Chufi

Don't read this thread when you're hungry. It makes you crave crab curry, oranges & olives, sausages, gingerbread pudding and risotto all at the same time. Susan what a wonderful story. A great reminder that food is always about more than just the edible stuff on your plate: it's history, love, nostalgia and hope (and more).

It's a Bene Israel dish, the Bene Israel (Children of Israel) being one of the 3 Jewish communities in India (and the largest and most Indian of the 3). According to Roden, this community lived "for centuries, unknown to the rest of world Jewry" on the west coast, south of Bombay. They were 'discovered' in the mid eighteenth century.

I just finished reading this entire thread (it's my day off ) and I have to say this: I have never really liked Thai food... When I've had it in restaurants, I was usually disappointed, and when I attempted making it at home, it seemed so much hassle. Now I'm thinking maybe I ate in the wrong restaurants.. and maybe my cooking skills have improved to the point where I'm confident enough to tackle this. All your descriptions, pictures and enhousiasm have inspired me to give this cuisine another try! This weekend I have to go and cook a lamb curry (also thanks to EGullet ) but next week, definitely some Thai on the menu. I love EGullet! (end of rambling)

I decided on my recipe: Roghan Josh from an old Madhur Jaffrey cookbook. It involves the techniques described in the first post - roasting and grinding the spices, making a paste, frying this in ghee. I've never made something like this, it's going to be fun!

Thanks, I now have a project for my weekend first a question though.. what defines a curry? For example, I have a lamb recipe that I often make. It's from Claudia Rodens Book of Jewish Food and she calls it "Lamb with chillies and tamarind". It has cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and chillies as the aromatics and it's finished with coconut milk. It's not what I'll be making for the cook-off because I want to try something new, I'm just wondering what makes a curry a curry?

I roast eggplant whole (don't forget to pierce the skin - or they could blow up in the oven, happened to me once ) and when they are completely collapsed, scrape out the flesh and use for dips or fritters. Pieces of eggplant are difficult. When you don't use enough oil, they end up like rubber. They need a lot of oil. Andiesenji, I think I will try your slow-roast method next time. I'm interested in the difference in flavour/texture. Not suitable for a quick after work supper though, more of a weekend project!

Now that's interesting. I always roast for a short time, at high heat. The batch I showed in the first post was roasted for 30 minutes at 220 C (about 430 F). I toss everything in oil and make sure there's only a single layer of vegetables on the sheet. Any other thoughts on roasting at low heat for a long time versus high heat for a short time?

thanks.. we started with an organic Saumur, imported by a friend of ours who's in the (organic) wine business. And then on to Spanish red wine, Torres' Coronas.

thanks for reminding me of beets. I haven't had those in a long time but roasting is definitely the best way to prepare them.

I make a lot of quiches/ savoury tarts and most of the time I make my own crust. Great tip: before you start rubbing the flour and butter together, have a large piece of plastic wrap ready on the counter. When you're ready mixing the dough, you gather it all up in a ball and drop it on one side of the piece of plastic. Fold the plastic over and press together to shape the dough into a flattened disc, before putting it in the fridge to rest. (The flattening makes it much easier to roll out later).

this is exactly (down to the oriechette) the dish I 'made up' a couple of weeks ago and thought it was the best pasta I made in a long time!!

one of my favorites is mozzarella (buffalo is best, but ordinary will do), sliced and laid out in a single layer on a plate, and then spread with a thick layer of good creme fraiche. Grate some lemon zest over it, and drizzle with a couple of drops of very good olive oil. You can't make this in advance because it will go watery, but it's quick to make. Very good with some crusty bread alongside more robust flavors of cured meats, salty olives etc. Another favorite: strips of grilled red pepper, dried tomatoes (reconstituted) and anchovy fillets, garnished with shredded basil.

I know many have sung the praises of roast cauliflower here on EGullet. But tonight as I was preparing dinner I was reminded that roasting in a hot oven, with some oil, salt and maybe some herbs, is one of the very best ways to prepare any vegetable. The heat intensifies the flavor, you get all those lovely crispy bits.. mmm. Tonight I roasted a combo of carrots, potatoes and shallots, tossed with thyme and rosemary and olive oil: before and after roasting: Some of my favorites: green beans pumpkin and butternut squash parsnip, celeriac, and jerusalem artichoke. Sometimes I serve them hot but I also love roast vegetables at room temp, as part of a salad. What are your favorite vegetables for roasting and how do you use them?

Elie, I love those calzones! Susan, I'm so jealous of your porch dinner. My first balcony dinner is many months away I think. And are those beets under the salmon? Very impressive gumbo Wendy. It's something I never made but want to try someday.. Our dinner: roast potatoes, carrots & shallots, shii-take meatballs, chipotle creme fraiche.

not really. That's why I also had trout eggs on the blini, becuase of the 'pop'factor. It looked absolutely smashing though, the pink and black together (as you can see here)

I am really, really enjoying this blog. Again, I feel like I am travelling all over the world in the best possible way, focusing on food and foodshops! I love chewy flatbread and yours looks delicious. Would you be willing to share the recipe?

That's so true. You keep pouring.. and pouring... and pouring endless streams of oil into the yolks and for some reason that image comes back to me when I eat it! I love making my own, because it tastes good, and because I like the process (for the same reason I like whipping up cream, making custard, whipping eggwhites etc., I love to watch things change in a bowl). But I do always have a storebought jar in the fridge for the quick mayo cravings. Late night snacking: toast with cheese, ketchup and mayo. Coming home after a couple of beers.. mmm.

Percyn, you forced me to get my own egg-fix. Please don't do this to me again! scrambled eggs with creme fraiche, chives and fake caviar. The 'caviar' is actually made from.. soy. I bought this to garnish blini at a dinnerparty. It tastes salty, fishy, and it made for good conversation at the dinnertable (we were honest about it ofcourse).

yes she did. You can see the beans here (post #48). I love love love roast green beans! I serve them at every single party and buffet and they disappear faster than anything. They are easy to make ahead and they go with almost anything. I never blanch them. Just toss in olive oil, make sure they are all coated with oil, and spread in a single layer. I keep testing them as they roast because there is that perfect stage of goldenbrown nutty roastedness that can very quickly turn into blackened chewiness. I actually like them better cold or at room temperature than hot. With a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.. or some basil.. tossed with roast tomatoes.. slivers of parmesan.. Did I mention I love roast green beans??

so many great dinners! I have been very busy with my husbands birthday parties this weekend. First there was the dinner for the parents & inlaws. I made roast chicken, a bechamel based gratin of leeks, bacon & parmesan, sauteed potatoes and a green salad. Dessert was the best part of the meal, a pear & almond tart: Then Saturday dinner for 14 ( well only 12 turned up because of the flu-season, but I cooked for 14 ) - Blini with smoked salmon - Salad of fennel, fuji apples and goats cheese with a honey mustard dressing - Veal & butternut squash pie, roast peppers & tomatoes, braised peas & lettuce - Carrot ginger pecan cake with orange creamcheese frosting and candied carrots (photos of the whole dinner can be seen in post # 21 of this thread)

First of all, thanks to everyone for all your ideas. They helped me with the process of deciding on the menu, even if I did not actually make any of the recipes.. Sushicat I did not make your salad after all, because the dessert was pecan-based as well.. but I think I will try the dressing some day, it sounds so interesting. Behemoth thank you for the link, I looked at it briefly, the pics look very appetizing! There were 12 guests and here's what the dinner ended up like: Blini with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, salmon eggs and fake caviar: Salad with raw fennel, Fuji apple, aged goats cheese, pistachios and a honey mustard dressing: Veal pie. The veal was braised with butternut squash and marsala, shallots and mushrooms were cooked separately. The stew was topped with a layer of rosemary-roasted cubes of butternut squash, and then topped with a very rich, buttery, flaky pastry. I made this recipe up after looking at many different recipes for braised veal, and it was very very good! Side dishes were simple: braised peas & lettuce, and a salad of roast tomatoes and grilled peppers. Dessert: carrot ginger pecan cake with orange cream cheese frosting, decorated with candied carrots. This is a Martha Stewart recipe and it tasted fantastic ( and looked fabulous, definitely the wow factor I wanted). It wasn't very easy to make although part of that was my own fault: the recipe was for 10- 12 and I wanted to make it for 15, so I juggled the quantities until I got confused (I know I know you should never do that ). For the frosting I used about 5 different dairy products all mixed together to get the right consistency, but the end result was great: I made two of those, so there was plenty!

thanks everybody I feel much better now ! This is going to be my husbands birthday cake to serve 15 guests so it has to be good... The recipe has creamcheese, butter, sugar, orange zest and fresh grated ginger. Indeed, that will cover up the salt!

So what would you use in the US?

I want to make a carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting. Now the cream cheese I can buy over here is the Philadelphia kind (and imitations of it). All of them have salt added. I think over here they are mostly used for savory dishes and to spread on bread. Is this the kind of cream cheese to use for a cream cheese frosting? I am worried about the salt, won't you taste that? I was thinking of using a mix of mascarpone and whipped cream instead, but I'm not sure if that will have the right flavor.

That's a very tasty looking steak & kidney pie Susan! What kind of crust did you make for that? Today I made stamppot, a traditional Dutch dish that consists of potatoes and.. anything you might want to mash into them This one is made with raw belgian endive, sauteed spring onions and chopped hardboiled eggs. Topped with chorizo and bacon gravy.