ludja

I hope you do... This paragraph would be a great way to start off a thread. I just looked and saw that there are no baklava threads yet... It would be fascinating to hear more about the different types and peoples baking experiences with baklava as well. I've always loved walnut baklava, but the first pistachio version I had ~ 10 yrs ago was a complete revelation. Nearby I have a good place to buy them; I may have to get some tomorrow!

Good point. We do have an earlier thread on Bircher Muesli and the Alpen ingredients are essentially similar. I also found out that there are things called "barley flakes" and "wheat flakes". I saw some sources that said wheat flakes could be malted... So, it might be possible to make a dry muesli that also includes these grains.

It's actually pretty close to a classic Austrian preparation, Schnitzel a la Holtstein mentioned above. Holstein schnitzel also has a fried egg on top of the cutlet. Wedge of lemon is always de rigeur for Wienerschnitzel, too. Some other variants are mentioned above. The most common variants we make in my family (in Austria and here) are: Schweinschnitzel (pork), and Naturschnitzel (just flour as a coating). My grandmother often makes a paprika cream sauce to go with the Naturschnitzel. With breaded Schweinschnitzel my Mom and I serve it with a mushroom sauce or not and serve with a lemon wedge and parsley. If the schnitzel has a 'wet sauce' like paprika-cream or mushroom we usually serve with sidedishes of spaetzle and a cucumber salad. The latter dressed with vinegar and pumpkinseed oil from Styria, Austria. When there is no sauce, we usually have the cucumber salad and a cold potato salad with bacon, parsley, oil and vinegar as a side. Another favorite accompaniment instead of the potato salad is to have homemade macaroni and cheese with it. Lots of carbohydrates, to be sure, and while it may sound strange, I think the idea comes from the southern part of Austria my famly comes from that has Italian/Alpine influences regarding the use of noodles and cheese. As I mentioned above, we usually use pork as we find it to be "less dry" and my grandmother says it is, "more tasty". But with a real Wienerschnitzel using veal I think the main trick is to not overcook it and to serve it immediately or as soon as possible after cooking it. (i.e. Don't make the schnitzel ahead of time and let it dry out in the oven.) A German restaurant out here serves lignonberry preserves ('Preiselbeern', in Austria), parsley and a wedge of lemon with their Wienerschnitzel. Is that done in Sweden, sometimes? Also, what sidedishes do you like to have with the meal? Sorry to run on, but schnitzel is a favorite food! I need to make some this week!

I used to love this cereal as a kid. I'm sure I would still like it, but it had fallen off my radar for some reason. I'll have to look and see if they have it in stores out here. Not really an answer to your question, but I found this list of ingredients for it here (bolding is added by me). I'm not sure how to incorporate the whole wheat and the pearled barley... As I recall, we used to eat the cereal cold rather than heating it up, so I guess at least some of the grains must be pre-cooked or processed in some way. Do others eat the cereal cold, too?

Here is some additional discussion and information on chocolate in Turin on David Lebovitz' great blog: click He gives a nice take on his version of il Bicerin as well and a more complete list of chocolate purveyers as well:

Thanks, divina. Also, I'm ready to try the different Giandujotto after reading this article from today's NYTimes. Some info for when article disappears: Shops and Producers: Caffarel Peyrano Guido Gobino Stratta Gertosio, on Via Lagrange: medium roasted hazelnuts, sweeter than others Peyrano and Gobino chocolates are available online (at peyrano.com and Gobino from the New York-based www.gustiamo.com). Stratta And from the same article:

It's also good to have a room temp or cool metal pan on hand to quickly turn the nuts out on to when they are finished. This helps to cool the nuts down and stop the cooking. Also, I've learned the hard way not to leave the oven area and I try not to multitask (too much) until they are done. I usually stand right there, open the door to shake the pan periodically and to smell if they're done.

The Today Show has been having some food segments each day. They are pretty brief, but here are two things mentioned that were interesting to me: "Bombardino" a warm drink made from "vov" egg liqueur and further strengthened with whiskey or rum. Sometimes also includes espresso and can be topped with softly whipped cream. I think this is something to warm up with after a day in the mountains. They featured a nice sounding Piemontese salad the other day: equal parts chopped celery, cubed Toma cheese and roasted hazelnuts in a lemon-olive oil vinagrette.

A new member, lukestar, recently posted a recipe request for a Black Forest cake (Shorty Leonard’s Black Forest Cake) in the Louisiana forum here. The cake sounds intriguing so I cross-posted his request in this thread in the Pastry and Baking Forum.

Sounds interesting. I guess the cherry flavor was just from Kirschwasser or cherry preserves? By googling, I noticed the recipe has apparently been previously published in "Country Cakes" by Blair. Can you describe the cake in any more detail in case any of us do have a similar recipe? Was it basically a chocolate layer cake with a chocolate-cherry mousse-like layer(s)? edited to add: I added your request to an existing thread for Black Forest Cake in the Pastry and Baking in case it attracts some other eyes over there. Here is the link to that thread here. Welcome to egullet, by the way!

A passive agressive approach to an anti-Valentine meal: a whiter shade of pale: barley soup filet of sole with creamed onions and mashed potatoes vanilla ice cream edited to add: I focused on the title first but now realize I am OT re; anti-kitsch Valentine dessert ideas... Carrot Top's skunk cake is cracking me up.

A small menu: Bittermelon Soup Nettle Risotto Lemon Sorbet

Could you kindly elaborate on this explanation? I was asking why most of the larger Italian cities have translated English names, but no French cities' names are ever translated. Why should a name be translated at all, anyway? ← Look at this list of European cities and the different names for the cities in different languages. I'm not sure if there is a simple answer to your question. But back to food, I found a direct link to Cafe al Bicerin here in English. The translation may not be perfect, but here is their English description of the interestingly named "imprisoned polenta" cookie:

The menu looks great so far. I like your idea for the cake, Chufi; it can only be as good or better with hazelnut sponge layers! Maybe you could incorporate spinach into the antipasti (and thus have to cook less of it). A nice recipe I've made is a bruschetta with a white bean puree (seasoned with onion, garlic, olive oil) and then topped with chopped spinach sauteed in olive oil and garlic. Another very good and easy antipasti is to make crostini, spread with an arugula butter (use sweet unsalted butter and process with chopped arugula) and then topped with a very thin slice of bresaola. The flavor combination really works.

I was googling for more info on bicerin (here's a thread devoted to bicerin ) and I found this link to food at Café Al Bicerin in Torino: click Here are some of their desserts:

Wallse sounds like a good lead to get more information. I was able to speak to the proprieter (Gary Baxter) of a wineshop I like to visit in Santa Fe (La Casa Sena Wine Shop) who carries many Austrian wines and also has some high-end schnapps/eau de vie as I mentioned above. He has some bottles from an Austrian producer: Hans Reisetbauer. The price range per bottle is $120-150 and he is able to ship. The bottles he currently has are: apricot, plum, rowanberry, wild cherry and poire williams. A little info on Reisetbauer I was able to find online: http://www.wineanorak.com/austria/austrian...reisetbauer.htm The importer for this producer is Terry Thiese and the distributor is Michael Skurnick. They are based in New York so you should be able to get more information and have a good chance at some local availability if it turns out to be a producer that you are interested in after speaking with those familiar with it. If you're willing, it would be nice to hear back what you find out through Wallse and/or Terry Thiese. I would have some interest in procuring some good Austrian schapps/eau de vie myself. Good luck.

Hi rnewman: There are so many general threads on this topic in the CA forum which you can easily find by searching "Sonoma" or "Napa". You should find some useful starting information if you peruse those threads. If you plan a loose itinerary, or have follow-up questions, people here can definately help with feedback regarding distances, opinions on the wine, etc. When you want some specific recs, it would be helpful to give some information regarding the types of wines you like, the amount of time you'll have in Napa and Sonoma, and what parts of the counties you will be staying in, etc. There are hundreds of wineries that span a relatively large geographical area! As a sidenote: many of the smaller wineries in Napa, but not in Sonoma, require appointments.

Thank you for the information on the ryes; it will be interesting to compare the drink when made with rye vs. bourbon.

If you are really looking for luxury though.... I remember seeing some very high end fruit schnapps from either Austria or Switzerland at "La Casa Sena Wine Shop" in Santa Fe, NM. As I recall, the bottles were priced substantially in excess of $100/bottle.

I don't have a sense of how it stacks up in quality, but a brand that I've seen commonly in Austria is Bailioni(s) (sic) from the Wachau region. I've not looked for it here, but have not seen it either. Out of curiosity, I called up a local store that has a good selection of imported liqueurs (Beltrammo's in Atherton, CA, south of SF) and they do not have any. I also wasn't able to get any other info on possible brands that might be distributed in the US. Googling a bit, I found one imported apricot schnapps potentially available for ordering on "Taste of Austria". I have no idea regarding the quality this brand. Here is the link: click. (under 'schnapps". The name and bottle shape scares me a bit!

Thank you, please do start a post on this; I would love to hear more about it as well.

Great food everyone, and I'm loving your cocktails, Dave. I need to try a Monkey Gland and The Last Word soon. Congratulations, Marlene, Susan and Dave... and Maggie the Cat, Mayhaw Man and Matthew and anyone else who is inspired by this blog. Good luck starting your battle soon, annecros Almost a week everyone. It will get easier at some time; keep pushing for yourself.

I've had Burmese Tea Salad a few times and enjoyed it very much. The flavor was quite intense and unique. Some of that is due to the other ingredients as cdh mentioned. I think I remember a smokey taste as well which I think came from the tea leaves. A combination I've seen (often in French contexts) is prunes steeped in Earl Grey tea and then used in desserts. I found a link here for a tea-steeped prune frangipane tart from Patricia Well's "Bistro Cooking". I've made several other tarts from this book that were excellent, so I'd try this in a heartbeat. In the cookbook, she specifies either heavy cream or creme fraiche for use in these types of tarts. I love the flavor and texture obtained when using creme fraiche in tarts, so I'd probably try it that way first. There used to be a really neat ice cream shop in SF on Polk St that made and served exclusively tea ice creams. I like good green tea ice creams, but it was an eye opener to try all the other tea ice creams they offered including jasmine and Thai-iced tea flavors. Barbara Tropp has nice recipes and guidelines for tea-smoked poultry, including quail in her books, "The China Moon Cookbook" and "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking". I've also wanted to try a dessert sorbet that she has in the latter book for "Pear and Jasmine Tea Sorbet". Here's her description: "This is a sorbet of great subtlety. The color is a very pale blone, and the flavor is evocatively pear-like, with a refreshing aftertaste of jasmine tea."

Thanks for the detailed reviews, Sneakeater and Adamru. I'm looking forward to checking out Blaue Gans the next time I"m in NYC. Kaiserschmarren This is easy to make at home and makes a nice light supper with perhaps a soup beforehand and/or a fruit compote alongside.

I would like to try the cocktail made with rye; thanks for the commentary. Any rye whiskeys you or others would recommend for this drink?