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marie-louise

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Posts posted by marie-louise

    Carmel, Pacific Grove, and/or Monterey

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    I used to work in a restaurant in Carmel called Bouchee Restaurant and Wine Merchants. The chef's name is Walter Manzke and he was formerly the chef at Patina in Los Angeles. Excellent food (kinda biased) in my opinion. A California-French menu and a great wine selection.

    The site below:

    http://www.boucheecarmel.com/main_index.htm

    Hope this helps,

    Robert

    Someone on Chowhound recently raved about Bouchee.

    I made our dinner reservations this morning (I love opentable.com-how much easier could this be?)

    First night: Stokes

    Second night: Bouchee

    Third night: Passionfish

    Lunches at Tappy's Roadhouse, Red House Cafe, and/ or that Mexican restaurant someone suggested

    If it's nice-a six mile hike around Point Lobos State Park, a hike around Elkhorn Slough (they have BABY blue herons now), and a stroll around historic Monterey and the Carmel Mission grounds. Plus the Elkhorn boat tour and the promendade that goes along Pacific Grove's shoreline.

    Whether it's raining or not-the Aquarium (with some wine at the nearby Taste of Monterey), Carmel and San Juan Bautista's missions.

    Anyone know anywhere to eat in San Juan Baustista? Sounds like they have a nice Mexican restaurant-is it any good?

    Thanks again for all your help!

    Each City's signature dish?

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted · Edited by marie-louise (log)

    San Francisco [to tourists]:

    Crab Cocktail

    Parisian sourdough bread

    San Francisco [to locals]:

    ... that's harder! My nominations for must-eats when you come to the Bay Area are:

    burritos

    dim sum

    Acme sourdough batard bread

    "California Cuisine" a la Alice Waters / Zuni, and countless other places that emphasize fresh ingredients, simply prepared

    something Italian in North Beach

    Hog Island oysters

    and last but not least, See's candy!

    I'm missing a lot of things-help me out here.

    Edited to ask-Stephenc, what's this list for? Will you keep updating for us, please.

    Also, wanted to add that this California native loves Cinncinnati chili-I heard about it on another cooking board. It looked disgusting as I was cooking it (for some reason, ground beef is boiled in water instead of sauteed) but it was quite good. Every year or so I make a big batch in the winter.

    Noah's Bagels

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    I had the good fortune to stop into the House of Bagels in San Rafael the other day. Now THAT'S a bagel! The lox and cream cheese were also much better than Noah's.

    Any idea where I can get a bagel like that in Oakland/ Berkeley???

    oakland airport area

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    Assuming there is not traffic, you can get to any restaurant in Oakland-College Avenue, Piedmont-in 15 minutes from the airport. You could get to Jojo's, Bay Wolf, Oliveto's, Garabaldi's, Citron, and others in 15 or 20 minutes. Most of them have websites, and most have been discussed in at least 1 thread on this board. For lunch, you could go to Pho 84 or any of the other great ethnic stops in downtown Oakland. You could get to Chez Panisse in 30 minutes or any of the rest of the places in Berkeley in about 30 minutes.

    BTW, unless there is traffic, you can also get to just about anywhere in the Bay Area in 30 minutes from the Oakland airport, so pretty much any restuarant in the Bay Area is an option...

    oakland airport area

    in California: Dining

    Posted · Edited by marie-louise (log)

    Details, I need details.

    Where exactly are you staying-if it is right by the airport I hope you will have a rental car. You are not far from much good food, but as far as I know, there aren't any decent restaurants out there.

    Second, how long are you staying there? I'd be tempted to stock up on goodies from the Oakville Grocery (or any of the 500 great takeout places between Napa and the airport) and eat and drink in my room. If your room has a little fridge, so much the better.

    Menu Planning Questions

    in Cooking

    Posted

    My next menu question:

    Gravlax. I love the stuff, and make it well. My favorite way of serving it is on rye bread, with a tiny drizzle of an olive oil/ mustard sauce. What main courses would complement this best-in the summer and in the winter?

    Story of Varmint's Kitchen Renovation

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    One bit of good news. Since we're putting up new cedar siding (damn, that stuff is expensive), we've gone ahead and told the contractor to put a new door in the utility room and to close off the kitchen door. Once that's done, I'll be able to do the kitchen in its entirety -- that is, when I get the money, too!

    This is probably just a weird California bias, but I can't imagine wanting to seal a door to the outside up! Are you SURE you want to do that? How will you get to and from your BBQ?

    I can see adding doors-it is always nice to have more ways to get to the outside. I've had a door that opens to the outside in every kitchen I've ever lived in. My current kitchen has three glass doors. I love cooking with all the doors open on nice days, and of course it is handy to have big-time ventilation when something starts smoking!

    PS I hear ya on the cedar siding $$$-our beach house has it.

    Trying to recreate recipes

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by marie-louise (log)

    ... As usual, I didn't write down the exact measurements... Has this ever happened to anyone else?

    It WOULD happen to me if I did not keep detailed notes. I don't have the kind of mind that stores facts and trivia-I have enough trouble remembering my passwords. So, I have a personal cookbook-four binders worth- that contains my own recipes. I probably have 500 recipes in it, the vast majority which are combinations of many different recipes for the same dish, tweaked and tweaked some more. I'm always fine-tuning them, but since they are Word documents, it isn't hard to keep up. (I just scribble on the page as I'm cooking, then edit it later.) I also keep a lot of information in my cookbook-what type of apples are best for what, a chart about substituting one type of fish for another-that sort of thing.

    Edited because I cannot type this morning...

    Mexican rice

    in Mexico: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by marie-louise (log)

    I was also stumped by how to make that rice, until I found Jacqueline Higuera McMahan's recipe for Grandmama's rice.. (You need to scroll way down the article to find it.) She is a regular columnist in the San Francisco Chronicle, and her cookbook, Ranco Cooking, is a must-read for anyone interested in California history. You'll realize why our "Mexican food" is different in California-it is because of these ranchos (and why OUR chili always has beans!)

    You'd think that rice has tomatoes in it, but it doesn't-the red is from chili powder. And it is cooked completely differently than other rice-uncovered until the last few minutes. The flavor comes from the toasted rice and spices, not chicken stock.

    You should all try this recipe just for curiosity sake-it is such a differnet way of cooking rice, and your kitchen will smell incredible while you are toasting the rice!

    Cooking Dried Beans

    in Cooking

    Posted

    All this talk of successful non soaked salted beans is making me nervous. For years I have yelled at my co-workers when they tried to cook unsoaked beans. "What, do you want to give everyone in town gas?" I'd cry. Then I'd catch someone out of the corner of my eye putting some salt in a pot of cooking beans. Again the yelling, "What, do you want to serve tough beans?" and "Don't you know that the liquid is going to reduce and we will have a huge pot of overly salted beans?" Have I been a fool? Tomorrow, before anyone shows up at work, I am going to cook some unsoaked white beans with salt. I can hardly wait.

    I was skeptical, too. So I cooked two pots of the same beans, side by side, one salted, one not. (I don't think I tried soaked versus not.) The difference was amazing. You might want to try 3 or 4 variations on the methods of soaking, salted vs. not, and then have a taste test at work.

    PS Thanks, Russ Parsons. Someone posted a link to your first article on another cooking board years ago. I didn't realize that you were the person that wrote it until I recently came across your name on my notes (I just thought of it as "that LA Times article." ) I like beans so much more now that I cook them this way!

    Menu Planning Questions

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Thanks for all your ideas! Here's what I did-

    First: Frisee salad w/ sauteed pancetta and an egg over easy on top. Simple oil & vinegar dressing, w/ a little extra vinegar on the egg. This was a great salad, but I think the egg was too much like the rouille in the following course. Whoever suggested grapefruit in the salad-that would have worked better (or orange sections.)

    Main: This is a great recipe, although next time I'll make more liquid. I left out the potatoes, but they would have worked. I made hte BEST rouille ever-from the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook. It's simple and spicy.

    Dessert: Made one of my favorites-Chocolate Pot de Creme. Even though it was creamy, it didn't seem wrong. A poached pear w/ chocolate would have been good, or chocolate dipped strawberries in the spring. After the bread in the main course, I'm not sure I would have wanted something w/ puff pastry. You know what would have been perfect-See's chocolate covered ginger and some espresso.

    Hope you will be willing to keep helping me from time to time, and hopefully others will post their questions and comments to this thread. Who knows-this could be one of those threads that keeps on going and going...

    Menu Planning Questions

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by marie-louise (log)

    Improving my menu planning skills as I cook is my Cooking Goal for 2004. Well, this one has me stumped. I want to make this for a nice romantic dinner for two, but I'm having trouble deciding what, if anything, to serve as sides and/or what to serve as a first and a dessert. Please give me your thoughts, and please tell me why you are making this recommendation. I really want to learn more about what is a rather intuitive, sub-conscious process.

    The main course is Bouillabaisse de Poulet [Chicken Stew w/ Fennel and Saffron] from Patricia Well's Bistro Cooking. It is a tomato-based chicken dish, containing garlic, onions, fennel, Pernod and saffron. It also contains quartered new potatoes cooked in the dish, but that doesn't appeal somehow-I was thinking of leaving those out. The recipe notes say that at the restaurant, it is served with grilled bread and rouille. Patricia Wells says she prefers hers without this. I was planning to serve it with the bread and rouille. It is supposed to be served in shallow bowls, so I am assuming that there is enough broth that the dish is rather soup-like. The chicken is thighs w/ legs attached.

    My questions are this:

    Assuming that I make the grilled bread and rouille, does the chicken dish need anything served with it? If so, what?

    What would be a nice first-one for dead of winter, and one if I wanted to serve this on one of our foggy Bay Area summer evenings?

    Dessert? Somehow something a little chocolate appeals-a pot de creme, perhaps?

    Wine? Patricia Wellls recomends a chilled white wine like a Cassis from the fishing village near Marseilles. (If someone could translate that into a California wine that's close, I'd appreciate it.)

    Thanks so much for your help!

    restaurant etiquitte

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted

    (And am I the only one who takes a special glee from immediately identifying Exotic Mushroom's unnamed restaurant?)

    I've never been there, but I think I've guessed it.

    No glee from me until I've dined there. :wink:

    Inquiring minds can find the answer in the California board. The owner of this restaurant has a cookbook (okay, don't they all-that's not much of a hint!)

    Dutch Ovens

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I am probably risking my egullet membership by asking this but.....

    How is Osso Buco when made with lamb instead of veal?

    Braised lamb shanks are good. As are beef short ribs, chicken thighs and all sorts of other things.

    All-Clad Stainless Cookware

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Kim must have just gotten back from vacation. I just got this in my email, a response to a query I sent on Jan. 3. Note that this is far less informative than the response I got on the phone.

    Hello,

    Thank you for choosing All-Clad. I apologize for the delay. This is (and

    continues to be) an exceptionally busy time for us here in Consumer Service.

    The formulation for All-Clad has not changed. I'm not sure why your pots

    may seem heavier. Are you compairing pots from the same product line?

    Sincerely,

    Kim Nemitz

    Consumer Service Representative

    All-Clad Metalcrafters, LLC

    Okay, we need volunteers. Anyone with All Clad, take a piece or two down to Williams Sonoma and heft it side by side with what they've got on display. Mention eGullet while you're there-maybe we'll get a story in the newspaper, like the burger club.

    Do it for science.

    PS You go first. :wink:

    The Baked Potato

    in Cooking

    Posted

    One trick for twice-baked potatoes: after you take the cooked potato out of their skins, put the empty shells back in the oven for 10 minutes before stuffing & reheating. the potato skins get nice and crispy that way.

    I bake at 400, no foil. I have these aluminum spikes (inherited from my mother) that I put in the middle of the potatoes-it is supposed to help them cook evenly. I have no idea if that works, it's one of those things that I do because that's the way Mom did it. Although now that I think about it, she really wasn't much of a cook... :hmmm:

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