djyee100

Apparently there is Nesselrode and there is Nesselrode. The classic European dessert contained chestnut puree and candied fruit. The American version, a popular Christmas dessert in the 1950s & 60s, usually skipped the chestnuts in favor of more candied fruit, rum, and chocolate shavings. I haven't heard mention of Nesselrode Pie in decades. Even finding a photo of one on the web is a challenge. A pic of Nesselrode Pie, 2nd row, last pic: http://books.google.com/books?id=TucnTDr5q...result#PPA89,M1 If you don't know what Nesselrode Pie is, you're in good company. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...751C1A96E948260 A quest for the last Nesselrode Pie: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...751C0A9629C8B63

Borrow away. To make that dish, I heated oil in the wok, and seared the steak strips in small batches so they got a good sear without overcooking. Then I removed them to a bowl and cooked the veg stirfry. The caramelized juices from the meat make the vegs taste extra good. Just before the vegs were done, I tossed the meat back in and let it finish cooking. Ong choy/morning glory/water spinach used to drive me crazy because it would wilt and turn to mush within hours after I brought it home. But somewhere in one of her articles, Kasma says to keep the veg in a big bowl of water. That works. In my most recent batch, the veg kept well for a day and a half before I cooked it, and the leaves were still perky. Occasionally I dunk the leaves underwater when they appear to be drying out. Morning glory is a vine that spreads over the surface of ponds and waterways (clogs them, actually). Letting it float in a big bowl of water seems to keep it happy. I also recently learned (again from Kasma) to prep morning glory by breaking the stems midway between each leaf node, so each piece has a leaf attached to it. I used to saw away at those long stems with a big chef's knife. Kasma's method takes longer, but the pieces cook more evenly and look better in the finished dish. The morning glory, prepped and ready to cook. I made Kasma's recipe for Red-Flamed Morning Glory from It Rains Fishes. If you don't have water spinach handy, you can substitute choy sum or another leafy Asian vegetable, or even regular broccoli. The sauce makes this dish taste good. I also cooked Basil Pork, which is basically the same as Basil Chicken ( http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/baschi.html ). The meat was strips of pork shoulder. I reduced the chiles by half in the Basil Pork, since I knew I was serving it with spicy morning glory. I also added about 1 TB of palm sugar to enhance the pork, and did that taste good. The meat was salty-sweet, like Chinese BBQ. More to come. My fridge is full of things to cook.

That salad looks wonderful. I haven't made that one yet. I was at the farmers market this AM to buy one, maybe two bunches of Thai basil. That was to be all, because I'm busy this week & I won't have that much time to cook. I came home with... (Clockwise, left to right) Ong choy (aka morning glory or water spinach, with the long narrow leaves), regular Thai basil, Thai holy basil (the flowery stuff with serrated leaves in the right hand corner), some kind of trumpet mushrooms (the brown ones, never tried 'em before), alba or clamshell mushrooms (the little white ones, never tried those before either, so of course I have to), green beans, some beautiful late-season tomatoes (I forget the name now), okra (um, why did I buy these?), & some cute little Thai eggplants (couldn't resist 'em). More Thai cooking on the agenda this week after all. But meanwhile, I cooked what I had planned for dinner, because I must make more room in the fridge for my impulse purchases this morning. An easy stirfry dinner based on Broccoli with Thai Oyster Sauce (Broccoli Pad Nahm Man Hoi) from Kasma's It Rains Fishes. I added sauteed steak strips and a couple slivered fresno chiles for more heartiness and heat. For dessert, another of Kasma's recipes (taught in her classes), Tapioca Pudding with Corn (Dta-gkoh Sakoo), topped with salty-sweet coconut cream. And that's the last corn of the season. <sigh>

Use a serrated knife, and split the cake in half while rotating it. This video shows the process clearly: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/135486_...layer-cakes.htm Works like a charm. Also, I never use toothpicks. I just eyeball it. If the cake layers are little uneven for whatever reason, don't worry about it. The filling smooshes & spreads and makes it hard to judge the exact thickness of each layer anyway. Then people eat up the cake, & they're not paying attention to technical details!

I knew I knew I knew I had recently come across a recipe I wanted to try with chestnut flour, but I couldn't bring it up from the (mental) database. Then another EGullet thread jogged the answer loose. Alice Medrich's Chestnut Pound Cake: http://kitchenmusings.typepad.com/my_weblo...imes-subtl.html I'm wondering where I can buy some chestnut flour, and there you are with 25 lbs of it. Hope you have better luck if you try this recipe!

David Lebovitz recently posted a recipe for a savory pistachio & chorizo cake. That's about the most unusual cake I've ever heard of. DL's website also has other good cake recipes. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008...orizo_cake.html Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert cookbook contains recipes with some unusual ingredients, if you can get your hands on a copy. Some recipes from the book here, including an Olive Oil & Sherry Poundcake. http://www.seriouseats.com/tags/recipes/CT...0Pure%20Dessert ETA: And wouldn't you know it, while surfing I stumbled across a recipe for this good-looking Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake. http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2007/12/davi...-cake-with.html

Hmm...check out if aluminum in your baking powder tastes bitter to you (by comparing it to a non-aluminum brand, which, unfortunately, is more expensive). Also, I went surfing on the web, and your recipe may contain too much baking powder, which can taste bitter. http://www.shaftek.org/blog/2007/01/20/bak...d-bitter-taste/

The oil in the corn flour can go rancid over time. If it's whole-grain corn flour with the germ milled into it, then it can go rancid fairly quickly unless refrigerated (like whole wheat flour). Rancid corn flour or corn meal smells stale, musty, or sour. You can also taste a little of it. Is it bitter? Sometimes what we call corn starch in the US is called corn flour outside the US. I'm assuming that you're using something like finely ground cornmeal that is yellow in color. If it's that white stuff used to thicken gravies, then I don't know what's causing the bitterness in your pancakes. Are you happy with this recipe, except for the bitterness? For pancakes, I always make Bette's buttermilk pancakes http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../05/FD93601.DTL . For crepes, I always use Julia's recipe http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=141525 Just some suggestions, if you care to try them out.

Why the rice flour and corn flour? Is there something you're trying to do nutritionally here? Typically a recipe of this kind contains only all-purpose white (wheat) flour. I suspect the pancakes may be bitter from rancid corn flour. Check that the corn flour is fresh when you buy it, and store it well-wrapped in the freezer. If the off-flavor is more metallic, try using a non-aluminum baking powder (in the US, that's Rumford's).

- Make pecan sticky buns! - Salt and pepper some filets of chicken or fish, roll them in chopped pecans, then pan fry 'em. - Add chopped toasted pecans to banana muffins, or even better, to banana pancakes for breakfast. - Stir finely chopped pecans into crepe batter, make crepes, then stuff 'em with slices of apples or pears sauteed in butter. Drizzle on some caramel sauce. - Make David Lebovitz's recipe for Buttercrunch Toffee. Substitute pecans for the almonds. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005...latealmond.html

Apparently the capsicum in chiles can harm or even kill people who have a vulnerability to it. "Capsicum sprays and gels can potentially kill people who have a heart condition or a respiratory illness, as they can cause increased heart rate and restrict breathing." http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/14/1094927584068.html Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to capsicum and can die from an overdose. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=A...55a4bb3926ad822 An overdose of wasabi can also be fatal. Years ago I heard about a new patron at a sushi bar who didn't know what the wasabi was for. He ate the whole ball of wasabi in one mouthful and died of a heart attack. A sushi chef I know (not connected with this incident) told me that too much wasabi can have a negative effect on the heart and respiratory system. He told me exactly what the wasabi does physiologically, but I don't remember it now (couldn't find the answer on the web, either). I guess I'll have to go out for sushi soon and ask him.

It sounds like the stew was gooey from the grain that was added into it. Adam Balic has the right idea, serve the grain on the side. That leaves the meat, bones, salt, and onions as your stew ingredients. To maximize flavor (and also to avoid that gray boiled meat look), brown the meat well on all sides, remove from the pan, then slowly cook the onions over medium-low heat until they are lightly golden and caramelized. Put the meat on top of the onions, add some stock (some white wine would be good, too), a little salt, and braise until tender. Adjust for salt at the end of cooking. The stew may also need a little acid at the end (vinegar, lemon juice, mustard) to balance the fattiness of the meat. I've cooked a simple pork stew like this with only pork, onions, stock, white wine, S&P, and it was amazingly good. I'm not sure dill seed would taste good in this stew. You could stir in sauteed mushrooms at the end, along with a little sour cream (don't let the stew boil after you add this ingredient), and some freshly chopped dill fronds. That combination would taste good with beef. let us know how your experiments proceed!

It sounds very authentic, though, for Viking c.700. Was that what you were trying to do?

Have you seen this blog? A bunch of ideas for cooking beef cheek. http://www.eatsforone.com/?p=815

What an interesting thread. But I did scratch my head about the English food theme...um, what is English food? Whatever. I suggest Salmon Mousse with water crackers. You can pipe the mousse into the spoons with a pastry bag. The mousse-filled spoons can be made ahead of time, and refrigerated. (Maybe borrow space in a friend's refrigerator?) Or you could make big molds of salmon mousse, which are a very attractive presentation, and spoon out the mousse at service. This Salmon Mousse recipe is similar to the one I make. Omit the hot sauce and capers, and add 2 tsp of dill. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...5/80819027/1022 Serve it with a water cracker or water biscuit. http://www.carrscrackers.com/ ETA: This mousse tastes perfectly good made with canned salmon, and that's how I make it for a crowd.

I assume a supply of salt in the house will be used to salt dishes while cooking, so it will dissolve in solution, and also sprinkled on food (as in corn on the cob) where the flavor will be more apparent. A case of salt is a lot of salt, so check out that you really like it before you buy it. That's all I'm saying.

Well, people can be as scientific as they like. I'm describing a casual tasting by which someone can decide which salt flavor he/she would prefer to add in food.

Before you buy salt by the case, how about doing a comparative salt tasting: regular table salt, iodized table salt, sea salt, and kosher salt? Just a pinch on the tongue, then a drink of water before the next tasting. You're looking for the purest salt taste; or maybe just the taste you like best. I've done a blind tasting with table salt (like Morton's) and sea salt, and I was surprised that I could tell the difference. I never bother with iodized salt, since I eat seafood regularly, and that should supply sufficient iodine. Seaweed, yogurt, milk, and eggs are also sources of iodine.

The "little Thai ornamental peppers" you're talking about are Thai bird chiles, I assume. You can dry them on a plate in a well-ventilated area, preferably in the sun. Then use them as you would use any small dried chile pepper, such as dried cayenne chile peppers. Thai bird peppers are hotter than cayenne peppers. If you're into Thai food, you can make Nahm Prik Pow, a sweet-hot chili paste that you can add in cautious amounts to Asian dishes for spiciness. My cooking teacher Kasma Loha-Unchit's recipe is here: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/nahmprikpow.pdf At the top of page 2 of this recipe are instructions for roasting the dried chiles on the stovetop. I like to roast my dried chiles until they are lightly browned and a little charred. Then I grind them in a spice grinder with a pinch of salt to make a wonderfully fragrant, toasted chile powder. And yes, it's very hot! For the habaneros, you could make a roasted chile puree. Combine 7 or 8 roasted and peeled habanero chiles, 1/4 cup oil, 2 tsp white vinegar, and a generous amt of salt. Puree everything in a blender. Keep the puree in a jar in the fridge. You can add it like chile paste to various dishes (soups, stews, sauces), or spread it lightly on pizza dough as a base for other toppings. I like to spread it on flour tortillas, with white cheddar & some freshly chopped cilantro, for yummy quesadillas.

I suggest that you check out Peggy Knickerbocker's article about brown rice in the May 2008 Saveur (No.111), entitled "Born Again." James Oseland's short piece, "First," in the same issue also deals with the same subject. Unfortunately, I was not able to find these articles online to provide links. Both pieces may answer your question in a roundabout way. Oseland notes: "What exactly is brown rice anyway? I knew...from years of living in SE Asia, that much of the rice available there...is like brown rice, only minimally processed; the grains' hard, inedible hulls are removed, but usually no further milling is involved. Nevertheless, it was as white as snow...Shouldn't whole-bran rice be brown in color?" "What (Saveur research assts) discovered...that "brown rice" is actually a production term, not an indication of a particular grain's color..." Knickerbocker says in the article: "The term 'brown rice' is confusing shorthand because the color of the bran of a given variety of rice is often not brown." e.g., red rice, black rice. Or to put it another way: If you define "brown rice" to mean unpolished, whole-bran rice (which may be brown, white or a variety of other colors), and "white rice" as polished rice, then a significant part of the world eats "brown rice," especially where people are eating the rice they're growing on their own farms. As far as your immediate problem goes, disliking American supermarket brown rice, I can feelingly relate, since I ate brown rice in the health-food '70s, and learned to detest it. But the article says most American brown rice is picked at an immature stage, and that accounts for its deplorable taste. The article recommends an organic brown rice grower, Massa Organics, which is supposed to produce a mature, tasty brown rice. http://www.massaorganics.com/ The article also gives what is supposed to be a good recipe for properly cooking brown rice. http://www.saveur.com/article/food/Perfect-Brown-Rice Knickerbocker's article makes a good argument about trying brown rice again, the good mature organic kind, properly cooked. And if I were the least bit openminded about the subject, which I'm not, I would give it another try.

Over the weekend I succumbed to food lust at the farmers market and returned home with a double bunch of Thai basil and too many long purple Asian eggplants. What to do with them? First I cooked one of my favorite dishes, Kasma's recipe for Spicy Basil Chicken (Gkai Pad Gkaprow). This dish packs a wallop with lots of garlic and chiles. The Basil Chicken recipe is available here: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/baschi.html Most of the eggplant and more of the basil went into another of Kasma's recipes, Stir-fried Eggplant with Chiles and Thai Basil (Pad Makeua Yao). I added in some ground pork to make a heartier main dish meal. And I still have one eggplant and a couple handfuls of basil left...

I assume you mean ammonium carbonate or hartshorn, sometimes called baker's ammonia. Baking powder is the common substitute. I believe it's a 1:1 substitution, but I have never tried it. The baked goods will not bake up as light and crisp with baking powder as with the ammonium carbonate. Drugstores are supposed to carry ammonium carbonate, as well as any store catering to German or Scandanavian bakers.

I like McGee's book, but I find Shirley Corriher's Cookwise to be more readable, with helpful troubleshooting tips. I suggest taking a look at Cookwise, too. I would also recommend Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food for some great, simple recipes. It's my new favorite cookbook these days. Thanks for letting us know about your progress with the cooking lessons! It's fun to read about.

Definitely lefse. But skip the lutefisk and go for the smoked salmon. Any other kind of griddled flatbread, also, like a cracker, with cheeses. Stew from the meats and veg you mentioned in your first post? Though I suspect your modern-day Vikings would prefer the meats & vegs roasted or grilled. For dessert, perhaps a compote from the dried fruits with honey, or a fruit soup. A BBC article about the everyday eating, etc, habits of the Vikings a thousand years ago. How authentic do you want to be? http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/food_01.shtml Also informative: http://www.ydalir.co.uk/crafts/cook.htm

For dinner last night, Crispy Omelet with Shrimp and Bean Sprouts (recipe in previous post).