zeitoun
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Posts posted by zeitoun
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Okay, i'll be honest, when i make hommous, baba ghannouj or foul, i start by.....using the canned stuff, then, I add my own flavors. I would love to make it from scratch but when you want to throw a quick mezze together at the last minute, who has the time really?
When i was in Lebanon years ago, i was amazed by the amount of manufacturers making the same type of canned produce. You will see dozens of brands selling the same stuff. My middle eastern grocery here in Brooklyn "only" has about 6 or 7 brands.
So here is the question: which brand do you use and why?
In my case I always go with Cortas or Al Wadi al Akhdar (both lebanese).
Why? well frankly I dunno, maybe because this is what my dad always bought!
I wonder if some of you have actually noticed a difference in taste or quality from one brand to the other.
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Friendly butter
Unfriendly butter
ouch!Butter was too cool. Stuck to the ten inch Henckel. For some reason I tried to slide it free and of course the butter made my thumb slide onto the blade.zzzzkt
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the chestnut one sounds great but how was the daizu (soy bean) one?
They were both okay, nothing to be crazy about. It definitely does not outrank the almond one which is in my mind just superb.
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that's why my new favorite food shows are on Discovery Home channel.
Agreed!
My favorite show being “Great chefs of the world” where French chefs such as Gerald Passedat or Alain Passard are not regarded as “passé”
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The other day Ms zeitoun and I ate these. "Chocoball" chestnut flavor on the left and soybeen flavor on the right and kyurochan posing in the middle!!
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My top list last year in no particular order:
Blue Hill at Stone Barns (September) - satisfaction in all ways imaginable. A memorable night indeed.
Per Se (November) – Two or three dishes I still have dreams of.
Gramercy Tavern (March) - One of two trips I made this year, the second time around last October was unmemorable.
Gary Danko (SF in February) – sumptuous dinner but not across the line, incredible cheese plate, undistinguished desserts though.
Blue Hill NYC (November) – Not as satisfying as my experience at stone barns but still a pleasant one. My most memorable dessert experience this year, a reconstructed carrot cake.
Ryland Inn (May) – For my birthday, I loved the gardens.
Daniel (July) – My first time there, good, solid, but not spectacular.
Wallse (January) – Always consistent, always gratifying
Terra (Napa in August) – A wonderful and well deserved summer evening after 2 weeks of hiking in the California wilderness.
La Caravelle (February)– A nostalgic dinner a few weeks before they closed.
RM (January) – We were “sent” there for lunch after our reservations at Aureole were cancelled because of a power outage! Still haven’t been to Aureole…
My honorable mention goes to Sripraphai (first time there last year), Saul restaurant, Restaurant Nippon, 11 Madison, Chubo, Zaré (SF), Bouchon (Napa)
Worst meals were at Cafe des Artistes and 71 Clinton Fresh Food.
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We spent New Year in Hokkaido, gorging ourselves on crab, scallops, sukiyaki, yakiniku, and a big tray of hors d'oeuvres ordered from a local Chinese restaurant.
Well, i very much enjoyed my osechi but i have to say, this does make me envious too!!
Never been to Hokkaido, it must be beautiful (and cold) in the winter!
When I think of Hokkaido, I think of the pictures I was drawing in my mind while reading Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country.
Just gorgeous!
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Great photos! Homemade datemaki, using hanpen! That sounds nice. Store-bought datemaki is just too sweet for me. Your wife is quite a cook. My wife? I guess she would make osechi ryouri for me if I asked her to. The fact is, I ask her NOT to make any!
Well, i do most of the cooking at home, but when she cooks, it is a blessing...
I do have to beg her though!! Osechi is just one of those things that i will never be able to make, most of the recipes are her mom's.
So far, the closest i came to making japanese food is probably waving a "uchiwa" to cool down sushi rice! oh.. and i did grate daikon once or twice, that's it.
Kris - thanks for the picture tip, took a little practice but i got it!
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Two places which have never let me down, and that I have been going to for years:
Nha Trang in chinatown. The vietnamese place where I have been savoring nems, bbq pork chops and crispy squid ever since I moved to NY. Always on the money.
Cambodian Cuisine in Brooklyn by the BAM theater which I discovered 5 years ago. Their hot pots are to die for. You can go wrong though if you venture deeper into the menu.
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On the other side of the planet, in New York City, my wife prepared a delicious Osechi to celebrate the new year.
The table:
Preparing some Hempen (minced fish) for the date-maki
Rolling the date-maki
Making itame-namasu (stir fried veggies)
Clockwise starting with tazukuri/gomame on the lower right hand corner which is caramelized fish with sesame seeds.
Su-Gobo, Burdock root seasoned with bonito flakes, ground sesame seeds and vinegar.
itame-namasu, stir fried veggies (lotus root, daikon, carrots) and abura-age in yuzu "vinaigrette"
kamaboko, steamed fish paste
In the middle: kuro-mame, sweet black beens
(my favorite
) shime-saba, kelp/vinegar cured mackerel and date-maki, sweet eggs with minced fish 
Onishime, seasoned vegetables (carrots, gobo, taro root, take-noko, konyaku, shiitake, snow peas, lotus root, koya-dofu)
and kuri-kintoki, sweet white potato (satsuma-imo) with chesnut
Ozouni (kanto style
), fish/chicken broth with vegetables (carrots, daikon, taro root), chicken thighs, mochi, naruto and mitsuba
And it is almost a tradition, now we are on eating left overs for 3 days....
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Thank you for your replies and if anyone has any ideas, maybe an inexpensive 30-50 euros prix fixe (romantic please), please let me know.
How about Le Jules Vernes on the 1rst floor of the eiffel tower? The room is beautiful, won't even mention the view. The food is very good and it is reasonably priced. That was years ago though... Back then i think it had one star and in my eyes, it deserved another..
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Yesterday, I was watching footage from an overflight of the western coast of Aceh in a small plane. Cities of 30,000 completely levelled, with no signs of survivors except a few people camped out on hillsides. The enormity of this disaster is truly unimaginable, though some of that footage helps give it some immediacy.
I, like many others today, have seen for the first time the images of the coast of Aceh. It is beyond comprehension. The level of destruction reminded me of the images I had seen in history books of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, entire cities completely leveled except for one or two mosques still standing. It is chilling.
I am happy to see that there is a worldwide relief effort in place that keeps on growing day after day.
Our donations will help immediately but let's not forget that such a generous effort will be needed not only today but also in the months and even years to come.
I hope that once this tragedy is suddenly moved away from the public eye (as is often the case with the western media), this generous effort will not subside. Even today and one year after the quake that devastated the city of Bam, Iran, there is a significant majority of people there who still live precariously in tents...
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They are made by UHA Mikakuto, the same people who gave us shigekix!
here is their English page:
http://www.uha-mikakuto.co.jp/english/frame/e01.html
I found them at a supermarket in Yokohama....
Thanks...
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I will be in Placencia for a couple of days before Christmas. I am looking for the best beach food. I am not expecting anything lux, just good. Does anyone have any suggestions.
I never check this forum so I caught your question a little too late.
I was in Belize 4 years ago, I moved around a bit but stayed in Placencia 3 days. I remember vividly one place I ate in located right on the beach (the main strip facing the Caribbean side) which was called Omar or Omar's. It was a sit down place in a small hut which served amazing burritos. I do not have any particular affection for the gringo burrito but these were really good. Omar would go fish himself on the reef every morning and bring back fresh fish for lunch or dinner. Another vivid memory of my trip was when our guide took us out in the forest (by the monkey river) and had us try live termites which in belize they eat in a sandwich with peanut butter. Interestingly, termites have a crunchy minty taste!!
Did you come across the place? You must have, Placencia is so tiny!
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a new favorite
ume sukonbu
these are ume (sour plum) flavored gummies with a sukonbu (vinegared kelp) coating on the outside, yum!
Wow!! This looks deadly
!! I love Ume!!! now how sour is sour? Where did you find this?? Who is the manufacturer? More info, please, please!!!
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FG pointed out that Craig Claiborne's system was surely a derivative of the Michelin system, which dates back to 1900. At it's now over a century old, we might as well accept the star system as being a part of our culinary heritage that is no more likely to be abolished than knives and forks.
The star/toque/macaron system in France is such an intricate part of their cultural heritage that a famous French movie was actually made using the theme. "L'aile ou la cuisse" which hit the movie screens in the mid 70's featured Louis De Funes (a great french comedian) as a lead restaurant critic and founder of the "Guide Duchemin". I would recommend all restaurant critics/goers to watch it as it draws a satirical and often accurate portrait of the Gault & Millau or Michelin rating systems. It is even more ironic that it actually comes from the French who invented this system in the first place!
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Akwa -- For reasons i understand, it might not be appropriate to reveal the exact name of the "location" for your search, but you kind of had me started with the guessing game. Are the first initials of the exec. chef's name at the "location" SG? No more questions from me...
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Just found out that Kreuther left the kitchen at Atelier (months ago, where have I been???). I was considering a visit next month. Any recent feedback or impressions on Atelier with Alain Allegretti heading the kitchen? I really admire Kreuther's craft as a chef, I wonder if Atelier will stay the same without him.
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I am a big fan of Gabriel Kreuther. His name no longer appears on the Atelier website as executive chef (chef is now Alain Allegretti, I am not familiar with him). Did he permanently leave Atelier to open The Modern? I must have missed something..
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Two stories involving glassware and sheer foolishness.
1) Never cut pasta rounds (to make raviolis) with the rim of a wine glass!
I was holding the wine glass upside down, tightly grabbing the foot of the glass in my right fist. As I was going through my second sheet of pasta, applying pressure with not only my hand but my whole body (!!!!), the lower stem of the glass suddenly snaps.
The foot of the glass stays in my hand but the stem lodges itself between my index and middle finger. I jump and scream not realizing what just happened. When I do, I make a quick assessment of the mess I just created (I will avoid the gory details), lots of the red stuff coming out of course but luckily, the cut is not too deep, so after a bandage or two, I move on with my raviolis, making squares with a knife this time!!! Not that bad after all!
2) Never pour hot oil in a water glass!
Pan frying some fish one day. In a haste, I scramble around the kitchen counter looking for something to pour my excess oil into. I find an empty water glass.
Next thing I know, I proceed with my stupid operation and quickly turn to the kitchen counter behind me to reach out for the butter. As I do this, I hear a loud pop. The glass just shattered into a million pieces, splashing hot oil all over the place. Thank god I was facing the other way. I was saved by the butter!! -
Please tell us more about the cuisine there. Also, what kinds of prices are we talking about and what are the cross streets?
The cuisine is American with strong French influences, very much like (in style) what you could find at places such as GT or 11 Madison just to name a few. Saul is still essentially a neighborhood restaurant, and I sincerely hope it will remain that way. It is not quite a "destination restaurant" but does belong in the category of places that should be given a try by those who truly appreciate good food. The chef and owner does care about the food he makes, and the experience you will have there will make you feel that way. This is why I think Saul deserves an acknowledgment, this kind of genuine care and attention is unfortunately rare nowadays in the restaurant industry.
Prices are affordable, in the $35 to $60 range per person. Dinner only is served (no brunch, another trait I admire!). The wine list is respectable.
The restaurant is located on Smith Street between Bergen and Dean Streets.
And I will restate, it is in my opinion much better than the Grocery a few blocks down the street.
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Not sure if this was discussed before but has anyone been to Saul in Brooklyn? I live not too far from it and went there twice in the past year.
Saul Bolton, the chef, used to work at le Bernardin; he is in my humble opinion cooking some pretty good meals over there. I am not too fond of the Smith Street choice of restaurants however, I think this one deserves a citation. It was recently given a generous 27 for food in Zagat. Although many would agree, myself included, that Zagat is not a reliable reference for food rating, Saul deserves a high mark. In terms of comparison, I would even say that Grocery and Garden Cafe also in Brooklyn (both in my opinion huge let downs for food) which were both given high ratings in last year’s Zagat survey, do not come close to what is being offered at Saul. My only two reproaches so far: the menu should change more frequently and desserts are far from being impressive.
I would be curious to find out your impressions.
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Took a quick look - and it's a "raw milk" "possible listeria" thing. The rules have been on the books for a long time - but the FDA has started to enforce them more vigorously. Robyn
What a bummer.
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There is nothing he could have gained from this experience except an additional source of income.
And his deciding to line his pockets given the opportunity surprises you because of what, exactly?? High profile restaurateur from a nearby commutable distanced city approaches you and offers you a six figure deal to be a "Consulting Chef" (whatever the hell that actually means) at his latest project, you can put in minimal face time and get all the credit for the hard work that others are doing in your absence and get all the glorious press that comes along with that and further your reputation in yet another urban center. You'd turn down an opportunity like that? I dunno. I think the bags of cash with minimal expectations attached to it sounds like a pretty sweet deal that most folks could only dream of.
I'd be happy to commute to New York once a week and play "Consulting Beverage Director" for six figures if anyone's interested.
What you are saying is absolutely true, and it is precisely what irritates me. Samuelsson is basically attaching his name and reputation to something that is so remote to him. There was nothing new in concept here. I might accept that he was in the picture because it was an easy and lucrative opportunity, nothing wrong with that if that is why you entered the culinary world, but if you truly care about the food you make, about your profession as a chef, was it really necessary? If you care about your craft, I think there is more to lose here than to gain.
Middle eastern canned foods
in Middle East & Africa: Cooking & Baking
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I actually never thought that using canned whole chickpeas instead of the already pureed one would make a difference. I will definitely try this next time..Thanks