ludja

I really love the flavor of habaneros (fresh and pickles; haven't used dried very much). Mentioned it on another thread, but a great simple use is Bayless' "Essential Simmered Tomato-Habanero Sauce" in his Bayless' "Mexican Kitchen"(egullet-amazon link). It's a versatile picante sauce that's become one of my basics for mexican cooking; it's very low effort to make. I use canned tomatoes most of the time. although in late summer I'll roast the tomatoes as Bayless suggests. First cook some thinly sliced onions until golden brown, add pureed tomatoes (puree one large can or ~ 1 1/2 lbs roasted tomatoes) and fresh habanero chile (I like it pretty spicy so I add about 1/4-1/2 habanero chile minced, then the other half, whole; else can just add two halves and fish out later). Simmer ~ 15 min or so until thicker but but not too thick, season with salt and remove chile half.

Hm. I thought pre-cooked (basically, leftover instead of made for the purpose) potatoes were hashbrowns as well. me too....(i.e. pre-cooked potatoes in both cases) For me the difference between the two is basically how the potatoes are cut: thin-medium thin slices for home fries and definately onions with (basically potatoes lyonnaise as sobaaddict pointed out above) small cubes or shredded potatoes for hashbrowns (basic ones have no onions--although you can make hashbrowns with other things added like onions, pepers, mushrooms, etc) I think some of the differences in definitions may be regional (my experience based in New England). Also I think there could be generational differences--as mentioned above what is sometimes now called "hash browns" or "home fries" in restaurants/diners nowadays does not seem to match with 20 years ago. That having been said--I think you can get "there" by different routes. The straw potoatoes described above start out with raw taters and end up coming out like crispy hash browns. Also Jacque Pepin's potatoes lyonnaise start with raw potatoes-- would be interesting to compare those two recipes (David's and Pepin's potatoe lyonnase).

I do like potatoes lyonnaise---I looked up some recipes and at least Elizabeth David's version is the same as what I've learned to make as humble "home fries" and as described above with par-boiled potatoes. potatoes lyonnaise I also love having these with non-breakfast meals.... very big as a sidedish in home-style Austrian cooking, and interestingly (to me) have also been served these with home-style dishes in New Mexico. Although certainly not low-cal, they go very well as a starch with saucey homey dishes like New Mexican carne adovado (slow-cooked pork in red-chile sauce) or Austrian Boiled Beef in Homemade Tomato Sauce. I'm not sure what Potatoes Lyonnaise are typically served with in French food.... seems like it would also be with more rustic dishes. I like your description of achieving "that nice balance of crispness and tenderness". Along with a nice buttery flavor, salt and pepper that's the ticket for me. As bad or worse than restaurant breakfast potatoes that are not crispy is when they are undercooked!!! ugh.

There is a large Borders bookstore on the northwest corner of Union Square (corner of Post and Powell). It's a chain, but has a large selection of cookbooks and is close to the Powell Station. Another fun tip if you are in Union Square: on the west side of the square is the venerable St. Francis Hotel (host, I believe to Queen Elizabeth at some time previous). Duck into the lobby, walk straight through the older darker part of the lobby until you get to a lighter open lounge area, bear right through the lounge until you get to a bank of elevators. Step inside and push button to go the top. The elevators are on the outside of the builiding and you get a tremendous view of the eastern end of the city, bay, Coit Tower, Bay Bridge, Transamerica Pyramid... Repeat as necessary or as your stomach allows... On the way out, check out the lobby... Not to add to your choices too much--but two other "fancy" places downtown that emphasize American/Californian cuisine are: One Market (Near Boulevard; at the end of Market St., near the Ferry Building; they have a website with sample menus) and Rubicon (in the Financial district, basically between between the Pyramid, Market St and the Bay, lovely historical neighborhood to stroll through and not far from the Ferry Building, rubicon)

I love seville orange marmalade, but just as favored is ginger marmalade. I've had a few different ones from England that were very good, but can't recall all the names, ?Dundee?

If you're near SFMOMA, can get a nice Spanish Tapas lunch at Thirsty Bear Restaurant Microbrewery. It's a nice space during the day. Along those lines, if you go to the Ferry Building as suggested above, you're close to Gordon Biersch Microbrewery on the Embarcadero. Can enjoy a nice beer and stellar views of the Bay Bridge... Another nice brewery is the San Francisco Brewing Company on Columbus Ave (near the Transamerica Pyramid and at the crossroads of ChinaTown and North Beach). It's a beautiful old bar that will take you back a hundred years or so... Regarding food though, I'd only recommend Thirsty Bear among the three.

Hmmm, the tuna combination sounds very interesting... some other favorites: sauteed mushrooms and shallots with gruyere cheese and tarragon raclette or other very pungent cheese with sauteed onions and thyme smoked ham and shaved parmesean roasted New Mexico green chiles and bacon I like homefries a lot and to me they mean starting with potatoes boiled the night before and chilled. Then slice by hand into pieces ~ 1/4 inch thick or so. (thick enough to hold up a bit, thin enough to get nice and crispy) Sautee onions and remove from pan; add more butter and cook potatoes; avoiding the temptatation to move them around too often. Need nice brown crusts on the taters. Add onions back in. I also like making a version of hash browns that are actually made from a recipe for straw potatoes in Patricia Wells, "Bistro Cooking". Advantage here is you don't have to think ahead and boil potatoes beforehand. Also these come out incredibly crunchy all over. Downside is they are hard to make for a crowd. Just grate up some raw russets, rinse in a few changes of water, roll up in dishtowels to thoroughly dry them. Heat butter up in pan and press medium-thin layer of potatoes in. Season with s&p. Cover with lid and cook for 15-20 min. Potatoes should be nice and crusty and brown on the bottom. Invert by turning onto plate, melt more butter in pan, heat up and slide potatoes back in. Cook uncovered ~ 10 min until other side is brown. Perfect crispy potatoes.... (I'm not a big fan of quartered boiled potatoes just warmed up in butter/oil with no crispiness (ie. often the case in restaurants) in place of home fries or hash browns. Sometimes they are called that though... ). Some places I've spoken with said they don't make 'true' hash browns or homefries because they are more labor intensive/time consuming to make compared a big tub of warmed up, oiled, boiled potatoes.

All the pix are very cute. I've always had cats and am also struck on the similarity of a lot of the poses. I really liked the "house of bites" and also issacher in the bathtub. He reminded me of a little sea otter... Thanks K for a great blog and for sharing so many nice things. You indirectly helped me to cap off a wonderful day yesterday. It was a beautiful unseasonably warm spring day yesterday in SF. We went for a great 9 mile hike on San Bruno mountain outside the city among the spring wildflowers , had some great pizza afterward and then stopped in a bar for some nice icey gimlets (gin for me)! Gimlets had fallen off my radar screen for some reason until I saw your blog. Thanks!

That does sound good. This also reminds me of a favorite Haagen Daz flavor of old: Margarita Sorbet It really tasted of lime and tequila and had it great texture. It was also nice to have with a splash of tequila over it in the summer. <sigh> Maybe I have two sorbet recipes to try and replicate now!

I found a new website today for UK/Irish recipes that seems to be quite complete. After seeing this thread, I went and looked out of curiosity b/c it seems like it could be a British type of recipe. Here's the link to one that has only cheese and onions. Is is good? Seems like it would be... any way here's the llink to check it out at Foody.com cheese and onion tart Cheers!

Thanks for the speedy info chezcherie. Not too barrage you or others with questions but I have another one if you or someone knows... How is the caramel incorporated into the mac? Added to the buttercream, used instead of buttercream? Is the cookie plain almond? Mille grazie... The chocolate tasting sounds incredible too.

Same here; thank you very much Soba. I've never seen the kidney stew. Goulash a la Szekler is another interesting pork goulash; quite different with the sauerkraut: pork shoulder onions, chopped lard sweet paprika salt, to taste black pepper, to taste vinegar caraway seeds sauerkraut tomato puree flour unsalted butter sour cream Cube pork shoulder, about 2" in size is good. Melt lard. Fry onions in lard until transparent, add pork and brown. Add paprika, s &p, vinegar and caraway seeds and cook for a few more minutes. Add water to cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for about 1 hr. Make a blond roux, and add to the stew. Cook until stew is slightly thickened. Add sauerkraut and simmer for another 1/2 hr. Add more paprika to taste, sour cream and tomato paste. Stir and bring to a simmer again and remove from heat. approximate ratios on main ingredients: 3-4 med onions, 1/2 Tbs vinegar, 2 lbs pork shoulder, 2 lbs sauerkraut, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 Tbs tomato paste. Serve w/rye bread and a green salad.

Thanks for sharing your version of Wolfgang's beef goulash recipe. It looks like he stayed pretty true to traditional recipes---except for the balsamic vinegar! Re: the spatzle---they are easier to make with the spatzle maker, but I did use a collander for a while before I purchased one... The great thing about spatzle i(besides eating them) is that they keep and reheat so easily. Can keep in fridge for several days or freeze--that is, if you have any leftovers as you mentioned.

Reading this again reminded my of a discussion and recipes in Bill Neal's, "Southern Cooking" (egullet-Amazon link). He discusses ratafias and cordials with a great discussion of their history in 18th and 19th America in the South. Some of the flavorings he lists: oranges, nutmeg, juniper berries, cinnamon, aniseed, angelica, coriander, orange and jessamine (?jasmine?) blossoms, strawberries, raspberries, plums, sour cherries, pomegranates, currants, green walnuts and vanilla. Interestingly, he mentions that oranges and lemons were cultived from Louisiana to South Carolina before the citrus industry was developed in Florida. He has recips for a blackberry cordial and a peach kernal ratafia (noyaux) based on brandy. Also an orange cordial based on bourbon. He says that the noyaux (of French origin) was one of the most popular throughout the south, popular for its almond-like flavor. (An optional addition to this recipe is peach leaves...) I've always been intrigued by the peach kernal recipe but wondered if using a 1/2 lb of peach pits was safe... Any one made somthing like this?

quote from chezcherie: I've heard people fleur de sel macs (and also on Laduree's and Herme's web sites)--in what part of the dessert is it incorporated? (buttercream?, sprinkled on top?) I'm really intrigued by the ones that mention caramel fleur-de-sel; again wonder how that is put together re: flavorings in cookie vs in buttercream...

Wow chezcherie; those look great! Thanks for sharing and good endorsement for the book too, I'll definately check it out! For the hazelnut ones are there hazelnuts in the cookie or just in the filling? Please keep us posted on other flavors you try for cookies and fillings.

I don't really have this written down; I have some notes from my Mom but I usually wing it... Not trying to be coy at all, but I'd feel better trying it out again and next time keeping track of what I actually do before I post! edited to add: I'll probably do it very soon; this thread is making me crave paprika chicken. For our birthdays we could choose the menu and this was often what I picked when I was younger... I'll make sure to post back!

My mom, being Austrian, makes lots of dishes with paprika. In fact it was one of those words I did not realize I was mispronouncing in English for a long time. Always wondered why others said "pa-pree'-ka" while we said "pa'-pri-ka"... Cool experiments ronnie_suburban with the different paprikas. Some basic recipes she makes are paprika chicken (braised chicken pieces in paprika-sour cream sauce), Hungarian Beef Goulash, Goulash a la Szekler (pork shoulder, sauerkraut, paprkia, a little sour cream), and Zigeuner (Gypsy) Schnitzel. Here's her basic recipe for Hungarian Beef Goulash although I don't really have a fixed recipe. It's important to taste at the end and adjust. 5 Tbs fat (lard is good and traditional as soba mentions but can sub) 4 medium onions, roughly chopped 3 lb beef chuck, cut into ~ 1 1/2 inch cubes 1-2 Tbs hungarian paprika or more (noble sweet; not hot) s & p 1 Tbs vinegar caraway seeds (pinch or to taste) 1/2 tsp marjarom 1 garlic clove. 2 cups water or beef stock 1 Tbs tomato paste (optional) 2 tsp flour Melt lard in heavy pan/dutch oven. Saute onions until soft and yellow but not overly browned. Add beef to pan and brown about 5-10 minutes. Add paprika, vinegar, caraway seeds, marjarom. Crush garlic with salt and pepper and also add in. Briefly stir to mix and then immediately add in warm water or stock. Simmer over low heat for about an hour. Add more water if needed at this time to keep a soup consistency. Also add in tomato paste if using. Simmer another hour or so untill meat is tender. Raise heat and sprinkle flour over, blend well and cook a few more minutes. Taste and adjust any seasonings as desired. **You can also add potatoes to this but my mom ususally cooks those separately and adds them in towards the end. You want plenty of broth and a high proportion of meat in the final dish; definately serve in bowls with a spoon. Can also serve with little egg dumplings like spatzle. As with all stews, it reheats very well if not better. Typically serve with good dark rye bread (buttered) and a simple green salad with oil/vinegar dressing or cucumber salad.

Here's some other info on a recent thread re: torrone

I really like those too!!! Those are one of the few store bought cookies I would still buy...with those little bright artificial ,yellow, lemon-flavored specks in there and covered in powdered sugar.... I have made some home made cookies that are a reasonable fascimile (and all told, a better cookie) but had some trouble balancy lemony-enough flavors with too much bitterness from the lemon zest... I can't remember the brand of this other cookie though...haven't seen it out here in CA for a while but don't know if it is extinct. They consisted of two plain butter cookies with a hole in one. Sandwiched in between was currant jelly with a cream vanila spread underneath. They came in a long narrow package in a plastic tray...

ludja, don't know where you live, but my local grocery in NJ still carries the Toasted Almond bars. See the Good Humor Website and they are still listed too ICE CREAM Keep on looking and you will find! Thanks all that have attested to the continued existence of Good Humor Toasted Almond Bars-- I live south of San Francisco. I need to broaden my search a bit--or else just have some when I visit back East I guess...

Good Humor Toasted Almond Ice Cream Bar A favorite item when I was a kid. I was really pysched to see them in stores a few years ago for occasional flavor trips down memory lane. Around here anyway, can't get them anymore. They only have the strawberry and fudge shortcakes... Even sadder is me peeking into ice cream coolers in a supermarket, gas station, etc and beng disappointed each time...

I had these for the first time on a recent trip to the Hague and Amsterdam and was really charmed by them. Really nice with coffee or tea. It is important though to make sure you purchase those made with real butter. I was excited to see some over here (in a museum shop after a Dutch painting exhibit) and it was disappointing compared to what I remembered. Trader Joes has actually started carrying them also. They are imported from The Netherlands but are made with margarine. You may want to try them for a taste, but they are much better with butter. Seems like something one could order though to get a taste.

Just not to propogate my inititial mistake.... El Paso in Mountain View/Los Altos. I have had their sangria and it's good!

Thanks for the recs... I'd like to try out the suggestions--breakfast sounds good as does the snapper. I encountered the same problem with some of my smaller favorite places--know the location but not the name. Just remembered one though, El Paso on El Camino in Mountain View. The food tastes very homestyle and it has a great comfy atmosphere. Is Estrellita's the place you are thinking of Los Altos (El Camino and San Antonio)? I've heard some good things about them. Estrellita's