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essvee

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Everything posted by essvee

  1. What a strange thing to say, Stone. I couldn't disagree with you more.
  2. essvee

    Jojo

    I've wanted to go for forever. And always end up somewhere else. for instance, went to Downtown in Berkeley on Tuesday. Had a very good meal, (seafood platter for two, a very good seafood fritto and fried stuffed olives, and then I had a grand steak with crushed butterball potatoes, and the ms had a lovely roasted lobster tail with a real old-fashioned sauce Nantua that you just don't see anymore andwas fantastic, and then dessert was huge, with a vanilla pot du creme with mulberries, which I had never had and which were awe-inspiring and ever so slightly meaty and weird, and a bitchen choco-caramel trifle with coconut cake and candied pecans and a wonderful caramel sauce.) and the great guitarist Mimi Fox played for our dining pleasure, too! How good! Um, sorry for the hijack.
  3. Hey Vivre, have you been to Circa? An old pal o mine from SF is the chef/owner. I was back home in the Happy Valley for a brief moment in time in mid-June (when it went from 65 degrees to 100 degrees), and we had a very, very nice meal there. Dane made the finest duck confit I've ever tasted, and served it with creme fraiche risotto (a revelation) and a perfect rhubarb sauce. A very fine dish.
  4. I've got one, although it's not quite as bad as some of the stories here. A friend invited us over for turkey dinner. It was the Sugar Hill Gang dinner. (old rap song reference). What was served was: a small, overcooked turkey with the family's "special stuffing." Consisting of many different kinds of breakfast cereals (Cheerios, Wheaties, raisin bran) crushed up and shoved inside the unsuspecting turkey. Instant mashed potatoes. Frozen French fries. Canned gravy. That's it. And great big 2-liter bottles of Coke on the table for the only drink. This was about 20 years ago but I remember it like yesterday.
  5. Here's a very delicious and light recipe from my cheffin' days. Sorry about the quantities. Make sure you don't use too much stock; the soup should be quite thick. Enjoy. CORN SOUP WITH CHIPOTLE BUTTER 2 CS WHITE CORN 26.40 12 QTS CHOPPED ONION 4.40 ½ # BUTTER 1.16 12 BAY LEAVES .25 S+P .15 =32.36 2 CANS CHIPOTLES 1.50 2# BUTTER 4.64 =38.50 SHAVE KERNELS FROM COBS AND RESERVE PLACE COBS IN SOUP POT AND COVER WITH WATER ADD SALT AND BAY LEAVES BRING TO BOIL AND SIMMER FOR 1 HOUR STRAIN CORN STOCK PLACE CORN, ONION AND BUTTER IN SOUP POT AND COVER WITH STOCK BRING TO BOIL AND SIMMER 10 MINUTES ADD REST OF STOCK, SALT AND PEPPER BRING TO BOIL AND SIMMER 10 MINUTES EMULSIFY VERY WELL AND DO NOT STRAIN ROBOTCOUPE BUTTER, CANNED CHIPOTLES AND A LITTLE BIT OF SALT ADD HEAPING TEASPOON CHIPOTLE BUTTER TO EACH SERVING YIELD: ROUGHLY 12 GALLONS SERVINGS: 192 COST PER SERVING: .20
  6. essvee

    Fantasy sandwich

    1. Italian beef. Finest sandwich known to man. I have spoken. 2. Pepperidge Farm white, Cains mayo, fresh garden ripe tomato (screw the heirlooms, regular old Big Boy, please. What I would give to have one here in CA.), salt and pepper. Eaten over the sink. 3. Lamb spiedies sandwich from Endicott NY way. 4. Leftover turkey with stuffing and lettuce and mayo. 5. One of them there Italian bomb creations in that there picture. Whoa! 6. Pastrami, corned beef and brisket. On rye. With deli mustard and Russian. 7. BLT on white with a lotta mayo. 8. Good, rare roast beef on a buttered bun with lettuce and mayo, like from Kelly's in Revere. No BBQ sauce. 9. Pulled pork and coleslaw onna bun. Light BBQ sauce. 10. Liverwurst onna bulkie with Swiss and mustard and pickle relish. I loves me some sammitches. As a former longtime restaurant cook, I have subsisted solely on sammitches, beer and coffee for months at a time.
  7. Pizza crust should only rise once. Otherwise, the grain is too fine and it comes out too bready. I would try Malachi's recipe, minus the honey. Plus you don't have to proof the yeast, so sub 1 cup warm (100 F)water for the water in his/her recipe. You might wish to try cutting down the yeast and giving it an extra long rise in the fridge. Half a package should make that recipe rise. You'll get a purer flavor that way.
  8. If you feel like slumming, Julia Child's and my fave Vietnamese restaurant is Tu Lan over in wine country at 6th and Market. Get the imperial rolls, shrimp fried rice and shrimp salad. You won't be sorry.
  9. essvee

    White Castle

    I meant to say a giant White Castle hamburger.
  10. essvee

    White Castle

    I'm also remembering that the White Castle in West Orange NJ boasted a "Surf and Turf." A hamburger patty topped with a fried fish patty from the fish sandwiches. True culinary genius.
  11. essvee

    White Castle

    I had a great poster from White Castle that proclaimed "The holes are extra!" Meaning that the patty was no lighter for the holes therein. Always made me laugh. Also had one that asked "Hamburgers for breakfast? Why not!" It had an incredibly lurid photo of a giant White Castle. Man do I miss that poster.
  12. Fragrant Harbor Taste by Ken Hom is one of my favorites. I've learned a lot from Classic Foods of China by Yan-Kit So. (Love that name.) The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Ying-Fei Lo is outstanding as well. It would be worth buying something like The Chinese Pantry by Ken Hom or something because it's got color pictures of all the greens and dried stuff and condiments. For Japanese, try Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji. Very informative and a preface by M.F.K. Fisher. Thai: True Thai by Victor Sodsook. Full of great stuff and Victor makes everything sound so good. Vietnamese: Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham. You'll want to make every single recipe in this book. Truly seductive. That should hold you for a while. essvee (who moved to San Francisco so he could get his hands on the Chinese ingredients he'd been reading about, and who now lives three blocks from Oakland Chinatown.)
  13. essvee

    Mr. Taco

    Stone, youve discovered what used to be called George's Orange, hence the round booth outside. I agree, it's damn good Mexican, very well be the best I've tasted. Best carne asada I've ever eaten, and I' ve eaten a lot. We never miss it. Small world, this. cmvnapa, it's next to the fruit store, on the left as you face the store. It's been there for at least 25 years.
  14. essvee

    Jai Yun

    Um, I would give my eyeteeth to tag along when your Mandarin-speaking friend stops by, kind sir or madam...
  15. essvee

    Jai Yun

    What are the complaints? i am dying to go ...
  16. I read them for pleasure, but I definately cook out of my books. The way I look at it is: here is this compendium of literally centuries, in some cases of knowledge and experimentation. Why dick around? After I make a recipe, I might tweak it to personal taste, but often I don't. I lost interest in trying to create my own food long ago. I would much rather faithfully recreate a work of art than to create my own. But that's just me.
  17. Fava bean and soft pecorino salad. Radishes and butter. Preserved artichoke hearts. Aioli with all them grand veggies.
  18. malachi, I used to live around the corner from there, and a few years ago, at any rate, it sported almost as much French influence as Italian, with significant Cali sensibilities as well. Sounds like things have changed.
  19. I think El Toro is terrible and bland. Try Cancun or La Taqueria for authentic. El Cumbre on Valencia is my fave, but it can be very inconsistent. They do the best carne asada, though. Delfina isn't really Italian food. It can be good, but its small and loud and very full. My favorite Italian, nay, favorite restaurant in all the world is Oliveto in Oakland. Paul Bertolli was chef du cuisine at CP for 10 years. Easy to get to, a half block from BART. I cant recommend it enough. Acquarello is also fantastic. It was rated top 10 Italian restaurants in the country a few years back. The room is magical. Dim sum is Yank Sing, hands down. For great seafood, SF style, go to Tadich or Sam's Grill. Wicked old fashioned and cool. Sam's has booths with curtains. Get the sand dabs or grilled petrale sole. Swan's is also worth a visit for lunch. Enjoy.
  20. fifi, True Thai is an outstanding cookbook. I'm glad someone mentioned it. I have fallen out of love with Thai food or I would have definitely listed it. Plus it's just plain great reading.
  21. 1. Bistro Cooking--Wells 2. Fragrant Harbor Taste--Hom 3. La Vera Cucina--Middione 4. The Classic Italian Cookbook/More Classic Italian Cooking--Hazan 5. Tie between Classic Food of China--Yan Kit-so and Italian Holiday Cooking--Scicolone
  22. New Oakland Seafood Reataurant on 10th. Nice, clean, simple and very good. Try the Westlake Rock Cod soup and get some live shrimp or a geoduck, two ways. Tin's Tea House on 7th and Webster. My fave. Ask the nice lady to translate the specials menu. Chef Lau's on 8th and Harrison. Try the shrimp two ways. Gold Medal on 8th has great roast chicken and an extensive and interesting $5.00 menu. Legendary Palace on 7th and Franklin is great but not cheap. Bay Fung Tong on 19th and Franklin isn't quite in Chinatown but it's awesome. House special tofu, salt and pepper anything, surf clams, and more. Any one of these is way better than Little Shin Shin in my book. I really like Oakland Chinatown. I've eaten and shopped better there than in SF.
  23. No really, what's a granadilla? We have: 2 kinds of apples bananas strawberries pineapple Mexican papaya orange flesh honeydew muscat grapes lemons and limes We like-um fruit.
  24. Steam the beets. Steam the greens. Large dice the beets and cut the greens into strips. Top with a little aioli. Wicked good.
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