nightscotsman

Oh. That would explain the similar results I get from chestnuts.

Fresh pineapple makes my tongue bleed.

Pie.

Hey, you're right! Cuuute... molecules going steady.

I've read that it's actually more likely the forbidden fruit was a pomegranate. Though apples are a sentimental favorite. Currently I'm lusting after this Apple:

Strictly speaking, my favorite fresh fruit would have to be nectarines. If we are being looser with our definition of "fruit", then I would have to say Oregon strawberries. And if we are talking about favorite (very loosely defined) fruit used in cooked dishes, I'd go with rhubarb.

Or even grenadine for chrissakes, but they do sell bitters and icky non-alcoholic mixers. How is that rule written again? As bad as the Washington liquor stores are (and they are), the ones I saw in Portland when I stopped in after Christmas were actually scary. I don't know if I just happened to pick a couple of bad examples, but they were dirty, dingy places with all the booze behind the counters - you had to ask for what you wanted, with the workers staring at you like you were some kind of deviant. I felt like I was patronizing a porn shop.

I stand in awe. I want to cook (and eat!) at your house.

damn, damn, DAMN it was good, too! Almost fork tender and tons a flava. I suppose smoking added a lot to the tastiness, but I'm sure it would have been good roasted as well.

Thanks for the links, Steve! Makes me wish I had continued my Japanese lessons, but I really appreciate finally seeing some photos of Hermes latest line. I'm very intrigued by the cross pollination I see between the French and Japanese. It seems that the Japanese have very similar tastes - especially in chocolate - as the French and have a great appreciation for the refinement and sophistication of the French style. It's interesting to see several top French businesses have sometimes several shops in Japan when they may have only one, or no presence in the US. It used to seem that the Japanese were infatuated with Italians and Italian style, but I see that focus shifting to the French in the last few years. I have to agree that while the Mulot system was a little awkward as a first time customer who didn't know how things worked, after visiting the shop at a busy time it made a lot of sense. I stayed at a hotel less than a block from Mulot back in May and hit the shop at least twice a day. Fabulous stuff - great macarons, clafoutis, charlottes, cannele - wish I could have had at least one of everything.

Since cream of tartar is just a simple acid used as a stablizer and not a flavoring, it should never go bad. No need to throw it out. Baking soda should also last much longer than 6 months unless it absorbs odors, but baking powder does lose it's effectiveness due to ambient moisture and heat, so you're correct to replace regularly.

Hearing about Wondra rang a bell and I remembered reading about it in Alice Medrich's "Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts". She uses it to make a low fat tart crust. I haven't tried the recipe myself, but she claims it makes a tender and light, though not flaky tart shell.

Better go while you still can... Mwahahahah!

Tim's Cascade Style Potato Chips - Cracked Peppercorn flavor Goes really well with champagne too.

It's been brought to my attention that I left out the baking instructions for the cream cheese filled cupcakes. So here it is: bake at 350 F for 35 minutes. the filling will brown slightly - check the cake part with skewer or toothpick as usual. The recipe says it will make 36 cupcakes, but I think I remember not getting quite that many. Haven't tried the red cabbage salad kitwilliams, but it sounds great! Another of my fav's from the book is her chicken stuffed under the skin. So good and very easy, but really rich, so I don't make it very often.

Hana on Broadway also serves a bento box, but while good, their food is more home-style cooking and not as refined as it could be. Though I often find myself craving their beef teriyaki. Of course the bento available everywhere in Japan is amazing - I haven't seen anything in Portland or Seattle that comes close. Even the boxes available in the train stations were wonderful, and very fresh as by law they have to be sold within 4 hours of being made (or so I read). Imagine dining on a small feast of many little delicacies (which cost you about 10 bucks) while hurtling along at 180 MPH in complete comfort and quiet (much smoother ride than the TGV, IMHO) as Mt. Fuji, rice paddies and small tea farms glide past the window.

What a co-inky-dink - I've been sick with a cold since New Year's day and wanted something warm and comforting, so I tried out a recipe I got from my Mom at Christmas for apple dumplings she used to make when I was little. It's a very unusual recipe in that she used diced rather than whole apples, the crust has quite a bit of baking powder and milk so it's halfway between a biscuit and a pie dough, and the whole thing is baked in a spiced syrup making it almost like a cobbler or pudding. Mom made a few changes to the original recipe and I made some as well (and will probably make more changes next time I make it), but here is what I did last night: Syrup: 1-1/2 cups sugar 1-1/2 cups water 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg 3 Tbs butter combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. remove from heat and stir in butter. Let cool to room temp Apples: 4 granny smiths, cored, peeled and chopped into 3/4" dice 1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg (I would use less sugar next time) Pastry: 2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 2/3 cup shortening (I used butter, Mom used Crisco) 1/2 cup milk Combine flour, baking powder and salt. cut in butter using pastry blender or food processor until it forms coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once and stir quickly with a fork just until all the flour is moistened. don't over mix - treat it like a biscuit dough. Push the dough together and roll out a little larger than a 18x12 rectangle (do not chill first). Cut into squares a little larger than 6x6. Toss apple chunks in sugar/spice mixture and mound in center of pastry squares. moisten edges of pastry, bring corners together over apples and seal seams. don't worry about being neat and tidy or making sure the apples are completely sealed in - this is a very rustic, homey dessert. put the dumplings in a 9x13 baking dish and pour the cooled syrup over them making sure to moisten all of the top surfaces. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and bake at 375 F for 35 minutes until the apples are tender. server warm (these also reheat in the microwave quite well). I think this recipe might be even better with rhubarb and the the spicing could be played with. Also it's quite sweet, so some tinkering with the amount of sugar might be in order. Chefette - the bread pudding sounds great. Could I ask what size you cut the bread cubes?

I ate a lot of Bento when I was working in an office in downtown Portland, always grilled teriyaki chicken on a bowl of short grain rice. I just thought it was a pretentious name for chicken teriyaki since in Japan, Bento is far far more varied and interesting. Mamster, if you have the time and are comfortable, could you please describe in more detail how the bento available in Portland is different from chicken teriyaki, or is it just the bowl format?

Not if it does that to your hair, though.

That would explain why it says "Refrigerate after opening". Don't want them to hatch too soon.

I'm not really sure (they creep me out, too). Maybe pineapple, garlic or ginger bits? The brand I buy, Sun Luck "Restaurant Style" Sweet & Sour Sauce doesn't have them - just a uniform orange goo. Ingredients are basically sugar, water, vinegar, ketchup, modified food starch and soy sauce.

It uses high power hallogen light bulbs and I think suppliments with microwaves. Sort of like a grown up Easy-Bake oven.

Actually, more like this:

Since store-bought, ready-made creme fraiche is so much more expensive than making it myself I've never purchased it. Could somebody who has had both homemade as well as the Vermont Butter & Cheese brand please tell us how they differ in taste and texture? Is Vermont Butter & Cheese really better?

OK, I'm going to expose myself as a complete tourist (an American one at that) and say that for eggrolls (as opposed to spring rolls) I like the bright orange sweet and sour sauce found in bad chinese restaurants. I know, I know, it's disgusting, but I get cravings for the stuff.