ludja

Thanks for the report, tupac17616! The food at the Caltech on-campus eatery is amazing! I think it is a very beautiful campus although I am somewhat biased for Stanford since I spent some time there. I know the semester is upon you, but I hope you get you finish your report when time allows. I'm intererested to hear more about your experiences in the Bay area.

Where can I get the oblaten (wafer bottoms) for the lebkuchen in the USA??? ← My mom used to get them at a German/Austrian deli back East, so if you have anything like that around you it would be a place to check. I found two online sources that looks promising here: click and click

I do agree w/the Mitchell's ice cream asseesment--it's more for the atmosphere (see above) than for the ice cream itself. ← I'm glad I came back to this thread because I need to make a correction... My response 2 1/2 years ago to Stone's post was in error. This summer I went to Mitchell's, a landmark family-owned and operatated ice cream shop for the first time and really enjoyed it. They have an interesting variety of flavors as well; ranging from many old-fashioned classics to a great selection of tropical flavors. The texture is different than some modern places but I like it very much--still seems very creamy to me and the flavors are very fresh and natural tasting. Here also is a link to another thread on Mitchell's Ice Cream: click Back then, I got it confused with another old time ice cream place in the Mission. This place had an old-fashioned counter with stools, homemade candy, etc. But--I did not think the ice cream was exceptional. I did some googling and think I found out the name of this place: St Francis Fountain at 2801 24th St. Does anyone know if the St. Francis Fountain is still open?

The Gourmet Ghetto adds an Ice Cream Shop... click Ici, 2948 College Ave. (near Ashby), Berkeley; (510) 665-6054. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.

Is thet the bookcover?

This reminds me of another classic French prep from Normandy--chicken dishes with apples, calvados and/or cider and cream... (maybe mushrooms also? ) edited to add a recipe link: Chicken with Cider and Apples

This is a great combination. You can just saute some sliced, peeled apples in butter and season them with salt and pepper. I also like to saute some sliced boiled potatoes and combine them with the sauteed apple. This is also great with boudin blanc and all sorts of blood sausauges. Another apple/potato prep that goes well with these is "Himmel und Erde" or 'Heaven and Earth". It's a German dish of pureed apples and potatoes: click I think butter sauteed apples and potatoes would go very well with the seared calves liver iwith respect to texture and flavor. Salt and pepper are important to me in balancing the sweet note of the apple. For the foie gras I think a similar approach would be great--to make it a bit more elegant perhaps one could make a crispy cake from shredded apple and potato and also make a sauce from reduced cider/demiglace or a spiced applesauce. Fried apple peels for garnish?

This is too bad because Whole Foods might be the only place for people in some parts of the country to potentially have access to good coldcuts and charcuterie. I'm speaking of locations without old style Italian and German delis which are becoming rare even in some places where they used to be plentiful. I wish someone at Whole Foods would decide that quality coldcuts, sausages and charcuterie derived from classic recipes from France, Italy and Germany is something worth selling. If there are issues regarding the import of some of these items they can also be made in the US. Here's a vote from one potential customer.

Lebkuchenhertzen (Lebkuchen Hearts or German Spice Cookie Hearts) These are typically decorated with royal icing, white and other colors and often have a message on them, like "I love you", "Be Mine", etc. Here is a nice photo of a display of lebkuchen hearts: click Here are some Lebkuchen recipes click and click

Thanks for making me aware of this product, nightscotsman. Sounds like it could be helpful in a number of situations.

Well, part of oeufs a la neige's charm is its simplicity--but one nice variation I like is that gven by Lindsey Shere in Chez Panisse Desserts. She flavors the custard with either Meyer lemon or tangerine zest. You can also drizzle some caramel syrup over individual servings just before service if you will be plating the dessert. A nice accompaniemnet are crisp elegant cookies like almond tuiles, cigarettes or langues de chat. This would up the "special" factor as well. You could go with one type of cookie or an assortment. Other options for flavoring the custard might be pistachio (steep custard with finely chopped pistachios and strain) or rose geranium.

These look so good! Even after reading Kevin's initial post you linked to (for others, the calzoncielli post is the last post on that linked page) I still have some questions. Is the dough a standard pizza/calzone dough? And is it deep fried or baked? I guess that the dough would be left to rise again after forming the rolls and before cooking them. Thank you, sorry if I'm missing the obvious...

I routinely buy sausages and other goodies from representatives of Fabrique Delices at the Mountain View or Sunnyvale Farmer's markets. Their production facility is in Hayward, CA and they described themselves as an "Artisan Charcutier since 1985". Great stuff; some of my favorites that I have tried so far are their: Merguez, Boudin Blanc and Boudin Noir and a variety of their pates. They also have things like rillettes, foie gras preparations, galantines, confit, smoked duck breast, duck salami and proscuitto, game sausages (rabbit, wild boar, venison and duck), saucisse de Toulouse and Andouiettes, saucisson a l'Ail, ... I just noticed that you can order their products from their website as well so I thought I would post the info here: click

Here is the post that porkwah was referring to from le gourmet: It's post #15 of this Berlin thread: click Another good restaurant is the "Quadriga" in the Hotel "Brandenburger Hof" near Kurfürstendamm. The chef there is Bobby Braeuer who was several years chef in the "Koenigshof" in Munich. Traditional Bakeries ?? All German bakeries offer the same stuff in different qualities. What's the best belongs to the clients taste. Look for this sign "Goldene Brezel 2005/2006" the following bakeries are awarded. Axel Kaczmarzik, Charlottenburg BackWerk Nehringstr. 3 14059 Berlin BackHaus GmbH, Falkensee H.-J. Leib Bahnhofstr. 6-8 14612 Falkensee Bäckerei Hohenschönhausen Jürgen Rauch Sandinostr. 14 13055 Berlin Bäckerei Köpenick Jürgen Buhrmeister Wiebelskircher Weg 39 12589 Berlin Rainer Schwadtke, Köpenick Dresdner Feinbäckerei Bölschestr. 89 12587 Berlin Bäckerei Köpenick Ralf Sommerwerk Borgmannstr. 6 12555 Berlin Feinbäckerei Lichtenberg Uwe Richter Einbecker Str. 46 10315 Berlin Bäckerei Pankow Karsten John Wollankstr. 110 13187 Berlin Bäckerei Prenzlauer Berg Kempe Hufelandstr. 9 10407 Berlin Bäckerei Prenzlauer Berg Manfred Kädtler Danziger Str. 135 10407 Berlin Bäckerei Prenzlauer Berg Lars Siebert Schönfließer Str. 12 10439 Berlin Bäckerei/Konditorei Schöneberg Johann Mayer OHG Kurt und Karsten Berning Ebersstr. 42 10827 Berlin Bäckerei Schöneberg Walter Seitz Brot und Wein Hochkirchstr. 10 10829 Berlin Familienbäckerei Spandau Rösler GmbH Falkenseer Chaussee 194 13589 Berlin Bäckerei Steglitz Walf GmbH Hans-Joachim Blauert Lankwitzer Str. 2 - 3 12209 Berlin Bäckerei Steglitz Alfons Wagner Sachsenwaldstr. 30 12157 Berlin Bäckerei Steglitz Georg Hillmann GmbH & Co. KG Hindenburgdamm 93 a 12203 Berlin Bäckerei Tempelhof Ingo Wüstenhöfer Marienfelder Allee 99 12277 Berlin Bäcker Tempelhof Wiedemann GmbH Wilhelm-v.-Siemens-Str. 26-28 12277 Berlin Café Obergfell GmbH, Tempelhof Lichtenrader Damm 36 12305 Berlin Bäckerei Tempelhof Stefan Obergfell Alt-Lichtenrade 140 12309 Berlin Enjoy hunting ← It would be great to hear your specific impressions of some of these places if you check some of these out. Have a great trip.

Phew! Am I glad you chose the only recipe there which can be found online! Here it is. However, as you can see in the pic, it produces a very thin layer. I'd do 1 1/2 recipe in an 8" square tin next time. Err...and I didn't add any nuts. For the topping: Just put 2 oz butter, around 5 T brown sugar (I used molasses sugar), 4T milk into a saucepan....low heat. Stir till the sugar has melted. Add about 1 1/2 C confectioner's sugar. ← Thanks for the recipe and modifications, teepee!

Eh... is fig and olive a good combo? ← Pam R, Hi: I think it's heavenly. Two of my favorite things in one bite. I got it at Costco in SLC. The feta I got at the local supermarket in Moab. ← Here is a nice recipe for a fig black olive tapenade from "The Jimtown Cookbook" posted on David Lebovitz's blog: click I really like the combination as well. Really enjoying your blog, Flocko! Thanks for the lowdown on the some of the local Utah specialties. I didn't know all things jello were a staple there in certani circles!

This is exactly what I did . ← Interesting, I used this technique successfullly with blueberries. There is the cut edge of the strawberries but I would have thought the uncut side of the strawberries would look similar to that in the first photo after undergoing this treatment.

click

Wonderful, teepee, just wonderful. Each item looks terrific and very appetizing. Is the recipe for the caramel-topped blondies online? I'm a huge caramel fan and would love to add these to my limited 'bar' cookie repetoire.

Well put, I really agree with your comments on the decor. Stylish and well executed but not over the top in terms of the retro influences. I also like the area just to the left of the entrance with the casual small tables and counter seating. With their array of interesting 'small bites" and good wine list it would also be nice to come in here for a drink and some snacks or for dessert and coffee.

I went there about two weeks ago for the first time and enjoyed the whole experience. I had the meatloaf described above which was delicious; great gravy. We were a group of 7, including two youngsters and we sat in the more casual, dineresque front room. Some other items ordered at the table were the Standard cheeseburger, fries (quite good), a fish special of which I can't recall the details and a crab cake appetizers. They had some nice menu choices for the kids who ate away happily and also enjoyed their sundaes at meals end. I shared two excellent desserts with another diner--a beer flavored ice cream--I think it was made with a stout and was a special ice cream for the day. (I want to try this at home.) We also got the Chocolate Semi-Freddo which consisted of chocolate chiffon cake wrapped around homemade peanut butter crunch ice cream and was served with a dark chocolate sauce. I'd go back anytime just for the desserts! The decor is smart and comfortable at the same time. The back room is a bit more elegant in feel. Our group wasn't drinking wine so I unfortunately did not get to sample some of the choices from their interesting wine list this time. I like the contrasting but still harmonious aspects of the decor in the front and back room. Depending on what you order or where you sit you can dial the atmosphere from more casual to casual-elegant. I'm looking forward to returning here many times.

Maybe this would work: Paint the outside of the halved strawberries with lightly stirred egg whilte; then sprinkle with coarse sugar and let dry a bit.

I haven't been to Piperade for a few years but had a very nice dinner there on Friday night. My dining partner came in late due to a flight delay so we had to push our reservations from 9:30 to 10 pm. This ended up rushing our meal a bit but the service was still good. With an aperatif of lillet blanc, we ordered two appetizers-- serrano ham and a squid salad. The generous serving of ham was of excellent quality and I loved the squid salad which was described as: "Monterey squid with watermelon salad with fresh mint, coriander and espellette pepper". There may have been some tomato in the salad as well. In any case, it was a great combination. The squid were steamed/braised to a perfect texture and the contrast in flavors as well as in texture with the watermelon was very good. A basket of good rustic european-style country bread went well with both dishes. I really enjoyed my main course as well: Filet of halibut, corn, orzo and chorizo chowder with tomato salpicon. The fish was absolutely fresh and the flavors of the dish were great--the tomatoes and chorizo provided bright spots of flavor against the rich corn chowder which had a nice undertone of fish flavor. My friend ordered the braised seafood and shellfish stew in red pepper sauce. I think the seafood was shrimp, scallops and fish; the sauce was flavorful without much heat. The bread was also put to good use with our main courses as the sauces were very good. The wine was a nice Rhone blend from Tablas Creek; a 2003 Cotes de Tablas Rouge. This was priced at $40 which to my memory is a good price for this bottle at nor more than 2x markup. We shared a nice dessert that I've had there several times before, the hazelnut and roasted almond mousse cake generously studded with sugar roasted slivered almonds. The only disappointment of the meal was the mediocre coffee. It was late in the evening but the coffee was noticeably and disappointingly weak and tasted like it had been on the burner too long. All in all a very enjoyable meal. The room is still warmly beautiful and comfortable to me. (It was 90-95% full when we came in at 10 pm). We were also happy with the gracious service given our late arrival; we left a little after 12:00. As an aside, one reason I like Piperade so much is that I find so many interesting items to choose from on the menu. Here were some other of the 'small plates' on offer that night: Dungeness crab salad "txangurro" with basil, roasted epper and mango Bacalao carpaccio with oyster tartar and lemon creme fraiche Artisan foie gras sauteed w/monterey squid, grapes and verjus Piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese, pine nuts and golden rasins Haricot verts and fig salad with "perfect blondes" and walnut vinagrette Garlic soup with rock shrimp, bacon, bread and egg It's also well worth one's time to go there on Monday's to get their daily special of braised veal sweetbreads with Madeira. I need to try some Basque wines next time and order the artisanal cheese plate as well.

Sounds right; I thought some of the smaller and/or organic growers of heirloom potatoes might frequent some of the farmer's markets.

Interesting background on the nationalities of Mennonite immigrants to the US. It looks like their food could have early influences from The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Russia while that of the Amish has roots primarily from Switzerland and Germany. click