huiray

Anna N, looks nice. I haven't had Black Forest ham for a while.

I didn't want to brag but aren't they good? Renewed my faith that wings are worth eating! How does MC@H specify these KFC wings be done? (I don't have that book) Have you ever read this? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/dining/07fried.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Regarding the worth of chicken wings - in Chinese & E/SE Asian cuisine they have always been well regarded. The "waat" characteristic has always been appreciated - in this case, think of slipperiness, succulence, stuff like that. Try turmeric chicken wings sometime. ;-) Sure, BBQ Wings in Western/USA cuisine has elevated their standing (and their cost) in the USA but in a more general sense it is interesting how much chicken breast meat is valued in the US (in a general sense) and not dark meat,which tends to get exported to other countries (like Russia and E/SE Asia) where it is highly regarded. Only the wings are kept back (and classified as white meat by the US poultry council) - maybe because of this "BBQ wings" thing?. Here's a video of the process almost!http://modernistcuisine.com/2012/10/the-secret-to-chicken-wings/ Scott screwed up the recipe (and he has publicly admitted as much) by taking the wings out of the marinade before dusting with the Wondra and potato starch mixture. This is meant to create a batter with the marinade. I should perhaps have explained that it is not the wings that I find worthless but the way in which they are ALWAYS served/ordered by my family and friends. Buffalo-style -- the hotter the better. It is less a dining experience than a gladiatorial challenge! At best I find the sauce one-dimensional and at worst it is sinus-clearing painful. The MC@H wings are crispy, flavourful and still pack some heat from the sauce. They are not double-fried as discussed in the article in your link. Interesting. Thanks for the clarification and the video link, Anna N. So it is essentially USAmerican-style wings with a Korean-style sauce, even if Scott Heimendinger didn't quite do it the way he intended to. Sounds yummy regardless. (Yes, KFC would - almost by definition - be double-fried wings. [in this case, KFC=Korean Fried Chicken, not the Colonel Sanders one.])

I didn't want to brag but aren't they good? Renewed my faith that wings are worth eating! How does MC@H specify these KFC wings be done? (I don't have that book) Have you ever read this? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/dining/07fried.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Regarding the worth of chicken wings - in Chinese & E/SE Asian cuisine they have always been well regarded. The "waat" characteristic has always been appreciated - in this case, think of slipperiness, succulence, stuff like that. Try turmeric chicken wings sometime. ;-) Sure, BBQ Wings in Western/USA cuisine has elevated their standing (and their cost) in the USA but in a more general sense it is interesting how much chicken breast meat is valued in the US (in a general sense) and not dark meat,which tends to get exported to other countries (like Russia and E/SE Asia) where it is highly regarded. Only the wings are kept back (and classified as white meat by the US poultry council) - maybe because of this "BBQ wings" thing?.

Some recent simple dinners. ------------------------ Early dinner • Turbot fillets marinated in rice wine (ryori-shu), sweet mirin, fresh lemon juice, ground white & black pepper, sea salt; then poached in the marinade. Parsley leaves garnish. • Pan-fried delicata squash crescents. • Fried rice, w/ Western celery & scallions, salted to taste. ------------------------ Dinner • Salmon fillets, de-skinned; steamed w/ coarse local mustard [Localfolks Foods] (has jalapenos in it), sliced white/button mushrooms, rice wine (ryori-shu), juice of ½ a lime, a bit of salt, a splash of mirin. • Romaine lettuce blanched in oiled hot water, dressed w/ oyster sauce [LKK] & ground white & black pepper. • White rice (Basmati). ------------------------ Late dinner • Sliced chicken breast marinated w/ Shaohsing wine, ground white pepper, vegetable oil, sea salt; stir-fried w/ chopped garlic & chiffonaded turnip greens in vegetable oil. •White rice (Basmati).

I can't say I am personally that attracted by SV eggs to set up the stuff to do it. Just me. At least on the "cooking for myself" level. Breakfast today: • Hảo Hảo - Mì Tôm Chua Cay (Hot-sour shrimp flavour instant noodles) [Vina Acecook] with 3 hard-boiled eggs, celery heart leaves & stems, chopped scallions.

Couple of recent breakfasts. -------------------------- Early breakfast a few days ago. • Pork & shrimp dumplings [Prime Food], Tuscan kale (de-ribbed), skinny wonton noodles; in a chicken stock simmered w/ some ikan bilis (dried anchovies) & dried Chinese mushroom stems; dressed w/ chopped scallions. -------------------------- Breakfast today. • Bak Kut Teh. The simple non-herbal version (using just a handful of cloves, 3 cinnamon sticks, a small handful of star anise; plus 2 heads of garlic and Kikkoman soy sauce), with meaty pork ribs (“country-style ribs”). Japanese fried soybean curd (zen sushiage) and sliced soft tofu were also added in towards the end. • White rice (Basmati).

Thanks, Anna N. Your omelettes look tasty. Have you (and Ann_T) tried things like Oh Chien or Bittergourd omelettes?

Various recent lunches. -------------------------- • Sliced beef stir-fried w/ ginger & scallions. Beef pre-marinated w/ shaohsing wine, ryori-shu, salt, veggie oil, a dash of sesame oil, ground pepper. • Napa cabbage & young kale stir-fried w/ garlic & fermented bean curd (fu yee; 腐乳). • Soup of Chinese mushrooms (far koo; dried, rehydrated), snow fungus (rehydrated), lily buds (dried; pre-soaked, squeezed out lightly). • White rice. --------------------------- • Leftover Chinese mushroom, snow fungus & lily bud soup - augmented w/ bean curd skin rolls (fu jook, 腐竹; broken into chunks), re-simmered for a while, seasoning corrected. • Leftover beef stir-fried w/ scalliona & ginger; with white rice. ----------------------------- • A variation of tôm sốt cà chua (prawns in tomato sauce), w/ white & red onions and alterations in the proportions of the ingredients. Large shelled & de-veined wild-caught Atlantic shrimp. • White rice (Basmati). ------------------------------ • Chicken broth (using skin-on fat-on chicken leg quarters) w/ carrots & celery (leaf celery + ‘regular’ celery) & sliced ginger. Eaten w/ mee sua (min6 sin3) [Taiwanese brand]. ------------------------------ • Shishito peppers pan-toasted w/ Himalayan pink salt. • Rest of the steamed salmon from the previous dinner. • Brussels sprouts & sweet orange ‘snacking peppers’ in chicken broth (w/ some leftover carrots). Didn’t particularly care for this. I’d parboil the Brussels sprouts separately next time, drain them and only then add them to the soup, if I ever do this combination again. • White rice.

Interesting. dcarch, are these chrysanthemum plants that you grow and cook as described the same variety as "tong ho" ( 茼蒿 ) ? The "Garland Chrysanthemum" one can buy (usually when in season) in Chinese groceries? I've never grown them myself but if these are the ones you cooked I buy them from Chinese/Vietnamese/"Asian" groceries and have not had any problems with woody stems. The issue I have with tong ho is, rather, in keeping them from turning to mush. If I blanch them they go into the oiled boiling water (trimmed or whole smaller plants) *just* until they wilt and no longer. In soups ditto, and it is served/eaten at once. [The "blanching water", on leaving to stand after scooping out the tong ho, will turn deep green-blue]

To each their own. Does not excite me. In the whole I simply don't find TJ to be especially thrilling. As I said, TETO.

In a related sense, here is an anecdote from when I visited M'sia and was treated to dinner (with my siblings and mother) by my late father's closest friend's wife at a posh Chinese restaurant. Dish upon dish of marvelous meat-based things came streaming out - but I and my siblings, after a week there, were longing for veggies. Yes, meat and yet more meat had always been regarded as "status symbols" in Chinese cuisine and hospitality, I certainly recognized that. Yet... Finally I gently asked our host if I could ask for another dish and of course she agreed - whereupon I asked the waiter for a certain vegetable in a nice sauce and when it arrived fell upon it (together with my siblings) and, after a pause, the children of our host as well. :-) (Do note that none of us were "vegetarians" and I for one like my meat too) In fact, we ordered a second dish of the same thing and we polished that off too. The point of this anecdote is that MEAT is often taken to be the central feature of a meal meant to honor someone in Chinese culture. The trials of attempting to be a Western-style vegetarian in a Chinese milieu, as Liuzhou as illustrated, is a bit of a culture clash.

Friday-Saturday shopping: Marsh Atlantic salmon fillets, wild-caught Atlantic shrimp, "Country-style" pork ribs, button/white mushrooms, celery, Romaine lettuce. BRFM • Silverthorn Farm - Potatoes: Rose Finn, Kipfler, Carola, Red Pontiac. Acorn squash. • Funny Bone Farm - Curly kale, mini cauliflowers (Cute!!!). • Annabelle's Garden - Fat fennel bulb. • Fields Farm Fresh - Broccoli heads. • Lee's Orchard - Gold Rush apples.

dcarch, lovely meals as usual. Regarding the tagliarelle w/ gorgonzola & walnuts - HEH. Yes, there are various recipes out there, usually with tagliatelle or other relatively "wider" pastas or penne etc. I do this in a manner patterned closely on what Tony Hanslits told me he did - unsalted butter, broken-up shelled walnuts tossed in the melted/heated butter, gorgonzola dolce (I use a generous amount), heavy/whipping cream (enough to keep everything together and add some "liquidity" but NOT the large amounts given in some recipes out there) (p.s.: half-and-half does not work properly, IMO), heat through/gently simmer to melt & meld, toss my al dente pasta in, stir around and fold in, serve and eat immediately. I like the clear and straightforward taste of the simple combination of minimal ingredients. No scallions, no grated parmesan, no black pepper, i.e. nothing else. At least that is what I do. I know this might also come over as 'redundant' to some, but good quality ingredients (all) that I can get - within reason - affects the taste of this dish a lot. I've tried it with cheap generic-supermarket-chain "gorgonzola" before and regretted it.

That's a beautiful picture! Very kind of you. Thank you.

Oysters are certainly not vegetarian. Whatever gave you that idea? They are no different from scallops in that. No shellfish, mollusc etc is vegetarian. https://www.google.com/search?q=are+oysters+vegetarian&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a I also gather that, apart from shellfish not being sentient lifeforms, there is this notion that oysters are "immobile", fixed to one spot (like plants??) whereas scallops are "mobile" (like animals???) in some of the arguments about the ethics of consuming one or the other...whether I agree with these notions or if they make perfect sense is another issue. :-)

TC NOLA Ep 6 Recaps: http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/11/top-chef-season-11-episode-6-recap.html I had to go back and review the episode after reading the first line of this recap. Yup there it was, popping out of Saloosha's mouth. "Sweet"? I'm tending to the opposite opinion as the episodes go by. http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-11/blogs/hugh-acheson/silence-of-the-undercooked-lamb http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-11/blogs/gail-simmons/gloopy-soupy-and-radish-dresses Not sure why people seem to fawn over John Besh's looks or snark about his hair. Travis seems to have problems with knives that are sharp and blames them ("too sharp"!) for his faulted knifework. Bye, Bene. I thought your chicken dish didn't *look* that bad visually but I gather it didn't taste too good. I thought Sara scraped by and Travis had a lucky escape. --------------------------- TC NOLA Ep 7 Recaps: http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/11/top-chef-season-11-episode-7-recap.html http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-11/blogs/hugh-acheson/and-dont-call-me-shirley http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-11/blogs/gail-simmons/bizarre-potatoes I did not like the "Musical Cooking Stations" at all. It felt like a parody and seemed quite artificial rather than a demonstration/exercise of "depending on each other" in teamwork in a kitchen, where the dishes are known beforehand and are not formed under the conditions of that QF with chefs who have completely different approaches and viewpoints, it seems to me. I think Travis was at least slightly responsible for Nicholas's problems with his fish dish, but in the end it was Nick who seasoned and cooked the fish. That fried chicken dish should really have been attributed to Brian, Travis *and* Nick, not just the first two. Bye, Patty. I think she had been skating on thin ice almost from the beginning anyway. Heh, it seems from the previews that next week (SPOILER) Saloosha tells someone to suck a dick (again). ETA: I did find it curious that Patty had NEVER heard of the word "potluck", even though she has been in the USA for several years, graduating from the CIA in 2010. Really? The word had never crossed her awareness before? Odd.

You're being a little coy, heidih. I rather think that waterside picture could even be from almost anywhere in the world, so it is not really useful as a "hint", unless one actually recognized that particular view in a particular locale, and that would need the viewer to be specifically cognizant of that particular view.

Liuzhou, nice thread and posts.

dcarch, I'm not answering for Liuzhou but within the circles of the Chinese diaspora that fall within my experience a vegetarian dish¶ is "traditional" - usually for either the Big Dinner on New Year's Eve or on New Year's Day§ - but not obligatory in more recent times. Even with my parents' generation such a dish was not always made/ordered/whatever but nevertheless when such a dish (see below) was on the table one ate at least a mouthful or two of it, especially the "fat choy" in it. Liuzhou will, no doubt, let us know what the practice is in Mainland China. ¶ This was traditionally what is known in the Western world as "Buddha's Delight" [羅漢齋; Yale Cantonese lo4 hon3 jaai1], which should have something called "fat/fatt choy" (in Cantonese) in it, a near-homonym for the prosperity/good luck part of the traditional greeting "Kung Hei Fat Choy". Whether the dish is vegetarian (or vegan) will depend on what exactly goes into it, as there are many different renditions of it where although the "core ingredients" are present, other variable stuff may be added to it - let alone what oil is used to cook it. Oysters (dried) are often added in - that is vegetarian, I think? - but scallops (dried) may also be put in or substituted - and scallops are not vegetarian, if my information is correct. And so it goes. § Traditionally, one was not supposed to cook (or perform manual labor) on New Year's Day [so folks who *had* to bemoaned their fate] so leftovers from the Big Dinner the night before was eaten for New Year's Day - or one went out for a meal, when those who *had* to work since they were in the restaurant business served you. Some people, especially of the older generation, did make an effort to "sek jaai" ("eat vegetarian") on the first day of the New Year to "purify" themselves - again, within my experience when growing up - so that dish of lo hon jaai came in handy on that day.

Moving to Boka as executive chef. http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2013/11/13/lee-wolens-next-move-boka-exec-chef.php

A pasta pigout last night. Tagliarelle with gorgonzola & walnuts. I learned to love this dish with the version at the former Tavola di Tosa (I loved the place). Had seconds, then was too full for the other stuff I had intended to cook. :-)

Just half a pint? Aw shucks, you should have gone for a whole pint, half a pint seems hardly worthwhile. Sounds like a nice lunch, though. ;-)

My hands. And fingers. I recommend you consider trying yours too. You're welcome. If a container of salt clumps up, use another one for scattering salt over your food (with your fingers). Save the clumped-up one for cooking. Or throw it away. Flor de Sal ought not to clump, it is already "wet" so you should not have a scattering problem unless you have strange conditions in your kitchen. I have salt-n-pepper shakers such as this one (shown below) which I seldom use, however. It's a nice set I'm fond of, for its visual appeal. ;-)

May I ask., where did you get the Braunschweiger? I love it and but have never found a coarse one.Would be interested in trying this. I got it from Claus' German Sausage & Meats.

A few recent breakfasts. ----------------------------- Early breakfast • “Sapporo Ichiban Japanese Style Noodles & Chicken Flavored-Soup”, augmented w/ thinly-sliced prosciutto (rinsed w/ warm water to remove some of the saltiness), smashed garlic, chopped young kale, 3 farm eggs poached in situ. ---------------------------- Breakfast in two parts. Early breakfast (about 5 a.m.) • Fedelini [De Cecco] w/ a sauce of tomatoes-carrots-garlic-EVOO-butter. • Fresh broccoli florets blanched in oiled boiling water, drained, drizzled w/ Ponzu sauce (lime) [Kikkoman] & dusted w/ fresh ground white pepper. Late breakfast (about 10 a.m.) • “Wei Lih Jah Jian Mien” [this one]. The noodle part was additionally dressed w/ chopped scallions (mostly white parts) + some coriander leaves. The soup part was augmented w/ additional dried wakame (dried seaweed) [Hirokon Foods] and chopped scallions (mostly green parts) & generous coriander leaves. • Leek & Potato soup. Made the previous day, left at RT to meld in taste and flavor. Leeks (w/ long white parts), Red Thumb fingerlings, Cipollini onions, red onion, chopped smashed garlic, bay leaves, sea salt, sliced celery root, EV olive oil.