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Showing posts from October, 2010

Thai buffet

That can be a rough draft for a definition of heaven. Even though I have been to one and found the food not much worth talking about, still the idea of a Thai buffet 'arouses my senses' like chuao  wishes to. Once the two tables were joined for a party of five, we were still two steps away and the waiter asked us about our drinks. How do waiters remember the orders? Especially if we are in a jumble with no 'fixed by seating' advantage. The order was easy enough. He just had to remember that one girl had ordered water. My colleague liked that the lemon tea was unsweetened. I shy away from noodles and pasta as I do not want to have the whole of the serving. But a buffet is a good place to try just enough. I enjoyed pad thai and should hit myself for wanting a local freshly made noodles store to have the sweet and sour variety instead of basking in the glory of its kitchenivity. I had Thai omelette and liked it and couldnt say if I liked it because I like omelette. That ...

Italian without Pasta

Apple Serenata, a dessert at Spinato's has a flame roasted fuji apples baked on a crispy crust with loads of vanilla bean gelato on it. After some shoveling, when you get to the bottom of the dessert, what you have is the crust soaked in melted icecrem now soft. Its the same texture that I like when puris are soaked in tea. Why does food texture play such a role? I prefer thicker noodles as I tend to pick flavor of the noodles better. Yesterday, I had ultra thin Sevai noodles, but the food escaped me. Kind of like it went into the blind spot of my taste buds and skipped evaluation. In industrial zones, you need a permit to sell wine. Roma Cannoli cream. Calzone stuffed with sphagetti reminded me of the recent craze of spaghetti on tacos. 10.25.10 Having had the vermicelli kind of noodles at a Thai Buffet, these were a tad thicker than sevai but very long. does the sense of continuity alter the taste?

Kashmiri Chef

For a year or so, I had lunch at a company where the Chef was Kashmiri. That was my fascination for picking this book Chef. Chef's main character likes Sandhurst curry . I have never heard of this one. The beginning reminded of a picec I heard on npr . Kebab Nargisi , Karam ka saag , gongloo, Gushtaba Chenar tree Kagzi almonds Chicken Yakhni Navratan Paneer Kakori Wagah Biryani Tarami plates An idea worth pursuing is chickpeas with Artichoke Jerusalem.

Street food

I was looking at Korean street food and came across a pan with red sauce and pasta like things in it. It was called rice cake, which didnt quite seem like it. Its clearer with the recipe for Ddukbokkie . The key being 'tubes of rice cakes'. I think I am becoming a window shopper of food, even online.

Retro Food

Twains feast has the author Andrew Beahrs recreate what Twain craved for after a long trip in europe. Porterhouse Steak. Juliet Carson Horseshoe toast Aunt Babette Mary Newton Foote Henderson Does anyone know why caramel cakes are making appearance at all grocery stores at the same time? Had apple crumb muffins from costco. Even before eating it, I knew it was soft. I was holding it to cut the jumbo and I was amking indentations in it, it was queasy like holding a living thing. I have had 3/4 of the jumbo nut muffin before going for Havasupai hike. Louis Jolliet a French explorer in IL, was fed Sagamite . Teligbo from Benin. Martha McCulloch Williams Baked milk, Margarettes , Potatoes Lyonnaise , a samp recipe, Macaroni and Apricots from Rufus Estes . Old cookbooks do not have measurements. Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry Edna Lewis The recipes in the old cookbooks call for loaf sugar . Scolloped tomatoes from Eliza Leslie . 'Throw it away' is the last thin...

Oh so many ways to cut

Cuisine foundations is a fun book with step by step pictures on the many ways to cut vegetables. I love Brunoise. I will try Batonnet Ciseler seems so cool. Macedoine is like sugar cubes. Parisienne is hot Bouquet garni . I am at loss for words.

Not only trifle

Cooking for friends is yet another Gordon Ramsay's cookbook. Mrs Beeton Alnwick soup sorrel soup whiting fillet brochette Beef olive pared lemon and oraange zest in pulav. retro menu Cannon of Lamb - I learn of the cannon bone. Fennel and Onions Ramsay says have silimar quaities: Both become tender,sweet, and mellow when cooked, and caramelizing them helps to bring out their natural sugars. This explains the choice for fennel in polelu. Dark chocolate marquise Bakewell tart. I havent seen cookbooks with pictures of same dish served in many plates.

Artichokes

I have not had artichokes much. There are many recipes for asparagus, artichokes in Mediterranean vegetables . This book is a James Beard winner. Cuisine foundations book had a step by step picture of cutting an artichoke in three pages. But that was two variations. Still it is a one and a half page for one kind of it. I am glad I bought only one artichoke. I started peeling it and I almost got to the centre of it and found it heartless. Disappointed, I made a curry out of it. It is above average. Just some part of it has the lemongrass texture. The tender ones agree more with my taste buds. I need to learn to pick chokes with hearts. Jerusalem Artichoke.

Credibility

This book Food, Ecology and Culture starts with a study on diet of Tasaday people. Robin Hemley in 'The Loneliness of the Long_distance Writer' tells how he took a break after an intense personal book to research and write on this hoax. The rest of the book looses its credibility for me.

Its a wonderful world

At Whole Foods I had Chicken Marbella . I wonder if Chicken Marengo in The Good Home cookbook is anything good like it. Chicken Kiev. Chicken Divan. When a colleague got this for a potluck I misheard it as Chicken Divine. Spaetzle reminds me of a sweet dish that my neighbor made during my childhood. She cooked rolled wheat dough tortillas cut into diamond shape in water with sugar and cinnamon. It reminds me of Kubba from the Iraqi cookbook too. Noodles with cabbage. Saffron is the stigma from the fall-flowering crocus flower. Beets in orange sauce. According to Richard J Perry, unlike spoonbread, corn pudding doesnt contain any cornmeal, so the texture is smoother. On the other hand, it is not as light because the egg whites are not beaten seperately. Okra is a member of the same family as hibiscus and cotton. Cooking Okra with acidic ingredients, in this case tomatoes, complements the slippery texture of this vegetable. Peach Honey Butter. I saw caramel frosted yellow cakes at Fry...

Speculo-salivating

is what Nigella calls her way of coming up with recipes like Pumpkin and Goat's cheese Lasagne in Nigellas Christmas cookbook. Prosecco and Pomegrante Gelatin Chestnut soup Chestnut chocolate pots cornflake wreaths

Slices and Stallions

While there are books that are all about just one ingredient like Flavored oils and vinegars there are others that are about a gamut of things. Everything Pizza cookbook has recipes for all the kinds of pizza that there can be with different crusts, sauces, cheeses, toppings. Smoked Salmon Pizza, Polenta Pizza. Cooking for engineers Tasso Ham . When I read that Tasso is also the name of an Italian poet, I wanted to point to his work too. I looked for it but found it in prehistoric language. It so happens that I am reading poems about horses and recognised Tasso's name beneath his poem translated. Second paragraph has life infused in it with equine motions. Another poem that I like in this collection is 'New Foal' by Ted Hughes.

Less salty

Morocan flatbread in this book has 2tsps salt for 4 cups flour. Thats so normal compared to the one I made last with 4 tsps. Sourdough starter with pineapple juice, I cannot imagine how that will be. To know of more breads lets see what Mary Karlin has to say of breadmaking in Wood Fired cooking Grilled Cilantro Mint naan. Romesco sauce.

Unheard of

Gordon Ramsays maze has a recipe for corn sorbet. Arbroath smokie Zucchini flowers. Candied Eggplant. Lychee Granita. The chocolate souffle recipe uses egg yolks too. Parmesan icecream. Basil sorbet. Pineapple carpaccio. Black olive caramel. Chocolate Moelleux. Pistachio Sabayon. sable (sandy - Isle of Sable - Sandy Island from 'Unruly Places') cookies. Loch duart salmon Chocolate paper made from creme patissiere by baking for 7-8 min on a silicone lined baking sheet. For creme patissiere I would like to use Julia Child's recipe.

Shortcake without shortening

carrot cake cookies. Chipotle butter. Coconut butter. Cat cora's classics elaboration for vinegar being one part acid(lemon juice) and three parts oil is a break from the chemical vinegar. I have had herb butter at Red Sage. Combos always surprise me. I dont like butter by itself, but peanut butter or herb butter do it for me. Same with cheese spread. When they have chipotle or nuts and sugar in it, I like them. Amatriciana Guanciale Angostura bitters

Before hand

When I read of the Sourdough bread in Bread and Sweetrolls, I was scared to leave the milk out to spoil it. Afraid that the Arizona heat will decompose the milk. I will wait until winter, then I know that it is a natural process. Yesterday I wanted to make Eastern Mediterranean flat bread from Mediterranean Clay pot cooking . It called for a starter, which means I had to wait till today. Sponge. I read that it is made with equal parts water and bread and some yeast. This recipe calls for 1/2 proportion of water to bread. Wonder how it will figure in the bread making. When I took the sponge out to mix, I was tickled at the consistency of the sponge. This recipe calls for a 500F. Now I have never gone that high before. With so much wait time in between of 2 hours while the yeast is let to do its charm, what do boulangers do? I was reading 'Writing creative nonfiction' edited by Carolyn Forche and Philip Gerard. Back to the oven, I reduced some times by few minutes. It being the f...