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DanM

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Posts posted by DanM

  1. Earlier today, RuthBourdain tweeted,

    Saw this great travel show last night on the Paris food scene. Name escapes me right now, but it was hosted by a silver-haired gay couple.

    Frickin hillarious!

    I think Eric Ripert was fundamentally moved by eating at these simpler restaurants where the menus changed daily. Is it possible that a casual dining restaurant may be coming from him? I would love that!

    Dan

  2. I recently picked up a Vitamix blender at Costco. So far, wifey and I are very happy with its performance. The main usage is from making smoothies for me in the morning, baby food for my daughter, and a frozen cocktail when necessary. Vitamix has a longer warranty than Blendtec and much simpler controls, hence my decision.

    Dan

  3. I'm considering buying three half sheet pans and dumping all my larger rectangular teflon coated baking sheets. They seem to have a very limited life and the various sizes cause a storage problem. But would I regret not keeping something teflon?

    I doubt it. A good quality aluminum pan can be scrubbed really hard with no damage. If you plan on doing something potentially messy, you can use parchment paper or possibly aluminum foil.

    Dan

  4. What I have noticed, starting with Mexico: One Plate at a Time is that his recipes have become more and more Americanized and less and less traditionaly Mexican.

    I agree with this assessment: my argument is that's not such a bad thing. I really enjoy seeing how Bayless takes a traditional Mexican approach, or ingredient, or dish, and twists it around into something "contemporary." As far as I am concerned, Kennedy "wrote the book" on traditional Mexican cuisine. Once you've documented it, there is limited new ground to tread, so I welcome the innovation in OPT. Of course, I'm also waiting impatiently for the English translation of DK's Oaxaca!

    Ditto. Bayless did a wonderful job with Mexican Kitchen, Authentic Mexican, and Mexico One Plate at a Time documenting traditional Mexican fare. I'm glad that he is not regurgitating these books and exploring contemporary concepts. The one book I would love for him to write is a tome on moles, much like he wrote about salsas.

    Dan,

    I know I used zucchini, yellow squash, and onions.. but there was another one, I can't remember.

    Your combination sounds good, I think the eggplant will balance the sweetness of the others. i didn't really take that into account when I made mine the first time. I'll make it again, the sauce is wonderful.

    I'm not that smart and did not put any consideration into what I put in it. I just grabbed whatever hearty veg was available at the farmers market, with the exemption of the white onion. One great find at the market were the purple tomatillos I used for the sauce.

    We were very happy with this dish. The mango guacamole was also well liked. It would be even better if I had a riper mango.

  5. Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce and Melted Cheese (Enchiladas Suizas de Verduras Asadas), (pp. 199-200)

    I don’t remember the last time I made enchiladas, but the thought of creamy tomatillo sauce was too tempting to pass by. Plus, with an overflowing vegetable garden, I’m always searching for new ideas to use them in a main dish.

    DSCF0218.JPG

    The sauce is a snap to put together. Roasted tomatillos, garlic, onion and chilis, pureed and cooked with some broth. Not having a working blender at the moment, I used my food processor to make the sauce. It gives it a little texture—the tomatillo seeds in particular don’t disappear entirely. A blender would likely give you a smoother sauce. But no matter, it was delicious—tart, hot, creamy. Nice, too, that you can make it a day or two ahead, which I did.

    Otherwise, the recipe is simply roasted vegetable-filled tortillas, napped in the sauce with a little cheese. I used this recipe as motivation to finally try my hand at making tortillas, inspired by the tutorial and conversation in the Making Tortillas at Home topic. That was a lot of fun. A bit tricky at first but I got some good ones, enough to make the enchiladas. What a difference they made to the recipe, both flavor and texture.

    Oddly enough, the only thing I didn’t especially care for in the recipe was the roasted vegetables. Their caramelized sweetness was jarring in contrast with the sauce. I like roasted vegetables but the combination didn’t meld in the finished dish for me. Still, the recipe is a good template for enchiladas suizas in general and the sauce recipe is definitely a keeper. I’ll try the enchiladas again with other veggie combination or with a chicken filling.

    I am in the process of making this for dinner. I was wondering what veg you used for your enchiladas. I am using a blend of carrots, kohlrabi, eggplant, bell pepper, and white onion.

    May I suggest an index be made for this thread? I am starting to make recipes from this book and the critiques, comments, and suggestions really come in handy. An index will make it easier to find the info that I am looking for.

    Dan

  6. What advantages does induction have over an electric smoothtop? I guess I don't really understand why you'd choose one, when it severely limits your cookware options, and it sounds like the unit is too smart for its own good.

    One big advantage is the surface does not get hot, except through the absorption of heat from the pot or pan. This is great if you want to instantly kill the heat going into the pan. I have used them in the past for chocolate work and they do wonders. You can safely place a stainless bowl on the induction burner at a low setting for a couple of seconds to nudge the chocolate up a degree or two without worrying about it burning.

    Dan

  7. Thanks for posting all of the great reviews on this book. I just received a copy from Amazon today. With sukkot coming up, I figured this book will come in handy for entertaining.

    I picked up a bunch of poblanos, potatoes, and bulb onions, at the farmers market on Sunday. I plan on making the potato salad tomorrow night and will try using the heartier greens from the bulb onions to see if that makes a difference. How much leftover mayo did you have from this dish?

    Which is your favorite guacamole so far?

    Thanks!

    Dan

  8. My wife's coworker has asked me to make her a dessert for a Rosh Hashanah dinner next week. Apples are typically served on this holiday. I am looking for some suggestions for a spectacular, drool worthy dessert with apples. There should be no assembly required before serving.

    Thanks!

  9. I have been going back and forth on whether or not to share this "cookbook". This was given to my mom by my brother's ex-wife as a joke... a bad one at that. It is in poor taste and may violate the TOS, so my apologies if this offends anyone.

    You have been warned

    Click to view..

    http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1280957720/gallery_61658_6368_179151.jpg

    And a sample from the book...

    http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1280957720/gallery_61658_6368_661575.jpg

  10. I had a smooth top electric in my last house. The limitations on cookware was at times an issue. The cookware had to be perfectly smooth on the bottom and not extend 2" past the element, IIRC. This prevented me from using cast iron griddles, most tagines, and my wok.

    For now, I have a Frigidaire 4 coil cooktop that I would like to replace with a propane fired unit (no gas around here).

  11. I make a version of chicken with 40 garlic cloves where I place the chicken on a bed of diced root veg (typically waxy potatoes) and half of the garlic. The veg will soak up most of the juices, fat, and some of the liquid. This keeps the chicken high and dry and the root veg moist and delicious!

    Dan

  12. My mother just returned from a visit to her sister in Israel. According to my aunt, eggplant turns black when cut with a steel knife ( I have not seen this, but I will roll with it). In Israel, they sell wood knives that look like cleavers to slice eggplants. This is apparently a fairly popular item. Has anyone heard of this before? Is there any truth to it?

    Thanks!

    Dan

  13. Where do you get squash blossoms? In a grocery store? Outdoor market? Do they have a short or long season? Are they expensive?

    I have a local pick your own farm that offers pick your own squash blossoms at $6 per pound... you get a ton for a pound!! Otherwise, you will find them at the farmer's market. If you are lucky, you will find female flowers with a finger sized sqashed attached. They are the sweetest, tastiest squashes around.

    Impossible Cake (Chocoflan) (pp. 290–291)

    Setting the texture aside: I made the recipe exactly as written, including using cajeta, and I hunted down some non-Dutch-process cocoa (I wonder what he doesn't like about the DP cocoa, that's all I usually use). I use the instant espresso powder rather than fresh espresso, and I did not find the coffee flavor to overwhelm the other tastes: the cake had a mocha sort of feel to it that my wife and I thought was pretty good. The flan was unremarkable, but fine, and I like the cajeta on top, again I thought it balanced well. It's a shame the cake's texture was so poor due to the cooking time issue: if we could resolve that this cake might be a party staple.

    Dutch processed cocoa is treated with an alkali to smooth out the flavor and improve colour. Sometimes you will see Dutch process over natural cocoa due to the higher PH. Natural cocoa might react with the baking soda/powder and give you an over leavened mess.

    Dan

  14. I will be making Sardines in Saor from Mario Batali's new book Molto Gusto for dinner. The technique is quite unusual for this dish. Most of the recipes I have seen for Sardines in Saor have the sardines cooked before marinating for at least one day in the vinegar. Batali's recipe calls for a vinegar mixture to be brought to a boil and then poured raw sardine fillets and shaved fennel. Cool and serve.

    Has anyone seen this technique before? Any thoughts on it??

    On another note, the recipe calls for champagne vinegar and pine nuts. I have never seen kosher champagne vinegar and i am out of white wine vinegar, so I will use cider vinegar. Pine nuts are ridiculously exensive right now, so I will be using slivered almonds. I hope these substitutes will work!

    Dan

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