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Abra

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Everything posted by Abra

  1. We need to go to Campagne for dinner. We've only ever been for brunch, where the Oeufs en Meurette totally rock. After the new year, dinner at Campagne, I swear.
  2. Abra

    Making Tamales

    Both Jay's pork and Judith's squash tamales sound so good - wish I could have a little sample. My vegetarian son, however, is anti-squash, which probably means that he was switched at birth, since I eat approximately my weight in squash every winter. I need a corn and cheese-type tamale for him, but I'd like it to be juicy and delectable, as opposed to the gummy version one more normally sees. Anyone? Oh, just thought I'd add that I got just about 5 cups of lard from 5 lbs of pork fat yesterday, so I think estimating a cup per pound is probably safe. The rendering rate might not be exactly linear, depending on pan surface area and so on, but I think that could be a rule of thumb.
  3. Abra

    Making Tamales

    I've got lard rendering right now for making tamales on Sunday. We'll do the mole tamales, of course (all-day mole-making session coming up!), but I need a vegetarian one as well. I haven't settled on a veggie favorite...what's yours?
  4. This is the first one of your travelogues that I've seen, and I just love it. Your writing is vivid, the photos are right on, and you even include recipes. Bravo! Hey, in those pictures, which one is you?
  5. Customer point of view here, as opposed to PC opinion. How about a swirl of a date-based sauce, possibly even with a little added tamarind so it rings with the citrus? When I imagine that plate I'm looking for a deeper, grounding note.
  6. They're virtually identical. I have one of each and use them interchangeably.
  7. Oh, interesting. I've never seen a recipe that called for whole fenugreek. Doesn't it stay really crunchy if left whole?
  8. Use marjoram with corn. I think it's the best and highest use - really a lovely flavor combination. I don't think the landscaping juniper is the same as the edible berries. At least, they look a lot different, being very dark, plump, and round in the jar, but that gorgeous silvery-blue wrinkly thing on the bush. I use ras el hanout a lot too, and sambar. I love those sweet-hot flavors. I never "got" white pepper either, until I was having lunch at Shanghai Gardens, having some sort of black fungus soup. The server told me that the correct Shanghainese thing to do was spice it up with white pepper, which is provided on the table. The soup lit up right away. It's a weird sort of taste, but it's perfect for some things.
  9. Oops, I seem to have missed that crucial schedule detail. Saturday is out for me...now, do I actually want to venture to Bellevue?
  10. Pan - I made this for Thanksgiving Awesome Mincemeat Ice Cream It has Calvados and apples, and is utterly delicious. There are so many neat ideas in this thread, I love it.
  11. Actually, I was teasing FWED. There's no way I can do all that in a rental house 4-5 hours from home. Really, I want FWED to come down and deliver that cake! But I think I might be able to combine both of your ideas somehow.
  12. Asafoetida, also called hing, is only used in Indian dishes, so far as I know. It's adds an indefinably authentic flavor, even though it smells funky. On the fenugreek - yes, you need to grind it to a fluffy powder to use it. I second the suggestion to get a little coffee grinder and use it just for spices. It's easy to clean between spices by grinding up a little (raw) rice. In the back of my spice drawers, the things I seldom use but don't want to part with: mahlab, mastic, ajwain, charnushka, juniper berries, and then stuff I do use more often, but still infrequently: star anise, black cardamom, sumac. And while slightly off-topic, if you're wanting to add any new spices to your collection, my world has changed over the past couple of years since I've been regularly using: fennel pollen, grains of Paradise, Marash pepper, and Urfa pepper.
  13. FWED - please send recipe by earliest post. Stop. You might just save my reputation. Stop. Sounds wonderful. Full stop. Appliances will be what they may. All portable equipment goes with me.
  14. That recipe looks very interesting, K8memphis. I'm wondering if it's coma-inducingly sweet, but it's giving me lots of ideas. I love the hazelnut part - now to see if chocolate can be in there somewhere.
  15. Wow, thanks for posting about this, Laurel and ReallyNice! It sounds like a trip to Uwajimaya is needed on Sunday.
  16. I do already have one ice cream on the menu over the holiday, so I'm thinking more along the lines of a cake-like dessert. Your idea does sounds delicious, though.
  17. I've bought ground, roasted wattleseed online from Australia, so it's neat to see a US source. I first used it for a wattleseed Pavlova that a client requested, but since then I've also used it to infuse cream for ganache, and in whipped cream, where it's delicious.
  18. First, let me say that I'm going to be in a rented beach house over Christmas, but I'm able to take some equipment with me. I want to make something splendiferous for dessert, just for 4 people. On a whim, I bought caramel cream d'Isigny, crushed nougat from Montelimar, and a bunch of Valrhona Caraibe 66% chocolate Treats from l'epicerie I'm thinking some sort of chocolate base, with maybe a mousse made with the caramel cream and some creme fraiche or mascarpone, sprinkles of the nougat...or maybe I should make a separate layer that showcases the nougat. Hmm, maybe a nougat meringue base, then use the other elements differently. Like a sort of nougat Pavlova filled with caramel cream fluff and a chocolate sauce. I feel that my imagination is limited to pretty traditional-sounding choices here. I know, I could have just made my own caramel cream and nougat, but this being French has a certain romantic appeal that we'll appreciate. So, fellow pastry-lovers, what is the most scrumptious but managable confection you can imagine with these elements?
  19. I used to try asking for one biscotto, but after getting several blank-bordering-on-hostile stares from coffee shop worker kids I pretty much gave up. Literacy in general is in an atrocious decline, and I see menu faux pas as being just an aspect of a much more serious problem. I do always point out spelling errors on menus (my current pet peeves that I see all the time are marscapone and chipolte), but when it's a blatant error where the menu is trying to be pretentious and gets it wrong, I sort of figure that it's a lost cause.
  20. We too use Thai sweet chili sauce and sriracha a lot, as well as sambal oelek. Then, straying from Asia, Pepper Plant, Cajun Power Garlic, Tabasco green and chipotle, and Cholula. But I'm surprised not to have seen any mention of one of my very favorites, Yucatan Sunshine. It's not killer hot, but has that great habanero flavor. In fact, several of the Sunshine series are really good - we also like Tennessee Sunshine and Cajun Sunshine. I can see that I'll have to look for Texas Pete and Yucateco - I don't remember ever seeing either of them.
  21. Abra

    Gold cake

    Annie, you are one of a kind. My favorite kind.
  22. Abra

    Making Tamales

    I get about a quart of lard from 5 lbs of pork fat. It would be so fun if we could make tamales all together!
  23. Abra

    Making Tamales

    Here's the black tamale recipe. Use your favorite mole recipe. I've had this for so many years that I no longer know where it came from, but I promise that it's delectable. * Exported from MasterCook * BLACK TAMALES Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- Masa dough: 6 tablespoons butter -- (3/4 stick) softened, or fresh lard 2 1/4 cups masa harina 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups hot mole sauce For the filling: 1 cup shredded roast pork -- chicken or mushrooms 1/3 cup chopped pitted prunes 1/3 cup dark raisins 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts 1/4 cup chopped -- pitted green olives 1/2 cup mole sauce In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle, beat the butter or lard until light and fluffy. Add the masa, baking powder and salt and mix until blended. Add the mole sauce and beat for 2-3 minutes until dough is very smooth. Dough should be soft and light in texture, add more mole or hot water if necessary. Spread the dough out evenly in a square approximately 1/4-inch thick on soaked corn husks or large squares of banana leaf. Mix filling ingredients together and divide among tamales putting the filling in the center of the dough. Roll up tamales to enclose filling and tie or fold ends over. Steam for 30-40 minutes or until masa is firm and puffed. Serve warm with fresh salsa if desired. Yield: 10-12 tamales
  24. Abra

    Making Tamales

    I did tamales for the first time last Christmas, using home-rendered lard, about which I agree with Fifi and everyone else upthread - it's well worth it. My favorite of the several types we tried were Black Tamales, made with mole added to the dough, as well as the filling. They were utterly addictive, and unlike any tamales I'd had before. Making the mole has to be done on a separate day, so it's quite a commitment, but the final product was really luscious.
  25. Outstanding in every way! As a meal, and as a blog, it's an inspiration. Bravissimi!
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