touaregsand
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Posts posted by touaregsand
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I write menus for my husband maybe my suggestions might be of use to you.
1. raw rock shrimp with kiwi sauce
Rock Shrimp Sashimi with Kiwi Mirin Vinaigrette
2. black cod and miso
Grilled Yuzu Miso Marinated Black Cod
3. pan fried foie gras with warm scallops, green pea puree and roast hazlenuts
Foie Gras Poele and Scallops with Green Pea Puree and Roasted Hazelnuts
4. chicken ballotine stuffed with pancetta and porcini
sides dishes: wilted spinach, mash, french beans, green leaf salad.
(I would pass on the green leaf salad, imho, well take the "h" out
)Chicken Ballotine with a Farcies of Pancetta and Porcini with Haricot Verts and Mashed Potatoes.
5. pomelo with lemon balm and candy floss.
Fresh Pomelo with a Candied Cloud
6. chocolate souffle and green tea ice cream
that one is straight forward enough.
EDIT: This is a first draft, once you finalize your menu I can do a "final" draft if you want me to.
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I found some references to Yunan (Yunnan) eartheware pots and Chinese earthenware pots, but no luck finding a store that carries them online.
I searched under Chinese clay pots and found this online store. very quickly, so I assume there are more. It's also called a sandy pot. I don't know if this is similar or the same as what you're referring to.
As for the reason why Korean earthenware pots are totally glazed, I think that it has to do with the type of dishes that are cooked in them, usually chigae (stew type dishes). These stews are fairly pungent and there is no oil used in them. I think that the use of oil acts as a sort of seal or barrier in unglazed pots. Or am I just thinking too much?
EDIT: I just found this while doing a keyword search "yunan steam pot". I see that it is different from sandy pots. Looks like a fire pot, but of course the more commons ones are made from metal.
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Dejah
touaregsand, there's no way cilantro is a universal herb. In Northern Europe, dill is favored. Think of borsht with cilantro. That would strike people as really weird.Poor choice of words on my part. What I meant was is cilantro found in cusines around the world more than any other? I can't think of one that is more common.
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I've tried looking at this whole thread both as an industry professional (on and off) and as a consumer who has dine out extensively in other countries, namely France and Korea. I've also eaten at alot "ethnic" places in America throughout the country. Also, although English is the lingua franca on egullet, I don't assume that everyone is from America or another English speaking country, in fact I know that's not the case. One example is when someone (yes I know this someone is in the UK, but that's not my point) posted that the customer should respect the chef and a response was something like get over yourself. Well there is no rule that the customer "must" do this, but in a country like France for instance, customers just do. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm just saying that the initial assertion would be accepted in a different way in other cultures.
As a consumer I mostly take the avoidance route to conflict-
I've learned that in some countries/cultures the customer does not dictate to the chef, if you complain it better be a good one or else you are either asking for a fight or to be treated like a total idiot. You can't have it your way, no substitutions. This is the way we do it, take it or leave it.
I've learned that for the most part complaining about anything in London with an American accent will be aggressively responded to. Even the perception of a complaint or implied negativity is cause for a potential argument. (I was only there for a week, but man I got the message right away that I had to walk on eggshells over there. True one person's experience. But I am a very friendly, easy going person and petite. I've also dealt with all kinds of people personally and professionally). In France I once said that it was too hot at a trade show and this French woman snapped back, "Yes, you like your air conditioning over there?!?!? Well we don't." In North Carolina (I know not a foreign country
) I commented that the portions were generous in a pleasant sort of way. Someone snapped back, "we're not on fancy diets like you city folks!!" I also know that complaining at some places is just hopeless. Because it's beyond their means in terms of finances and skill level. Professional culinary schools in America are relatively new compared to France. In France the vast majority of chefs and line cooks attended culinary school or a formal apprenticeship this is true at all levels of restaurants. In America at the mid and lower range this is much less likely.
So all the cooks aren't neccessarily professionals or profesional minded, it's just another job, in between another job and this is what a chef sometimes has to work with. The average restaurant in America less than 5% of gross goes into the owner's pocket. In Korea to give another example, some places pride themselves on their banchan. Not uncommon for customers to be drawn to a place mainly for this. Often the banchan dishes vary though, depending on the availability of ingredients and the inspirations of the chef. No complaints about inconsistency, quite the contrary, "We love it when you try new things. Where did you learn this?" And banchan are not just side dishes, in the sense that the customer migh just order rice and a simple soup to get to the banchan. So the expectation of consistency with some dishes are different over there.
The times I have complained are when the quality of food was bad in relation to the type of place or there was deliberate misrepresentation or the service was insultingly appalling. These are the stories.
1. I order a merguez sandwich at an LA cafe that bills itself as French. The sausage is dry. Clearly precooked, held too long and then nuked. It is completely inedible. I complain. The server tells me that merguez is supposed to look like that. I tell her no. She tells me I just don't know my French food. First of all merguez is North African, not French. I have been to France a dozen or so times, so yes I do know that it is quite popular over there. It's one of my favorite quick meals when I go there. Second, my French chef husband of Algerian descent is sitting right next to me listening to this server. She picked the wrong person to bullshit to. This one was a real piece of cake when it came to lying. She was pleasant about it but could not stop. She offered to comp the sandwich, which she insisted was housemade (not, I know the vendor) and offered us free dessert, we said that would be nice, but we only want them if they are housmade (not, I know the supplier) she says they are.
I didn't get angry, but I told her that she should stop lying.
2. London. I eat at the hotel restaurant, I don't have any cash on me, but I do have a credit card. They don't take credit cards. I ask to have it put on my hotel bill. The guy starts acting like I'm trying to run off without paying a lousy, cheap meal. He was very abrasive. Tells me to go get cash out of the ATM down the street. It's freezing cold and very late and I am getting pissed. I make up some story about exceeding my withdrawel limit because I just want him to do what I know he can do, which is to go upstairs and have the front desk process it. Simple as that. I didn't want to back off with this one, because I hate bullies.
3. Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. The advertise rather boldly that they make ravioli with homemade dough. This is the only time I will order ravioli, because I cannot stand ravioli made from won ton skins which so many restaurants around here do. I even confirm the "homemade dough" with the waiter before ordering. Guess what? Made from wonton skins. I point it out to the waiter. He gets...um... sort of racist. He tells me that I just don't know what Italian raviolis are, how could I because you know you're..." I respond "Yes, I'm Asian. So maybe in your little world that means I don't know Italian food. But using your silly logic that would mean that I know my won ton skins." He doesn't want to let it go. He even goes to the back to pretend to ask the chef, comes back and tells me, "the chef is insulted that you say they are won ton skins." I say, "tell the chef to come out and lie to my face or if he's too busy I'll just pop into the kitchen." (I'm a small, so it's not like I'm a physical threat to anyone. My 6 year old looks like she'll be taller than me in 2 years). The waiter goes back and finally confesses that the chef ran out of pasta dough and he subbed won ton skins.
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The things that egulleters make from scratch!
Amazing. I'll have to try this.
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I like Rachel Ray sometimes. I like the 30 minute show concept more than her.
Did you ever notice Ray's habit of constant, wild gesticulation? I mean, a lot of people 'talk with their hands,' but for her it approaches a martial art . . . . the constant slicing, chopping, slapping. Check out the intro to one of her 30 minute meals episodes.
I've noticed that too. I get the impression that she's on stimulants.
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Starving and thirsty both times. 12-13 hours of labor both times. Pitocin and epidural both times. Eating during labor was forbidden, just ice chips, no water. I just the let the water melt and drank it. This hospital was pretty good about food after delivery. They provided a meal immediately afterwards and even asked me if I wanted Korean seaweed soup. I'm in LA, so the staff was multi-cultural, as well as the moms giving birth.
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I think that origamicrane got my drift. Thank you.
As for
SO, IT MEANS THAT IF YOU HAVE ALL THE COOKING TECHNIQUES AND KNOW THE TASTE OF INGREDIENTS, YOU CAN ALMOST REPRODUCE MOST ANYTHING YOU TASTEThat's the problem, I've only eaten Mapo dofu or chiachiang mein at Chinese-Korean restaurants or my own concoctions. So I was wondering about other versions.
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Nah, just a happy , loaded ,beginning restaurant couple.
been there, done that! -
I just want to know how these dishes are made in China.
Whenever I call up my parents for Korean recipes they are very hesitant to give them to me. They think I'm gonna hurt myself cooking or something. I'm not asking for better, I'm just curious as to how these dishes are made in China.
I'm a bit of an Asianist in an academic sense and in my soul. At University I took all of these courses ya know in Chinese, Korean, Japanese history, Asian-American studies and all that. I want to document a few things with alot of help from you and Dejah, Shalmanese, jo-mel. origamicrane, russell, herb, melonpan, chengpo, laksa, guppymo and a many others that I'm not mentioning here (this is sounding like an Oscar speech
). I moved to America when I was 5. I was old enough to remember leaving and the ensuing struggle with accepting or resisting assimilating (why does it have to be one or the other?). This sense of fracture has never left me. -
I have Chinese-Korean recipes. But I was wondering how these dishes are made in China. Truth be told I don't even know if Chiachiang mein was invented in Korea by Chinese immigrants which is what I've heard through some accounts. Although I do recall a Chinese woman on Korean TV saying that Chinese-Korean chiachiang mein was too sweet and black compared to what she was used to back home.
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The most bizarre thing about this woman's thought process is that we're in a major metropolitan area. Around 100,000 francophones, two French private schools, French consulate and French-American chamber of commerce. It's pretty easy to fill up a French restaurant with French customers around here. Not surprisingly her French customer base is close to zero if it exists at all. Overall, the market for expensive open-faced sandwiches that are eaten with a knife and fork has proven to be pretty small and inconsistent.
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I love cilantro. I can eat it like a salad green. It's one those things that fall into like or dislike, or more strongly stated love or hate. What strikes me the most about this herb as I'm typing is how much it's used in dfferent cuisines throughout the world. I wonder if it's the most universal herb? It's found south of the border (I'm in LA), in Asia and in North Africa. My husband who has a more love/hate relationship recalls his Algerian maman adding it an array of tajines.
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"fine thanks" or "of course your ass doesn't look fat in those pants."
I was thinking of that one too. I never answer that one honestly. I'm such a liar.
I just say, "you look fine." Of course one time I told a friend she looked fine, except for the panty lines and she responded, "I'm wearing a thong". 
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maybe you should stop asking if you don't care. i'm not trying to be hostile, but i'm with halloweencat here. if i ask suzy how she is in the hallway of my office and she starts moaning about her in-laws and their bunions - i would sorely regret having asked, but i'd have no business blaming her for answering. i'd much rather not be asked than be asked by someone who doesn't care.
I explained this upthread. I'm not blaming anyone for answering or saying it's wrong to answer. I'm just saying (apparently I am the most insincere person here
) it's one of those questions that are a part of social interaction. It's ubiquitous. Assuming that the other person really wants a detailed answer is not my automatic assumption. I mean the cashier at the grocery store asks me this, the mailman, the teller, etc... I'll have to ask each and everyone of them if they really mean it and to please look deeply into my eyes when they ask. I'm not trying to hostile or a smart ass. Just a little levity. 
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I just read through this thread and found the part about not using roasted chickens pretty interesting. I actually make "stock," or whatever, from roasted chickens all the time.
Here is the scene: Roast chicken. Eat. Dump all leftovers, bones, meat that clings to the bones, skin, into a pot and make a "stock," or whatever. That, along with the leftover meat makes one heck of a pot of chicken and dumplings.
There is also a long standing tradition in Louisiana. The day after Thanksgiving, turkey carcasses are collected, turned into "stock," or whatever, and made into Turkey Bone Gumbo.
Not using roasted chicken for stock was applied to classic French stocks. At home I suppose the range is vast.
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I see the question as broadly as "how are you?" When I ask it I have to admit, I don't always really care. Sometimes I say, "I'm fine" when I'm not.
I also don't confuse my opinion as the truth.
EDIT: How was everything or how was the food is such a standard line in the restaurant business that if every customer stopped to offer more detailed feedback other than the standard, "fine, okay or great" it would slow down everything so much we'd stop asking the question.
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I don't think I would have offered a criticism just because the owner or anyone else asked me how everything was. That's a pretty standard line at any restaurant, isn't it? I see it as a social gesture rather than an invitation for criticism or detailed feedback.
I'm not saying it's wrong to give feedback. I'm just saying I know that some people don't care about my opnion, like now for instance.
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Some fisherman in Korea eat live baby octopus, the super tiny ones. Part of the pleasure they say is the wriggling mouthfeel. I don't think that I can eat anything that's still alive though.
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I prefer the super tiny ones. I like a crisp/crunchy finish as well. But rather than deep fry, I saute them in 1/2" of oil, towards the end of cooking I add soy sauce and sugar, maybe a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.
My 6 year old loves them. She even takes them to school, not "embarassed" at all while chowing down in front of her classmates at the French-American school. She even tells them, "See the little heads and eyes? There so tiny you can't even feel them in your mouth." How the world has changed, most of us probably remember not wanting to be too ethnic with food at school for fear of negative of feedback.
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VIP seating was considered to be essentially unfair. “Restaurateurs should be wary of using VIP seating and other tactics that guests may perceive as unfair.
That's not going away. There are just some customers who are more valuable to a restaurant for various reasons. Undemocratic perhaps, but there are customers who invest in developing an ongoing relationship. As for celebrities (I'm in LA so I think along these lines) they add to the "buzz". It doesn't interest me, but I know that alot of folks want to know which celebrities my husband has cooked for. Not a way to measure quality, but it creates alot of excitement.
What annoys you about the wait?
An uncomfortable place to wait.
How long is reasonable to wait for your table?
up to 30 minutes.
Does the order in which people are seated seem unfair to you?
I don't worry about my place on the food chain. It seems silly to watch the room, who came first and why are they getting that table and I'm not. I'm too busy enjoying my company and my own experience.
Ever decide to try to call ahead?
Yes.
At what point do you simply leave and go somewhere else to eat?
Depends on the situation. Rarely though. If I leave I'll just have to wait more. I understand that sometimes it's not possible to turn tables according a timeline. If I complain feeling rushed I can't complain that my table is not ready as I arrive.
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Cadbury eggs
Sugar eggs
Marshmallow bunnies and chicks covered with yellow or pink sugar
Those tiny chocolate eggs covered in foil
I actually have more pleasant memories of Easter candy than I do Halloween candy. Growing up in Los Angeles we went through a scare for a few years. Some freaks had begun poisoning candies and inserting needles and razor blades into apples and such. At one time a few local hospitals were offering x-ray services to detect metal in candy. News stories discussed how to weed out stuff that had potentially been tampered with. Needleless to say this put a damper on trick or treat (er poison?
)
French and Japanese cooking
in Japan: Cooking & Baking
Posted
I have to ask who the "audience" is. My husband and I have done fusion for Asians and ya know the others, they like different things, that's what we've found.