Pontormo
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Posts posted by Pontormo
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While I have yet to experiment with puff pastry, this summer I made what Judy Rodgers calls a "rough" version of puff pastry for what she calls a peach crostada (and what the Alice Waters people would call more of a galette). It was extraordinary, thanks to the quality of the peaches, one of the best desserts I've ever had. Easy peasy, just time-consuming. The sense of accomplishment and factor of impressing and honoring guests are factors worth considering in evaluating pros and cons. Besides, the most accessible brand of puff pastry doesn't list butter as an ingredient.
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Funny how our national & family traditions determines our responses.
Speaking of peas, I haven't bought fresh English peas since I don't know when. On rare occasions when I am tempted in the spring, the results are disappointing or worse. Mealy, unpleasant. Frozen peas are so much better than anything I can purchase, shell and boil.
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oooh Pontormo, you know, I've never had something like that put before me to eat. My suburban upbringing cringes but my "foodie" side says I'd try it! There is still the mental factor to get over with some foods.
I just want to make sure credit goes to John Sconzo for another one of his wonderful reports of travel south of the United States: A Family Trip to Peru.
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A number of bunny dishes were prepared by Kevin72, Hathor & Andrew Fenton, the latter with a protracted Fuddian build-up. I got the impression that it's tough to buy a decent, succulent rabbit that has been bred for human consumption in the United States while European rabbits make superior, tender dishes.
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I didn't have any time between cooking and plating to take any pictures of our past events, but here's the cocktail snack I made for the "Eat Your Veggies" dinner.
gougeres
So, ummm, are there like puréed lima beans hidden in the dough?
I hope you're archiving the menus you create. I tried looking for the one for EYV on your link, but in vain.
Kudos, brava and bravo! I love the pictures of Lorna in her whites and Henry shaking a cocktail with verve.
Thank you for recording the meals.
Now, are plans for a meal of banned foods connected to Caché?
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My very first childhood memory involves a guinea pig I named Dolly.
Ollantaytambo
The cuy or guinea pigs were kept here and most of them tended to stay near the fire. Like with the alpacas getting to know these critters subsequently created some problems with the ability of Michael to enjoy their culinary attributes.
Having encountered the animals once more in adulthood and being now oblivious to their charms, I am okay with this report:
Chinchero
Here it is, Eliot
Roasted cuy and potatoes.The heads were served separately and are considered a particular delicacy...The skin was good though somewhat rubbery rather than crispy as I had hoped. The inside of the servings also contained various offal. The kidneys were particularly good... Andrew ate his half, but Michael initially refused, eventually relenting to taste it. He did not eat more than that, but was a good sport...
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Thank you Susan, Dianne and Robin for responding and for suggestions based on experience. It's funny, I often comb through all the recipes when I first look at a new cookbook, but the recipe for the chicken with artichokes and mushrooms just sounded so appealing, I kind of did the open-the-cookbook-and-choose type of selection that Daniel advocated some time ago in selecting an under-used book from one's shelves.
Everything worked out well, including the decision not to dredge and to leave the skin on for flavor until after the completion of the dish. My eyebrows are still on my face and kitchen intact, in part because I had forgotten I turned off the burner before pouring in the cognac and lighting it. The alcohol started burning out even before I turned the flame back on to a conservative degree. Only a few seconds of dramatic flare, mostly contained by steep walls of the Dutch oven. Substitutions of a natural but lower-fat sour cream for creme fraiche was fine as was stock for part of the white wine.
First taste of the reduced sauce after cream fully incorporated and all reduced some more was memorable. I love the combination and simple seasonings.
Frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joe's or Bird's Eye) are a good substitution for canned bottoms (sold at Whole Foods? Maybe hearts, but I noticed someone buying a couple of displayed cans during a recent shopping trip).
I skimmed the EGCI thread on braising with interest, especially Fifi's excellent summary. I ended up not following sound advice about switching from a cast iron skillet to the Dutch oven even though I agree that browning within the latter is sometimes a problem, especially since mine seems to have a hot spot where burning occurs a bit too easily if I get distracted. I just wanted to have the sticky bits for the sauce and avoid igniting Cognac in such a broad, relatively shallow pan. All was fine.
The only thing I would change is the amount of time chicken cooks in oven. An hour seems a bit excessive for the chicken parts I used. I did pre-salt them for over 24 hours, though. A little drier than I would have liked for meat as moist as thighs tend to be. Minor, though.
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I would also like to point out that the movie from which the title of this thread is taken is poor as well.
This comment about a revolutionary classic enjoyed by sappy, sentimentals and knowledgeable film scholars alike just shows you how different personal taste can be!While food is not a highlight by any means, there is an interesting scene that takes place at dinner, demonstrating how much the ritual has changed.
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St. Louis is known for Italian food and Trattoria Marcella is wonderful.
Tim
Italian-American food, judging from the menu. Putting couscous into artichokes seems original rather than a nod to any particular tradition.
When I lived in St. Louis I just don't remember anything truly remarkable about either Italian or Italian-American restaurants. There is--or was--one elegant Italian restaurant that I understand was worth a visit for a special occasion, but I don't recall the name. The best food I had when dining out was simple and unsophisticated: barbeque from a shack at an outdoor market across the street from Blueberry Hill (unremarkable burgers) or Chinese food at places a Chinese friend introduced to me. Nothing truly special or remarkable to report.
If Drewes is open, it's worth trying concrete to say you've had it even though you won't be able to get fresh peach at this time of year.
I just tried an advanced search, requesting posts with "Louis" in the title only, specifying The Heartland as the only forum to check.
Two pages came up, most inspired by upcoming trips, so you might take a look.
Here are a couple of links to get you started:
Looking for recommendations in St Louis
or this older one with links.
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Deep-fried ravioli and frozen concrete.
There are pre-existing threads with recommendations. Just gotta hunt.
Fried chicken is Kansas City.
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Little Ms. Foodie: Still without a working oven?
You need to slip on the right pair of shoes and do some stamping!Bruce: In keeping personal records of meals consumed, I find myself writing "Eternal Cucumbers" these days.
This is a GREAT first line for a short story.I came home from work to find a very-tired wife and a kg of pig belly.
Sigh!After our bike trip through Northern Vietnam....That looks so elegant, so civilized, so good. Glutton? Nah....
Well, what do you know? They make squared off meatballs, stretch 'em a bit and plunk 'em on top of the red sauce!
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So many asparaguys here. I turned mine into soup sprinkled with chives and cornbread on the side. Ate my fruit while looking at what you all have wrought so I might dream of glistening, succulent calories...
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Doddie, thank you and your patiently photographed family. This was my first glimpse of Korea and your world beyond the plate. It was a pleasure.
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Thanks for the information, Franci.
Judith, brava!!!! You continue to inspire. Franci's the expert, but it would seem your nationality is transmogrifying...
P.S. I neglected to compliment you, too, on the individually molded gelati. Sort of in keeping with the region in that the flattened peak evokes the city of Urbino perched on high, with the plate the surrounding conquered territories of the duke and saba, rivers linking the court to distant seats of power.
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I like all the responses here that refer to the obvious legacy of the verrine.
Also worth noting are the past three decades of architectonic platings of foods. With verrines you merely have a convenient means for piling up foods more inclined to ooze or spread than tower.
However, there is something to be said for the intersection of food as art and our associations of glass casings.
It's as if you've got a mini-museum to contemplate, complete with display case.
Or, if the ingredients are marine, perhaps an aquarium.
Terrarium? I guess the next step would be to make little scenes out of the contents in the diner's glass. A little island with granular surface to one side with frondy bits above a flaky chocolate trunk...
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Pi Rules...
"Pithy, piquant."---Pythagoras
"Piacular."--Pius VII
"Moi, je regrette..." --Piaf
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It might be fun to let the number for Pi figure (
) into as many aspects of the celebration as possible, including formulas in recipes, number of ingredients in fillings of pies (or toppings if pizza pies), guests, size of wedges served and so forth.Why not ask for volunteers among guests to contribute something in the spirit of Pi along with whatever you prepare. See how creative they get and please, please, report back.
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I'm tempted to start two new threads based on the following musings, but I'll just start here and see if anyone posts replies. If not, new threads.
I plan to make the braised chicken with artichokes and mushrooms with thighs I've retained after replenishing my supply of chicken stock this week.
I. Cooking with Spirits
One of the attractions of the dish is the fact that the ingredients include cognac which I bought for a dish I made at Christmas even though it's not something I drink on its own.
Here's the thing: I have a narrow, compact kitchen with one of those metal hoods over the stove and wooden cabinets right above that. The stove is quite broad, fitting snuggly against more wood with a fraction of an inch between it and the painted wall to the right and to the left, counter space and low-hanging cabinets.
"How about a little fire, Scarecrow?"
The Wicked Witch of the West's taunt could have been directed to me. I am terrified of kitchen fires. I know the lid routine and have had to put out a few, but not enough to feel optimistic about the outcome.
Molly Stevens is hardly reassuring when she instructs you to ignite the cognac, but be careful because it could be quite dangerous, so stand back for 2 minutes.
TWO MINUTES???!!!
I might faint. Or burn down the building. Advice?
II. Modifying for calories
Undermining concept given intentions to use cognac. However, one thing a number of people do to eliminate calories is to skip the step of dredging poultry or meat in flour before searing or browning it. Is this really a significant change? Just how much of a benefit are you gaining by eliminating a step that I assume is there to help thicken the sauce of the braise?
This question about dredging may be moot since I am not a fan of chicken skin in braises, especially when it comes to reheated leftovers. Roasted skin, definitely, but not soft, pimply poultry epidermis.
(I am also subbing a very good "Light" sour cream for the creme fraiche Stevens substitutes for the traditional egg-finishing of a fricassee.)
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Franci: Looks like a good meal for these final days of winter.
I've seen frozen cut-up black chickens in local Asian grocery stores, but that's clearly not the same as your poulet noir. Could you explain what your bird is and how it differs from other chickens?
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Highchef: Check out Kevin's seafood risotto here as confirmation. If you spend time in the regional cooking threads in the Italian forum, you might find more good ideas for risotto. Kevin's post is for last month's exploration of the Veneto, a region known for the quality of its rice, so quite a few of us made risotto. I highly recommend the risotto with green apples that Elie (Foodman) introduces. This month, we've turned to Le Marche where one local speciality is very simple: just butter, a little minced onion, white wine, a little pecorino, a little Parmesan, then a touch of cinnamon, and when plated, freshly ground black pepper and a dusting of freshly grated lemon zest. Delicious. I bet the apple risotto would be good with a little bit of that cinnamon.Portormo, I love the link, I was thinking a shellfish stock would be ok, but I needed confirmation. I'll try that next week..Jonathan Kaplan, I'm thinking along the same lines. Dill, even tarragon??? and using a shellfish stock.
But. Isn't salmon sturdy enough to live with another flavor..I mean salmon is like the meat of seafood, so does it need a seafood stock for the risotto? or can it handle it's own. I don't know guys, that's why I come to the best.
Hmmm... I seem to have clipped the wrong reference to dried porcini and grit. Jan Primus: Put your dried mushrooms in a small bowl. Boil water and pour it over the mushrooms, covering the bowl with a plate if you'd like to trap the heat. Wait at least 20 minutes. Remove the mushroom pieces, squeezing them a bit so they're not all soggy, then chop them into smaller pieces. Then take the finest mesh strainer you've got and strain the soaking liquid. I use a little tea strainer. The grit remains in the mesh and you can add some or all of the soaking liquid to your risotto along with the broth for a more intense mushroom flavor.Hi everyone, first post here......How about trying dried ceps(porcini)soaked in tepid water and added half way through? Remember to add all but the last dregs of the soaking liquid( as they contain grit etc) -
Salmon is wonderful with syrupy coating of soy sauce and Asian flavors (see posts above), pan-roasted and plated on a bed of garlicky bitter greens with sweet potato fries. Wedges of lime.
However, one of the two reasons I will ever buy fresh dillweed (otherwise merely tolerate the stuff, though perfect in this dish) is salmon. Crush a clove of garlic with salt and mix it into thick plain yogurt with lots of chopped dillweed and freshly ground Sichuan pepper. Marinate for about 15 minutes or so, then bake in oven preheated to 450 F for around 10 minutes, maybe more. Good w parsleyed potatoes or rice and asparagus.
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Apparently, you are right to question the significance of the Greek letter which is traced to a William Jones in 1706, suggesting perhaps the appropriateness of steak & kidney pie--depending on the mathematician's nationality.SB (seems to me like some kind of Greek pie would be appropriate?)
Are you quite sure that the idea of Pi is Greek? Sometimes these things turn out to be ancient Sumerian or something, instead. It would be wrong to make a Greek pie where an Ancient Sumerian pie would be more historically accurate.
However, for those of you who do not recognize the wisdom of a birthday cake, I would turn your attention to Yann Martel, the winner of the Man Booker Prize, and suggest either ingredients or decorations resembling hyena, orangutan, a wounded zebra and/or a Bengal tiger.
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In honor of Brooks, I'm gonna pull out the 8 x 8 and bake me a cake!
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I finally got around to consulting this cookbook given the number of extraordinary photographs and recommendations. Actually, Ling was kind enough to share the recipe for braised pork belly after Henry's pictures tempted me to try such a fatty meat and I adored it even without his mother's sesame rolls. Klary's recent photograph of white beans and escarole, though, is more along the lines of what I am eating these days.
Since I had half a head of cauliflower in the refrigerator and cook Italian or Italianate dishes all the time, I selected the Indian-style braised cauliflower, potatoes and peas to serve in a simple meal with a spicy banana raita and long-grain rice cooked with minced mushrooms, red onion and cumin; no dahl since I discovered I was out of the red lentils I was sure I had.
It's a quick dish to put together and the contrast between the white vegetables electrified by tumeric and the green peas saved the meal from the category of White Food for Picky Children. Otherwise, I was totally underwhelmed. I was surprised that there was neither garlic nor onion in the dish, an omission that is in keeping with tradition, judging by what Madhur Jaffrey offers in a similar recipe for something mothers put in their children's packed lunches. Subtlety has its uses, but you need to be sniffle-free and in the mood for it.
I also discovered that untoasted cumin seeds, left intact, evoke my former life as a participating member of a food co-op. Not a source of shame. To the contrary. However, some of the things we used to cook out of books bound with sheets of unbleached, light brown paper...
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What a rich, golden color! Is it due to large quantity of both egg and cheese? What kind of cheese, Franci?
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I hope your friend from this region does join us.
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Pierre's inquiry is brief, yet if he is spending eight full days in Florence, his priorities may include getting to know the city really well or spending time in museums, churches, libraries or archives without necessarily going on a culinary pilgrimage. It sounds as if he may simply want to enjoy his meals, avoiding the many mediocre tourist spots. Certainly, it's wonderful to get out of the city, especially with a long-time resident who knows the dintorni. The original post does not mention a car or degree of familiarity with the destination.
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Since it's hard to judge reliability of the people who post recommendations on this site, let me urge you to trust what Dean has to say about Florence. He's a former wine buyer for Whole Foods who started a successful neighborhood restaurant close by (me) modelled on his favorite kind of unpretentious, good little place he's encountered in Italy. His standards are high, knowledge extensive and personal taste is to be respected. Click on "Dean on Tuscany" to find his observations on Florence towards the bottom of the list. When he refers to his friend Judy, it's divina whose personal web site has already been recommended above.http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restaurants/...ossacce&s=duomoThe above is a link to multiple good reviews from a very nice travel site where I post obsessively. It's addicting. RR
You'll find further information, if as you note, not recent, pinned above in this forum. Divina's web site has more recent news.
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P.S. On second thought, you should increase the number of eggs I recommended for carbonara in the post above. I just saw your comments on the preceding page concerning eggs the size of golf balls.
The beaten contents of a single large egg here in the US measures approximately 1/4 cup, so adjust number of whole eggs and extra egg yolks accordingly.
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Since I'm posting again, I'll note that there is a kind of hippy-vegetarian restaurant called Moosewood whose collective kitchen publishes cookbooks. One that I own contains a recipe for a Philippine breakfast of garlic-fried rice topped with an egg sunny-side up, crunchy salt and as many little tiny green tabasco peppers pickled in vinegar as you can stand along with a few splashes of the vinegar. I don't know how authentic the combination is, but it's definitely a favorite!
Cache Dinner Club
in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Dining
Posted
The menus you have posted are so beautifully orchestrated and incredibly tempting. I'd probably go with the Pig Fest if I had to choose, though both the Chinese & SW France are appealing, too. I can't wait to see what you do when the seasons change and the markets have ramps (
?), fava beans, artichokes...
As for the wild fennel pollen, I believe divina posted something somewhere about what goes on to collect it and why it is so expensive. I don't know if it's gathered any place other than Italy & wonder what effect it has on the following year's wild fennel.