Jump to content

essvee

participating member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    251

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by essvee

    Jojo

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    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.

    Fried Twinkies

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted

    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.

    Worst meal at someone's home - Part 1

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    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.

    Hot soups that are appropriate for summer

    in Cooking

    Posted

    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

    Fantasy sandwich

    in Cooking

    Posted

    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.

    Pizza crust blah

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    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.

    White Castle

    in Ready to Eat

    Posted

    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.

    White Castle

    in Ready to Eat

    Posted

    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.

    Asian Cookbooks for Beginners

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    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.)

    Mr. Taco

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    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.

    The Desert Island Collection

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    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.

    5 meals in San Francisco...

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    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.

    Chinese Oakland

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    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.

×
×
  • Create New...