Dante

This thread reminds me of that BBC series, Chef. One episode, Chef Gareth Blackstock was in search of illegal, unpasteurized Stilton cheese. "Gone off milk and bugs, living in perfect harmony" yes yes yes!!! I've been questing for unpasteurized Stilton ever since I first saw that one... Sincerely, Dante (who considers Gareth Blackstock one of his personal heroes)

So, I feel the need to ask what-all would you folks consider the top culinary trends of 2007? Not that I consider following trends in and of themselves as all that important, nor do I consider myself a “trendy” sort, but I just found myself feeling somewhat curious as to where people see the art and industry going now. Sincerely, Dante

Looking for other cheese lovers to talk cheese and compare tasting notes, sourcing and transcendental cheese experiences. I could talk forever here, but I'll be brief for now as I have to start dinner... couple of things off the top of my head: Lazy Lady Farms in Vermont does some of the best cheese in the area in my experience- mostly goats milk, some cows-milk or blends. She has a couple dozen regular offerings plus the occasional small-batch limited runs (with hand-written labels, no less!). A Must Seek Out if you haven't had the experience. Cobb Hill, also in VT (run off of a commune) comes in a close second- really good caerphilly. St James Cheese Shop in New Orleans- which just opened last year- an astounding assortment of cheeses and charcuterie. and there's one up here from Blue Ledge Farm called "Lake's Edge", which is a sort of local Humboldt Fog. Highly Recommended. our local food co-op here in New Hampshire has recently started getting in some very interesting stuff from Quebec. But ever since seeing that one episode of the Britcom "Chef", I've been seeking, but not finding, unpasteurized Stilton. Rumours spoke of Neal's Yard working on something of the sort, but I've still not turned any up. Sincerely, Dante

I watched the ABNR crossover on Monday, mainly for Mr. Bourdain's presence. I found it interesting, and admit that I was intrigued by the tarantula (I've eaten grasshoppers, and ants too, and liked them. Never tarantulas, maggots or cockroaches). I can't say I found it bad, or offensive in and of itself, but I can't say it's something I want to keep watching (I only watch two TV shows at all on a regular basis, and usually watch them on On Demand) . "Bizarre Foods" just didn't grab me. But, yeah, the Egyptian restaurant was kewl. I really liked that part, and loved how they blended the close of BF with the opening of ABNR. and it was intersting to see the NYC's Chinatown still looks essentially the same as it did when I was last there in '84 (tho I didn't see any tentacled things on rotisseries in any of the windows). Sincerely, Dante

153 I'm only eight (or nine) books away from having every cookbook that I want. actually, if you subtract books that are about food but not primarily cookbooks (tho they may contain recipes), 141. Sincerely, Dante

A "morphing" is basically their way of saying petit fours. ah- so perhaps I had simply overthought it... Since they have the menu designed with the snacks first, which are usually savory, and they are just little things to be eaten before the tapas/plates. Then come the pre-desserts and desserts, and then they finish with morphings. Well since they were very similar to the snacks, only sweet, then they thought the word morphing fit well since it "morphs" from savory to sweet towards the end of the meal. So it is basically just petit fours after the desserts. Gotcha- so it's essentially mirroring the beginning, then. Interesting rationale for the name. I like it. Thanx so much for the elucidation. Sincerely, Dante

gabe, do you have any idea how they are made? yeah- I would second that- v. curious. Sincerely, Dante

Hello, new member here although I have been a long time browser. Hi! Newer member and also long-time browser here... thank you for the report and such- most interesting But I have one small question, and a rather embarrasing one at that... I've never really "got" the morphings thing...essentially what "makes" a morphing (tho I admit I may be overthinking it). Anyone out there care to provide me with a short "morphings for dummies"? Sincerely, Dante

Whoa, Sabang – we used to go there frequently. It sounds like we were discontemporaneous neighbors. I also feel your pain - missing the dining options in Maryland's DC 'burbs is what motivated me to learn to cook. We used to live on Hermitage Ave- right off of Georgia Ave, down the street from the library in Wheaton, so I lived within a mile (walking-distance for me) of quite a few nice places- Los Chorros for Salvadoran, Dusit for Thai, the now late-and-lamented Thanh Thanh for Vietnamese, a really nice kebab house by Hanh Ah Reum's Asian market whose name I can't recall right now... and, of course, the Metro to take me to anywhere else I wanted to go (except Georgetown, so getting to Dean & DeLuca's was a bit of a chore). Tony Chang's for Mongolian Barbecue, Red Tomato for Italian, and, of course, Jaleo for Tapas... Cradle of Flavor by James Oseland, is a wonderful cookbook that includes recipes from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Crouching Tyler started a thread on Cooking with 'Cradle of Flavor', One Recipe at a Time. thanx! I'll have to check that out! and thanx to SuzySushi and StevenC for their recommendations too! I'll do some research - one of my housemates has been making a point of late to remind me that we do in fact have limited space for cookbooks in the house, so I have to exercise extreme discretion in what I pick up. Sincerely, Dante

Hello. I go by the name Dante. I’ve just started posting on eGullet a couple of weeks ago. And already I’m asking questions… When I lived in the DC Metro area, I had access to a wide variety of dining options and cuisines to choose from. I now live in New Hampshire which, while not the culinary wasteland I’d feared it would be (quite the opposite, actually), does not offer certain options that I’d become fond of during my DC-area residence. I’ve made up for this lack for the most part by striving to learn some of the styles I don’t have access to up here, but one still continues to elude me. I used to live about a mile from a wonderful little Indonesian restaurant called Sabang, which I miss quite a bit. Can anyone out there recommend a good Indonesian cookbook? Sincerely, Dante

Dante, thanks for the recipe! My pleasure. If you give it a try, I'd like to know how it goes. I have Hoisin, oyster sauce, garlic black bean, fish sauce and siracha-type sauces. Do you mix them with anything or are they sufficient by themselves? I've used siracha-type sauces just as a condiment but haven't made a sauce incorporating it. Me, personally, I use the above as ingredients, rather than as condiments in and of themselves, with the exception of sriracha, which I use as both. BTW- last night I made the fish-cakes recipe from the link that was posted earlier on this thread. I did tweak it a bit- made the fish cakes and the sambal from scratch (I'm kind of funny that way). It went wonderfully with some carrots on the side. Sincerely, Dante

I haven't seen a thread on this topic yet, but what is the most embarrasing cookbook in your collection? "Doctor Who Cookbook" 'cause, y'know, I've been a fan since the mid-70's, so, I *had* to... Sincerely, Dante

I would suggest you check out hzrt8w's Chinese food pictorials here. oh, my...utterly gorgeous! I think I've got some ideas for next week's menu... Sincerely, Dante

I've been on a stir-fry kick lately. The sauce I've been using varies little and is a hodgepodge of whatever I have on hand. Some soy sauce, some garlic black bean sauce, some Shaoxing wine, a little chicken broth, grated ginger and some corn starch to thicken it all up. I need to expand my sauce repertoire and am looking for new from-scratch recipes for stir-fry sauces. Well, the one I use that always gets rave reviews is the following: 1/2 cup maple syrup (the real stuff) 1/4 cup tamari 1/4 cup sherry 2 tbsp cornstarch 1 tsp fresh grated ginger dash cayenne pepper mixed together thoroughly and added in last couple of minutes of cooking it's the maple syrup that makes it, naturally. sincerely, Dante

Do you have a nice pantry space? Actually, I do, but I have the incredible luck to live in a big house in the middle of the woods in New Hampshire, the result of the pooling of four people's incomes and an inheritance. We have a nice, semi-well-organized pantry which also has space for the bulk of the house "culinary library" (approx. 150 books). Our previous house didn't have one, we just had cabinets which weren't as well organized (I got to set up the current kitchen, I had no hand in the previous one). good amount of shelving, plus overhead beams to hang baskets and mesh bags of potatoes and onions. Dante

I was having this discussion last night, but with regards to Red Velvet Cake. How is "red" a flavor? Could I make Green Velvet Cake and have the same cake? I t-h-i-n-k the red just comes from colouring, but I'll gladly accept any info to the contrary anyone out there may have. My only direct experience with Red Velvet Cake comes from Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream. Never had it in its pure form. But it may surprise you how much effect colour can have on perceived flavour- just the implications that the brain picks up and transmits to the taste buds. I've got this thing where I sort of "taste" colours- I sometimes describe things as tasting "red", "green", etc.- could be some weird anomaly of my brain or possibly early imprinting- associating tastes with the colouring of certain foods I enjoyed early in my life before that differentiation- thing kicked in in my cognitive development. Dante

Let me be the first to say "Welcome! Dante". Why, thank you. nice to be here. I've thought for a while that i'd like to find a good foodie site- forums, resources, etc. , something that covered the widest range possible, and stumbled across eGullet during a Google -search for...something else, can't recall now. I believe that "white" cheddar on packaging tends to be a marketing tool only. <snip> That's pretty much what I'd surmised as well. I've studied a bit about marketing, plus I got a crash-course of sorts in food labeling a few months ago while doing pre-publication reviewing of a book by the dietitian who works for the local food co-op, so these things kind of hit me automatically now. Dante

So why is "white cheddar" so often offered as a flavor claim on packaging? What does it all mean? The easy answer would be for the purposes of marketing to people who don't know any better... (for one thing, added adjectives draw the eye more) A more kind answer would be to point out that said chedder lacks colouring additives. Dante (eGullet newbie)