SethG

With pork the main concern has been trichinosis, which has been pretty much eradicated. There was a recent thread in which the new emerging consensus was discussed, that consensus being that we can eat pink pork again, and boy does it taste better than than the other kind!

I began reading Like Water for Chocolate today in the serialized New York Times Great Summer Read insert. (I think this Great Summer Read thing is a wonderful idea, by the way.) Each chapter contains a recipe. I had no plans for dinner tonight, and no ideas, so I made the recipe for "Christmas Rolls" featured in chapter one. These are hard dinner rolls stuffed with a mixture of chorizo, onion, sardines, canned serrano peppers, and oregano, then baked. And although the recipe left the reader to fill in a lot of blanks, I thought the results were pretty damn tasty. Anybody else made any of the other recipes in the book? I don't know yet what the other recipes are. I bet we have the book in my apartment somewhere, but I'm looking forward to the surprise of each daily installment, so I haven't checked. I'm going out of town later in the week, so I can't cook through the book in one week, but I thought it might be neat to have a thread where we can post what we think of the recipes, if anyone has any interest. Having read just the first chapter, I'm not yet prepared to say that I think the book is a classic, but making the featured dish has certainly enhanced the experience of the book for me. My more detailed impressions of the Christmas Rolls: The recipe specifies one onion, 1/2 a chorizo sausage, one can of serrano peppers, and one tin of sardines. I found that not one of these items comes in a standard size, so I sort of made up the mixture to suit my tastes. I assumed she meant a half of a large chorizo sausage, so I used two or three of the little ones you find packaged together in American supermarkets. I found the canned peppers to be pretty bland, so I tossed in about half a habanero pepper as well. The recipe states that homemade rolls are best, but gives no guidance as to how to make them. I was concerned that the author really meant the dough to contain sugar, since I've seen sweet hard rolls a lot in Mexican bakeries, but I eventually went with more of a standard French bread dough for the rolls. I also had no idea how to stuff them. I ended up poking a hole in the side with kitchen shears and then forced the filling in with my fingers. The recipe says to bake the filled rolls for ten minutes, at an unspecified temperature-- I went with 375 degrees, and it worked out well. I have no idea if these tasted as they're supposed to taste, but I did think they came out really nice.

This is from realmilk.com: Just throwing that out there.

This is all very helpful! I'm excited about the possibility of buying raw milk (perhaps legally, perhaps not!), and the prospect of arranging a drop-off at an undisclosed location gives me an extra little thrill. I was interested in both unpasteurized and unhomogenized, but I'm game to try different variations-- I recall reading somewhere that typical pasteurized milk has to be homogenized, because if it weren't, the customer would see just how little cream has been left in the milk. I imagine that the unhomogenized "Creamline" milk mentioned above would have more cream left in it (hence its name?) and more flavor. I also find this Jersey/Guernsey thing interesting. If I'm not mistaken, there's a state close to New York City that ought to have quite a few "Jersey" cows. Has a bottom-line-driven, maximum production strategy driven most such cows out of the Garden State? Most folks seem to buy raw milk in order to make cheese. Am I crazy to want to buy some to drink? All kidding about listeria aside, isn't it safe if it's handled right and drunk while fresh?

I have read loving testimonials to what milk was like long ago. Really fresh, unpasteurized taste. Unhomogenized, with a big thick layer of cream on top. Occasionally someone posts about a local farm where real raw milk can be bought... out there in the Red States somewhere. Can I get it in NYC? I really want to taste milk that tastes like real milk should. I may not let my children have any, but I'm neither particularly old, young, or infirm, so what better time for me to brave Listeria than the present, right?

I picked up the term "pan-braised" from some cookbook or other. Had I invented the process, I would have called it a slow saute. BTW: I like asparagus roasted, too. And blanched. I was just being contrary, although the pan-braise is my current method of choice.

I'm backing you up 150% Rachel. Close, but no, sorry. Asparagus must be pan-braised with butter.

Well, I happen to have some right now! If you buy whole ducks now and then it isn't that hard to collect.

This is my favorite method. But I leave them whole and use a bit of sea salt. Me too! If I have duck fat handy. Some of the above ideas are tempting, but the simple way always pleases me. I try to peel them into easily rolled ovals and always saute them. And if no duck fat is available, saute with ample butter. Then toss in some chopped parsley at the end.

Squash blossoms are still available today at the Union Square market. I bought a big box. I also got a big bag of green beans, some big beefsteak tomatoes, and some beautiful small heirloom tomatoes that are purple and green. And some baby bok choy. Everything is so tempting. I love this time of year. I had to restrain myself from buying fruits that I know are waiting at home for me already. I didn't really see anything new to make into jam, though. I got there too late for the red currants. (I made black currant jelly last week.)

Lisa, I think you must be talking about Zito & Sons. I felt both revolted and guilty when they closed-- I never bought bread there. I'd say that in New York City the neighborhood bakery is likely suffering, but there are a number of large scale artisanal bakers who are doing well. (And when I say artisanal here I only mean they make good bread in old-fashioned ways.) Places like Sullivan St. Bakery, Amy's Bread, Uprising in Brooklyn-- or for pastry/choclolates someone like Jacques Torres-- there seems to be a small number dominating the field, and their goods are being sold in more and more places.

Freaky, wacko peaches? They were both yellow and white peaches, bought at the lower Manhattan farmer's market. That's all I know. I guess I'll try again with peaches from a different source.

One of the stands this past Wednesday had a flier they were giving out that contained several squash blossom recipes for the uninitiated (like me).

I did put them into ice water after the first minute. And then again after my second try. It isn't possible that the skins could loosen and then reattach after further boiling, is it?

My wife and I had a delightful experience at the Tasting Room last night. We called early in the evening to see if they could squeeze us in, and they were able to take us at 10:30 (which worked out to be closer to 11:00). Despite the fact that they did us a big favor by taking our reservation in the first place, they were very apologetic about making us wait. Once you see how small the Tasting Room is, it's hard not to have sympathy for anyone who has to guess when tables will actually come available. Once we were seated, we were treated like regulars-- literally! The owner came over and said how nice it was to see us again. I sheepishly told her it was our first time in her restaurant, but that we were very glad to be there. Owing to several factors-- busy work weeks, our young, early-rising children, the drinks we had before we got to the restaurant-- both my wife and I began to droop before our dinner was quite over. We ended up (through no fault of the restaurant) rushing through the last part of our meal, and we didn't even finish our nice bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, which I would usually consider a crime. But all the same, we had a lovely time. The people couldn't have been nicer (and no, Mr. Grimes, I didn't find them overbearing), and we thought the food was consistently great. I never think to bring a notepad when I dine out, so I can't provide the level of detail that you see upthread. But here's a rough idea of what we had: We shared five of the small plates, and it was plenty of food for us. Our first two dishes were the fois gras (which my wife described as "meat butter," and she meant it in a good way), and a quail (I think) dish that actually resembled a country pate in its construction. It was thus a poor choice to go with the fois gras, since it didn't provide the best variety, but still, on its own terms it was delicious. It was served with these wonderfully fresh little carrot pieces and some kind of berry (it might have been listed on the menu, I dunno) compote. It was the color of black currant and it had some bitterness, but the berry skins appeared larger to me than currants, so there you are. These sides to the game bird complemented the dish very nicely. Then we shared a superb sauteed scallop small plate. Nothing particularly surprising about it, but very well executed. Here I wished we went with the larger plate, since the small only contained two (admittedly rather large) scallops. Then we had a pork cheeks dish and sliced duck breast (as mentioned above, the restaurant often serves two of the shared plates at a time). The pork dish was sensational. The meat was fork-tender and it came in a wonderful, concentrated prok broth. The duck was served with a wild rice side that I didn't care for, but the slices of meat were perfectly rare; just beautiful to look at and such pleasure to eat. Unfortunately, by this time we were fading fast so we asked the waiter if we could quickly split the chocolate bread pudding and get the check. He was very gracious in complying; I think we looked like we might just settle in for the night if we didn't go home soon! Their bread, by the way, comes from Amy's Bread. It was a ciabatta (or similar big-holed Italian bread), and the owner was liberally passing it out throughout the evening. I thought it was very good, which isn't really news when it comes to Amy's Bread, but I've become a very tough bread customer recently and I was pretty impressed. All in all a really great time. We'd really like to become regulars and earn the owner's greeting in the future.

Any of you cats have any secrets when it comes to peeling peaches for preserving? I put some in boiling water for a minute, but found the skin still quite firmly stuck to the peaches. Then I put them back in for a couple more minutes, and still couldn't peel them without mangling them. I think my peaches were underripe. Is this the source of my difficulty?

At Brooklyn GAP this morning, I finally got my beeswax. Caneles, here I come! I also bought some peaches and tomatoes from Kernan farms-- they sell at the downtown and Union Square markets as well. I bought some of these little golden plums (I forget from whom), which I hope taste just like the ones I got last week: very sweet, but with an undertone of sour complexity. And I got a big rootful of basil. The corn is in, but I gave it a pass this week. I had too much to carry. I'm curious, if anyone knows, whether the squash blossoms are likely to be at Union Square again on Wednesday. I didn't see any at the downtown or Brooklyn GAP markets, and the ones I bought at Union Square this week were great. I breaded and fried them this week; next week I'd like to just sautee them in butter and see how that tastes.

Thanks in part to this thread, I have checked out of my local library both The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving and Mes Confitures. I'm having fun with both; tonight was my first time out with Ms. Ferber-- I made her Black Currant Jelly, which couldn't be simpler. And it tastes fantastic. But I have a question: do y'all really think her canning instructions are sufficient? She instructs the reader to put the empty jars in boiling water for a couple minutes, then fill them up to the very top (!) while hot, cover the jars, and flip them upside down. That's it, no room left for air, and no boiling again in the water bath. I chickened out tonight, and disregarded Ms. Ferber's method. I left the conventional air space in my jars and boiled them after they were filled. But I'm curious as to what you folks think.

The beeswax kingpin remains anonymous. This morning at the downtown market I bought tomatillos from Mignorelli Farms. I got gooseberries. Gooseberry/rhubarb jam is comin' later. White and yellow peaches. Wax beans and broccoli.

I went to Union Square today, and failed in my two prime objectives. I apparently missed gooseberries by a number of hours. And I asked around for beeswax, and was just a bit too late again. The folks at Susan's Beeswax Candles told me that they had just sold their only block of beeswax to someone who wanted to melt it with grapeseed oil in order to season canele molds. This can only mean that I was bested by a fellow eGulleteer, perhaps even because of my mention upthread of needing beeswax for this very purpose. So, fair is fair. Fess up, whoever you are, and share your beeswax with me! They said you bought a big block-- you only need a couple ounces, you selfish beeswax hoarder! Anyway, I bought some squash blossoms, which look lovely. I plan to fry them, even though when I look at them I can hardly believe they're edible. And I bought two half-pints of black currants, with which I hope to make some kind of jam-- my reserved copy of Mes Confitures awaits me at the NY Public Library. And I bought some Italian spring onions, with which I hope to make an Italian onion pie, courtesy Carol Field.

I just may do that, Bloviatrix.... I've been meaning to run up to the Union Sq. Market one of these days. I haven't been there (the market, I mean, not the square) in years.

Well, two more for me again. Italy in Small Bites, Carol Field; and Desserts by Pierre Herme, Dorie Greenspan/Pierre Herme.

I did change my mind in favor of some gooseberry/rhubarb jam, but found no gooseberries today in Brooklyn. AND: my beeswax source was a no-show! My plans for caneles this week are similarly dashed. Not a happy development. But I did buy some delicious little sweet red plums, a handful of apricots, some rosemary and thyme, and some delicious little orange tomatoes.

Two more for me: Bittersweet, Alice Medrich; and The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Judy Rogers. The first discounted, the second used. That's a fantastic price for Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Snowangel.

I think the strawberries are history, sadly. I didn't see any at 8:45 A.M.