FoodMan

the secret to great Katayif is the pancake, and my aunt (mom's sister) makes the best ones. Next time I call my mom I need to ask her for the recipe. as for the filling it's either cream (aishta) or nuts (crushed walnuts with sugar and oranbge blossom water). I personally prefer the cream ones, and at my houshold we more than often had them "raw" drizzled with fragrant syrup as a dessert, or pan fried in some vegetable shortening and also drizzled with syrup for breakfast. Elie

Actually Lebanese also call it either Hrissa OR Nammoura and it usually has no coconut. Growing up in Lebanon I am used to 2 different types of this Very sweet dessert: 1- the thicker softer more gooey type 2- the thinner, more crispy on the outside soft on the inside type IMHO the second one is the better one, even though the first one is more common, I love it and that's the one I make at home. I can PM u my recipe if you are interested. You can control if u like 1 or 2 by simply spreading the batter thinner or thicker and by the length of baking time. If you really want coconut in it you can also add that. As for your lack of enthusiasm for well made Baklawa Elie

Per Se? Does that stand for anything or is just Per Se? Elie

The article was interesting albeit a little boring. It read sort of like a report rather than an exciting food/travel article. Elie

Speaking of cheescakes, should they all be baked in water bath?? This is what I've been doing and getting a very creamy cheesecake. However, I do prefer a slightly more "crumbly" dessert and on "Tyler's Ultimate" a guy (not sure who) baked a NY style cheescake without the water bath and it came out a little brown on top but the texture looked perfect and I am planning on giving it a try. any comments?? Good luck Suvir and sorry I have no input regarding your query. Elie

Thanks Seth, he is a FoodChild alright this boy can eat like there’s no tomorrow. Last night: Got home late from work so I tossed some leftover homemade pasta in some doctored up –add garlic and fresh basil- jarred pasta sauce that my wife bought (Newman’s Own). It was pretty bad!! I should’ve gone with my first instinct and tossed the nice pasta with some parmesan, garlic, parsley and good evoo. Elie

Ok, as suspected I did find unsmoked ham hocks at my local hispanic market (Fiesta in Houston). I bought one package for 2.99 which contained 2-3 hocks that were sliced into about 2 inch thickness. They also carry fresh pork rinds (skin with very little meat attached to it. Now I need to make some confit and I'm pretty much ready to put it all together. Elie

Ok, so I’ve never had a Cannelle before but this thread that started a while back made want to give them a try. I used Wolfert’s recipe and since I have not invested in molds yet I used my ramekins. I rested the batter for 48 hrs. and chilled the ramekins for a couple of hours. I used a mixture of Crisco and light olive oil to grease the ramekins with the thinnest film possible. The cannelles baked wonderfully (as far as my limited experience tells me) and two out of the four I made (I halved the recipe) made it out of the mold in good condition. They also tasted great, sort of like a lightly burned sugar crust on the outside and soft and kind of creamy on the inside. I took two pictures of the finished pastries and the second one was supposed to show the texture of the interior but it came out a little fuzzy. Elie

Saturday: With a barely-over-three-months baby in the house me and the madam decided to have date night just for ourselves so we send him to grandma’s house for the weekend and had ourselves a nice and romantic dinner at home. Parmesan Crisps with Goat cheese, basil and evoo: I think a I put a little too much goat cheese on the crisps but otherwise it was very tasty Pan seared scallops with sage and pancetta Goat cheese Tortellini with dried orange rind and fennel powder Cool Beet soup with Crème Fraich, Marjoram, balsamic Vinegar and evoo Pan fried Black Bass with Endive Marmellata and Saffron/orange Vinaigrette Bitter Chocolate mousse with sesame brittle Fig and Almond Biscotti with coffee We had a bottle of Saintsbury Pinot Noir 2000 with our meal. Sunday: Pan seared then oven roasted pork tenderloin that has been marinated with garlic, lemon and basil. Potato and beet green gratin topped with gruyere. Elie

This is exactly right, that is how my Colcombian-born wife does them. I can never get them as nicely browned as she does. Go slow and pan fry in oil. Tostones are great with Ketchup , but IMHO Maduros rule. Elie

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Pounded flat and thin then breaded and pan fried. Finished in the oven topped with some tomato sauce and Parmesan. Served it with Linguine tossed with garlic butter, chilli and parsley. Sesame seed brittle (BTW does anyone have a good way to get the brittle really thin without using an offset knife which I do not have??) Elie

try some grocery stores that carry Prosciutto Di Parma(sp??) and ask --nicely-- them if u can have the end piece. chances are they'll give it to you for free since they normally throw it away. Stores in Houston where I've seen P Di Parma at are Kroger, Whole Foods and Central Market. Hope this helps and let us know if you do get it so I can get some myself . Elie

Option 1- Send me a couple of tubs and I will be more than happy to experiment with them for you. Option 2 - Roasted beet soup with Creme Fraiche. Roast beets with shallots, garlic, marjoram and balsamico. Puree the beets with vegetable stock. Serve topped with a large dollop of CF and sprinkled with a little more fresh marjoram. Option 3 - Mozzarella salad with Crerme Fraiche. I cannot claim ownership iof this idea but it is wonderful. I have it in one of Jamie Olivers books. Basically slice some fresh mozz and lay in one layer. mix the CF with lemon zest, salt and pepper and spread over the mozz. top with some roasted, seeded chilli peppers, chopped basil, and a very good drizzle of EVOO. Serve with crusty bread. I really recommend option 1 as most efficient use of your blessing . Elie

How about pancetta as a substitute if you can't find fatback (instead of bacon)? The recipe requires both bacon and rind. I thought the Pancetta would make a good sub for the bacon, correct??? as for the rind, boiled salt pork might do the job. I am also planning on visiting local hispanic butcher shops who might sell pork rind since it is used extensivly to make cracklings (Chicharron). Elie

Jack- Thanks for a wonderful tutorial. The sauces look wonderful especially the mayo and the Red Eye gravy. Can you please elaborate on the following: Also I make mayonaise using a blender and sometimes a bowl and whisk when I am seeking the calming effect of the slow process. However, I've never seen anyone use a spoon to make it before, it's always a whisk. Does using a spoon serve any specific purpose?? One more question: I was under the impression that Rouille served with Bouillabaise (sp?) is always made with mashed potatoes, is that not the case? thanks again Elie

I will make my own confit and the beans are not that hard to find. I'm thinking good great white northern beans will work perfectly. Elie

Use it to poach fish , Alton Brown has a recipe that is pretty good on FTV website. I believe it is called "Catfish au Lait" U can substitute it for milk in almost any recipe in order to get a different cooked milk flavor. Elie

Thanks for the help badthings and Paula. I sure do have Mastering the Art... and I read the recipe in there last night (PRETTY INTIMIDATING). Since then I looked on FTV website for "cassoulet" and they have a few but only one of them by Ariane Daguin sounded pretty authentic. I think I will use that along with the sausage patties from MaTHAofFC to make mine in the --hopefuly near-- future. Elie

Last night we had what I consider one of my best chicken dishes ever, Lebanese Lemon and garlic chicken. Basically it is a cut up chicken seared skin down in an oven safe pan, then the pan is deglazed with some white wine and lots of whole garlic cloves are added plus lemon juice. I put the chicken bakc in the pan and top the pieces with thin lemon slices, cover the pan and cook in a 375 oven. The sauce in the pan is simply amazing. Served with white rice and a green salad. FM

I've never had Cassoulet but this thread is driving me crazy with the lust for it. Unfortunatly I do not have Wolfert's book yet (probably buy it when re-released) and a quick web search returned this recipe: cassoulet from toulouse Does the recipe sound pretty traditional?? It sounds like it to me even though it's author seems to be Mario Batali. If not I would appreciate another recipe (not just the ingredient list). Thanks FM

If the only thing standing in the way of making your own curry is the problem with pounding your own curry paste, by all means use the pre-fab variety. Doing so with care would still likely be better than what you get at most Thai restaurants (which btw largely use pre-made paste anyway). not at all, I would love to make my own curry, whether pounded or processed. I was just curious. Elie

that looks wonderful folks, cannot wait to try that curry and salad. My question is, how many cans of coconut milk do I need to get enough milk and cream to make the curry recipe?? I guess I can summarize by asking, What is the percentage of cream Vs. Milk in a coconut can?? I'm glad someone brought up the bought Vs. homemade paste to mamster . I was going to ask the same thing. Thanks Elie

While channel surfing two BK regular customers (BKRC) happen to see RB show on PBS: BKC1: Hey, Dude I know this guy. I cannot remember from where though. BKC2: It's the guy from the Santa Fe Chicken commercial!!! BKC1: Cool, the Santa Fe guy has his own show now?? BKC2: EWWWW....What is he cooking? BKC1: Please change the channel, see if "Ed, Edd and Eddy" is on. ...From here then on Mr. Bayless became known as the "Guy From the Burger King Commercial"

Shrimp risotto with peas, mint and basil cheap chardonay Bananas Foster FM

Would I do it again??? Absolutly, I still have 2 thirds of the brisket waiting to be smoked (I might pastarmize one of them) and I cannot wait to try my hand at some pork shoulder, some ribs or even something a little more exotic like duck. This class was a great way to show me that I can use my cheap grill to make some amazing smoked meat. Another thing that surprized me is how little coals and chips I needed. I had stocked up thinking I will be going through coals (I used briquettes...I guess they are good for smoking) and wood chips like crazy. Thanks again Col FM