SeaGal
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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)
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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.
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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.
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So, to start of our discussion and analysis of the recipes in FC, I present:
Vietnamese-Style Caramel-Braised Chicken (May 2008, No. 92)
Recipe here if you have online access
This recipe actually had me a little worried: didn't quite know what to expect. The gist of it is that you make a caramel, then add fish sauce. To me, the quantity of fish sauce called for seemed very high, and the idea of literally making a caramel as the basis of a savory dish was something I had never tried. It also added an element of challenge to the dish: this recipe is in the "Quick and Delicious" section at the back of the issue, but "Q&D" does not imply "easy"---the recipe basically says "make a caramel: cook to deep amber over medium-high heat." Well, in a large saute pan over medium high, the difference between "medium amber" and "charcoal" is not very large. Keep your eye on the pan!! Well, I managed that OK, and then added the fish sauce and "WHOOSH" I am inundated with a cloud of fish-sauce vapors
, since of course the caramel was very hot. I gotta tell you, that is not my favorite smell ever. But I soldiered on, added the last couple ingredients, tossed in the chicken and finished the dish (which takes about 15 minutes total). I also sautéed some baby bok choy (as directed in this topic) and made made some sticky rice.The real surprise of the evening was how tasty the final product was: I really had no idea what to expect from this ingredient combination, and it actually turned out very well. The sauce was very flavorful (careful how much you ladle on!) and not nearly as sweet as I was expecting. I think the final result probably depends a great deal on just how "medium amber" you make your caramel, and mine was a little on the dark side of "medium," but for a first shot, not too shabby. I don't know that the flavor said "Vietnamese" to me, and my wife thought it tasted mostly like a soy sauce base, but overall considering the time investment, this recipe is a keeper for nights when I'm in a hurry.
Has anyone else tried this one, or have any other FC recipes they want to discuss here? I'll try to get caught up on posting the few things I've tried so far.
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
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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.
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There is a huge Mexican Grocery store, (taking over a former QFC location) at the corner of Pacific Highway and Kent- des Moines Rd, that is close to opening. It is rumored to be the biggest Mexican grocery north of CA. Another part of the talk is that the whole strip mall is going to be turned into a Mexican town square theme.
The location is about 1/2 mile off I-5; there are also some pretty good, authentic Mexican eating places in the area.
Dave
That's really exciting--can't wait!
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Really enjoyed your blog, Chris. Many thanks!
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Ina Garten's Sun-dried Tomato Dip.
It was just so...bland. I was very disappointed. I guess I expected more from one of her recipes. It was a nice color. It did have a little sweet note from the sun dried tomatoes but there was no other flavor to it. I think I posted about its supreme blandness on another thread. It needed a lot doctoring up.
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?
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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In reading all of these posts I keep thinking about what really constitutes food neuroses? When does a food preference end and an actual food neurosis begin? Preferring white eggs over brown or yellow sliced processed cheese over white when there is neither a taste nor nutritional difference between them both seem neurotic to me. Ditto with "having" to methodically pour syrup into each square of a waffle instead of just pouring it on freestyle as it were, though that one's kinda cute.
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.
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When I have waffles, I MUST put a tiny bit of syrup in each little square. Can't eat it without it.
susan
That's not neurotic, that's just the proper way to eat waffles!
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Nice report and pictures, jlo. That beef tongue looks awesome!
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Thanks to you both--it was a fun ride with some gorgeous pictures and entertaining prose. Bye, Bye cute little Beppo!
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Époisses
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.
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Wow! Abra, Chufi and bleudauvergne all in the same kitchen! Can't wait to read the rest.
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2. Perhaps affluence plays a role in explaining how SLOW cooking couldevolve into OVER-cooking at home. Long/slow cooking methods developed by great-grandma to accommodate tough joints of meat could end up being applied by mom to more delicate cuts that became affordable as incomes rose and meat became more abundant.
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.
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This is a lovely and fascinating blog. Thank you so much!
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I buy my pickling lime (aka hydrated lime) at McLendon Hardware. I've found it at the White Center, Renton and Kent locations various times across the years.
And yep, it does keep my pickles crunchy!
Great, thanks!
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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.
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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!
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Thanks everyone. I think I have a good pan and do plan on stovetop so I can watch and (hopefully) not ruin a good piece of fish.
Any serving suggestions? This will be a small piece used as a second course after onion soup. I was thinking small pieces with tomato and cucumber.
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.
Creating my own food tour of Seattle
in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Dining
Posted
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.