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Behemoth

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Everything posted by Behemoth

  1. You can also get it with a shot of amaretto at most Wienachtsmarkts. It's nice that way but can be dangerous if you decided to have more than a few. I am still waiting for the Alster in Hamburg to freeze over while I'm there. On the rare winter days when it does, they set the Gluhwein stands up right on the ice. Speaking of dangerous German alcohol-related activities, what about Feuerzangenbowle?
  2. Just out of curiosity, how do these things comapre to Mallowmars? I've never had the latter but the description sounds similar.
  3. Heh. My mom (who lives in Philly) makes them every year and they were amazing before my dad rediscovered his muslimness and doesn't eat rum-soaked stuff. She tries to soak it with grape juice instead which obviously doesn't work at all. I don't get it since dad doesn't mind if other people consume liquor in his presence or anything. Anyway, I make her send mine early so I can douse it myself. Well, I guess all this is of absolutely no use to you, but if you'd go over there and talk to her I sure would appreciate it. She might be willing to give you one.
  4. Behemoth

    Arab Coffee

    The coffee needs to be ground finer than espresso. How do I describe it? It should feel almost like corn starch. The shop can mix cardamom into the grind if you ask. You can also buy vacuum packed coffee in middle eastern stores with or without cardamom. Najjar is a common Lebanese brand. Method: You need a turkish coffee pot, which is a cylinder that narrows at the top. for each cup of coffee, measure out a demi-tasse full of water, and a well-rounded teaspoon of coffee. Bring to a boil on the stove. Let it boil over three times (removing it from the flame as it comes up the pot each time.) If you want sugar, add between a half and whole teaspoon, and let it boil up one more time. To drink, give it a minute so the sediment settles on the bottom. Actually, the following tutorial on coffeegeek is a good one. They go so far as to grind their own beans, which is a very nice touch. Turkish Coffee tutorial To sweeten or not? Sweeten if you like sugar The only etiquette thing I can think of, don't serve sweetened coffee during funerals.
  5. That place has had a big cult following among the West Philly crowd for a while now. My brother swears by those sandwiches. I haven't gotten to try them yet.
  6. Did you move already ? or did you discover the place during your recent visit. ← I passed by it last time I was in Munich. Naturally, I noted its presence. We will be in Germany in two weeks, and in Munich after the 28th which is when our container is supposed to arrive. I've been told our kitchen appliances are currently stacked up in our hallway. Thankfully a carpenter is putting it all together for us, I really don't think we could handle that on top of everything else!
  7. Ugh. In at least one cafe in Urbana, next to "Espresso" on the overhead sign it says "if you don't know what it is, you probably don't want it." Which I suppose is true, because their espresso is completely undrinkable bitter sludge, but it would be nice if company policy weren't officially that it is undrinkable bitter sludge. We just sold the superautomatic we got as a wedding gift (to an office, where it makes actually makes sense to have one) and are replacing it with a Silvia + Rocky combo. But the superauto definitely got points on convenience, so I can see why the pod systems would be attractive. edit: I should add, so we don't look like completely ungrateful jerks, that we are moving from 110v to 220v system so the big machine couldn't come with us.
  8. Oh, I know exactly where that is. Thanks LG!
  9. What's the best place to get my knives sharpened? To paraphrase the Pointer Sisters: I want somebody who will spend some time Not grind them down in a heated rush I want somebody who will understand When it comes to knives, I want a slow hand
  10. I did a little google search, and the German name I recalled didn't refer to the same candy, but rather to something similar to a Klondike bar: link
  11. I'm afraid I have to run but here is a great link. You can paste the URL into this site, and then you will be able to click on the words and get translations. It is a fairly easy to follow recipe. By marshmallow I didn't mean the american stuff that comes in bags. More like a creamy foamy thing, it is basically eggwhites & sugar. They are cooked in a water bath. good luck!
  12. Are you sure it is meringue? We had something similar in Lebanon growing up (equally unfortunate name in Arabic) and I think the inside was more like marshmallow. They also exist in Germany but I forget what the new, more PC name is. edit: here is a photo and recipe for those not familiar with it: link
  13. Naw, see...the way to do it is to eat dinner no sooner than 9pm, go out to the bars at around midnight, stay out until at least 5am, by which time you are a bit peckish, grab a small breakfast and go to bed. Clearly I hang out with miscreants.
  14. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for tripe (Menudo, Italian) but ghammeh is where I draw the line. I don't care what spices you put on it, it basically smells like spiced wet dog. Or wet otter, I suppose... It seems to be common all over the middle east. My dad thought it would be funny to order "Padjeh" in Iraq for me when I was a kid. He wouldn't tell me what it was, but as it approached the table, well...I kind of figured it out. Bleagh, and I was a polite kid so I had to pretend to like it so as not to offend my hosts. Sorry, carry on! Goat's head. Been there, done that. And oddly enough, I was always fond of intestine.
  15. I'm sure you've seen the movie Das Boot -- the scene where the captain is showing the journalist all the food and alcohol they store on board (and its huge importance for morale) just kills me. My husband was in the German navy for his required service, and says there was a good deal of drinking on board. I can't imagine this is the case on American ships? Or is it?
  16. I have a pile of very nice sweet potatoes that I need to use up. I will probably do a variation of my SIL's kartoffelpuffer. Maybe with smoked salmon and horseradish cream... (Kartoffelpuffer=best food name ever.)
  17. It's a pain in the ass, but steaming couscous over the stew is really the only way to go. It makes such a huge difference in both the flavor and texture that I just can't go back to any other method.
  18. Sources available online suggest there are all sorts of way to make this delicious salad. Perhaps the most vivid image can be provided first by a souvenir pin from Salt Lake City rather than a photograph. Go down to the third row, first object on the far left. Note the white chunks suspended in the green cubes. How on earth did you find that link? What is most hilarious about all this is that this particular grandmother is Jewish, and lived in NY at a time when integration (AKA acting as WASPy as possible) was the thing. So the green jello may well have been an aspirational dish.
  19. I had this conversation with someone on eG a while back. In Lebanese cooking obviously fresh herbs are very important (e.g. tabbouli and all those springs of fresh mint everywhere) but certain dishes call specifically for dried herbs: Tomato sauce always takes dried mint because you need an intense flavor without the soggy leaf texture. Dried thyme in zaatar for the mann'ouch (sort of a pizza), again because you want the intense flavor without the texture. They even prefer dried mint in their chopped salad, and I must admit it tastes great. Some herbs dry well and some don't, some dishes are better with dried herbs, some better with fresh. Not better or worse, just different.
  20. Back left are bleeding heart (aka beautiful heart aka watermelon) radishes. Very nice ones, too.
  21. I've made this cardoon recipe a couple of times, it is really good. (I linked to print.google.com -- but the recipe is from Gray Kuntz' Elements of taste.) Times like this I really wish I lived in California, even if it is far away from our beloved princess Stephanie* *Rancho Gordo reference
  22. He might actually. My husband HATES beets but he actually likes roasted chioggias in a salad. Another friend of mine who hates beets asked me to order him a bunch from my farmer after having a salad of them at our house. My favorite early winter salad is roasted chioggia beets, mezuna, goat cheese and marcona almonds, with a lemon, olive oil and sumac dressing. It's the easiest thing but I'm constantly asked for the recipe. I have a couple of bleeding heart radishes in the fridge that I need to use up. Probably some asian slaw or something. I also have a monster tatsoi . It's really tough to get back to the supermarket once our farmer's markets shut down. I like to make a celeriac remoulade using yogurt instead of mayo -- very nice and refreshing. By the way, in Lebanon they eat raw goat's liver like sashimi. They cut it into 1/2 inch cubes, and eat it with pita, dipped in salt and middle eastern pepper mix. With arak. For breakfast. (It's actually very good!)
  23. I wonder if a politician on either side of the fence could get away with publishing a cookbook that involved french food or some "high brow" equivalent. Kerry got so much flack last year when he asked for swiss on his Philly cheesesteak. Food is such a class issue in the US, I wonder if it is as much the case in other countries.
  24. While it does not answer all questions, I strongly recommend that eGullet members pick up Something from the Oven. Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America by Laura Shapiro if they are not already familiar with the book. It's available in paperback, published by Penguin. I was just about to recommend that book, so instead I will second pontormo's suggestion. Very enjoyable read. Last week my grandmother asked me if I ever make her green jello salad with cottage cheese and pineapple that my mother was always so fond of. Oddly enough, most of the stuff my grandmother made did not involve convenience products. I could never figure out why this one stood out as my mom's favorite. I can't say it tastes bad, just kind of weird, plus I really don't like jello.
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