Our Picks

A while ago, to learn the ins and outs of Horseradish, I began making my own mustard. I have managed some really really good varieties, (one with black mustard seeds, rice-wine vinegar, horseradish and Kabocha squash) and some really god awful ones too. I recall that my grandmother used to make her own ketchup too. it wasn't all that good.
has anyone made their own condiments before?
care to share experiences?

Round one! Need tweaking on the pastry wrapping, etc, but the meat was perfect! Used combination of Gordon Ramsay's and Tyler Florence recipes...
I used a 3 lb tenderloin, middle section.
I left the tenderloin in the fridge uncovered for 2 days, then wrapped it tightly in Saran for another day to make the nice form.
Early this afternoon, I seasoned it then roasted it in the 400F oven for 15 minutes. Cooled in the fridge for an hour or so while I prepared the mushroom duxelles.  2 hours before serving, I covered the tenderloin with the duxelles ( no bacon or prosciutto as we don't care for the flavour on the beef) and the puff pastry. Put it back into the fridge. 45 minutes before eating, I baked the Wellington in a 400F oven for 25 minutes. Rested for 10 minutes, then sliced.
Eaten with roasted baby taters, steamed green beans and carrots, and green peppercorn gravy.
Son and family came up to help eat the supper. Had to laugh at our 6-year-old granddaughter who said, "Gramma! The bread just breaks into little crispy bits in my mouth!"
 
                                                                 

I cheated and bought a few. I often will buy whoever is said to be the best. Here's the Bien Fait and Robert Lambert.

chickory salad

 
Black sesame noodles
 

 
geoduck fried rice 
 
 
 
 

Austria meets Scotland.

 
All from leftover bits (save for the cresses).

 
Based on the original dish mac and cheese from Switzerland "alpine macaroni".

 
Apple compote alongside, the way it is served at the source.

 
I used Comté.

 
A big "fry-up". Potato puffs.

 
Smoked herring, hot-smoked salmon bellies, fried assorted fresh roe.

 
Made the apple sauce myself, always. Grated horseradish in the crème fraîche.

Consider, if you will, the Schnitzel.  The national treasure of Austria, the word Schnitzel is a diminutive of the word “sniz” or “slice.”  A piece of meat, pounded thin, then coated in bread crumbs and fried.  Traditionally served simply with slices of fresh lemon, a sprinkle of paprika and maybe a leaf or two of parsley.
 
Dating back to about 1845, the most famous of the schnitzels is the Wienerschnitzel (the Swiss break it into two words-Wiener Schnitzel), always made with veal.  But the Wienerschnitzel we are discussing must not, in any way, be confused with the fast food chain "Der Wienerschnitzel", founded in California in 1971, and to this day selling "wieners" - a.k.a. hot dogs - under a pseudo-Austrian affectation.
 
Opened in 1905 by Johann Figlmüller in the heart of Vienna, restaurant Figlmüller Wollzeile has been known as the “Home of the Schnitzel.”  Serving massive portions of schnitzel draped over plates and served with a side of Austrian potato salad.
 
Schnitzel isn’t always made with pork.  Nor is it always breaded and fried as we know it.  Take the Walliser Schnitzel for example.  A pork escalope with a pocket stuffed with dried apricots sautéed in white wine with ham, parsley, cheese and almonds.  The Walliser schnitzel is brushed with a tangy mustard but never coated in breadcrumbs and fried in sauté pan in a shallow pool of butter.
 
If you’ve ever trekked through the cities, towns and fairs that dot the state of Iowa, you’ve surely come across the beloved tenderloin sandwich.  A large slab of thin pork, dipped, breaded and fried, then placed between a bun that covers literally a few inches of the beast.  A Schnitzel sandwich if you will.  Served dry, with mayonnaise, maybe a few dill pickle slices and you're tasting a slice of America's heartland. 
 
Tradition tells one that Schnitzel can also be made with mutton, chicken, pork, beef, turkey or reindeer.  Today one could stretch the idea of the protein to include a “Tofu Schnitzel” perhaps topped with a spiced mixture of lentils and harissa.   I happen to live in the Pacific Northwest where it is common for hunters to craft a schnitzel from venison or elk, the perfect treatment for lean wild game that doesn’t need more than a kiss of the hot skillet to get crispy.
 
Now the dip and fry are constant points of the schnitzel debate.  Dipped in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs is the primary technique.  Or is that egg mixed with milk, or condensed milk?  Is it a double-dip in the flour and egg?  And do we use fresh bread crumbs, panko or bread crumbs with parmesan? Wouldn’t pork lard be the best fat for frying a pork schnitzel?  Or do we use butter, shortening, canola, vegetable or olive oil?
 
As you can see we have some work to do here.  Welcome to eG Cook-Off #76 and Consider the Schnitzel. (See the complete eG Cook-Off Index here.)
 

Pistachio Butter Sourdough (KM p. 72)
 
Same as last weekend (I had extra pistachio butter).
 

 

Judges gotta judge 
 

 

 

 

 

One thing I'm changing is the traditional pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.  Over the years there was a feeling among some family and friends that store-bought pumpkin pies were "better."  I never complained, but I never felt that way.  I've been experimenting with making sugared cranberries the past month, mainly in a cookie recipe.  But this week I tried using them as a garnish for a pumpkin pie.  The photos don't do it justice.  You get a tangy burst of cranberry juice with the sweetness from the sugar.  And I think it cuts through some of the richness of the pumpkin pie.  But a little slice goes a long way.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I have an acquaintance that lives in Paris, he is Italian, when we visited him years ago, he said this to me:
"France has the best food, but crap coffee. If you want great coffee, go to Italy"
 
I snickered at his comment for several reasons, but to me, although French coffee is drinkable, it certainly is roasted too 'dark' for my palate. 
Hey, it makes it taste consistent though, which is commercially a plus I guess? on the other hand, charbucks seems to roast their beans using a photon torpedo, which explains the cost and the taste.
 
..or maybe I'm just a coffee snob ha ha ha
 
THAT SAID though, I noticed similar to @AlaMoi that most 'coffee' in Paris belongs in the espresso spectrum; even those from a Subway 'cafe' vending machine. So high possibility that it's the concentration/strength that the original poster @Orbit is tasting.

Hungary is the world's biggest foie gras exporter (to France, specifically). Bulgaria is catching up fast, though.
 
Get some foie, charcuterie and have a little picnic in your room.

Pierogi , borsch in a cup

Ha! Didn't know that made it outside of St Louis. Yep, that's me.

I'm in the process of choosing new flatware for my new restaurant. My last restaurant used THIS. I liked the style but it turned out they were too big for many guests, especially women who preferred to use the small fork and spoon. I don't want to make that mistake again. My new place is much higher end and the flatware needs to match. Higher end doesn't mean expensive necessarily, but a stylish design. I'm interested in hearing (or better yet seeing) flatware that you've liked when eating out. Bonus points for contemporary design.

My history in cooking contests is abysmal, but I end up coming out of them with great recipes that I've created.  This was my entry in the "Eggland's Best" contest supposedly showing the versatility in using eggs.  That's what I interpreted the contest to be.  Anyway, this savory little "gougere" is something I plan on doing for the holidays.  In this case they were filled with smoked salmon mouse, but any filling will do, sweet or savory.

I just enjoyed watching the 4 episodes of Samin Nosrat's Netflix series.  It has the same name as her James Beard & IACP award winning cookbook, Salt Fat Acid Heat (some eG comments on that here).
 
In the book, Samin comes off as the best sort of teacher - part teacher/part cheerleader - who truly wants her students to succeed.  The book is info packed and as a result, it reads rather like a textbook.  This series adds the colorful food photography that the book lacks and incorporates her warm personality and enthusiasm, though it only conveys a fraction of the book's information.  
I may try to re-read the book, with a break after each section to watch the relevant episode. 
 
Recipes from the series will be available online starting Oct 19 at this link, where you can also watch a trailer.  I want to try the focaccia recipe, at least.
 
Some online mentions from Eater: 
’Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Is a New Kind of Food TV Show
‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Recap: Samin Nosrat Samples the Bounty of Olive Oil and Parmesan in Italy
‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Recap: Samin Explores the Wide World of Salt in Japan
‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Recap: Samin Heads to Mexico for a Study in Citrus
‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Recap: Nosrat Summons Superior Flavors Using the Power of Fire
 
Food52: How Our New Favorite Netflix Show Is Making Us Better, Smarter Cooks
Bon Appetit: ‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Is the New Netflix Series That's Very Much Worth Your Time
Food & Wine: 29 Essential Cooking Tips From Samin Nosrat’s ‘Salt Fat Acid Heat’ on Netflix

Another favourite side is potatoes with dill or shebu aloo. 
I cut small potatoes into roughly 1.5 cm cubes, mustard seeds, dried chilli, asafoetida, turmeric, chopped garlic, chopped green chilli, and chopped dill.

 
Heat some oil, splutter the seeds and dried chilli, chuck in the garlic and green chilli, stir quickly then pile in the potatoes and powders, plus a little salt.  Make sure it’s well mixed, lower the heat and pop on a lid. Stir occasionally.

 
When the potatoes are nearly done, add the dill and mix well.

 
This is not a saucy dish, so I serve it with one that is. Seen below with fenugreek chicken from the other night, green beans poriyal, chana dal and steamed rice, plus a paratha and a blob of mango pickle.

Ok maybe not technically crostini OR bruschetta but...
As a party snack I like to grill some Italian bread slices rub them with some garlic, and top with the usual suspects (pesto, fresh mozz, tapenade etc). I'm trying to think of some new ideas, and any help would be appreciated. I'd like to give 3 choices or so.
I'm making a green salad, homemade bread, spaghetti w/ meatballs, Rao's Lemon Chicken (from the cookbook), roasted potatoes, broccoli, and dessert for about 20.
Palates at the party will run the whole spectrum, so my main concern is that it can be done at least a little ahead of time, and will hold at room temp. FWIW I have some nice organic dried ceci beans, and a large jar of sundried tomatoes.
Thanks,
Jeff

Delicious East Prussian cuisine in Berlin, amazing beet soup and wild hare..

Pistachio Butter Sourdough (KM p. 72)
 
This starts with a normal batch of sourdough (I used the Modernist variant), to which you add 20% pistachio paste and 20% toasted pistachios. It tastes basically like pistachios (shocking, I know). It would probably be great with a pistachio gianduja spread on top, but I enjoyed it plain or with butter as well. It's a light green color: not too intense, just enough to be unusual.
 
 
 

One thing I'm changing is the traditional pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.  Over the years there was a feeling among some family and friends that store-bought pumpkin pies were "better."  I never complained, but I never felt that way.  I've been experimenting with making sugared cranberries the past month, mainly in a cookie recipe.  But this week I tried using them as a garnish for a pumpkin pie.  The photos don't do it justice.  You get a tangy burst of cranberry juice with the sweetness from the sugar.  And I think it cuts through some of the richness of the pumpkin pie.  But a little slice goes a long way.

I'm getting an early start on planning my Holiday cooking and baking.  (I know, I'm already getting some comments from family and friends that it's only late October and it's too early to talk about such things).
 
I thought I'd start by showing my collection of past issues of Bon Appetit that my parents collected over the years.  I bring them out every season to go through the recipes that I've tagged with bits of paper and stickers.  Some of the covers are tattered and torn, taped back on, and over the years I've cut out some of the recipes.  While I've read these every year, some dating back to the  1970's, I always seem to find a new recipe to find.  What are you planning to make for the Holidays this year?  Are you introducing some new dishes, staying with the classics or updating them with some new tastes and textures?

Tonight I made the chicken and fenugreek curry that I’ve detailed previously, served it with some leftover potato masala and dal, plus freshly made snake beans poriyal and spinach whole-wheat chapatis.

 
From the south of India, poriyal describes a stir fried vegetable finished with lemon and coconut.
The mise includes mustard seeds, dried chillies and curry leaves, red onion, green chillies and chopped snake beans (snow peas work well too), lemon juice and desiccated coconut.

 
The dish is cooked within 10 minutes. I heat oil and splutter mustard seeds and dried chilli, add onion and curry leaves, get the onion a bit browned, add the green chilli and the beans with a pinch of salt. Cover and sauté for a few minutes, squeeze on the lemon, stir in the coconut, and voila. 

 

Big restocking and stocking up at the wine sale. Most excited about the 3 that are new to me: aged rhum agricole, genever, and madeira.

Oh I haven't had gooseberries in years and years.  Majorly jealous.