ludja

This recipe from Rick Bayless works very well. I've made it for myself and as gifts. The goat milk (regular, not condensed) gives it an interesting flavor.

Thanks for the input on the classcial formula from Great Britain, jackal10! I do like this classic version in the wintertime; we use a good raspberry jam, and I like toasted sliced almonds on top. Another source for non-traditional trifles are the baking books of Emily Luchetti. She seems to be quite fond of trifles and has included variations in many of her books. In "Stars Desserts" she has a tropical version which might also be nice in the winter--spongecake, passionfruit liqueur, mango sauce, pineapple juice, dark rum, coconut milk, etc... She has a nice roasted pear trifle in one of her books as well, I think. Some of her summer versions are blueberry and lemon and one with peaches, blackberry sauce and raspberry sauce. The fresh peaches are folded into a mascarpone almond custard.

Shalimar rocks. I've never set foot in the Shalimar restroom, and I've got no desire to change that. That neighborhood really has some of the best food in the city. Pagolac, Bodega Bistro, Shalimar, Thai House Express, Baguette Express... All delicious and cheap. ← Thanks for a wonderful blog and in particular the enticing photos from Shalimar. I don't tend to look for Indian up in the city given our options down in "south bay" but it looks great. So many wonderful meals; if I could pick only one to have right now I'd be hard pressed to choose.

Not sure and they're not picking up their phone. I try to avoid midtown during the weekends. Given that they're only there for lunch on weekdays I doubt it. I'll walk by tomorrow and ask though. ← Thanks, if you end up having a chance to ask! It would be nice for our Christmas visit to the Met, Rockefeller Center, etc that sometimes falls on the weekend.

Pretty cool; do you know if the vendor cart is at that location on the weekends too? Looking forward to a nice week of cocktails as well! edited to add: I just noticed that you mentioned the cart as being there weekdays for sure at lunchtime but the question stands if anyone knows. Thanks!

Rum and vanilla are good flavor combinations with chestnut puree...

Rochiolli is just up the road and has nice Russian River Pinot Noirs. They used to have some nice Sauvignon Blancs also, but I'm not sure if they've switched to Chardonnay. Hop Kiln is right next door and is a very pretty old building; wines are pleasant. I also like Quivira which is just a little north of there; nice Sauvignon Blancs and Zinfandels.

Phipps Country Store and Farm based in Pescadero, CA also does a large mail order business in beans and dried peas. They have "marrow beans" listed on their website, but they are currently described as a "out of stock". One may be able to get more information by contacting them.

Here's a thread on these Greek cookies: click

Hey, nice to see you blogging, melkor. Did you snap a photo of your wild mushroom haul?

Thanks for the additional info. Although they're located halfway between Hartford and New Haven we don't really get down New Haven's way too often. Thanks for the link to the previous thread though. I may try to get down to Pepi's at Christmastime and may have time to also check out Luizzi's. One thing we are lacking on the SF peninsula (not SF) is good Italian markets! I had good luck finding nice rendered lard at a Polish store/delicatessen in New Britain on Broad Street ($1.50 for a lb or so). There are a few different Polish stores there but I'm not sure of the name of the one we always go to. It is near Cracovia Restaurant (60 Broad St) on the other side of the street and a few blocks away in the direction away from downtown New Britain. (This is a great store by the way, clean, well stocked, nice meat section and a huge selection of other goods as well. We picked up a nice walnut strudel for breakfast and I also picked up some pearl barley for post-T-day turkey barely soup. Per Erin's suggestion I stopped by The Middlesex Fruitery in Middletown. Interesting place. The drill is that the store staff assemble your vegetable and fruit order per your instructions. I guess this helps keep the produce and store more organized. They do have a small but careful selection of cheeses and of some other specialty dried goods. They seem to do a good business; there was a fairly quick moving line of 10 people or so waiting for help with their produce selections. I got some brussel sprouts that looked a whole lot better than the ones offered at Stop n Shop so it was a good find for me. Their produce prices were pretty reasonable as well. One surprise was that I ended up buying mushrooms, (regular button) at Trader Joes in West Hartford. I don't usually buy produce at TJ's but their mushrooms were much cheaper than Stop n Shop's. TJ's had them at $3 / lb whereas Stop n Shop had them at almost twice the price! Thanks for the extra tips on Asian markets; I may use that some time. The ethnic markets I am most familiar with in the Middletown/New Britain area are Italian, Polish and German. It's good to be reminded that there are likely Middle Eastern markets in the Hartford area as well.

Nockerl is just a generic word for small dumpling in Austrian German. Not sure if the word is used all over Germany as well. The recipe you cited is for a type of Austrian "Mehlnockerl" or 'flour dumpling'. They are typically made on the smallish side although a bit larger than Spaetzle. As with any dumpling dough, it's a good idea to make a few test dumplings first--if they are too soft; add a little flour, if too firm, a little more butter. These types of dumplings are good in something like Goulash or another hearty stew as Pan mentioned. "Griessnockerl" are little dumplings made with semolina that are usually served in a clear beef broth soup. Salzburger Nockerln is an old Austrian dessert that is still popular and is a completely different beast although it uses the word 'nockerl'. It is a delicate, light type of souffle made with butter, egg yolks, sugar and beaten egg whites flavored with lemon and vanilla and typicallly baked on a flat platter in three large mounds or peaks. It is served straight out of the oven and covered with powdered sugar.

Thanks for posting this, PatW. It looks very inviting. I may make this to bring to my sister and brother in law's later this week. It looks like it would be great for breakfast or an afternoon snack. The book is on my Christmas list, but for those like me that may want to bake something from it beforehand, here is a recipe for the Swedish Visiting Cake published in the Minneapolis Tribune: click

Any suggestions on where to purchase non-processed lard? (i.e. Not the hydrogenated stuff like Manteca sold at regular supermarkes.) I'm also willing to render some pork fat if I can find that. Maybe there are Mexican groceries/butchers around? (Middletown/New Britain area would be good for me.) Also maybe a butcher that sells chicken backs, etc for making stock? Thanks! I called Noak's in Meriden this morning but they primarily sell hams and sausages and coldcuts. The butcher had the same lament as my German butcher out here. Namely that the pigs are so lean that they don't get much extra fat that they can spare after making their sausages! edited to add: Another great reason to go to Noack's is that they carry Waterbury Rye Bread. This is an excellent traditional rye bread that has been sold for decades in CT. You can typically buy a whole or half loaf and it freezes well.

Nice idea; I've wanted parfait glasses and this could be a good alternative to use for multiple purposes. Not necessarily a Thanksgiving parfait, but one reason I want some parfait-like glasses is to serve Viennese Eiskaffee. These are so simple and are especially wonderful in the summer for a refreshing and simple dessert. It is simply vanilla ice cream and strong, iced black coffee in a parfait glass with whipped cream on top. Can garnish with some dark chocolate shavings. I've read of, but have never had a "Mazagran" another iced Viennese coffee drink. It's composed of iced coffee with Maraschino liqueur and rum. Ice cream is not a component but might be a nice variation none the less... edited to add: These glasses would also be great for serving Zuni's Espresso Granita/Whipped Cream parfait and all sorts of variations with different granitas. A nice dessert I've had at Kokkari was tangerine granita and yogurt sorbet. They didn't layer it, but I think this would work great in a parfait-like format as well.

What an excellent post for me! Thank you, ErinB. I'll be very close to Middletown and had no idea about the Middlesex Fruitery; thank you very much for the tip! Thanks also for the info on Whole Foods and Wild Oats; I hadn't realized that there were branches in West Hartford. I have some other ethnic markets we go to but I need to check the names when I get home. Interested to hear other's comments.

Hello all, I am unexpectedly cooking Thanksgiving for my family back in CT this year and would like to hear of good places to source ingredients. I'm especially interested in sources for produce besides that from supermarket chains. I'm thinking it may be a little late for farmer's markets there. I'll start by mentioning a store we shop at a bit in Meriden; a German butcher and delicatessan: Noacks Meats 1112 East Main Street Meriden, CT 06451 USA Phone: (203) 235-7384 Fax: (203) 235-3281 http://www.noacks.com/ Any suggestion of where to go for specialty items like quinces or chestnut puree?

For additional inspiration, you can read Truman Capote's short story online: "A Christmas Memory". click Another resource, Andiesenji has some wonderful posts in the forums about making homemade candied fruit.

Well, I think it would taste even better with freshly made chestnut puree but the taste from the canned French puree is very good. For something like Kastanienreis or Mont Blanc in which the chestnut puree is unadorned with cake, and the texture is more important, etc I do start with fresh chestnuts. The texture of the canned puree is a little "rubbery" so I'm not sure if it would work as well for Kastanienreis or Mont Blanc. Perhaps if beaten enough it would be ok there too. I agree it's tempting to just eat the chestnuts after all the hard work of peeling them! They are wonderful roasted and eaten out of hand with a nice young wine as legourmet recently detailed in his German annual autunm chestnut feast. I still have some chestnut puree left over. Does anyone have experience with storing the puree? I'd like to freeze it for another occasion if that would work... Thank you for all the nice comments and thanks to others for their comments and contributions.

Dear Dorie, It would be interesting to hear your comments on how you personally developed over time from a baker who was able to execute recipes to one who creates them. I guess this might include your thoughts on the relative contributions that technical training, experimentation, reading, or other means provided in your development. Did your development proceed in a methodical manner or did it develop in a less structured fashion that you did not necessarily plan or expect? Thank you in advance for your thoughts. It is a fascinating topic for an amateur but enthusiastic baker who primarily "clings" to the recipe for dear life when dealing with the actual cake or pastry dough besides trying simple substitutions or additions.

Yum... the gingersnap cookie sandwiches and the cupcakes sound wonderful--traditional but inspired combinations all. Thanks for the update and good luck with the potential kitchen space!

Thank you for sharing some of your memories! I had some Devil Dogs as a kid as well; it would be fun to try your 'Madeleine version'.

My sister was also told to avoid meats preserved with nitrates--bacon, sausages, coldcuts, etc.

In my opinion after reading the piece, he is not forgetting that food is part of the culture, he is actually sneering and voicing open contempt at the entire culture "he sees" down there. He sneers at 'so-called Creoles', he sneers at a volunteer from a local Catholic chuch who is cleaning a street and described her motivation as 'simply because the church she belonged to thought it was a good idea for 'God-fearing' people to do it', he sneers at a city composed of "crooks and cooks", likens food portions to something a fat man would help himself to at a buffet line and describes the city as a 'festival of narcissism, indolence and corruption.' There is so much cultural sneering and contempt in the article that it goes way past describing instances of what he considers mediocre or touristy food if that was his intent I don't understand why the article hammered constantly about the whole 'worthlessness' of the culture down there if as he states in the end he hopes to see the quality of restaurants improve in the city. I don't see that he has any respect, understanding or fondness for the cultural and food traditions of the area. I can only imagine that it was a promotional stunt designed to have his name and article spoken about along the lines of "all publicity is good publicity."

Nice ideas, including the corn squeeze! The ideas for incorporating corn flavor into a cream or custard base also sound like a promising idea. Two completely different flavors that can be complimentary to corn: rosemary (eg. polenta cake soaked with rosemary syrup) or maple syrup and butter. Sinice butter and salt go so well with corn, I wonder if a salt accent, thinking along the line of salted caramels might work. Butter, salt, caramel and corn...