Parmhero
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Posts posted by Parmhero
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Had this Valrhona chocolate mousse at Divino Wine and Cheese Bistro in Calgary. The chef and server recommended it as their favorites. It looked lovely, but I found it a bit too sweet.
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For homefries, I boil the potatoes first--until firmly-soft, but not mushy. Then you can slice them or dice them. I like to use russets or yukon gold potatoes. I currently use peanut oil, or butter, or mix of peanut oil and butter to fry them golden brown. A few tablespoons of each. You can add more oil or butter if the potatoes are too dry and sticking. Sometimes I sprinkle with paprika and a dash of cayenne, sometimes just salt and pepper.
I also saute thinly sliced onions before making the potatoes, then mix them together.
Cook on medium heat, and let them set, then using a spatula turn sections over and separate the potatoes to get an even browning.
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I hope the Millenium restaurant is still going strong. It's near Union Square, as I recall. This place is vegan but served arguably the best food I've ever eaten.
"Best food ever eaten" sounds good. I'll look for Millenium.
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I've experienced this phenomenon many times, particularly during lunches with co-workers at Chinese restaurants--with two, three, or a dozen people. To clarify up front, I learned to ask whether people wanted to share dishes or have their own individual meals. It's amazing how many times people want their own dishes and don't want to share. I always find it disappointing and sad, but what can you say....
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Those dishes look great, doc. Koi Palace is on my radar for the week after next. Interesting contrast between your impression and molto e's. I think the Chinese sensibility is more delighted by what Westerners find odd or extreme types of tastes and textures. That's probably why people who value "authentic" dim sum feel Koi Palace is the best, while others find, from the desciptions I've read, the more toned down fare at Yank Sing more to their liking.
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I'll be in San Francisco on business for six days in May, which means an opportunity for six dinners.
I've noticed that a number of people were interested in less expensive restaurants than the Ames and French Laundry's of the world. As an excercise I'd like to see how well I can do within my company limit.
So here's the proposition: 6 best dinners in SF for around $50. Open to all cuisines.
What would be your six choices if you had to stick to a limit of $50 per meal--just food and tax. It can be less, or could be a bit more--$55 or $60.
(I feel like I've dined vicariously at French Laundry, Ame, Manresa, through the tours of doc, Ling, et al. anyway)
Chez Panisse is one I'm aiming for--probably the cafe.
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Another day, another omelet....
Today's fare: a mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan reggiano, and onion omelet, with home fries, toast, coffee.
The bread here is no slouch.
It's made by a husand and wife who quit their jobs in Manhattan and opened up a bread bakery in Wilton, CT. They studied under a master. They only make one type of loaf, a Three-Grain Pain de Campagne, "Handcrafted in the artisan tradition." It's made of spelt, rye, and white flour, and they say they "mill our organic ingredients daily." It's $5 per loaf. It's sold in groceries around here and you can also stop in and buy loaves directly at the bakery. It is indeed a great bread.
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There's way too much dry cake with sugary frosting in the world. Bad pie at least generally includes fruit. Bad cake has nothing to redeem it.
Come now, everyone. You must adhere to the initial premise posed: You have a choice between the best cake vs. the best pie.
Ergo, poorly baked pies and cakes are not a factor in the decision.
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Thanks for sharing the (unhappy) ending. A painfully hrrraaappp! brunch.
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I've been researching restaurants for a similar trip in mid-May and have drawn up a similar list. From what I've gathered, Koi Palace is considered superior to Yank Sing for dim sum among those who know.
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There are many species and classes of "foodie"--elitist being one of them. I think the key to what constitutes a foodie in general are found in the two insights of Shalmanese and phaelon56 above--that many people are apathetic about food , and that many can't discern quality food. Foodies care more about food, and have a keener appreciation of the nuances of its taste and preparation. Anyone with a deeper interest, knowledge, and passion for food is a foodie. And among that group, there are many varieties, and extremes.
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Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods' roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.
Ulysses, James Joyce, Chapter 4.
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With fresh tomatoes, I just reduce the sauce in the pan on medium high heat until the water evaporates and it reaches a thick consistency. It takes about 20 minutes. No thickeners required. You could also add tomato paste.
I make tomato sauce all the time--usually from canned tomato puree (prefer Redpack but have tried all kinds, Scalfani, etc.), plus canned plum tomatoes, and in the summer, fresh plum tomatoes with fresh basil. With fresh tomatoes, I used to blanch them first to remove the skins, but now I just rinse them, cut off the stem top and cut them in half or quarters. The skins come off while cooking and you can remove them later if you like.
The better the ingredients, the better the results.
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I stayed at the Hotel Boulderado in Boulder a few years ago and ate at the restaurant in the hotel called Q's. It was fantastic.
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Real wood charcoal lights a lot faster than briquettes. Ball up a couple of pieces of newspaper, stuff them in the chimney bottom, pour the charcoal in the top part, place the unit on the grill, and light the newspaper. Five minutes later, you're ready to go.
The ashes fall through the slit in the Weber bottom into a tray. Every so often you empty the tray. No big deal.
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My friend gave us a large-size Weber Kettle as a wedding present 16 years ago. Still have it, and use it regularly. I've only had to replace the cooking grill because of rust. The replacement grill I bought allows you to flip up the sides to add coals.
I agree that real wood charcoal is the way to go. I use Connecticut or Cowboy brand wood charcoal. It lights fast and burns faster and hotter than briquets, and yields superior results. Charcoal does make a difference. I've used gas grills and found the results inferior. The flame just isn't the same. Tip: It's better to use a little more rather than too little charcoal for your fire, or the cooking takes place too slow at too low heat. I use a chimney to start the fire. Avoids accelerant smells and flavor on the food.
The Weber produces tremendous burgers, dogs, steaks, chicken, lamb chops, kabobs. I place the charcoal to the sides, put the lid on, and cook chickens and turkeys in the middle of the grill in one hour. Makes really good roast chicken or turkey--juicy interior, barbequed exterior. Stuffed or unstuffed. Same for roasted leg of lamb.
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Thank You, Merlin. That looks like a great list. Appreciate the time you took to share the info. Looking forward to seeing Calgary--and of course, eating there.
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I see that the last post in this thread was in January. Did a neutron bomb hit the Calgary folk? If there are any survivors, here is my query: I'll be in Calgary for a first-time visit in mid-May. Would appreciate pointers to restaurants--top-tier, midrange, ingeresting cuisines. Is there a Calgary cuisine? (Is it moose?) Silence, what's the sound of one hand clapping. Seriously, any help gratefully accepted.
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I'll be in Portland for a couple of days in mid-May and I'm thinking about trying Higgins. From my "research," mainly reading reviews on TripAdvisor, duck dishes seem to be a Higgins highlight.
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A nice thing about baking pies is that once you have mastered the technique for make a good crust it is easy to make a very good pie yourself.
Ah, but there's the rub! So many proffered pies prove paltry in the tasting. True pie mastery is such a rare gift--so much so that a mate who possesses such skill is exalted in song:
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Which is why a good pie is hard to find. I know many of us recognize this, yet it must be said: It's amazing how many appallingly bad pies there are out there, and how difficult it is to find a really good pie outside of baking one. I've yet to find an acceptable pie in 16 years of living in this area of Connecticut. The dissappointment has come from every quarter, including bakeries and expensive, high-end places like Hay Day (now Balduccis).
Same thing goes for cakes. It's difficult to find a really good cake at a bakery, store, restaurant, or deli, even at places that are supposedly cake specialists.
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That's a lovely looking lemon tart, Abra. And beautiful floral decoration. Did you make the decoration yourself?
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For all the pie people, here's a great sweet potato pecan pie recipe from Paul Prudhomme. I've made it a few times. It's fab.
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Cheesecake is CAKE.
For those who categorize cheesecake as a pie based on an affinity of pumpkin pie and other custard pies, the analogy is inaccurate and misapplied. Pumpkin pies and other custard pies do not reach the heights that certain cheesecakes attain. Many cheesecake recipes include flour. Ever see, and hopefully eat, a Carnegie Deli cheescake?
http://www.carnegiedeli.com/cdicheesecaker...li%20Cheesecake
That's a cake!
Breakfast! The most important meal of the day (2004-2011)
in Cooking
Posted
Visited Tartine Bakery in San Francisco for the first time this morning. People lined up waiting for the bakery to open at 9. The smells emanating from the bakery were seductive. Elisabeth Prueitt, the owner and pastry chef, was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on a strawberry bavarian confection.
I had a croque monsieur with asparagus, ham, and gruyerre. It was delicious.
From San Francisco Magazine:
Prueitt spent part of her childhood in rural New York State, where her parents raised ducks and goats and grew much of their own food. As she sees it, growing up in a family that valued art and craftsmanship and encouraged a do-it-yourself ethic paved a natural course to the kitchen. "It's no accident that I became a pastry chef. There's so much beauty in baking," says Prueitt, who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. "I love the elegance and simplicity of it." But as it turns out, running a bakery requires a whole lot more than making cakes. "Tartine is an outlet for all the things I like to do. I get to have my hands in everything."