Rien
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Posts posted by Rien
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When talking about style, you mentioned "Asian, Italian, Southern, New England, French, Creole, American." In the question about flops you also mentioned a Chinese-style hot and sour soup being, for some incomprehensible reason, unappealing to your customers.
Granted, every list is both inclusive and exclusive. Are there any cuisines that you find either uninspiring or inspiring but too "off" for your customers? For example, Middle Eastern flavors with a frequent inclusion of sweet and savory? I can imagine that people might envision falafel or hummus and think it's too "down scale." Or, as with the sweet and savory, are their taste combinations that people don't accept?
Many thanks,
Rien
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I second the frikah pilaf idea. There are more recipes out there for bulgur pilafs but most of them are adaptable for frikah ... some butter, rasins/currants, slivered almonds and/or pistachios. Won't take more than half an hour to prepare.
rien
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Oh, and one more questions about "obscure" ingredients. Last night a friend brought a bottle of Provencal Farigoule Thyme liqueur by my house. We experimented with creating new drinks ... a thyme margarita (with lemon rather than lime ... refreshing, but not acidic enough when one expected a margarita), a Gin/Orange Juice/Thyme cocktail (good when very cold ... a little syrupy as it warmed), and long drinks with Pastis and cold water (Pastis being from Provence as well) and Thyme with Sparkling water and lemon. Looking forward to more experimentation and wondering if anyone else has played with the Farigoule? Are there any old school or new school cocktails that one can share?
The stuff is, by the way, great on its own.
rien
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The book looks fascinating. Being somewhat of a contrarian by nature, I got into cocktails as a reaction against the popularity of nasty cocktails - "tini" appended to fill-in-the-blank as if it were a legitimate standalone etymological unit. I thought to myself, back in the days of sophistication - well, vast wealth disparity - the preferred high society tipple wasn't topped with whipped cream. So I struck out looking for the old school ... only to realize that I could almost never order these drinks at the bar without getting, at best, a blank stare from the bartender ... and, at worst, outright annoyance or aggression. But I digress.
A weekend ago I was in New York City and was able to have a good discussion with the bartender at WD-50 about obscure ingredients - Falernum, Amer Picon, Kummel (sp?), etc. When I asked for a cocktail with maraschino liqueur other than an Aviation he made a very nice Brooklyn. This surprised me because of the fact that WD-50 positions itself as forward, experimental, nouveau American, whatever. I was expecting the drink selection to go that way as well but, instead, found that they saw the way forward as "conservative" - in the sense of maintaining what works from tradition and tweaking it. At the end of the meal we were served a bourbon based cocktail made with an elderflower infused syrup and several other ingredients. The bartender (Eban, I believe) explained that the concept was to create a cool (in temperature ... and in affect, I assume) "hot toddy" by using a high proof, warming bourbon and an herb with warming and soothing (anxiety reducing) properties.
Just an interesting anecdote. Any precedent for the use of elderflower in cocktails or liqueurs?
rien
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I was in NYC this weekend and a made a quick trip by Kalustyan's for spice browsing and a sandwich. After passing up a bottle of Argan oil (didn't really need to spend the $30) and admiring the regional variations of za'atar (they had mixes labelled Israeli, Jordanian, Lebanese, and Aleppo/Syrian), I settled on buying a sampling of peppers. I was looking for Maras and Urfa. Though I didn't find Maras they had an Aleppo pepper that they described as being "similar to Turkish Maras Biber" so I grabbed it. They also had Urfa Biber. A four ounce package was $4.99. Before my visit to Kalustyan's I was contemplating ordering Urfa from Zingerman's for $10 for approximately 2 oz. Maybe it comes in a decorative tin or some other packaging more appealing than a sealed generic plastic bag, but the price disparity was pretty shocking. Nestled between Urfa and Aleppo was a third pepper that I had never heard of; Kirmizi Biber. This was described as "hot Turkish pepper." The different hue of each pepper is striking ... from fairly black to a vibrant red.
My questions:
1. How different is Aleppo from Maras? Are they actually the same pepper, just grown in a different region?
2. As I said, I've never heard of Kirmizi. Is this used interchangeably with Aleppo when one wants more heat?
3. Are their other varieties that I'm unaware of? Sure, there's a whole range of Paprika's, but I'm thinking of peppers that are used specifically in the Middle East.
4. Is there a cookbook that covers these in greater detail than, say, Claudia Roden's?
5. Kalustyan's on-line store seems like a great resource for spices. Does anyone have an opinion of their quality compare to other on-line sources? Penzey's? Does Sahadi's sell spices on-line? Their physical store has a nice selection but it doesn't look like you can buy spices on-line.
Many thanks,
Rien
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The savory sorbet idea sounds interesting. I'll consult my local "frozen delights" expert - I'm fortunate to have an ex-Chef friend with a quasi-obsession with gelato/sorbet/ice-cream/etc.
I've got a bunch of hard cooked eggs in one of the jars. A simple idea that I'm glad "rickmartin" reminded me of. I also used some for a version of gazpacho tweaked to emphasize it's middle eastern flair ... added some dill and garnished with toasted pine-nuts/chopped olives/chopped hard cooked eggs/and a drizzle of warmed oil with cumin. The brine blended in very well.
This weekend I'm using some in a mutant version of the classic French chicken with tarragon and vinegar. I'll omit the tarragon and incorporate dill and probably eggplant.
Thanks for the suggestions.
rien
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I like your improvisation ideas, well most of them. I am not too sure about preserving rice stuffed vegetables. I would think that the rice (I'm assuming u meant cooked) would just get too soaked and mushy with oil. Also the zuchinni does not strike me like a preservation friendly vegetable, mainly because of texture. But hey, if you are willing give it a try and let us know.
Yes, I go through quite a lot of preserves/pickles. I'm a marathon runner and a triathlete, so I think I eat my body weight in fruits/grains/vegetables every week. I also give away around 1/4 to 1/3 ... a gread way to earn karma and share joy.
I'm not certain how grains would work either. I share your skepticism ... but that only makes me more curious to give it a shot. There's something appealing to me about the improbable combination or process that turns out well. Of course, discovering that improbable combination means trying a lot of things that are as bad or awkward as one would imagine them to be. Ahh, the adventure!
Zuchini migh work ok in vinegar. Probably not in oil. Seems like omatoes would work well in oil. Trying to think of what I'd stuff them with. I suppose if I used roma tomatoes I could use the pulp, sans seeds, along with nuts/herbs/salt.
rien
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I bet you those walnut and garlic/chili flake eggplants were preserved in oil (aka makdoos)
. Indeed they were. Right now I've got a jar of cucumbers pickling with garlic, eggplant slices with garlic and greek oregano and some peppercorns in oil, and a batch of these peppers in oil. I've eaten a lot of garlic and preserved items with garlic over the last year and haven't be struck down by toxins or bacteria yet.
Random commentary.
1. For peppers, I chose banana peppers for their fleshiness and straightness. Sure, some are bent, but if you're picky you can get some that are straight. Another note would be to not only pick those that are straight, but wide down as far down as possible. Big diameter differences between top and bottom are not good. Again, alll this makes stuffing easier and they fit in the jar and stand up more easily. If they taper a lot, they tip and you've got a lot of empty space at the bottom to fill with oil.
2. That said, what do you do with the oil afterwards? Cook with it? Seems acceptable. I'd hate to throw it out.
3. When seeding, a long handled spoon works well. Turn it around and use the handle for reaching narrow points, dislodging ribs inside the peppers, and for packing in the stuffing.
4. Leave a gap at the top and don't totally fill with oil ... otherwise, you'll spill oil all over when trying to remove the peppers.
STUFFED EGGPLANTS
There are a few recipes in Roden's book - one with garlic and pepper flakes in the slit of baby eggplants (preserved in vinegar) and the other for eggplants in oil with walnuts and herbs. There is a non-stuffed version where they are poached in vinegar and then layer in a jar with greek oregano and garlic and covered with oil. If you cut the eggplant into rounds rather than lengthwise they pack nicely into the jars.
Other than these, I've found it easy to improvise. The method - described in more depth in a previous post - is basically to boil small to medium eggplants, let them cool and dry, make a deep slit down one side and stuff them. Any combination of nuts, salt, herbs, spices is fair game. What you stuff them with makes a big difference on whether you'll want to preserve them in vinegar or oil. Vinegar seems a bit more restricting. For example, I wouldn't really want nuts in anything I was preserving in vinegar. How about walnut, cilantro and a bit of coriander in oil? Or garlic and red pepper in vinegar with some dill and whole peppercorns dropped in the vinegar. If you choose slightly bigger egplants, you can scoop out some of the meat and dice it with the mixture that you're going to stuff it with. I've seen cookbooks advise this when baking eggplant, but not when preserving. It works well for both. I bet you could stuff them with cooked rice as well. Or frika. Now that I think about it, the smoky taste of frika and diced olives and parsley might be great in eggplants in oil.
My point is, once you've got the method down, improvisation is simple ... for example, you could probably do the same things with zuchini.
Ciao,
rien
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Yep, I've made them all - walnut stuffed eggplant, red pepper flake and garlic stuffed eggplant, standard turnip pickles, cabbage and cauliflower, mixed vegetables, etc. My refrigerator looked like a laboratory or sample cabinet of pink hued flora from some foraging expedition.
I'm pretty shocked that people commonly throw it out rather than reuse it for pickling or putting it to some alternative use. With all the creative uses of products that we - i.e. rich world westerners - would normally throw out - stale bread comes to mind - I'm surprised their aren't unusual uses for this. I'll try to concoct some sort of marinade ... replacing white wine vinegar with this brine. The extra layers of flavor - and the magenta tone - might result in something interesting. If so, I'll report back.
Thanks,
rien
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The syrup from A.G. Ferrari looks the closest to an "artisanal" - or just original/authentic - orgeat. I was assuming there would be something from France since, I believe, the word is French (though I've seen etymology tracing some drifting relationship with Italy).
The almond orchata sounds interesting, but it seems like it is a drink on its own ... without the density one wants from a syrup.
I'm interested in trying Falernum as well. I often see it recommended as a substitute, but it is my understanding that almond is part of its flavor but by no means the dominant flavor. I've seen it described variously as containing a lot of lime, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, etc. A great partner for rum, but I'm not certain how lime will mesh with pastis. Only one way to find out, right? Anyone care to comment on how the non-alcoholic versions of falernum (Fee Brothers, for example) compare to this slightly alcoholic version (Velvet Falernum)?
Anyway, I want that to try the almond laced with orange flower water taste.
Thanks for all the feedback.
rien
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I've jumped into middle eastern cooking with all burners blazing. One of my recent endeavors was to make batches of all the pickles in Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Cooking. I often get home late and pickles, bread and/or rice, and some form of bean dish or dip/puree is probably my most frequent meal. Any additional sources of pickle ideas and personal favorites would be greatly appreciated.
However, as I polishing off all of these pickles, I'm left with a quandry: jars upon jars filled with brine. I don't want to pour it out. I've been using it as a dip for bread, as a topping for plain rice, or mixed with olive oil as a dressing for salad/vegetables, but this uses very little at a time. Are their other common uses? What is "traditionally" done with it? Is there a name for the brine?
Many thanks.
rien
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I've been experimenting with many different additives for pastis ... a spash of creme de cassis, creme de menthe, framboise, triple sec, and grenadine. One I've wanted to try is orgeat. However, looking at the ingredients listed on the common brands available at my local liquor store - Trader Vics and Collins - did not inspire confidence in their quality: mostly chemicals, sugars, and artificiality. It is my understanding that true orgeat should be predominantly almond flavored but have an orange flower water component Do any available brands stand above these low rent stalwarts? Are they all just sugary, fake almond flavoring without a bit of the orange complexity? Would adding a dash of orange flower water to almond syrup produce the desired result?
I've seen that Fee Brothers makes an orgeat, but I haven't seen it at local stores. What about the "coffee syrup" brands? Some, such as Torani, actually label the product as orgeat while others label it as almond syrup. Are they higher quality or just higher priced?
Many thanks,
Rien
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Pardon me in advance if I get a little bit abstract or theoretical ... seemingly too far from the real subject of bread. The more I've moved and travelled the more I've attempted to understand the character of people through their foods, their markets, their rituals of preparing, of eating. Some cultures, often densely urban and relatively poor, offer a mosaic of streetfoods; others neglect breakfast in favor of extravagant mid-day meals and late dinners eaten late, comprised of an assortment of small bites; and so on. Every culture, perhaps with the exception of those that have an abundant supply of cheap meat, rely on a grain as their staple. What this grain is impacts culture significantly ... I think it was in The Revolution of Everyday Life that the French historian Fernand Braudel connected the staple grain to systems of governance and cultural production. Simply put, it's much easier to build monumental architecture when you have corn because you can get a lot of calories without a lot of energy input. Rice, on the other hand, takes more labor input. China, of course, got around this with raw numbers, but I digress.
The root of "companion" in "pan" has always resonated with me. But, what I was getting at in the previour ramble, is that some cultures, though they have a staple grain, don't always have bread. Their staple, however, brings them great comfort. A bowl of rice for many Japanese people has the same connotations as a loaf of bread. Your statement that "there's something so intrinsically satisfying about dough with something on it" got me thinking in this vein. What is that intrinsic satisfaction? How does the satisfaction of bread as a staple compare to others? With your research, have you looked into this? What component if physiological, what is mental, what is cultural? The physiological and mental components make me think of research into what "umami" is and how it "works." Bread is obviously working on a very different principle - often as the backdrop for umami. There is something "ambient" about its pleasures.
The last component of this overstuffed message: why do some places within the bread eating world seem to care so much more about bread than others? For example, I currently live in Chicago and it seems not to be a great town for bread. There is good bread here, but it is not abundant. On the other hand, I've had friends from Montreal tell me that great bread is readily available there in many varieties (for the sake of my point, let's assume this is true). Is this just about supply - there are no good bakers making bread there and making great bread isn't easy - or is it about demand - people are happy with what they've got and their not willing to pay $4 + for a loaf? If it's the latter, is consumer malaise underminind our "intrinsic" love of great bread?
Whoo. Thanks for participating. As a lover of great bread that's ventured very little into baking, your generous responses and the passion exhibited thus far have inspired me to take up flour and yeast in the near future.
Ciao,
rien
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I have not read any of the Slow Food books so I cannot speak for their theory or practice, but I think the concept of "slowness" can be fleshed out without their guidance. There are a couple of issues that will confuse without a little disentanglement. First, there is the cumulative time involved in the production of a food item or meal; second, there is the experience of time. Both of these have a relative aspect to them. Taking the pasta al'olio example, I'll see if I can make any sense.
Consider the cumulative time involved in creating a perfect pasta al'olio. Hard durum wheat must be grown, preferably organically. Developing a good farm and a good crop takes time and the year to year accumulation of knowledge, an intellectual and experiential communion with land and season ... duration. The wheat must be ground, most likely in a non-industrial mill, perhaps by stone. Paste is laboriously made, slowly extruded through bronze dies, dried at low heat over a period of 40 or 50 hours. Craftsmanship handed down through generations comes into play. Olives are hand harvested by estate growers ... closely observed and plucked from gnarled branches that, perhaps, have seen a century pass. Oil extraction without heat or chemical, a careful crush. Organic garlic is purchased from a farmer's market ... contemplate different varieties - purple stripe, porcelain, purple star, and their variable hues, red and brown. The rocambole's sweetness and bite are a good choice. Mincing the garlic, slowly coloring it to gold, the scent circulating through house. There's an accumulation of time here that differs radically from an industrial product. It is relative; growing wheat, even at industrial farms, takes months.
There is also an experiential difference; almost an appreciation of passing time - engagement with the process, concern and focus - rather than a regret, a sense of time as an input cost - the focus on an endpoint, a quantitative analysis rather than qualitative. Mincing garlic or a garnish of parsley is too much trouble for many. Think, for example, of the different mentality of one who buys Latini pasta and makes pasta al'olio versus those who buy industrial pasta and dump jarred tomato sauce on it, garnished with green-can parmesan. The time necessary for appreciation is excised - it, more than the products involved, costs too much.
After the long ramble, I come back to this: slowness is a relative assessment of cululative time and the phenomenon of time passing.
Does this make any sense?
Thanks for listening.
rien
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As a Pacific Northwesterner relocated to Chicago, I can recommend the Stumptown, the Vivace Dolce, and the Intelligentsia. They are each very different. I can't speak to their suitability for milk based drinks - I'm almost exclusively a purist for straight espresso, with the occasional cappucino tossed in during cool mornings. I agree with most of malachi's comments. The stumptown makes the best cappucino of the three whereas the Vivace Dolce gets muddled and indistinct. For me, there's little harmony with the Intelligentsia Black Cat ... a jagged, energetic conflict in the cup. This could be my ratios and technique ... it certainly has more character in a cappucino than the Dolce.
For straight espresso the Intelligentsia and the Stumptown illustrate extremes of bold to subtle. The Dolce falls somewhere in the middle but elevates to genius with a ristretto. Unfortunately, I haven't mastered consistent pulls with my Silvia so I end up wasting a lot of beans. This can be a concern when you're paying $6 a half pound plus shipping. The droll - or excessively cheery, depending on your perspective - observation is that burning through those extra beans ensures that they're always fresh.
Ciao,
rien
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I'm not sure if I've left you much room for an answer -- aside from reading as much as you can beforehand and trying to travel with someone who knows the country, there might not be anything else to do -- so tell me if that's the case.
In this regard, blogs are a godsend. Perhaps in truly remote regions you'll be at a loss, but the English speaking food diaspora blogs like mad. Just the other day I came across Noodle Pie, a nice blog from Vietnam. Blogs and newsgroups have, or will inevitably in the future, a greater impact on food awareness and "road" and travel dining than print media.
With all the dystopic media chatter about capitalism's promotion of homogeneity, is DIY media like this a sufficient counterweight? Are the extremes becoming more extreme and the center hollowed out?
rien
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One of the great perils of list making is the implicit rejection of the unchosen. A reader can make the mistake of assuming that because something isn't there, it has been disdainfully cast off. Though I don't think readers here are going to fall into that trap, there's the more positive side - a certain sort of pride that leads to lobbying. Someone asked about southern fried chicken. One could also ask about southern food in a more general way. Picking up on your comment that Louisiana has one of the best and most natural "fusion" cuisines in America, I'm reminded of the recent eGullet Q&A with Rob Walsh on another American "fusion": Tex-Mex. Did you consider Tex-Mex when making your list?
In some ways, it's a natural choice since it has arguably been - perhaps along with Americanized pizza, hamburgers, and hotdogs - America's most successful culinary export. A German friend that visited me in Los Angeles only wanted to eat Mexican food and drink Corona, an exotic luxury back in Munich. Of course when I took him to authentic Mexican joints he was befuddled; where is the real Mexican food?
Though you mentioned California's squandered miracles, your selections also stayed pretty close to the Eastern seaboard or the omnipresent phenomena of beef. One could argue that "California cuisine" is America's biggest contribution to haute cuisine. How did it - or other bastions of natural abundance such as the Pacific Northwest (or the Hudson River Valley) - figure in your selection?
Sorry for such a lengthy question - I'm trying to pack in an entire conversation!
Thanks for joining us!
rien
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Not true at all, unless you plan on setting up to distill. What you've previously done are infusions. Absinthe was never an infusion with wormwood and recipes that infuse wormwood and various things into alcohol and then call it absinthe are completely wrong and misguided.
Ok, my loose typing and loose thinking are exposed. I didn't mean to imply that I had previously distilled any beverages; I was well aware that what I had previously made were infusions. However, I was thinking that Absinthe was similar Gin, where the flavors are incorporated into a rectified (that is the word, right?) spirit ... essentially "infusing" during distillation. Different Gins have different processes here: dipping botanicals in the simmering vat, letting steam rise through them, etc. What you're talking about - distilling the wormwood along WITH the grains and what not - sounds more like a eau de vie kind of process, where the flavor is from the ingredients distilled. I don't really understand the process of making different spirits, so my distinction could sound naive or completely wrongheaded to one in the know. Please correct and inform me.
All that - and legality - aside, could one make an infusion of wormwood?
On legality, I haven't read the links people have posted - I will - but I was under the impression that only retail sale of absinthe was illegal. Posession, consumption, and creation - be it infusion or distillation - is, I believe, acceptable.
Can those strongly opposed to the idea offer reasons? Is the warning legal or medical?
Many thanks,
rien
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After making and bottling Limoncello, Vin de Noix, Nocello, and a Provencal orange and coffee bean liqueur, a friend put the notion in my head that if I could procure wormwood, I could make Absinthe. I've since found a handful of vendors online for wormwood and a couple of recipes and I'm about to embark. However, I have a few questions.
1. Have any of you ever done this before?
2. What quantity of wormwood to liquour is appropriate? I've seen an ounce to 750 ml recommended.
3. What other ingredients would you recommend? Are the steeping times variable?
4. Some of the vendors I've found online seem ... less than reputable, shall we say? Phone numbers in Kansas, fax in California. Suspect. Bouncing Bear dot com? A little bit of the Grateful Dead imagery and Terrence McKenna mythos goes a long way. Can anyone recommend a "dealer"?
Basically, any input is very welcome.
If it doesn't kill me, I'll post an update.
Thanks,
rien
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Oh, and one more idea: if you make a pretty basic variety you can always blend in freshly toasted and ground spices to taste as needed. An excellent option.
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I've made version from recipes by Claudia Roden, Clifford Wright, and Paula Wolfert, all of which are different. I'm sure every worthwhile cookbook that includes a recipe puts a spin on it. (Anyone know of others?) I believe one of them, I can't remember whom, gives an idea of the ranges - some include this, some include that, etc. Now I just wing it depending upon what dried peppers I have on hand, how hot I want it, how thick I want it, what uses I plan to put it to, etc. It's easy to make two or three different types in one "batch" ... once you've rehydrated and seeded the peppers you've got the majority of the work done and it's just a matter of cleaning the bowl of your food processor a couple of times and packing them in different jars. I don't think I ever make it "exactly" the same any more ... which is part of the fun - seeing if you can discover your own secret ingredient or combination thereof. I've tried several store bought varieties from a range of places - Sur la Table to dingy ethnic markets. The good news is that every batch I've made at home has been far superior to all of them.
The "ras al hanout" discussion below is informative as an analogy ... every family makes their own, every shop makes their own. This is typical of highly diverse markets, be they industrial or pre-industrial. The fact that it is ubiquitous in the cuisine doesn't mean it's standardized. I finally realized that I shouldn't worry about whether it's "authentic" or not ... though I still have to fight back the question on occasion. The only way to really resolve it is to take a long trip and do a lot of eating ... not an entirely undesirable resolution.
Adieu,
Rien
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I seem to recall that, domestically, Washington and Oregon are producing decent to good Chenin Blanc.
Anyone care to comment? I imagine they can't compare in quality/complexity to Loire examples, but might they be better bargains? Favorites?
rien
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What a joke! The beer industry knows what they are doing and they know who they are marketing the stuff to-College kids and poor people looking for a buzz. To imply anything else is simply not the truth.
Steel Reserve "High Gravity" excluded, of course.
A triumph for the art of brewing.
rien
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Anyone seen Dogfish Heads' Liquor de Malt? I don't know how new this beer is, but it's new to me. I pilfered this description from RateBeer:
A 40-ounce, bottle-conditioned malt liquor brewed with Apache Red (red), Hickory King (white), and Taos Blue (blue) corns. The "All-American" malt liquor is packaged with a hand-stamped, Dogfish Head brown paper bag. Scheduled for a 6/15/04 release. (limited availability, 300 cases) Bottled in 40 ounce bottles.
Yes, it comes with a hand crafted brown paper bag!! The shelf tag is even better: a graffiti-styled cartoon of a kid with baggie pants and a boombox downing a 4-0 street side. Advocating artisanal public inebriation? Obviously tongue in cheek ... having both grown up with hip-hop and drowned on my share of 40s, I guess I'm part of the target market. The "Billy D. Williams-burg" kids.
This may be a remedial question, but what makes "malt liquor" malt liquor? Is it the use of corn? Is anyone else making decent malt liquor? Is it possible to sell it on the quality of the product and not it's uncanny ability to "work every time?"
rien
Your Daily Menus
in eGullet Q&A with Richard Hamilton
Posted
When composing a menu with such eclectic sources, what consideration do you give to the harmony of the menu and the ability of diners to compose coherent meals?
Do you find that there's a tendency not to select menu items from divergent regions or do they feel free to select an Asian inspired entre with an Italian inspired main?
Thanks,
rien