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ScorchedPalate

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Posts posted by ScorchedPalate

  1. I'm not denying that would be good stuff.  But, it looks like it might be wanting for some citrus.  Have you ever tried it with the addition of some lemon zest?

    Edit to add: they are peeling the tomatoes the hard way.  If you score the skin at the blossom end of the tomato (opposite the stem) you can scald them for 30 seconds and the skins will peel right off after shocking them in ice-water. 

    I haven't tried it with citrus, but I like it the way it is. :D I woul dthink the lemon might mess with the bourbon flavor...

    And yes, I use the same technique for peeling tomatoes as you do.

  2. I started out canning just to see how it was done, mostly dill pickles and pickled beets, and the occasional fruit preserve. Then I started pickling and preserving a few batches of produce from my friends' gardens and trees, as a way of helping them cope with overabundance -- that year, it was a huge batch of brandied plums, and a batch of pickled serranos and carrots. Last year was a tough year, as we were moving long distance. I did manage a very small batch of tomato-bourbon jam, and my first batch of nocino (green walnut liqueur).

    Now I'm hooked: I preserve at home now mostly to get flavors I can't get from retail products. And a lot of what I preserve ends up being holiday presents and hostess gifts.

    I just took a marmelade class this past weekend with June Taylor, a local preserving maven -- unfortunately, the citrus season is almost spent, but I may put up a batch of something simple, just so I don't forget what I learned.

    And we're about to plant a bunch of fruit-bearing trees and plants with the express intention of preserving and infusing. It was fun coming up with all kinds of different plants, from trees to shrubs to vines to groundcover, that will give us something to eat. Most of our yard will be edible in one form or another.

  3. You probably already know this, but many Thai groceries sell pandan extract, in case you wanted to boost the flavor of your infusion.

    Yes, thanks. I've tried to find it locally but everyone has stopped carrying it. If anyone knows of an online source, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

    Here are three sources:

    GourmetSleuth

    Import Food

    Wing Yip (UK)

    Yes, they're all neon green :S

    This indonesian paste looks a little less green... in fact, it's almost slate blue.

    I found a recipe online that suggests:

    100ml pandan juice (blend 6 pandan leaves with about 125ml water, strain)

  4. Now I really want to make it, and am debating using a bought paste, or sucking it up and going looking for the fresh turmeric and galangal, which are the hard to find ingredients in my case.

    Make it fresh!! :)

    Galangal you can find at Uwajimaya or Central Market, no sweat. Central Market sometimes has fresh turmeric; I don't think I ever saw it at Uwajimaya, but occasionally at the other asian markets up Jackson street.

    Oh, and where did you find kao soi in Seattle??

    ~A

  5. We had a lovely dinner at Mamacita last month. The food was great, the table service was competent and helpful... I think the only downsides were the snotty hostess, the clueless clientele (very "this isn't like El Torito!"), the parking, and the lckluster margaritas.

    We had an order of very good guacamole and some chilaquiles to start -- they were very spicy and a little odd -- creamy chipotle sauce -- but tasty. I wouldn't order them again, though. Good carnitas tacos, perfectly prepared beans, and a surprisingly good bistek. We didn't have room for dessert, not that they looked terrible interesting. The server told us off the bat we'd probably only want 3 items for the 2 of us, so we weren't surprised that we'd ordered too much food. Still, with 2 margaritas and 2 cervesas, the bill was really reasonable... somewhere in the $60-70 range. Considering the location and the level they're playing at, we were very, very happy with the value.

    We'll definitely go back...

  6. SP what did you think taste wise? I didn't do Kosma's recipe because I thought it was wierd that it had dark soy sauce in it. I'd be interested in what you thought? Did anyone else try it? If so did they like it too? Will you be trying it again? Good job on making it your first time! :)

    I loved it, tastewise. It tasted just like the many bowls I had in Thailand. (My husband ate it, too... he said the same thing. :smile: ) The dark soy is the carmelized kind, but not the thick-sweet soy, so it actually worked quite well. It wasn't really a perceptible flavor on its own.

    I'm definitely going to make it again -- I love it too much not to eat it often, and there aren't any places around here that sell it. I may go for Pim's version next time, just to compare.

  7. Wow, and I went and made kao soi without even knowing this thread existed!

    Having never had kao soi, I fell madly in love with it during our recent trip to thailand:

    currynoodle6ct.jpg

    Here's my attempt, freshly made -- and I *did* make my own curry paste. It turned out a bit too thick for my taste.

    kaosoi13rg.jpg

    I used a recipe by Kasma Loha-unchit, my Thai cooking teacher.

    Before putting the leftovers away, I thinned them down with a little extra chicken stock. At breakfast the next morning, it was just like I wanted it.

    kaosoi23xb.jpg

    (edited for a typo)

  8. Welcome to the area!

    I can't say enough good things about Fiesta del Mar! We love this place so much, we drive to Mountain View from SF, just to eat here. Make sure you go to the one on Shoreline right off 101, not the one in downtown Mountain View. They're justly famous for their shrimp dishes -- Cam loves their Camarones Alex and the Camarones a la Diabla -- but I love them for their great margaritas and their unbattered chiles rellenos.

    For burritos to go, head to La Costeña... keep heading to the back of the grocery store and through a door you'll find an amazing burrito shop. If the line's too long, they have an outpost up Rengstorff called Burrito Real, housed in an old fast-food restaurant. Same idea, a lot less character.

    Hobee's used to be the place for brunch, but the last few times we've gone there, it's been terrible -and- unsanitary. We keep trying different locations hoping that it was a localized thing, but it appears to be chain-wide.

    I've heard amazing things about Amber India on El Camino, though I have never been there personally. For Afghani food, we've had a couple of good meals at Kabul.

    Down by Valley Fair Mall, there'sFalafel's Drive In on Stevens Creek (just the other side of 880, if memory serves) is great; not really worth a special drive to San Jose, but good food in an otherwise dead culinary zone.

  9. I cook all my beans without soaking anyways, as recommended in a number of places on this site, so if you have time before dinner, you could just do that !!  They take a bit longer, but are much less prone to bursting.

    Me, too. I figured Rick Bayless and Rancho Gordo couldn't both be wrong. :)

    Edited to add: I wouldn't use canned beans unless you're going to puree them, or they're a small part of the recipe (which doesn't seem to be the case here).

    ~A

  10. The butcher paper now says "Smash Wine Bar & Bistro."  Seems like an odd name.

    I'd be really, really surprised if the state liquor authorities will let a name like that stand. As I recall, the Stumbling Goat Bistro was originally going to be called the Drunken Boat, and they had to change it because they couldn't get a liquor license.

    Edit: PI story about the name

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