janeer

I hadn't noticed that about David's recipe, which I have set aside to try (based on the photo alone), but your description here reminded me of my favorite buckle recipe, a sort of reverse process--dump a lot of ingredients into melted butter. A one-pan wonder.

This is very different from what I have, which is more of a true starter than what looks like macerated fruit. I will post this weekend for comparison.

Would you share the recipe? I'm originally from New Jersey, if that helps.

I'm fascinated by this. A sourdough starter? What sort of cake? A spicy loaf cake with an excellent flavor and texture (could be baked in layers, I think). I have the recipe and will post it when I have time (kinda long)--maybe this weekend. Which reminds me, I have some starter in the freezer, too.

Historically, the "pudding cake" recipes and nomenclature to which I am referring were made by home cooks in the US and Canada long before the invention of the cake mix or jello puddings. They have been around for a long time. I know my mother's recipe dates back to 1912. I have found the recipe and the name in many old cookbooks. I think these would predate those that you are referring to in the photograph. Of course. They have been around forever before the mixes. The point was to show that they are popular in Europe too.

I personally bring in left-over baked goods of all kinds that I don't want to end up eating myself, everything from breads and cookies to fancy cakes and pies. Mostly, people bring in Krispy Kreme donuts (this is Nashville); I always eat at least 2 glazed.For a while people were bringing in homemade Friendship Cake, which is made from a starter that gets passed around with an expectation that you will keep it going, in part by bringing in a cake. Quite good. In my own private office, I have my personal stash of: Dove Dark Chocolate Promises; mixed dried fruit and nuts; Emmi Swiss yogurt and little containers of jam and honey from good hotels that I stir in.

It is sad to read this thread over and realize that what everyone--including me--is really bemoaning is the commercialization and mass-marketing of food and food purveyors. Gone are the true butchers, bakers, small grocers, etc. No "artisan" place or Whole Foods can replace some of the wonderful small shops I used to go to. Even the restaurants, when going out to dinner was about food and service and neighborhood more than buzz and entertainment. I still miss Voyagers in Cambridge, MA. And Lutece, discussed in another thread,of course.

pasillas

Not a great photo but: more tortilla soup

It's really been our pleasure. Thank you, and thank you for all your individual responses, to me and others, from which I learned a lot and got some great ideas.

The pickled radish appeals to me. Does it sound crazy to say that parts of Suzhou look somewhat European? Is there a historical reason for that?

I make the Portuguese sweet bread French toast with chorizo I first had at the Hope Diner in Bristol, RI. Mac and cheese, meatloaf, etc, of course, but is that really diner food, or just food we grew up on? Layer cakes, NY cheesecake, good danish, coconut cream pie--all were things you could get at a good diner when I was a kid, and that I make at home. But again, what, specifically, makes something "diner food" and not just "American food"?

In her authoritative book French Provincial Cooking, Elizabeth David discusses the differences among the sausages of Lyon and suggests some English substitutes as very close in nature. She does not, unfortunately, give a recipe for the sausage itself (although several for using it). In my penguin paperback 1970, discussion is on p. 49 and 262 on. It may be helpful.

Removing every scrap of silverskin when boning and butterflying a leg of lamb has got to be the most tedious, frustrating--although rewarding--task. I love to string things: green beans, snap peas, snow peas, celery. such a feeling of accomplishment.

I agree, don't be intimidated by DK. My favorite is still her first, Cuisines of Mexico, but all are very good and meticulous; just follow the leader.

You can get a burger but not a blueberry muffin? And: is beer for breakfast common? Sort of like having a bloody mary?

I'm curious as to how you arrived at the "tomato rule".....finfish and shrimp are caught year-round. Even blue crab is a year-round fishery along most of the Gulf Coast. Some seasonality does applies to managed species like snapper, stripers, snook, etc, but many other commonly eaten species have no closed seasons at all. I'm thinking of sheepshead, black drum, squid, hake, catfish, swordfish (well, it's only closed 1 month a year), and a whole slew of other species. In other words, fishermen are fishing year-round. They need a market for their catch year round. I am from the East Coast/Atlantic. We don't have catfish; I eat those when I am in their local area. I eat shrimp (frozen) year-round, as mentioned. I eat blues, swordfish, stripers, scrod, yellowtail, scallops, etc, when they are running where I live (I don't like to eat the swordfish that is spotted with planes) and I am THERE. I just don't eat frozen fish except for shrimp. A quirk, maybe. So I avoid fish when I am in a landlocked state--9 mos of the year.

puff pastry. rolling, folding,turning.

Somehow I've just discovered you are doing this, nakji, and just read from the beginning. All wonderful, but I have to say, the "pig leg tied to the bannister" made my day. The photos of your easily obtainable snacks--I would give anything for some of those crispy chive dumplings--are wonderful. Great insight to a place I've never been. Thank you.

My grandmother was a sensational cook and baker. I was stunned once when she told me that her meatloaf was essentially off the Quaker Oats box. things I've enjoyed: the chocolate ice box cake from the box of chocolate wafers. Famous things from packages: Toll House cookies. Lipton's French onion dip.

Having grown up on coasts, and living in fishing areas in the summer, I follow the "tomato rule" for fish: I eat it when in season only. Other than shrimp, I only eat fish and other shellfish (scallops, etc) in the summer through fall, or when things are running, when I know it came right out of the water. During the academic year I live in Nashville, and I can't even LOOK at the fish in the market. I do freeze fresh-caught fish sometimes.

Beautiful! Can you tell me what kind of tofu you use for stuffed tofu and what is the stuffing? Thank you! I used a fresh (silken) tofu bought from a Chinese supermarket here in the UK. I actually cheated a bit for the stuffing (!) Traditionally, you would use a mixture of pork and perhaps some white fish of some sort or even prawns if you were feeling a bit indulgent. My mother used to put some dried fish in the mixture. However, I just used pork (belly again for the fat) and added a load of fish sauce to give it that umami hit and added some finely chopped spring onions. I would like to try this sometime, thank you. The tofu in the photo looked very firm, I will look for something like that.

It is similar to, as Jenni says, paneer. Not quite as smooth as ricotta; it is dry (but moist tasting), very fine curds, crumbles if you wish. Used for blintzes, pierogies, etc. It is a great substitute for queso blanco as well--sprinkling on Mexican dishes.

That's been my experience as well. I've had some nasty cuts from dull box cutter blades slipping, and I change them pretty regularly now. Same thing with my kitchen knives, they are regularly sharpened these days. Whenever I've gotten a little slice it has healed quickly and easily. Thankfully I haven't had anything more than minor mistakes, though. My box grater must be pretty dull by now, but I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse. I just caught my knuckle the other day when grating some beets, and you couldn't tell where I stopped and the beets started. When all was said and done it was not as bad as it initially looked, maybe the dullness saved me this time. Oh yes, get cut by the box grater grating cheese EVERY time. Microplane, no.

I think you have figured it out.