bjcohan

Fortunately, I pass Bell's Market at least once a week and often stop by. However, closer to home is another market that I like even more than Bell's - Net Cost Market in the Leo Mall at 11701 Bustleton Avenue 267-672-2500 To get there, bus route 58 stops less than a block away (at Hendrix Street), or by car 95 north to Woodhaven, Woodhaven to the end, right at the light onto Byberry Road, left on Bustleton and it's a block or two down on your left.) They're open 7 days a week. Their meats are good, breads amazing (and often still warm), smoked meats extraordinary, and they have a whole counter just for caviar. (I'm not a huge fan of salmon caviar, but I tried some there a couple of months ago that was so good, I splurged and bought a huge container without having to tap the piggy bank.) The prepared foods are also fascinating. They sell Texeira's Portuguese bread cheaper than any of the other markets. I have bought foods there that I had to go home and Google to see what they were, but nearly everything I've tried has been a winner. I buy nearly all the fruits for our restaurant's sorbets there. Favorites: Their prepackaged smoked duck breast... to DIE for. Borodinsky bread Cranberry-walnut sourdough bread - prepackaged and sliced but still glorious (and not a single chemical among the ingredients!). Fruits like cactus pear ("tuna"in Spanish), pithaya (on occasion), papaya, whole cartons of blood oranges, etc. Fresh herbs, tiny eggplants, white asparagus, baby zucchini, daikon, bok choy. Wonderful pickled mushrooms and vegetables. Juices, such as 100% pomegranate or blood orange. Incredible variety of smoked fish. It's best to go when they're not crowded. Some of their employees speak a bit of English, particularly the younger ones. Most of the produce guys speak Spanish (thank goodness)! My Russian is so rudimentary that although I know when they've called my number, I often order deli meats by pointing. I've had particular difficulty communicating when I need something sliced paper thin. They have good prosciutto, but will usually not trim the hard bits before slicing. My panini are definitely much better since I've been shopping there, and I don't have to go to 9th street as often as I used to. Best of all, it's like traveling to Europe without the airfare. Barb

And what an incredibly adorable baby he is!!! Nice to meet you, too! We now return you to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress.... Barb

FWIW, I was in DiBruno's 9th Street today and tried a sample of what they are calling iberico bellota, which they are selling for $130/lb. I must say, whether or not it's the real deal -- and I assume from what I've read in this thread that it is not the true bellota -- it has the most extraordinary, melt in your mouth flavor I have ever tasted in a ham. I treated myself to a quarter pound ... and I'm NOT sharing because my DH has such a bad cold he wouldn't be able to taste it anyway. Maybe when he's well I'll go get some more. It is THAT good. Barb

El Cuñado is pretty good. My DH and I also used to go to El Sombrero in Avondale, which also gave us a chance to buy a trunkload of mushrooms at Cutone's. But now, we no longer have to do that 140 mile round trip for Mexican groceries. There are a number of good little places in the area around Knights and Street Roads in Bucks County, right up from Produce Junction. I like El Changarro in the strip mall at the corner of Knights and Street Roads. My DH prefers to buy at the little unnamed yellow shack on Street Road less than a block up from Knights. There's also a nice little market right next door to Fante's on 9th Street in the Italian Market. Barb

Katie, I have a kaffir lime plant growing in a pot since last summer. I do bring it in for the winter and avoid the cat problem by putting marble chips on top of the soil. The cats don't like the lime leaves at ALL and leave it quite alone. So, if you can snag a plant, put it near that rose geranium and enjoy a limitless supply of fresh leaves! (BTW, we missed you at the Joe Poon banquet on Monday night!) Barb

David, when I was at Ooka last week, I checked. They are indeed BYOB. I did manage to snap some photos with my phone. Once I figure out how to get them from there to the computer, I'll post them. (It's a new phone and we're just getting acquainted...) Barb

I went to Morimoto once, for my anniversary. I loved the food, once it finally got there. It was a Monday night and the place was not at all crowded. I ordered a hot scallop appetizer and my DH (the chef) ordered the sashimi. Mine arrived nearly 20 minutes before his! We kept asking what was going on, and got no reasonable answer. It got the evening off to a sour start. I wasn't super hungry and so ordered sushi for my main course. DH got a steak. His steak arrived and I had to tell him several times to eat it before it was completely cold. He finished his steak before my sushi came out. As a result, it was a very unpleasant meal and does not make me want to return. Worse than the delays were the lukewarm apologies from our server, and a wholly apathetic response from the manager. I've been to Jones many times because I used to work less than a block away. After the first visit, I only went back when I was part of a group and everyone else wanted to eat there. I hate their food and their presentations (my mom does a better job presenting the turkey on a Thanksgiving dinner plate). Maybe I would like it if I couldn't cook and craved homestyle food and couldn't get it anywhere else. But I have never enjoyed anything I've had there. I went back with my boss a few weeks ago (he loves the place), and it was just as I remembered it. He had a chicken sandwich in which the chicken was raw and cold in the middle. He sent it back and waited a LONG time before a replacement came out, overcooked and dry. At least they apologized and took it off the check... I adored the Blue Angel. Never had anything less than wonderful food there. (Of course, that's the one that closed!) I haven't tried Starr's other venues but, having been underwhelmed by two out of the three I've been to, I'm not in any hurry to do so, despite their good reviews and hordes of aficionados. YMMV. Barb

Hi, David! I've been offline more than on lately. (Don't you hate it when responsibility edges out the fun stuff in life?) But I've missed this forum and try to get back whenever I can - even if it means just stopping by to lurk when I don't have time to post. I'm not at all sure whether the Willow Grove Ooka has a liquor license, but I do know that they allow BYOB even if they do. I went there with a group of coworkers and someone brought a large bottle of sake that the Ooka staff served for us. BTW, Sunday's dinner featured their wonderful duck breast over pear, taro and eggplant. Extraordinary! I'll have to miss next week's DDC dinner because of a burn-the-midnight-oil project at work, but I hope to see you guys at the next one! Barb

I just ordered one through http://www.libroslatinos.com. The order seemed to go through fine. Now to see if they send the book! Barb

Ah, Sandy, I wish I had read your recommendations before I went to KC on business a while ago. I did spend more than one evening there at Jack Stack's and loved it so that I have done their mail order thing a couple of times. It's still glorious but definitely loses a lot in transit. I still have dreams about their Pork Burnt Ends. <sigh> I heard mixed reviews about Sweet Lucy's but liked it a lot both times I've tried it. Nothing like homemade, of course... Barb

My mom recently moved to Willow Grove, so we've begun to survey the restaurants in the area. So far, our favorite is Ooka at Easton Road and Fitzwatertown Road, just a hiccup away from the turnpike. The food has been universally fresh, well prepared and beautifully presented. I've enjoyed their sushi and sashimi (I don't care for rolls and so haven't tried them). A number of their apps and entrées are more Japanese-French fusion than classic Japanese, but every one has been superb. It's not cheap, but well worth the cost. If you go, be sure to ask for their special wasabi. It costs a couple of bucks but it's well worth it to have the fresh stuff not made from powder. Details and directions (for their locations in Willow Grove, Doylestown and California), as well as their menu, are available on their website, www.ookasushi.com. I'll snap some photos next time I go. Barb

Thank you, freshherbs! That's very helpful. I googled them and learned that Schieffelin & Somerset, now called Schieffelin & Co., is owned by Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. I've sent them an email and will let you all know what they say... The search continues... Barb

Okay, let's see if this works. First, two views of the bottle in its coffin-like box with a satin pillow under its head. The box kind of creeps me out, to be honest. It looks like it should be surrounded by flowers with organ music playing. Yeesh! But maybe the dear departed will be quite delicious... Front label, left fragment: Front label, right fragment: Back label. If you look carefully, you can see where the year "1920" is scratched up the left side of the label near the top. Does this look familiar to any of you? Barb

Thanks for your replies. I think I'd best fire up the camera and post a pic later today. Jackal10, the "1920" appears to have been scratched onto the back label by hand. It is not part of the original labeling. The bottle is completely full and the lead over the top is intact. There is no sign of leakage. The cognac is a lovely amber color, completely free of sediment or cloudiness. From looking at the rest of the label, and from its positioning, I'm fairly certain that the line beginning "J" and ending "o" was originally "Jas. Hennessy & Co." From many years of collecting old books and printed ephemera, I'm equally certain that this is, in fact, VERY old, based upon both the label, fonts and the graphics. (They just don't make them like that anymore.) I cannot imagine that it is a cooking brandy, as I've never known cooking brandy to come in a padded wooden box with a screwed-on lid and a pillow! I love those old posters, but I'm sure it's not the Jacquard based upon the text on the back label and the Hennessy trademark that appears in two places. I've also written to Hennessy about the bottle and am waiting for their reply. I spoke to a couple of auction houses, too, but they advised that they only do wines, not cognac. Ironically. I was offered a job by Hennessy in Cognac, France, more than 30 years ago when I graduated college with a major in medieval French lit. One of my classmates was a French woman from Cognac through whose connections we both received offers. Shame on me for not taking it! Hiya, Kathy and Katie!!! Nice to "see" you, too! Katie, I'm sorry that life has kept me from all of the DDC events of late. If my life ever calms down, I'm dying to get back to them. Maybe I'll see you at Amada one of these days... I'll be back later on with photos. (BTW, Katie, Adan would rather sell it if it's worth anything. I think it'd be fun to drink it. If I prevail, I'll definitely get in touch!!!) Barb

Gabriel, if your local tortilla factory does, in fact, grind their own masa, you can do what we did when I lived in Mexico. Take them your nixtamalized corn and have them grind it for you. Then remember, on your next trip to Mexico, to bring back a hand-cranked molino. I have a big old heavy one that my sister-in-law sent me which clamps to the table and works like a charm. I don't recommend using the metate - it takes just too damned much elbow grease for my taste! Your manteca sounds perfectly lovely. I save all my pork fat in the freezer and then render it myself as well. It's just fine. I learned to make tamales on my second day after arriving in Mexico, 17 years ago when I lived and studied there. The woman I lived with and several of our neighbors came over and we made a huge batch. We whipped the masa in a large earthenware cazuela using a bare right forearm and a clenched fist. It was quite a workout! We also had music playing and sang as we worked. All of the women told me that this is essential for the masa to taste right, as it "knows" when one is in good humor - shades of "Como agua para chocolate," ¿verdad? I still do it that way, and my Mexican husband (the chef) laughs at the sight of this guera loca beating the crap out of the masa in a cazuela de barro. It works, though, and he devours my tamales. Can't mess with success, right? BTW, although I don't have the tamal-making neighbors here to share in the experience, I do often invite friends over to learn and to partake. We do a large batch, and definitely spread it over two days. On day #1 I make the masa and the various fillings. On day #2 we assemble them and steam them. Let me share with you another trick that makes my husband cringe, but which works beautifully. After all of my tamales are cooked, I flash-freeze the extras on a sheet pan in the freezer, then throw them into a bag to store. When I need to eat one NOW (usually late at night when nothing else will do!) I wrap the still-frozen tamal in a cloth or paper towel, then put it in a shallow dish in the microwave with about a half cup of water. Cover and nuke at half power. The towel keeps the tamal from going soggy and the water keeps it moist. The result is almost-instant gratification! This technique also works well with Puerto Rican pasteles (which my husband calls tamales puertorriqueños). It's nontraditional, to be sure, but it beats waiting. Good luck with your tamales! Reading this thread gave me ganas to go make a batch. Maybe this weekend... ¡Buen provecho! Barb

One of our friends and customers gifted my husband with some bottles today. He tells me that some of them are rather old and interesting. He's not brought them home yet, except for one that intrigued him. I know nothing of very old spirits, and I figured that someone here would know something of its nature and value, or at least be able to point me in the right direction to find out what it is. It's a very old bottle of Hennessy cognac. Not sure of the year, and the label is partially gone. I'll describe it here as best I can. The bottle came in a wooden box with the lid affixed with two screws. Inside, the bottle lay in padded white satin with a pillow under its neck. Honestly, it looks like a coffin! There is a semicircular label at the neck with three stars on it. Below that, a mostly intact rectangular label that says HENNESSY. The main label, originally 10.1 cm wide x 10.3 cm high, is missing a vertical strip in the center about 5 cm wide. From the remaining bits, I can see that the original label had a large, green and black bordered rectangle at the top with vines on both sides. The text is gone except for an initial letter "J" on the left side and a terminal letter o on the right side. In very smal letters at the lower right hand corner, it says "STATIONERS' HALL." At the lower left corner it says "REGISTERED AT." These words were hand-rendered with the design, not typeset. Below the larger rectangle, at the bottom of the main label, there is the remainder of three lines of text. The left fragment reads "CON..." in black, below it "S" in green, and below that "SCHIE" in green. The right fragment reads "OF" in black, below that, (on the same line as the left side's "SCHIE") it reads "- N.Y." Between the upper rectangle and the lower, it reads, in tiny letters on the left fragment "REGISTERED IN" and on the right fragment "PATENT OFFICE." The back label looks VERY old, and it's mostly intact. In the upper left hand corner is a line-drawn trademark of an armored right arm holding a medieval weapon and the words TRADE and MARK. Below it and to the right, it reads "HENNESSY COGNAC is the distillate of w[missing text] carefully chosen by us from the [missing text] produced in the Cognac distri[missing text] which SUNSHINE, SOIL, TIME & [missing text] have contributed to form an inimitable spirit; it is accompanied at [missing letters]e time of importation by the Acquit[missing text] ional Jaune d'or. [NEW PARAGRAPH] At any [missing text], whether before, during or after meals, it can be enjoyed as: [NEW PARAGRAPH] A LIQUEUR: Warm the glass in your hand, drink slowly and inhale the fragrance of the vineyard. [NEW PARAGRAPH] A BEVERAGE: It flavours soda, plain water, or ginger ale to make a refreshing long drink. Since 1765, QUALITY has ob[missing text]d for HENNESSY the largest Br[missing text] in the world." There is an imprinted signature below that, of which only the right part is present. There is a silver colored metal (probably lead) over the top of the bottle, stamped "JAs. HENNESSY & Co. COGNAC". The bottle has not been opened. The ends of a U.S. Internal Revenue (!) tax label remain, stamped on one side with the numbers 36-342[numbers missing]. Most interesting, someone has scratched into the paper label on the back of the bottle the year "1920." There is no other indication of age. The bottle itself appears to be clear glass. Cast into the glass above the labels are the words "FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE / OR REUSE OF THIS BOTTLE." Below the labels, it reads "JAs. HENNESSY & Co. COGNAC / BOTTLE MADE IN FRANCE." Does any of you have ANY idea what I've got here? Or some suggestion as to where on the web or elsewhere I can go to find out? If you think it'd help, I'll go shoot some photos and post them. I'd appreciate any guidance you can give. Cheers, Barb

That's a good point. In fact, in the past, before there were enough Mexican immigrants here in Philadelphia to support viable businesses that sell Mexican food items, I made do with many wonderful ingredients that I found in Asian supermarkets. When we finally acquired a Mexican grocery store, my husband and I had to drive 114 miles round trip to buy authentic ingredients. (Those were the days before online shopping!) Now, there are scores of grocery stores within a 15 minute drive. I suppose it's now time to research whether any other cultures use maiz cacahuacincle or something similar. Somehow, I doubt it, but it will be fun to search... If not, there's always the good old postal service... though that could prove to be very expensive. <sigh> Thanks for your reply. Barb

We've been having a discussion on another forum (glass beadmakers) about Mexican cooking and one of our members, who lives in Sydney, lamented the scarcity of Mexican ingredients in Oz. In an effort to help, I searched all of the foodie websites I know, as well as Google, and didn't come up with much. Some dried chiles, some salsas, lots of tortillas. The one thing I had no luck with was maiz para posole, also known as maiz cacahuacincle, or - in the US - hominy. This corn product is an essential ingredient in posole. The dried form is preferred, as it makes a much nicer posole, but canned will certainly suffice. You know what they say about beggars and choosers. Anyone have any notion of where it can be had in Oz ... if at all? Many thanks, Barb

Accck. Don't tempt me! I have friends in Australia who will be coming here next summer. Now I know what to ask them to bring!!! Barb

OMG, Jeanne, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I am *so* doing a happy dance. I didn't find the Kaiser and I'm glad. I bought two of the Parrish's pans in the 12"x3" size and will never go back to springform. They're deeper, beautifully made, clean up much easier than the springform (no nooks and crannies to trap cake crud), and the thickness of the metal produces a much much better cake than I was getting in the springform. I am in love with these pans! Now I need to start collecting them in other sizes. I appreciate your good advice. Thanks again, and thanks to all who responded. Barb

I have been able to soften even the most rock-like brown sugar by putting it in an airtight container alongside - but not touching - a new damp sponge (I squeeze out almost all of the water so it is simply damp, not dripping). This method has never failed, and the longest that it took even the most recalcitrant lumps to soften was two days. Most of the sugar was usable after one day. I've never been happy with the results from using the microwave for this. Barb

I've been growing tomatillos here in Philadelphia for years, but have always started them from small plants that I purchased. This year, none of the garden places had the plants, and I had resigned myself to a summer of bought tomatillos. They are plentiful in the many stores in Philadelphia's rapidly growing (!!!) Mexican community, but I still prefer fresh. So, I took the section of my vegetable garden usually set aside for tomatillos and planted instead several squash plants, since fresh flor de calabaza is nearly impossible to find, and hideously expensive when it is available. We've had a bumper crop of flores de calabaza, enjoying them in quesadillas, omelets, filled with cheese then batter dipped and fried, even in glorious Mexican pizzas. Last month, while weeding the garden, I was surprised to find several healthy and prolific tomatillo plants, all in areas where they had not been planted previously. They likely self-seeded in areas where the local fauna had dropped uneaten portions of last year's crop. So I cleared the weeds from around them, staked them, fed them, and have harvested more tomatillos than ever before. They are, apparently, rather easy to grow. From now on, I will leave a few on each plant for the birds, and refrain from cleaning up any dropped fruit. Hopefully, history will repeat itself. As for epazote, we've found it easy enough to grow, though prone to spider mites when brought indoors during the cold months. Several Mexican friends have found it growing among roadside weeds and simply transplanted it to pots for their patios. I've tried putting cuttings of purchased epazote into water, and they did develop roots after a couple of weeks, but the spider mites killed the plants before theywere able to establish a strong root system. This showed me that it *is* possible, and I will try again in the spring. As a backup, I will try to grow epazote using packets of seeds my husband brought me from Mexico. Now if I could only figure out how to grow corn with huitlacoche! So, at least with respect to the epazote, be vigilant in watching for spider mites and be prepared to treat the plant at their first appearance. Good luck with your garden! Barb

Jeanne, neither eBay nor Williams Sonoma had anything larger than 10" from Kaiser. Although I do prefer springform, you know what they say about beggars and choosers. I will next have to look into removeable bottom pans, at least for the cakes. For my cheesecake, I still think I need springform. I'll try the Parrish's next. Barb

My DH and I are serious fire eaters, and we've found that most restaurants will accommodate our preferences just fine. All you have to do is ask. At our restaurant, for example, we usually have some excellent homemade habanero sauce that we serve in a silver sauceboat for those who request it, and anyone who asks for their food spicy can get it that way. However, order from the menu and almost everything will be mild. I always try to have one or two incendiary sorbets - like mango habanero or papaya with chile y limon - for the fire eaters. Most Thai, Chinese, Indian and Mexican places are quite accommodating. (And, yes, David Suro always brings out the habanero relish on request - it's divine!) Barb

I've been baking all of the desserts for our French-Mexican fine dining restaurant since we opened 7 years ago. The workhorse pan that has become my favorite is the Kaiser tin springform pan in the 12" (30 cm) size. I use it for my cheesecakes, pound cakes, and layer cakes. With the heavy use, they eventually need to be replaced. When I went to pick up a few more last week, our local cookware place told me that the 12" pans are no longer being imported into the United States from Germany. The only 12" springform pan that is available here is a thin aluminum one. I really prefer the imported tin pans. If I have to use aluminum, I would certainly need one that is thicker and sturdier than the ones I've seen. I've begun checking online, and it seems that the buyer was right. The only places I've seen the larger pans are on German websites. (German is not one of my languages, unfortunately.) So I turn to you. Does anyone know of a store in the U.S. that still has these pans? Or can you recommend another 12" springform pan that is available in the U.S.? I'm hoping to get lucky and learn of something that I'll like even better than my trusty old Kaisers. Bueller? Barb