ludja

I love anise also; especially in desserts so I'd love to hear if someone has a good recipe. I looked thru a few of my books and I found a recipe (haven't tried it yet) in Zarela Martinez', Food From my Heart. This egg and butter enriched bread is flavored with orange flower water and also has condensed milk in it! Maybe this recipe could be adapted by flavoring with anise seeds instead of the orange flower water... In terms of shapes she mentions shapes such as: human figures, alligators, lizards, skulls, cross bones, teardrops or crosses. Often decorated with colored sugar.

I actually found that I did have some cake flour at home, so that part is taken care of. Also did some googling and came across this info re: cake vs all-purpose flour: joy of baking flour information Still eager to hear if people think the amount of flour sounds ok!

Hi all, I'm thinking about making a recipe for this from the March 2000 Saveur (later tonight, for a get together tomorrow...!) I haven't made it before and wonder if people can weigh in on whether the cake part of the recipe sounds reasonable. In particular, the amount of flour seems low to me. (A lower ratio than some Viennese sponge cake recipes I have...) (In the recipe they say they scaled down the recipe in size from original at Chez Denise's in Paris--so it added my nervousness). From the description (and photo) it looks like a genoise type cake; you cook it in a springform pan. Then split in half. Put half of cake back in pan, fill with raspberry bavarian type filling, then other half of cake on top. Then chill for 24 hrs to set. Serve w/raspberry sauce... From the photo, the cake is not very thick, the band of raspberry filling is as thick or more so than the cake. Here is the recipe for the cake: 4 eggs, separated 1/2 cup sugar 7 Tbs cake flour 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow. Gradually beat in flour until smooth. Add vanilla and set aside. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks and gradually fold into cake mixture, w/o deflating whites. Two questions: 1. Does the amount of flour seem ok? 2. Any possibility of substituting all-purpose flour for the cake flour or will that result in dire consequences? Thanks so much for any replies in advance!

Thanks Swisskaese--sounds like a delicious and relatively easy cake to make-- a kind of neat variant on a Schwartzwalderkirsch Torte... I don't think I can wait until fresh cherries are available to try this!

I've made another nice mascarpone dish--(from Scicolone's ,La Dolce Vita)--It is a very nice dish in the fall-- Poach pears in a lemon-sugar-white wine syrup. Reduce the syrup and reserve to pour over pears when serving. Stuff pear cores w/a mix of mascarpone and gorgonzola (1:2). Chill and serve, garnished w/mint.

I've used Luchetti's recipe for homemade 'mascarpone' and it came out great! I made a nice dessert once using a filling of sweetened mascarpone with crystallized ginger (I think whipped cream was also folded in). This was sandwiched between two crisp rounds of filo dough. Yum.

Check out bleu d'auvergne's food blog from last spring. The recipe is in there; with photos and extra tips too!

I'll risk a silly question--is the shredded cabbage normally just raw or is it marinated with vinegar and salt? (I've had it inside some preps but wasn't sure...) Thanks

Good call; that sounds like a good guess. It's not too difficult to make--and delicious, so you can only have fun trying it out!

Bummer. We were there ~ 5:30 so I guess we contributed to the disappearance... Always glad to see them have so much business though. It always seems to be crowded no matter what time of day.xc

On an excursion to the coast yesterday to keep cool--we ate at 3 Amigos. Gotta love the Super Carnitas Burrito!

Found this online: chanterelle information I guess eierschwamm is local to that part or all of Austria.

I made some great use of rosemary syrup recently-- to flavor a polenta dessert cake served with blackberries and whipped cream. (You brush the syrup onto the warm cake so that it soaks in). It is delicious! I'd seen a recipe like this before from John Ash up at Fetzer Vineyerds. Then recently Abra made it in her foodblog. I used the same recipe she did which is on Epicurious. Just search using "rosemary" and "cake".

Also very good as a filling base for tarts with eggs and sugar. I recently deposited a raspberry creme fraiche tart recipe on RecipeGullet. It adds reallly nice taste compared to just using cream. (RecipeGullet is down temporarily since the SW upgrade, but is said to back up be soon).

I second SwissMiss's idea re: Kirsch or any other good local liqueur. When I was travelling in and near St. Moritz there was also a delicious of fruitcake type bread made with dried pears and I think almonds (?Birnbrot)?. I brought a few of these back and they were great for breakfast.

I'm not sure, I've never heard that word. (Have to ask my Mom next time I talk to her!). All I can vouch for is that in Steirmark (Styria) and Burgenland in Austria they are called "eierschwamm". It's possible that they are called something different in other parts of Austria and not unlikely at all that they are called something different in Germany... Lots of differences in words between Austrian-German and German-German, especially in food. Since I have only heard "eierschwamm" I assumed that was the universal term! My german is a funny blend of austrian dialect from Styria and Burgenland and college-taught High German... Happy to learn the whole scoop if someone knows for sure what they are called in Germany!

I looked on Google a little bit too--and as you say, not much out there. Because one of the two hotel/restaurants listed is named "Berghotel Zirmerhof", I wonder if it is a very local or 'house' specialty... i.e. a dessert named after the hotel. I wonder if contacting the hotel would yield any results? Else, if we know the 'red fruit' on top, you may be able to make a pretty good approximation as people mentioned above. I wonder what nuts were used? Walnuts, Hazelnuts?... What was the filling like inbetween the layers?

Can you get any further description on the "red fruit". If she called it that, it makes me think it was not strawberries... Other fruit I would suspect would be red currants or else 'austrian lignonberries" (I can't remember the name right now in German but it is essentially a lignonberry, i.e. small, tart and similar to a cranberry). They also grows in mountain areas so if this is a regional dessert they might might use these berries.) I ask for the details b/c even though I can't find something like this in any of my Austrian cookbooks, if I have a better description of the fruit I may be able to get info from my Mom or grandmother.

A classic simple dish in Austria is "eierspeise" or scrambled eggs with fresh chanterelles. One of my grand aunts always makes this as a special treat for us when we visit her farm. The mushrooms are just picked that morning... by her! Traditionally, the eggs are mixed v. lightly for Eierspeise so that you still see some white streaks after they are cooked. Also, less stirring in cooking the eggs, and a little less cooking so they are a bit moist. The mushrooms are sauteed first and separately, then mixed into the eggs. An aside: The german word for chanterelles is "eierschwamm" or 'egg mushrooms'.

Welcome to egullet gbrett73 and have a great time in Sonoma. Sounds like you have a great bunch of wineries already selected. Here are a few wonderful wineries in the Carneros: Cline Cellars (lots of interesting Rhone varietals and big reds, Zinfandel, Syrah, Mouvedre) Schug (nice Chardonnay and Pinot; elegant wines) Acacia (great Chardonnays and Pinots, beautifuil setting for their tasting room; very different landscape than other wineries nearby; it's in the heart of the Carneros; you can see the top of SF bay--need to make a tasting appointment--but this is easy to do if you call ahead the same day and set up a time) None of these wineries are far from downtown Sonoma (~ 15 min).

Wow lots of Middletown activity... (I grew up there--as a "townie"). Here are a few good places in New Britain: CRACOVIA [Polish] 60 Broad St. New Britain, CT (860) 223-4443 Great homestyle Polish food--bigas, galumpkis(sp), potato pancakes, blintzes, wonderful homemade soups (beef, pickle, beet... etc). In looking up the address I also found out that it is known as the first Polish restaurant in New England. CRIOLLISIMO [Caribbean, Latin American] 340 Arch St. New Britain, CT (860) 827-1177 Great Puerto Rican food--again, homestyle and very good prices. CAPTITAL LUNCH 510 Main St., New Britain, CT (860) 229-8237 One word: chili hot dogs and great french fries. Bet you can't eat less then two.. This place is a classic, serving up dogs with their great homemade chili for at least 60-70 years. (Again, looking for address, I found out something interesting; they've recently opened a 2nd store up in Storrs near UCONN compus). Another great resource is Jan and Michael Stern's. They live in CT and as many people know they go on the road all over the US to find great "road food". Here's an article on some of their CT faves; would be nice to hear people's comments on any of these.... Stern's CT favorites

Do you happen to know the name of the round guy in the middle of the picture? My brother has been growing these same peppers (we knicknamed them "cherry bombs") and he hasn't a clue as to what the variety is called. All he knows is they're hot enough to give him instant hiccups if he eats them raw. That name might not be too far off the mark; I think they're called "cherry peppers".

Pesce and inspired from egullet, Quince Manresa

Hayes Street Grill (S.F.) Afghani House (Sunnyvale) Amici's East Coast Pizzeria (Mountain View) *was at Haye's Street Grill for the first time and really liked it!

I agree wtih the importanice of getting good tahini. Some brands have a very off taste and can really take away from the final dish. I made a nearly side-by-side comparison last summer after a first batch was disappointing. The new tahini made a big difference. I don't have tips on getting better tahini though--we happen to have a Middle East grocery nearby and were able to get some better stuff there. (can taste a little of the tahini plain and compare to see the difference)