huiray

What's in your "Montreal Rub"? The recipe seems to vary.

• Sautéed mushroom medley - fresh white beech mushrooms, fresh oyster mushrooms, rehydrated snow fungus; fresh ginger-infused olive oil; chopped parsley; sea salt. • Cappelini (Racconto) tossed w/ Chopped fennel bulb sautéed w/ chopped garlic, shallots, sweet mini red peppers; seasoned to taste. • Sliced cod; marinated in coarse mustard, ground black pepper, Honteri mirin, MRT Ryori-shu, Maussanes-les-Alpines Huile d'olive, fresh lime juice. Pan-fried w/ marinade added halfway through.

Panaderia, looks very nice. Elegantly laid out too. :-) I suppose those buns are "Kaiser Rolls" type? (cf. the "Portuguese Rolls" discussed above)

BeeZee, aha. Thanks. (I see from your profile you are in Central NJ. I guess Viera's supplies a lot of places, then?) What about those rolls with that pronounced crease as shown in the first link and [2nd row 4th pic, below the one you chose] in the second link - are those also "typical"/"common"? I'm curious, and also about when it stops being a "Portuguese Roll" and becomes something else. I have fading memories of dining occasionally in the Ironbound district in Newark back in the day. (No, I don't remember where I went)

rod rock, thanks - but you are too kind. BeeZee, heh. That's the sort of thing that is fun to read about. What is the "Portuguese Roll" you mentioned? Was it like this, or one of these? Is the difference from other rolls as given by this person or on this site?

Ah, OK. Try using it, shredded, cooked or raw as one prefers, in things like popiah [instead of the celeriac or the more traditional "sar kot"(as I knew it by; a.k.a. jicama)] or spring rolls or Vietnamese-type "summer rolls". It makes a decent substitution.

According to the Baidu article (Google translation) it was introduced to China in the 16th Century and appears to be grown in more places than Toisan, with named varieties as well. :-) Liuzhou, I imagine you had already found the Baidu article earlier - note that there are a few "Chinese" recipes for the stuff at the bottom of the article.

Dejah, I do tend to have a larger meal for lunch. Dinner could be fairly light or even not at all nowadays. Sometimes the leftovers (if any) from lunch, sometimes something else. On occasion I'll have a big dinner.

• Deep-fried soft tofu slices. Eaten w/ a dipping sauce of a mixture of Lingham's Hot Sauce, Kokita Sambal Bangkok, freshly squeezed lime juice and a bit of Maruchan rice vinegar. • Trimmed Thai basil (used as a veggie) stir-fried w/ sliced pork, chopped smashed garlic, a chopped white onion and halved small shallots. Eaten w/ white Basmati rice.

Perhaps in New Orleans, where I think you are located? Personally I see and have seen mostly dried shrimp ["Har Mai"; 蝦米; Yale: ha1 mai5] without shells in all the Chinese/Vietnamese/"ethnic" markets around me where I've lived in the US. (Midwest, NY/NJ area, etc) although shell-on stuff is also available. Certainly in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore) most of the stuff sold is without shells. Korean markets might have more shell-on stuff but I'm not certain about that. I do recall the Han Ah Reum stores in NJ having shell-on dried shrimp rather than shell-off although the latter could also be found there. Many dishes (at least in Cantonese cuisine) in my experience are better made with shell-off dried shrimp, (Example) if not anything else because it is easier and less prickly to eat.

Lots of John Tesar hate around. Sad. Well, although it's early days yet, Spoon Bar & Restaurant is doing OK to fine so far with a few pans. http://www.pegasusne...ng/?refscroll=0 http://eatsblog.dall...ar-and-kitchen/ http://reviews.opent...633/reviews.htm http://bigchomp.blog...ar-kitchen.html Maybe someone might want to try out that risotto that the judges didn't like? http://sidedish.dmag...-losing-recipe/ http://www.bravotv.c...carrot-emulsion

A simple dinner after shopping/restocking at my local Chinese grocery last night. Roast pork rewarmed/skin recrisped in the oven. Collard greens soup, w/ cilantro & smashed garlic. White rice (Hom Mali).

Hmm. I'm not sure I would think of food being served at room temperature being a trend in the food industry in a general sense. Just thinking out loud. In Western cuisine, perhaps that could be said. However, many cuisines traditionally serve many foods and whole meals at room temperature. many Middle Eastern/West Asia dishes, a lot of Indonesian/Javanese/Sumatran meals, various E/SE Asian dishes/meals, etc. For example, lots of places in Java would serve food displayed "buffet-style" for you to choose from, all "cold"/room temperature, including soups. In Sumatra (and other places) the well-known "Nasi Padang" selections would all be at room temperature, save maybe a few items. Or "Satay", as another example, a meal in itself, common in Malaysia & Indonesia and environs - the grilled skewers would be hot coming off the grill but would be at room temperature by the time you are halfway through eating your order, unless you were quick about it or ordered a handful of skewers at a time and snatched them from the griller's hands as fast as they were being made. Doable at a roadside stall, yes. :-) All the sides, however, would be at room temperature - the ketupat and/or nasi himpit, the cucumbers & onions, the dipping sauce (with some exceptions)... In these cases it's part of the style of the cuisine, not a "trend". Thinking about it further, in almost all cuisines both Western and Eastern there would be various items and dishes "traditionally" served at room temperature. But perhaps you are thinking of an entire meal served at room temperature?

A couple of Filet-O-Fish sandwiches today. They're Things Of Beauty. To be enjoyed for what they are, not to be dissed and compared ad infinitum with some fancy red snapper (or whatever) grilled (or whatever) fillet on artisanal bread with fancy-pants cheese. (I was going to get some Skyline Chili, but didn't have time before the HD Broadcast of Les Troyens) (Ah, SC - another thing that gets little love on this forum; something that should be appreciated for itself, not to be dissected as "not-chili" or compared with whatever one may have a notion about with respect to Texan Chili or whatever. Peace.)

Oh, come on. At the least the Filet-O-Fish is a thing of beauty. In fact, I just had two of 'em today for lunch. :-)

Eggs, continued: As for "Western Brunch" or "Breakfast-type" fried eggs - sure, I like them when in the mood - and in that case I like them sunny-side up. I eat them by cutting off the whites bit by bit around the yolk, then maneuver the remaining yolk (with teeny bits of white left edging it) onto my fork and pop it into my mouth and chomp down to get that nice explosion of yolk in my mouth. :-) Eggs Benedict (standard or crab versions) are just fine too, when I'm in the mood. Proper frittatas, Huevos Rancheros, etc - rare for me. SE/E Asian-type oyster omelettes, hmm - never really had many of them when I was growing up and can't say I hanker for them now, delicious though they are. Many mentions of it here on the forum, I know - and various folks have talked about it.

Regarding eggs: I don't particularly care for the "French" ways with them - both that scrambled stuff which is custardy/fluffy-soft etc, nor that folded-over/rolled pale thingy where any browning is considered a sin. I much prefer my scrambled eggs to have slightly crisped edges with soft centers** and my omelettes done** so that it is slightly bubbly, crispy with "wok hei". No milk, no cheese in either. Soft-boiled eggs - I like them runny, some uncooked white is just fine (some call it "spermy" some call it "snotty" - eh, I don't think of it that way. Whatever - I like the eggs that way). Typically, I'll break them into a bowl (e.g. a rice bowl), sprinkle some soy sauce on it plus a few grinds of white or black pepper, then drink it. Yup, bowl to lips/mouth, drink the eggs. Masticate the yolks a bit. Down the hatch. Yum. All done in a minute. :-) Oh, if presented with the "French" versions (at a dinner or wherever) I'll eat them - but it's rare for me to order them that way and at home I'll generally do eggs the way I describe here. ** Both basically done in a hot pan with veggie oil. Not butter, and preferably not olive oil. With scrambled eggs I typically crack the eggs and dump the contents into a hot pan w/ hot oil (almost smoking is good) and quickly break the yolks and "scramble" them with a spatula, turn off the heat (gas) when they are half-done (the eggs continue cooking), get my plate or bowl, and dump the eggs onto the plate/bowl. All done within a minute or two. Crispy-edged, soft centers. I've read where someone else who did it this way too called them "marbled" scrambled eggs. With omelettes, for a plain one I whip the eggs in a bowl with a little oil (yes, oil) plus a bit of water, very lightly salt it (maybe), then pour it into a hot pan with hot oil (as with my scrambled eggs), roll the liquid around then let it sit on the heat and within the minute I have a nice, slightly browned setting omelette which I usually flip over to brown the other side briefly, then slide it onto my plate. Done. (There needs to be enough oil)

Try Teochew steamed fish as a variation. :-)

Ditto! I particularly like asparagus with very definite crunch. Shaved raw asparagus in a salad is also very nice. "Olive-drab" asparagus (or reheated asparagus - alone or in another dish (e.g. a stir-fried dish) is pretty ugly and faintly repulsive to me.

OK, let's say instead the "usually seared" way.

I don't think you'd be very happy with Collards if you prepared them that way. They really do take better to longer braising. (snip) Oh, but I *do* do collard greens like what I described all the time. I like them just fine that way. Yes, I do know which vegetable is called "collard greens". :-) I buy them all the time. In season, I get lovely young collards from the farmers' markets; at other times from the usual groceries. With young collards I'll cook them in the broth for maybe 5 minutes or less, with older leaves maybe 10 minutes or so. I may de-rib them if they are older leaves, but young leaves just get cut up rib and all. I do a reasonably fine chiffonade with them - and on occasion when I did a finer cut and walked away for a little longer than I intended they turned into an overly softened mess - for my preference.

OK, great! Liver - another one. I like my calf's liver pink in the center but will take it just done - so long as it is *not* rendered into shoe leather. Chicken livers I like to be just done through, and if I make liver sauces (duck or chicken) of course the liver bits (such bits as remain after mashing it up) will become well done. Foie gras I like the classic way - seared on the outside, warm and definitely pink on the inside. Don't like foie gras torchon and all those fanciful and foamy renditions of foie gras so enamored of Molecular Cuisine and "Tasting Menus". My veggies? Depends. This, I think, is another huge area. :-) Most of them I prefer to still have quite a bit of crunch in them - think blanched or stir-fried in the Chinese idiom. Boiled to death or soft (so-called "tender" by some) generally provokes pursed lips from me. Creamed spinach, or that "traditional" (Western) blob of formless goo called "spinach" beloved of cartoonists and (Western) school cafeterias & etc - ick, ick, ICK. Blanched whole leaf spinach with stems on, drizzled w/ oyster sauce or ponzu sauce and dusted w/ a few grinds of white pepper - Yum! US-Southern style collard greens w/ pot likker - that would be an example of an exception of sorts for me regarding "cooked to death" veggies, as it is this peculiar dish with that defining characteristic. But if I made collard greens myself, I would be more than likely to do something like chiffonade it then throw then in chicken broth and cook for just a few minutes so that they are softened but still have a "bite". No stewing it for hours and hours with a ham hock etc. I'll go to a down-home soul food place for that.

I'm not sure if this old article has been discussed here... http://www.gourmet.c...8/frenchlaundry Quote from the article: I've always thought this article was a good one. By-the-by, although you talk about steaks in your OP, the title of the thread ("And how do you like it cooked?") ought to allow for quite a wider range of discussion involving how different folks/cultures/cuisines like things cooked, such as touched on in that Gourmet magazine article. Would that be OK, or do you want to keep it on just beef steaks/hamburgers? I, myself, once upon a time in my distant youth ate beef steaks well-done, as was normally the case with folks of my milieu. After I moved away and grew older it became "medium"...then, over time to the present, "medium-rare". In effect I find the steaks I get in restaurants tend to come out closer to medium if I order it medium-rare, except at the better places where it would come out correctly. I like my beef burgers medium to medium-rare too - and for a while, was discouraged by places being *required* (so they claimed) to serve them "well-done"... but that tendency seems to have abated in my area.

Many soups and braises are usually better the next day.

A nice homely dish yesterday - "Tai Yee Ma Kar Lui" [大姨媽嫁女] (First [maternal] aunt marries off daughter). Details/discussion & photo: http://egullet.org/p1903649