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Haggis

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  1. Since no one has yet mentioned my two favorite Drakes products, here they are: As a kid I remember thinking that the peanut butter cream inside FunnyBones tasted better than any peanut butter in a jar. And to this day, Ring Dings might still be the best rendition of chocolate and fake cream ever devised.
  2. I recognize that whenever I order a pizza delivered to my home, it can't really be as good as it was when it first emerged from the oven. So for me, ordering a delivery pizza is a compromise from the getgo. I want a cheap, filling, and tasty carbo-fat feast that's as easy as a phone call. All of us want this at times. The biggest part of the problem seems to be in what the pizza loses in heat on the way over, plus the crispiness that dissipates. No matter what container is used to transport, the pizza never arrives hot enough. I correct these problems with my own oven and a pizza stone. Doing so, however, often creates a new problem of overly browned cheese. My solution is to slather a tasty condiment over most of the surface of the pie before re-heating. This will protect the cheese. What I do for a large New York-sized pie of 20 or 22 inches is to saute in olive oil 3 medium onions, sliced; several cloves of crushed garlic; and 4 whole jalapeno peppers. Saute on medium heat until the chiles have blistered all over. Remove chiles from pan and turn heat down to low. Finely chop the chiles. Return chiles to pan, add black pepper to taste, and cook until the onions resemble an onion fondue. Transfer to bowl, mix and chop thoroughly. Then spread evenly over surface of pizza using a rubber spatula. I will usually heat the pizza covered with this condiment for 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees, but check to make sure your crust does not brown too much. I don't do this with all of the pizzas I get delivered to my home, because sometimes I want to eat without having to cook, but I do it about half the time. I really enjoy the taste (and the heat) of the condiment, and the re-crisping aspect also improves it a lot. This works best with a plain cheese pie that is unsliced. Can anyone think of what my condiment might be called? I don't mean can you give it a name, I mean is there an existing nomenclature for this sort of thing? Anyway, try it if you like fiery foods, and are usually dissapointed with delivery pizza.
  3. In re-reading Prada's recipe, I think the 2 mysterious tablespoons must be the cream he calls for later to be added to the spinach mixture when the paneer is added. I hope Prasad will confirm this, as I want to try this recipe soon. Also, what sort of cream should I use - heavy whipping cream, sour cream, creme fraiche?
  4. There appears to be an error on the recipe. One of the listed ingredients appears as: 2 Table spoons (Optional) Might this be black pepper? It seems a huge amount of black pepper, but I would not complain if I ate it, because I love black pepper. Anyway, the recipe description does go on to talk about when to include the black pepper, but it is not mentioned in the ingredient list. Could Prasad offer his correction? Recipe sounds great, by the way.
  5. Thanks for the pic of the Totonno's pie - it looks perfect. Do you happen to have any pics of Denino's pie, since that is your favorite? I have yet to make it out to Staten Island for that pie, but an appetizing photo might get me going.
  6. Haggis

    New Green Bo

    If you want me to think of the four in each category that taste the best, and not necessarily in terms of putting together a dinner where the dishes play off each other in concert, I'd go with the crab & pork soup dumplings, the scallion pancake, the kau fu and the mock duck for the starters. Then the four tastiest of the mains I listed would probably be sea cucumber, fried yellowfish, seafood rice cakes, and porkball with vegetable. You have to appreciate the very glutenous feel of the rice cakes to enjoy them as much as I do, so if you don't, then go with the stuffed bean curd skin with pork casserole as your fourth dish. If you choose any of my suggestions, please post if you loved or hated any, I will want to know either way.
  7. Haggis

    New Green Bo

    I just remembered the name of the elusive squash: LOOFA
  8. Haggis

    New Green Bo

    I will list all the dishes I have tried there that I consider worth ordering. Understand that some of them have not been ordered in over a year, but most have been: Apps Seafood Dumplings Vegetable Dumplings Pork Soup Dumplings Crab & Pork Soup Dumplings Scallion Pancake Turnip Cakes Kau Fu Mock Duck Crispy Eel Bean Noodle soup with Fish Balls Sea Cucumber and Yellowfish Soup Mains Pork Ball with Vegetable Pork Ball Casserole Sea Cucumber in Brown Sauce Fried Yellow Fish Eggplant with Garlic Sauce Seafood Rice Cakes Shanghai Pan Fried Noodles Stuffed Bean Curd Skin with Pork Casserole The vegetable that accompanies the Pork Ball is that delicious Chinese squash whose name eludes me now (anyone?) All of the sea cucumber dishes are good, but the brown sauced one is my fave. The eggplant has a particulary slimey texture at New Green Bo, but I mean that in a good way. It is a bit sweet, which I don't mind since it's also spicy. I didn't list them, because I don't remember what they are called, but you will see several dishes in the soup section that are all priced over $10. These are over-sized main dish one pot meals containing fish, as I recall. I have tasted more than one of these, and they have never dissapointed.
  9. Are you certain that this is made with ketchup on the Indian restaurant circuit? I thought the red came from the same red food coloring that tandoori chicken is colored with. In fact, several Indian restaurants I have tried serve it without the deep red color, it's more yellow or orange and usually tastes the same as the red. I always thought it was onions, vinegar, chile, and spices. I like the stuff. When restaurants bring out a plate of pappadums gratis before dinner begins, I like to think of the pappadum as the tortilla chip, and the onions as the salsa. I also like mixing it in with the rice, and even with some curries, particularly strongly flavored and heavily sauced ones. When I ask for more (as I frequently do) I ask the waiter to bring me some more onion chutney - is this a misnomer? I suppose it is more of a relish, but I have been calling it onion chutney for more than two decades. As a final effront to the Indian sensibility, I have been known to even mix it into chaat. Call me gringo, but don't call me late for chutney!
  10. Haggis

    Uncle Nick's

    I haven't dined at Uncle Nicks in a number of months. I always went for the food, not the service, though I was never rushed as you were. This must be a recently-adopted policy. I would be just as angry if it happened to me as you decribed. The cold dips were a favorite of mine, particularly the skordalia, and I've never had a bad piece of fish there. You have me curious to try the place again (perhaps the opposite of your intention) just to see if I am given the bum's rush. Re: Hector Berlioz - I cannot stress enough how important this man was to the developement of the modern symphony orchestra. Because of his scorings, modern orchestras look and sound the way they do, and are the size they currently are. He was influenced by Beethoven, and you can hear this in much of his music, but he went off on musical tangents Beethoven probably never even dreamed of. As far as I'm concerned he is the 4th "B" after Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
  11. Bhasin - my recipe for saag paneer is based on the gleanings of more than a dozen recipes I've come across over the years. Yes, I have tweaked it many times to arrive at my ideal for this dish. I have no doubt it can be improved upon. I do not puree or process my saag. I use frozen chopped spinach usually, though I occasionally hand chop fresh spinach. The dish is not as good when I use garam masala as when I fry the spices whole, but as I said, in a pinch it can produce satisfactory results. I've actually seen tiny stands of tomato skin in this dish in restaurants at times, so I knew it existed in some versions. And of course tomatoes are highly present in mattar paneer, usually. At least one of the recipes I based my final product on did call for either lemon or tamarind. I think lemon and spinach are a natural together, even if they do not come together in the classic Northern preparation of the dish. When I order the dish in restaurants, I always request a lemon wedge on the side to squeeze on top. Would I be looked at strangely by Indians if they witnessed this? Indian waiters witness me doing this all the time, but perhaps they are trained to keep their opinions to themselves. If one spoke up and told me I was doing something contrary to the Indian experience, I would be far from offended. I'd prefer they tell me. I'd probably still do it. I would love to have your preferred recipe for saag panner, Bhasin. Would you consider posting it?
  12. I neglected to include in my previous post how often I ate Indian. Twice a week on average in restaurants, and twice a month prepared in my own kitchen.
  13. I have had mild Saag Paneers and I have had hot ones. I much prefer the hot ones. By hot, I don't mean scorching hot, but a moderate amount of raw green cayenne and fresh ginger. I appreciated one that I tried at Delhi Palace in Jackson Heights which had noticeable long strands of julienned ginger perched on top as a garnish. When I cook it at home, I usually fry up the spices and then I add raw ginger, chopped green cayenne or jalapeno, chopped garlic, and lots of onions. Occasionally in a pinch I will skip the frying of the spices and use a commercial grade of Garam Masala instead with satisfactory results. I use either tamarind or lemon as my souring agent, and I like a combination of half sour cream and half high fat yogurt as my cream base. Sometimes I add butter, and sometimes I leave it out. I usually add chopped cilantro as a garnish. I buy my paneer cheese at Indian groceries. I like to brown the paneer cubes to a medium gold. I hope my preparation doesn't sound too inauthentic for Suvir, Monica and other Indians reading. I just don't enjoy the subtle ones as much. Could anyone suggest an Indian restaurant in the New York metro area that they consider to serve a great subtle version of Saag Paneer? Maybe even go further and say which NYC Indian has their fave Saag Paneer regardless of heat and subtlety?
  14. I buy Silk brand soy milk, not because I am lactose intolerant, but because I ingest a huge amount of cholesterol in restaurants, so at home I've opted for alternatives that contain little or no cholesterol. I like the taste of it in cereal, or to use for hot chocolate. Their nutrition label says that an 8 ounce glass contains 50% of your daily B-12 requirement. This is part of the fortification, as soy does not contain B-12 on its own. I have heard that miso and shitake mushrooms both do contain B-12, though probably not as high a grade of it as animal products. I could probably never be a vegan, but my instincts tell me that the way they eat makes them less likely to develop heart disease or cancer than omnivores. My instincts also tell me they may be deficient in certain vitamins. I kind of admire the way they eat, though I can't stand the way many of them propagate their "ideology". You can be a member of a church and admire the celibacy of the priests while never planning to go celibate yourself. Anyway, try Silk, it's the best tasting soy milk in my opinion.
  15. Haggis

    Frozen Pizza

    I also indulge in Ellio's on occasion. To me it's like the White Castle of pizza. I don't deny enjoying sliders, so why should I try to hide that I eat the pizza equivalent of junk food every now and again? Actually, I think I may enjoy it for nostalgic reasons, because you know what Ellio's tastes very similar to? Boardwalk pizza. This topic originated on the Jersey board, so I am sure many of you know what I mean. Those slices with very dark red sauce, and the crust often tasted semi-burnt, though not in a coal oven type of way. I probably haven't had a slice of pizza from a boardwalk in 25 years, but I am still fond of the memory, and Ellio's comes close to the taste. For a better tasting frozen pizza, I used to buy Tree Tavern, which I think may be an East coast only product, but I haven't seen it on store shelves in more than 10 years. Anyone know if it's still being sold anywhere?
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