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ludja

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  1. ludja

    Blackberries

    as a sauce (no seeds) with rose geranium flavored panna cotta or with a cantaloupe cream (in addition, a beautiful color contrast) with peach ice cream I wonder if the puree could be used as part of a peach shortcake? doesn't help with the puree but I also like peaches and blackberries together in a galettes, pies and cobblers (When added as an accent to the peaches one gets the pleasant aciidity but not a mouthful of seeds!) edited to add: blackberry ice cream with sauce inside a split vanilla meringue and topped with whipped cream...
  2. ludja

    Apricots

    I love apricot jam... a baked apricot kuchen or clafouti-type dish; apricot pie---straight up or with cherries an open-faced, free-fomr galette w/ground almonds under the fruit apricot compote sprinkled with toasted pistachios apricot sorbet tart iwth pastry cream filling and poached apricots on top; glazed w/red currant jam
  3. Hi wnissen! enjoying your blog! If this fits into the flow of your blog it would be nice to hear a little bit about some of your favorite Livermore wineries. I've been to visit some of them a few times but it has been a long time (7-8 years) since being there. Also interesting if you know a bit about Lodi wines; another "less known" wine region.
  4. My info is only from googling; hopefully someone with more hands on experience will add something. My antennae go up when I hear things like "cream" or "custard-filled" so I wanted to investigate. (Thanks for bringing this up; I learned something new). Perhaps what you had are "semlor" from Sweden. If you google this you can find a bunch of recipes that are more or less the same. semlor recipe One difference from what you described are that these are filled with cream (whipped) --mixed with crumbs from the hollowed out bun and also some milk and either marizpan or ground almonds. They are originally a pre-lenten treat--i.e for "Fat or Shrove Tuesday". As in many other countries, though, lots of these treats are now eaten at other times of the year. A bunch of other European-Catholic countries have similar pre-lenten fried pastries made from a yeast dough and then filled with jam or cream. In Austria they are "krapfen" , in Germany, "fastnacht", in Poland, paczki. I think at some time this was to use up items that were proscribed during lent like yeast, milk, eggs, etc. Anyway--these versions with the marzipan sound awfully good to me!
  5. Thanks Pim--I get your point re: being able to get better, more authentic regional chinese food at say, a Cantonese place in SF--and for that reason, recommending these to visitors. Thanks for the suggestions on places. Also, re: Brandy Ho's perhaps being good but not exceptional re: regional cuisine. The example of the soups is a good one--i.e being standard soups, not from one region. This resonates with me because after having Thai food for the first time out here--I bought an arm load of Thai cookbooks (~10 years ago) and read about the cuisine--then woudl go to restaurants and be disappointed by the offering of the same three soups and same four appetizers, etc.... You'd have to have eaten the chinese food I had previously to understand the "revelation' I had at Brandy Ho's... Before I'd only had the worst kind of exceesivly bland or sweet, americanized Chinese food made with very poor quality ingredients. I once had a shrimp dish that was so bad it was only until I moved out to the Bay area that I would ever eat any seafood in an "asian" restaurant--now it is the opposite. Thanks also to Han and Gary Soup for some good Szechuan places to try out. I definately can enjoy foods that bring you to the pain-pleasure intererface so we'll have to see. Also, maybe I'll get some exposure to some of the other subtlties of Szechuan cuisine. Does anyone know in what US cities (besides NY) there might tend to be good Hunan restaurants? (i.e. immigrants from Hunan) Also if people have other suggestions for the Bay area, please share them.
  6. too many choices... depends on the mood! bacon, cheese, tomato and a little mayo swiss cheese and grilled onions, with or without ketchup blue cheese and bacon sharp cheddar cheese, with or without ketchup avocado and bacon Hmmm.. bacon seems to be a common theme...I'm probably in the minority not really liking lettuce on my burger... it okay sometime--but for added veggies, it's usually only added sliced tomato or avocado... Jason's horseradish mixed wtih mayo and mustard sounds really good too...
  7. How about the food at Brandy Ho's? Not being facetious--but what is americanized or fancy about it? If you've eaten at Brandy Ho's; how would the food be different than at a good Hunan place? (execution?, ingredients?, selection on menu?) edited to add: I'm asking, not for the point of argument, but because I would love to be able to identify, find and have even better Hunan food.
  8. On another thread to help Al Dente with his SF-SD road trip sf to san diego trip a point came up re: Hunan Food in SF. (Pim @ Jun 30, 2004 7:43 PM) Brandy Ho's on Colombus in North Beach is an old favorite of mine. (kung pao chicken, house-cured ham w/braised garlic). But I am not an expert on Hunan food--have only compared w/a handful of other places on the Peninsula to which Brandy Ho's compares favorably. Are there any Hunan or Szechuan restaurants in the Bay area that are a favorite of yours and are perhaps more authentic? It would also be ihelpful and interesting to hear comments on what makes a place more authentic or less "fancified or Americanized".
  9. Brandy Ho's was a revelation in terms of Chinese food when I move here fromt the East coast---probably because I like spicy food and b/c it was so much better than what I had had before. I still like Brandy Ho's alot; can only imagine how good real Hunan food would be that is not "fancified or Americanized". (can't say that Brandy Ho's seems fancy to me though the 'americanized' part I can't comment on...). Can you recommend any good Hunan or Szechuan restaurants in the Bay area? (Also, do you know any places in the US w/good Hunan good?) Good to hear your suggestions re: Cantonese food, which as you say, is what SF is known for. I've been to Yuet Lee but must also try the others. I moved this query to a separate thread: hunan and szechuan in bay area
  10. I love this type of asian-fusion preparation--easy and quick and so tasty. I found another great prep in which you wrap a piece of fish (like cod) in a softened Vietnamese rice wrapper. Then it gets crisped in a little oil, part of the time with a lid over to help cook. Then finished by cooking a little more in a sauce of soy or tamari, rice vinegar, shallots, green onions and chile... The wrapper adds an interesting flavor/texture and the sauce adds a bright note.
  11. question 2) If you're driving down Hwy 1 from SF--you should definately check out Bonny Doon Vineyards (just north of Santa Cruz). It is literally only 5 min from Hwy 1 and well worth the time. Again, if coming down Hwy 1 another good winery (in downtown Santa Cruz) is Storrs Winery. Great whites (Gewurtztraminer, Chardonnay) question 1) not right in SF, but again if driving down Hwy 1, stop in at Duartes Tavern in Pescardero (~ 10 mi south of Half Moon Bay). Main reason to go there is either cream of green chile or cream of artichoke soup, french fries, home made bread w/butter and homemade pies.... (can't vouch for rest of menu) It is a neat old bar/restaurant about 100 years old from the Santa Cruz Mt. lumbering days. A visit to the bar is a must. Even just stopping by for some homemade ollallieberry, raspberry or strawberry-rhubarb pie is worth it. (only ~ 5 min from Hwy 1). question 1) Not cheap, but nowhere near French Laundary either: Zuni Cafe. Could go for lunch instead of dinner if desired. Other great "SF" experience is dim sum--I like Ton Kiang on Geary but you can get lots of ideas by perusing other SF threads. In North Beach: SF Brewing Company, Brandy Ho's Hunan Cuisine, Cafe Greco or Stella's (pastries, fresh-filled cannolis, cappucino), sandwich and/or browsing at Molinari's Italian delicatessen (could walk up to Coit Tower and eat there), Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe, Vesuvio's (upstairs for a cocktail or Campari and soda). question 3) There was a pretty long thread re: food options in Carmel (just north of Big Sur)
  12. Can anyone weigh in on buying compilation, Essential Cusine of Mexico versus the three original books (Cuisine of Mexico, Tortilla Book & Mexican Regional Cooking) separately? Are all the original recipes there in the compilation? Are the recipes "updated" and if so, are they updated in a good way? (i.e. still traditional, or perhaps even more so given better access to ingredients now) I may not be able to get all the books out of the library and compare myself so wondered if anyone else had the opportunity Thanks in advance.
  13. I think the rosti and steak photo belongs in the egullet hall of fame---it looks very inviting. Knowing that it accompanied a leisurely evening spent drinking wine with friends makes it even more wonderful. (maybe you can still sneak in a comment on your rabbit dinner if you make it tomorrow---I've only had one ill-advised meal of rabbit and would like to feel warmer towards the possibility of ordering it again. I say ill-advised because the combination sounded a bit odd to me but I ordered it anyway and it was not in a French restaurant--rabbit with mustard and cranberries. It may have been tainted by a slight squeamishness on my part in eating it for the first time, or perhaps simply due to the cooks skill or lack of it, but it was pretty horrendous--texture and flavors). In any case, thanks again for a wonderful blog!
  14. ludja

    Favorite Picnic Foods

    A favorite I use for picnicing up in the wine country is a great taboulleh recipe from "Thrill of the Grill" by Chris Schlessinger. Add feta cheese and halved cherry tomatoes to it and serve in pita pockets. Sometimes I bring some cooked shrimp and toss them into the taboulleh before filling the pita. Great tasting, simple to make and eat. My basic though is a la Boris_A (see the end of his blog)... cured meats and cheese, pickles, boiled eggs, good bread, etc....
  15. ludja

    California Sauv Blanc

    Two other vineyards with nice sauv. blancs: Quivira I also prefer sauvignon blancs not oaked; another I recall enjoying several times a while back (but can not swear to the level of oakiness) is Rochioli.
  16. ludja

    Gooseberries

    Thank you trillium; what a great link... and the eldberry flower-gooseberry combo sounds amazing. Here are the recipe names from Delia's site to encourage further browsing: Italian Rice Creams with Gooseberry and Elderflower Purée Gooseberry Yoghurt Fool Gooseberry and Elderflower Ice Cream A Very Easy One-crust Gooseberry Pie Gooseberry and Crème Fraîche Tart English Gooseberry Cobbler Gooseberry and Elderflower Preserve Summer Fruit Compote Lindsey Shere'e Chez Panisse Desserts (egullet -amazon link gives $ to egullet if you order) is wonderful dessert cookbook--especially for fruit desserts and ice creams. It is one of the most prized cookbooks in my collection. Anyway, she has a nice sounding recipe for a gooseberry curd. She suggests using the curd to fill pre-baked tartlets (and garnish wtih whipped cream) or else as a filling for cakes. The cake filling idea sounds wonderful to me.
  17. There's a speciality bookshop for English books in Zurich claiming to offer 30'000 titles. I'm there from time to time to check for English wine books. They might have what you are looking for. I'll ask next time. Thank you... if you do happen to remember I'd be very interested!
  18. It's a rather dull thing: It's called "cream slice". There are 3-4 layers of puff pastry with filled with a firm vanilla sauce and covered with icing. It's all about the consistency and taste of the vanilla filling. It's not really local or regional in it's layout, but it's different from similar pastries I had abroad. It's a Swiss-German signatur pastry. A bakery can gain not much when doing it well, and loose a lot when screwing up. If a village has two bakeries, the way they do this simple thing can be a divider for the population. As I said, many bakeries have a coffe bar attached. This is a typical "little piece" (as we call such kind of pastries). You buy it in the bakery shop and it gets served in the bar. So if not done well, the bakery is loosing on the coffee bar also. Here are btw, typical bread and buns. The croissant (a bit a distorted instance here) and the bun at the right are the classic bun you eat with a morning coffee. The bread in the background is about 1 lb. It's made by relatively dark flour. It's of firm consistency, not unlike the bread you get in Austria or Germany. It's one of the most badly missed thing, when people are living outside these countries for a longer time. A friend of mine living now in the Toscana buys regularly a bunch of such bread when going home after a visit. Cremeschnitten, simple but not dull...! (I like cream slices as well--and it is basically a simpler cousin of Napoleans which I also think are great!) Thanks for the photos of the breads as well. It is difficult to move away from good bread... I love the breakfast rolls available in Switzerland, Austria, etc served with some good sweet butter and maybe some honey or apricot jam....
  19. But now I remember a pastry (rather a pie) really exclusive: "Appenzeller Biberflade": With Google, I could find Swiss links only. It's from the north-eastern part of Switzerland. It is very popular. It can be really "yum". It's a gingerbread variant, and recipes for the filling are true secrets. This inner core is a spicey almond/hazelnut paste. Do you know such a thing? I've never heard about it, but don't know very much about Swiss pastries and cakes. That really does sound unique and delicious though--gingerbread and almond-hazelnut paste!!! You may have created an urge that is difficult to fill! --although needing another "reason" to go back to Switzerland is nice. A nice Swiss sweet I had over there though was "Birnbrot" or "Pear Bread"-- a yeasted bread filled with a spicy mixture of dried pears, prunes, raisins, figs, walnuts--and things like cinnamon, nutmeg, kirsch and dry red wine... (This also traveled well and I brought some back as gifts). I have a recipe for this and your thread had now inspired me to mak this sometime (I had forgotton about it). Another Swiss dessert I recently read about in Maida Heatter's "Cakes" is the "Zuger Kirschtorte" which I also feel compelled to make. It can be constructed as follows: crisp almond meringue; layer of kirsch buttercream; a 2-in thick, light buttery sponge cake soaked in kirsch syrup; more buttercream another meringue layer and more buttercream. Sides covered w/buttercream and toasted almonds. Top has a simple crosshatch design in the buttercream. I was at the library yesterday and included my customary stroll past the cookbook section for potential reading--took out "The Swiss Cookbook" by Nika Hazelton and it is pretty good. The desserts although similar in spirit to some in Austria and Germany have some unique interesting themes though... spices, honey, cherries, dried apples and pears, chestnuts, chocolate, almonds and hazelnuts... Does anyone know of any other good Swiss cookbooks written in English? (or German, potentially) and especially with a good dessert section? Thanks for a nice blog Boris!
  20. We just discovered these also--and have been serving them with aperatifs. Delicious. Here's another egullet thread with some additional info--marcona almonds
  21. forgot to add--also black pepper... (and use mayo or butter as you prefer). Also bread must be toasted--and cucumbers slice thin and piled on pretty thick. It was funny, I had this the first time two years ago during a visit home to my parents. They claimed they have eaten this for a long time but I don't remember it from when I was there. Anyway--it is really good if you like liverwurst! (I guess the non-surprising angle is that liverwurst and pickles go well together...)
  22. I also like this salad with the sour cream... (depends what we're having with it). Also make what is called a "gemischtes salat" in Austria--sliced, cold, boiled potatoes and non-cooked sliced cucumbers dressed with parsley, vinegar, oil (pumpkinseed oil), onions, salt and tiny bit of sugar. simple mexican-inspired salads with slices of jicama and cucumber sprinkled w/cayenne pepper and lime juice. and chilled cucumber buttermilk soup also like to add to sandwiches---especially tuna or liverwurst sandwiches. For the latter, use lightly buttered and toasted rye bread and salt the very thinly sliced cukes a little; it is an unexpected but incredibly good combo.
  23. Sounds like a wonderful supper... I would love to hear more about the pastry... ("local and very popular" sounds interesting) Was it customary in Switzerland to have the biggest meal midday as in other parts of Europe? Does this persist at all nowadays? Some family of mine in Europe still come home from work midday to have the big meal then...
  24. Great post Lan4dawg---thanks for sharing and taking the time to convey the memories with some great writing! Can just picture the old guy telling about making the lemonade...fishing in the cooler for the coke and also the passing around of the mason jar or paper 'poke'...
  25. Thank you for the nice description in preparing your Tafelspitz. And also including the meat cut--the cuts do differ from those in the US so it is helpful to have 'the translation". For those that have not eaten it; the sum taste of it is much greater than the description may lead one to believe. I love it with new boiled potatoes w/parsely and butter and also with apfelkren (apple-horseradish sauce) I recently read the Time-Life series book on "The Cookiing of Vienna's Empire" and they have a great page-long discussion on the history/variations of Tafelspitz--especially in more tradition-lade times prior to WWII: Here is a short quote: "Before Allied bombs were dropped on Meissl and Schadn's in March 1945, this most famous of Vienna's beef restaruants had been a place where the whole ritual of cooking and eating boiled beef could be seen. The restaurant's two floors catered to two pocketbooks of sharply contrasted size... But it was the formalities of eating that were so interesting. These were many and they were never questioned. Only those who didn't know better ordered "boiled beef" pure and simple. To do so was to invite contempt of waiters and any habitues who might be within earshot, as there were 24 varieties of beef to choose from, all for boililng yet all different. One was expected to be precise in one's order. Each of Meissl and Schadn's famous customers from Gustav Mahler to Richard Strausss had his own particular cut and every waiter knew what it was." quoted from: The Cooking of Vienna's Empire by Joseph Wechsberg, Time-Life Books, NY 1968
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