The Little Blue House

Our thoughts are with you and your family. -Emily

I was going to start my own topic -- but my question largely fits in here pretty well. I am also trying to figure out where the best place is to buy kitchen/dining things in London. But, it's a slightly more specific question. Where do people who love their kitchens (and entertaining) register for wedding presents? In the US, the standard is to register with Williams-Sonoma. As a newbie to the UK, I have no idea what the similar shops are. I have the nice pots and pans, and china coming out of my ears, but now I need to replenish those practical things that didn't make through one of my moves in the last few years. (Chicago to Hawaii to New York and now, to London). Where can we register for better knives, a food mill, wooden spoons, delis/tupperware, silpat, decent baking trays, proofing baskets etc etc? (A couple of tableclothes for the kitchen table wouldn't be unwelcome either!) Is my only choice really trying to sift through all of John Lewis? Suggestions? Veiled clues? General laughter?

Cranberry Sauce with Ginger and Maple Syrup This is the cranberry sauce that blew my mom's recipe (in use for over 30 years) straight out of the water. It is adapted from a former roommate's family recipe -- and is worth your family's initial reluctance to switch from the recipe on the back of the ocean spray bag or from (the horror) the can. 4 c of cranberries 1-1/2 c real maple syrup 1/2 c water 1 tsp ground ginger Combine all ingredients except cranberries in large pot, and bring to the boil. Add cranberries, and cook until sauce thickens and most of the berries have popped (watch as it has the tendency to overboil easily). Sauce is best after it has sat at least overnight. Keywords: Side, Fruit, Condiment, Vegan, Turkey, Christmas, Vegetarian, Lunch, American, Easy, Sauce ( RG1871 )

Sorry to keep hijacking this thread but any suggestions for chinese (dinner)? Thanks for the great recs of bakeries too!

Hi all! Just thought I'd join the discussion since I will be in Toronto for the first time at the end of the week. Though not from vancouver, I am a big time bread and pastry fan. Your recs would by mightily appreciated.

Doc, Were those the "regular" wine pairings? BTW Has anyone noticed recently the number of views this topic has gotten?

DaFonz, The dough does look pretty firm in the photographs and from your photos of the finished loaves (both efforts) I'd say the bread is still underdeveloped, which is leading to both the tight crumb and the pale color of the crust. You can bake an underdeveloped dough seemingly forever and it still won't look done. But let's get back to what Mr. Lang was saying about how little you truly need to knead in order to get the results you're looking for because I believe doing that will yield the most significant results. Try this method: 1) Combine only the flour (16 oz) and water (10 oz) in the "dough" portion of the recipe. Mix together just until combined (until all the flour looks wet) maybe 2-4 minutes, depending on how vigorously you work it. You won't have anything resembling a dough, maybe a sticky, gloppy mass. If it's still very dry and shaggy, it crumbles and falls apart, add a little bit more water until it holds together. 2) Cover and wait for 10 minutes. 3) The dough should now feel more hydrated. Maybe if you stick your finger in it and pull up a piece it'll stretch a little before it breaks, maybe not. Add the remaining yeast to the sponge stir it in a little (by the way your sponge should look like a batter), then add all of this to your dough. Mix it in again until you get a relatively homogenous mass, another 2-4 minutes. At this point you really should have something that's wet rather than dry to the touch. Don't worry if it's not super smooth though. 4) Cover and wait another 10 minutes. 5) Mix the salt with... Wait where's the salt in this recipe? Very important. Mix the salt with a little bit of water to dissolve it (maybe a tablespoon or two), then add this to the dough and knead for another 2-4 minutes, until the salt crystals are completely dissolved. You should feel the dough tighten up almost immediately with the addition of the salt, it will feel dryer and you should notice the dough being more elastic and smoother and just plain dough like after the rest. It may even pass the windowpane test at this point. 6) Proceed with the recipe from here but remember to subtract 10 minutes from the rising time to account for that little rest before the salt got added. It is also advisable to "turn" the dough using the stretch-and-fold method (I know there's a description and even pictures of it somewhere so somebody please post a link!) 2-3 times during the rise at maybe 10-15 minute intervals. These turns would be in place of any "punching down" or degassing the recipe may have you do. Just count the whole thing before you shape the loaves as one long fermentation time. Hope this helps.

McDuff, Excellent looking bread. Good color. It's a little hard to tell from the resolution of the photo, but your crumb seems to be fully developed (note the sheen on the aveole indicating full gluten devlopment). Mr. Lepard may want to disagree with me but blowout seems to be a result of both a (slight) underproofing and shaping, specifically slashing. It looks like you could go with another half-hour proof without any problem. In regards to shaping, it simply seems that the loaves weren't slashed deep enough. Basic rule is that you can correct an underproofed loaf by slashing deeper and overproofed one by slashing shallower. Once again, very nice loaf. Excellent volume. -c

That's kind of funny--I just walked by there an hour ago and realized that I hadn't noticed it before. How is it?

I was really excited that a Gyu-Kaku was opening in my area--I really liked the one in Honolulu. But somehow that "excited" hasn't translated into getting around to going. I'm happy to hear that it's good though!

I'm looking for curry don... Rice, brown curry, and the odd potato chunk with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, tofu, etc. Thanks though!

I noticed that Hanami was gone--we walked up and down E 45th from Grand Central all the way to the UN and back. However, we ended up at a place called Hizen, at 200 East 45th St (between 2nd & 3rd Ave). It is not a strictly curry place. In fact, it sort of looks like they specialize in Ramen. But, the curry was pretty good and the service was, honestly, the most breath-takingly perfect service I have had in years. Food wise, it was $24 for two people. We had the tonkatsu (perfect sauce) and the curry with pork. The drinks brought the bill up substanially: $9 for a glass of pretty good cold sake and $10 for a (big) Sapporo. In and out in just over an hour. But, really, I'm still looking for a curry house. I don't like only getting to pick between pork, chicken or beef. I like the varieties, and honestly, I like the smell of a place so saturated with curry that the scent spills into the street. There has to be somewhere here. This is New York. -Emily

I moved to New York from Honolulu a year ago, and managed to get my curry craving under wraps while visiting friends in LA about a month ago, but no amount of googling (or even really searching eGullet, so far) has been able to point me to the kind of place I am looking for in New York... something like Hurry Curry. I've been to Katsuhama on 47th, and while the Katsu is great, it's still not exactly the curry house I am looking for. Any suggestions? Something I've over looked?

I'm putting an open call out to all Bay Area eGulleteers (or frequent visitors thereof) for a discussion of inexpensive restaurants in San Francisco and its environs. I'm talking full service restaurants with table service and a bill that's less than, say, $20 a person (to set an arbitrary figure) including tax and tip. Being a recent emigrant to northern California I find it odd that in a major metropolis like San Francisco there is a general lack of abundance and diversity with regards to interesting and cheap restaurants. New York obviously has got em. So do Chicago and Honolulu. LA has a whole series of guide books in the Zagat's vein called Hungry? devoted to them. I can even recall places in Pittsburgh and Boston that weren't too hard to find. I only ask this because after a rather perfunctory round of dining about, I find pretty much all the quality and talked about restaurants to be of a very similar model: entrees in excess of $17, cuisine very much of the Chez Panisse-Alice Waters local and organic mold, with modest adjustments for a Spanish or Italian, French or American, even an Asian accent. A modest discussion of social, historical, politcal or economic factors that may have led to this condition would not be out of line either. Passionate disagreements are very welcome, as are "ethnic" places.

Perfect timing on this thread... I just found myself in Dublin for 9 days and I didn't have any time to plan before arriving yesterday. I will absolutely look at some of these places. Thanks!

chefg, Are the portable Cooktek units neatly stackable or is there a manufacturer designed/standard footprint rack for efficient storage? Also, given the uniqe nature of the equipment and serviceware you will be using, are you planning on implementing any innovations in the sanitation/dishwashing departments?

Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. Yup, I have in fact moved to New York--our apartment is within the free delivery radius of both Dean & Deluca and Balthazar Bakery... And, we are just a few blocks up from Sullivan Street Bakery, a few more blocks away from Murray's Cheese Store, one block from Arturo's Pizza, etc, etc. It is pretty amazing. Chris is still busy packing in Honolulu, but will probably head out here sometime next week. When my internet connection is a bit more regular, I'll try to keep the blog more up-to-date. -Emily PS: My biggest surprise so far, by the way, was finding Bubbie's ice cream in Dean & Deluca. It was pretty neat, and I am looking forward to weather just cool enough for it not to melt on the walk home.

From The New York Times... And Per Se doesn't even come with Mickey Mouse!

1. Sakura Express serves cheap sushi and other Japanese fast food... The owners (Albert and Andrew) are great fun though they do hassle the customers. Getting to know them means that you will occasionally be publicly humiliated, but laugh all the same. When ever I come home, they still bug me about that ex-boyfriend from HIGH SCHOOL who they think that I should marry... And they've given every boyfriend since a very hard time. Tell them that Emily sent you, and they will mostly mutter and ask if I am married yet. Send them my love. 2. Halo Pub Ice Cream. Coffee Heath Bar with hot fudge. 'Nuff said. 3. Olives. Great salads and sandwiches. Take out, so drive to the battlefield and have a picnic. 4. Small World Coffee. If it is between Small World and Starbuck's, please got to Small World. The coffee is pretty good, and while the terrible S's put my favorite Princeton coffee house out of business, you might as well frequent the nice "hip" local one. They yell out funny names for coffee drinks, and the employees are usually pretty long term. Some of the same people have worked there since at least 1997. 5. Victor's Pizza. Try the Bacon and Potato pizza. 6. Triumph. Great burgers. If you like beer, this is the place to go. 7. PJ's Pancake house. It use to be the only place open late, until it burnt down in 1997. Then a couple of other places started staying open late... PJ's reopened, and is probably the same... Though I really don't know. 8. Hoagie Haven, "The Haven" to everyone except Westminster Choir College students who inexplicably call it "Hoagies". God I hope that it is still open. It is an institution. Bacon Cheesesteak. Or even the chicken fingers. It will be greasey, it may have things in it that belong in the "Foreign Objects" thread. You will get over it. You will eat everything, and you will be happy about it. Take Out. 9. George's is right next door to the Haven and reputed to be slightly less heart attack inducing. Hence, I never really frequented it. Take Out. 10. Carousel. Open until 2 am on weekends. Sweet Potato fries and Chocolate and Banana milkshakes. I think that they make a mean bowl of oatmeal as well. Have fun! And do not forget to check out the Record Exchange! -Emily

A hair on the edge of a dessert plate. At Charlie Trotter's. I will be the first to admit that the waiter saw the sort of disbelieving look on my face before I realized that I was making it, flew over, snagged the plate, and brought out what I am pretty sure was a brand new plate very, very quickly and quietly. It didn't ruin my meal, and I usually forget about it when retelling the story of my meal there... But still. A Hair. On My Plate. At Charlie Trotter's.

When I was little, I hadn't yet figured out what it was that I did or didn't like about particular dishes. I thought that the reason that I didn't like egg salad was the mayo, but really it was the onions. I love mayo now. At some point in college, with much intraspection, I developed The List Of Things I Will Not Eat. There are exactly five things: 1. Onions (this includes Green Onions, but not shallots) 2. Mushrooms 3. Olives 4. Cilantro 5. Beer Anything else from foie gras to brussel sprouts is fair game. -Emily

Sun-Ki, there are only about 6 and a half hours between your posts (overnight). Where in the world do you find that much energy? Is it the spam, perhaps?

I had a little bit of extra joy added to my life last year when Chris and I were nosing around a tiny little Mexican store here in Honolulu--I nearly jumped up and down when I spotted the Ting. So, Ting all the way, but I prefer the ones bottled in St. Lucia or anywhere other than Jamaica. But I suppose that I really do like any grapefruit soda, be it branded or not, from anywhere from Switzerland to here. -Emily

Mallomars have always been one of my favorite marshmallow concotions--s'mores aside, of course. I haven't even thought about whether or not they have them here in Hawaii. Now I may have to go to eBay because I feel a hankering coming on... Maybe I could squish an on-sale post easter peep on a graham cracker and dip the whole thing in chocolate? On second thought, that sounds gross. On another marshmallow goodness deprived note, when I was younger, my dad would tell me that I couldn't come visit him Dublin if I didn't bring along a jar of fluff. What's with us Northern East coast folk who cannot live without marshmallow?

Sun-Ki, Thanks for the review. Now I know where I am going for lunch. -Wait a minute. Does that sign actually have the words "Free Delivery" printed on it?