mukki

I've never made tamales before, but am also interested in making those two types. I have fond memories of the tamales I ate in a tiny town in Michoacan and haven't found any that come close. I doubt I'll replicate those tamales, but I'm willing to try! I've got easy access to fresh masa para tamales. At zarela.com, I found the following info:

I've taken the classes, as well. Definitely worthwhile. Turnover at the Irvine location is very poor compared to the Encinitas location and has made me avoid shopping there more and more. I'll have to drop in to try the ice blended, though. At any rate, looks like the Spectrum hordes prefer Rocky Mountain.

If you don't want to render your own lard and don't have a quality source nearby, you can order from Dietrich's Meats in Pennsylvania Dutch country (which has been mentioned before here). Probably better to do so in the winter, though. I still have 10 lbs in my freezer ~ wonderful stuff! It makes the best pie crust, but I haven't tried frying with it yet. I also got some delicious shelled hickory nuts from them last year.

Some upcoming books for 2006 that I'll definitely be checking out: Making Artisan Chocolates by Andrew Garrison Shotts Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by John Scharffenberger Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson Chocolate and Vanilla by Gale Gand (cover looks good, no hints re recipes contained therein, though) Already published: Simple Italian Sandwiches: Recipes from America's Favorite Panini Bar by Jennifer and Jason Denton

Hmmm... I noticed that, too, although I can't provide specifics. It seems that there's not as much to tempt me since they moved. Still enjoy shopping there, though, even though I always end up spending much more than I thought I would.

I'm seriously considering attending one of Susana's weeklong courses at her ranch. My biggest concern, though, is whether the direction of the classes will be influenced negatively by those in attendance. I assume this is much less likely to happen with a weeklong series. I just hate to get there and be disappointed. Other than that, the school sounds amazing! Has anyone attended the one of the weeklong classes? Any insights about my concern or the series in general? I haven't been able to find much information beyond the single day classes.

I was searching for passionfruit curd and decided to use the FC recipe, but substitute Boiron passionfruit puree for the lemon juice. It turned out wonderful ~ I can barely stop eating it. I think it would be perfect in small tart shells (I'm thinking the City Bakery recipe) with a browned Italian meringue a la Dahlia Bakery. I'll probably try yuzu, too: anyone have a favorite brand of bottled yuzu juice that can be found in a Japanese market (e.g., Mitsuwa)? I like the fact that the recipe has so much less butter than the Herme recipe. Makes me feel that much less guilty when I spoon it directly from the fridge.

Hmmm... I can't believe I lived in Cambridge and Boston for 7 years and never ate at Regina's. Will definitely add it to my list, along with Neptune, for my October trip (haven't been back since I left in 1999!). I'll also be making the obligatory stop at Pinocchio's for a steak and cheese sub.

Nice piece of writing! I have to go with pie. When it's great, cake just doesn't compare, although I do love a buttery yellow cake with coconut frosting. My favorite has got to be boysenberry freshly picked off the vine with a few blueberries thrown in and a splash of kirsch. You'd be surprised at how much the kirsch adds. And it must be a leaf lard pie crust... so flaky and flavorful and without all the trials of making a butter crust.

This summer I've made Blenheim apricot-vanilla bean jam (as usual), black mulberry jam (which I think is going to be very nice), blackberry jam, boysenberry jam and nectarine jam. All are based on Ferber's recipes, even though she doesn't have mulberry and boysenberry recipes per se. You can really taste the difference between the boysenberry and blackberry jams with the former being much more complex and interesting. I've really fallen for boysenberries this year! I also tried Bing cherry jam, but it turned out more like syrup and I didn't like the large pieces of cherries. So, I've been blending it into yogurt for cherry smoothies.

Saveur had a nice recipe for Mexican horchata made with rice, almonds and coconut. Very labor-intensive, though. I prefer the Mexican horchata to the Spanish version, which I sampled many times on our trip to Spain a few months ago. I'll take a good quality horchata of whatever origin, though. I don't think Kern's is all that great; local places make their own, which is definitely preferable. You can order chufa nuts at chufa.com. If you do, though, be forewarned that the recipe from the site makes a VERY sweet drink. My whole batch was ruined as I couldn't even finish it. A drink that I actually preferred in Spain was llet malorquina (milk with cinnamon, lemon and sugar) from Cafe Granja Viader in Barcelona.

That is a very neat restaurant! We have baby pomegranate bushes in our front yard; ours are ornamental, though.

This sounds delicious; I'll definitely be trying the recipe. Your blog has inspired me to pay a visit to my local Russian market, which is quite small, and explore more of what it offers.

Hey! As a person of Inuit origin, I object to that name! Kidding. Are they the same things as the American "Eskimo Pie"? Because if they were originally an American product encountered by my Canadian roommate in Russia - who then assumed they were Russian - well that could be kind of humourous. ← Are these similar to the chocolate-covered cheese confections that can be found in the frozen section of Russian markets? Or are they pure ice cream? The ones I buy are about 2 inches x 1 inch and taste like sweetened cream cheese -- really, really good. I always forget which brand is the best, so I end up having to buy a few to get the good one. In Anya von Bremzen's Russian cookbook, she says they're called Glazirovanniye Sirki and that they're made with a mixture of farmer's cheese, cream cheese, sugar and egg yolks. This is a wonderful blog, Alinka; I was really excited when I saw that it was going to be based in Moscow! I visited in 1991 in high school (as part of one of the Eisenhower exchange programs); my favorite food memory is grilled meat served with a tomato sauce purchased from a kiosk in Gorky Park (a full plate cost the equivalent of 25 cents at the time).

Ah, I just bought one of those, too. Haven't used it yet, though. Unused items: Marble pastry board (it just seems too much trouble to get out, so I always end up using my trusty wooden one) KA meat grinder attachment (originally bought to grind up chicken and livers for homemade cat food, but never did; I WILL use it sometime for hamburgers, though, I swear; have yet to make a burger at home) Soup tureen (I love the way it looks, but I'm never fancy enough to serve soup in it) Mini food processor WS apple corer/peeler (last fall, I had visions of myself buying heirloom apples at the farmers market and making loads of apple pies and applesauce -- never happened) Copper cannele molds (I've used my non-stick metal ones, though) I also never used those odd-sized measuring cups and spoons available at WS, so I returned them.

Thanks so much for this informative and thorough post! I made your recipe today and it turned out great. I was surprised how sweet the unsweetend shikhye was; I didn't need to add any sugar at all. I added two cinnamon sticks during the "warm" phase, as you suggested as an alternative. I also skimmed some of the dark grey stuff/rice that had floated to the top afterwards. I love learning how to make things like this that, in my experience, are hard to find instructions for; I wish food magazines would cover these topics more.

Great list! I highly recommend Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles; unfortunately, I had a less-than-stellar experience at the one in Pasadena (I've heard that the quality varies). I usually go to the Long Beach location, but that's a bit out of your way. I think you'll be hard-pressed to get a fresh ollalieberry (or boysenberry) pie in August. The season for both ended around here weeks ago. Boyseberries are pretty amazing, though -- I made pies from the vine in my backyard this year and they were the most delicious pies I've ever had.

I suppose I was more interested in what Koreans use it for, considering there was such a large selection at the market. Sweetening tea?

I was at my local Korean grocery store and noticed a large section of powdered honey, which I'd never seen before. Does anyone know what it is used for?

I love Vietnamese yogurt! The type I find around here in banh mi shops is made with sweetend condensed milk and comes in clear plastic drinking cups with a lid. Very homemade-looking. I haven't made it at home, but here is a recipe I found that sounds like it will make what I'm familiar with.

I really liked the oreo, as well. A little like La Brea Bakery's version. Wish I could get Bouchon's recipe! ← Just in case anyone else was interested in the recipe, I finally found it here. The pastry chef at Bouchon was also nice enough to email me the recipe, but it makes a much larger batch.

I ordered 12 lbs of Dietrich's leaf lard last year and it is FANTASTIC. I grew up eating my mom's lard pie crust, which she made with store-bought lard, which I think was better 20 years ago. Now, the store-bought lard tastes way too porky. I had been trying to make all-butter crusts, until I found out about Dietrich's. Dietrich's lard has no pork flavor -- the crust is just flaky, flavorful and very easy to work with. I don't bother chilling anything and only use flour, salt, lard and water.

I love Kee's Chocolates; she's probably at the top of my list right now. I recently tried her turtles, which I usually dislike in their mass-produced, thick form, and they're amazing. The praline was wonderful, too. Other favorites are the key lime and yuzu. Out of all the artisinal chocolates I've tried, Kee's chocolates seem particularly fresh. The only problem is that she never seems to have all of the chocolates available at one time; she does take orders, though.

The LA Times had a nice article about black, or Persian, mulberries last year. It included recipes for apricot mulberry crisp and mulberry fig tart and mentioned that Suzanne Goin of Lucques serves black mulberries in a chilled bowl with a pitcher of heavy cream or creme fraiche. I know that Boule, a patisserie here in LA, makes mulberry tarts. A good way of preserving them is to spread them in a single layer on a towel-lined cookie sheet and freeze them. I tried them for the first time at a farmer's market and promptly went out and bought a tree (which has about 32 mulberries on it this year). They have a unique sweet-tart taste and are very juicy and highly perishable. It's probably my favorite berry. Chez Panisse Fruits has a whole chapter on them, with recipes for mulberry ice cream (their best flavor, according to the intro), and mulberry sherbert. I would think mulberry juice would be delicious. Hilary Edited to add that I assume you have access to black mulberries. The white and red mulberries are supposedly inferior.

The wok is one of the few pieces I don't have....Because it would be so heavy I imagine it would be hard to 'stir' ingredients by tossing the pan. btw, there are some good deals on amazon right now. 61.80 for 3 1/2 quart saucepan white saucier pan 63.60 ← I have found cast iron woks in Chinatown, usually in the big all-purpose stores, for $15-$20. I didn't buy, but I don't think they were too heavy for tossing. The LC would be heavier with the enamel coating. ← I wouldn't recommend an LC wok. We bought a cast iron wok from The Wok Shop last year in SF and it's one of the best kitchen purchases I've made. Light-weight, but it gets extremely hot. After it's seasoned, it's very easy to clean (you never use soap on it). I exchanged my LC 4.5 qt. for a cream Batali pot. I really like it, although I haven't used it that much so far. It definitely feels as heavy as the LC, with the same quality, although I suppose only time will tell. On a smaller note, I really like the knob better than the plastic one on LC. I always deep fry doughnuts in my 3.5 qt. LC. Like another poster said, it does retain heat very well.