FoodMan

I baked a Tuscan loaf yesterday (I will post pics tonight hopefully). I made the full recipe but decided to make one large loaf instead of two with it. I also overproofed in the pre-shaping phase since I had to leave. So it proofed for a few extra hours . I think this was not a bad thing though since the bread came out wonderful tasting with a definit sweet taste. This bread has no salt at all which might also account for the sweetness. However, I think it might be the longer proofing that broke down the starches even further into more sugars. Overall I am very happy with it and will try it again. Elie

Wow...I am away for a couple of days and I came back to all this great baking and sorbet making. BTW, it was Richard who made the awsome looking sorbet not me . nice looking ramekin richard . I've never been a fan of chocolate sorbet, but I might give it a try at some point. Now, rum soaked cakes is another story! I love well-made babbas and I will try this recipe for sure. I used to have them as a kid in an excellent patisserie in Beirut. I have no Savarin mold, so I either have to improvise or make small babbas. Elie

This does sound like it will work. Do you think mayeb using the broiler and rotating it every so often will make for even a better result? Can you elaborate on the spiced mince and/or marinade you use? Elie

This really looks amazing Behemoth! Like Zeitoun, I also bake mine first and then poach them in the yogurt. I have seen them both ways, but like the texture of the baked one better. I love how you shaped them like Tortelloni as well. I usually just make them into half moons. This is another dish I have not had in a while, and now I want to try soon. Elie

Pain De Campagne (sp?) is great, I usually make a couple different shapes. Or maybe you can try the "Limpa" (Swedish rye bread) and let us know how it comes out. I've been meaning to try it but have not yet. This brings and interesting question up. He asks for both anise seeds and fennel seeds for the Limpa? Aren't they pretty much the same thing? Elie

I guess they turn all crunchy and nice after you fry them???! especially the legs. Elie

Alsatian Onion Tart Romain salad with dijon mustard dressing Elie

Great input y'all. I know I have to try the blood orange soda now!! I much prefer their butter over LOL as well. It tastes better and it is only about 30 cents more or sometimes the same price as LOL. Elie

Let's leave it as part of the W&D thread for now. It can be moved later if it attracts enough responses and interest. Didn't the Chronicle have a positive review of La Tour D'Argent since it is back in the hands of the original owner? Elie

Central Market, announces the "revealing" of dozens of products under it's own brand name. By the end of the year they should have more than 200. Has anyone tried these various products? Any comments? I buy their unsalted European style (82% butterfat) butter all the time at HEB and I like it very much. I wonder if any of those new products will be available at HEB as well. I will try some when I get a chance. Elie

Today's W&D has an interesting request by an anonymous reader labeled "urgent!". I thought it might be interesting for us to try and suggest a place for this guy, in case he's one of our readers . Can you think of any? The problem with his request is the "quiet" part, since as we all know even top notch restaurants in this city are not that quiet (eg. Mark's). I would think maybe Bank or 17 might be a good place for the occasion, even though I've never been to either one yet. Elie

I baked the Piolane loaf on Teusday night- late Teusday night. Since the recipe specifies that it should be rested for a few hours after baking I did not try it out till last night. Sorry about the late report. First the pics: The first picture is of the loaf right before going in the oven. As a whole the bread came out much better than before. Using the white wheat flour and a long first rise made a big difference. A tip for future Piolane Miche bakers, the loaf will bake for a long time in the oven, this one for about 45 minutes. So, if you are baking on a stone you might have to move the loaf up to a rack halfway through or the bottom might scorch. So keep checking on it. I simply moved it up to an oven rack and kept on baking. I knew that this bread will be different from previous trials, as soon as the wonderful baking bread smell, indicating proper proofing, hit me instead of the raw sour wheat smell I've gotten before. It is still far from perfect though as the crumb is denser than I would like. I think by adding a small portion of white bread flour like rickster did I will get better results. Another thing I need to work on is the shaping, it is kind of tricky since the dough is not as flexible as others and I knocked out a lot of air when I did it. All in all though, I am happy about the result and the sandwich was excellent even with store-bought (as opposed to Judith's home smoked ) honey ham . Elie

Here are the instructions for the Kibbeh ovals from the eGCI class: Elie

Paula- this list is amazing!! I've never heard of most of these preparations. Talk about versatility. Now I feel really bad about not owning this book yet. I do not mean to brag, but the eGCI class on Lebanese cuisine has some good instructions and pictures about forming the kibbeh ovals for frying (assuming we are talking about the football-shaped ones, right?) edit to add: the link to the class is in one of my previous posts in this thread. Elie

Marcia- these look great and I love the idea of using these boxes as proofing containers, I will do that in the future. The crust looks very good in picture, and I am surprised when you say it is soft. Elie

...not everyone Welocme to egullet, Gary. I am interested in how your macaroons turn out next. I had similar problems with other recipes but not with this one. I also use almond meal purchased in bulk from Whole Foods. however I think the brand is Bob's RedMill as well. Elie

Thanks for the tips, Jin. Last night we had crock pot beans. Put the dried white beans in the slow cooker in the morning with some sliced smoked sausage, tomato paste, onions, onion confit, celery, garlic and of course water. Came home from work to a wonderful smell and a very satisfying dish served with white rice and Tabasco. Elie

The reason for this might be because the meat was not lean enough. When making kibbeh (the "dough" not he filling) make sure the meat is very lean or you will have a greasy mess, and the kibbeh will not hold together properly since the fat melts away. Other than that, following the recipe outlined above should yield good kibbeh. Elie

Zeitoun- I certainly make the non-stuffed kibbeh as well, honestly it used to be the one I prefered of the two. At my home we always called it "Kibbeh bil Zait" or "Kibbeh with oil" since it the bottom of the pan is smeared with olive oil and a good dose of the olive oil is drizzled on top before it went in the oven. This gave it a wonderful crispy crust. However, we did not make it in tow layers, just one layer that it about and inch thick. It is also serevd at room temperature with a salad or with some cucumbers and radishes and pita bread. Lucia- Kibbeh comes in many variations and pumkin is one of them. In addition to the well known meat/bulgur version there are also vegeratrian and fish versions. the vegetarian version is made with either potato/bulgur in which case it is called Kibbet Battata, or with pumkin/bulgur and is sometimes called Kibbeh Kizabbeh. Kibbeh Kizabbeh literally translates to "Lying Kibbeh" refering to the fact that it is masquerading as kibbeh but has no meat. It does not end here, the fillings also vary a lot, from the regular meat/pinenut, to fish, to a vegetarian filling, to a wonderful yogurt/lamb filling... My Lebanese cookbook has several of those. I will try and adapt one or two and post about them on this thread if y'all are interested. I have not made pumking kibbeh in a while. As for Koussa bil Laban (stuffed zuchinni cooked in yogurt), that's a topic for another thread . Elie

When you name your chef's knife...mine is "The Dude". When no one in the family or circle of friends will invite you to dinner because they are worried you might not like it. and if they do invite you, they will start the sentence by "Well, I know it's not up to your standards, but here is my ....". This always bugs me. Elie

I have not had Kibbeh bil Saniyah in a while. I guess it's time to make some. For more about Kibbe or Kibbeh check out the eGCI class here. Going through both recipes I think the main difference is that I use fine bulgur for Kibbeh and I use less of it than Zeitoun. Just like most of my recipes I make them the way my mom or grandmother make them. Zeitoun was this your father's recipe? I also noticed that your kibbeh layers are much thicker than mine, again this is all a matter of personal preference. Elie

When I lived in an apartment with an electric oven, I put my quary tile on the lowest rack as well. Now, with a gas oven I have it on the floor of the oven. Elie

Jin- Can you elaborate a little on the Congee you posted about yesterday? Sounds very interesting and I am looking into trying congee at home soon. Elie

Zeitoun- These look terrific!! What was the entree? Picture? The macaroons are perfect as well (I have to try them now), they look just like the ones from the book!! Elie

Judith, these look excellent!! What's in the sandwich? As I type I have a half recipe of Piolane Miche in the fridge retarding. Hopefully I will bake it tonight and report. If you check out the PR Q&A you'll see in one of my Qs that I have problem getting this one. This time I used King Arthur's White Wheat flour instead of the regular wheat. I also let the dough rise for an extended period of time before shaping. I hope this makes a difference. I will report either way. Elie