Kevin72
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Posts posted by Kevin72
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I don't think the almonds would make much of a difference, but the apple cider vinegar probably would. It's got a more pronounced flavor: not stronger, just different and maybe more fruity. White wine and champagne vinegar are much more neutral and about the acidity they bring to the game.
The technique you describe seems to be one Mario likes; he's done it before in other recipes, though not on raw fillets. Sounds more Spanish-inspired.
Here I am responding two weeks after you posted. Hope it turned out all right.
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Sini Fulvi and Locatelli are two good "Pecorino Romano"-style pecorinos (i.e., longer aged and more for grating). They're not as salty and harsh as the generic Pecorino Romano you get at the grocery store.
Otherwise, as other posters have said, I generally look at what part of Italy the recipe is from for an idea of what kind of cheese to use. Starting from Tuscany on southwards, it's more likely than not to be some form of pecorino. When authors suggest combining the two it's generally I think to soften the harsher pecorino that was most available until recently. You do use both pecorino and parmigiano traditionally in pesto but it is the younger fiore sardo type.
I really like pecorino to grate over vegetable-based sauces that have been simmered only in olive oil. For some reason it takes very well when combined with fresh mint as a garnish.
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This has moved into the ill-fated Assi Mart/GMart/Gallery Foods location on Spring Creek and Custer, next to the original Jasmine.
Though it's been open almost a month now, it still seems like it's finding its legs. The aisles are mislabeled and there's some empty spots, like it's waiting to filled. Produce was a little beat up looking.
But the big find here is the halal butcher in the back, offering a wide array of lamb and goat meat including whole lambs in the butcher case (minus the head). There's all kinds of specialty meats and offal in the case as well.
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Panicking that they may not be around Houston much longer, I tried to get a reservation there last Saturday. Fortunately for them but unfortunately for me, they were booked except at the very earliest and very latest seatings. Hopefully things continue to do well for them in Houston.
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I liked Waxman but he seemed to just give up once they hit the semifinals, particularly after his throwdown with the judges a few eps back. It got pretty frustrating having him do the requisite "I'm just going to cook what I want" every episode. He kept getting called out for it and looked like he didn't care at that point. So I think the dish he went out on was his final shrug of indifference: cooking what I want anyways, and here's some sliced avocado on the side.
Last season of TCM had its problems but finished very strong, including the finale, which remains the best single episode of Top Chef I've seen. Hopefully they don't tinker with that formula and just step back and let them tear loose this time.
I think that TCM and Next Iron Chef have the same problems: they brought out the big guns for their first season, chefs with a national recognition quotient. Now with the following season you're probably pulling for a chef because they're from your city. I was well acquainted with last year's TCM finalists, this year I only really know Samuelson and Fenniger.
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While I'm a sucker for any kind of cooking instructional shows, I am a little dismayed at how far and wide the Giada/Rachel model of cooking programs has spread. So even cooking shows from the UK involve attractive female hosts with low-cut blouses simplifying traditional recipes. So there was a Chinese food at home cooking show that scaled things back and the host seemed to cook minor variations on the same thing every ep. And there was a French cooking show that did the same. I guess since these are all Scripps properties it makes sense though.
I have enjoyed the Julia reruns and at least once an episode I have to marvel at the fact that these were shot in 1978 and yet as another poster said above, she's still at the fore of the pack. The Indian cooking show seems promising, even if it does still follow the Scripps model. Indian cuisine is woefully unrepresented on cooking shows though so I'm happy to take what I can get. Love watching Jamie at Home, Mario, and Sarah no matter how many times I've seen them. But I wish they'd break out 90s Molto Marios and some Cooking Live, too.
So it's a mixed bag for me. I guess they'll take a stab at more original programming at some point but I don't have much hope it'll be any good.
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According to the preface of my copy of Essentials, it's made up of The Classic Italian Cookbook and its sequel. Is there any reason to recommend the original "Classic" over "Essentials"- other than the fact it's no doubt shorter?
It's not a straight up combination of the two: they're both streamlined and combined. So you miss some recipes. Also if memory serves they remove the menu suggestions--what to serve each dish with--that was with each recipe in "Classic".
I think "Classic" is worth tracking down and I did more or less cook my way through it for my first year of cooking, so I think it's a great candidate for this project.
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Well, blurgh. As if it weren't obvious now in late March, the Green Room reopening has been delayed way past their original January date. Nancy Nichols at D magazine originally posted that the deal was dead in the water, but one of the partners behind the concept popped up in comments to say that they still planned on opening it, despite losing Chef James Pitzer back to Washington state. Teresa Gubbins at Pegasusnews has more.
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Wine glasses or wine caraffes? Plates?
See if the certificates are good at Williams Sonoma's Home store. $250 should get you . . . a picture frame. Or a fork, maybe.
What about cutting boards? They seem have some really quality, sturdy wooden cutting boards. They also carry the enameled cast iron cookware, and if you don't have one of those I think that'd be pretty essential.
Finally they have these really cool looking mesh pans that you use over grills. If you've ever seen the No Reservations Spain episode you know what I'm talking about.
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There's a couple of print resources you can use:
Italian Holiday Cooking by Michele Scicolone, and Celebrating Italy by Carol Field. Neither one goes into specific detail on the background of the zeppole themselves but they do give quite a bit of information on the San Giuseppe holiday itself. As others here have said, zeppole changes meaning depending on where you are. Both of these resources, plus Sweet Sicily by Victoria Granof, follow Sicilian traditions for St Joseph's Day, where zeppole most often refer to fried balls of dough tossed with cinnamon and sugar, but if they're stuffed with pastry cream or ricotta, they're called sfince or bigne. But go to Napoli, for example, and stuffed fried dough is called zeppole.
San Giuseppe is the patron saint of pastry chefs, so many of the foods most commonly associated with the feast are sweet and breads and then fried or baked pastries.
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Hi Charlie:
If you do a search on this board, you'll find many single-topic threads on dishes and recipes and their origins. Additionally, there are threads devoted to the cooking and cuisines of each region of Italy that several posters on this board undertook in 2006-2007.
If you don't find anything you're looking for--say, for example, a thread on carne cruda--feel free to start one and we'll be happy to share knowledge with you and your students.
It sounds like a great project and hope we can help!
Kevin
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Whew! You had me worried for a second there. I really like her writing and support of the Houston food scene.
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Vietnamese institution Mai's was engulfed in flames and its roof collapsed this morning, according to this site. Terrible news. Like I'd imagine alot of Houstonians, I picked up my love of Vietnamese food there. eG even held an event there with Anthony Bourdain several years back.
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You say you're coming to Texas but whereabouts and for how long? Are you trying to figure out which cities to go to? Are you only in DFW or are Houston and Austin in consideration?
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Glad that they are picking up more business, even if it's bringing in some less open minded people. We tried to get there over the Holidays but they were closed. Everything you had sounded awesome, and you're right: the smell that you get right when you walk in is incredible. Like every great holiday meal you've ever had all at once.
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I haven't tried my luck with curing guanciale yet but when I've bought it from a local Italian deli or eaten it at a restaurant it's been fatty like in your pic.
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I highly recommend Pyles or York St. with a slight edge to Pyles, but prepare yourself for price shock on their wine list. If you do Pyles I'd recommend gravitating more to the apps and ceviche choices than the mains though.
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Check the cooking forum as well. I know Hathor, another poster here, has been and posted extensively about it.
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Hmmm. I stand corrected. Thanks for the tips. Looked for Paloma on K before but didn't find it.
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To get Rico's back for a second, Good Co. Barbecue was really good (not Lockhart good, but better than anything I've had in Dallas), back in the late 80's early 90s when they weren't afraid to use spice and seasoning. I remember their jalapeno cheese bread as being damn near inedible to my virgin taste buds. But I went there several years back and it had fallen far from grace.
Busboy I think you might have better luck with both 'cue and taquerias in Ft. Worth. Any good taquerias in the Dallas area will be either downtown or on Beltline close to 35, which sounds pretty out of the way for you. BBQ wise in Ft. Worth you have Angelo's or Railhead, which are still better than anything i've had in the Dallas area.
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Things are in full swing for the Holidays at Jimmy's. They were well stocked with cotechino, the large sausage traditional for New Year's in Italy. Also they have tons of nougat and of course pannetone.
Finally, they were carrying at the deli bottarga, the pressed, cured tuna or mullet roe used in Sicilian and Sardegnian cooking. Whole bottarga, not the flakes that come in a shake bottle. Unfortunately, it was $30 per piece so I didn't get it this time.
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Marcella Hazan's Classic Italian Cookbook, which my Mom gave me after I saw Big Night for the first time and couldn't get Italian cooking out of my head.
Culinary Artistry by Dorenburg and Page helped "elevate" my cooking into a more experimental vein. Can't wait to get Flavor Bible.
A bit of a cheat here, but it does answer the "Made me the cook I am" question . . . having access to the Food Network in the late 90s and first year or two of this decade. Sara Moulton and the great Cooking Live was still on, Ming Tsai was still on, Batali's first version of Molto Mario, Emeril wasn't yet rampant, and Rachel Ray was still doing cooking demos in a department store somehwere. Wide exposure to basic techniques, cuisines, regionality, seasonality . . . there were days were I literally just had it on all day long.
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Eats blog has more details. Including a revamped approach to cocktails; I always wished when I was there they could come up with cocktails as innovative as their food. Also I like that both Pierce and new chef Mike Smith play up the "fun" angle to the food.
Though they note that "Feed Me Wine Me" isn't coming back, replaced by "Green Me" with an emphasis on local food and organic wines.
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The ever resourceful Teresa Gubbins has the scoop. Mike Smith, a previous sous chef there, will be running the kitchen. Club Dada will also be returning in an attempt to revitalize the neighborhood.
I've really, really missed this place since it closed three years ago(!). Many fantastic meals there and a true sense of fun and whimsy permeated the food when they were on.
Dallas Dining Suggestions
in Texas: Dining
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What cuisines/types of restaurants would you be looking for?