ludja

Amazing etalanian! Your post is so enabling. If I get grief about my collection I can point to yours as a counterpoint! I've just decided that I should probably catalogue and index my collection. In that huge collection do you have some sub-specialities with respect to a particular cuisine or region? I found a book at a library booksale that I've taken out of the library several times: Linda Dannenberg's "Paris Bistro Cooking". It will be nice to have this alongside her book "Paris Boulangerie and Patisserie".

Awesome! It looks delicious! Your success definately encourages me to try this sometime soon. I hope this spawns a dedicated Mille Crepes Thread. I think someone else tried a chocolate version somewhere else in the P&B forum.

Here's a link that has a little history on the cake: click The version they show in a photo and describe also sounds interesting. Between the two layers of cake there is the raspberry jam and a thin layer of whipped cream. The top is covered with powdered sugar. They describe the cake as a sponge cake rather than a pound cake though. (A recipe is given in the link.) Here is another recipe that also has a layer of whipped cream in addition to the jam: click I just found a discussion of Victorian Sandwich (or Sponge) Cake on Wikepedia: click

Maybe a raspberry mousse would be nice; frozen raspberries are fine for this. recipe (I wouls strain the seeds out of the raspberry puree before adding the gelatin.) You could serve with some nice whipped cream on top and crisp cookie alongside. Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes might be a nice idea if you don't feel like making some. If you're stuck on chocolate, there is this chocolate raspberry mousse cake: click

Is mayonnaise part of the palate (now) in China? Would stuffed eggs be a potential winner or would this be just too weird.? (It would be another small "course" and is easy to do ahead of time. There may be ways to make it more "chinese" in flavor by adding other ingredients to the egg yolk mix and by maybe strewing green onions over the top)

Thanks, gfron1. I forgot another little food experience worth passing along-- Caliche's Frozen Custard in Alamogordo It's on the main drag and has really nice frozen custard--the texture is between soft-serve and regular ice cream. They have a large selection of sauces and items to blend in. I had vanilla with butterscotch sauce... yum. I think they also serve hot dog's and burgers but we were blinded by the custard (and had just eaten lunch elsewhere).

San Luis Obispo is a lovely town if you end up stopping here. A famous (casual) dish from the area are tri-tip sandwiches (a beef steak sandwich). We had a great version at a place in downtown San Luis Obispo (SLO) called Firestone. I'd be cautious on the Madonna Inn for dinner--but breakfast, as mentioned by Alchemist might be a fun idea. The do have an incredible bar with good cocktails/wine by the glass which would be a fun place to people watch in the evening. As mentioned earlier, Madonna Inn is an interesting place to check out for its outrageous decor. The California Spanish Mission in the center of town should also be on your list of sights to see if you have the time. If you'll have more than one day, you may want to check out some wineries in the area. The area just south of the town has good examples of chardonnay. Here is a previous thread on SLO dining options: San Luis Obispo Not sure how natives to the area feel about it, but we enjoyed one of the prototypical San Diego foods--fish tacos at Wahoo's Fish Tacos in La Jolla. Funky atmosphere as well in this casual place with plenty of surfers, skateboarders, etc.. I guess you'd say the food is Southern Californian-Mexican. Wahoo's Fish Tacos in La Jolla

Thanks for the Portuguese Fish Soup recipe, jdtofbna, it looks great and comes with great provenance being a family favorite for many years. The link will only remain active for a week or so, but the SF Chronicle has a nice article this week with recipe for spring soups... click I'm thinking the Pea and Green Garlic Soup could be perfect for Easter dinner... Sweet Pea & Green Garlic Soup Creamy Turnip & Turnip Greens Soup Aspargus Soup with Chervil Golden Beet Soup with Crème Fraiche Cauliflower & Spinach Soup with Tarragon Carrot, Fennel & Potato Soup Celery Root, Mushroom & Potato Soup

Thank you all for the great suggestions! This thread was a great help; he tasted and bought a great bottle of the 12 yr old Red Breast Irish Whiskey. He also brought back some unique Guiness beers made for domestic use and for export to various countries. I think he may have bought a version of Guiness made for South Africa and/or China which is more heavily hopped. He also fell in the love with the oats over there and bought some to bring back. Thanks to other egullet threads, he got good guidance on excellent cheeses to try. They picked some up in the English market at Cork and also at other farmer's markets along the way. They had a great food experience in Ireland. (Dublin to Cork and staying in the southwest)

I'm just basking in the wonders each new day of this blog brings... . Thank you for sharing so many great and interesting things about Seattle food and its intersection with your life. Your portrayal of Salumi was indeed mouthwatering; I could easily plan a trip up there again just based on potential food visits there. I'm loving your overview of great sandwich places in Seattle. I'm not sure we currently have as many great choices in the Bay Area although they may be spread out enough that I'm not aware of them. Your salmon sandwich and the other panini looked just great today. I miss the easy access to great coldcuts both Italian and German/Austrian in the Northeast. I don't think the Bay Area has a great sandwich/submarine/grinder culture. That being said, I think Paul Bertolli (recently of Oliveto's in Oakland) and some other folks are going to be opening some retail salumeria with Italian cured meats in the area. There is a welcome trend of restaurants here curing their own meats, at this point, usually Italian.

Thanks for reporting on your experience, sanrensho. I recently bought this book but haven't cooked out of it yet so it's helpful to hear of successful recipes.

Thanks for the link to Agent Orange sauce, lperry. Sounds like something I'd like to try. Many of the commercial habanero/scotch bonnet sauces don't have enough flavor or heat for me. In a food magazine a long time ago, I saw a recipe that sounded very appealing: habanero-cantaloupe sauce. I don't have the recipe which I think was designed for bottling, but I found this recipe online for a habanero-cantaloupe bbq sauce to serve with brisket. click. This won't necessarily help with long term storage though unless you are able to dry some. Another great easy "use it now" applicaton is to make a habanero tomato sauce/salsa. I got this idea from one of the Bayless books and it is really a delcious sauce that is extremely simple to make. Saute some onions and add 2 big cans of canned tomatoes. Simmer for an hour or so with one half habanero, unchopped. You can remove the habanero or keep all or part of it in the sauce which is then pureed in a blender. The habanero gives a wonderful complex flavor and heat to the sauce; perfect for enchiladas. edited to add: The chiles look beautiful!

As others have mentioned, pig's ears are/have been used in older American and in European cusines in various ways. One examlple is "sulz" or a jellied dish with various pig parts in it, including ears. I never heard of fried, sliced pig's ear salad though... See the description and post here at an Italian restaurant dinner on hhlodesign's great foodblog.

Yup, older American anthology cookbooks have many recipes for these items. The only pig part that I haven't heard my relatives from Europe use or see for sale in a German butcher shop is pig uterus. Maybe that was used for the sausages...

Thanks misstenacity and gefron... We didn't get a chance to stop in Carrizozo so I'll have to check it out next time. We did pick up some Carrizozo Cherry Cider which I had for the first time and enjoyed a lot. On our way to White Sands we tried out Margo's Mexican in Alamogordo. I didn't have great expectations but I was disappointed that that the red and green chile sauces were extremely mild and without much flavor. This is not usually an issue that arises much in New Mexico. The food was priced well and was good fuel for our incredible hike in White Sands but I don't think I'd return. Our pleasant dining surprise of the trip was our dinner at Rebecca's which is the restaurant for The Lodge at Cloudcroft. link The hotel is in a very isolated location and the menu is somewhat old-fashioned so beforehand I had some trepidation that the execution might be somewhat tired, but we went with what we thought they would do well and were amply rewarded. We thought the meal and service were excellent and look forward to returning there. (The old hotel from 1910 is lovely as well.) After a sipping a Manhattan in the old bar area, we started our meal with a tableside Caesar salad for two. It was the first time I've ever ordered one this way and it was absolutely great. The waitress acknowledged our comment regarding our penchant for strong flavors and made an excellent salad. The pieces of lettuce and croutons were the perfect size--largish but not too large and the greens were absolutely fresh. Next we decided to go with steaks and they were wonderful as well--a New York strip with roasted shallots and a Filet served with a red chile-goat cheese. Both steaks were served with asparagus and with pommes puree (mashed potatoes with lots of cream and butter and a silky texture). The steaks rate right up there with some of the tastiest I've ever had. We felt slightly silly (in a good way!) ordering a second tableside preparation but we could not resist when we witnessed the Bananas Foster being flamed at the next table! I've had the dish at Brennan's and these were at least the equal if not superior to those. Copious amounts of butter were employed, along with brown sugar, rum, banana liqueur, cinnamon and of course, bananas. These were spooned over very good vanilla ice cream that was cold enough to not immediately melt--a very big plus in my book. The caramel sauce was the perfect consistency--runny and warm in some parts and slightly chewy but tender where it had cooled off next to the ice cream. Good coffee ended the meal. We had a nice Qupe Syrah with the steaks. Besides going back there just for the Bananas Foster, I"ll probably be risking damage to the microwave over the stove in trying to recreate the dish at home. The waitstaff was excellent in all ways and the dining room is very attractive. We sat in the area with windows and beautiful views for breakfast but sat in the main, dark wood-paneled dining room for dinner. On the basis of this dinner, I'd be willing to try out other items on their menu but don't know if I'd be able to pass up on reordering the same dinner we had! The only other food adventure of note to report in the area was a stop at the The Owl in San Antonio (NM) on the way home. It was fun to eat in this storied place. We were thinking this is probably the only restaurant in the world made famous by scientist clientele--those who travelled down from Los Alamos to the area for the nuclear detonations at Trinity Site. The burgers are not huge but they are very tasty. They are made with freshly ground beef and topped with cheese and excellent green chile with a good flavor and bite. I liked the ratio of beef to bun and if I had been a little more hungary I would have eaten two. I'd read before that some consider that this place had gone downhill some over the years, but we enjoyed our burgers and fries very much. I'm still interested to hear of anyone's recs as I hope to go back to this area in addition to venturing over to the Gila and Silver City another time.

Thanks for the updates jaytee, lizard and cstuart... Bummer that it's not open yet and may still be a ways off, especially after tejon's photos and report!

Pretty funny, and one of those times when one *is* truly glad that the decision to make a trial run was made!

I don't think it's too early to plan! Easter dinner is one of my favorite dining celebrations because I feel more latitude in changing the menu from year to year as long as I keep a strong focus on wonderful spring ingredients. In the northeast where I grew up ham was very tradtional. Now my Mom usually has lamb as well. For us, asparagus as a harbinger of spring is de rigeur, either as a warm vegetable side dish or served cold with a vinagrette or sauce gribiche. Other typical sides dishes are buttered, parslied new potatoes, English peas (maybe with a mint butter) and creamed onions. In a nod to our Austrian roots we usually have freshly grated horseradish with the ham. It's early for strawberries in New England, but dessert is usually something lighter, maybe something with a focus on pineapple, rhubarb, lime or lemon, for example. We always make a great Austrian Easter Braid bread that has raisins in it. This is for breakfast with sweet butter slathered on it. My tradition out in CA has evolved to include either a ham or leg of lamb as the main dish. Out here it is also a great time to get fresh spring salmon which is less rich and oily this time of year. I've made a wonderful first course salad with it and spring vegetables (inspired by Bertolli formerly of Chez Panisse) and one year I served salmon as the main course with a green olive butter. I also like to incorporate as many CA spring vegetables as possible into the menu--artichokes, fava beans, spring onions, baby carrots, fennel, pea shoots, etc. When I had vegetarian guests one year I made an artichoke tart as an alternative entree. For dessert I make dishes similar to those described above or else I make some type of ricotta type dessert like ricotta filled cream puffs or a ricotta pie or tart. I think these are traditional in some Italian Easter desserts and they just feel right to me for Easter. The biggest influences on my Easter dinners out here was becoming inspired by the regional and seasonal cooking and general aesthetics in the Chez Panisse cookbooks and having access to truly great locally grown spring vegetables at Eastertime. (It can be early for some items in New England.) I also love going to the Easter vigil mass the night before so that on Easter I just have the whole morning to play with the spring vegetables as I listen to La Traviata! I try to make dinner early, around 1:00. so we can change and fit in a small walk after dinner in the nearby foothills. I'm having a smaller group this year so I'm considering a simpler menu and plenty of time for a walk after dinner. I haven't finalized it yet but here is my first draft: Proscuitto or Westphalian Ham green olives radishes good bread with sweet butter and salt Shrimp paste on toast points Elderberry Flower Champagne Cocktails Steamed artichoke with beurre blanc Fennel Cream soup with some crostini (Black olive tapanade, smoked trout and avocado?) Spring Salmon Salad with Cucumber vinagrette, scallions, fresh peas, fava beans, asparagus and young greens Ricotta ice cream with a Rhubarb compote or Boulud's Rhubarb Napolean with Orange Flower Cream or an Erdbeeroberstorte (Strawberry Cream Torte) or a fresh strawberry/pineapple compote followed by homemade cannoli with pistachios (I do need to try and use my cannoli molds sometime soon... ) Thanks for kickstarting my remembrances and planning. There are too many great options for Easter dinner! edited to add: We color Easter eggs and make up Easter baskets as well. The easter eggs go great with leftover ham sandwiches after Easter (one big flaw of my menu above).

Two recent threads and my own experience encourage me to ask this question. See JAZ's discussion re: an epiphany she had regarding appreciation of the humble bean and also her delicious rendition of Russ Parson's, Cowboy Cassoulet in her ongoing floodblog: here. Also, an old thread recently got revived regarding someone's experience with a less than exciting version of a Tuscan bean soup. click The latter thread really caught my attention because one of the best bean dishes I've ever had was a bean soup in Florence with great olive oil drizzled over it. While my Mom is a great cook, beans growing up meant no more than canned baked beans or maybe a cold salad with canned kidney beans. Ok, but these did not make my heart beat more quickly. Black beans were next in line as they became more popular and though while intitially exotic compared to the familiar baked beans they also were just pretty good. Now, mind you, I think a big reason for these responses is that I was only eating canned beans at the time. The dishes that intitially won me over and converted me to being a bean lover were Gerald Hirogoyen's Duck Confit over French lentils du Puy (at Fringale in SF), and grilled shrimp or calamari over white beans (Delfina's and Zuni in SF). Trips to New Mexico exposed me to some bowls of truly great pinto beans. Florence offered the great bowl of soup mentioned above. Now I eat all sort of beans in many different guises and contexts. Did you have an epiphany regarding how great beans could be? What was the key factor in your conversion? A new type of bean? Dry versus canned? A particular preparation or style of cuisine?

Has anyone checked the store out yet? I haven't been by that area and keep forgetting to check, but suppose it must be open by now... Any comments on the cream puffs?

Ok, I limited my search and ideas to German cookies! I found a cookie/confection in one of my cookbooks that is a specialty of Frankfurt and therefore, Hesse: "Frankfurter Bethmannchen" or "Marzipan Bethmanss". The dough is primarily marzipan; it's shaped into little pyramids and 3 half almonds are pressed into the sides before baking. Here's a recipe that I found online: click To round out an assorted cookie platter I might go for one cookie with jelly or jam like a "Spitzbuben" (Little Rascals) or a "Hazelunt Thumprint" (Hussaren). Jam ideas are apricot, red or black currant, rose hip, or raspberry. If you think that chocolate glazed cookies could be kept cool enough during transport, etc. I might have a Florentiner (almond sliver cookie with candied lemon or orange and glazed w/chocolate on the bottom). These are popular in all German-speaking countries. Another option is a Stambul Meringuen (Istanbul Meringues). (walnut meringue glazed on the bottom w/chocolate). The latter might quickly become chewy rather than remaining crispy in the summer humdity but maybe they would also taste good in this incarnation... Vanilla Kipfel (Vanilla Crescents) are Austrian, but are also so popular in Germany and Switzerland that they are usually included in cookbooks from Germany and Switzerland as well. These are tender cookies loaded with ground walnuts or almonds and coated in vanilla sugar. They benefit from being made at least a week or two in advance. I have a very good recipe and can pm it to you if you like. Other German cookie ideas are some type of anise cookie (pressed if you had a mold(s)) or Zimsterne (Cinnamon Hazelnut Stars) with a lemon icing. While these are all Christmas cookies to some extent, I personally might not make Lebkuchen or Pfeffernusse for this event b/c I associate them and the flavorings so much with winter and Christmas. (Just my own preferance.) For a variety of tastes, shapes and looks my choices might be: Frankfurter Bethmannchen Hussaren (some with Apricot; some with Red Currant) Florentiner or Stambul Meringuen Vanilla Kipfel Per Swisskaese's post: Frankfurterkranz Torte has been another cake on my "to do" list!

Sending wishes for your arm to heal quickly. I thought the pot roast idea above was a good one. (would just need a few vegetables chopped up ahead of time; can serve with egg noodles) Another dish that would only require a few things chopped up (by someone else) would be a meatloaf. This reheats well for subsequent lunches and suppers too. Oven roasted chicken pieces are another idea. Roast some potatoes alongside or make some rice and vegetables. Broiled, poached or pan sauteed fish is another option. Take advantage of "convenience" foods even if they're not on your normal menu---frozen vegetables, stovetop stuffing, store-made pesto sauce, etc. If there is a Trader Joes near you, they have lots of frozen entrees that are more appealing than regular grocery store options.

Any suggestions for food in this tucked away area? We'll only be in the area for a few days, but I'm interested in any high or low suggestions for eateries and watering holes... Mexican, New Mexican, BBQ, and anything else that is good around there. I'm getting the impression that it may not be a particular mecca for food but any suggestions for honest fare is appreciated. Next time I'll have to head south and east to visit egulleteer gfron1's shop in Silver City... A few places I've read about that sound like possibilities: In Ruidoso: Casa de Sueños New Mexican Restaurant Ahna-Michelle's Restaurant Café Rio (Italian) Texas Club Grill & Bar The Village Buttery In Cloudcroft: Western Bar & Café Rebecca's (at the Lodge) Texas Pit Barbeque In Alamogrodo Caliche's Frozen Custard Margo's Mexican Food Lincoln Area Chango (in Capitan) Comments? Other suggestions? I'll report back on anything interesting we find...

My mom just makes a very simple vanilla buttercream frosting with powdered sugar, butter, a little cream and vanilla extract. Other vanilla buttercream recipes might be even nicer, perhaps with real vanilla bean. I should try making the cake itself with vanilla bean sometime also. Whipped Cream Cake 1 cup heavy whipping cream 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1 ½ cups sifted cake flour ¼ tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder (Mom uses all purpose flour with success). Preheat oven to 375 deg. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with wax paper and grease the paper. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together and set aside. Whip cream until stiff. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until thick and piled softly. Fold beaten eggs into the whipped cream. Stir in sugar and vanilla. In two additions, fold in dry sifted ingredients by hand. Divide batter between both pans. Bake until cake is lightly browned and the center springs back to the touch, about 20-25 min. Cool cakes on wire racks for 10 min. Invert, remove from pan and cool on wire racks. Peel off wax paper and cool to RT. Serve with vanilla buttercream. Softened butter, slowly add powdered sugar. Add vanilla flavoring. Add a little canned milk, or cream or milk to get proper consistency. Use other flavorings as desired. I love German/Austrian cheesecakes or "Topfentorte". They typically use Quark or Farmer's cheese, are flavored with lemon, vanilla and maybe rum or raisins, and, as you mentioned, employ a shortbread crust. I have some recipes but none are tested by me yet. When I try a successful version, I'll try to remember to post it on egullet.

Unsprayed fresh flowers, for example roses, would be nice for a shower. Another option would be candied rose petals. You can make these at home, but also need unsprayed roses. Depending on the cake flavorings, other options are crushed amaretti cookies, chocolate shavings or curls, toasted almond slices, etc. These could be used on either the sides or the top of the cake.