SobaAddict70

I rarely eat red meat, so that's not really of much use to me. But I appreciate the gesture anyway.

Spaghetti with cauliflower, anchovy and raisins; not so strange -- it's a Sicilian-style prep, similar to pasta con le sarde. Been feeling somewhat uninspired since this past weekend. Tomorrow and Friday are clean-out-the-crisper nights, and it'll be good to take my mind off of B for a little while, at least. -47

Assuming you mean things like fried chicken, pizza and meatloaf, then I might start here: ; it's Franny's clam pizza at their restaurant in Brooklyn. It's not haute cuisine, but it's something that a foodie might eat. According to the vid, the clam pizza is one of the more popular items. Meatloaf elevated to a more refined level could be something like a terrine. There's a great thread devoted to that topic, here. Korean fried chicken seems to be one of the new foodie trends in recent years. There's a nice NYT article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/dining/07fried.html?pagewanted=all and a more recent Serious Eats article here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/10/the-food-lab-korean-fried-chicken.html None of those dishes are what I would consider to be "haute cuisine". For that, consider dining out frequently or asking if your friend could explore more adventurous cooking.

I wasn't actually being serious about finding and eating an ortolan. On a more serious note, "crazy" is broad. Insects on a stick is probably crazy to you, but to the folks in Beijing, it's actually kinda normal. (I wouldn't eat it either, don't worry.) Conversely, I'm sure there are things we eat they find strange.

Some points: When I hear the phrase "haute cuisine", the associations that come to mind are, for me, Escoffier, French mother sauces and invariably, restaurants such as Lespinasse, Chanterelle, Daniel, Jean Georges and Bouley. The first two are closed, and all were or are located in NYC. For me, haute cuisine refers to a style of cooking that generally consists of meticulous, refined preparation and careful (some would say obsessive) presentation of food, at a very high price level, accompanied by rare wines. Typically it is French, but there are also examples of American (think "Per Se/French Laundry/Manresa") or say, Chinese haute cuisine (see this article by former NYTimes restaurant critic Ruth Reichl), an excerpt of which is quoted below. Of the French restaurants I listed, I've only been to Bouley and only once. It's not high on my list -- which doesn't mean I won't eat it or that I dislike it or can't appreciate it, just that it's not for me. This Wikipedia article talks some more about Escoffier's role regarding his influence with respect to haute cuisine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haute_cuisine As for what ingredients or foods are used in haute cuisine these days -- anything is fair game. That's the point that many commenters have been making. Jean-Georges Vongerichten, for example, is famous for combining young garlic and frogs' legs, in the same way that Thomas Keller made magic with pig's head and quail egg, or tapioca and oysters. Modern haute cuisine is a dance between technique, concept and ingredients.

David Leite has a recipe for homemade tomato paste here, but it's way more complicated than just using a tomato: http://leitesculinaria.com/87323/recipes-homemade-tomato-paste-conserva-di-pomodori.html The picture in his blog post looks like what you might expect from canned tomato paste in the U.S.

Are you looking for "tomato paste"? If you simmer crushed tomatoes long enough so that the liquid nearly evaporates, you'll end up with a concentrated substance that resembles canned tomato paste. "Tomato sauce" can be anything from any of the mentions above to something like Sunday gravy or marinara sauce.

By "these parts", do you mean the entire country? That's a broad generalization, no? Or do you mean a smaller region? I can think of lots of people in the U.S. who consider offal (liver, tongue, tripe, heart and yes, sweetbreads) to be foodstuffs. Try any good Jewish delicatessen (i.e., tongue sandwich) or a Mexican taco truck (i.e., tacos con lengua or tacos con tripa). If you go down South, they eat way more than just the large muscles. Chitlins, pig's feet and so forth, for example.

Fair enough, although it still seems broad. I guess my stumbling block is the terminology you're using. For instance, something like this might be characteristic of what foodies eat. (it's a picture of french toast topped with plum jam) Bird's nest soup might be considered "gourmet" to someone of Chinese descent or even an ABC (American-born Chinese); "exotic" could be, say, spam musubi. That's what I meant by culture. If you mean Escoffier-like haute cuisine, then try looking into ortolans if you can get them. There's some risk involved though.

Honestly, the best recommendation I can make is to be curious about new experiences and to keep an open mind. A question for you: define "exotic". Because for some people, escargot is "exotic". "Generally accepted" gourmet food depends on the culture. Your question is a bit broad, no?

I haven't been able to cook much since getting back from SF; dinner will probably be some dried fruit and nuts or something. I have some stuff to do which will keep me up for a couple of hours tonight, and I'm missing B terribly. Looking at your dinner pix helps some... Anyway, in other news, the rose vinegar I put up last month is coming along nicely. This is about a teaspoon of rose vinegar. If you recall, I sterilized a glass jar and filled it with about 1/2 cup white wine vinegar and 3-4 tablespoons organic, edible, pesticide-free rose petals. I sealed the jar, then shook it and left it in a cool, dark place. That was 2-3 weeks ago. It has a light floral bouquet and a lovely pink hue. The vinegar will steep for a little over a month before it'll be ready to use. This weekend, I'll be making a batch of preserved lemons and dukkah, using the recipes given in the Jerusalem book.

I think that might have been it. I didn't touch or inspect the wares much; we were just passing by on our way to Kin Khao. I'll eventually get around to posting pix of the cutlery. The 2nd floor of the W-S store is devoted to knives of all types -- steak knives, chef's knives, cleavers and the like.

I know about Books Inc., but their selection isn't as extensive as Green Apple Books. There's also the Fort Mason used bookstore. I got these two earlier this year. That first volume retails for $35 but I bought it for a barely a third of that price.

More...although these were at W-S: BTW Kim, those pix I shot? There are more than that. That's probably less than 25% of the food section. There was a book by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo that I wanted to get, but instead I bought these two: This is a fascinating window into how we used to eat 60 years ago, and such a contrast to the way we eat now. You have quotes like: "This nation is more interested in preserving the whooping crane and the buffalo than in perpetuating classic cooking and tableside service. We live in an age that may some day...be referred to as the time of the decline and pall of the American palate." --James Beard, as told to Craig Claiborne in a New York Times article dated April 13, 1959 Beard is commenting on the decline of French cuisine as practiced in the U.S. as the standard in culinary affairs. Then, in 1960, JFK was elected to the Presidency and one of the aftereffects of that event was Jacqueline Kennedy's role as First Lady. "France" became fashionable again, particularly in the realm of cuisine. Shortly thereafter, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was published and the rest is history. It's a story of how one man decided to eat locally for a year, and the wisdom he gained after having done so.

There's a gadget for every conceivable use in the W-S food porn store. We wondered what this was used for. I asked, but now I can't remember. I took lots of pictures this trip to celebrate the fact that I got a new camera. I can't wait for next time...*whistles mysteriously*

I haven't experienced any of the problems that some folks have, but that could be because I hadn't cooked the recipes they attempted. That being said, some of the proportions of the ingredients seem off (e.g.: the bacon in the mustard chicken, and also in the leeks.) I love the book: the photography, the writing and from what dishes I've attempted, I would say it's worth a look or two, keeping in mind what has been mentioned previously.

Shel: this is also worth checking out: http://omgyummy.com/2013/01/15/tasting-jerusalem-sumac/ There's also a fan page on Facebook, FYI, that has quite a bit of discussion going on.

We're just going to have to disagree on this one. You may think it's just a bunch of malarkey, but that is your opinion.

Oh right, I forgot about Udupi Palace. So add that to the list.

That's debatable, but be that as it may, I was referring to the boundaries I set for myself, that it's better for the principles I believe in (which I've stated elsewhere on eG) to food shop the way I do. Other people feel and act differently. Just so we're clear.

We came across a few interesting restaurants that we REALLY want to try next time: Cha-ya 762 Valencia Street (18th Street) Mission Dolores Serves "vegetarian sushi" amongst other things. Sunflower 506 Valencia Street (16th Street) Apparently, it's one of B's favorite Vietnamese hot spots in town. Dosa 995 Valencia Street (21st Street) It's supposed to be a rather famous Indian restaurant with a focus on local, organic ingredients. Eiji 317 Sanchez Street (16th Street) The Castro They make their own tofu and from what I saw of the menu, seems a cut above the usual. Sparked my curiosity in any event. B likes it.

Cook it, of course. Someone who buys into a CSA knows exactly what he or she is getting into, and if he or she doesn't, well, experience is always a good teacher. At the end of the day, it's up to the individual to do whatever he or she needs to do within the boundaries he or she sets for himself. I've set mine; and they aren't universal. I think they should be, but I don't get the choice to determine reality for the rest of the planet.

That may be, but a lot of what you've just stated is opinion and therefore unimportant to me; it's also not germane to this thread. As you know, my main objection to shopping at WF stems from something that cannot be discussed on eGullet without falling afoul of the Member Agreement. I really try not to go in there as much as possible; in the instance shown above, it was my partner who spent money. The real purpose of this trip was to spend time with him as much as possible since we don't see each other as often as I'd have liked; otherwise, I'd not have been there.

Many of the recipes from Jerusalem require things that you can make in advance. Ottolenghi mentions that if you don't have any pipelchuma, that harissa can be subbed for example (which itself can be either homemade or store-bought). He does list substitutions, so ultimately it depends on how much effort you want to exert. I didn't get to do any cooking from Jerusalem while I was in SF, that is, apart from a dish of fried tomatoes with garlic (the non-spicy version) I made for my partner. It was a hit. B will be in NYC in late August; that's awesomesauce because then it will be eggplant season and just in time for maqluba.

avocado, arugula, kimchi pico de gallo, spicy guacamole we thought it was fried pasta but I didn't ask