ludja

+1 Slow Medditerranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. Wonderful looking recipes; I want to try all of them.!

And also the Daquiri, frozen and not, and the Cuba Libra. Has anyone had the El Floridita? I've seen this on the menu at a local Cuban restauratn but not had it yet. The combination sounds interesting but difficult to predict. Here's Drinkboy's recipe and a little background: click

So, am I correct in reading this as 6 ounces of Gin, 2 ounces of vodka, and one ounce of Lillet? Large drink, indeed. Guess there wasn't a lot of spying going on after dinner. Erik Why double it? Sounds like Bond's "large, very strong and very cold" Vesper before dinner was: 3 oz Gin, 1 oz Vodka, 0.5 oz (1 Tbs) Lillet. I would cut it in half again for 1.5 oz (1 jigger) Gin, 0.5 oz (1 Tbs) Vodka and 1 1/2 tsp Lillet.

I've made this recipe (in One Plate at a Time) twice and really liked it. It was better tasting than any mole I've had in a restaurant--but then I've never been to Mexico. I followed the recipe very closely, not making any substitutions b/c it was the first mole I made and I figured the balance of flavors is important to the final dish. As people mentioned above, do use good lard that you've rendered yourself if possible and do make the mole 1-2 days before to blend the flavors. The only tricky part I found was getting the temp and timing correct when frying the dried chiles. He gives pretty good instructions though, so just jest adjust the heat to get the described results. (It may be helpful to have a few extra chiles of each type on hand in case overcook some.) After the first 2-3, I found it easy to not overcook them. The Mexican White Recipe he gives in the same book goes very well with it and is nice to sop up the great sauce. I also made some glazed sweet potatoes with lime, black pepper. a little brown sugar and red chile to go with. The slight sweetness was a nice partner with the dish.

I've made a recipe several times that I like very much. It's from Lindsey Shere in Chez Panisse Desserts. It's flavored w/anise extract, anise seeds and a little bit of grappa. The cookie also has almonds in it which I'm not sure that you want. I suspect the biscotti would also be good without the almonds added. The recipe yields a great traditional biscotti.

Remove the peel first before juicing the lemon, cut into thin threads and mince; then use to flavor a creme anglaise. Serve the creme anglaise with a nice piece of pound cake...

I don't know if he is still involved, but Wallse's chef, Kurt Gutenbrunner designed the menu at Cafe Sabarsky. Here's a good thread reviewing Wallse: click. I want to go there sometime as well Bouley's Danube to compare their interpretations of 'high end' Austrian cuisine. A month ago I was at Cafe Sabarsky and had the most wonderful chestnut torte. There was sponge cake, meringue, chestnut puree, whipped cream and what seemed to be an almond frangipane layer. It was heavenly--(stored in the refrigerated case next to the counter). Nice to know about the hot chocolate too as I usually order coffee there, "eine kleine Braune".

In a somewhat similar vein, I have a wall of cabinets that extends on each side and above my sink. Above the sink the cabinets are shorter (and higher up) so I have two little cabinet "walls" available on each side of the sink. I have a hook on each side, one for a large stainless steel bowl and one for a stainless steel collander. I have found this very helpful--being able to quickly grab for either in the midst of cooking/washing vegetables or fruit/making salads, etc. After washing/rinsing them, I can hang them up a little wet b/c they are over the sink. It's great to not have to dig around for these when I need them.

I was looking for some good cobbler recipes last summer to make.... a peach cobbler and settled on one by Bill Neal in "Biscuits, Spoonbread and Sweet Potato Pie". He calls it "Peach Cobbler with Clabber Biscuits". The biscuits have both yogurt and heavy cream in them (to simulate 'clabber'). It is very good. I looked thru many recipes and they ranged from pie crust style toppings to crumbles. But any good cream biscuit recipe should work well!

Lot's of good ideas also here on varmint's request for pasta recipes... I really like the broccoli, anchovy, red pepper dish similar to what ppx just described. It's quick even when using fresh broccoli (cut up into small pieces). I almost always have pancetta around; it great to make a soffritto with it and onions, carrots and garlic. I eat this alone on pasta but it's also a great base for almost any other added ingredient. Not sure if I mentioned this in the other thread, but I also love a recipe by Lidia Bastianich using bacon, onion, peperoncini peppers, parsley and tomatoes. The peppers add a great bite to the dish. Another favorite which is also nice in the summertime b/c the sauce isn't cooked is from Well's Bistro Cooking. To cooked pasta add chopped ham or proscuitto, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, black olives and thyme or parsley. Thanks for the bread crumb and chickpea idea amcloud; sounds like a good one to make with 'pantry ingredients".

Thanks for the interesting (and scary, re:the processing info) on maraschino cherries. I love homemade or good brandied cherries in Manhattans. Had this first at Cafe du Nord in SF and started making them myself since.

I was thinking along these lines as well. (Not that I think it is "quintessentially SF" but certainly CA... A local (peninsula and South Bay) chain bakery (Le Boulanger) has a best selling sandwich called "California Fresh"-- it has roasted turkey, monterrey or sonoma jack cheese, dijon mustard, mayo, avocado, onion, lettuce and tomatoes. It's very good. They serve it on a Dutch Crunch Roll but sourdough would work well too. If you went with this I would serve versions with and without turkey. I like alot of marlena's ideas as well. edited to add: if beer is being served, you could have locally brewed Anchor Steam; for non-alcoholic drinks could serve ginger lemonade. Scharffenberger or Ghiradelli for chocolate desserts-- Ghiradelli may have more name recognition but I like Scharffenberger better. They both sell small squares of chocolate that could be put out as well. Don't know how expensive it would be to get or what your budget it, but could get It's It ice cream sandwiches made in SF (v. close by) for over 50 years... (They're chocolate covered oatmeal cookies w/ice cream in the middle--coffee, chocolate, vanilla and mint).

Looks like you have both 'seasonal' and classic choices w/pecan pie or banana pudding, but another nice option could be home made butter pecan ice cream... Maybe too *fancy* for a bbq but German Chocolate Cake is also a Texax invention, no? Could make it in a sheet pan for a less formal gathering or bigger crowd. edited to add: oops, I just saw that you had already made a decision! Good luck with the cobbler, look for recipes with "cream biscuit' topping... yum.

I also always use 1 Tbs buttermilk per 1 cup heavy cream. I would add some more buttermilk in and let it go for another half day. As carswell mentioned, it does firm up further in the fridge. Final texture is usually close to a soft sour cream texture.

I've only had one Aviation at a bar but would like to make them at home. I tracked down some Luxardo. For you Aviation fans out there that have already done some experimenting, what is your favorite brand gin to use in the drink?

Ummm, I think this just became one of my favorite egullet threads. (only looked at it today). Thanks Adam for sharing your trip with us and with such wonderful photos. It's been a great way to relive memories of Florence and to dream of future visits--and also to renew inspiration to cook Tuscan food here, albeit without the ingredients you have... I do wish I could get a fegattini... It looked absolutely delicious along with the roasted pork and side dishes.

I've recently seen lots of chinese restaurants in Austria as well. I guess 'lots' is relative, because I'd never seen any there before (say, outside of Vienna) and the last time (2 years ago) I saw quite a few, even outside of larger cities. The restaurants were quite noticeable because they would sometimes be in a building in which you would expect to see local food. Can not answer your question though, interesting as it is, because I was too busy searching out good Austrian food... Anyway, when I was there I got the feeling that chinese restaurants were on the upswing in Austria, at least among younger people.

Although nullomodo is trying to replicate something he had, I still thought it would be interesting to comment on this for the thread. These comments relate to Austria, I don't know about Germany. My mom confirmed my remembrance of not commonly seeing 'warm potato salad' in Austria (South, and South East) in restaurants or having it in people's homes. My mom never even heard of warm potato salad before she came over here. And once she did, it was not from the large Austrian immigrant community but rather from German or German/American sources. My grandmother makes her potato salad similar to what I described above, but does not add bacon to it. My mom said she picked that up over here in the US. Even in the US for Octoberfest, Austrian Club dinners, etc bacon was usually not in the basic potato salad. (It is a great addition, but isn't necessary for a good salad that you'll still want to eat out of the bowl). As an aside, potato salad in Austria is often not served alone but rather as part of a "Gemischtessalat", ie. a 'mixed salad' that could also have lettuce or cucumber salad or green bean salad. As I mentioned above per some of my cookbooks, I think there may be a 'warm' salad variation in Vienna, and maybe in at least some parts of Germany. A newer cookbook I have also has a warm version. Vienna is similar to Paris in that they often have customs, foods, etc that are distinct from the rest of the country. If looking for potato salad in an Austrian cookbook, you won't have much luck looking under "Kartoffel" (german word for potato). In Austria they used the word, "Erdapfel" (earth potato).

I think there must be regional variations re: warm or not German Potato Salad. I used to think it was an American-German variation but I do have recipes in older Austrian cookbooks that have warm versions, some using meat broth as well. My mom is Austrian and never makes it warm--but it does have bacon in it. (Out of curiosity, I need to ask her how my grandmother makes it). Anyway, this is a very good Austrian Potato Salad to have with wurst. Boil waxy potatoes and let them cool completely. (Best to make the day before and let chill in fridge overnight). (This does not make a "mashed potato" type salad; rather the pieces are kept in more individual slices). Peel and slice cooled potatoes into bowl. Add minced onion, minced parsley, minced chives (or green onions), salt and pepper and a little bit of sugar. Add crumbled bacon. Then add in regular white vinegar and vegetable oil to taste. (Sorry I don't have measures). I usuallly add in a decent amount of vinegar; then enough oil to coat. Mix and taste. Adjust salt and pepper and maybe vinegar. This goes very well with bratwurst, leberwurst, blutwurst, etc. This can also be adapted to a mayo version that has mayo and chopped, boiled eggs added to it. (use less vinegar and oil, here, then taste to adjust if you need more vinegar or salt and pepper). I love both of these; the ingredients may look simple but many people I've served it to say that it is among the best they've had...

Good point to keep in mind. I only recently became aware through an aquaintence with celiac disease that even small amounts of flour (gluten) are important to avoid in those cases.

Thanks for the link. She says that ricotta isnt a high yeild cheese. Do you know how much Id get from the 2 quarts of milk? ← Hmmm, when I used 7 litres of milk I got nearly a kilo of cheese. So if I calculate correctly you'll get 250-300g or just over half a pound. Anyone want to "proof" my calculations? ← Calculation looks fine. It's also close to the yield of a recipe that I have (but haven't made) that says the yield from 3 quarts of milk is close a pound.

Amazing menu touaregsand! Is this a fantasy menu or something you will actually be making? Interesting N.African/Middle Eastern influence on some of the dishes. I'm not having an "Oscar" party, but one idea I had after reading this thread was "Oeufs a la Neige" -- to tie in to Howard Hughe's determination to finding clouds as a backdrop for shooting his first movie. (in 'The Aviator")

Flour is not a problem at all. ← You're right....and it was my first post..... ← A little flour was deemed 'ok' earlier on in the thread (post 3)... Thanks for sharing the recipe; this thread is going to be a great reference. Welcome to egullet ldubois2!!!

Thanks, that looks like a great sangrita recipe! Do you ever mix your sangrita (like this one) with tequila; i.e. to make something like a Vampiro?

Interesting, I looked back at Bill Neal's "Good Old Grits Cookbook" and was a little confused as to just this point. i.e. whether or not what is sold as "grits" was ground from corn that was lye-treated or not. Here's a quote from his book From this quote, it seems he is saying the same thing as Taylor, i.e. what is commonly sold as grits is not made from lye-treated corn. I guess I read slkinsey's quote above as meaning that what sold as "grits" was actually ground up corn that had been treated wtih lye. Is that what you meant slkinsey? Apologies in advance if I'm misreading your post or being maddeningly pedantic. Other question: If most (all?) grits sold are not made from hominy (i.e. lye treated corn), why not? The lye treatment releases additional essential vitamins so it would seem a loss not to make them this way unless the difference in taste or texture reallly makes it another product.