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torakris

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Posts posted by torakris

  1. Avocados have got be one of my favorite foods. They go with almost everything, I can make a kind of avocado salad to match whatever type of cuisine I happen to be cooking.

    My most often used avocado in an instant dish is avocado slices with wasabijoyu (mixture of soy and wasabi paste).

    I also love avocado soups and sandwiches (multigrain bread with avocado, sprouts, lettuce and grainy mustard, Ia dd smoked salmon if I ahve it in the house.

    I also love the combo of avocado and sashimi/sushi, sometimes I wish the california roll would become popular in Japan.

    The price have come down quite a bit, less than $1 a piece so I buy them almost every time I go to the store.

  2. I enjoy hot krispy kremes, but they are nothing to go nuts over.  You will have to report how the japanese launch goes, how much are the doughnuts?

    It seems to be in the talking stages currently, they are in ties with McDonald's? It seems it is McDonald's that is bringing them here.

    The only Donut shops we really have are Mister Donuts (is this American?)

    The prices range from 90 to 140 yen per donut ($.75 to $1.20) and the stores seems quite popular. However the one nearest me has just closed with a KFC being put in its place.

    The most recent American import, Starbucks, has taken over this country and they are now on every corner.

  3. I have never been to a Krispy Kreme store and actually I had never even heard of them until a month ago when there was a thread about them right here on egullet.

    Now I just heard (through an e-mail group I belong to in Japan) that they are coming to Japan and everyone in the group is going crazy with anticipation.

    What makes them so different from the Mister Donut that we have here?

    I checked their locator page and the closest to Cleveland (I will be there in Dec.) is near Akron, is it worth the drive? I do enjoy donuts, especially coconut, no creams for me.

    On a side note here, just after the Krispy Kreme thread ended a Japanese friend of mine brought me a print out of an e-mail she received from a friend who is living in Kentucky. The e-mail seemed to be a mass mailing announcing the arrival of the new krispy kreme calendar. She said she looked in every dictionary she had and couldn't figure out what Krispy Kreme was and did I know. Thanks to egullet I did! If it had been just a couple weeks earlier I might have been as confused as she was.

  4. Well after reading through this thread for the first time, I have one question:

    Did anyone actually try to make the boiled beef?

    If so how was it?

    My first experience with boiled beef was in Ohio's Amish Country, where it is a very popular buffet dish. I found it very bland as it was served with nothing.

    Then a couple of month's ago I made a beef pho from a recipe in Hot Sour Salty Sweet, oxtails were boiled until tender and the meat was later dipped into a salt and pepper mixture moistened with a little lime juice.

    Absolutely delicious!!

  5. Thanks for posting this, My friend and I will be making it tomorrow at our Thursaday Cooking Session.

    A good friend and I get together every Thursday and make lunch for ourselves (usually two dishes and a dessert) using recipes that for one reason or another we wouldn't make for our family.

    We used to try to have Dinner/BBQ's together once to twice a month and try out new recipes there, but between the 2 of us we have 8 kids under the age of 6 and it just tended to get chaotic.

    So so we do Thursday lunches when we each only have one child with us.

    So anyway I have decided to make this crab recipe and pair it with winter squash soup with lemon grass and coconut milk (from Deborah Madison) and for dessert a mint chocolate mousse (from Nigella Lawson).

    Thanks again and keep the recipes coming!

  6. Why do I also seem to be making the same thing as everyone else?

    We also had a beef stew last night, with emphasis on the beef.

    Satueed onions, carrots, and celery, add large chunks of beef, bay leaves and about 1 1/2 bottles red wine. Simmered for 4 hours then added some demi glace (sp?) sauce to thicken it a bit. Tossed in some boiled potatoes and and button mushrooms sauteed in an ungodly amount of garlic.

    Served with

    Red oakleaf salad simply dressed with EVOO and red wine vinegar

    Popovers fresh from the oven (made from the incredibly delicious recipe out of Fine Cooking's Apr/May 2002 magazine)

    Of course my husband and 3 children all had to eat the stew Japanese style, over rice.

  7. is that the same thing as Forbidden Rice..which is actually a deep purple?

    According to the way Madhur Jaffrey describes "forbidden "rice (Chinese Black rice), they sound to be the same, or at least they are used in similar ways..

    I aslo have always heard the term "forbidden" rice when black rice was being refered to.

  8. My Lodge grill pan is now sitting in the sink, filled with dish soap and water.  (I already wiped out the gunky lamb fat.)  In the morning, I will give it a swipe with a scotch-brite, rinse it with very hot water, and then wipe it dry.  I'll put it away with a piece of paper towel inside.

    Nice to know that others love to clean up as much as I do.

    I put off buying cast iron for years because of the clean-up/seasoning factor.

  9. While I was in Kappabashi (cook's heaven) this weekend for their annual sale, I picked up a very large Lodge cast iron fry pan. Then today I pop into egullet and have found out how to season it with out even having to do the search myself.

    The directions said to heat it the oven, but since it is too big for my small oven I wasn't sure what to do. Now I am going to heat it up on th egrill along with the monster cast iron dutch oven (for camping and BBQ's) that my husband picked up a couple of weeks ago.

    Thanks for doing most of the work for me! Now if someone wants to come over here and start up the grill..................

  10. Monday evening:

    Roast chicken with lemon (Marcella Hazan), I read about it here, somewhere, and decided to give it a try, absolutely delicious. The very few leftovers there were are going into a chicken sandwich today.

    Risi e bisi (rice and green peas) made from a recipe from Nigella Lawson's new book Forever Summer, this has become a new family favorite, my kids were actually trying to lick the pan clean that I made it in!! I even used frozen peas and bouillion cubes, can't imagine how much better it would taste with stock and fresh peas!

    Mushroom and parmasean salad with lemon and EVOO dressing

    Pear tart for dessert, not homemade but not bad (gift from MIL)

  11. Ah, number 9. That's actually a sore point for me. Number 9 is an incredibly versative 5" utility knife. It's technically a piece of crap, one of those "never-needs-sharpening" mirror-finish stamped blades, very thin, with bizarre-looking teeth that conceal its underlying dullness. I bought four of them at Zabar's about a decade ago. I knew I should have bought more. Now I can't find that size, shape and configuration anywhere. The only indication of brand is "fine stainless steel lifetime cutlery japan." I look and look but find nothing like it. It's the knife I throw in a picnic basket, in the car, wherever I need a cheap knife that can do pretty much anything. If I'm feeling lazy and I'm just slicing one slice off a tomato or whatever I just grab one of them and use it. I wash them in the dishwasher. They also pinch hit as eating knives, even though I have a set of nice Laguiole steak knives.

    I think I have this exact same knife, or at least one extremely similar. I use it for all the same things you mentioned and since I don't own steak knives, it does double duty at the table knife. For my husband that is, I use the paring knife. Someday I will break down and get a nice set of tableware.

  12. My most recent tuna steak preparation:

    Sauteed some veggies, don't remember exactly which but probably bamboo shoots, red pepper, and some type of mushroom, add a can of coconut milk and some Thai red curry paste. Season with salt and pepper, throw in some lemon grass and kaffir lime leaf and simmer until the veggies are to my liking (still crunchy).

    In a cast iron grill pan I seared the tuna steaks ,that had been seasoned with salt and pepper and rubbed with a little canola oil, until rare. Cut into slices and placed atop the curry that had been placed in shallow bowls, sprinkled some basil on top.

  13. Seperate comment:

    torakris, have you had any matsutake yet? Much of what is sold there is grown in British Columbia.

    No I haven't yet :sad::sad:

    I have actually seen very little in the stores this year, and most of what I have seen is either from China or Korea.

    A couple weeks back we were on a road trip with some friends and there was a stand on the side of the road selling matsutake. We pulled off and were surprised to find it was imported from China!? :shock::angry::huh:

    I haven't heard anything yet but I wonder if they are having problems this year?

  14. I love my book In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley. At close to 700 pages it is quite large, and considering that the first 370 pages is a guide to ingredients and techniques it is quite definitive.

    The 150+ recipes run the gamut from something a kid could do to something that I would have to buy every single ingredient at a specialty store. For a quick chocolate fix I make her All in the Pan Chewy Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Icing. The entire cake is mixed together in the pan it is to be baked in and it calls for no eggs, butter or milk ( I don't make the frosting though), so it can be made on those days when you have absolutely nothing in the house. Then there are some middle of the road recipes like Toasted Hazelnut Pound Cake and Tarte au Sucre d'Erable (Maple Sugar Pie). Then for those that are up to a challege ther are things like Guava Cheescake with a Cashew Ginger Crust and Sweet Polenta Crostini with Mascarpone, Raspberries, Pistachios and Wild Forest Honey.

    I have been very happy with the results and her brownies and blueberry muffins are the best I have ever made.

    The only downside it that is doesn't have too many pictures, but it does have some great charts, such as a pan substituion chart, flavor pairing chart, ingredient substitution chart and conversion charts.

  15. If you were in Japan, and you had a kaiseki dinner, there would probably be a meal focused on the matsutake mushroom which is in season right now.  (Jin?  I could be wrong here.)  There might be a course, for example, utilizing the caps; a course utilizing the stems, as a major ingredient; a course involving matsutake broth; etc.  The idea is to create a meal involving the senses with an eye towards an awareness of the seasons and harmony within nature, and a focus on the ingredients while utilizing the simplest possible means.  (Jin?)

    SA

    No I am not Jin, but you are right on about kaiseki.

    It is a multiple course traditonal meal utilizing the both the seasonal foods and meibutsu (local specialities?) as well as using various cooking techniques (raw, steaming, grilling, simmering, deep frying, etc).

    Right now in Japan you will see a lot of focus on matsutake and well as other mushrooms, chestnuts (kuri), and sanma (saury pike?).

    As to the miso soup, I was thinking about it as I was preparing miso soup for dinner last night. There are miso based soups that are always sauteed first, however they are not referred to as miso shiru. One, kenjiru, is a multiple ingredient miso type soup. Various veggies, such as carrots, onions, satoimo (type of taro?), daikon, gobo (burdock) are sauteed with a little oil, usually sesame, and then dashi is added. After simmering for a while other foods such as tofu, aburage and konnyaku are added. The miso used for this is always the most common golden/brown variety.

    Another soup is tonjiru, almost the same as kenjiru but with the addition of thinly sliced pork sauteed along with veggies.

    Garnishes for both of these could consist of Japanese negi (cross between a scallion and a leek?), mitsuba, and or shichimi.

  16. Today was avery busy day and so I prepared a very simple dinner.

    Fusilli with raw tomato and ricotta sauce (excellent by the way!)

    salad of baby greens with a simple homemade garlic vinagrette

    various ice creams for dessert.

  17. As with Jinmyo, I was also surprised by your method of miso shiru (miso soup). I have never sauteed things to be used in miso soup and with EVOO? Interesting. I might give it a try. Far from traditional but hey, if it tastes good.

    What is corn miso?

    I have never heard of it.

  18. Jack Bishop in his book the Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook has a recipe for boiled arborio rice with mozarella and herbs that is very good.

    There are other ercipes for boiled rices including a pest rice, a rice salad, and baked arborio rice with marinated artichoke hearts.

    I think I might give this last one a try later this week.

  19. Priscilla, if by 'little' you mean the bitsy thumb-sized ones, I agree they're not worth tinkering with, as is the case with most midgetized vegetables.  But the bigger than a baseball/smaller than a basketball squashes (there's doubtless a sport with the right-sized ball but I don't know what) can be lovely.

    Every fall here in Japan I can find these little squashes about the size of a baseball and they are yellow with orange striping. I don't think they really have a name here as the Japanese don't actually eat them, rather decorate with them. I find them absolutely delicious! I cut them in half, place them cut side down on a buttered baking tray and roast until tender. They become wonderfully carmelized and need nothing more than a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

    Kabocha is pretty much the only squash offered here and I roast it the same way only longer.

    Occasionally I have seen spaghetti squash, only they call it somen kabocha. somen being the thin Japanese noodles.

  20. As long as the restaurant allows it, the decision should be up to the parents. My 3 children under the age of six would never fall into this category of well behaved for more than 1 hour. Usually 30 minutes max for my 22 month old.

    This one thing I love about Japan, since babysitting is unheard of in this country, the children go everywhere with the parents. I have never been to "really" nice restaurants with them, but have never even gotten a second glance when walking into a decent restaurant. Of course I would prefer to dine with out them......

    On visits to the States however I have had nastly glances from child free couples at even "family style restaurants" like Tony Romas and Applebees.

    I think it really depends a lot on the culture of the country you are dining in. I would never take my decently behaved 6 year old to a nice restaurant in the US.

    It reminds me of the time I took my 11 month old on a trip from Japan to Hawaii in First Class. Even though she was very well behaved I had nasty looks the whole time (all from the non-Asians) for even bringing her there. I could just tell some were waiting for her to do something, so they could say something to me for ruining their flight.

  21. My friend and I had a 2 day BBQ this weekend, Saturday at her house, Sunday at mine, different group of people on each day.

    Food on the menu:

    Bruschetta with

    tomato basil topping

    tapenade (homemade)

    roasted pepper and anchovy topping

    yakitori with just salt for the kids

    chicken wings with

    homemade BBQ sauce

    hoison based sauce

    grilled pork tenderloin with a mustard, apple and rosemary marinade

    grilled beef tenderloin with red wine and herbs

    grilled mussels with butter, white wine, lemon, garlic and parsley

    couscous salad with grilled veggies and lots of herbs

    French style potato salad with green beans, cherry tomatoes, kalamatas and parsley

    mozarella and tomato tart

    crab quiche

    grilled eggplants and baby leeks with soy ginger sauce

    potato packages for the kids

    various wines, beer and a huge batch of sangria

    for dessert:

    pumpkin chiffon pie

    custard and cream pie

    apple streudel

    iced coffee

    Probably forgot something, but you get the idea. Great weekend!!

  22. My 6 year old daughter begs us to go to sushi restaurants. She usually just gets a plate of ikura and ootoro, though I can usually convince her that chutoro is just fine.

    My 4 year old and 1 year old also have no problem finding something to eat. Ikura is the favorite of all 3.

    All sushi shops here have a children's plate and they always consist of cucumber maki, egg nigiri, shrimp nigiri, tuna, ikura and sometimes something else like unagi or inarizushi. They also come with a drink and a toy as well.

    As for using chopsticks, my 6 and 4 year old use them daily at school and usually at home (depending on what we are eating), they both picked it up around three. No special devices were used, just regular children's sized chopsticks. I have seen kids as young as 1 1/2 using chopsticks here! I have to admit my 22 month old son really tries, he ends up mostly spearing the food though.

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