[Apple Balsamic Vinegar]

I've been using Golles brand for about 5 years, it is 8 years old made in Austria and is very good

[Flour Blends for Deep-Frying]

Good topic, I have been trying to duplicate the crispy shrimp recipe served at Bonefish Grill, PEi Wei, and Mama Fu's and possibly others. Bonefish calls it Bang Bang shrimp, and Mama Fu's calls it Dynamite Shrimp. The sauce is not difficult to duplicate, but the golden color lightly battered crispy shrimp is not easy. Corn starch gives me the crispy part but I cant get the golden brown color. I've tried rice flour etc. but still not there.

[Your Go-To Vinaigrette Recipe]

Has anyone tried Argan oil as a vinegarette? How does it compare to EVOO or others?

[Cooking with vinegar]

I use vinegar regularly. I like sherry vinegar and I like several of the Cuisine Perel flavored vinegars. I just brought back apricot vinegar and strawberry vinegar from Germany.

I also like to use vinegar based Crystal Hot Sauce on many vegatables and in macaroni and cheese and other things.

[Lesser-known Italian Pasta Sauces]

Great idea, give us an example or two of some of the sauces you have found.

[De Louis Apple and Fig Bouquet Vinegars]

I found this at a local gourmet shop, and since it was half price I was tempted to buy it. I know Vinagrerie De Louis ET Cie is a well-regarded producer of specialty vinegars.

They say it is Vinegar processed from special apples but made in the style of a blasamic vingar. It's supposed to be intensely fruity and even slightly sweet. Likewise, the Fig vinegar is made from figs. Can I use it is situations that I would use regular balsamic?

I have heard about a few ways to use fig vinegar, but there is not much about the Apple type. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Link to product is here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0008IT4EC?smid=A...20&linkCode=asn

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Sound great. I have beem using an Austrian Apple Balsamic for years, and it is wonderful. Here is a link http://www.jonesandbones.com/index.php?act...ubstart=0&id=85

[Vanilla Beans: The Topic]

I have made 10 lbs. of Vanilla Sugar for Christmas gifts and will sift out the split and scrapped beans out in a couple of weeks.  The last time I checked the beans were all sugary.  I hate to throw these beans away.

Anyone have any ideas for a use for these sugared split Vanilla Beans?

Thanks,

Don

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Interesting, I have the same thing going. I have a dozen 12 oz bottles of vanilla steeping and one small bowl of sugar. I made half of the vanilla from vodka and half from brandy. I also have one small bottle made from tequilla.

[Pickled eggs]

I also have trouble waiting. I like to add the juice from a jar of pickeled beets to my eggs. It turns them a nice purple color and adds a little flavor. It takes about a week for the color to completely turn all of the white to purple. So I believe they are still curing for the first 6-7 days.

[Pickled eggs]

I never use fresh eggs. Its to much trouble to peel them. I always let the eggs set in the refrigerator for at least 5 days, 7 days is even better.

[Quality of olive oil and its effects in cooking]

Great post. The oils you compared are all very good and your testing was fair. I have a favorite oil that I like. It is from Apulia. Its Piccolo Molino Olio di Bitonto. Very green, very peppery. About 15.00 per 750ml.

[How Do YOU Make Oatmeal?]

I love oatmeal, but I am very particular about the texture after it is cooked. I dont want mush. I like to taste the oat. The only oatmeal I have found that meets my criteria is Christine and Robs roasted oatmeal from Oregon. Their url is http://www.christineandrobs.comly

[Tomato pie!]

I peel my tomatoes, slice them and let them drain in a strainer. I also pre bake my crust with a grated cheese covered bottom. Grated sharp cheese work well. This keeps the tomatoes off of the bottom crust.

[The five essential hot sauces]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned toban jian, although maybe that doesn't quite qualify as a "sauce"? If it does count as a sauce, though, it pretty much stands alone. A lot of the other sauces mentioned can sub for one another (Tabasco, Crystal, etc.) but the fermented beans in toban jian add a unique depth of flavor. I wouldn't be without it.

Also, I second Tapatio, and agree with whoever said that Tabasco has too much bite and not enough flavor. It's always immediately identifiable to me in whatever it's in. The flavor just sits there on top saying, "Hey! I'm Tabasco!"

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I had not heard of toban jian before your note. I was at the M&T Oriental Supermarket in Austin yesterday and I found something similar. It is Pixian Bean Sauce. Its a more brown color than red like chile garlic sauce. Definately a chile and bean mixture, but very thick almost a paste.

[The five essential hot sauces]

If you’re like me following this thread you are overwhelmed with the number of hot sauces mentioned so far. So I began to wonder which sauces were the most popular using “mentions” as the criteria. I went back through the lists and compiled a table by sauce name or type.

In first place with the most “mentions” is “Tabasco original”. That is closely followed by “Siracha”. In third place is “Crystal Hot Sauce”. There is a tie for the next most popular mentions, “Tabasco chipotle”, “Texas Pete Hot Sauce”, “Franks Red Hot” and Marie Sharps Original are all the same number of mentions. Next is “Cholula” and then “Matouks Hot Pepper original”.

All of these have these all have multiple mentions. The next group is again all tied. It includes:

“Rasta Fire Hot Sauce’. ‘Red Devil’, ‘Original Juan Pain from Kansas City’, ‘Sambal olek’, ‘Hot pickled peppers in vinegar like Pickapeppa’,’ Kochujang’, ‘Chinese Chili oil’, ‘Thai garlic chile paste’, ‘Bello from Dominica’, ‘El Yucateco salsa picante’.

All others had only one mention so I haven’t listed them.

Just thought some may find it interesting

[The five essential hot sauces]

Very interesting thread. I have been interested in hot sauces for a while now. I have a MS Word file I have made up that discusses the different types of hot sauces, not by brand but by type. It's title is "A comparrison of chile sauces". Some of the types discussed are Louisiana-Style, Caribbean Style, Mexican/Southwestern Style, Asian Style etc. It's still a work in progress but if anyone is interested just send me an E-mail.

[Lentils]

I am presently mulling over a recipe for lentil stew and was wondering what folks use for soups of various types, salads, side dishes, etc. Is there a lentil thread somewhere on eGullet? I know that some varieties break down when cooked and might be best for pureed items and that some hold their shape. Also which have the best/most distinctive flavor? Any advice or references would be helpful. Thanks.

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I just did this soup using French Lentils from Whole Foods or I also found them at Central Market here in Austin

French Lentil Soup with Garlic Sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup diced carrots, (about 2 medium carrots cut into ¼ inch dices)

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup diced celery (about 2 medium stalks cut ¼ inch dices)

6 ounces fully cooked garlic sausage such as kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch dice (see note)

3 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2 teaspoons dried thyme

9 cups beef stock

2 bay leaves, broken in half

1 pound (2 cups) green French lentils (see note)

1 teaspoon (about) kosher salt to taste

¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley garnish

Heat oil in a large pot with a lid medium heat. When hot, he carrots, onion and celery, cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, garlic and thyme, cook 1 minute more.

Add stock and bay leaves, and mixture to a simmer over neat. Add the lentils, reduce cover and cook at a gentle simmer until tender, about 50 minutes.

Remove and discard the bay leaves.

Then remove as many garlic pieces as you can find and combine with 1/2 cup of solids strained from the soup mixture.

Puree the garlic and solids in a food processor or place in a small bowl and smash with the lack of a fork. Stir the pureed mixture back into the pot. Season soup with salt to taste. (If you used reduced-sodium stock, you will need to add a generous 'mount – about 1 teaspoon salt.) Ladle soup into 6 soup bowls and garnish each with parsley.

Note: Reduced-fat turkey kielbasa works fine in this recipe. Green French lentils, often called Puy lentils, can be found in some supermarkets (such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats) and specialty food stores.

[Stuffed Peppers]

I've got lots of recipes for stuffed peppers.  I'm looking for your Grandma's stuffed peppers. 

Let me have em'.

Laurie

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Stuffed Peppers (The secret is the parmesan cheese, lots of it in the meat mixture)

3 lbs. ground meat; At least 1 lb of ground pork. The rest ground chuck. If possible include ½ to ¾ lb. of ground veal

12 firm peppers, green, red or yellow

1 onion, chopped

4-5 stalks of celery, chopped

4 -5 carrots, shredded

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

Oil for sautéing

2 pkg pre cooked rice

14 oz can crushed tomatoes

18 oz parmesan cheese

8 oz. tomato sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cans tomato sauce for cooking the peppers

Extra parmesan cheese to add to the top of the peppers

Sauté the onion, celery and carrots until almost soft, set aside to cool.

Combine the ground meat, rice, crushed tomatoes, cheese, tomato sauce and spices and mix well. When the vegetables are cool add them to the meat mixture.

Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the core, membrane and seeds. Stuff the meat mixture into the peppers. Fill completely with the meat mix. Place the filled peppers into a 5 qt pot and add the extra tomato sauce and tomatoes around the peppers. Sprinkle some additional cheese on the top of the peppers. Cover and bake at 350 F for 2 hrs or until the peppers are soft.

[Tortilla Soup]

I love good tortilla soup. Most recipes call for a chicken stock base. Recently I tried the soup at Baja Fresh, and I really liked it, but it didn't appear to be chicken stock based. It almost tasted like beef stock. It was a dark color and quite rich. Does anyone know?

[Really Good Red Beans and Rice]

It may be a sacrilage but I think that "Popeyes Fried Chicken" red beans and rice are outstanding. Does anyone know what gives them that flavor.

[Pickled eggs]

I am quite fond of pickles and adore eggs, however until two nights ago when I ate one that tasted strongly of red wine vinegar at a fine new NYC restaurant called Stand, I'd never eaten a pickled egg.  The eating of it has motivated me to pickle some of my own. 

What I know so far:

the base for the cure is salt, sugar, vinegar

the duration is 2 days to 3 weeks

I'd love to hear how people pickles theirs and in addition of experiences people have had in eating them in midwest bars or elsewhere.

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Wow, what timing, I am doing a batch today.

Here is my recipe and a couple of others I have tried.

Pickled Eggs 1

This recipe comes from the

‘Texas Rangers Cookbook” I have tried it and it is good.

1 cup beet juice

1 cup vinegar

4 cups water

1 – 2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

2 tsp pickling spice

½ tsp salt

1 med onion, chopped

Pour all ingredients over peeled hard boiled eggs and let stand for 3 – 4 days

Pickled Eggs 2

This recipe is similar to the Texas Rangers recipe but it uses more vinegar and more spices and the recipe calls for simmering everything together for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

1 Can / bottle pickled beet juice

3 cups vinegar

1 cup water

3 – 4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Bay leaf

3 – 4 tbl pickling spice

½ tsp salt

1 med onion, chopped

3 tbl sugar

Cracked pepper to taste

1 tbl mustard seed

1 tbl dill seed

1 tbl mixed whole spices

Put all ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, simmer for 8 -10 minutes.

Pour over peeled hard boiled eggs. Let stand in refrigerator for at least two days, preferably longer.

Alton Browns pickled eggs

This recipe comes from Alton Brown, one of the Food Network chefs. I haven’t tried it yet but the liquid smoke seems interesting.

Dark and Lovely eggs

21/2-C cider vinegar

¾-C water

11/2-tbl dark brown sugar

1 tbl-granulated sugar

11/2-t pickling spice

¼-t liquid smoke

1-tbl salt

¾-t pepper flakes

Hard cooked eggs

Place everything in a saucepan, cook until sugar is dissolved. In a jar pour solution over the eggs. Refrigerate 4 weeks. Keeps in refrigerator for 2 months

Classic Pickled eggs

I did try this recipe and it is a very mild recipe. The cider is something different and it isn’t bad but I prefer more vinegar taste.

21/2-C apple cider

¾-C champagne vinegar

1-tbl salt

2-t pickling spice

6- whole cloves garlic

Hard cooked eggs

In a jar pour solution over the eggs. Refrigerate 4 weeks. Keeps in refrigerator for 2 months

Things you can do to personalize the recipe.

Vinegar – White vinegar is pure manufactured chemistry. Use white vinegar for cleaning countertops and floors.

Apple cider vinegar is good. It has a nice apple flavor and is one of the strongest tasting vinegars. White wine vinegar is also very good to use. Slightly milder flavor, so if you want to soften the taste try this.

Sugar – White or brown sugars are both good. Try them separately and see if you can tell the difference.

Vinegar to water ratio. More water for a lighter taste. More vinegar for a tart taste. You decide.

[Making Hot Sauces – Recipes, Techniques, etc.]

I also like hot sauces. A while back I spent some time on the internet trying to determine what the difference was in the many sauces you see in stores and read about in forums. My efforts turned into a short 7 page Word document. It has some recipes but they were not the focus, I just wanted to get a understanding of the difference in the sauces from around the world.

Some of the sauces I looked at for comparison were

Louisiana-Style, Caribbean Style, Mexican/Southwestern Style, Asian Style, Sriracha, Sambal Harissa Berbere (Ethiopian chile paste)Vindaloo, Red Curry Paste, Gochujang (Korean),Nam Prik and Chinese Chili Garlic sauce.

I will send you the file if you are interested.

[Pepper and Salt Mills/Grinders]

I have used the Unicorn Magnum rated the best by Cooks Illustrated for years. It's has a wide range of grind. Side loading for ease when filling and a large capacity and has an oversize milling mechanism.

[Tomatillos: The Topic]

On a lark, I picked up a few tomatillos at the grocery store yesterday.  I've never even tasted one to know it.

What can I make to help me understand what tomatillos bring to the plate?

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I make a verde sauce with tomatillos that I serve over cheese or chicken enchiladas.

3½ -4 lb. fresh tomatillos, husked and washed

2-3 jalapeño chili peppers or 3 serrano chili peppers, stemmed (and seeded if you prefer a milder sauce)

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 large onion

1 head garlic

1-2 cups apple juice.

Optional: the tops of a bunch of green onions also chopped small

Optional: I add 1 or 2 snack boxes of raisins to the sauce when it is in the blender. They add a nice sweetness to the sauce.

Roast the tomatillos under the broiler for about 5 minutes per side, turning once. Let them get good and brown.

Roast the head of garlic by cutting a piece off the top and then pouring a little olive oil over the head and wrapping it in tin foil. Bake at 350 for 30 – 40 minutes or until soft.

Roast the chilies with the tomatillos or in a fry pan. Frying them for 10 minutes. This will cause the outside of the chilies to blacken.

Chop the onion and sauté it in a little oil until it caramelizes. Again let the onion get good and caramelized

Put everything into a blender and puree.

Return to a sauce pan and simmer for 30 – 45 minutes.

[Flavored salt]

I came across some flavored salt at a farmers market. This was really salt crystals infused with flavor. Roasted garlic, Chipolte lime etc. I bought some and it is quite good. Does anyone know how this process is done? How do you infuse the crystals with the flavor and keep them crystal shaped?