Abra

I don't think this would promote weight loss per se. Someone can make this more precise, but my lazy lookup shows that a cup of cooked white rice and a cup of extra firm tofu have about the same number of calories. Of course, you're getting a ton of protein from the tofu and a ton of carbs from the rice, so there's that difference.

I do skin side up, start at one corner, slide a thin flexible boning knife under the corner of the skin, and start working it toward the opposite corner with a slight sawing motion. Use a paper towel to grasp the skin if it's too slippery. It's all in using the right knife.

Wow, some trip! My credit card is in spasms just reading about the prices, but it all looks so delicious and genuinely fun.

It's heresy, but works perfectly every time. Put 1 whole egg, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, some salt, white pepper, and a dash of cayenne in the blender. Whir to combine, then start drizzling in your oil. I use 3/4 cup canola and 1/4 cup good olive oil. Pour faster as it thickens. When all the oil is in, add 1 T champagne or white wine vinegar. This will thicken as it chills, of course, but it's fine fresh from the blender too. Honest, you can't screw it up if you do it like this.

Klary, that's such a lovely cake, with its alternating layers, and a great photo with the striped cloth beneath. It's much more cake-like and much less biscuit-like than the one I made. Can you give us the recipe?

You can see a couple of my favorites in Ellensburg and Cle Elum right here. I'm another vote for going via Vantage - that's my only route anymore, and is breathtakingly beautiful. Some pictures of that road are in the above link too.

Perfect - 4 months to soak, bake, 4 months to rest and then it's Christmas! So even though that will be minimal soaking, it's a start. Hummingbirdkiss, do you let your baked cakes cure that long as well?

Toliver, thanks so much for all the great suggestions! I especially like the oyster and pork ideas, since I think the fruity tartness would complement either very nicely.

Hey, the timing is good. I'll start some fruit when you post the recipe, then it will have all the way until December to rest. I love long cooking projects. Passover wine, eh? Timing's good for that too.

I recently picked up a bottle of pineapple vinegar. It's from Taiwan, and the only listed ingredient is Taiwan Pineapple. It does smell and taste like a tart, floral pineapple juice, in a lightly fruity way. I tossed some with stir-fried cabbage last night, and while that was decent, it was nothing special. Who knows how to make this stuff really shine?

Those are beautiful! Is your bacon smoked, or non? Between those and the gorgeous vla I'm ready to come over to your house for dinner soon.

This week by total coincidence I made this cake from a recipe in a 2006 Saveur article on Banda Islands cuisine. It contained cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, 4 eggs as well as 3 additional yolks, a ton of butter, and was made in 4 layers. We found it to be incredibly delicious, and right away I sent Chufi a note saying that it tasted Dutch. The combination of the butter flavor with the spices reminded me of Dutch flavors, and I actually wouldn't have thought of it as Indonesian at all if I hadn't known. The article called it Spekkuk Bumbu, and Chufi mentioned that she thought bumbu wasn't properly used to refer to a sweet spice mix. Where's Yetty when we need her?

I made a black cake once, but as I recall, the fruit was only soaked for half an hour or so, and the result was a lot like a regular fruitcake. I'd love to hear more about how you make it, and what the elusive "browning" is. That sure wasn't in the version I made.

I have their red curry in a pouch and it's an excellent product. Rounded and rich, it's got a lot more going on than what I've previously been able to find in a jar. They have a lot of terrific products.

Reese, don't toss your Aleppo pepper! I use it, or Marash or Urfa pepper in every single recipe that calls for "crushed red pepper." You'll get a much more mellow and flavorful heat with it than the usual stuff. Mushroom soy - I like to make chicken adobo using half mushroom soy and half light soy. It's not traditional, but we love it like that.

I get the nam prik pao from Uwajimaya. Oh, and I forgot salsa Lizano, a great perker-upper (for non-Asian dishes). I've never tried Maggi seasoning - I'll have to grab some when I see it.

Holy cow, do you mean to say you are making actual vinegar with no visible mother? I swear by all that's sour, I never heard of such a thing! I always have layer upon layer of mother in my vinaigrier, in fact, if I don't remove it from time to time it will fill up the entire crock and I have to squeeze the mother to get any vinegar out. I'm stunned - clearly you have some entirely different process going on in your kitchen but I have no idea what it is.

It's hard to disagree with the esteemed Mr. Parsons, but if you have no mother floating on the top, I think you're in trouble. Did you see this article of Paula Wolfert's about vinegar making? She mentions the dead mother layer issue. Whenever I have mother lying on the bottom, I toss it, but I've never been without a fresh mat floating on the top at the same time as some expires. But then, I've never smelled acetone in my vinegar, either.

I missed this post originally, but I'm pretty fascinated by the idea. Did they taste kelp-y, or noodle-y, or neither? I like kelp a lot, and noodles, but it's hard to imagine these. I even really like shirataki noodles, which might be similar in some ways. Did they want Asian flavors to go with, or were they really neutral?

I use a lot of Golden Mountain now, it's a great flavor. Also in my "secret" arsenal are Taste Nirvana's Golden Abalone Fish Sauce, and Ninben's seasoning soup base. Oh, and of course nam prik pao, which I'm inexplicably out of at the moment so I can't tell you the brand. I posted a photo of it here on eG some time ago, so it should be easy to find. Ok, it's in this post, but I can't read the name due to my own lack of photo skills. edited to add: we found some in the depths of the fridge - it's Pantainorasing brand.

I just read this great post all at one go. I love that you've documented the thought process as much as the results, and I've gotten several wonderful ideas from your work. The only thing is, after years of thinking of you as your avatar, I can't get used to the new, grownup you!

How come she gets to do all the picking? Maybe you could each come up with two items. Whoever shops definitely has the advantage.

Does anybody know for sure that they've reopened? I'm supposed to take some folks there later this month, but I'm out of town right now and can't go check up on it myself.

Wowsers, we just went to Coco La Ti Da for the first, and I guess last, time on Saturday night. it was absolutely packed at 11:45 at night. What happened?

One important thing not mentioned so far is that if you prepare food for people, you need liability insurance. Heaven forfend, if someone gets sick from something you prepared, you are going to be very sorry if you don't have insurance. Even something like serving one bad oyster, no fault of yours personally, can get your ass sued. And to get that insurance? You have to be running a legitimate business, complete with business license.