huiray

Permanently. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-fox-obel-to-close-permanently-20130925,0,3627499.story http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2013/09/25/fox-obel-officially-shuttered.php

Ann_T, was that all you had? I'd have needed seconds, thirds... :-)

Several recent meals. ------------------- Lunch • Green & purple long beans (Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis) stir-fried w/ garlic. • Atlantic salmon steamed w/ rough-ground mustard (w/ jalapenos in it), standard mushrooms, ryori-shu, mirin, white pepper, fresh lemon juice, chopped parsley towards the end. • Cous-cous, cooked w/ previously-made slow-simmered chicken broth. ------------------- Lunch • “Schnecken” brats [Claus’ German Sausage & Meats], pan-fried. (one was saved for dinner) • Onion rings, pan-fried & caramelized/browned. • Fresh broccoli florets, sautéed. • Fresh baby carrots, simmered in salted water w/ a bit of oil & some Greek oregano. • Fresh spaghettini [Nicole-Taylor’s] cooked in the water used to cook the carrots, drained, then tossed in the pan w/ the fond/residues from frying the “Schnecken” and the onions. --------------------- Lunch • Sliced ribeye stir-fried w/ sliced fresh young ginger (see here) & scallions, EV olive oil, Himalayan pink salt & a good splash of ryori-shu [MRT]. • Taiwan A-choy stems, trimmed & skinned to the inner succulent core, then sliced up; plus the trimmed residual leaves; stir-fried w/ smashed garlic. • White rice (Basmati) [Royal brand; Indian]. -------------------- Lunch • Another iteration of lotus root soup. (I like lotus root soup) Short-cut pork spare ribs, blanched & washed first (“fei sui”); sliced peeled lotus roots; kind-of smoked big Chinese jujubes (南棗), couple of dried cuttlefish, “yook chook” (玉竹; Yale: yuk6 juk1; Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce); “kei chee” (dried wolfberries/goji berries; 杞子); sea salt. • Fresh radiatore [Nicole-Taylor’s], w/ a sauce made from chopped garlic, red onions, cipollini onions, Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes, Cherokee Black Heart tomato, Poblano peppers, Western-type celery leaves, Andouille sausage meat, standard mushrooms, seasoned to taste. Stuff for the sauce:

Just curious, if you find chitlins/pig intestines "foul" or disgusting etc, what is it exactly that repels you? Texture, taste, or what?

http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/62260 http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2013/09/della_pietras_gourmet_meats_open.php "Those looking to feed the masses with cheap eats will probably defer to Key Foods, Trader Joe’s or one of the halal butchers along the bustling section of Atlantic Avenue where the store makes it home." Hmm?

Well, sheep eyes are a delicacy in some parts of the world, and a guest is greatly honored by being offered the eyes to eat by the host. It is a great insult to decline. Try some of the Middle Eastern countries. ;-) Similarly, fish eyes (e.g. in whole steamed fish) in various countries or families following certain cuisines (e.g. some of E/SE Asian origin) are coveted by young and old alike and are fought over by the kids. :-)

My tarragon also dies back each year and comes back bigger and bushier the next year. It is, however, in the ground next to the deck in the remains of a tub so the wooden "walls" around the clump do protect it a bit. My thyme and sage, in pots, also come back but they too are on the deck. I found over the years that in my case it's the more "basic" ones - e.g. the sage is "standard" sage, the thyme is English (culinary) thyme which are more successful at overwintering themselves.

Fox & Obel is closed again. http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2013/09/24/fox-obel-shuttered-againis-it-permanent.php

Heh. That Trillin article was published in Time magazine, I just looked up the full article. (it's behind the subscriber wall now, unfortunately, as it is in the archives) A couple articles to stir the pot: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/12355/is-there-a-difference-between-kansas-city-strip-and-new-york-strip http://goodtastebook.com/how-did-the-new-york-strip-steak-get-its-name/ Then there's this: http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trade/agr/standard/meat/e/Bovine_2004_e_Publication.pdf which talks about "striploin" but (of course?) does not talk about T-bone or porterhouse or KC strip or NY strip. Professionals here - is this still current, does it reflect practices in your locality? (anywhere in the world) (Yes, I know of the various pictorial charts/guides around, including the ones shown in *cough* Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_of_beef , which also quotes that UNECE report. Hmm, what if you ask someone in Kansas City (which side?) about it and it happens that their home *is* on the range? (and that they just work in KC during the week, or some such) Besides, isn't "Home on the Range" the state song of Kansas? ;-) I don't get the 'airport in Iowa' joke. 'Xplain, please? (KCI is on the Missouri side)

I tend to consider this a very different animal concerned with delivery of food either from one's own home or from recognized take-out places. Although the focus of the articles/links is on the method of transportation of the food (the dabbawalla system), they also indicate that the system is used not only by workers getting food from their own homes but also people ordering food from someone else's home (i.e. not their own home) besides "restaurants"/"take-out places" and having that food - for which they pay - delivered to them via dabbawalla.

Some related links for your reading interest. (There are more, and on other related issues) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabbawala http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2882-the-incredible-delivery-system-of-indias-dabbawallahs http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=160000120 http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-06/food-reviews/37133533_1_food-websites-restaurants http://www.justdial.com/Chennai/Tiffin-Services-%3Cnear%3E-Alwarpet/ct-3765 http://www.mydestination.com/mumbai/travel-articles/72981/the-dabbawala-services-of-mumbai etc etc etc.

Anna, no I have not. I don't go to her website on any regular basis, anyway, if at all. Interesting! Thanks for the link, I learned something new today. It seems from that webpage and the comments therein, as well as further poking around on the web that there seems to be just one commercial manufacturer in the world, this Suimi Yacai Co. Ltd., of this one kind of Szechuanese preserved vegetable. It seems not to be widely known in other parts of China too, from what I gather. (Perhaps Liuzhou will add some comments here) The Google answer set for "芽菜" does actually show this exact same packet as a couple or more of images in the entire set, but it did not catch my specific attention before. ETA: OK, I just took a look at the Baidu article for "芽菜" and it does talk of both kinds - the bean sprouts that the term normally refers to, and this preserved veggie specific to Szechuan.

Bak Kut Teh for breakfast today, with white rice. Cooked this morning. Stuff that went in: Water; pork baby back ribs; 3 medium-sized heads of garlic (Music); (bring to simmer, scum skimmed off); "Tong Kwai" (當歸; Yale: dong1 gwai1; "Radix Angelica Sinensis"; Angelica sinensis), "Yook Chook" (玉竹; Yale: yuk6 juk1; Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce),“Tong Sam” (黨參; Yale: dong2 sam1; Codonopsis pilosula Nannf), "Chan Pei" (陳皮; Yale: chan4 pei4; dried tangerine peel), dried longans; (simmer 30-40 min); star anise, whole cloves, stick cinnamon; fried tofu puffs [Phoenix Bean LLC]; (simmer some more); superior light soy sauce [Pearl River], aged soy sauce [Kimlan], oyster sauce [LKK]; (simmer some more). Basically in that order. Total time was around 1.5 - 2 hours. White rice was basmati, "Shan" brand 'Himalayan Basmati Rice'. Pakistani brand (Karachi). Pic of the simmering mixture just after the star anise/cloves/cinnamon were added. (The ribs are at the bottom)

You're welcome. The website for Irene's Peranakan Recipes is on the website of Epigram books, a legitimate publishing company in Singapore (the .sg is the domain name for Singapore). Odd that your browser says it is a security risk. Pity, as the recipe looks very nice. No, I can't put it here, of course, because of copyright issues.

It was a riff on the recipe in Land of Plenty pg 289. One of my all time favourite recipes because it gives so much for so little. Anna, ah I see. I went and took a look - oh, Szechuanese dry-fried green beans. Heh. Hmm, in her glossary Dunlop gives ya cai (the ingredient she lists in the recipe) as "芽菜". Odd. That term (the Chinese one) usually refers to BEAN SPROUTS, of various kinds of beans. It is not "preserved mustard". I think she means "榨菜", which *is* a form of preserved mustard, which she *does* list as zha cai just a little further down in the glossary on the same page? If preserved mustard is used in this dish, I would expect "榨菜" in it, not "芽菜". :-) What does your "preserved mustard" look like, or say on the pack, if it has the Chinese on it as well? Note that "preserved mustard" can refer to various things, including the afore-mentioned zha cai (榨菜); also mui choy (in Cantonese) (梅菜), which would be what one would use for that classic Hakka recipe on pg 42 of "The Hakka Cookbook" (the ingredient is also described in the glossary on pg 260) Tianjin Preserved Vegetable, given as an alternative ingredient in that Dunlop recipe, is tung choy (in Cantonese) (冬菜), or 'winter vegetable', which she lists as dong cai in the glossary in that book. I personally would not use this one in this dish, but that's just me. ETA: In a way, "preserved mustard" can also refer to the salted or sour mustard(s), usually in a bit of liquid (in packs or in tubs), called harm choy or syun choy in Cantonese, the sort I use to make "Harm Choy Tong" such as shown here as an example.

Anna_N, was this dish a riff on one of the recipes from "The Hakka Cookbook"? Maybe inspired by the one on pg 21 (which does not use preserved mustard greens, however) or another one?

Shel_B, have you tried looking for SATAY sauces? Here's one, "Malaysian style": http://rasamalaysia.com/malaysian-sataynow-with-peanut-sauce/2/ There are many variations even in Malaysia, of course, including the sauces made by Malay (an ethnic group) vendors, who are Muslim, which are usually spicy-hot; and sauces made by Malaysian-Chinese vendors, who are usually not Muslim, which may or may not be spicy-hot. Naturally, many of them would be closely-guarded "family secrets". :-) Here's a Peranakan (Nyonya) recipe for satay sauce from "Irenes' Peranakan Recipes": http://www.epigrambooks.sg/wp-content/uploads/HERIT_Irene_Sample.pdf (this is the "View Sample" link on the webpage for the book I just gave; go to page 33, shown as "P33" in the pdf file) Here's a Thai-style variation: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaicurrypasterecipes/r/Easy-Satay-Sauce-Recipe.htm There are lots more out there.

That seems to be about the sauce used for Dan-dan noodles made in a certain old-time style particularly for a certain (NYC) "take-out" style? It doesn't seem to go into the history of peanut sauces in general, through the various regional and national cuisines?

...according to the article title. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/dining/in-paris-the-kale-crusader.html?pagewanted=all Amongst other things discussed in the article, it seems Alain Passard had never encountered kale before.

$16.99/10lbs is a few bucks more than what is commonly charged for many varieties, in my experience, including Tilda (varies btw 12+ and 14+ bucks/10lbs) so I wouldn't quite say that it has gold in it. ;-) (Yes, some brands are cheaper, coming in at, say, around 14 bucks or thereabouts for 20 lbs.)

Why are folks beating up on the reporter, and pooh-poohing the idea that these "get togethers" are illegal? It *would* seem that they *are*, by NYC regulations. The official statesperson is reported to have said they were, and that these places needed a permit. The host of the "get together", a professional chef, admitted that it *was* illegal and that he worried about getting caught. The key here is that the diners were strangers, unlike a dinner party of friends/acquaintances even if a friend brought someone who was a stranger to the host - but who, after introductions, would no longer be a stranger. A block party would involve neighbors, who would at least nominally *not* be strangers to each other and usually would involve neighbors who are also friends. These "underground dinner parties" appear to be set up specifically to bring together strangers and tourists - as described in the article - for a meal where they must have paid the "host", and where they would go their separate ways after the meal. Like in a restaurant. Even with repeat customers. As for that "vacuum machine" - hmm, I thought that one did indeed use a vacuum machine when one bagged and sealed stuff for the sous vide bath? :-) ETA: Poking around a bit more, I read that inner city block parties are in fact often illegal (because no event permit is/was filed for) but the cops tend to turn a blind eye towards them. If a fee is charged for entrance, it seems to go further into illegal territory unless it is clearly posted that the fee is voluntary. Here's an interesting discussion on a block party... http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/312-urban-block-party.35252/page-2 ETA2: Some other articles about underground eating/supper/dining clubs. Note the discussion/commentary about getting raided by the authorities and being shut down...depending on the local regulations... http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/12/03/121203fa_fact_goodyear?currentPage=all http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/01/09/168979408/matching-diners-to-chefs-startups-hatch-underground-supper-clubs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_restaurant

Yes, industrial hemp growing is legal in Canada. Ditto much of the EU and many countries in the ROW. (ROW = Rest of the World) Darienne's profile indeed shows that she is in Ontario, Canada. ;-) p.s. Hemp has less than 1% (upper limit) of (–)-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol. :-) Not enough to make one high unless one smokes an inordinate amount (lots. LOTS.) of hemp.

Edson, I'll take a stab at guessing that you are in the Philippines, maybe? You might consider including your general location in your profile. Yes, SE Asia has two seasons - Monsoon season and non-Monsoon season. Folks in the USA (except maybe Florida & related areas) might find that hard to comprehend. ;-) Out of curiosity, what exactly does your culinary course aim at in a general sense? (I am NOT a culinary professional, I am just curious) Since you are taking this course in a SE Asian country, what are the aims of the school in a general sense?

Heidi, it is young ginger/early-harvested ginger. I intend to treat it more as a vegetable and in fact is intending to cook it w/ that ribeye I got (sliced up; it will not be a "steak") plus scallions with good oil and good salt. Nothing else.

Today's shopping. (Saturday 2013-09-21) Broad Ripple Farmers/ Market: • Incredible Edibles: Various tomatoes - Siberian Tiger, Cherokee Black Heart, Chocolate Stripe. • Lee's Apple Farm: 'Pristine' apples. I'd never consciously seen these before. • Nicole-Taylor's: 1 bag fresh radiatore pasta, 2 bundles fresh spaghettini. • Funny Bone Farm: 1 head curly kale, 2 small heads densely packed broccoli + 1 teeny head cauliflower. • Silverthorn Farms: 1 bunch celery leaves (Western type), 1 bunch French Breakfast radishes. • Norman Mullet Farms: I bunch gnarly baby orange carrots.¶ • Schacht Farms: 1 doz farm-fresh brown eggs. ¶ I have a fondness for distorted/non-perfect/lumpy vegetables, especially those which might be usually offered as or expected to be found as symmetrical perfectly formed things. These were around 3 inches or so in length. Carmel Farmers/ Market: • Farming Engineers: 1 head of fresh young ginger. First time I've seen this kind of young-harvested pink-bract ginger around here. The topmost "rhizome"/"corm" in the pic was less than 1.5 inches across. • Mulberry Creek Farm: 6 heads of fresh Music garlic. Kincaid & Sons: • 1 whole Top Sirloin Cap, trimmed a bit. • 1 rack of baby pork back ribs (never frozen) (on sale!) • 1 boneless ribeye Claus' German Sausage & Meats: • Zungenwurst (thin slices) • coarse Braunschweiger (a nice chunk) • 2 Schnecken sausages • chunk of Ring Liverwurst