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Sandra Levine

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Everything posted by Sandra Levine

  1. I wondered that myself and asked the woman selling the turmeric, but she had no idea that there was another type of "saffron" so I couldn't get an answer.
  2. Mmmm, depends on the hotel.
  3. I've never used a non-stick angel food pan. I don't even grease my pan when making an angel food cake or sponge cake, because I like to cool these fragile constuctions upside down to reduce deflation. With a non-stick, I would be afraid of slippage. Why would non-stick be desirable for an angel food cake pan? They are really easy to clean. Removing the cake couldn't be simpler -- just run a knife around the perimeter to release the cake.
  4. My preferred strategy also, Wilfred, but sometimes the timing will not permit it.
  5. Fresh turmeric sold in the market in Dominica (in the Caribbean) is called saffron.
  6. Have you looked at this thread? I seem to remember a book or two having been mentioned somewhere, too, but I havent found it yet.
  7. The exhibit was very good -- a chronological overview of Hartley's career. He painted only about 400 canvases in his life and there were over 100 in the show. What you have described as museum food is, I am afraid, far more typical than what I had yesterday. Another museum that has decent food is the Allbright-Knox in Buffalo.
  8. Ranitidine and I went to the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford to see the Marsden Hartley exhibit and were pleasantly surprised to discover that the Museum Cafe offered much more than pre-wrapped sandwiches and the like that we expected. This is a real restaurant that people go to even when they are not otherwise visiting the museum. We both had the $28 prix-fixe. There were two choices for the appetizer and main course, but no choice for dessert. R. had lobster chowder, perhaps a little too thick, but tasty and topped with a generous spoonful of cubed lobster meat. His main course was maple-glazed duck -- a generous portion with some crisp skin served over mashed potatoes and shredded sauteed cabbage. I started with a salad of arugula, rock shrimp and black olives, followed by a perfectly cooked piece of cod draped over buttery mashed potatoes, glazed with a sparking brown-ish sauce. Halved, roasted Brussels sprouts surrounded the mound of potatoes and fishThere were also tiny cubes of tart apple scattered here and there that added nothing, but could be ignored. I wasn't thinking about posting about the meal at the time, so I didn't take notes. Dessert was less successful -- a rather clunky black-walnut and chocolate tartlet, with a thick, tough crust and undistinguished chocolate chips embedded in a dry, nutty filling. Coffee (too weak) was included. In addition to the prix-fixe (which was planned to honor Marsden Hartley's Maine connections) there were nice salads, sandwiches and other entrees. I didn't take a notes or ask for a menu, but I remember seeing an oyster po' boy. What other museums or concert halls have acceptable restaurants -- casual or more formal. At one time Alice Waters was in negotiations with the Louvre, but nothing came of that. Anything else of interest?
  9. Sandra Levine

    Chicken Thighs

    Thighs are my favorite chicken piece. Leaving the skin on or taking it off, you try brushing the thighs with Dijon mustard mixed with a little Worcestershire sauce and a few drops of any hot sauce, coating with bread crumbs and sauteing in half butter, half vegetable oil. This dish is called devilled chicken.
  10. The book is delightful to read, but many of the recipes depend on unacceptable shortcuts like canned vegetables or bouillon cubes or unavailable vegetable flours. That being said, there are many other, very simple recipes that would be worth learning for a novice and are part of the repetoire of anyone who has done any cooking at all. It's the idea and charm of the book that count today, but it must have been a revelation in 1930.
  11. That Lemon Almond Polenta Torta sounds delicious. I'm so sorry that the recipe includes the calorie count. It leaves no way to delude myself.
  12. Pomiane is as evocative to me of Paris in a certain era as Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and Bemelmans' My Life in Art. [sigh]
  13. "It tastes the same whether the glass is clear, white, or blue (or painted with chicks). The shape and surface texture of the glass, however, has an actual physical effect on the aroma of the wine, which is an important component of its "taste." " That's having it both ways.
  14. Maybe this should be another thread, but..what about wine? Does a wine taste the same if it's served in a jelly glass as it does when it's served in the proper Riedel. Is that also presentation?
  15. I love dried fruit, especially dates, in the winter. Come spring, I lose my taste for it. Chopped dates or figs can be added to oatmeal instead of raisins. Putting the fruit in at the beginning of cooking (I'm talking about the 5 minutes variety, not McCann's) sweetens the cereal to the perfect degree.
  16. How many of us worked our way through "Julia" way back when?
  17. It should be noted that I actually had a very good apple tartlet in Amsterdam. We were curious about the local cuisine and went to a restaurant that specialized in Dutch dishes. I was at a loss when the chef came out and asked what I thought of the stringy, brown-ish stew I was eating. I told him, in what I thought was a triumph of diplomacy, that it made me very nostalgic for my grandmother's cooking. The look on his face, however, told me that he understood every nuance of my meaning.
  18. An old-fashioned square-hole grater is an efficient way of cutting eggs for egg salad. Just lay the grater over a bowl and push the egg through. Voila, cubes.
  19. Edna Lewis's The Taste of Country Cooking is a classic. I don't know if it's still in print, but Charleston Receipts by the Junior League of Charleston, is a collection of recipes compiled by the Junior League of Charleston in 1950. Mine is the twenty-first printing, from 1976.
  20. I remember reading that originally, each dish was carried out individually by a servant, providing a perfect opportunity to display one's wealth, derived from colonial ventures.
  21. How would I ever clean my pastry board without my dough scraper? It's also great for transfering bits of food from the cutting board to the pan. I love my microplane, too. I don't consider the toaster oven a gadget, but an appliance, and I use mine almost every day. I hardly ever turn on the big oven.
  22. Easiest Brownies Serves 16. These were the brownies served at a reception for the Victorian Society in America held in New Paltz, NY 30 years ago. I always make it now with brown sugar and usually with a high quality bittersweet chocolate rather than the unsweetened chocolate and white sugar in the original recipe, but I am posting the original as a tribute to those who gave it to me. 2 oz unsweetened chocolate 1/3 c butter 1 c sugar 2 unbeaten eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 c sifted flour 1/2 c chopped nuts (optional) Melt choclate and butter together. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients Pour into greased and floured 8" square pan and bake for 23 minutes at 350F. Cut into 16 squares WHEN COOL. Improvement: Use high quality bittersweet chocolate and reduce the butter and sugar by a bit. Substitute brown sugar for the white sugar. Keywords: Chocolate, Easy, Brownies/Bars ( RG251 )
  23. Nick, I didn't think you were old enough to know.
  24. Sandra Levine

    Dinner! 2003

    Skate with brown butter, capers Roasted parsnip batonettes Baby bok choy with butter and cheese (from From Amaranth to Zucchini) Salad Rice Pudding
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