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gus_tatory

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Posts posted by gus_tatory

  1. bushey--i don't know what you mean by 'light'--i.e., light in colour, low fat, non-filling, etc. having said that, i'd go for the simplest most elegant route and just reduce some french shallots, tarragon, white wine, almost to dry, and then reduce some 15% cream in that until velvety.

    pinch of nutmeg? small splash of Pernod-Ricard? you decide...

    :-)

  2. Makes your hair shiny and your skin very soft.  I've also found that it clears up patches of dry skin (which I often get in the winter) from "the inside out", so to speak.

    I like using the oil as a salad dressing oil.  Mixes well with Pumpkin seed oil which has a much stronger nuttier taste that masks the Flax oil taste if you don't like it.

    absolutely, KatieLoeb~! i too have noticed these side benefits of flaxseed oil--no more split and cracking nails, heals winter dry scalp, etc. i also take salmon oil and borage oil for omega 3s.

    i use flaxseed in cooking by adding 1-2 TBLSP to my buckwheat waffles recipe, same amount to a bread-machine loaf, and the baked goods acquire this wonderful nutty smell as they finish up cooking. :wub: good stuff~!

  3. I seem to recall that in New Zealand, he had a 100 % television share. I'm not sure if I am using the right term, but he is the only person ever to do so.

    wow--so are the Kiwis total afficionados of the butter and brandy school of cooking? :smile:

    because if so i'm moving there. now. :biggrin:

    i also remember him as being the first "tv chef" who i saw put an unfinished plate into a bottom oven, then magically (i was about 7-8 years old, okay?), he'd take a finished plate out of the top oven.

    that was showmanship.

  4. Get out of the closet, Kerr acolytes, and share with us your memories, thoughts, and debts.

    oh thank goodness! when i first saw this topic i thought he had shuffled off this mortal coil.

    Graham Kerr was the first cooking show i ever watched, as a 7-year-old boy, and whoa, was he debonair. :smile:

    from dumping prodigious quantities of wine/cognac/whatever into nearly eveything he prepared, to his (just short of) lecherous eye when inviting the ladies from the crowd to sample the cuisine, the Galloping Gourmet is etched into my food-related consciousness.

    i saw him a few years ago, promoting (i suppose it was inevitable) lower fat and lower sodium cooking, on another show perhaps. and while this is admirable and a sign of the times, i prefer to remember him drenching everything in butter and brandy, like in the good old days. :biggrin:

  5. However, at this point, I figure if the pesticides don't get me, all my other bad habits will.

    i would certainly hope that the inherent good in the fruits & veg would out-weigh the bad of the pesticides?

    but to echo FabulousFoodBabe above, there's a saying in Quebec French: "il faut ben mourrir de quelque chose"--> you've gotta die of something... :raz:

  6. Patrice, I think they are aware of the criticisms.

    Whether or not they are willing to change things (dare I say fix things) is anyone's guess.

    OK, i guess i have to talk my friend out of eating there for his 40th birthday.

    it sounds dismal lately... :huh:

    maybe i'll just direct him to this thread... :sad:

  7. Have any of you fellow foodies tried a lychee?  It is a fruit native to China that closely resembles a plum.  It comes in a spiny shell, but once you peel the shell off you reveal the juicy translucent fruit inside.  They are sweet like candy, and quite addictive.  :wub:  ...do any of you have any good recipes that include lychee?

    hi honeye22 and welcome to eGullet~!

    i have only tried lychees either fresh or in cans as well, but you got me thinking! :biggrin:

    i bet you they would be delightful in something bland and milky, like a baked custard or a creme brulee--and you could add lychee liqueur... mmm... :smile:

  8. I want to echo what the others have said: gus_tatory, I'm very impressed with your questions, and with the simple fact of you're asking them for the benefit of your friends and guests. You certainly are a mensch!

    (blushes; has never been called a mensch before. thanks! it's just consideration...) :biggrin:

    OK, so say i'm planning a dinner party, and i've gauged the degree of 'observancy' of my kosher-keeping friends. what are some of my first decisions, re: menu planning?

    --i have to decide if it's a dairy or meat meal, because it can't be both. so if i make courgette-potato latkes w/ sour cream, there can be no meat in the meal?

    --but i could maybe serve like a wine-poached salmon (oh wait: is wine kosher?)...

    umm, got any tips on dinner party planning for kosher-keepers? :smile:

  9. I'm always happy to answer any questions, as I know others are - I don't know if there are any general "random questions about kosher foods'...

    Throughout my Passover blog, we had some interesting conversations about Kashrut.  I know that there were many questions that people seemed almost hesitant to ask - don't be.

    ...

    If anybody has any random questions about kosher food, cooking or anything related, please ask!  I know that there are many threads that discuss specific topics, but I couldn't find any general Kosher threads.

    ...

    I'm happy to answer what I can, and if i can't answer, I know there are many other members who are more than able.

    finally, a thread where i can ask forum members to answer my goyim questions re: feeding my kosher-keeping friends. what a relief.

    --do some people tend to view mayonnaise as dairy or treyf? why is this, as there is no dairy in it?

    --why are bagels ok for some, even though they are leavened, for shabat?

    --is pita bread (unleavened?) kosher?

    --how would you define pareve and treyf? i know "pareve" generally means safe, right? but "treyf" can even be something like picking a flower on shabat. or a roasting chicken with one wing missing, no?

    all i want to achieve is a nice meal on friday night for observant friends... maybe in my kitchen it can't be done... :smile:

  10. slightly off topic, but germane to conversation i think:

    what do you call (in Cantonese or Mandarine) that fresh, hot, soft tofu that is served at the end of dimsum with warm ginger syrup on it?

    dao-fu ___?

    thanks in advance...

  11. I've never been able to figure out why foodies tend to despise ketchup.

    ...

    Why ask why?  Just enjoy it for what it is.

    ...

    Maybe I'm weird for liking ketchup.   :blink:

    nope Soba, you're not weird for liking ketchup. :smile:

    i'm with Pan in the "ingredient in a sauce" camp.

    i don't dislike it so much, it's just that alone, it's too sweet, like tomato jam, and one-note tasting. if you made it thicker, chunkier, with much less sugar and much more peppers and veg (and here i am describing chili sauce or chutney, hehe), i would subscribe to that.

    so i guess for me it's that if ketchup were the same and yet totally different, i would be all over it. :biggrin::blink:

    edit to say: and yeah, if you added some basil or flat-leaf parsley, it would be even better.

  12. MaeveH--

    if the kids like Chinese food--and i'm sure you can find SOMEthing they'll eat--kids are really well tolerated/treated at Beijing in Chinatown.

    you could also take them for dim sum on the weekend at Ruby Rouge or Kam Fung: that's enough of a pandemonium already that a few unruly kids would fit right in...

    good luck!

  13. Click here for Wolke's take on enzymes in raw foods. It is in line with most comments here...just a little funnier :smile:

    Elie

    Excellent article; thanks Elie!

    This short quote sums up why i asked the question in the first place:

    "Enzyme" is one of those words that people toss around without knowing what it means. Put down this newspaper for a moment and ask the person nearest you what an enzyme is. (I'll wait.) Odds are that you'll hear something vague, like "one of those tiny little things that keep us healthy."

  14. Spinach, Fennel Bulb & Mussel Cream Soup

    A gorgeous and subtle soup that can:

    --be finished/altered in any number of ways, and

    --can make a complete meal with, say, a rye bread and brie grilled cheese.

    • 1 pkg fresh spinach (about 4 cups, pressed)
    • 1 kg cultivated mussels (1 mesh bag, or about 2.5 lbs.)
    • 1/4 c butter
    • 1 c water
    • 1 T flour
    • 1 c 35% cream
    • 1/4 c Pernod
    • 1 c white wine
    • 3 garlic
    • 1 T fennel or anise seeds (*not* star anise)
    • 1 bulb fennel
    • 1 onion
    • 1/4 c olive oil

    In large skillet/marmite over medium-high, heat olive oil. Add onions and garlic and sweat them, avoid browning. Add bulb fennel, chopped, and anise seed/fennel seed. When onions transluscent, add spinach and cover for 5-7 mins, turning heat down to low. Remove cooked fennel bulb/spinach and seasonings to a bowl.

    In same pot, add water and white wine over high heat. Pick through mussels to eliminate open ones that don't close when tapped on counter. When liquid boils, add mussels and cover for 10 minutes. Remove mussels to bowl and turn heat off broth. Reserve and strain mussel broth to eliminate sand/shells.

    In same pot, add butter and flour over medium heat and stir for about 5 minutes, to make a blonde roux. Add cream and whisk until thick and smooth. Add shelled mussels and spinach mixture, stirring. Add Pernod and stir 2-3 minutes. Puree partially, totally, or not at all, as desired. If too thick, thin with bottled clam juice. Serve sprinkled with flat leaf parsley or basil oil.

    Keywords: Soup, Blender, Seafood, Healthy Choices, Easy

    ( RG1278 )

  15. Spinach, Fennel Bulb & Mussel Cream Soup

    A gorgeous and subtle soup that can:

    --be finished/altered in any number of ways, and

    --can make a complete meal with, say, a rye bread and brie grilled cheese.

    • 1 pkg fresh spinach (about 4 cups, pressed)
    • 1 kg cultivated mussels (1 mesh bag, or about 2.5 lbs.)
    • 1/4 c butter
    • 1 c water
    • 1 T flour
    • 1 c 35% cream
    • 1/4 c Pernod
    • 1 c white wine
    • 3 garlic
    • 1 T fennel or anise seeds (*not* star anise)
    • 1 bulb fennel
    • 1 onion
    • 1/4 c olive oil

    In large skillet/marmite over medium-high, heat olive oil. Add onions and garlic and sweat them, avoid browning. Add bulb fennel, chopped, and anise seed/fennel seed. When onions transluscent, add spinach and cover for 5-7 mins, turning heat down to low. Remove cooked fennel bulb/spinach and seasonings to a bowl.

    In same pot, add water and white wine over high heat. Pick through mussels to eliminate open ones that don't close when tapped on counter. When liquid boils, add mussels and cover for 10 minutes. Remove mussels to bowl and turn heat off broth. Reserve and strain mussel broth to eliminate sand/shells.

    In same pot, add butter and flour over medium heat and stir for about 5 minutes, to make a blonde roux. Add cream and whisk until thick and smooth. Add shelled mussels and spinach mixture, stirring. Add Pernod and stir 2-3 minutes. Puree partially, totally, or not at all, as desired. If too thick, thin with bottled clam juice. Serve sprinkled with flat leaf parsley or basil oil.

    Keywords: Soup, Blender, Seafood, Healthy Choices, Easy

    ( RG1278 )

  16. ...Which is to say, an enzyme generally works on a discrete chemical reaction between (often) 2 chemicals with a defined energy to perform that chemical reaction.  The magic of the enzyme is that it lowers that energy, and generally by lowering the energy, also speeds up the reaction...

    wow--thanks folks. this information only motivates me to learn more. fascinating...

  17. it seems we routinely hear such things in regular 'foodie' conversation, such as:

    --if the food supply starts to become more irradiated (for shelf life purposes) our food will have fewer enzymes;

    --'raw' food is better because it has more active enzymes;

    --if you brew green tea with too hot water, or microwave veggies, you will lose their beneficial enzymes;

    --the further market veggies are harvested from your house, the fewer enzymes they will have. ('living' food.)

    i have re-read my McGee (On Food & Cooking) and my Larousse Gastronomique under several headings (bread, beer, carbohydrates) in search of these elusive enzymes. several are fairly obvious, like papain (the papaya enzyme used to tenderize meat) and lutein.

    but what are these enzymes (literal translation: 'in yeast'), and what is it that kills them (over-processing)? i ask in the spirit of curiousity and learning, but also because i am getting tired of certain proponents telling me my food may be 'dead', or enzyme-free by the time i get it.

    my apologies for starting a food-science nerd discussion, but i find this interesting. what is this enzyme business? :blink:

    anyone with food-chemistry background--or not--is warmly welcomed to this thread... :biggrin:

  18. In response to an earlier thread, we stopped in at Oishii Sushi tonight...

    ...Highly recommended.

    i already said this on another thread, but the fish carpaccio there is a sheer delight. :wub:

    and sf&m: please report back if/when you get to Jun i--i am looking forward to trying the place!

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