touaregsand

Cf. Calvin Trillin's comments about "Maison de la Casa House"... ← Even stranger... When my dining companions noticed I was clearly surprised that the steak had bbq sauce on it they said, "What did you expect? This is Dallas." Duh on me. The sauce was pretty tasty, would have been spectacular on some slow cooked ribs.

Yeah, where's the Mexican sous chef? ← I heard Enrique Iglesias will be guest starring in a few episodes.

I think the show's audience base will be the same as Melrose Place. Having grown up in LA (allover) that show was a white wash of characters and backdrop.

The woman to the right doing the "ass and titty, hand on hip, S pose" was on some reality show. No?

Interesting idea. But the problem is that even during times of war, famine, disease, lack of birth control... people still fuck. Terrible habit. Something should be done about it right away. Sounds like a warm, friendly household. I'm getting all misty eyed just reading this. Who was it that said, "There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who have kids and those who don't." This reminds of the time we invited someone over for dinner. Actually the woman invited herself. But when she came it was pretty obvious that she really didn't like kids. It was really uncomfortable for us, because she was obviously bothered by the presence our children in our own home. She said things like, "are they supposed to be doing things like that? You let them do that?" We scooted her out in less than an hour.

It's not supposed to have a dry gritty texture. It sounds like the couscous you had wasn't steamed properly, if steamed at all. The only place I would ever order is at a North African restaurant. Couscous thread with step by step directions including photos.

it's a shop that has a lot of different sections: japanese, thai, surinamese, indian, chinese, mexican, american (that's ethnic to me , they sell crisco, jiffy etc.). It's a very small shop with an amazing variety of ingredients! ← I was teasing (I suspect you know that). It used to be true that "Asian market" was meaningless maybe 15-20 years ago, but now at a Korean market in LA one can find Chinese, Japanese and to get back on topic Mexican ingredients. And there is a market we just call the Middle Eastern market, because we just don't know what to call it. They sell halal meat and pork. Oh yeah, they sell Asian and Mexican ingredients as well. So I know of the type of 'ethnic' market you are referring to. I think I'll be making a mole that has nuts in it definately, a range of spices and a touch of chocolate. That's the style I grew up eating so I'm partial to it.

France has it's share of immigrants from other European countries as well. Poland, Spain, Italy... There is/was alot of intermarriage with the North Africans as well and to a lesser extent with the Vietnamese.

Which ethnicity is this? Dutch food is 'ethnic' to me...

Excellent points Lucy. I personally would enjoy reading a cookbook that includes all three. Not including a cross section of Parisian (or French) society has been done to death. Presumably a Parisian home cooking book would be of interest outside of the city and the country.

Voila. The finished product. I cut into the center to show the delectable runny egg yolk. The preserved lemons added explosive bits of flavor. The parmessan cheese, which is an idea I got from Paula Wolfert in another thread, added a dimension of savoriness. This is one of the best briks I've ever had. If I do say so myself.

I used two layers of the malsouka and brushed the edges of each layer with an egg wash. I used a bowl with sloping sides to keep the egg from running. Each brik must be cooked as soon as it is put together, otherwise the egg will begin to seep through. Ready to cook.

Yes of course you are correct. They feel sturdier in the hand as well.

A shot of the opened package. Each pastry leaf is seperated by a layer of plastic. Apologies for the quality of the photos (lighting problems, kids running around, yadda, yadda, yadda). The texture of the pastries is really more like spring roll wrappers which are apparently made in the same way but with different flour and they are also thicker than brik leaves. I would say that the leaves I used were twice as thick as phyllo which is not thick at all. In this rather dark photo (yes I know I can brighten it up with any one of 6 image editing programs I have on my computer, but then I would never post any photos ) is tuna, sauteed onions, chopped parsley, chopped preserved lemon and rinsed capers. What is not in the photo is the grated parmaggiano I decided to add after I took the photo.

In London I saw a store or restaurant for almost every kind of ethnic group imaginable. Not alot of multi-cultural mingling in the cultural sense though. It might seem that way to the English, but my point of view is as a Los Angeleno which is quite possibly the mixed-raced, multi-cultural family capital of the world. New Yorkers might say that it's New York with which I would disagree, but agree to disagree. Anyway, at the risk of getting off topic but with the desire to explain my statement at bit. The French colonial project (I bring this up because the reality is that a large number of the country's ethnic population are from former colonies) included absorbing the 'natives' into French culture or having the 'natives' absorb French culture. Whereas the English colonial project was more segregated. I'm speaking very broadly here. Back on topic to a cookbook on Parisian home cooking. It seems to me that a good one would include shopping for groceries. I would think that it would include shopping at North African and Vietnamese markets. And some of those homecooks would be let's say a native Parisian who's parents are from Martinique and are just as French as a transplant to Paris from Brittany...

What a great idea! JY, did you purchase those pastry leaves from a N. African market? Are they common in N. African/Middle Eastern markets? ← I wish these were available in the States, but they are not. They were a gift from a Tunisian friend of my husband. I've only seen a type of brik (brik also refers to the pastry leaves, there are several other names for them) available to the restaurant trade. I think we got it through van rex. But the ones from Van Rex were a bit thicker. The Tunisian malsouka is incredibly delicate and the finished product is out of this world. I made some brik last night and I will post photos. But the quality of the photos are not that good. I took them myself while making them and watching two small kids.

Some Mexican chilis

I dunno, middle eastern chiles may occasionally come close to anchos, but not to mulatos and pasillas. (To say nothing of chipotles). My recipe also calls for tomates verdes. What would you guys suggest to our poor bodega-deprived euro friends as a sub on that one? Those are hard to mail. Sort of a mix between a green tomato and a green plum, sort of. Plus they sorta look like gooseberries ← I was thinking more of Moroccan chilis. Last time I checked Morocco is not in the Middle East. I also figured that the Turkish places might cross over into carrying some Moroccan foodstuffs. Anyway, smoky chilis are found in North African cooking. EDIT: Anyway chilis are called 'fefla' 'felfel' 'falfel' something along those lines.

Between the Indonesian and North African immigrants/residents I think you would be able to find most if not all of the spices and chilis or reasonable subsitutes. Or am I just way off in assuming that Amsterdam would have at least a few 'ethnic' markets? ← yes, lots of ethnic markets here, but neither the Indonesian/Chinese/Asian stores nor the Turkish/Moroccan shops sell Mexican chiles. (assuming these are uniquely Mexican. Ah, ignorance!) ← I think that the chilis at the Turkish or Moroccan places will provide a pretty close to 'authentic' flavor.

Los Angeles diners 24 hour diners Kid friendly diners More diners Tikis and googies There are some chains mentioned on the list, disregard those if not interested in chains.

I live in Mexico, er Los Angeles. I think I'll still try it the old fashioned way. It's been a long time since I've made slow Mexican food at home. Between the Indonesian and North African immigrants/residents I think you would be able to find most if not all of the spices and chilis or reasonable subsitutes. Or am I just way off in assuming that Amsterdam would have at least a few 'ethnic' markets?

Pastry leaves from Tunisia. I'm planning on preparing brik for lunch today or tomorrow. I will post photos.

The label says Da de gee This is the commercial brand that I use. It's produced by Sempio Foods. It's not a 'true' gochujang in that it is not fermented in the same way and of course the ingredients are a bit different. But it mimics the flavor of homemade or artisanal made and is perfectly acceptable.

Pomegranate and olives work together. Think of North African cuisine. As for the herb, I find rosemary to quite strong. Zaatar (the herb not the spice mix) would work, it's sort of a cross between thyme and marjoram. If zaatar is unavailable I'd go for thyme.

Worse than this for me are heavily made up women who have layers and layers and layers of differently scented beauty products on. The hair smells of shampoo and hairspray. The face powder and lipstick are scented. Scented body lotion and perfume. And if it's that time of month scented feminine products as well. (please use unscented ). I like perfume and cologne, but they should be delicately applied on well washed bodies.