ludja

Thanks, Baggy! It is invaluable to get perspectives from Great Britain re: the books published there. I have been meaning to look at the Locatelli book but was not aware of "Essence"; thanks also for reminding me of "In Search of Perfection" as well.

I don''t thnk anyone has mentioned this yet, but I just noticed that the March issue of Saveur has an article on northern Peru called, "Ancient Hunger". The recipes are for the following: Yuca Hervida (Boiled yucca) Sudado de Pescado (Huanchaco-style fish stewed in tomatoes and chiles) Cebiche de Mero al Estilo de Huanchaco (Grouper ceviche) Salsa de Aji Escabeche y Paico (Andean yellow chile and epazote salsa) Pepian de Garbanzos (Chickpea porridge with chile oil)

Ron's generosity in posting and sharing his food experiences along with his wonderful style have drawn me into many Heartland threads and topics. Thank you for instigating and nurturing many interesting threads and thank you for all the work you've done behind the scenes as well. One of the memorable threads that Ron started is The Paprika: Confessions of an Addict Again, I think it is his generosity, enthusiasm and knowledge that have so far resulted in almost 200 posts to the joys of paprika! It's one of my favorites! Here's part of his firat post on that thread...

Just incredible, docsconz! When you come out to the Bay area next, be sure to stop by Mitchell's Ice Cream in the Mission district for Lacuma ice cream. (That was the first time I tasted the flavor and it is quite unique.) There are also 4 or 5 Peruvian restaurants in the city; some with a CA twist and some not. Your thread is pushing me to finally get to them. I think Melkor has posted about his experiences in some of the SF Peruvian restaurants.

Thanks, Jean and mukki! You should be seeing more red currants up through June/early July, I think. I made the red currant dessert last June with berries from a farmer's market up here in NoCal. They seem to have them here between late May-early July. They are usually a bit expensive around here but in this dessert you only need 1 1/2-2 small boxes and the currants really add a special pop--in texture and taste. Red currant jam and jelly are wonderful as well. It is used quite a bit in Austrian desserts--as a filling for Palataschinken (crepes) for example. This use would still really highlight the jelly flavors. I don't know if you have a enough to spare, or if you'd prefer to use a commercial red currant jelly for it, but Ischler Toertchen (Ischl Tartlets) are very delcious--two thin ground almond cookies filled with red currant jelly and glazed wtih dark chocolate... edited to add: mukki, I just remembered that you have made the Ischl Tarts as you posted above! I haven't made his recipe yet, but my Mom makes these cookes from another recipe and it is a crumbly dough. Thanks for the tips on Rodger's recipe. The results are worth it, though!

I love the diversity of responses; it's great to see the entries for seasonal fish and game as well. I thought of two other dishes that are completely seasonal and that I wait for each year: Austrian Marillenknoedel (Apricot Dumplings) at the begninning of the summer and Zwetschenknoedel (Plum Dumplings) at the end of the summer. No other time to make these babies and one really has to be ready for the short fresh apricot season. (I just thought of these when posting these photos Fall and winter is also the time for roasted chestnuts with a mug of Austrian spiced Gluehwein. And inspired by the Pimms reveries, I'll add Mint Juleps in the summer.

With spring and early summer fruits coming soon, I'm looking forward to trying the Erdbeeroberstorte (Strawberry Cream Torte), Himbeerjogurttorte (Rasberry Yogurt Torte) and the Heidelbeerroulade (Blueberry Cream Roulade). (Cream is always in season for Austrian desserts... ) I'm so grateful to Rick Rodgers for writing this cookbook. I have many other great Austrian and Hungarian cookbooks that I use and reference for desserts but this is the most detailed and up to date book in English on the topic. While he has updated some things in terms of availability of ingredients, etc. he did it in a very thoughtful and careful way that preserves the original recipes while making them accessible to many more people.

Thanks for starting this topic, DanaG! I want to cook my way through the whole book but here is what I've tried so far: (I’ve posted some of these photos on other assorted threads but it’s nice to have them here with the cookbook..) Topfentorte (Farmer's Cheesecake) This is Austria’s version of cheesecake—Made with “Topfen” or Farmer’s cheese instead of cream cheese it’s a bit lighter in texture. Lemon is an important flavoring as well. And a slice with rhubarb sauce... Kastanienschnitten (Chestnut Cream Slices) Chestnut desserts are one of the glories of Austrian and Hungarian baking. Here’s a thread we had discussing Austrian/Hungarian chestnut cakes. click Ribiselschaumschnitten (Red Currant Meringue Slices) The base recipe in the book is given for blueberries but red currants are very traditional if you can find them! The tart flavor plays well against the meringue cream. I think they suggest adding more lemon juice for making the blueberry version. This is really an easy and great dessert. The layer of buttery, moist cake, tart berries and creamy meringue toppiing. Gundel Palataschinken (Gundel-Style Crepes) These are so delicious. My photo does not do them justice. This was a serving I made up a day later and the chocolate sauce had thickened a bit.. Excellent combination of tender and crispy on the edges Palatschinken, ground walnut and raisin filling with orange and rum and a dark chocolate rum sauce. Obstpalatschinken ("Fruit" Crepes) I filled mine with Marillenmarmelade (Apricot Preserves) and topped with toasted almonds. Simple but delicious; these are great for a light lunch or dinner after a soup and/or salad. This is a common Friday Lenten meal for me. Topfenknoedel mit Swetschkenroester (Farmer's Cheese Dumplings with Plum Compote) I rolled some of them in a mixture of ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar, the other is rolled in breadcrumbs sautéed with butter and sugar. I love these dumpling and anything made with “Topfen” (closest American equivalent is Farmer’s Cheese). These also are good for lunch or after a light supper. Marillenknoedel (Apricot Dumplings) These dumplings are made with a potato dough (similar to a gnocchi dough) and are a special seasonal dish I look forward to each fleeting moment in summer when fresh apricots are available. A half sugar cube inside the apricot adds a needed touch of sweetness. I like adding some ground walnuts to the toasted and sweetened bread crumb coating as well. I made these with a recipe from another book but the dough he gives for “Potato Noodles with sweet poppy seeds” would probably work. (Coat them with the sweetened bread crumb coating he gives for the strawberry Topfenknoedel and add some ground walnuts if you like.) Looking forward to comments from others on what they’ve tried from the book. For someone new to Austrian desserts I'd probably start out with the crepes and the Meringue Cream slices. Chestnut is an acquired taste for some (though many love it); the dumplings need to be eaten as a meatless meal on their own or after a very light savory course. They're filling!

Cesar is a nice tapas place in Berkeley; right next door to Chez Panisse on Shattuck Avenue. Nice cocktail and wine selections as well.

Hi Ling! Congrats on your's and hlodesign's new adventures! The menus and food look great. Speaking of menus, are you printing up a menu for the guests at each meal? Menu design sounds like another area to have some fun with.

Agreed; but if time is short, Pichetti is right at the bottom of the mountain from Ridge and is set in a beautiful old farming complex. If armed with a good map, you can drive from Ridge and Pichetti via a back road in the mountains which will lead you to Highway 9 above Saratoga and very close to Savannah-Chenelle. Going this way between the wineries of Savannah-Chenelle/Testarossa and Ridge/Pichetti is very scenic and actually saves quite a bit of time as opposed to driving between them via Hwy 280. There are a lot of wineries that you'll find on the Santa Cruz Mountain Association website. Over the years I've been to about 2/3's of them and for quality wine my favorites are Ridge, Savannah-Chenelle (which I only went to the first time last year!), David Bruce, Storrs and Bonny Doon. Next favorites are Testarossa and Thomas Fogarty. This is not to discourage anyone with more time to check out each and every one though; you may find something that hits the spot and it is always fun to visit a "new to you" winery even if you only go there once. Apart from those convenient for rpdkpd's one-day itinerary, do you have any other favored Santa Cruz Mountain wineries, VenerableBede? (As mentioned, I kicked myself after "discovering" Savannah-Chenelle last year for the first time!)

I struck out with my first few ideas--Piperade, Plouf and Suppenkuche. They are all closed on Sundays. Hayes St Grill is open on Sundays (5-8:30). It's a very nice but relaxed neighborhood-feeling restaurant behind the Opera and Symphony house. http://www.hayesstreetgrill.com/ Always delicious. Zuni Cafe might be an option; open Sundays, 5-11 pm. I always have a very relaxing time there and the food is great. edited to add: Carsbad's suggestion of Chapeau or Clementine might also fit the bill if they're open. Small, comfortable french bistros. I haven't been to either for awhile. Your other meals sound great;; you should have a wonderful dining weekend. If you get to Range a bit early consider trying some of their expertly made cocktails at their small bar. I really enjoy their Overholt 1794. (rye, campari and red vermouth and a flamed orange peel garnish.)

Don't know if it wil work for your guests, but some lactose intolerant people can handle small does of butter so you might be able to make the regular fillings. You could also use some nut pastes--think Nutella or marzipan. You could make your own nut fillings also with ground walnuts. A good ground walnut filling from Austrian desserts has rum, sugar and grated lemon zest. Usually it is cooked a bit with some milk but you could use lactaid for this. (My mom makes the filling this way on account of my sister's lactose intolerance and it still tastes good.) The only non-lactose creamy type filling I was thinking of was something like what is inside oreos... not sure I could really recommend this though! Good luck!

A nice article on new trends in Irish cuisine which are focusing on a return to fresh, local, seasonal and artisanal foodstuffs: click (The article should be available on SFGate for a few weeks.) The article also has some recipes: Coleslaw with Blue Brie Dressing Steak & Oyster Pie Scallion Champs Irish cheeses Baileys Pots de Creme Sounds like a nice St. Patrick's Day Meal to me...

Any updates from those that have been there in the last half year? I"m wondering about people's impressions of the Anasazi Inn with the new chef. Glad you had a good time, tommy! Short of full report, what were a few of your favorite food experiences?

Here is another thread from this past fall with lots of good discussion and recommendations as well: Santa Fe in Autumn Look it over and come back with any questions you might have. phungi: La Posada de Santa Fe is right in downtown Santa Fe. Almost all the restaurants discussed are within a 10 min walk. (A few that are outside town and require a car to get to are Bobcat Bite, Harry's Roadhouse and Bishop's Lodge.) A bunch of people in that thread said they were traveling there in the last six months so maybe they'll give an update. I'm curious if tommy or anyone else has tried out the Anasazi Inn in the last half year with the new chef?

Wow, thanks for this thread, felipe. Somehow I only saw it just now! Does anyone know what some of the dishes are in this photograph? Large bowls of custard with fritters? What are the cones and the large free form tart filled with?

Are the local strawberries in Florida actually best in winter? Is is too hot in the summer there? I love winter for oranges, tangerines and grapefruit; that is when I buy the whole fruit and make things like the grapefruit sorbet I mentioned earlier.

Ridge Winery is much closer to Palo Alto than to Santa Cruz. It's west of Palo Alto and a bit south up in the mountains overlooking Silicon Valley. To go to Santa Cruz you drive ~ 45 min on Hwy 17 through the mountains to reach the ocean. I don't eat in Saratoga or Los Gatos often but there are some nice restaurants there. Maybe someone else with pipe up with suggestions. Eating in either of these places would put you very close to Testarossa and Savannah-Chenelle both very nice wineries with great Pinot Noirs. You cold visit one of these wineries, have lunch, visit the other and then head over to Ridge. Ridge is only open on the weekends but it seems like that is when you will be there. Check Ridge's hours though and schedule a good 45-60 min or so to get there from Saratoga or Los Gatos. Here's a link with more info on Santa Cruz Mountain Wineries and each particular winery. Another option would be to eat lunch in Palo Alto and then just visit either Ridge or Thomas Fogarty up in the Santa Cruz mountains. Both have spectacular views of the valley, bay and East mountains. (You can bring a picnic to both of these wineries as well.) The Santa Cruz wineries are very spread apart. Another tour I like very much is David Bruce, Storrs, and Bonny Doon. (I agree with Busboy that Bonny Doon is a fun place to visit.) This tour would take more like 5-6 hrs and entails driving through the mountains to Santa Cruz. We usually bring a picnic lunch to eat at David Bruce or Bonny Doon. Are you interested in any particular types of wines?

Thanks for the tip on the Dry Stack Wines, including the Sauvignon Blanc and the rose of Syrah. I was curious where they grew the S.B. grapes; from their website it looks they come from Bennett Valley. I'm trying to remember what other vineyards/wineries are in this area since it may be a clue for some other good Sauvignon Blanc. Hmm, I was just thinking that Matanzas Creek might be close by and I've had good Sauvignon Blancs from them also. (I just checked and they are indeed in Bennett Valley.) In any case, thanks for putting Dry Stack Vineyards on my radar.

^This sounds like a very interesting approach. I once bought a spice jar of dried mint not knowing exactly what I would use it for. I think it might be used in Middle Eastern cuisines. In any case, I've added it into simmering liquids sometimes and it adds a pretty strong flavor. I like the ideas suggested above, but experimenting with dried mint may also be interesting in some applications. (Sorry I can 't be more specific; I haven't experimented with dry mint that much yet.) For preparations that might be enhanced with the use of some butter to make a sauce, perhaps one could make a fresh mint compound butter and swirl that in at the end? Nice to see you "de-lurk" madtowner; welcome to the eGullet forums.

Another book you might like is "Chez Panisse Vegetables" by Alice Waters. Many of the recipes are what she calls "snapshots" in which looser guidelines are given for a recipe approach or preparaton. Some of the recipes are more standard as well. For each vegetable, the section starts out with a description of the different varieties of the vegetables available and how they differ in taste or texture. She give guidelines on how the different types of a given vegetable might be used and how they differ when they are younger or older. So the driver for the recipes and "snapshots" is very ingredient-based and focuses the different characteristics of a given family of vegetables. I've received lots of inspiration for new dishes or variations for a given vegetable by just rereading the opening section and then browsing over the recipes that follow. edited to add: After seeing chowguy's post, I'll mention that there are no photos of the dishes in this book; just some beautiful colored linocuts of the different vegetables.

Just reread your post, cdh. So, I guess the oil you had was natural and not artificial cinnamon oil?

Similar to what's already been mentioned maybe there is an artifical cinnamon flavor that has that extra burn. Also, I ran across the ingredient for cinnamon altoids (which have that "hot" flavor) in the wikipedia article: click Cinnamon: Sugar, gum arabic, artificial flavor, gelatin, corn syrup, red 40 lake, peppermint oil, natural flavor. Maybe peppermint oil is added to "hot" cinnamon candies? And/or maybe it is just artificial cinnamon oil. F did find that there is an artificial cinnamin oil (i.e. a compound that has a similar taste to cinnamon and is synthesized in the lab rather than extracted from actual cinnamon.) and comments on the web say that it tastes quite a bit different than natural cinnamon. So, I'd guess things like "fire balls" or "cinnamon red hots" are flavored wtih artificial cinnamon oil and may also be pumped up with hotness by adding peppermint oil as in the case with the cinnamon altoids.

Persimmon shortcake in the autumn; that sounds interesting. Do you use the firmer or softer type of persimmon and how do you prep them? I haven't gotton fresh lychees for a few years; do they usually show up in the US in the spring? (Lychee pudding sounds wonderful as well. Looks like our other responses so far are squarely in summer...