deensiebat

sadly that wasn't it. something slightly lesser known (by me at least).

i recently had a great whiskey sour that involved (in addition to whiskey and lemon and such) some liquor i had never seen before. i didn't see if there was sugar/syrup used, or if this liquor was providing the sweetness. the bartender didn't know anything about it (other than having been told to use it in whiskey sours). i committed the name to memory, but a few drinks later.... i think it had an o...or an n or l... maybe somewhat italian-sounding....crap i don't remember. anyone?

a friend introduced me to this simple combination: take a slice of toasted crusty bread, mash on a few slices of avocado, and sprinkle with spike. spike is a sort of hippy seasoned salt that you can often find bulk or pre-packaged. it's a surprisingly good combo -- my favorite breakfast.

thanks for all the great recipe links! now i just have to decide which one... - dp

i just had a lovely almond cake the other night (served with whipped cream and stewed kumquats), and was looking for a good recipe to recreate. this was very moist, with a nice crumb and crispy exterior (i wonder if it was flourless/eggwhite-based?). any recipe help appreciated. and hey if you have any advice for stewing kumquats, i'll take that too. i think i can handle the whipped cream. gracias!

had a happy hour-type birthday party last month, mostly because i wanted to make snacks from this book. started some grilled bread (i covet my housemates cast-iron griddle): "tunisian" devilled eggs (with harissa, capers and parsley): the avocado-sardine toasts: and some marcona almonds with rosemary (fried by trader joe's, not me): i forgot to take a picture of the herb jam, which was my favorite item, and the flat bread with feta and parsley (because it was eaten before the camera came out). i was mildly disappointed with the avocado-sardine toasts (they were yummy, but i think i was somehow expecting them to be exponentially better than the sum of their parts), but other than that all was good.

i recently made a makeshift huevos rancheros casserole for a brunch potluck, layered in a casserole dish as follows: - corn tortillas, softened in oil - refried beans - enchilada sauce (we used the 'mesa red sauce' recipe from the rebar cookbook -- basically sauteed onions and garlic, cumin and straight chili powder, simmered with some stock and cilantro and tomato paste and masa flour to thicken, though there are probably good jarred sauces out there) put the whole mess in the oven at 350 til bubbling, then add a layer of grated cheese, and crack a bunch of eggs over the top an put back in a slight warmer oven til set. we served it with a dried chili salsa and some avocado and radishes. it was kind of trashy and cheesy, but that's what i generally look for in a brunch food.

thanks for the techniques (esp the link to that great teach-in) and reassurances that i won't sicken my coworkers. we'll see how it goes....

i'm pretty fond of this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/352 and am thinking of making it for my lunch collective at work. since people eat at different times, things need to be ready-to-go. i was thinking of poaching the eggs the night before, to be heated in either a pot of simmering water or microwave. is this safe? are microwaved poached eggs gross (and/or explodable)? i think that if i keep a pot of simmering water on the stove i can steer people towards using that, but want to make sure i'm not killing them with my night-before poached eggs.

i read that in china they are sometimes called dragon's whiskers bc of the curling tendrils. aw.

matzoh ball soup -- vegetarian version with homemade broth, noodles (okay, spaghetti), leeks, parsnips, carrots and celery. (sorry for the megaphoto -- still trying to figure this out)

i just went to abhiruchi for the first time last night (after my gujarati friend said it was "almost as good as pittsburgh,' which is evidently high praise). i was surprised to read a mediocre review, bc i thought it was pretty great -- fresh-tasting produce, complex seasoning, tasty greens, etc. maybe things have improved since the last review? other than some lackluster chutneys with the papadam, i thought it was the best i'd had in this town (not saying much). i'd make the schlep out from portland again.

mmm tempeh reubens... my default tempeh treatment is to cut it into fingers or cubes, marinate in whatever i have on hand (usually a mix of soy sauce, garlic, lime juice or balsamic vinegar, sometimes ginger, rooster sauce, a touch of maple syrup/raw sugar, sometimes sesame seeds or scallions), and pan fry until crispy on the edges. this is also my default tofu marinade (i should probably branch out someday). i'm also fond of a tempeh sausage recipe adapted from the farm hippie cookbook: grate the tempeh coarsely (the recipe said to steam first, which i sometimes do), then mix with pressed garlic, minced sage leaves, soy sauce, a bit of cumin, and enough flour (and water) to bind it together (usually a few spoonfuls each). on my last batch i added an impromptu sprinkling of asafoetida, which gave it a nice edge/depth. shape into patties and pan fry.

i tried the martha stewart dainty doughnut recipe (which was remarkably similar to the food tv recipe), and added in about a half cup of mashed potatoes. i cut them out about 2 inches (using the cap to the top of my cocktail shaker) with wee little holes (the base of a pastry bag tip, which had the added advantage of a hole at the other end you could blow through to dislodge the dough). fried in non-hydrogenated shortning, shaken with sugar. amazing. although, to be fair, they all got consumed within a couple hours of being fried, so who knows how they hold up.

i second the waffle recommendation. i made them with half whole wheat flour and they're still amazingly light. and on that note -- the recipe calls for you to let the batter rise and fall overnight at room temp. i always thought that when the batter fell it was bc the yeast did their thing without being punched down and poisoned themselves with their own outgassing. but this batter clearly has a lot of rise left in it the next morning. anybody know the food science better than i do?

i just saw some raw milk for sale in portland that circumvented the law by adding a little sticker saying the product was "for dog and cat consumption only." i wonder if more places will start using that approach...

i just saw this recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?ty...MSL&site=living which i'm tempted to try bc they're just so cute (and bc their small size helps me baby-step through my fear of deep frying). although i'm wondering if i need a dough with potatoes for my dream doughnut (uberlight and airy with a crunchy outside). guidance? recipes?

i recently made a blackberry pavlova, which is now my all-time favorite blackberry treatment. make a meringue disk (i used a nigella lawson recipe that called for a touch of cornstarch and vinegar and far too much sugar), which you can flavor with vanilla and/or rosewater. upend the cooled meringe (so the mushier underside is on top), spread with loosely whipped cream and pile with blackberries. the tart berries are such a nice foil to the blandly sweet meringue and cream. it melts into sweet sludge after a few hours, so consume quickly.

there's a place in astoria called the columbian cafe (http://www.columbianvoodoo.com/) -- i haven't been, but we sent my honeymooning coworker there and she said it was phenomenal, and that people regularly make the trek out from portland just for that. i think it serves fish but no meat.