markk
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My local Chinese delivery place has excellent Char Siu, but only if you get it in something.
They make the fried rice to order, and it contains beautiful squares of fresh, delicious char siu. Ditto the roast pork chow fun - it contains full, beautiful slices of excellent roast pork (I know that slices are not typical for this dish, but the pork is great). But they don't just have the sliced roast pork on the menu; of course, they'll make whatever I ask for, but they just cannot do plain sliced char siu. It must come in some kind of sauce. I explain that I want it plain, and it comes either in a horrible brown gravy, or in some horrible sweet concoction. We've discussed this, and they explain that they have no other way to heat it.
So what do the noodle shops do? They serve it all the time. Any ideas?
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You (and especially the kids in your daughter's French class) should know that a very, very, very French dessert is Pain Perdu , which is nothing more than what we know as French Toast, and although it's served here for breakfast, it's only served in France as a dessert. And at Christmas time, they make it with the flavorings of pain d'epices (spice bread), which is nothing more than those spices sprinkled over it. It's a most traditional, and most delicious dessert, and might also be a great lesson in French culture for the kids:
I've spent many a Christmas season in France! (Although I don't have too many memories of being all too conscious at the end of a French Christmas-Week Dinner, this being a combination of the foods and the wine.)
(The above version was served at the restaurant A l'Arbre Vert, in the village of Ammerschwir, in the Alsace region, where they take Christmas eats especially seriously.)
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Well, it's a powder that they sell, and then you mix it in a blender with water for a few minutes to make the "gel", and you mix the water and powder in varying proportions to make a gel from what they call 4% to 14% (although you could make it any strength you want - somewhat confusing) depending on how you intend to use it in their instructions, they tell you what strength to mix for what use; the thickest I've ever made is like a very, very, very thick slurry, or one of those heavily thickened soups you sometimes see. Or it may be as thick as a not too thick catsup. It's not as thick as I expected it to be (mixed from their instructions), and I don't think you could get it to the consistency of vaseline (well, I guess you could, but it would be way stronger than they ever tell you to make). They do tell you to go by your own "taste" (it's tasteless, so they must mean 'texture' of the finished product) and use as much as you like. It's only corn bran- but I was afraid that too much fiber could be dangerous, so I did some checking, and it turns out that one tablespoon of the 6% gel has .6 grams of dietary fiber, so I don't think we're in dangerous territory.
(Actually, they sell it pre-mixed in bottles, just like salad dressing comes in, but only in the 6% strength, and indeed, that's the consistency of a loose catsup.) I was unsure, and ordered a bottle of the pre-mixed and a big jar of the powder. And as I say, it's more than a little confusing.
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I can see how one would add this stuff to a finished product -- mayo, dressing, dips, etc. Could you also use this to finish off a pan sauce ... e.g, in place of using cold butter to mont buerre?
You definitely can cook with it - but as far as mounting a sauce, that's not clear. In the instructions, for example, they definitely want you to add it, about 30% (by volume, I guess), to very lean meat as you make a meat loaf; and as shown earlier in this thread, I did cook with it once. I'm curious to grind my own ultra-lean meat and try the meatloaf idea.
As far as using it to mount a sauce, I just don't know if you actually need real "fat" to emusify (mount) a sauce - I suppose I'll have to try that. But when you mix it up, it sure makes a viscous gel (albeit somehow out of corn bran and water). And you mix it in varying strengths, depending on how you want to use it. This is all not as clear as it could be, but I guess I'll get the hang of it with trial and error.
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Well, I think it was "cute" writing, but I'd be surprised if it's true. I'd certainly doubt that it holds true of male and female Gulletteers.
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In a perfect world, where overeating wasn't detrimental to your health and a person didn't have to work, I could definitely consume 6,000 calories a day. No problem.
Let me say that I was not, definitely not trying to turn this into "Supersize Me", but I got curious as to how far off my hunorous rounding up of calories was, so I turned to the nutritional pages of some fast food websites. Personally, I don't eat fast food (not that I don't love it on many levels), but of course a lot of people do, and in fact live on it, or similar frozen convenience items. I looked up a double-quarter-pounder with cheese, a large fries, and large coke, and came up with 2,000 calories. And that (hopefully without dessert) would be somebody's lunch! So with people eating three crappy "meals" a day, and snacking, I'm sure there are tons of people consuming 6,000 calories a day or more, easily, on a routine basis.
(Okay, my own calories come from much healthier sources than McDonald's, but that's neither her nor there when it comes to weight-loss.)
Since I'm not really big on will power (well, I do limit my consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol) or portion control, I was, as I say, looking for any ways I could find to lower the caloric value of the foods I do eat without killing the enjoyment.
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6,000 - 10,000 calories a day? Is that humanly possible. When I was a competition swimmer, working out roughly 6 hours a day I was only able to consume 4,000 calories (if I was lucky).
Well, I did definitely exxagerate for comic effect! And (perhaps this is one of the reasons I need to lose weight) I don't count calories, so I don't know for sure how many I eat. (I do know that when I actually do check calories by reading nutrition labels, and pitting them agains the number of calories suggested daily for weight loss, it's panic-inducing.) It would be fun to ask people like Jason and Fat Guy how many calories they assume they're eating in a day if they're not watching what they eat, just to see their response. But what I meant to stress was that if there are ways and places where I can replace calories, every one helps.
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Well, I don't know if anybody's reading this thread, but here's the continuation of my experiments with the stuff... z-trim, that is...
The purpose of the experiment is to see if I can reduce the amount of saturated fat (I don't eat all that much anyway) and calories (fat calories, in this case) in my diet - I assume that I'm eating 6,000 - 10,000 of them a day, like many of the other full-figured Gulletteers. The problem is that I'm a glutton, and I don't do well when I feel culinarily deprived. The premise is that z-trim (website here) is made from corn bran, is totally safe and healthy, and simulates the mouth feel of fat while contributing zero calories, and zero taste.
One of my successful experiments cooking with it is above.
Today I tried it in making tuna salad, to replace half of the mayonnaise. (Tonight's dinner is likely duck confit, and I figured I could do without the calories from the amount of mayonnaise I'd normally use. (Yes, I could have had a dietetic lunch of crudites, but I felt like tuna salad, and like not feeling deprived.) So I mixed up some z-trim according to the amounts that match the viscosity of mayonnaise, and used one tablespoon of it for every tablespoon of mayo. The tuna salad was absolutely fine (two people's opinions), and I felt quite virtuous for having eaten a good half cup less of mayonnaise than I otherwise would have.
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I love prime rib, and except for The Old Homestead in the old days, I can't think of any place that I've been to in Manhattan that serves it. But...
You can go to http://www.menupages.com/ and do an "advanced search" for "prime rib". You've got to do it one neighborhood at a time, though. I did it for 'Midtown East' and 'Midtown West' (those are but some of the choices) and this is what I got:
Bull & Bear
301 Park Ave | At 49th St
Cafe Centro
200 Park Ave | At 45th St & Vanderbilt Ave
Cinema at 45th St
2 E 45th St | At 5th Ave
Cinema at 60th St
43 E 60th St | Btwn Madison & Park Ave
Fresco
34 E 52nd St | At Madison Ave
Outback Steakhouse
919 3rd Ave | Btwn 55th & 56th St
Smith & Wollensky
797 3rd Ave | At 49th St
Texas Rotisserie & Grill
712 3rd Ave | Btwn 44th & 45th St
Wollensky's Grill
205 E 49th St | At 3rd Ave
Ben Benson's Steak House
123 W 52nd St | Btwn 6th & 7th Ave
Cafe Classico
35 W 57th St | Btwn 5th & 6th Ave
Gallagher's Steakhouse
228 W 52nd St | Btwn 8th Ave & Bway
Playwright
202 W 49th St | Btwn Bway & 7th Ave
Playwright Act II
732 8th Ave | Btwn 45th & 46th St
Rock Center Cafe
20 W 50th St | Btwn 5th & 6th Ave
Shula's Steak House
270 W 43rd St | At 8th Ave
Ted's Montana Grill
110 W 51st St | Btwn 6th & 7th Ave
I have no idea if that's accurate, but of course you can see a menu for each of these places (don't know that it's the current one or not) while you're there.
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I thought of this because I have a cold and am sucking Halls Sugar-Free Mentho-Lyptis drops. I find they work better if I am sipping hot liquid - it seems to release the vapours faster and better, and in the early parts of the day I sip hot (black) coffee with my mento-lyptis. I remember that the very first times I did this (without thinking), the resulting flavor combination was truly repulsive! Now I am quite used to it, and find it comforting.
Does anybody have any similar experiences with non-compatible, repulsive flavors?
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When cooked following the guidance on the package, it achieves a texture that heretofore I have only ever experienced in Italy. And...
... which is one of the greatest things I've ever used. (Amazon.com also sells it, and for a lot less, I believe.)
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I get enough fat in the rest of my diet that if I replaced the most eggregious offenders- it would be a very good thing.
That's exactly what I was thinking, and I sent away for the stuff. I use a lot of olive oil (I gave up butter and saturated fats mostly), but still when I make dinners with a cup of oil for two people, I'm adding a lot of calories, which I'd be glad to reduce if I could.
So far the only thing I used the z-trim in was mashed potatoes, and there was no discernable bad taste, and no ill-effects, so tonight I'm planning to use it in something more adventurous, and I will report back.
Just curious - what do you make that uses a cup of olive oil for 2 people? Eggplant? Robyn
Well, it's so funny that you would ask that! Now that my Z-trim has arrived, I was trying to think of things I make that could benefit from it.
I saw some lovely Cod in the market, and remembered that I love to make Cod that's baked under a crust of sauteed mushrooms and breadcrumbs. Of course, to bind the crumbs, you need lots of oil (or butter, which I stopped using), so I'd always sautee the mushrooms in a copious amount of oil, and I'd probably wind up using at least a half-cup extra, probably more.
Lately, when I want mushrooms like this for a dish, I've taken to roasting them in the oven in one of those heavy roasting pans with a non-stick finish, using much less oil that it would take to sautee them - but this wouldn't give me enough oil to bind breadcrumbs.
And so last night was an experiment - I roasted my mushrooms (with some grape tomatoes), and then tried to mix them up with breadcrumbs, and the crumbs just sat there, dry. So I mixed up some z-trim, and added it to bind up the mixture. I went easy on the stuff, as I'm just getting the hang of it, but I'd say that the amount I used let me omit about 3/4 of a cup of oil.
Then I baked the dish as usual, and drizzled it with a little black truffle oil before serving. I had been afraid that the z-trim might add some 'off' flavors, but it simply did not. The dish was thoroughly delicious; it's Cod, baked under a layer of whole-wheat breadcrumbs with Cremini Mushrooms and Grape Tomatoes, then drizzled with Black Truffle Oil, and accompanied by sauteed Romaine lettuce:
And, as the product is nothing more than Corn Bran, I don't have a problem using it; as I say, it didn't detract from the flavours at all, and nobody suffered any ill-effects from it at all.
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I get enough fat in the rest of my diet that if I replaced the most eggregious offenders- it would be a very good thing.
That's exactly what I was thinking, and I sent away for the stuff. I use a lot of olive oil (I gave up butter and saturated fats mostly), but still when I make dinners with a cup of oil for two people, I'm adding a lot of calories, which I'd be glad to reduce if I could.
So far the only thing I used the z-trim in was mashed potatoes, and there was no discernable bad taste, and no ill-effects, so tonight I'm planning to use it in something more adventurous, and I will report back.
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Well, I'm in Miami a few weeks a year (this year will be Christmas instead of Thanksgiving), and while I pretty much agree with you, I can share two (okay, make that four) places with you that have become regulars for me because of their food.
One is Bistro Plein Sud on Biscayne and 133rd, and my thread with photos and a video is here:
Another place I always return to is the Miami branch of Texas de Brazil, for some very delicious rodizio meats, in a very beautiful setting (it's in the Dolphin Mall).
And now that I think about it, I've been having great Stone Crabs at Billy's Stone Crab in Hollywood, which I learned about originally from eGullet. I've been thinking about these as I get ready for my trip next month.
Oh, and one more place for lunch - PAUL, in Biscayne Commons, which is the first USA branch of a French bakery-cafe chain, with very delicious quiches and very, very delicious baked goods- breads and desserts.
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I think there are 55 production areas on your list. There are probably an average of 6 to 8 producers from each.
Well, in that we're talking about 'production areas' about the size of a high-school gym, it's not surprising that many of the producers are multiple-listings for several appelations around them, so it'll probably turn out to be a much smaller world after all. You might want to do a cross-check of exhibitors in the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune and see how it narrows down.
And, what a way to go!......
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Unfortunately, you can't click on multiple appellations from the master list, you have to chose them one by one to see detail. But here are the Burgundy selections from the list (done on a quick pass), so if you click on them, or the ones that interest you, you can print out the details and compile a master list.
ALOXE CORTON
ALOXE CORTON PREMIER CRU
AUXEY-DURESSES
AUXEY-DURESSES PREMIER CRU
BATARD-MONTRACHET
BEAUNE
BEAUNE PREMIER CRU
BOURGOGNE
BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE
BOURGOGNE CHITRY
BOURGOGNE COTE CHALONNAISE
BOURGOGNE COTES D'AUXERRE
BOURGOGNE COTES DU COUCHOIS
BOURGOGNE COULANGES LA VINEUSE
BOURGOGNE GRAND ORDINAIRE
BOURGOGNE HAUTES COTES DE BEAUNE
BOURGOGNE HAUTES COTES DE NUITS
BOURGOGNE PASSETOUTGRAINS
BOURGOGNE ROSE
CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY PREMIER CRU
CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN
CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN GRAND CRU
CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET
CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET PREMIER CRU
CLOS DE LA ROCHE
CLOS DE VOUGEOT
CORTON
CORTON CHARLEMAGNE
CORTON CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU
CORTON GRAND CRU
COTE DE BROUILLY
COTE DE NUITS-VILLAGES
ECHEZEAUX
ECHEZEAUX GRAND CRU
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN PREMIER CRU
NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES
NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES PREMIER CRU
POMMARD
POMMARD PREMIER CRU
PULIGNY MONTRACHET
PULIGNY MONTRACHET PREMIER CRU
RICHEBOURG
SAINT-AUBIN
SAINT-AUBIN PREMIER CRU
SANTENAY
SANTENAY PREMIER CRU
SAVIGNY-LES-BEAUNE
SAVIGNY-LES-BEAUNE PREMIER CRU
VOLNAY
VOLNAY PREMIER CRU
VOSNE ROMANEE
VOSNE ROMANEE PREMIER CRU
Most of them appear to be small producers. This being Burgundy, it's unlikely that many people will have heard of them, and that's undoubtedly why they're at this exposition. Instead of trying to pre-guess how they'll be, why don't you print out the booth numbers for the regions that interest you, mark them on a floor plan, and taste them and decide for yourself - isn't that the purpose of the show?
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"A question, we ordered caprese salad quite often and almost always the tomatoes were very firm, not ripe and really hard. is this normal??"
I would have to answer 'yes'. In the 70's, we used to spend our summers on... Capri, where as youngsters fresh out of college we were introduced to the dish, and it was always sensational. Our hotel had a fabulous poolside lunch restaurant where the cooks were basically local mamas, and nothing was fancy - just out of this world deilcious, and they'd shop on the way over to the hotel. The mozzarella di buffala would come over early every morning by boat from Sorrento, and everything else was local - the basil, the oil, and the tomatoes, usually hard and green. But they were delicious. Of course we were young and impressionable, but we found them eye-openingly delicious. Perhaps it's the case that with Capri's volcanic soil and sun-drenched climate, even the green, hard tomatoes there have more flavor than the ripe ones in the US?
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What an utterly fabulous blog, and what great photos! Thank you.
I climbed atop the Cinque Terre and took that exact same photo of Vernazza in 1976, and do you know, I pulled it up and except for a few houses that have been repainted different colors, it hasn't changed a bit!
I liked your Lambrusco comment. When I spent time in the region, the "new" winemakers hadn't yet appeared in Italy (I don't think), and there, Lambrusco was pretty much it. We had the white and the red, both very 'different'.
But what a great blog; I've just been through it for the third time. Absolutely fabulous!
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huh? there's tons of producers from burgundy.
i think you are confusing the beaujolais/bourgogne description when you search.
for example, click on cote de nuits, then click on a producer who comes up, the address will be in cote du nuits. certainly a vigneron de bourgogne with that address.
Aaaah.
So they mean Burgundy & Beaujolais, not Beaujolais as a subset. I was interpreting it wrong.
In that case, to answer the original question, I would try to visit a lot of them and judge for myself! There are indeed small producers from the region who make delicious wines - but I think you have to stumble on them in just such a manner. You could have some very pleasant surprise discoveries this way. And even people from appelations in places you wouldn't associate with great reds (Beaune, for example) are now making some concentrated, delicious wines.
Happy exploring! Hope you'll report back and take photos if it's allowed.
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I've never found anything upscale about Master Choice products.
The Publix Premium things that I saw seemed to be all natural - I think I read several ingredient labels, but maybe this was just an illusion caused by the design and the presentation. But Master Choice has always been, for me anyway, just a regular private label of A&P and nothing special in any way.
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Sorry about that, I think; when I looked at first and told it to list all the producers, I only looked at the first ten pages of them, in which there weren't. I'll look through the rest but I assume there are, so, sorry again.
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I've seen it at Publix in Miami. I have NOT seen it in the NYC area at all, at least not in ShopRite or A&P.
Now I really am confused.
Strange Char Siu question
in China: Dining
Posted
It's excellent though.
I see what you're saying. It is really fresh looking, and tasting - and I've had lots of experience with restaurants serving really sorry-looking (and sorry tasting) stuff. This stuff looks and tastes really fresh, but I realized from your message that maybe they have it refrigerated. I simply never thought of that.