CooksQuest

Newport area -- Jersey City, New Jersey. It's even cheaper in Newark, New Jersey.

It's better than Pitu, which -- to me -- has a too salty taste. I just bought some 51 yesterday. It's not anything really exciting compared to the excellent dark ones from the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil. But, it's ok for a homemade caipirinha. I paid $13.99.

If anyone is interested, I just added my secret recipe for a killer caipirinha at eGullet recipes, inspired by a whole bunch o' trips to Brazil. As for other uses for cachaca, I'm going to try jello shots tonight...

Caipirinha To make a killer caipirinha (pronounced ky--pee-REE--nya) here is what you do: 1 c Cachaça 1 Lime 3 T Sugar 1 T Water (optional) 1) Cut off the ends of the lime (just a few millimeters in) and discard. They are bitter. 2) Cut the remaining lime into 1/8's or so. (It doesn't have to be perfect.) If you can avoid the core of the lime, that is best because it is kind of bitter. 3) Put the remaining lime into the bottom of a drink shaker. 4) Add about three tablespoons of sugar. (If you can find superfine sugar, it dissolves easier. If you can't find it, regular sugar is ok.) You will probably need to experiment with the amount of the sugar. 5) Crush the lime and the sugar using a pestle. (Crush the lime pulp side up because if you crush the skin, too much bitter lime oil will be released.) 6) Add some cachaça. It will be about a cup. You can add some water (maybe a tablespoon) if you want. But the drink is really almost all -- if not all -- cachaça. You'll probably have to experiment with the amount. 7) Add ice cubes and shake the shit out of it. (Ideally, it should be a little foamy.) 8) Serve in a highball glass with a stirrer. If it is not sweet enough, add more sugar and shake. Warning: There seems to be a 30 minute delay effect with this drink! So, pace yourself accordingly. Keywords: Cocktail, Easy, Latin American ( RG1139 )

Caipirinha To make a killer caipirinha (pronounced ky--pee-REE--nya) here is what you do: 1 c Cachaça 1 Lime 3 T Sugar 1 T Water (optional) 1) Cut off the ends of the lime (just a few millimeters in) and discard. They are bitter. 2) Cut the remaining lime into 1/8's or so. (It doesn't have to be perfect.) If you can avoid the core of the lime, that is best because it is kind of bitter. 3) Put the remaining lime into the bottom of a drink shaker. 4) Add about three tablespoons of sugar. (If you can find superfine sugar, it dissolves easier. If you can't find it, regular sugar is ok.) You will probably need to experiment with the amount of the sugar. 5) Crush the lime and the sugar using a pestle. (Crush the lime pulp side up because if you crush the skin, too much bitter lime oil will be released.) 6) Add some cachaça. It will be about a cup. You can add some water (maybe a tablespoon) if you want. But the drink is really almost all -- if not all -- cachaça. You'll probably have to experiment with the amount. 7) Add ice cubes and shake the shit out of it. (Ideally, it should be a little foamy.) 8) Serve in a highball glass with a stirrer. If it is not sweet enough, add more sugar and shake. Warning: There seems to be a 30 minute delay effect with this drink! So, pace yourself accordingly. Keywords: Cocktail, Easy, Latin American ( RG1139 )

This sounds incredible! Suvir -- have you ever tried this? By the way -- and admitedly off topic -- I'm trying to make Naan for the first time this weekend. Should be fun... No tandoor, but improvising with a large clay pot. I haven't decided whether to use coals in it (outside the house) or just put the clay pot in the oven (oven within an oven technique).

Got a link (to either a book at Amazon or otherwise permissible reference)?

Are there are any versions of gulab jamun that are not *so* sweet? Perhaps this is an important part of their charm, but wow!

This is where the pressure cooker really shows off its stuff. Risotto takes 7 minutes at high pressure. No stirring... And the right "chew" remains perfectly intact.

The other day I made some empanada beef (with the traditional Spanish mix of ingredients) but used Chinese Shanghai-style skins instead of the empanada skins. Fried 'em up pretty good on the stovetop. It was a great surprise, since guests were expecting a traditional chinese dumpling filling. Any other culture combo/clash ideas for a little fun with the guests?...

I love this one called, "Japanese Home Style Cooking". You can check it out at Amazon. They've even got a recipe for Nikujaga!

Live lobster. It's disgusting. It's black (not cooked red) and the body is moving around as you eat portions cut from it. I was a witness to this about 20 years ago in a pricey New York City Japanese restaurant.

Thanks!

My favorite trail mix: Dry-Roasted peanuts (the salty kind) mixed with raisins.

Check out Dave the Cook's recipe at this eGullet hot sauce thread.

The confusion is actually kind of funny. I should have realized that eGulleters would want to analyze the quality/accuracy of the review itself. I wonder if other major NYC restaurants have received such scathing reviews. Yeah, that's it. The title should have been Most Scathing Review Ever... :-)

That's what I meant. A bad review for Oyster Bar... Not the quality of the review itself. Sorry for any confusion.

Holy cow. Check out the review of the Oyster Bar in The New York Times.

It doesn't need to be super cold. I just don't want it burning my lap and/or smelling up the public transportation on the way home.

Inspired by the recent thread for Chinatown fish, I would like to know where the best place in Chinatown is to pick up a roasted duck to serve at home. Unlike the fish post, I am looking for a cold (but fully cooked) product to reheat/recrisp at home. This will save me some serious time when I need a break... Is the quality dramatically different from place to place? Thanks in advance.

I use the National/Panasonic brand. It is one of the best appliances I own. I use it for regular white rice, Nishiki Japanese rice, Indian basmati rice, brown rice, and wild rice. I love making Paella the traditional way. But, sometimes you need a break. Here is my recipe for Easy as Hell Paella: Paella (serves 2-3) 2 cups rice (regular Carolina or Basmati) 1 chorizo sausage 1 chicken cutlet 6-10 shrimp 10-15 green olives (no pits) 5-10 threads saffron1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp fresh garlic 1/2 cup clam juice or chicken stock kosher salt to taste fresh pepper to taste 1) Fill rice cooker with rice and water to the appropriate level for two cups 2) add chorizo to rice cooker (do *not* stir) 3) add garlic 4) add olives to rice cooker (do *not* stir) 5) add salt and pepper and saffron to rice cooker 6) press "Quick Cook" 7) when it says 9 minutes left, cook up chicken in separate pan. Cook shrimp. 8) remove cooked chicken and cooked shrimp from pan 9) add clam juice or stock to pan to deglaze. 10) rice cooker should be ready by now 11) add juice from pan to cooked rice to make a little wet. 12) add chicken and shrimp to rice cooker 13) Stir and let flavors blend a little bit (5 minutes) Serve! The cooker knows when it's done, because it measures temperature. Water boils at around 212F. When the temperature rises past this point, the cooker knows that all of the water has boiled off. So even if you add a ton of ingredients, you don't need any extra water. If you are using 2 cups of rice, you will only need to fill to the 2 cup mark. Just don't stir, so that the water and rice are in better contact.

Does anyone know if the addition of baking powder (whisked in with the eggs prior to adding the eggs to the pan) helps to create a fluffier product? This was a method taught to me by a friend from Spain who makes a wicked spanish potato omelet. It may be a completely useless addition, but I can't break away...

Tommy, I feel your pain... What a pain in the neck. Drifting slightly from the thread, but still a "tupperware" pain: today, I had a Ziplock storage container (the square one) "explode" on me when I took it out of the freezer. It had some great red beans with Palacios chorizo. I tried to squeeze it out, and the whole bottom shattered. Maybe the actual tupperware is more sturdy. Oh well...

I'm happy to report that the frozen paella was just as good as the night before (at the restaurant). There was no loss of flavor. There was some minor texture change in the chorizo, but everything was surprisingly good. There are 4 more containers in the freezer at the ready... The true test may come in 1-2 months.

What a great place. My wife and I had the potato and leek soup, clams casino, and the paella. All were really unbelievable. The atmosphere was exactly what I was looking for. Two fairly small people ordered two paellas, if you can believe it. Now I have about 5 separate containers of paella in my freezer! I'm looking forward to trying Rachel's newest favorite Spanish restaurant.