SeaGal

When you say chicharron de carne, is that an actual chicharron or some derivative dish? I came back from NYC and while walking down a street fair, I came across this chicharron vendor. I've been wanting this for 3 years but you really can't find this in the places I've been. If this is an actual chicharron, I'm going there NOW! I only had one bite of it (mostly because I gorged on some of the best BBQ I've ever had and I'm from Texas). I miss my chicharron ← IIRC, Carneceria El Paisano has 2 types of chicharrón. They have chicharrón de cuero which are the big, puffy sheets of deep fried pork skin like those sold on the streets in Mexico, which are delicious doused with salsa picante and lime and eaten as a snack. They also have chicharrón de carne, as Rocky mentions, which are deep fried pieces of pork meat and fat (maybe pork belly?), a bit like carnitas, but with more fat to meat ratio and lots of crispy goodness. These make really good tacos.

I bought one about 2 weeks ago at the Fred Meyer on Lake City. Still about 10.00. Freddie's is a Kroger company, so maybe other Kroger stores will have them. (not that I'm a fan of Kroger's mind you, but I'd rather buy from them than WalMart)

I can't imagine why anyone should even feel it necessary to justify themselves for enjoying taking pictures of what they eat, so long as they don't bother their dining companions or those at other tables. I also don't see how taking pictures in any way implies that one prefers taking pictures to keeping company with others. A quick point and click and then it's on to enjoying the food and the conversation. I happen to have a lot of friends who photograph food when we go out and I've never been bothered by it, or thought they weren't enjoying my conversation. I tend to take photos more of the food I cook at home, mostly because I don't have a camera that works well in low light. Many people enjoy looking at other's food pictures--as can be seen in the many threads here and other websites. That all the pictures aren't magazine/website quality is sort of beside the point, unless one wants to be paid, after all, they're just for fun! I have no doubt that many of my vacation, food and family event pictures are of questionable quality ("junky"), but that doesn't mean my family, friends and I don't enjoy looking at them. eta: of course, after making my opening sentence, I went ahead and justified it anyway.

If you do an Epicurious search on fish cheese, you get 122 recipes. Of course, a lot of them involve some form of smoked fish with cream cheese which is kind of a different story, but there are quite a few that involve other types of fish and cheese.

Caramel sauce is a very common ingredient in many Vietnamese dishes. I often make up a batch and keep it handy in the fridge so I can use it as needed--it keeps a long, long time. Here's link to a great site with more information on the topic: Viet World Kitchen

Eden, if you're referring to the lunch I think you are (posted over on mouthfulsfood.com), then looking back on the post for that dim sum at O'Asian, it came to $35.00 including tax and tip and someone posted that there were leftovers taken home. This is still quite expensive for dim sum, but I've gone there with a smaller group and paid less--I believe it was in the neighborhood of 20.00 -25.00 per person. Here's a link to their menu with prices. Note that the dishes are coded (S, M, L, C, D) and the prices are listed at the bottom of the menu. I've never seen a price list at the other places (except Monsoon), so I have no idea how individual items compare, but if one ordered lots of C and D's it would be easy to rack up quite a bill. Jade Garden is definitely a bargain. Just don't get seated up the stairs in the very back room where the carts don't come around too often. I personally find that I love different things at different places. I love the turnip cakes at Monsoon, the shrimp and chive rice paper sesame cakes and custard tarts at Jade Garden, the chicken curry pastries at Purple Dot, and the har gow and soup dumplings at Tea Garden.

That's really exciting--can't wait!

Really enjoyed your blog, Chris. Many thanks!

I was thinking of making this next weekend. I just changed my mind. Bland is not something that would work this time. ← See, without picking on anyone because this is not my intention, but I do think you should make this but increase the amount of sun-dried tomatoes! I have a hard time believing that anything that calls for sun-dried tomatoes can be bland. But when I read the recipe and see the amount of tomatoes as a ratio to the other ingredients, it just seem wrong! I would double the tomatoes and I bet it sings. But that's just an opinion. I think this is where "taste, taste, taste" becomes imperative. Ina probably has access to sun-dried tomatoes that most of us can only dream of! Damn I will have to make this soon to test my theory. ← I would add bacon to it, then it would really sing....but that's not what this thread is about, is it?

The key to avoiding crowds is to shop early and mid-week, especially in the summer. Some of the vendors open by 7:00 (Frank's produce, for example) so you can hit those first and then get to the others as they open. I'd love to live close enough to the market to walk there several days a week and would have no trouble putting together great meals from what I find.

One way to have Lamb. Mini Lahm b'ajeen. Lamb, tomatoes, onions and Lebanese spices. Spinach pies. If you need recipes let me know. ← I'm not the OP, but I'd love to have recipes for the Mini lamb b'ajeen and the spinach pies. It all looks delicious!

I like the personal chef idea! As far as a gift basket, you might want to try De Laurenti (in the Pike Place Market). They have one of the best selelctions of specialty items including wonderful cheeses, salumi and a plethora of specialty and ready-to-eat items. They might be able to put togther a high quiality gift basket for you. I don't imagine they deliver, but I'd think you could find a local courier service to deliver.

Great idea for a thread! Here's a quick and easy baked chicken dish: In a large bowl: Chicken thighs: 1 or 2 per person depending on size and appetites *Quartered or halved red potatoes, or whole ones if they're small Some peeled, halved shallots good glug of olive oil A clove or 2 of crushed garlic juice of half a lemon 1 - 2 tsp of Spanish pimenton A pinch of two of a dried herb (oregano or thyme) or chopped fresh salt and pepper to taste Mix and smoosh it all together and turn out on large baking sheet and bake in hot oven (375 - 400 degrees) for 45-minutes to an hour. The pimenton really makes this special. This can also be varied with different veg, such as fennel or parsnips or sweet potatoes. *Note: you want the potatoes large enough to cook about the same time as the thighs.

That's not neurotic, that's just the proper way to eat waffles! ← Of course, you must remember to put a bit of butter in each square as well! ← Not sure how the OP does it, but I employ a very efficient right-to-left, moving-down-the-waffle technique with the syrup pitcher to ensure that all the holes are filled with one application. Life's too short to fill each hole individually.

That's not neurotic, that's just the proper way to eat waffles!

Nice report and pictures, jlo. That beef tongue looks awesome!

Thanks to you both--it was a fun ride with some gorgeous pictures and entertaining prose. Bye, Bye cute little Beppo!

Holy Curds and Whey!!! That Époisses is so bleeping amazing that it deserves another view! I'm also impressed with the poulet au pot. I happen to love stewed chicken and that one looked full of lovely dark meat and flavor. And the stuffing! I'll have to try making this dish one of these days, although I fear it wouldn't be anywhere near as good with our lackluster, pasty chickens here in the US.

Wow! Abra, Chufi and bleudauvergne all in the same kitchen! Can't wait to read the rest.

I think there's some truth to this. My mother and grandmother used to cook pork shoulder steaks often, because they were really cheap. We called them "pork chops". She usually braised them with some type of liquid or gravy for about an hour and they were quite tasty in a falling off the bone way. As an adult, the first time I tried this method with actual pork chops, I was in for an unpleasant surprise, as the more expensive cut just didn't have the marbling to stand up to this style of cooking and ended up mealy and dry. I still love the old method for shoulder steaks, but if I'm buying rib or center cut chops, which are still much more expensive, a good brine and a quick sear are all that's needed.

This is a lovely and fascinating blog. Thank you so much!

Great, thanks!

Anyone know where in Seattle I can buy food-grade cal, also called slaked lime. The chemical name is Calcium hydroxide. I'm using it for pickle making, but it's also the same thing that's used to nixtamalize corn in Mexican and Southwestern cooking. I tried a pharmacy (as suggested in my book "The Joy of Pickling") and they just looked at me like I was from Pluto. I found it online at gourmetsleuth.com, but would like to buy it locally, as my watermelon rinds need pickling now.

Another version which was lunch today: First, made a small caprese salad w/ 1/2 a very ripe heirloom tomato, a few slices of real buffalo mozzarela, some flaked salt and fresh ground pepper, chiffonade of basil and a drizzle of EVOO and balsamic. Let sit for a couple of minutes. Next, cut off section of generously sized, not too crunchy, baguette and warmed it in toaster oven. Assembly: Spread one side of baguette w/ Best Foods mayo. Put tomotoes on mayo side, followed by mozzarella and basil. Drizzled juices over other side of baguette and closed it up. Ate, leaning far over plate, with several paper towels as the whole thing squooshed to pieces and had to be reassembled--but darn it was good!

Your idea sounds simple and lovely. If you wanted to get more involved, you could also make a mini salad nicoise, using a few steamed green beans and little new potatoes, cherry tomatoes and some oil-cured or nicoise olives drizzled with a bit of the olive oil (or some of the oil it was poached in?) and some red-wine or champagne vinegar.