TongoRad
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Posts posted by TongoRad
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Similar to tamales, I like to do a riff on Rick Bayless' Tamal, which is essentially a great big version of the same thing. I don't have the recipe in front of me right now but the procedure is pretty simple. The beauty of the thing comes from cooking it in the presence of wood smoke for over an hour.
The filling is usually pork. You can either smoke it, braise it, stew it in a chile sauce- whatever you prefer- followed by shredding it when cool enough to handle. It also pays to have some chile sauce on hand. To prepare just line a loaf pan with the banana leaves, fill about an inch high with your masa mixture, add a layer of the pork and sauce, add more masa mixture and cover with the banana leaves.
I do mine on the outdoor propane grill with one side turned on and one side turned off, I place the pan on the 'off side'. I try to maintain 325 degrees and add wood chips (oak or mesquite) to the other side as I go. After it's done let it cool somewhat, remove from the pan and leaves, and slice it about 1" thick. I like to serve it with a pico de gallo made from fire roasted tomatoes and a bit of chipotle or morita powder added.
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Amy Viny
I'm fascinated by the process and would like to try a partial grain batch next. I do however like the idea of a 2.5 gal batch rather than a 5. Would there be any issues about having too much air if I made these smaller batches in the standard 6 gal fermenters?First of all, Amy, welcome to the world of homebrewing. I wish you success. The short answer to your question is that that larger fermenter shouldn't be much cause for concern provided you rack the beer into a smaller secondary immediately after fermentation is complete and positive flow of CO2 has ceased. I hope you have an airlock, btw. The size of the batch you brew should depend entirely on the size of the secondary carboy plus a half gallon or so. In other words, if you have a 2.5 gal carboy then brew 3 gallons for your primary ferment. You want the secondary to be filled damn near to the top.
I'm sorry, but I am not familiar with MrBeer at all, but if you describe your setup I can be more specific with any additional advice you need.
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With broccoli rabe, in particular, blanching mellows out the flavor somewhat. But I kinda like that intensity myself. When it's just for me and my wife I don't blanch it, but I do when we have guests. Not blanching can also be a bit of a crapshoot because sometimes that characteristic that I've heard described as an 'iodine sting' can be a bit much, even for me. Then again I've also had it where a lot of the character has been blanched out of it, so I choose to live dangerously
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jaynesb:
For the thali, there is a weekly schedule. I don't think it's listed anywhere though.Great post, Jayne, and thanks for reminding me- I deduced the schedule a while back and then confirmed it with Jay, the manager. I don't think they post it because he likes to give the kitchen some flexibility (in that there is a daily 'featured vegetable' but it will be given a different treatment from week to week.) I'm there once, maybe twice, per month as well but so far this list has held up in my experience:
Monday- Eggplant
Tuesday- Baby Squash
Wednesday- Green Beans
Thursday- Okra
Friday- Beets (?)*
*About the beets- the whole reason I started noting what was served on each particular day was so that I could figure out when the beets would be served, being a personal favorite. Recently (Sept./Oct.) I was there on a Thursday and I saw Jay and asked about the beets, being that I can't seem to get there on a Friday anymore. He brings up that they are considering doing something else on Fridays because a lot of their clientele is from Northern India and they aren't so crazy about the beets, apparantly it's more of a Southern thing. Of course I try to get him to change his mind and he goes into the kitchen to talk with the guys. He soon comes out and assures me that the beets will indeed remain on the Friday thali. I'm pretty positive that I wasn't that persuasive, or even have any pull at all, I just think that I told him what he wanted to hear.
So here's the ironic part: since then I have only been able to get there on a Wednesday or a Thursday (hence the above question mark), including last Thursday which did feature okra. Perhaps some internet fueled recon is in order...
The rasam is especially good for clearing out sinuses. One spoon is usually all I can take of it.Got that right!
It does seem like it has gotten progressively spicier over the past few years. My chronic sinus infections also seem to have gone away during that time. Coincidence? I think not. -
Manhattan, huh? Geez, man, that's in your own backyard. I come from a whole other state! (...to be fair, I do have family and an office on the island...)
OK, all kidding aside I'll give you two ways. It's on Route 107 (South Broadway), about a 1/2 mile south of Old Country Road, next door to a Subzi Mandhi and just past a House of Spices shop (turn there to get access to the parking lot). There is, or was, another Subzi Mandhi north of Old Country Road, so don't let that throw you.
If you're a direct route type of person all you have to do is take the LIE to Route 107 South. Proceed south on 107 until you cross Old Country Road and then start looking on your right.
Another way is to take the Grand Central Parkway/Northern State to the Wantagh Pkwy southbound. Exit at Old Country Road east, proceed for a mile or two to Route 107 and turn right and start looking. This way avoids the Broadway Mall area and some annoying traffic lights.
Also, have you tried Dosa Hutt or Dosa Hut?Unfortunately my travels have not yet taken me to the famed Dosa Hutt, but I have been to a few 'imitators' (as mentioned in the article) and a bunch of other Southern Indian places. I do hope to get there one day. Interestingly, a long time ago (6 years?) House of Dosas was briefly called Dosa Hutt in their old location. Since they moved they've been trying to be as much a restaurant as a snack place, and doing quite a bangup job at it, imo.
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I’ll offer up my most solid overall recommendation for House of Dosas in Hicksville (416 South Broadway), though for this post I’m singling out the Thali Lunch special, offered weekdays only. (For the record I’m also crazy about the chile and onion masala dosa- I especially love the interaction between the raw red onion and coconut chutney- as well as their iddlies).
The house style is of elegance and balance, with intricately woven and clean flavors, certainly not one of blandness. They are also not shy with the chiles, though they tend to come off as a flavoring component rather than for heat. YMMV, but in my experience this is all very difficult to pull off.
What you get on the thali (served on the real deal- stainless steel tray and serving bowls) are the following: sambar, rassam, dal tadka, two vegetable curries, yogurt, plain basmati or a roti substitution, another ‘fancier’ rice, milikai podi, papad, and dessert. Quite a value for $7.07 (including tax).
The rassam, a flavorful and spicy vegetable broth with the occasional tomato or sprig of fresh coriander, is wonderfully aggressive. The sambar, a thoor dal and vegetable stew, is rich and smooth. The milikai podi, an intensely sour and flavorful vegetable pickle, is made fresh daily. These items, along with the nicely creamy dal tadka, yogurt and papad, are the same every day.
The curries, rice and dessert differ each day. The coconut rice is my favorite, but I have yet to have one that wasn’t very good. Same with the dessert items- recently I had a vermicelli pudding flavored with saffron that was simply exquisite. The vegetable curries are complimentary to one another and are usually non-menu items.
There is nothing wrong with the dosas, btw, and there are plenty of options to choose from. But if you’re there on a weekday and like a little variety this is one heck of an option.
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Rien-
In regards to storing corked bottles of beer:
In my experience they are always stored vertically, and I can think of a few reasons why, but I checked around and these guys have provided a more thorough answer than I ever could (see link).
Cheers!
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Man, I love salt bagels. But they gotta be fresh. There is nothing worse in bagelland than a salt bagel that's gone all soggy. And lots of salt too- I don't want to see the surface of the bagel. I want it to be a painfully good experience, complete with teary eyes and a slightly scraped upper palate. All mitigated, of course, with loads of soft squishy butter, which is the perfect foil for the stinging attack of the salt. And a giant cuppa joe to wash it all down.
Just don't tell your doctor.....
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I had some friends over this past Saturday for a day of football and I don't see why the Super Bowl should be so different, as far as food is concerned. I like to do things that are easy to serve and can be eaten on the couch.
A lot of what we did was take-out, and as such is restaurant-specific, but I did add a few things of my own. The lineup was (and probably will be):
Babagannus
Acili Ezme
Cacik (homemade)
- served with flat breads
Chicken Schwarma
Chili with tortillas (from a restaurant, but broadly in the Texas Red style)
Suicidal Wings (from Planet Wings)
My own Picadillo Casserole (seasoned sliced potatoes on the bottom, covered with beef picadillo- Cuban style sloppy joes- and topped with sweet plantains)
Black Beans
The beers were Spaten Optimator and Smuttynose IPA.
I also had some dessert and coffee ready to go but we were all too full. The plan worked out very well- lots of grazing while the casserole was in the oven, and then that made its appearance during halftime. Easy and tasty...
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As far as fructose vs. sucrose, they both sound pretty dismal to me :)
Homebrewer Geek Mode:
That may be true, but the way I understand it sucrose and cane sugar are one and the same. It is a disaccharide (two sugars joined together) as opposed to fructose which is a monosaccharide. The disaccharide will taste less cloying, or sweet, on the palate.
The important part, I suppose, is that the imported Coke just seems to taste better.
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Is this difference limited to Mexican Coke? Lately I've been getting Coke at this Roti shop in Queens that has been imported from the Carribean (I'll have to check the label next time for exactly where), and it lists 'sucrose' as an ingredient, as opposed to 'high fructose corn syrup'. I've been wondering why they would sell island Coke but I guess it makes a difference.
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I'm not sure if this is for romantic reasons or practical ones, but #1 prefered is at right angles and #2 is across if we can't get a fourtop. The disclaimer is that I have a bad ear so I like to look at the face of the person with whom I'm conversing. If we're seated at a fourtop with two chairs opposite a bench I'll grab the chair.
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I do a lot of entertaining of family and friends so I actually have quite a few signature dishes. Invariably at gatherings the question will come up :"so, what kind of chili have you been making lately?" or wings, or something like that. It is usually an interesting topic of conversation but, interestingly, when I get requests for something to make it's not along those lines. I guess in reality they don't want me to hurt them
My most requested dish (probably because people consider it exotic-yet-familiar) is a Tajine of Rabbit with Lemons and Olives. I would make this as a featured part of a sort of pan-Mediterranean meal starting with cold antipasti, mezze and bread. The rabbit is served atop couscous and a family style serving of a veggie sauteed with garlic and EVOO (probably escarole). This is a great meal, winter, spring, summer, or fall.
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A couple of recent experiences at Indian restaurants in Bergen County:
We went to A Taste of India in Bergenfield on New Years Eve weekend. I really want to like this place, I really do, not only because it's close to my house but because it seems like they're trying to be a notch above everything else in the area. But they have a maddening tendency to pull their punches as far as the spicing of their dishes is concerned. I also think we may have ordered poorly on this particular occasion- my wife was in the mood for a 'greatest hits' kind of dinner so we got the Lamb with Spinach, the Tandoori Mixed Grill (or whatever they call it), and Aloo Gobi.
Nothing was exceptional, and the lamb certainly could have been more tender. Some of the tandoori items were surprisingly good- particularly the Chicken Tikka. Instead of cutting the breast they place the entire thing on the skewer, rolled up, and cut it afterwards. It was tasty and juicy. The aloo gobi had a watered down quality, almost like they didn't adjust the seasoning properly in their attempt to make a curry sauce out of what normally is a dryish dish.
I have had better meals there, though, and now I am of the mind to stick to the Southern and Goan dishes. And plead with them to spice it up. The iddlies, Sambar, Goan Shrimp, Coconut Soup, etc., have always been successful little add-ons to my orders but from now on I'm going to make that the focus of my ordering and see how it goes.
...and in the other corner...
I finally made it to Kinara last week, albeit for the buffet lunch, and as loathe as I am to judge a place based on the buffet, it was immediately apparent that they are operating on a completely different level. Many great dishes indeed.
In fact, the Sarson ka Saag was magnificent. Fresh, unblanched, spinach flavor up front balanced nicely with a rich and vibrantly spiced sauce. The Kerala Mushrooms was another big winner. The Chicken Jalferzzi was too mild for my taste but, since it was the only meat dish offered, I suspect that this was purposefully done to make it more accessible (I could be all wet on that theory, though, but the mildness did seem out of place). But...it was served on the bone, which is always a good sign. And even the pickles at the salad bar had a homemade quality.
I also loved the Masala Tea, and this is a place where I give props for having a gentle touch. Too many times I have been assaulted with an overpowering perfume of crushed cardomom seeds in the tea. Not here. There was a really nice balance between the tea (which may have been Darjeeling, but don't quote me on it, the wait staff was too busy for me to verify) and spices.
Overall a great first impression.
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I just tried the Bufalo Chipotle sauce. Rich and thick and full of smoky goodness, and not too hot- so you don't have to go easy on it. I'm going to have to get another bottle soon because this one ain't gonna last too long. Add another one to my favorites list.
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Sure Fern, just a few thoughts:
#1) Blue Cheese!!!! You just have to serve some sort of blue veined cheese with tawny port! If you don't do it then the entire balance of the universe will be undone! Even if you don't like blue cheese you just have to do it- it is the single best wine and food pairing in the history of ever. The port and cheese combine on the palate to create an entirely new flavor akin to butterscotch or toffee, and it is so wonderful. ...other than that I have no strong feelings on the topic...
Personally I'd be inclined to let the Cockburn's sit for another decade or so and invest in two more bottles for the tasting, one of which could be moderately priced. If you only intend to serve three bottles and want to include the vintage style (bottle aged as opposed to barrel aged) , an LBV might be one way to go.
A 40 year tawny is a beautiful but mellow thing. To appreciate the spectrum of what port has to offer you should also serve some younger bottlings. Definitely a 20 year tawny (Taylor Fladgate, if it is available) along with the LBV, if you choose to go that route.
Walnuts will be a good choice all around. I think I am familiar with the aleppo pepper (I think I've seen it called Syrian pepper), and it's not too aggressive a flavor so pairing it with a younger port should be an interesting matchup.
But definitely, above all else, the blue cheese!
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I work in the construction field, so sometimes I come in contact with a lunch wagon that has the 2-pack microwaved White Castles available and in my estimation there is no comparrison to the real thing. And the real thing still pales in relation to White Manna.
I wouldn't call their fries bad, though. Nondescript is more like it (shades of grey, I guess...). But in my fantasy world there is a place with White Manna burgers and All-American (Massapequa, NY) fries.
All-American is also a throwback fast food joint, and they still use real potatoes for their fries. All I know about their preparation is from observation but it seems that they are first steamed and then roughed up a bit to remove the skin. But...all of the skin isn't removed, which is key. Then the potato is run through a square cutter, but since potatoes are irregularly shaped there are these little slivers of potatoes that go into the oil. As you can imagine these little slivers get nice and crunchy and probably help to flavor the oil. And it's still fast-food cheap! And the burgers are really good, in a fast food sense, but not as good as White Manna.
Sorry if this was all off topic.
But I find the White Castle fries just as nondescript as White Manna, but in only a crinkly sense
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However, they frequently run out of stuff, so you basically have to order whatever they have avaliable -- don't get your heart set on ordering a particular dish.
That's what frustrated me about the old location. That, and never being able to get a table. But I'm glad to see that she is doing well enough to get a bigger space (1st 'woo-hoo'). I always found her to be genuinely nice and a great ambassador for her culture, so I'll have to venture over there soon.
And I shouldn't do it, but... I've already got my heart set on those pasteles- 2nd 'woo-hoo' (my experience with them is that I could only get them at certain times of the year. I have an aunt who would make them as part of a church community event because the recipe calls for making so many of them at once.)
That cubano looks like they've gotten better at making them (I think the last one I had there, about 2 years ago, may have been rushed- which may have been brought on by all the take-out folks crowding the counter). I'm psyched!
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Ruth
I like sour cherries but they would be difficult to find right nowOut of season you can always take some dried cherries and soak them in some port, or cherry kijafa, or something along thoose lines and deglaze with the whole works. I just loooove to add a bit of fresh tarragon to something like that.
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This part:
The beer poured with the PerfectDraft® is exactly the same as the bottled or canned beer but it is always served at the ideal temperature of 3°C, at the right pressure and with the perfect foam head.doesn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies. It seems to indicate that the beer has been sterile filtered and/or pasteurized, which defeats the whole point of draft beer imo.
But... it does seem like a step up from those gravity disppensed party kegs so if the price is right I could see its being a nice home convenience. If it increases your enjoyment of beer that's all that matters. Cheers!
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GusStir fry ginger and garlic very quickly (10 seconds) then add ground beef. Lob in spring onions, and vegetables finely diced too if you like. Then lob in chili bean sauce (hot!) and a larger amount of hoi sin sauce to taste. And perhaps some soy sauce. You end up with a chinese sauce to be stirred into noodles.That sounds similar to something that I saw Ming Tsai do on TV- he called it Chinese Sloppy Joe and put it on a bun. I've been meaning to make it...
Luckyliesstuffed cabbage....mmmm. and you can freezw it just fine and it's cheap as dirt.Along the same line, my wife makes what she calls 'unstuffed cabbage', essentially the same ingredients cooked in the same pot. The cabbage is shredded and distributed amongst the filling and the sauce. Just as tasty and more managable to prepare (unfortunately sometimes corners must be cut).
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A Cuban style picadillo (with olives, raisins, cinnamon, etc.) is always nice. In the manner of a Cuban place near my house I serve mine on top of a cooked plaintain, sliced lengthwise- sort of like a savory banana split.
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Yeah, definitely stay local (talk about an embarassment of riches...)
If you want something to please a wide spectrum of drinkers I'd suggest trying the Pike Place Pale Ale, or even the MacTarnahan's Amber. They're great session beers, straightforward and not too bitter, yet interesting. The Pyramid Snowcap is probably too strong for this circumstance.
I'm not familiar with the Deschutes Cascade Ale but on the whole I love everything that I've had from that brewery. If they still make Bachelor ESB, I'd look into that one as well.
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anyone try any of the blair sauces.. I am expecting an order from mo hotta and got the following.. Anyone like any of these :
1 10019 Blair's "Original" Death Hot Sauce with Skull Key Chain
That's my all time fave. I don't get it as much as I should, mostly because I haven't found a local source. But when I have a bottle in the house it doesn't last too long. I much prefer the original to the 'After Death" (which is the same thing with Pure Cap added), mostly because I like to use a lot at a time.. Great flavor as well as heat...
For the money, though, you just can't beat El Yucateco. Despite the artificial 'gumby green' color it has a real purity about it. I also have the 'All Natural" version (I forget what it's called) and have come to understand why they color the green product- when you blend green and orange peppers you get a very unappealing-looking brown-colored sauce. I'm not sure how much hotter it is than the green one but it does pack a whollop. I think I can still get the green for under $2/bottle.
I haven't had Marie Sharp's but I think it is essentially the same as Melinda's, which is a classic habenero/ carrot combination. There's a nice sweetness about it. Melinda's XXX has a greater proportion of habs to carrots.
Superbowl Food
in Cooking
Posted
We were unable to go anywhere or to entertain so it was just my wife and myself. Of course, chili and wings seem to be required items so that's what we did, with some variations just to keep it interesting.
The chili, to use the term very broadly, was Rick Bayless' Black Beans and Greens, with the corn masa dumplings. I used a guajillo/pasilla based sauce and chopped kale for the greens. It was a nice combination, hearty and satisfying.
I also made Bufalo Chipotle wings- note the spelling- made with mostly Bufalo Chipotle Sauce, and a little Blazing Saddles thrown in for kicks. Very tasty and a nice change of pace.