
Thoughts on the meal - the maitake's were brilliant. We'd been told they'd be strong, which is why I went with the red onions, but the saute made them actually quite mild. The raw mushrooms had a strong blue cheesy odor, cooked they mellowed to a slighly footsy odor, with a spicy (almost garlic) aftertaste. Next time I'll probably go with shallots instead of onions to interfere less with the mushroom flavor. I rolled the pasta only out to #5 this time, and I think that's better than the #6 or #7 I usually do - it's just too easy to overcook thinner pasta, and the mouthfeel of #5 is just as delicate.

2003-08-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dinner - Bruschetta, Frito Misto and Pasta with scallops. 2 different kinds of bruschetta - fava bean (Peeled favas, pancetta and chopped red onion, sliced potato) on thick slices of bread and anchovy (anchovies, cilantro, mint and garlic) on thinner pieces. Frito misto was of artichokes, beans and prawns. I tossed the bay scallops with a little garlic and chili and cilantro in oil before mixing in the Spaghettini. Would have been better if I'd remembered the toasted breadcrumbs I think... (recipe from Marcella Hazan).
Thoughts - The frito misto was dry; altogether, the meal was rather dry except for the Rosso di Montalcino till the Spaghettini was out. Should have put together some sort of dip for the Fried stuff, or at least lemons to squeeze on them. Liked the bruschetta though, could make a lunch of that.
Dessert - Cherry tart from Masse's. That cherry and almond combination is terrific... And beautiful. Have to figure out the secret of that almond cream.

2003-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. Connie made this, so little to say, except the usual... brown your meat well and you're half way there. The recipe from Cook's Illustrated focussed on this, involving not one but 2 browning steps - an initial fry and a final broil. Add to this soft, well roasted garlic cloves (yes, 40 of them... some were mashed for the sauce, some served whole with the chicken) and we have a winner...

2003-08-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

From the recent past - Goat with coconut and fennel. That's fresh coconut and dried fennel. The fennel, added just at the end, complemented the sweet coconut surprisingly well - a very fragrant dinner with white rice. Recipe from Prashad, one of my two favorite Indian food cookbooks. The other is Rasachandrika. Sadly, neither one available here...
Thoughts - Frozen coconut available here (usually of Philippine origin) is a bit too coarse, next time I'll try tossing it in the cuisinart. And if that fails, I'll have to turn to coconut milk... Also, it really doesn't work to do cook it in a pot, something wok-like (a kadhai) would have done much better. As it was I had to cook it for quite a while to get the gravy to an acceptably dry and concentrated state.

Correction - Added links to places where you can buy the 2 cookbooks. At the very least, you can see what they look like.

2003-08-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

From the department of Modern Miracles - Glad FreshProtect Bags. They deserve their own award in the Produce without Preservatives Hall of fame... They work. Keep strawberries fresh in the fridge for a week? Check. Asparagus? check. Leafy greens? As long as you don't crush them below the strawberries and asparagus...

2003-08-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a long time since I've blogged. Been a bit sick, and frankly, a bit scared of all the catching up. So let's just pretend I didn't eat much that was interesting over the last few days.
Tonight was Pizza - pretty good pizza too, based on the recipe in "Artisan Baking" which is just the perfect book for baking bread in America... I tried 2 recipes in India, though, and they flopped terribly. Something to do with the gluten, I kept saying to myself. A couple things that didn't work today - I used Italian flour (7% protein instead of the more usual 12%) so the pizza was more cakey, and I didn't wrap with plastic wrap during the rise, so the skin dried, and then cracked. Three - the Safeway was out of fresh Mozzarella, so I used regular dried (strained?). But it still was pretty damn good pizza... Nice bubbly high edges, fresh tomato, a crust that was cooked but not crisp...

2003-08-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday lunch - Zaftig's. Pastrami Sandwitch (nice), Matzoh ball soup (standard issue). But how good can it be if they serve (horrors) pork?

2003-08-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the catch up -
Saturday dinner - Brown Sugar.
What makes good Thai food good? Not having been to Thailand, nor having had a first hand account from a Thai person, I couldn't say. I can tell that a restaurant is trying, because I can tell how much work it would take to cook something, and I think I can tell the difference between obvious technique and basic skills and more specialized craftsmanship. Add the occasional eye opening combination of flavors, and you certainly have a solid restaurant, whether or not it's in fact completely representative of the cuisine it claims to represent.
We had 2 appetizers, the Tofu Triangles and Steamed Mussels. The Tofu was piping hot, and full of soy goodness. The sweet sauce it came with was almost unnecessary. The mussels on the half shell were steamed in a very fragrant mix of onions, bell peppers, chili peppers and some (presumably Thai) spice. The mussels were a little too firm, and I'm not sure what to think of mussels on the half shell except that they were probably purchases frozen that way, but I was willing to forgive all for the flavor. For dinner we had pad thai (pretty standard... I'm not such a big fan), the chili fish (a whole striped bass, vertebra removed, breaded and fried with a spicy chilli-basil "braise") and the "Siamese Twins" (chicken, shrimp and pineapple, hot and sour sauce, served in a pineapple).
And we topped it off with two desserts - the mango with sticky rice (is it my imagination or have the mangos in America been reaching near Indian standards recently?) and Fried Icecream. I was told they did a really good crust on the icecream... and it's true, it's the best I've had. Very fine, very crisp. Almost seemed to have a sugar glaze on it...