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artisan02

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Posts posted by artisan02

  1. faux gras

    Everything worked well mechanically.  All tasted good except the faux gras.  It wasn't actually bad, but it was undersalted (which, in my experience, really hurts such dishes), and given the method, it's hard to catch that in time.

    I made the faux gras about a month ago, and it turned out fabulous. I didn't think it was undersalted at all,and I am not shy with salt.

    Christine

  2. Just moved to Santa Fe, NM from NJ.   So far Morton's is the salt I've seen in Albertsons, Smiths and our local grocer.  Tried contacting Cargill by email for names of retail carriers,  but no response.  Is this an East vs West thing?  The Morton's table salt seems much saltier and I miss the way Diamond Crystal clings to foods instead of bouncing around the place.  Has anyone found Diamond Crystal out here?

    I was in Fremont's Fine Foods in Albuquerque a day or so ago, and saw big boxes of the Diamond salt there.

    Smith's also has a Kosher salt under the Kroger Brand, which is pretty comparable to Diamond.

    Fremonts is on the northeast corner of San Mateo and Lomas, in Albuquerque.

    Christine

  3. This area feeds the nation when it comes to chile, so there will be plenty.  We typically roast through early October, but fresh is available through early December and on.

    The roasters are already up in Albuquerque at some of the little produce markets and on the northwest corner of Montgomery and Wyoming. I haven't actually seen chiles being roasted yet, but the roasters are set up and waiting.

    Christine

  4. I have cooked nearly 99% of the China Moon cookbook, by the late Barbara Tropp. It has taken me a number of years to do it. I plan to finish the final 1% in the next year or two.

    The Zuni Cafe Cookbook and Sunday Suppers at Lucques are next.

    I just got Sunday Suppers at Lucques, and I would be interested in cooking my way through it. It looks very good.

    I also just got Cradle of Flavor, and would be interested in cooking from that one as well.

    Christine

  5. Living in Richmond has its compensations ( I'm another Richmondite), and even some good food here and there, but it is a city that could use a real patisserie.  Now I want to get on Jet Blue this weekend and have somebody else make me a Macaron!

    And I am here in Richmond for 3 months!!! I grew up here, and left back in the mid 70s.... It is fun exploring the city again, and seeing what is available now.

    I have never been to NYC....one of my dreams....

    Christine

  6. I have all the volumes as well, but the recipes everyone are talking about are in the latest one,  150 Best American

    Hmm..that is strange. Some of the recipes that you all have mentioned are in the 1999 volume. Actually quite a few of them are. Wonder what happened,why they chose to repeat them?

    Christine

  7. So, has anybody else been playing with this book? Tell me.

    I have one book in this series: the 1999 one. I see the recipes you are mentioning, but as I read further in this thread, it is not clear as to what volume folks are using.

    I am looking for the recipes that everyone is mentioning, and I am wondering if you all are using different volumes? I think there is a volume for every year since.

    Some of the recipes that are mentioned are not in the 1999 volume.

    Christine

  8. Ah Leung, from one Sacramenten to another!  Looking forward to seeing where you head off to this week.  I would be totally interested in your opinion of which Asian markets are the best to go to, and what to look for, in terms of seafood, sauces, etc.  I haven't had much experience in hanging out in the local establishments...enjoy your week.

    I am interested too, as I may be returning to that area for a travel nursing contract. I used to live in that area, so a lot of things are still very familiar.

    Christine

  9. I don't know if these were only local to NYC, but I remember "La Crepe" (anything you could think of, savoury or sweet, on a crepe) with its waitstaff with the fake French accents, and I remember Lum's (hot dogs steamed in beer), though I know this wasn't only NYC.

    What "concept" chain restaurants do you remember from days gone by.  Do you remember them fondly?

    I don't know if this is what you are thinking of, but I remember Toddle House very fondly.

    Christine

  10. that was right around the corner from my house. if it's the one i'm thinking of, it was on like juan tabo and louisiana ... my directions are hazy after all this time. it was really something when it opened ... too much of a good thing, it turned out. the guy was a scam artist who'd opened a store front and got lots of produce on credit, attracted investors and then just didn't show up for work one day. no one saw him after that.

    I didn't remember it being out as far as Juan Tabo. I seem to remember it being closer to Louisiana, but on a street like Menaul, or Montgomery, or Candelaria.

    If it was the same place, what a shame. It was fun to shop there and the quality seemed pretty good to me, at the time. Of course, that was before I discovered the produce in Berkeley, CA.

    Christine

  11. [i've been to the Kellers in NE Heights.  They seem to have some nice meats but I was very disappointed with their "deli" counter.  They proudly proclaimed "no nitrates" and the ham was gray!  The person also stared at me a bit when I asked if they had liverwurst.  She said they might have carried it in the past.  I"m not sure if Keller's used to ba a German butcher shop or not, but I didn't see any evidence of European style charcuteries or sausages.

    Did I hear correctly that the Alpine Sausage Kitchen closed? (2800 Indian School) Again, I know you are looking for a butcher but they may (have?) also carried other selections of meats.

    Maybe I shouldn't change the focus of the thread, but I'd also be interested in butchers and places that would carry Italian and/or German/Austrian sausages and coldcuts.

    There is a little Italian place that has some coldcuts like proscuitto but no mortadella or sopressetta, I think.  They have a bunch of imported Italian 'drygoods' in there as well like imported tomatoes and pasta.  I think it is Tully's (1425 San Mateo NE).

    I haven't found many places if any, that carry European style charcuterie.

    Haven't been to Alpine Sausage Kitchen, and haven't heard that it is closed. I will drive by there this week and check it out.

    I have been to Tullys on the recommendation of a friend who has lived here all her life. I wasn't impressed. I may go back though, as they advertise being an Italian meat market and deli. I have been trying to find veal breast, and it is a difficult search.

    Christine

  12. years ago (well, ok, decades ago), there was a really good produce store on north fourth, like maybe north of candelaria, if memory serves. i think it was a retail outlet for a wholesale distributor, but i remember finding shallots and sorrel--and this was in 1981 or so. i still remember how exciting that was.

    There is one there, called the Fruit Basket. Is this the store of which you are thinking? I have been in there, and it is generally run of the mill. No sorrel there.

    I lived here back in the early 80s, before I moved to northern California in 1985. A produce store opened there back in 1984 I think, somewhere on Menaul, or another of those streets that run in that direction. It had a lot of ingredients I was reading in the cookbooks of that time, and I was so excited.

    When I moved back here this time, I went looking for it. Either my memory is very faulty (which is possible) or it is no longer in business. I was so disappointed.

    Christine

  13. Thank you both very much for the suggestions! 

    I was not aware of The Sunflower Market, Fresh Herbs or Wagners.  I look forward to checking them out the next time I'm in town and will pass on the info to my friend as well.  I stopped in once briefly to the Talin Market and that is a good suggestion as well especially for Asian produce.

    Oh, and I think the natural foods coop I mentioned in the first post is La Montanita Coop.  Apparently they also have some other locations in Abq and Santa Fe.  My impression was only formed from one short visit to the Nob Hill location.click

    Thanks again!

    I am not sure Wagners is open this time of year. It is over in Corrales, so I usually get there when I am going over to SunFlower Market. Next time I go over that way (from the NE Heights), I will see if they are open during the winter. I really suspect they are not, since they sell their own produce, and NM doesn't have a growing season like California.

    SunFlower Market is opening another location at San Mateo and Lomas sometime this spring. At least that is what one employee told me, but I haven't seen them doing any work on the building that is supposed to house their new market. The one on the Westside is at the interesection of Corrales Road and Alameda.

    I am a member of La Montanita as well. They do have a westside location, on Rio Grande Blvd. I can't remember the cross streets, to give you a better idea of their location.

    I am still trying to find other places around the area. There are two so called Farmers Markets, which are little produce stores, both in the NE Heights. One is on Eubank just north of Comanche, and the other is on Snowheights, just below Menaul. Once in a while they will have some good deals, but they have mainly run of the mill produce. Shallots are inexpensive there, though. :wink:

    By the way, there is another Asian market down on Gibson, near San Mateo.

    My mission now, is to find meat markets where I can find less common cuts of meat at a decent price. There is a decent meat market here in town, called Kellers, but I still can't find everything I want. I have been to the Asian markets here, and while I can find some things, I am not able to find other things.

    I think one day soon, I am going to plan a tour of the area carnecerias, just to see what they have. There is one on the westside, on 4th street that looks interesting to me, but I haven't been in there yet.

    Christine

  14. And, then there was the cioppino, which I've not had in years and makes me think that should be on the menu this week.

    So, what do you put in cioppino?  Lobster need not apply (I makes Heidi and I both have a case of the horks).  Let's talk about cioppino.

    I made cioppino just a couple weeks ago. I had shrimp, clams; nice little ones, king crab legs from Costco and fish of a variety I don't recall. Nice tomatoey broth with a good bit of pepper flakes for some heat. Good crusty rolls and it was wonderful. I have also used scallops and mussels or whatever I can find. I did not use lobster, more because I did not have access to any I liked than any other reason.

    Crab (and in Cioppino's case, a Dungeness crab) is the crustaceon of choice instead of lobster. Can you find any of those anywhere? Mussels are also very good in cioppino. The cioppino I make has a tomatoe, red wine base.

    Christine, a former resident of the SF bay area.

  15. We're having two kinds of quiche tomorrow for brunch---Chris' birthday celebration.  One is broccoli with grape tomato slices baked on top, and the other is an egg-beater, FF milk, FF cheese version for our WW contingent.  The broccoli one will be baked in a buttered 9x13, with no crust.  I tinkered with the recipe for a long time before I could leave off the crust and make a quiche to cut into squares---I'd make twenty-five or so for weddings and parties, and that much crust-primping is a BOTHER.

    Rachel, that sounds so good!! Would you be able to post that recipe to RecipeGullet?

    Christine (another one)

  16. Roy Andries de Groot's "Auberge of the Flowering Hearth" in which he finds a tiny inn (in France? Switzerland?) run by two spinster ladies who tempt his palate with local fare.  Written like a fairy tale for gourmets, a delicious read.

    The three Blueberry Hill Cookbooks" "The Blueberry Hill Cookbook, Menu Cookbook and Kitchen Notebook. " A New York secretary learns to cook when her husband purchases a ski lodge in the NE, and it doesn't snow!  She gives 30 days of menus and doesn't repeat herself once, in an area where she has only a small local grocery to rely upon.  Elsie Masterton died young, unfortunately for those of us who loved her books--three more books deal with her life "off season". 

    Both these from the 60s.

    Oh my gosh, I didn't know anyone else had these books!!!!! Well..probably the Roy Andries de Groot one. That one is a classic. I dearly love that book, and reread it from time to time.

    I have two of the BlueBerry Hill books-don't have the Kitchen Notebook. I haven't read those in a very long time.

    One book that I really enjoy, is James Beard's Delights and Prejudices, his autobiographical book/cookbook.

    Christine

  17. I visit a good friend in Albuquerque from time to time and like to cook when I'm there.

    When the season comes, I have gone to some farmer's markets which are nice but that is only for part of the year and naturally only for some produce that is grown locally.

    Where do you shop to get good value, selection and quality for produce in Albuquerque? 

    (Here in the SF Bay area I do shop at farmer's markets often.  With the difference in climate that does of course present more flexibility in terms of variety and duration.  But I also have several places that are non-chain markets that carry great produce.  I also go to Asian and Latino markets for some things.)

    I just moved here last year from the SF bay area, so I know of what you speak. It has been culture shock for me, in many respects.

    That being said, I go at least once a week to a market over on the West side of town, called SunFlower Market. It has a fairly decent selection of produce much of the time, and the prices are not expensive. I was able to find blood oranges there last week, at decent prices: of course this was before the freeze in CA. Still haven't seen Meyer lemons there.

    Here is the link for their home page:

    http://www.sfmarkets.com/retailer/store_te...4CC8693150E7216

    Also, during the growing season here, there is a marketplace/produce stand I found on Corrales Road. It is called Wagners, and they have good produce in season. They also sell at the Corrales farmer's market during the summer.

    Christine

  18.   It was a soupy concoction of dried red chiles, soaked and pureed and added to a porky broth (made with various fatty, meaty, boney cuts of pork that had been stewed for several hours) and prepared hominy (nixtamal) that had been purchased in a grocery store in a cryovac container.  It was much fresher, firmer tasting than the hominy I buy in cans here.

    That's the kind I can find here in New Mexico, where posole is very, very common. I can usually find it frozen and sometimes "fresh", and that is in a regular grocery store here. I haven't checked any of the mercados and carnecerias around town yet.

    I haven't made this myself yet, so I may have to join you all in trying this. I am not sure what chiles are used here in NM, but I can almost bet that green chiles are a part of it. I could be wrong though. :wink:

    Edited to say that I looked up Posole as made here in NM, and it uses dried red chiles.

    Christine

  19. Madelaine Kamman's Making of a Cook is another cookbook that adds a bunch of history - I like reading that one too. Don't think I've cooked from it nearly as much as from Sahni's and Alford and Duguid's books though.

    I like her When French Women Cook for that history, and the narrative that goes along with each chapter of recipes. A great read.

    Christine

  20. I come from an old, old Virginia family (Dabney) and this is what I encountered.

    Christine

    Virginius? If so, lovely man. Met him while an intern at the Virginia Historical Society.

    A very, very distant cousin I think..if that. There was a story that all the Dabneys were descended from 3 brothers who came to this country. I don't know if that is true or not...

  21. For what it is worth, the James Beard house defines the South as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida (yeah), Louisiana and Mississippi.  They define the Southeast as Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.  They define the Southwest to include Texas and Oklahoma.  Missouri is in the Midwest.  All those border states like Maryland and Virginia belong to the Mid-Atlantic.

    Hmmmph!!

    Coming into this discussion late.

    I wish they would have told me that when I was growing up in Virginia in the 50's and 60's. Never knew I was living in a Mid Atlantic State. As far as I knew, I was born and raised Southern...

    When I was a child and in the hospital for a prolonged time, my very southern grandparents made and brought me a sweet potato pie every single week. When I got out, Sunday dinners at their house, were the typical groaning board..with at least fried chicken and a ham anchoring the table.

    And to also relate this to the holiday season, at Christmas, we had fruitcakes and wine jelly with boiled custard on the wine jelly. Never saw the wine jelly and boiled custard out of the South...

    Maybe this is tradition in other parts of the country, but I really associate this with the South: we went visting in the afternoon, on Christmas. Visited almost everyone we knew...taking presents.staying for punch or eggnog...

    I associate Virginia with a "genteel" south...at least in Richmond, where I grew up. I may get some flack for this. I come from an old, old Virginia family (Dabney) and this is what I encountered.

    Christine

  22. These are just ideas.  I am sure others have much more inventive ways of extending your meals.

    Following up to my own post.

    There are other variations on this theme..such as divvying up something before cooking, and making several dishes out of the same piece of meat, or poultry. I ran across an example of this yesterday, going through some of my cookbooks. This idea was from Jacques Pepin, ever a thrifty cook. He started with a whole raw chicken and used almost all of the chicken for Chicken Diable, then went on and made a chicken and lentil ragout with the rest of the chicken carcass. I think in the same book there is another example of getting a small turkey and using the various parts for totally different dishes.

    I have seen this done with other things too such as a pork roast: one part is cut up for chops, and the rest of it is used for some other preparation such as a stew. If you like duck, I know I have seen this done, whereby the breasts are cut off the carcass and cooked on the rarish side, and the legs and the body of the duck have been turned into a fine ragout. And to extend this even further, I have seen that same ragout turned into an excellent pasta sauce, served on top of papparadelle, or layered into a lasagna.

    Christine

  23. OH...I get it..buy one big thing (like a ham) and figure meals that you could use all week with it...makes sense...thanks! I was buying fresh for each meal. I just never knew how people did that...

    thanks a bunch!

    Yeah, that's the idea. Sort of. However, like many folks here, I tend to get really bored, really fast. So, I might not buy just one really big thing for the week. I might still use the ham like that, but I would probably freeze a bit of it for later, when I am not so bored with it. Same with the soup I would make from the ham bone: I would have part of it that week for maybe a supper, then my lunches, then freeze the rest to again be taken out in a few months when I am not getting sick of it.

    On that same note, I might also have roast chicken one night that week, say with mashed potatoes on the side. Maybe half the chicken would be gone at the end of the meal. Now I could do several things with the rest of it: I could make sandwiches with the rest of the meat, or chop it up into chicken salad, or make a hash, or make a myriad of dishes that called for fresh cooked chicken. Or even make chicken soup for another meal and your lunches. With leftover mashed potatoes, I might go back to one of the dishes of my childhood and have mashed potato pancakes the next morning for breakfast, or for dinner that next night.

    These are just ideas. I am sure others have much more inventive ways of extending your meals.

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