SuzySushi

You know, I've been wracking my brain, and can't think of too many terribly exotic foods I've eaten while traveling. Ba-sashi (horse meat sashimi) and shiokara (salted fish guts, served as an appetizer with beer) maybe, while visiting Japan, or andouilette sausage in France. Or maybe the dragonfruit I bought at a Vietnamese market in Bern, Switzerland (it looked like a bright pink hand grenade but tasted disappointingly like a kiwifruit). Most of my exotic tastings have been right in the USA, back East, where I grew up, or in Hawaii, where I now live. There was the Malaysian fish head curry in NY, durian ice cream likewise. I tried lion, giraffe, and hippopotomus on a "big game" menu once. Flying fish at a Caribbean restaurant in New Jersey. Real turtle soup in Washington DC. Duck's tongues in a Chinese restaurant here (I agree with Pan: they're too bony). Stir-fried mealworms and cricket cookies, brought to a party by an entomology professor. Maybe one of these days, I'll get up the nerve to try balut, which I can get at my local greenmarket.

I'm no bread expert, but it could've been the type of flour. Try the recipe with all-purpose flour, which is softer than bread flour. My recipe for challah (tried & tested from a friend -- and this was the first yeast bread I ever made) uses: 1 package active dry yeast 2 teaspoons sugar 1-1/4 cups lukewarm water 1/8 teaspoon saffron (for a more golden color) 4-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour + flour for dusting 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 2 tablespoons oil Also, it does three rises -- first one till doubled in bulk, then punch down and let rise a second time until doubled in bulk, then knead, let rest 15 minutes, and braid, then cover with a damp towel and let rise a third time until doubled (about 45 minutes). Brush with an egg yolk-water glaze and bake 50 minutes @ 375F. Hope this helps!

On the topic of Ras el Hanout and Baharat, on one of my trips to France, I discovered a supermarket spice mix I like very much called "Cuisinez Tout a la Marocaine" (by Ducros). I've tried to replicate it at home to no avail -- can't seem to get the proportions right. The ingredients are: salt, onion, cumin, red pepper (piment), garlic, pepper (poivre), mint, and parsley. Anyone have any suggestions? Is this a fairly standard Moroccan mix?

Put me firmly in the camp with those who dislike ketchup. I grew up eating it not as a condiment on hamburgers or French fries, but on spaghetti, instead of pasta sauce!!! (My mother's piece de resistance.) YUCK!!! I wouldn't keep it in the house at all, if it weren't for my stepson, who likes it on burgers and tuna salad (???). My only use for it is in one Chinese recipe for shrimp.

With Paris one of the most pet-laden cities I've ever seen in my life, I would say this is inexact. ← You're right: I worded this poorly. A better explanation is, as you said, "If you want meat, you have to kill animals." The French (and Italians, for that matter) are much more matter-of-fact about this than Americans are.

It's what is known in the retail industry as a "loss leader." It draws shoppers into the store, and they purchase other items at higher, more profitable prices.

This reflects my experiences as well, talking about food with French friends and traveling with a vegetarian son. "Enigma" is a good word to describe it. Most French we met are puzzled by vegetarianism because they don't have the same ambivalence toward eating animals as many Americans and British do. To them, an animal is (shrug)... just an animal. But then, I think French people, even in cities, are still a little closer to the farm than most Americans. They are accustomed to buying their meats from butcher shops, not in "sanitized" wrapped cuts in supermarkets. (They do, however, understand vegetarianism if it is for a health regimen, and traveling vegetarians have an easier time in France if this is how they present it in their encounters.)

Actually, the sandwich press is pretty convenient for families with kids, or anyone who loves grilled sandwiches. Yeah, they're specialized, bu no more so than the reversible waffle iron/sandwich grill my mother had when I was growing up (40+ years ago) -- and the one I bought cost less than $10! Gifts I've gotten that I've loved: Cookbooks, especially the food porn ones that are too extravagant to buy for myself. Silicone bakeware. A knife block in a really attractive design. Gifts I haven't used: A pasta maker that someone picked up at a garage sale -- I could never clean it to my satisfaction before using it. Fancy cake decorations for holidays (sprinkles in the shape of shamrocks, anyone?). Fancy cake pans, ditto -- I don't need a baking mold for mini hearts or Christmas trees (cookie cutters make more sense).

PM me if you'd like a mini-lesson on cooking Japanese rice (without a rice cooker).

Try "asparagus feuilletes." Feuilletes means "little leaves" in French and is often used to name dishes made with leaves of puff pastry.

I agree with those who are outraged by the "big brother" aspects of the system, and with the parents' lack of trust in their kids. Moreover, kids who want to sneak in "forbidden foods" will always find a means to do so, from using their pocket money to buy such foods on the outside, to trading lunches with friends, to selling or trading their possessions if they're denied money by their parents. Do these parents really want to criminalize food?

I don't have a food chemistry degree, but IMHO, the "raw food" movement, with its talk of "living enzymes" is a bunch of bunk... or pseudoscience, if you will. While certain vitamins & other nutrients leach out of foods that are boiled (and go into the cooking liquid, which is why the famed Southern "pot likker" is so nutritious), whatever enzymes are in "live" raw food are killed as they make their way through the acids of the human digestive system.

The sushi bars near me use sriracha sauce.

Good, thoughtful response, Jason. Here's a link to a page about iodine and seaweed from the Vegan Society. It recommends the maximum safe quantities of various forms of seaweed that can be consumed annually.

Tomatoes. Growing up, I hated them in any way, shape, or form. I still pick out the seeds.

My husband and I sometimes hide the good cheese from my stepson. He doesn't have a discriminating palate and eats cheese in huge quantities -- we'd rather he do that with Kraft than with $15.99/pound Manchego! (We put it in the vegetable bin... he never looks there!)

Sorry to say we had exactly the opposite experience in Paris a few years ago when trying to dine with my stepson (who was a vegetarian at the time and speaks flawless Canadian French). Several places flat out refused to accommodate him, and we actually walked out of one restaurant after encountering a rude manager. We had the best luck with places serving non-French ethnic cuisine: Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Middle Eastern, etc. and with creperies -- which aren't exactly "fine dining" experiences. One vegan restaurant that came highly personally recommended to us was Le Grenier de Notre Dame, a tiny two-story British-run restautant in the shadow of Notre Dame. We thought the food was awful, and the service haphazard. The funny thing is, vegetarian/vegan, and organic foods are widely available at "bio" stores in many neighborhoods. They just haven't tanslated to restaurant experiences.

Lotsa answers. Whatever meats I feel like. Ground beef, ground pork, ground chicken, or even ground lamb. Sliced meats (any of the aforementioned). Shrimp. Ma po tofu. Spices/sauces, again it varies, from hoisin saucy things to oyster sauce to Vietnamese grills. Vegetables, not usually, except maybe for scallions in a stir-fry. Veggie & herb platter on the side to add to taste (bean sprouts, sliced cucumbers, sliced marinated carrots, basil leaves, mint, cilantro, saw leaf herb, green chiles for my husband), yes. Lettuce? Definitely leaf lettuce, red or green. Boston/butterhead lettuce is okay in a pinch. Dipping sauces depend on the filling. Hoisin; oyster & soy sauces mixed with a little sesame oil; ponzu sauce (Japanese citrus-soy); nuoc cham (fish sauce + lemon or lime juice + sugar + chiles).

This picture looks gorgeous!!! I want some!!! Now!!!

WOW is it well-written! Kudos to Ms. Hull, and thank you, Chefette, for posting the link. Most "civilians" (unless they've read Bourdain's book) think of the restaurant industry in terms of celebrity chefs -- they don't see the sweat and blood of the line cooks, the dishwashers, who are the backbone and muscles of the business. She tells a compelling story.

? What does that stand for? ← GMTA = Great minds think alike

My husband and I usually order only one entree because we're both small eaters... and quite often our choice will light upon the same "this looks interesting!" one! GMTA, and all that. Or, we'll order a selection of several different appetizers. The one exception is if we're eating in a Chinese restaurant and he wants to order bittermelon, which I hate. Then I'll choose another dish to my liking only. (Fair's fair!) When I'm dining with a friend, we'll either choose the menu together (as in tapa- type dishes) or order what we each please, even if it's the same. If the two dishes are different, so much the better. And I'll always offer the other person a generous taste of my dish, presuming (as usually happens) that s/he will do the same for me. Large table of friends/family = everyone orders a different dish and they get passed around. Large table at a meeting = usually everyone orders what s/he pleases and nothing gets passed around.

Or mi cuit foie gras, straight from the producer in the Dordogne. (Swoon....)

Not me, but I actually have a friend who dislikes chocolate in any way, shape or form. He doesn't have an allergy, mind you, but an aversion. More for me, I always say!

When you say "hmm, I'm in the mood for Italian" the last place you think of going to is Olive Garden. The fact that one can even get enough business in Manhattan to remain open perplexes you to no end. When you say "hmm, I want to call up for a pizza", it never enters your noggin to call Dominos. Furthermore, you probably don't even know where one is, although you can name at least a dozen pizza places in multiple boroughs that have "the best slice". When you order a pastrami sandwich, you never ever ever run the risk of the counter guy asking you if you'd like it with mayo. "Going out for chinese" involves hundreds of choices. Gastronomic bliss can be found in the form of five-for-a-buck dumplings at Fried Dumpling, or a $150 tasting menu at Per Se. Always something new to try. Specifically-speaking a suggestion: A Lower East Side/Chinatown/Little Italy grazing tour involving some combination of: a stop at NY Noodle Town; soup dumplings at Moon House or Joe's Shanghai; 5-for-a-buck dumplings at Fried Dumpling on Mosco Street or Tasty Dumpling on Mulberry Street while eating them across the way in Columbus Park; egg cake nuggets from a cart on Canal Street near Mulberry; jerky at New Beef King on Bayard Street or Jung's dried beef on Mulberry Street; a nosh at Fay Da bakery on Canal Street; a rasberry and cream tart at La Bella Ferrara on Mulberry Street; a knish at Yonah Schimmel's on Houston Street; gelato at Laboratorio Del Gelato on Orchard Street; candy stop at Economy Candy on Rivington Street; pastrami sandwich at Katz's on Canal Street; Gus's Pickles at the Tenement Museum; a you-know-what at Donut Plant on Grand Street; Roti Canai at Nyonya on Grand Street; and peeking into the endless ethnic markets and food stores that dot the area. *warning: do not attempt to eat all these things on one trip or you won't be able to fit into the subway!* ← You're making me weep.... An ex-New Yawka homesick after 14 years away.