djyee100

Prasantrin, I was surfing some earlier pages on this thread and came upon your request for a recipe for Oyster Pancake (hoi tod) (post #626). I cook a fantastic recipe for this dish from Nancie McDermott's Quick & Easy Thai. I know, I know, not an authentic cookbook, and McDermott is up front about saying so, but her recipe for this street food is authentic (naturally quick and easy) and cooks up like the video you posted. I love this dish on busy weekday nights--I can get it on the table in 30 minutes. For best results, I like to cook the pancake in a nonstick cast iron skillet. I've made it with both oysters and shrimp, and I actually prefer the shrimp version. CRISPY OMELET WITH OYSTERS/SHRIMP AND BEAN SPROUTS (hoi tote) Adapted from Nancie McDermott's Quick & Easy Thai Serves 2-4. 1/4 cup rice flour 1/4 cup tapioca flour 1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste 1/2 cup water 2 eggs 3 TB vegetable oil 6 lg shelled fresh oysters or 12 shelled uncooked medium shrimp 1 1/2 cups fresh bean sprouts 2-3 green onions, white part thinly sliced, green part in 1" lengths 2 TB freshly chopped cilantro Sriracha, Tabasco, or other hot sauce In a small bowl combine the rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and the water. Stir well. In another small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a couple pinches of salt. Set the bowls by the stove with a serving platter and make sure all the other ingredients are ready to go. This dish cooks up fast. In a large flat skillet (I use a 10" nonstick cast iron skillet), heat the oil over medium high heat until a bit of batter sizzles at once. Give the batter another stir, and ladle it into the pan to form a big, lacy, open pancake. If you like a thinner pancake, hold back on some of the batter. Scatter the oysters or shrimp on top and let cook 1 or 2 mins until the pancake is fairly firm and crisp. Check the bottom occasionally for scorching. Any opaque white spots you see on top are uncooked; I press them with a spatula so the pancake cooks evenly. Pour on the eggs, and let cook a minute longer, until the eggs are almost set. Cut the pancake in half with the spatula, and flip over each half to cook the other side. Breaks don't matter--this dish is supposed to be a delicious mess. If you have room in the skillet, you can saute the bean sprouts and green onions in the middle of the pan. I don't have enough room in a 10" skillet, so I transfer the cooked omelet to the serving platter. Then I saute the bean sprouts and green onions in the pan for 1 or 2 mins, tossing until they are shiny and fragrant. Generously salt the bean sprouts and green onions. Pile them alongside the omelet pieces. Sprinkle with cilantro, and drizzle with Sriracha. Then dive in! ETC: The recipe should have said to pile the bean sprouts and green onions alongside the omelet pieces, rather than on top, so that the pancake stays crispy.

I've never heard of a Ghirardelli museum tour. Perhaps someone else can help you with this question. IMO, Ghirardelli chocolate is a mass-marketed chocolate and does not measure up in quality with other chocolates. I do have a soft spot for See's Chocolates, a West Coast chain. There's a store on Market St across from Stacey's Bookstore (mentioned in my first post). When I am in that part of SF I hit those 2 locations. (books...chocolate...books...chocolate..) Michael Recchiuti Chocolates, besides Scharffenberger, is my other favorite stop for chocolates. There's a store in the Ferry Bldg. http://www.recchiuti.com/index.html ETA: If you're going to be in Berkeley, you can also check out the Berkeley Bowl supermarket, especially the produce section. I suggest you avoid the parking lot and park on the street to protect your life and your sanity. Across the street from the Bowl, on Adeline about one block north is an excellent bakery, one of my favs, Crixa. http://www.crixacakes.com/

Stacey's Bookstore on Market Street (near Montgomery BART station) has a huge selection of new cookbooks. When I lived in SF, these are the neighborhoods where I liked to eat and shop: - Chestnut Street (the western end) in the Marina neighborhood has many wonderful restaurants and interesting shops. http://www.chestnutshop.com/ - Clement Street in the Richmond neighborhood is the place where many Asian residents go to avoid the crush (and higher prices) of downtown Chinatown. http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/art...nt_street01.asp - 9th & Irving in the Sunset neighborhood. You can take the N Judah MUNI streetcar from downtown and get off here. It's a short block to a popular entrance for Golden Gate Park, close to the Arboretum and the Japanese Tea Garden. Noteworthy for food are Park Chow (casual family style), Ebisu (for sushi), and the Arizmendi Bakery. The Arizmendi Bakery sells my absolutely favorite pizza in the world, made with a sourdough crust. If you're willing to cross over to the East Bay, Moe's Bookstore on Telegraph Ave in Berkeley is unsurpassed for used, sometimes hard to find cookbooks. The Scharffenberger chocolate factory, with tours, is also in Berkeley. And of course there's the gourmet ghetto at Shattuck X Vine, with the incredible Cheese Board across the street from a restaurant the locals nickname Chez. Reservations for the upstairs restaurant at CP should be available; it's the downstairs restaurant that's booked solid way in advance. Have a wonderful trip!

With all due respect, I'll have to disagree here. Seana, if you've had success with the CI recipe, you're already past any no-knead recipes. The Artisan 5 Min recipe is basically a yeast sponge that people are told to bake up and call bread. The crust is beautifully golden because the dough is superhydrated. But the taste, texture and structure of the interior of the bread can be very inferior. After more than 24 hrs of fermentation (which is allowable in this method), the yeast can begin to starve, causing off flavors and bad odors in the bread. I baked four batches of the Artisan 5 Min bread (after borrowing the book from my public library) and my results ranged from dreadful to mediocre. I don't think it's me. I think the method is problematic, and I never recommend it to anybody. I suggest you stick with what you're doing and learn to make good-quality real bread.

When I made this recipe, I thought that folding whipped cream into the ice cream base lightened the final result. The texture of this gelato, BTW, is closer to ice cream than typical gelato. http://www.italianchef.com/caffelattegelato.html

Re: Roasted vegs in your first menu This is the marinade I learned to make for grilled, roasted, or smoked veg when I took the Homechef course years ago (the founder, Judith Ets-Hokin, was still in charge then). It's one of my favorite marinades. Roasted marinated eggplant would taste delish with your pasta menu. Marinade for Grilled, Roasted, or Smoked Vegetables 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp sugar 2 tsp freshly chopped oregano, basil, or rosemary 4 TB freshly chopped parsley assortment of vegetables, pared, trimmed and cut up Combine ingredients in a large bowl, add the veggies, and let marinate for 1 hour or more. To roast veggies, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove veggies from marinade and place veggies on a baking sheet or baking dish. Brush veggies generously with marinade, sprinkle with S & P. Roast about 30 mins until soft and well-browned.

I suggest that you take a look at Pam Anderson's How to Cook Without A Book. Anderson gives basic template-like recipes for many of the dishes you mention above. The point is to learn the basic recipe, then mix and match ingredients--whatever's fresh at the market, or left over in the fridge. The recipes are easy and geared to weeknight dinners. When the book came out, Anderson gave a class near me that I attended. I always remember this tip: When she's cooking dinner, she starts the onions frying right away, because when hungry people can smell dinner cooking, they're less impatient. They know dinner's on the way.

It sounds like you're already trying boric acid, but in case you aren't, here's an article: http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef614.asp The info on "Using Boric Acid Like a Pro" might be helpful. My first apt long ago was infested with roaches. (What a memory!) Only repeated visits by the exterminator got rid of them, until the insecticide knocked off all the generations that had been spawned.

Remember Robin (Crouching Tyler)'s Christmas dinner of rendang, celebration rice, stir-fried greens and pickle? (post #281) Her dessert was cardamom ice cream. I thought that menu was a knock-out--gorgeous to look at & delicious. For an opener you could make that shrimp sambal, too. Another festive dish is the Achenese Lamb Curry, if your friend eats lamb. That dish is impressively tasty. Also showy and delicious--the South Indian-Style Eggplant Pickle, Nyonya Shrimp Curry with Pineapple & Tomatoes, and Caramelized Tempeh with Chiles. have fun, good luck!

A knife skills class is what you need, if you can find one locally. A teacher can stand by you, watch how you're putting your hands and how you hold the knife, and make corrections. If you live in the SF Bay Area, say so and I can recommend teachers that I know. I strongly recommend that you stay away from a mandoline at this stage of the game. !!! Mandolines are complicated to set up and sometimes to use. They can go so fast that beginners forget and hurt themselves. Besides, that's not what you need now. You need basic skills with a chef's knife. The mandoline can come along later when you have developed your knife skills well and feel more comfortable with your cooking skills in general. The chefs you see on TV are holding the knife and their hands in a special way so that they are cutting by touch, rather than by sight. You can learn how to do this--but have a real person by you to watch you and teach you. Speed is not important. Accuracy and comfort with the different kinds of knife cuts are most important. Since you love cooking, someday all these skills you admire will come to you in time.

I call this a good resolution. You didn't have to deal with fish heads, and we learned what to do if we ever make stock from fish heads.

An old article by Barbara Kafka says that the heads & bones of flatfish turn bitter with long cooking (more than 20 mins): http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...752C1A961958260 This article from the SF Chron says fish heads must be halved & flushed, with gills removed, before using in stock (in middle of article): http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...1/FD0JSAGEJ.DTL

I can't answer your question directly (sorry), but I have a question of my own. Why do you think halibut heads are a poor ingredient for fish stock? To my knowledge, the heads of any lean white fish (like halibut) are fine for stock. I did a quick search on Google for "halibut heads fish stock" & found links for fish stock recipes that use halibut heads, not a problem.

This looks fantastic! I went back to read the posted recipe earlier in this thread. Is your crust a regular pie crust??? ← The piecrust is my adapted version of the tart dough recipe in Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe Cookbook. (JR uses high-quality salted butter & no extra salt.) BASIC RICH TART DOUGH (for one 9" piecrust) 8 TB (1 stick) unsalted frozen butter 1 cup (4 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp salt ice water At least 2-3 hrs before baking, or up to 1 day ahead: Cut the frozen butter into pats of butter. Place the butter, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Break up the butter into marble-size (approx 1/2" size) pieces with your fingers. Eventually the butter will warm from your fingers and this job will feel like fun. That's when you should stop, because you're probably starting to make the butter pieces too small. Mix up the butter pieces well with the flour and salt. Add in enough ice water until the dough pulls together in a ball. The dough will be streaky with butter--that's OK. Form the dough into a 3/4" thick disk and wrap well in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hrs; overnight is better. Let the dough warm at room temperature briefly before rolling out. When the dough still feels firm but you can indent it with your finger, that's when it's ready to roll out. Roll out the dough as you usually do for piecrust. Be steady but quick before the butter softens too much.

A well-written recipe will tell you to seed the pepper if that's what the recipe writer intends for best results. But then, of course, many recipes don't say, which raises the question whether the writer wants you to add the seeds, or whether the writer just plain forgot to address the matter. The itty-bitty Thai peppers are routinely not seeded for cooking (you would have too much trouble trying to do this, anyway). For other peppers, it's optional. Ultimately, it's up to you!

I took John S.'s suggestion, and emailed Jim at http://www.wildpepper.com/ and Janie at http://www.chileplants.com/. Both people graciously answered my emails. Jim at http://www.wildpepper.com/ said: "I have at least a couple of guesses, but none are likely to be definitive. Part of the problem with chiles is that there are several thousand kinds and many resemble each other. They could be a Thai chile...Just call them 'bird chiles'- that covers about a thousand kinds ;-) " But Janie at http://www.chileplants.com/ hit the jackpot. She said: "Looks like Nepali Orange http://www.chileplants.com/search.asp?ProductCode=CHINEO " I think she's right. The chiles look just like that and fit the physical description that's given. So these are Indian chiles brought to Fiji by migrants! I cooked them in Thai Basil Chicken the other night. The chiles are very tasty, a tad less hot than Thai bird chiles, and more fruity, too. I'd definitely cook with them again. In fact, the next time I visit the farmers mkt I will search out the stand and buy another bunch of these chiles. This website has pix of the Nepali Orange chile in various stages of growth, with a pic of the plant in full fruit near the bottom of the webpage (next to Sept 14 entry). http://www.chillisgalore.co.uk/pages/growing2006.html Thanks for your comments and answers, everyone!

I was recently cautioned that when buying duck eggs from Asian markets not buy "balut" (pronounced baloot) eggs that deliberately have duck fetuses in them. These eggs are considered a delicacy in the Philippines. Apparently one shd be careful not buy penoy (fertilized undeveloped) eggs also. http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-philippines-balut

I bought these chiles at the farmers mkt. My conversation with the seller went like this: "What kind of chiles are these?" "Medium sweet chiles." "They're not hot?" "They're hot." "Are they Thai chiles?" "No, but you can use them like Thai chiles." "How hot are they compared to Thai chiles?" "They're hotter than jalapenos." The chiles are yellow, orange, and red, about 1" to 1 1/2" long at most. I always thought any chiles this small were Thai chiles, but I guess not. Can you identify these chiles?

If you don't have your ice cream maker with you, how about a fruit granita that you can make with an ordinary pan in the freezer and a fork to break up the slush? Frankly, a simple fresh fruit salad with a little syrup or sugar, maybe a sprig of mint too, would go well with the felafel. (So Chefpeon wasn't that far off when she suggested apple. )

If you can, check out The Voluptuous Vegan by Myra Kornfeld, who used to be chef at Angelica's Kitchen in NYC. Her food is delicious, and the cookbook contains numerous dessert recipes. Meanwhile, here's her recipe for gingerbread. I've tasted this gingerbread, and I think it's good. gingerbread: http://www.myrakornfeld.com/recipes.php

Alice Medrich's bittersweet chocolate ice cream from her Bittersweet cookbook has an excellent flavor. http://www.finerkitchens.com/swap/forum9/5...OLATE_ICE_CREAM Another dark chocolate ice cream I like, from Lou Seibert Pappas' Ice Creams and Sorbets (bottom of the webpage): http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgu...chocrec04.shtml One of my friends doesn't like the eggy, creamy side of ice cream, and she wanted intense flavor, so I sent her Alice Medrich's recipe for Sicilian Chocolate Gelato: http://www.surlatable.com/product/recipes/...olate+gelato.do ETA: The online version of dark chocolate ice cream from Lou Seibert Pappas' Ice Creams and Sorbets made some alterations in the ingredients list. The ingredients for the original recipe are: 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped; 2 cups Half & Half; 2/3 cup sugar; 5 egg yolks, beaten; 1 cup heavy whipping cream; 1 tsp vanilla extract.

The salted fermented bean curd sounds like fuyo. It's bean curd preserved in wine and brine. Fuyo is a common staple in Chinese households, and widely available at Chinese groceries for couple dollars per jar (at least where I live). It comes plain (as shown below) or mixed with chili. The color is light beige. My fuyo is a bit softer and mushier than normal--it's on the old side (& that reminds me to buy another jar when I go shopping). I like to mash a couple small squares of fuyo and stir it into a pot of steamed spinach or steamed green beans. The saltiness especially complements green beans. One of my cookbooks also recommends fuyo as a sauce for broccoli and any kind of greens, whether steamed or sauteed. The taste is zingy, and I know one fancy-food Chinese cook who admits she's addicted to this simple condiment. As for other congee condiments, I can't help you there. When faced with a bountiful Asian breakfast buffet, I put every condiment on my congee.

Shalmanese, I am unclear whether you want to add perfume directly to the food and eat it, or whether you want to have it surround the food to enhance it (like the bowl of chamomile water mentioned in another post). Pls check food-safety issues if you plan to ingest it. Commercial perfumes are not sterile. I once researched the possibility of adding rose geranium water (hydrosol) to a tagine. My research indicated that I would have to pasteurize the hydrosol before adding it to food.

I've never tried a commercial perfume or fragrance along with a food, but I'm not totally opposed to it. My only concern would be that the fragrance be food-safe. After all, people drink wines that are valued for their scents of lavender, tobacco, or (what's the French for it) "forest floor." The aroma of those wines are perceived to enhance the food. And what about jasmine tea? A fragrance based on scents that are normally compatible with foods might work: for example, a rose perfume (similar to rose water); a coconut-y scent; a minty green herbal scent; a lemony scent. Just some ideas. I once ate coconut cakes that were smoked with a scented candle. The scent was very mild; I think it was floral. Only a whiff of scent when you ate it, nothing very strong at all--strong perfumes are what put people off. Kasma Loha-Unchit prepared the cakes for one of her cooking classes, and some information about using a scented candle may be in one of her cookbooks. ETCorrect: Oops, sorry if you read my original post about Thai Black Rice Pudding. Scratch that! After a search, I unearthed my notes from the class. Kasma made small coconut cakes that were scented with an incense candle (herbs & flowers scent). The cake batter was smoked with the candle. The bowl of cake batter was placed in an airtight pot or jar. Kasma lit an incense candle until it was good and smoking, blew it out, then dropped the still smoky candle into the pot alongside the batter, and covered the pot up tightly. She smoked the batter for 2 or 3 hrs; overnight is OK too. To make the batter even more smoky, you can relight the candle and repeat the process. Some details for this recipe on Kasma's website (similar to the coconut cakes that we made; ours were baked). The last 2 paragraphs: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/grillcoc.html If you try any experiments along this line, pls let us know!

A sweet vinaigrette in this salad doesn't appeal to me, but if you're from Georgia (sounds like it), a sweet vinaigrette with peaches and sweetened pecans might work there. I've noticed that Southerners seem to have more of a sweet tooth compared to other parts of the US. If you put some grilled duck breast on those greens, with the grilled peaches and hot & sweet pecans, then a regular tart vinaigrette--I'll eat it! If you make the pecans salty (as ludja mentioned), you'll have that hot salty sour sweet combination that delights people in SE Asian cuisines.