hathor
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Posts posted by hathor
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Excellent article, HOCAS-NOCAS, indeed!
You are so right...it's easier to come up with a lot more HOCAS than NOCAS memories. Maybe because the preparing and serving of food is essentially a giving experience, if you care about what you prepare, you care that the receiver will enjoy it.
Once upon along time ago, my husband and our son who was about 10, were driving around in Italy, and we wandered into this roadside restaurant for some lunch. We wandered into one of all time great meals! The owner, who quickly figured out that we were not locals, told us to relax, don't bother about ordering, he would just bring us some lunch, 6 courses later, we were smiling from ear to ear. Then he offered our young son, a little sweet wine for dessert, explaining it was good for him, it was just a 'soft' wine. All 3 of us have very fond memories of this lovely place...unfortunately, as we were driving around deliberately looking for backroads, we never could find the place again. A meal that dreams are made of.
NOCAS? A very upscale downtown NYC Italian restaurant. It was truly someones' birthday in our party, at dessert time, the waiters ran over, threw a slice of cake down on the table, in front of the wrong person, sang a speed version of Happy Birthday, and before we could comment, snatched the cake away and served it to another table. A true story. P.S. The waiters should not assume that no one understands Italian...
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Black rum cake! For years we were treated to Jamaiacan black cake for Christmas, I wonder if they are the same thing. I'm guessing from your description that they are pretty similar.
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Wine cork craft, taken as literally as possible.... but maybe not cheap, unless you have a state's worth of wine drinking friends....
The sad thing is, I could probably build this boat with just what's in my garage.
Chad
We could join forces and give the Queen Mary a run for the money! What do you think???
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I was just thinking that it might be worth moving instead of cleaining the pizza peel from the oven....when I remembered my first apartment. I tried to clean the ice out of the freezer with a hammer and a screwdriver. I punctured the freon tubing, causing a small explosion. The super thought the freezer would be just fine in the morning. It wasn't..
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I believe it needs to be zucchini only...but trust, me 2 plants won't be enough!
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...stem, partially seed, and tear up dried chilies without wearing gloves.
Once, during the annual Making of the Chili Powder (I give it out during the holidays, y'see) I had just finished four pounds of them - a mix of ancho, guajillo, de arbol, chipotle, and (shudder) piquin - and was suddenly struck with an overpowering urge to use the little idiots' room.
and (Those half-dozen beers might have had something to do with that, but I digress...) You can see where this is going, can't you? Talk about shock and awe...
It's funny now, but it sure as hell wasn't then!
Oh...poor kitty!!
How about a simple eye rub??? Been there!
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If you like Peter Tosh you should give South African Lucky Dube a try. I saw him this weekend at the Jazz Fest (first time he has been around New Orleans for a while) and the show was statospheric.
I LOVE Lucky Dube! Actually have a pretty fair collection of West African music that can get you thru a lot of grunt work.
I saw you like XM...check out the World station.
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A subject very close to my heart! My son and I have been on a mission to perfect fried zucchini blossoms. We have done extensive research in Italy, as they are not so expensive there as they are in the States. Now, that is a bit of good luck!
I don't like much in the way of coating, so our technique is:
wash them gently, shake off excess water, but leave damp (heresy to the others posting)
In a plastic bag, combine flour and a bit of salt (to taste)
Inflate the bag, drop in the blossoms and shake very gently to coat.
Heat frying pan (I used cast iron) with very hot peanut oil. Enough to cover one layer of blossoms.
When the oil is hot, add the blossoms, don't crowd the pan. Turn once. But....keep in the oil for a bit longer than you might think is necessary.
When you take the blossom out of the oil, be sure to invert it and drain the oil out. Lay on a warm platter, with some paper towelling to absorb any extra oil. Add a small pinch of salt before serving.
Beat off all people who enter the kitchen to take a look and 'snitch'.
I've found the technique maintains the lovely orange color of the blossom and the flavor, while delivering the divine crunch.
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Find Stinger...he knows how to roast whole animals.
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Peter Tosh: making breakfast..."legalize it....'
Cee Lo: nice lunch
Shaggy, Sean Paul: if I'm prepping dinner alone and can sing and dance along with the prep
Sometimes some old 112 if I'm just cooking for the 2 of us
Just got a fabulous new Toots and the Maytal CD, excellent for Sunday brunch (prepping and eating).
Thanks god the music doesn't influence my choice of 'herbs'.
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Ok...I'll contact him and let you know how it turns out.
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IMHO, Mayhaw Man's food blog covers all of what you have been mentioning: generosity of spirit, enthusiasm, sharing of his lifestyle.
Actually all of the blogs, bring their own fascinating joie de vivre to life, but there was something about one of the final passages of Mayhaw Man's tribute to living that just sticks with me.
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Hello Stinger! Hope your ankle is feeling better! I suppose you are right, that would be the polite thing to do....
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So it is possible to find good products "here" as well as "there"...
And sometimes the hunt for ingredients can be as much fun as the finding!
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Another restaurant betrayed by the FOH. Always sad to hear.
I'm sorry..but what does FOH mean?
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I have done relatively little shopping or cooking in the US over the last 10 years, and am rarely in one town long enough to get to know the best places to shop. Outside of large cities, it still seems to be difficult to find a specialist butcher. Last December I did find and cook some Peconic Bay scallops that were a marvel of freshness and flavour, and it's clear from reports on these boards that good products can be found in the US. But the supermarkets seem to rule there.
Generally speaking, you are correct that mass supermarket chains are the norm. It takes time and energy to seek out good purveyors. Although, in recent years, there has been a definite improvement in the quality and selection available in the supermarkets.
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Your husband must mean the West Indian festival, seriously good food and music. Could be a lot of fun! What is 'barra"?
P.S. Good Morning!
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You can go to readymademag.com for complete instructions on how to make the LP bowl. Check out the coasters...if I can find some cheap old vinyl i want to make those for Christmas gifts this year. I made tea towel holders out of old silver spoons from flea markets (you drill a hole and bend it into a "hook") and little finished blocks of wood (which I painted, then sanded for a beach-house effect), origami paper (cut to fit the back for a professional finish, attached with spray adhesive), and picture hangers from the craft store. The only tool you need is a drill with bit and screws. Not neccessarily a food craft, but kitchen craft. I made a bunch on a rainy saturday after Thanksgiving...will post photo soon.
Just to let you know...I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures! (and I love your name, Mr. Evilcartman!!)
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Hello NYPork! Welcome to eGullet...you are in the good company of many, many pork lovers!
Yeah...we had heard nice things about the restaurant as well, oh well, live and learn.
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We were all looking forward to dinner tonight at Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar, a new venture by the owners of the esteemed Jewel Bako. A rainy Monday night, with good friends and good food, what could be better?
Our friends arrived at the restaurant first, by the time we arrived they each had a glass of champagne. We squirmed our way into the minute restaurant, and wedged ourselves into the seats, and then we waited. There were 4 tables, 2 tables with couples, our table of 4, and a table of 6. I understand there is also a small upstairs. The room itself is charming with a dramatic red banquette and cozy red check wallpaper. It took the maitre'd 15 minutes to come over to our table, we also asked for 2 glasses of champagne, and 5 minutes later we were presented with 2 empty glasses, 5 more minutes later we were poured the champagne. At no time did the waiter/maitre'd smile. In a reasonable amount of time, we were given menus.
Then we waited. The champagne was long gone. My husband kept re-assuring me that he had caught someone's eye, and they would come along to take our order. Eventually the waiter came, and without any romance, preamble, enjoyment or explanation of any sort, he took our order. The menu is expensive and the descriptions do not describe or explain; the waiter was far too inconvenienced to do any explaining. It took quite a bit of waving to have the waiter return to take our wine order.
The amuse bouche was a very lovely pickled quail egg with a bare hint of truffle, it was quite tasty. Unfortunately, as I was in the corner, my little egg cup was sort of thrust at me and then dropped.
The wine was a very tasty New Zealand white, unfortunately I don't remember the name, as I would like to taste again.
We ordered the oysters 6 ways, which you would assume at a Luxury Oyster Bar, would be a signature dish. The 6 oysters, of unknown origin, were set in front of us, and the waiter kindly started to explain the different preparations, but by the time he reached no .4, he lost interest and just sort of drifted off. Fine, we can manage a plate of oysters without too much direction. Unfortunately, the oysters were tepid. Not cold. Not cool. Tepid. Like they had been sitting somewhere for quite some time. The six preparations were unremarkable.
We also shared some very delicious Taylor Bay scallops, easily the cleanest, freshest taste of the evening, some sort of lobster out of the shell, and a shaved asparagus salad, with barely an essence of asparagus.
Also unfortunately, there was no more wine....seems that 1 inch per glass, with 2 glasses being refilled had depleted the bottle. I've served enough bottles of wine to know that we could not possibly have finished that bottle. We paid, we left.... funny, no one asked us how was the meal, no one asked if we would like anything else, let alone dessert.
There was an enormous amount of attention paid to the decorating, the plates, the lovely flatware, but not a drop of enthusiasm was left for the meal itself. So disappointing.
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My reason for looking at this thread was to find some inspiration for what to do with my corks! I just might enough for a voyage to Portugal!
When I was a Girl Scout, about 110 years ago, we made chip bowls out of old albums, they were bigger than 33 lp, and came from a local radio station. That is if anyone still remembers what 'lp' means. You put it in the oven over a can and wait until it melts. My mother said she loved hers....
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K I'm also perking on doubles, how to get the barra right.
What does this mean?
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Dear Craig: I have tried fine grappa, and it is just too strong for me, my husband and other friends have just decided I'm a lightweight! But, I do keep trying.
And I did very much enjoy the article!
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Any chance we might have some roti or curried goat this week?? Thanks for blogging!
Cooking "here" and "there"
in Cooking
Posted
Very well put! My here/there is NY/Italy...this year in Italy I learned about fresh peas. They were only around for a week! If I had only known...!
I think half the fun is the anticipation, waiting for those frais de bois, waiting for good local corn on the cob, tomatoes.
But, can someone explain the Umbrian philosophy of no fish in August?? I've heard a bunch of theories, including you can't eat the fish when there are so many tourists swimming in the ocean.
I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this one. Not that the Umbrians are so fond of fish to begin with.
And the quote I excerpted... I could not agree more, but I'm not sure I have much hope.
Have you ever been to a Stu Leonards? It's in Danbury, Ct, but I believe there are more than one. Its a sort of theme park supermarket, where there are large mechanical talking bananas and chickens that are supposed to entertain the children. Its hugely popular and successful. I wound up there last Saturday, thinking as it was on the way home, I could just run in and get some fish. Wrong! The place is set up like a maze so that you must walk completely through the store: aisles filled with massive, steroid vegetables, pre-made everything, a revolting smelling fried food aisle, cackling machines, a hot bar with steaming pans of food that was mobbed with people, a truly frightening display of massive soda bottles. Now oddly, there was a wonderful man behind the fish counter. He was careful and loving with product, but almost seemed ashamed to be in this carnival atmosphere. I left there shaking. Everyone else around me seemed perfectly happy. I'm not sure what the 'moral' of this tale is, but I don't think its a sign that the American public at large has embraced the local purveyor.