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NancyH

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Everything posted by NancyH

  1. lmarshal - I just signed up to take one (with my husband for the first time) at Viking on tamale making - I've always wanted to learn about working with masa, but it intimidates me a little. The least expensive ones will be with the community adult school; commercial ones cost a little more.
  2. It's kind of a cool story. I was trying to eat "healthier", and I had ruined my first attempt at wokking by adding a lot of 5 spice powder (thinking it would make the food spicy). I noticed in the paper the local Adult School was offering Chinese Cooking classes. I signed up. The classes were held at the home of the instructor and were limited to 8-10 people. She has a portable table that unfolds and holds about 8 people comfortably around it. We each took a place, and the teacher walked us through several recipes "hands on". We each made dumpling dough and fillings, then filled our dough. Cooking was done over a pertable butane stove right at the teaching table. Since I moved to Cleveland, I have found other opportunities for classes - Viking Range and Sur La Table have stores here that offer classes, and there are at least three local cooking schools that I know of; I have also taken classes from, again, my local community adult school. It is well worth the time and trouble!
  3. I'll bring it back to my 1999 experience in China, since a number of you seem to know the specific places. The Shangahai restuarant where the server told us to tip was Meilongzhen, on Nanjing Xi Road. My food diary tells me we had a fabulously good meal there (hairy crab, long beans and fried fish) and that most of the clientel there was Asian. It would make sense that we might have been treated differently because we were obviously tourists - except that we had been told that the reason for the "no tipping" rule is that communists consider tipping to be bourgeoisie. So, if the tourists are being treated differently these days, it would seem that money has to some extent trumped ideology!
  4. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    Interesting article. But, to get the tzimmes to the consistency my grandpa made, you have to cook it a lot longer. The story in my family is that, after my grandfather died, mom tried (with grandma's help) to make tzimmes a couple of times, but it never came out "right". So she stopped trying to make it. I'm not sure how I discovered that the secret is to cook it 6-8 hours until everything is caramelized, but I think it makes all the difference between a ho hum stew and a great tzimmes.
  5. I think if you read closely, you will find that BT often suggests substitutions for ingredients in the recipes in China Moon; the key is to understand the techniques - the "why behind the what" - to get "restuarant" results. That is what I find so valuable about this book. There is no exact substitute for the flavor of Szechuan Peppercorns, however. There is another thread discussing availability and sources for this item in the Chinese Cooking forum. Also - there are no photos in Modern Art, either - I don't know why; both books could have used them. I had already taken a class on Dim Sum before I got the book, so I didn't miss the photos as much; I love her dumpling fillings and the Garlic Hosein Dipping Sauce, which gets inhaled every time I make it for a party.
  6. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    Ok, so I ordered my fish for Gefilte, but I can't get any carp here in Cleveland (the purveyor said, "carp - you must be from New York!"). Any suggestions on a good "supermarket" choice to lend some fat and mouthfeel to the pike and whitefish mixture I'm getting?
  7. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    What is the "egci" method of stock making??
  8. NancyH

    Fragrant Jasmine rice

    Jasmine and Basmati are different. Jasmine, like regular medium and long grain rice, wants to be rinsed in several changes of water. Once it is thoroughly rinsed, it should come out wonderfully using either a rice cooker or pot on stove method. Basmati, on the other hand, does not lend itself to the rice cooker - I think it needs a harder boil. Most important, with Basmati, is that it needs to be soaked, not just rinsed, for at least 15 minutes. Most of these rices have directions imprinted on the bags, or on a tag sewn into the bag. Older rice wants more water because it is drier. Can't help with brown rice - I never use the stuff! Good luck!
  9. I am looking for quality, fresh food - preferably fish or seafood, which is hard to get with good quality in Cleveland (where I live). Ethnic and spicy of all types is especially preferred. I avoid chains, but I had a good meal at Pappadeux last year when I was there, so I also try to avoid pre-conceived notions!
  10. If it is periodically getting rusty, you are not seasoning it well enough. I used to have that problem until I followed the instructions in Barbara Tropp's "China Moon" cookbook for seasoning a carbon steel wok (sorry to bring that up again! I think it is also in her "Modern Art of Chinese Cooking" book) - I heated the wok in segments, placing the metal directly against the highest flame I could get on my stove until it changed color completely, then rubbed oil in and repeated. The two woks I have treated this way have never rusted!
  11. This discussion is a fascinating example of what my friend on this list - Jo-Mel, refers to as the delights of Mom's meatloaf - everyone's mom makes it a little differently, but one is usually not "better" than another - they are all just different. Sounds like you should use a lot of garlic in your baba if you really like garlic, otherwise use less. Charring the eggplant whole until it is black is something I never knew about, though; if we ever get any eggplant in our garden, I will definitely try it!
  12. Is laowai/gweilo a more polite term to refer to a Western person than lowfan?
  13. We recently had a big brouhaha in Cleveland over a prominent restaurant that was using the pool system for the coat check and valet staff also - but not giving the money to the workers directly; they would use the money to "treat" the workers to a party or something. A reporter stumbled onto this by accident when she attended a function at the place, and got into a conversation with the coat check girl about it. She wrote about it and solicited opinions; the restaurant was embarrassed and claimed that the employees had "voted" for the system years ago (not even the same people) and that the employees liked the system. I think the publicity shamed them into changing the policy.
  14. The toy I want the most right now but can't afford: a laser thermometer for checking serving temperatures of food and cooking surfaces.
  15. Perhaps the flavor differential is from roasting it then squeezing out the liquor. If you are using Western eggplant, try salting the pieces with Kosher Salt for 30 minutes before you roast; you can then use the liquid you get in roasting (Chinese cookbook author Barbara Tropp refers to that liquid as "liquor") in the dish and I expect it enhances the flavor. Asian types of eggplant don't need to be salted to get the bitter out, so if that is what you are using, I'm not sure it will make a difference. Our eggplant plants have so far yielded one Thai eggplant, and that's all.
  16. As long as I'm thinking about my upcoming visit to Chicago - any suggestions for good places to eat in the general vicinity of Arlington Heights? We'll be staying at the Sheraton there for a weekend with a car.
  17. I will share my China tipping story; Gary, perhaps the fact that it happened in Shanghai has something to do with it. My husband and I visited China in November 1999. Though we were with a tour group, we were "on our own" the first two nights in Shanghai. We went to a restuarant listed in the tour book, and the menu actually had some English in it. Between that and the little bit of Mandarin Jo-Mel has taught me, we managed to get a wonderful dinner even though no one in the restaurant spoke much English. At the end of the meal, Bob handed the waitress his credit card. She returned with the slip and, as she handed it to him with one hand (before he even got a chance to look at it), she pointed to the line where the diner can add a gratuity and said, "You tip, you tip!". Ergo, we concluded that tipping is alive and well in China, or at least Shanghai. NJH
  18. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    Another item discussed on the Passover thread, which is equally applicable to Rosh Hashonah, is how to get declicious chicken soup. In addition to starting with the right kind of chicken, which is increasingly difficult to get (a pullet or young hen; a broiler, roaster or fryer will not do), I use a trick I learned from Barbara Tropp's "China Moon" cookbook (which she attributes to her Jewish grandma) of adding some chicken feet to the soup pot. Yes, they look disgusting - but they bring serious collagen to the party. You can ask your butcher to order some for you; I now get mine at a local Italian butcher shop that keeps a supply in the freezer at all times; Asian markets can also be a source. And of course - never let the soup come to a full boil -- simmer only to keep it clear.
  19. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    I found a couple of references to Nyafat - but I have to disagree with those who think it is nasty. Now, I've never worked with real schmaltz (though there is a family bubbehmeintze about my grandfather, as a boy, carrying two casks of it on the ship that brought them to Ellis Island from Budapest because his mother had been told that there was none in the US), but I have had real Chinese fried rice made with lard when I was in China - and Nyafat gets darn close to the taste and mouthfeel. Matzoh brie is just not matzoh brei without it.
  20. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    Thanks for leading me to the Passover chat - looks like fun. One item that almost got mentioned there (but didn't) is equally applicable to all-year-round Jewish cooking - the secret ingredient for heavenly matzoh brei. I refer to onion flavored Nyafat. Nyafat, which is also available "neutral" (hold the onions), is hydrogenated vegetable oil - sort of a Jewish Crisco; the onion flavor is essential to delicious matzoh brei if you are from a spicy background as I am (I don't recommend onion nyafat if you like your matzoh brei with cinnamon and sugar -- remember, I put paprika in my tzimmes). I use onion nyafat in any recipe that calls for "pork fat" or schmaltz - such as fried rice. It is parve, which means it can be used with either meat or dairy. It is very bad for you (when I was growing up, it came in pint size jars, but now it comes only in 12 oz), but it makes the foods cooked in it taste so very good!
  21. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    Gifted Gourmet - is there a link to the Passover discussion? Thanks - NJH
  22. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    Thank you for the welcome! I'm not sure how many I am cooking for this year - the holidays kind of snuck up on me. One of the reasons I cook my mom's meal is that since I got married and moved to Ohio nine years ago, I spend many holidays without anyone from my family at the table, and I don't want to lose what I learned from my mom (she is disabled and can't cook anymore, anyway). My husband is not Jewish, so even though his family are good sports about joining us for the occasional Jewish holiday, it isn't the same as having my family. So, I may invite a few friends, or a couple of my husband's brothers or cousins. Sometimes its just us.
  23. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    Almost forgot - if I have time, I will make a tzimmes out if it, the way my father's father, who was from Budapest Hungary, made it: Brown 1/2 to a pound of flanken in a heavy pot Add peeled carrots cut into large chunks and a bit of sweet potato to fill the pot Add a few prunes, finely chopped (they disintegrate, but add a mellow sweetness) AddHungarian Paprika, salt and pepper to taste Lower the heat and just let it stew for hours and hours (that's the secret - stew it until the meat has come off the bones and fallen apart and the bones are dry) Re-season, add brown sugar if it isn't sweet enough for your taste. Yum, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
  24. NancyH

    Rosh Hashana

    I still make my mother's Rosh Hashonah dinner : Round Challah, honey, sliced apples Gefilte Fish (from scratch - it is abominable any other way!) Homemade horseradish (ok, mom got hers from a jar, but my husband grows the stuff) Chicken Soup, Noodles, Matzoh Balls Brisket (mom's secret ingredient is the only canned/processed product in my pantry - Maneschevitz Tomato Mushroom sauce) Potato Kugel (which my schagetz husband has become darn good at making) Green Vegetable (probably green beans from the garden) Dessert - not my strong suit, so I get whatever looks good at the Jewish bakery - usually honeycake, sponge cake and mandel brot. Oy, do I need to start planning and ordering already?
  25. NancyH

    Green Bean Recipes

    Chowguy - what is "EVO"?
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