Smithy

Greetings from one Valley Girl to another! I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley, which is the bottom half of that grand Central Valley you live in, and your photos look a lot like "home". Tell me, do you live close to the river? That architecture, with its evocative name, suggests that you do. Flooding used to be a huge issue, up and down the valleys, and your house predates the aggressive dam building that changed the state's water flows. What crops do you especially like to get locally, if any? If there are farmers' markets still going this late in the year, I'd love to see what's growing there now. Are there local fruits that you don't do because of Atkins? And yes, please do post better photos of the water tower! And the local markets!

Nawal Nasrallah's book, Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine, describes Pasha as "Head, Tripe and Trotters" of a sheep. She gives detailed descriptions of the meticulous cleaning needed for each of those items before they're boiled along with things like onion, garlic, chickpeas and seasonings. After it's all cooked, the meat is layered in a bowl with bread, broth, chickpeas, dried lime or lemon, and drizzled with yogurt sauce, or oil, or.... (The list goes on, and it sounds like it varies with the cook's preferences.) All in all the finished dish sounds like a fattah, but with those critical sheep parts providing the meat. Does that sound like the pasha of your notes?

Anna, I think the relatively short shelf life is probably due to loss of flavor rather than food safety. As you note, vinegar - even balsamic - is likely to provide pretty good protection against bacteria. I think what's most likely to happen is that the fruit will lose its bright flavor as the flavor elements start to break down, possibly in the first stages of fermentation. I would leave it and keep checking, and figure I'll know when the flavor starts to fade... but then, if it does go off, I might be kicking myself for letting it go too long. The deglazing liquid idea above sounds like a good way to hedge your bets for some of the vinegar.

Yes to all the suggestions above - the precautions, the herbs (including Herbes de Provence). And yes, photos, please!

That's a good size for a French oven, and the LC looks to be in good shape. That particular blue is one of my favorites, so that's another point in its favor. As for whether it's worth it - well, you might be able to do better if you looked around a while longer, but you might not. I think I've spent about as much on some of my smaller used pieces. I was lucky enough at the time to think that $50 for high-quality cookware is worth it. How's that for a definitive answer?

I'm with you on the unimportance of political boundaries with regard to cuisine. (Call me a cockeyed optimist, or a wild idealist, but I love seeing that some things can be shared without conflict.) However, I'm glad Archestratus noted some actual distinctions above. Most of my friends have as vague a concept of "Middle Eastern" food as I, but I'd hate to confuse someone who would otherwise know better. I'm also glad to know what happened to "The Near East". My mother used to use that term, and I've been wondering lately where it got to. Speaking of corrections, I'm glad you mentioned The Arab Table. By the time I realized I'd misspelled Ms. Bsisu's name, it was too late to edit my post. This topic is really turning up some interesting-sounding books. There are some I hadn't heard of that I'm looking forward to trying, even as my bookshelves groan under my new acquisitions. You've given me some recommendations above for where to start with the Egyptian book. I've eyeballed the cauliflower salad, but haven't tried it yet.

Since nobody else has picked up on this, I'll step in. I'm not sure how one could compare a crockpot to a pressure cooker, or why someone would think to do braising in a pressure cooker. (And yes, I know that this topic originally started in much the same vein.) As I understand them, the crockpot/slow cooker is designed for low-temperature, long-time cookery at atmospheric pressure, whereas the pressure cooker is designed to hustle things along by raising the pressure - and hence the boiling point. This allows one to cook things at a hotter temperature and in less time, but not (I think) with the gentle thermal touch of a braise. I see the two cooking implements as being at opposite poles. At the risk of going even farther off-topic: can one braise properly in a pressure cooker? I'm none too sure that one can, but there's always room for me to learn. If I'm missing a point of braising, or misunderstanding what a pressure cooker does, I'd love to learn more.

I guess the small silver lining in this very dark cloud is that I'm not as late to the party as I'd feared. This is a fine blog so far, Nina! Lovely cats, and thanks for the condiment creep shot! Do you usually do your own photography for your writing ventures? I bought a huge bottle of sriracha on some trip, when I discovered its lovely sweet fire, and it still sits unopened in my cupboard. What do you use it for? Would it, for instance, help the uber-bland pea soup my DH so adores? I hesitate to open yet another bottle of anything, given the cluttered state of our refrigerator. Advice and ideas will be appreciated, when you get back and catch your breath. Our local shops carry maple syrple in grades A, B, and possibly even C. Some of my friends have used them to come up with great meat glazes. Thanks for coming clean on the cooking process, too! Gives me hope!

I too have Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food. Although I like some of the recipes, I haven't had as much success with them as with Couscous and other Good Food from Morocco by Paula Wolfert. That's a favorite-favorite, so to speak. I also enjoy her Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. Other favorites, long-standing and well-worn, include: The Sultan's Kitchen, by Ozcan Ozan Cooking at the Kasbah, by Kitty Morse Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine, by Nawal Nasrallah Flavors of Egypt: from City and Country Kitchens, by Susan Torgerson Mediterranean Street Foods, by Anissa Helou. I have over a dozen cookbooks featuring Middle Eastern cuisine. It's difficult to pick more "favorites" but there are some fine books among them. I'll be glad to list the lot if someone asks. I just today received my copies of My Grandmother's Egyptian Kitchen (Andie mentioned it above) and Alice's Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking, and I'm pretty excited to try them. Thanks for starting this thread, gfron! Edited to add: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention The Arab Table, by May B. Sisou.

Zoe, I don't have that kind of pan, and haven't tried any of those recipes, so this is a general question. Do you use a nonstick spray (like Pam) in your nonstick Bundt pan? If so, you may have killed the nonstick qualities of your pan. A regular guest of Lynne Rosetto Kasper's radio show, The Splendid Table, has asserted many times that the "nonstick" sprays should not be used on nonstick pans. She claims that the "nonstick" sprays contain lecithin, and that lecithin interferes with the chemisty of Teflon and its ilk. Because of the claim, with some slight corroborating evidence, I have taken pains to use standard shortening or vegetable oil to coat my elaborately-fluted baking molds. It seems to work. Disclaimers: I haven't tested the guest's claims; I don't work for MPR or The Spendid Table, and right now I can't even remember whether it was Deborah Madison or Dorie Greenspan or some other regular guest making the claim. Claimer: I hadn't been keen on those nonstick sprays anyway, even before I started listening to Lynne's radio show, so I didn't use them much. My husband, however, does use them. I really do think some of our nonstick pans that were brought to the marriage are "stickier" that they used to be before DH started spraying them.

Last March, DH and I stumbled onto housekeeping units on the west coast of Florida. Full kitchen. Not a half-bad kitchen, really - not with a full window view of the Gulf to keep me company - but ill-equipped for what I wanted. Before I started off to the local TJ Maxx I called to the main desk. Lo and behold, they had a whole store of stuff that people had purchased for their stays and left behind: large pots, large bowls, and the like. In the end we purchased a baking sheet (that we donated to the cause after leaving) and some knives (that we brought home), and only a few spices. You might check with your housekeeping folks. It may be you won't have to purchase as much as you'd think, to be able to use that kitchen. Vacation kitchens can be fun! That is one gorgeous cranberry harvest. Thanks for the "damn tourist" photo!

Those all look nice, and far prettier than I'd come up with. You certainly don't have to apologize for their not being "restaurant quality"! Which one tasted best to you? I think that should be your deciding factor. For my tastes the chili oil one sounded and looked like too much of a good thing: less chili oil would appeal more to my palate, but if it was just a hint I might like it. I also thought that plate had a bit too much sauce for the dish; the sauce and orange slices kinda hid the main attraction. But that's just me, and I know diddly-squat about plating. If I were selecting one of these, based on the ingredient list and the looks, I'd go with the Gaucho scallops. The balance of colors is nice and the ingredient list sounds appealing. The first one, with the thyme and basil, sounds tasty but possibly a bit bland. How is it with the parsnip puree? OK, I've kicked it off. Here's hoping some people who know what they're talking about look in and comment. For what it's worth, you might get more takers if you actually set those photos up so that they're visible in your post instead of requiring someone to link on them. (You have 24 hours to edit a post, so you'll have time until tomorrow morning to make the change.) If you're confused about how to do that, PM me and I'll send you some info.

Oh, no! Two stars going over the horizon at once! I think Brad was the very first person to show me just how quickly a response could come on eGullet. I posted a question about wines or wine shops for a visit to the Twin Cities, not really expecting to get an answer in time. I had, after all, only left myself a week for answers. Brad answered me within the hour. Mary - ah, Mary, you taught a wonderful wine tasting course, from which I learned tons, and then I got to meet you last May, in person, at the winery. That was a lot of fun. I do hope you'll both stick around eGullet. Thanks for doing such great service. You both made me feel welcome, and I've appreciated it.

Wow. I've had 4 pomegranates tucked away for experimentation, and I just did a side-by-side comparison of methods. I did 2 using my previous favorite method, noted above. I did 2 using the Nigella easy way. Nigella's method wins, hands-down: it's easier, quicker, less messy AND has less pulp and skin to separate from the seeds afterward. I did find that I needed to evert the pomegranate halves to get the last few delicious seeds out. (Perhaps that means I didn't whack hard enough or long enough or with a heavy enough implement, but since I'd forgotten that I was supposed to use a heavy wooden spoon and was whacking with the flat of my Santuko blade instead, my lack of verve might be forgiven.) However, I also found that it was pretty easy. By the time most of the seeds were out of the pomegranate half I was working over, the pulp was soft enough to turn inside out without tearing anything. Thank you for that note, Chufi!

Poached or sauteed, with sauce. Ideas expanded slightly, but without firm recipes because we always do this on the fly: Poach them, then add a sauce of your choosing: lemon-dill, lemon-mustard, white wine reduction with herbs and cream are some ideas. If the whitebait is big enough to wrap into rolls around small spears of carrot or celery, you could make little rolls, tie them and poach them like that. The presentation might be a little more elegant, although it might be more work than it's worth... Dust the filets with seasonings of your choice, then saute them - it doesn't take long, doesn't use much oil, and won't set off the alarm if you don't have too much exposed pan surface (I have experience in my mother's kitchen). When browned and nearly cooked, remove to plate to finish in slightly warm oven. ("Warm" or 200F will do.) Use the saute pan to make a sauce. Some ideas: Garlic, lemon, a touch of Dijon mustard (we like Trader Joe's garlic aioli mustard, but you may not have it ready to hand), white wine; Mushrooms, cream, tarragon; Lemon, dill, and either cream or wine or butter depending on how fatty or clear you want the sauce. I personally haven't had much luck with tomato-type sauces on fish, but I know it's popular. Does this get along the ideas you're after? Or are you leaning toward something like whitebait en papillote? Or casseroles?

Erm...well, I'll kick off a response on the assumption that "whitebait" is some kind of white fish. In lieu of breading and deep frying chicken, pork and certain fish, we bread and pan-roast. The usual rule is 375F for chicken thighs and thick pork steaks for around 35 minutes, and 425 at around 25 minutes for thinner pork cuts. The only oil in the pan is a thin film on the bottom of the baking dish. Our breading is often, but not always, a mix of corn meal, panko (or regular bread crumbs), salt, pepper, and such spices that we think would be compatible with the meat in question. I can't remember what we've done with fish. To be honest, we're usually more about pan-frying breaded fish in a small film of oil. It isn't deep frying, but if you're out to cut out the fat it isn't much help. Still, the principle has been the same when we tried it: shake it in a bag with the aforementioned crumb mix, set it on a baking dish or baking pan that has been treated with a film of oil for non-stick purposes, and bake at medium-high heat until done. Does that get at what you're after? What is whitebait, anyway? I suppose you'll tell me that it's crab.

I happen to have 3 or 4 pomegranates presently waiting to be seeded. I'll be able to do a side-by-side comparison with Nigella's method, which I'd never seen before, and my favorite method to date. Thanks, Chufi!

Mario Batali said, on a radio segment I heard not long ago, that they bleached the tripe at his restaurant. If he said what the solution was or how long the treatment lasted, I've forgotten that part. But he was very specific that it was bleached - just enough to lose most, but not quite all, of the funky urea taste. If I can find a link to that show, I'll come back here and post it.

Elie, I don't see much use of chocolate in Middle Eastern sweets. I've noticed it before in Egypt, and your photos above seem to support that: the photo with the "western-style pastries" shows some chocolate frosting, but even then it seems less emphasized than in this country. Honey, nuts, fruit, syrups seem to prevail over chocolate in the Middle East. Can you comment? Is there generally a disinterest in chocolate, or am I just looking in the wrong places?

What he said, in every respect. Ya done good. Blogging is much harder than it looks. When I was in college, I was a passable baker but a hopeless cook, and even some of my baking efforts became the stuff of legend. Thanks, and keep on cooking!

Join the club...I know it rarely makes it to the table in our household. That sounds like a great idea. THAT sounds like a staggeringly wonderful idea! Wish I'd thought of it. Thanks for the tip!

According to this chart, grapeseed oil has a smoke point of about 420 F, which is near the high end. With regard to the health benefits of canola oil, read on. Even vegetable and nut oils have a certain amount of saturated fat in them. Canola oil has only 7% saturated fat, which is the smallest percentage in readily-available cooking oils. (Coconut oil, by the way, is 92% saturated fat.) Almond oil and safflower oil also have low saturated fat, at 8% and 9% respectively. Olive oil is listed as 14% saturated fat, which is still pretty low. For more info on the fat content of oil, see charts like this chart. There's another health factor to be considered that doesn't get as much play, perhaps because the information is newer or because it's more complex: the relation of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Although both types of fatty acid play a role in health, there's some evidence that too much omega-6 in relation to omega-3 causes health problems. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 varies from oil to oil. Canola, walnut, flaxseed and olive oils have good ratios. Corn oil has a bad ratio. Some epidemiologists think there's a link between the increase in diabetes and health problems in this country and the rising use of corn oil, starting back in the 1960's. At any rate - on more than one count, canola oil is supposed to be one of the best for you. Edited for clarity, and to add this link to a concise and clear discussion about fatty acids and fat content of various oils: <clickety>. Scroll down a way for a chart showing the fatty acid content of the oils, and the ratio.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine Smothered with Lemon and Olives is one I really like. I think if you look around upthread you'll find more links, too. Claypots rock!

Yes. Here are the basic requirements for the cooking vessel you need: 1. It should be heavy for its size, so it's slow to heat and cool with changes in temperature. (Lightweight aluminum is contraindicated.) 2. It should have a lid of some sort - you can augment the lid with parchment paper inside, if necessary to contain the moisture. 3. It should be able to take heat from below, as in "ok for use on the stove top". You might be surprised at what qualifies for that. I've even cooked in a Corning casserole dish on the stove top, despite the protests that it isn't flame proof. 4. I think there's a benefit to cooking in an unglazed clay pot, so if I'm going for the ideal I go for those open pores. YMMV. I've done tagines in clay pots, Corning casserole dishes, heavy aluminum pots, cast iron chicken fryers and Le Creuset enameled cast iron. The best results came with the things that sealed tightly and heated (or cooled) slowly. The "cooling tower" lid of the tagine helps with self-basting, but there are good substitutes. For that matter, if I hadn't blown so much money on cookware over the years that I had so many choices, I'd cheerfully cook a tagine in a lightweight casserole dish to get the flavors. You might miss some nuances, but you'd get the main benefit of the dish: the Cliff Notes version, as it were. Let us know what you try, and how it goes! Edited for punctuation