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Richard Kilgore

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Posts posted by Richard Kilgore

  1. As someone who is always looking forward to the next cookbook, I'd like to know: what cookbooks coming out in 2010 are you looking forward to? Here are a few of mine:

    **********

    Paris Patisseries: History, Shops, Recipes (foreward by Pierre Herme -- I thought the author was Julia Hung, but this info seems to have disappeared from Amazon). Not much info on this one, but I ordered it anyway.

    **********

    Julia Hung is mentioned only in the Amazon page section "About the author".

  2. I have been drinking the Mariage Freres Noel from TheCulturedCup.com, and wondered what holiday teas you all are drinking or giving as gifts. I was going to feature this tea in a Tea Tasting & Discussion, but it arrived too late from France. Too bad, because this blend is so well balanced among it's components: a Chinese black tea, orange zest, dried apple, vanilla and Cinnamon. In general I don't care for vanilla in a tea or tisane blend - not that I don't like vanilla, but too much of it in the blend would kill it for me. And I'm not that fond of flavored teas in general either, but this is really well done.

    So what do you all recommend? Anyone blending their own holiday tea this year?

  3. In the middle of a gong fu cha brewing session of another interesting Oolong from norbutea.com: a Bai Yun (white Cloud) Oolong from Yunnan that was processed in the manner of Taiwanese Bai Hao (Orinetal Beauty). Greg gave some of this to me to try a few weeks ago. With long twisted dry leaves, it produces a beautiful amber tea liquor with citrus and floral notes. Greg does not mention it on the norbu site, but the aroma and to a lesser extent the flavor, has a spicy note. So what did I eat last? Tacos! So the spicy note may be in the tea or this may be the notorious "Taco Effect", so easily overlooked by tea tasters everywhere.

  4. What type of green teas are you drinking, Berrysweeet?

    More of the aged (1999) ripe pu-erh from yunnansourcing.com today, followed by my now daily bowl of matcha (Organic Yame Matcha from yuuki-cha.com) in a new tea bowl. What next? Hmmmm.

    Just a heads up about the Tea Tasting & Discussions coming up in 2010. In addition to continuing the one tea tastings we have been doing this past year, I'll be organizing some very interesting comparative tastings featuring two or three teas each time. Greg at norbutea.com, Kyle at The Cultured Cup and Dan at Yuuki-cha.com have already expressed a good deal of excitement and enthusiasm for this new format. The first of these will come in early to mid-January 2010. If you subscribe to the Coffee & Tea Forum, you'll be among the first to know when I start a new topic for a Tea Tasting & Discussion.

  5. A rather dull and boring tea day.

    Started the morning with the Mariage Freres Queen Victoria Darjeeling - second Flush from The Cultured Cup (TCC).

    Then headed to the 1717 restaurant at the Dallas Museum of Art for a tea talk by authors Bruce and Shelley Richardson with a creative tea pairing by Executive Chef Jason Ferraro featuring teas from The Cultured Cup. More on this soon.

    Then, seriously lacking an adequate amount of leaf coursing through my system, I made my daily bowl of matcha when I got home and am about to brew gong fu cha an aged ripe pu-erh.

  6. Storage containers: someone here several years ago suggested this, and while I can't remember who, this has worked for me for over five years now. Restaurant supply houses carry inexpensive clear plastic deli containers of 4 - 5 sizes that all use the same size lid and are stackable.

  7. For dinner here, a starter of Squash Soup with Creamy Roquefort, from Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. In this soup, the salty assertiveness of Roquefort combines with the sweetness of butternut squash. The croutons were made from some walnut bread. A delicious soup for winter. I know I'll make this one again.

    SquashSoupRoquefort_1422.jpg

    A main course of Roast Pork Shoulder with Glazed Turnips, also from Wolfert's Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. The pork roast is stuffed with a paste of garlic and rosemary, then slow-roasted. Towards the end of cooking time it's basted with red wine. The pork roast comes out crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.

    PorkRoastTurnip_1395.jpg

    Served with turnips in a buttery glaze, and kale sauteed in olive oil with garlic, raisins, and pinenuts. The turnips were braised in an earthenware casserole and cooked up full of flavor. Turnip-y flavor, that is. Their pleasant bitterness paired well with the pork. These turnips were a variety I hadn't tried before, called golden turnips.

    RoastPorkTurnipPlate2_1446.jpg

    Looks delicious!

    If you are interested in Paula Wolfert's work on Mediterranean food in general or clay pot cooking in particular, check out the topic on Cooking with Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking.

  8. There are Hispanic/Mexican restaurants, taquerias and taquerias in Mexican markets on Beltline at Josey, which is about 1 1/2 miles east of IH35W. These are all more Mexican than Tex-Mex. This is a great food intersection with two bahn mi shops, a Viet/Filipino market, a few pho shops, a Mexican market, a couple of Mexican restaurants, at least two taquerias, the only Columbian restaurant in the DFW area, a little Greek place, First Chinese BBQ....

    There's a La Paloma a couple of miles further east, but I thought it was so-so.

  9. I scored a few packs of Darjeeling White bud Tea (Thurbo first flush) after visiting the bio dynamic tea garden in Darjeeling in Spring

    Very delicate floral, almost orchid scent, and very addictive in scent and taste. I caught myself sniffing my fingertips dipped with warm tea while wrapping myself around the couch.

    Was taught the 3 minute brew, any longer will bring out the bitters I was told.

    Ahhhh

    That sounds delicious, hsimay. I have had Thurbo only once, last year.

  10. Enjoying the Ceylon Lumbini fromTea Source this morning.

    Yesterday I brewed the Organic Kumamoto Sencha Yabe Supreme from yuuki-cha.com for five infusions in a Banko kyusu. Still very good, but the second infusion again was my least favorite - perhaps I need to shorten that infusion from 30 sec to 10 - 15.

  11. Last night I did a second Da Hong Pao (Great Red Robe) that I got from The Cultured Cup at least a year ago. And I have continued with the same leaves today. It is the best DHP I have had, a bit expensive and I have been doing sessions with it months apart trying to make it last.

    It is noticeably richer, fruitier, honey-sweeter, smoother and the roast is not in your face. But then it costs at least twice the other one I drank yesterday, which is still a solid choice. Alas, only enough leaves left of this one for one. more. session.

  12. I have several what I am guessing are fuyu persimmons from a Korean maket. They are good eaten out of hand (tonight on a simple cheese and fruit plate). Any new suggestions, other than the above ones, for what to do with these or other persimmons?

  13. While I like the concept, I'm not sure where in the DFW area this would work. With several Whole Foods and Central Markets and another smaller upscale chain spread all over the metroplex - plus the Dallas Framers' Market being open year round with many local farmers' markets open half the year or more - it would have to have many very, very special somethings to compete.

    We can already get great produce, bakery, pastry, meat, deli, cheese, seafood, chocolate, beer, wine, coffee and prepared take-out at Central Market and Whole Foods. In some of these categories there are better or same quality but different in stand-alone shops, but even if all of those few merchants opened a stall, I doubt it would divert people from their regular, more accessible shopping. It would get some tourist and foot traffic if located in a mall like the one in Chicago, as well as the occasional checking-it-out shopper, but would that sustain it?

    Nonetheless, I wish them well in Chicago with this project and would be glad to see it here.

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