prasantrin

That was beautiful.

Like sanrensho, I cut sugar from US recipes by about 25% and even with that, some of my (Japanese) co-workers still find some of my baking to be quite sweet. For cookies, oatmeal, chocolate chip, and especially peanut butter defintely scream "American" to me. I would still offer them, but perhaps make them smaller--bite-sized (I don't know how big your cookies are, but most NA cookies are quite large). And I would add more sablé-type cookies. I'm sure Dorie Greenspan's Korova Cookies would do well, and perhaps even her Coconut Domes. Desserts--it depends on which part of Europe, I guess. When I think of French desserts I think of tarts and mousse-y creations. But when I think of Central European desserts, I think of tortes. What kind of desserts do you already have?

You should have pulled out the butter and sugar at least once! Every Japanese person I've met has been pretty horrified at the idea of butter and sugar with toasted moch, but once they've tried it, they liked it! At least the younger generations do...maybe the older generations with more traditional taste buds wouldn't care for it so much. I have to admit, though, the idea of microwaved mochi horrifies me, as well!

Steve is very qualified to write such a book. The book is not written for the Asian crowd in mind, but is more a guide for non-Asians eating in Asian restaurants, as I understand it. Last I checked, Steve Shaw is not from any Asian country, nor does he claim to be.

Interesting! So there's no kurogoma in it, but the colour comes from the browning of the garlic, onions, etc.? No wonder it didn't taste like goma. Thanks, Hiroyuki!

OK, next time you're in the Kansai area (I went to the one in Kobe), you're on! And I think we should include gyoza as part of the reward. I really like their gyoza!

Small quibble, but he wasn't a chef. He was a fork-lift driver who wanted to be a chef, but didn't want to start out on the bottom. I had read a couple of articles regarding his death, and it sounded more like an allergic reaction to something--he also used some kind of hot chile sauce in the chili, I think. Dolmio sauce--what's that? Here's the article. ETA: Dolmio is some kind of jarred spaghetti sauce.

It's definitely Kansai, I think, because that's where I first learned it, and the people I've spoken with at my current place of employment (Hyogo-ken) know it, as well. But my friends from Nagasaki and Tochigi (I think Tochigi is Kanto, but it's practically Tohoku ) eat it, too.

In 2004, McD's in either Prague or Budapest (I think it was Budapest) had these little pastry squares filled with spinach and cheese. It was sort of like fried spanakopita. It sucked. (I know, I know, it serves me right for going to McD's in Europe, but one of my travelling companions really wanted a salad with raw vegetables, and McD's was the only place nearby where we could find one.)

My first oshogatsu in Japan, my friend's family introduced me to yaki-mochi with soy sauce and sugar. It's a very common thing, I think, as whenever I tell Japanese people I like yaki-mochi with butter and sugar, they say, "Ehhhhhhh??!??!?! Soy sauce and sugar! Not butter and sugar!!!"

Just yesterday I was reading Michael Ruhlman's blog about that very discussion between MPW and AB. Apparently Grant Achatz was quite miffed at their attitudes towards tasting menus. Any more on that coming up?

One of my students mentioned trying soy sauce ice cream, and she said it was really good. If you look at things like mitarashi dango, or the New Year's treat of toasted mochi with soy sauce and sugar, the idea of using soy in sweets is not so much of a stretch.

Whenever I cook for other people, I love the process, but don't really care about partaking in the result. Just sharing is enough for me. But when I cook for myself, I eat every last bite!

Man, oh man! Until now, I've been thinking, "WGF...I'd like to go," but after seeing that afternoon tea, I'm thinking, "Oh my god! WHY didn't I skip work and go to the WGF?!?!??!?!?!?!" I'm not huge on sweets (contrary to popular belief), but I do love a good Afternoon Tea, and I've always wanted to try Michael Laiskonis' egg dessert. This was the perfect afternoon tea...and I missed it! I'm soooo jealous!

Bringing this back up, but didn't Thai Royal Barge close in the late '70s or sometime in the '80s?

A roll with a sausage is pigs in a blanket, but a roll with sausage meat is a sausage roll. To me, the other difference is in the pastry. Sausage roll pastry is more like puff pastry. Starbucks in Japan has real sausage rolls, but they're not very good (in my opinion).

Will do! Good sesame seeds are easily found in Japan, luckily! I also have some sunflower and pumpkin seeds, but they might be stale. I'll have to check them out. My fruits were in the oven for 4 hours at 35C, but then I decided I needed to go to bed, so I hiked the temperature up to 45C for another 90 minutes and just left them. This morning they're still not done (not even the very thin apple slices), so I'm at it again! This is going to take forever, and I'm not that patient! ETA: They're done, but... My nashi are still pliable, but a bit crispy and golden brown around the edges. Oops. The apples are a complete disaster--they were way much too thin (which I knew), and they're like parchment paper. They're also sticking to the rack, so it looks like I'll have to soak the rack to get them off. Must try again while it's still morning. I'll have all day to get it right!

My apple slices are definitely too thin. Oops. Will make some thicker slices tomorrow.

Since there's no Ippudo topic in the Japan forum... What's the black stuff in the Akamaru ramen? It looks like ground black sesame seeds in some kind of liquid, but it doesn't really taste like goma. I looked on the NY website, but they don't have any information about their menu items, and the Japanese website is a wee bit advanced for my comprehension levels.

Yes, those! When my dad and I went to Thailand together, I woke up the morning after we arrived to find him gone. He returned a short time later with bags full of khanom buang and kluay tod. He missed them so much, and hadn't had them in more than 10 years, so looking for them was one of the first things he did! Must have some, too. I like the little mini ones. Maybe next year! (Or I could just eat the Malaysian version when I'm there later this year )

One of the blog entries I read said you can put coconut in them (as a topping), so maybe the one you had also had coconut? And you're welcome! I hope you'll let us know how it turns out. It looks like a Thai street snack I've had. It might be fun to make it at home!

Thanks, all! My first batch is in the oven. I've got the oven set to 35C as dougal suggested, and right now I just have nashi in there. They're sliced to maybe 1/8 of an inch (I used a Benriner, so the thickness is pretty consistent). I soaked them for 10 minutes in ascorbic acid and water (suggested by one of the links andiesenji posted), I have some apples, too, but I sliced them more thinly (maybe 1/16 of an inch?). I'll add them to the oven after my first 90 minute cycle is finished, since they should finish more quickly than the thicker nashi. I sure hope it doesn't take more than 4 or 5 hours for all of them to dry, because my bedtime is then! But if that happens, I'll do what flacoman does with his fruit leathers, and perhaps turn up the heat for a bit, then turn it off and leave the fruits in the oven with the door closed overnight. I have a foodsaver and a little Reynold's Handivac thing, so I think I'll be OK regarding keeping the fruits. It's a little less humid today, too, so hopefully humidity won't be too much of a problem. I may be making fruit and nut balls tomorrow! Is it wrong to be this excited over drying fruit?

I haven't tried these, yet, but I'd like to buy these Rubbermaid containers with lids that click on.

I like the skin, too. But I once made kabocha soup and left the skin on...that was a very unappetizing looking soup! I'm going to try your way of putting smaller pieces in the microwave. I was thinking of putting an entire half kabocha in the microwave and then trying to cut it up, but your way seems a bit easier.

My friend's husband said it was very very sweet. (And that was way too much information for me at the time.)