Swisskaese

Great blog Pan. To make your mundane fortune in the fortune cookie more interesting, add "in bed" at the end. It works everytime. This is a tradition that began when I lived in Atlanta in the '80s. Now my family and friends around the world have adopted it too.

Hi Everyone, I am safe. David was at a tube station waiting for a train when the explosion occured. Thank G-d he was not near any of the bombings. I couldn't reach him for 1 1/2 hours and was worried sick, but he finally got in touch with me in the middle of my meeting via Skype Instant Messaging. I love technology! On a food note..... We spent a nice Shabbat at friends in Hampstead Heath. They served the following: Chicken Soup Chopped Liver Roasted Chicken Roasted Potatoes Broccoli Watermelon and Pineapple

Just wanted all of you to know that I am with you in spirit. I have been travelling like crazy, so I haven't had any Shabbat meals at home for the past two weeks. I am flying to London tomorrow for a week and will hopefully be able to post Shabbat meals when I return to normalcy. What ever that means. Shavua Tov everyone.

I love boiled (pronounced "balled") peanuts, but I only eat them when they're warm. I've boiled them myself, and that's the best way. After that, look for a roadside stand where the kettle is brewing away -- there's few traveling snacks more satisfying. However, many times the peanuts have been boiled at a remote location, brought to a store, and stuck in the refrigerator. I personally don't care for cold boiled peanuts. ← Couldn't agree more. Totally addictive, can't stop eating until the bag is empty. "The best" seem to come from a couple of slow moving guys sitting by the side of the road, looking like they're more interested in boiling peanuts for their own pleasure than anything else. Haven't gotten any really decent ones in California and I've never seen raw peanuts here to try to make them myself. ← You have to use green peanuts to make boiled peanuts. I love the spicy ones called cajun boiled peanuts. I used to get them in Florala on the way to Ft. Walton Beach.

Yes, there is and there are also a number of restaurants on the Gourmet Walk.

Try this recipe. They are moist: Blueberry Muffins If you had the right pan, you could make these: Blueberry-filled Pancakes

Just got back from a difficult (work) 10 days in Beijing and you made it worse!!!! You have made me extremely homesick and longing for SILVER QUEEN CORN!!!! We get the crappiest corn here. Great blog Varmit.

It is pork.

This evening I went to a Beijing Hotpot restaurant that has been in existence since 1903. The restaurant is called Dong Lai Shun and is a chain that has locations all over the city. My colleagues and I went to the branch at the Sun Dong an Plaza which is very close to the hotel I am staying at. It is a Halal restaurant. You can order a vegetarian hotpot with just water, onions and ginger, but make sure you tell them not to put tiny shrimp in the water . This is very common in China and Taiwan. For some reason when you say vegetarian they think it is ok to put tiny shrimp in the dishes. Anyway, I had slices of fresh fish, a variety of mushrooms (one of them was called Monkey Head), bok choy, watercress and other greens. My colleagues had lamb. It was very simple and very good. It was served with a spicy sesame paste sauce. I also tried the lamb because it was halal and it was very good. I had this with fresh pear juice that was very nice.

I am finally in Beijing and have eaten at some nice, not fancy restaurants: Hunan restaurant off of Wangfujing near all of the night food stalls. A colleague took me to this restaurant and they didn't have any cards. I will try to find out the name and address. I had very good fish. One was fried in a brown sauce and the other was steamed with green onions. Szezhuan restaurant next to the Hunan restaurant. Very good. I had a very interesting eggplant dish with five different types of nuts, broccoli rabe, snowpeas and garlic and Mandarin fish with ginger, garlic and hot peppers. Really good. One of my colleagues order a spicy shrimp dish that he said was outstanding. Japanese restaurant near the China Mobile headquarters. Very good. Excellent selection of Japanese dishes. I had butter salmon and an assortment of vegetable tempura. The sushi looked very good, but was quite expensive. Green Angel Vegetarian restaurant across the street from the Holiday Inn. It is above a shop that sells amythest rocks and chinese trinkets. This restaurant specializes in vegetarian meat made from gluten, tofu and something else. Very interesting. We had vegetarian shrimp (tofu), stir-fried broccoli and steamed dumplings, vegetarian spicy fish hot pot and curry potatoes. I liked everything except for the vegetarian shrimp. They were very tough. Everything else was delicious. I also had Kiwi juice which was pureed Kiwi, fantastic. The portions are very large, so order less than you normally would. The service is very good and they will tell you when they think you have ordered too much. I am here until next Thursday, so I will update you on more restaurants and try to get the missing names. The Oriental Malls is a mall that is about 5 blocks long. They have about everything you could possibly think of. There is a bakery there called Bread Talk that has some very interesting things with very funny names, such as Miss Congeniality and Crouching Tiger. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me . They have Green Tea bread which I haven't tried yet. I may buy some this week.

Shabbat dinner was very low key: Stuffed butternut squash (stuffed with mince meat, shallots, pinenuts, rice and seasoned with Baharat) with a tomato-garlic sauce peas and corn Red wine

You can also add a Jew formerly from Anniston, AL. My heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery from the Land of Israel.

Dinner was a huge hit. I was rather proud of my cheesecake this year. I made a lemon cheesecake with lemon confit. Hope everyone had a nice Shavout.

I was planning to go, but my boss gave me a three-day project and I now I can't take Thursday off like I planned. Daniel, please send us a full report. I am sorry that I will miss your discusssion.

Jack! With all this talk of bacon I thought you might forget about Shavuot . I've never used cheese other than cream cheese.. do you process the cottage cheese to smooth it out? Cheesecakes are like custards - if you bake it in a waterbath, it may help with the sinking. Do you pull it right out of a hot oven or let the cake sit in the oven as it cools? Sinking or not sinking, it looks great. ← Here in Israel we make them with white cheese, the consistency of a very thick yogurt. I make mine with half white cheese and half mascarpone. I use a waterbath and it never sinks and never cracks. You may have cooked it a too high a heat or too long. I am getting ready to make one for Shavuot. I am making a lemon cheesecake with lemon confit. I have never had an elderberry cordial before. How does it taste?

I finally decided on my cheesecake. I am going to make a lemon cheesecake with a lemon confit topping.

Tonight I am making the following: Georgian stuffed chicken Broccoli Peas No dessert because we are going to be eating calorie bomb dairy dishes for Shavuot. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

We are having 7 for dinner Sunday night: Salmon with pistachio crust Marion's Noodle Pudding Green beans with leeks Challah with dried fruits and nuts Cheesecake, probably lemon swirl or Florentine

You could also frost the cake with ice cream. You freeze the cake and then frost it with ice cream that has been softened to the consistency of frosting. Then, freeze. Then you could pipe a whipped cream border on the bottom and around the top. As for the dachshund, I don't know. That is out of my league.

Looks very interesting. What is grains of paradise?

Great job Marlene and Sam. Tag Team blog was a great idea. Can't wait to see the next instalment.

I have been using this recipe for years. I made a wedding size challah for my sister's wedding. Challah

Challah This is a cake-like challah. Great for the holidays or anytime. Makes wonderful french toast. 2 c lukewarm Water 3 pkg. dry Yeast 8 c unbleached Flour (or more) 1-1/2 c Sugar 1-1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 lb Butter or Margarine 4 beaten Eggs 1 beaten Egg for glaze Variation: add golden raisins during first kneading. Mix water and yeast in a very large bowl. Add 3 c. flour and 1 c. sugar. Stir w/ fork and let rise 30 mins. in a warm place. Meanwhile, put remaining flour, sugar and salt in another bowl. Add margarine & cut with a knife until mixture resembles coarse meal. At end of 30 mins add 4 eggs to yeast mixture and stir well (will decrease in volume). Add flour/margarine mix to yeast and work in bowl. If sticky, add up to 2 more cups flour. Knead well on floured board until smooth and elastic. Put in oiled bowl and cover with towel. Put in warm place and let rise 2 hours (or until doubled). Punch down. Knead lightly for a min or two. Divide into 1 to 4 parts depending on whether you want small, med, large or wedding size loaves. Divide each part into 3 equal parts, roll into braids and braid, pinching ends. Place in oiled loaf pans. Cover and let rise in warm place as long as possible (3 - 5 hours). The longer you can let it rise without killing the yeast, the lighter it will be. When done rising, brush with egg glaze and bake at 350º for 50-55 mins (1 loaf), 45-50 mins (2), 30-45 mins (3) or 30 mins (4). Keywords: Side, Jewish, Kosher, Intermediate, Bread ( RG1288 )

Challah This is a cake-like challah. Great for the holidays or anytime. Makes wonderful french toast. 2 c lukewarm Water 3 pkg. dry Yeast 8 c unbleached Flour (or more) 1-1/2 c Sugar 1-1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 lb Butter or Margarine 4 beaten Eggs 1 beaten Egg for glaze Variation: add golden raisins during first kneading. Mix water and yeast in a very large bowl. Add 3 c. flour and 1 c. sugar. Stir w/ fork and let rise 30 mins. in a warm place. Meanwhile, put remaining flour, sugar and salt in another bowl. Add margarine & cut with a knife until mixture resembles coarse meal. At end of 30 mins add 4 eggs to yeast mixture and stir well (will decrease in volume). Add flour/margarine mix to yeast and work in bowl. If sticky, add up to 2 more cups flour. Knead well on floured board until smooth and elastic. Put in oiled bowl and cover with towel. Put in warm place and let rise 2 hours (or until doubled). Punch down. Knead lightly for a min or two. Divide into 1 to 4 parts depending on whether you want small, med, large or wedding size loaves. Divide each part into 3 equal parts, roll into braids and braid, pinching ends. Place in oiled loaf pans. Cover and let rise in warm place as long as possible (3 - 5 hours). The longer you can let it rise without killing the yeast, the lighter it will be. When done rising, brush with egg glaze and bake at 350º for 50-55 mins (1 loaf), 45-50 mins (2), 30-45 mins (3) or 30 mins (4). Keywords: Side, Jewish, Kosher, Intermediate, Bread ( RG1288 )