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Part of the point of cooking a huge turkey is to have leftover meat to use in sandwiches. BeeZee is a traditionalist, and likes cold turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing on sourdough bread. “Last time I had leftover stuffing I even pressed it into a rectangular container for storage so I could cut out blocks for my sandwich!” says BeeZee. Rick is even more of a purist, preferring just “some cold turkey, between hot toast, lettuce, and lots of mayo. Simple, but I love it,” he says.
bitsubeats likes his turkey sandwiches “with a shmear of mashed potatoes on a potato roll … And if you want you can dip it in gravy.” For traditional Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches, greygarious recommends the stuffing bread available by special order during the holidays from Great Harvest Bread Company franchises. “It is a whole wheat loaf with sage, onion, and celery,” says greygarious. “Great plain or toasted.”
ipsedixit likes leftover turkey on Texas toast, “topped with mashed potatoes, gravy, green peas and Tabasco sauce.” And cayjohan makes a breadless sandwich in the form of a curried turkey lettuce wrap. First sauté chopped turkey with onions and curry spice, then add scallions, hot peppers, and fruit (mango, apple, and pineapple all work well here, says cayjohan). To finish, wrap the warm curried turkey salad in a lettuce leaf.
Here are some suggestions from CHOW for what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers as well.
Board Link: best turkey sandwich (or panini or wrap or spring roll) for thanksgiving leftovers…?
Posted
on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
by Sarah Perry in General Topics Digest |
More like this: bread, General Topics Digest, leftovers, sandwich, thanksgiving, turkey, wrap
Cheung fun are steamed noodle rolls, served as dim sum items. Think of them as “steamed rice milk roulades if you will,” says K K. Ideally, cheung fun should be steamed to order, but unfortunately they’re often made in advance and then sit in a steam table or heated push cart for a while before reaching your mouth.
“Cantonese people have a term for cheung fun, and that is preceded with ‘heung’ and ‘waaht’. ‘Heung’ being fragrant, and ‘waaht’ being slippery smooth,” says K K. “It should not be chewy, but moist enough with just a splash of the sweetened soy sauce that it goes down easy (and slurps up easy) and smooth.” Cheung fun are usually stuffed with pork or shrimp, but there’s a pure version, ju cheung fun, which is just a plain rice noodle roll.
mogo likes a version of this dish with you tiao (Chinese doughnuts) stuffed inside slippery rice noodles. “It’s such a nice combination of soft and crispy, subtle and salty,” says mogo. “It is more or less like eating congee.” These are called ja leung, says K K, and are a delicate combination of crunchy and supple starch. “A good one should remain moist outside and crispy inside,” says K K.
Cheung fun are a texture food, but the enjoyment doesn’t end there. “Cheung fun is all about the sauces that come with it,” says ipsedixit. “Which by itself is sort of ironic because cheung fun is inherently so unabsorbent—the sauces just sort of slide right off of it.”
Board Link: Dim sum, take 3: tell me about cheung fun?
Posted
on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
by Sarah Perry in General Topics Digest |
More like this: cheung fun, chinese, dim sum, General Topics Digest, heung, ja leung, ju cheung fun, pork, shrimp, waaht, you tiao
Pinto bean pie is awesome, says lisafaz: “A student’s mom brought me in some one year. She told me what it was, and I didn’t really want to try it, but I couldn’t offend and NOT try it either. I took a deep breath and gave it a chance.” Turns out it’s great, especially served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. lisafaz’s pie is just mashed pintos, sugar, eggs, and butter, but todao thinks pecans and coconut are required to make this pie as glorious as it can be. Bean pies, especially navy bean pies, are a classic dish in black Muslim communities, says stilton.
The sweet bean pie bears some similarity to Asian dishes that include sweet adzuki beans. And it reminds jill kibler of a Dominican sweet bean dessert, served at Easter, with coconut milk and cinnamon. Ruth Lafler had some navy bean pie from a vendor at a market in Baltimore: “It was delicious,” she says. “And yeah, it was a little like some of the sweet bean Asian desserts.”
Board Links: Have you heard of/ eaten pinto bean pie?! Or is it just me?
Pinto Bean Pie
Posted
on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
by Sarah Perry in General Topics Digest |
More like this: adzuki bean, chinese, dominican, General Topics Digest, navy bean pie, pinto bean pie, sweet bean pie
Big Mama’s and Papa’s Pizzeria is the place for a khachapuri, which is essentially a Russian pizza—it’s sort of like an oval-shaped, split-open calzone, topped with feta, mozzarella, butter, and your choice of toppings, which are in turn topped by two sunny-side-up eggs. This is Russian comfort food, explains ipsedixit. She had her khachapuri with bacon and ham. “Sounds gross, I know, but it was really good. Sort of reminded me of the egg and guanciale pizza at Mozza,” says ipsedixit.
You can also get it with pastrami. The plain khachapuri “is just as delicious, but without the extra strain to the coronaries, although I must confess to going whole hog once in a while,” says ozzygee.
Big Mama’s and Papa’s khachapuri is, says mangefromage, amazing—the “best comfort/hangover/heart-attack worthy meal EVER.”
A very similar dish can be had at many Armenian restaurants, though it goes by a different name. The ones at Red Top Burger are wonderful, says bagdoodle. The lula kebab is spectacular, too.
Big Mama’s and Papa’s Pizzeria [Downtown]
657 S. Flower Street, Los Angeles
213-627-5556
Red Top Burger [San Fernando Valley–East]
501 S. Central Avenue, Glendale
818-500-1376
Board Link: Big Mama’s and Papa’s (Khachapouri)
Posted
on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
by C. Thi Nguyen in Los Angeles Digest |
More like this: armenian, big mama's and papa's pizzeria, glendale, khachapuri, los angeles area, lula kebab, red top burger, Restaurants and Bars, russian pizza
daveena doesn’t like slimy oyster pancakes. Luckily for her, the excellent Taiwanese oyster pancakes, or o-ah jian, at Ju Ju Shine are completely unslimy. They are supple in parts, and silky in parts, but not slimy. “There’s a generous amount of baby bok choy and scallion, along with the oysters, and the whole mess has a nice touch of char/wok hay,” describes daveena. It’s topped with a “thin slick of sauce” that’s “sweet and gingery.”
The other stuff at Ju Ju Shine is “very homey,” says daveena. There is stinky tofu, braised pork belly and soy sauce over rice, and stir-fried cabbage with carrot. It is, in general, only all right, says daveena—some of the food is too tough or too salty. But the o-ah jian is very satisfying.
“The room is, quite frankly, hideous, with two clashing shades of green duking it out on the walls, a shelf of Japanese DVDs and manga next to the door, and scattered tchotchkes (some religious, some cats) giving it a distinctively ‘Summer at Grandma’s House in Taiwan’ vibe,” says daveena. “Going to Ju Ju Shine is like going to my Taiwanese aunt’s house for lunch,” agrees huaqiao. “The food is very homey and not very elegant, but it’s good hearty Taiwanese fare.”
Ju Ju Shine [South Bay]
1631 West Carson Street, Torrance
310-782-8988
Board Link: Taiwanese Oyster Pancake (O-ah jian) at Ju Ju Shine (Torrance)
Posted
on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
by C. Thi Nguyen in Los Angeles Digest |
More like this: ju ju shine, los angeles area, oyster pancakes, taiwanese food, torrance
Turkish restaurants are pretty rare around these parts; Sako’s Mediterranean Cuisine is one of the only games in town. There’s zero ambiance, but “the warm welcome and the very personal service of the staff plus the food makes up for it,” says ZoeZ. Everything she tasted was good.
The restaurant is difficult to find, but “the food is well worth the effort,” continues ZoeZ. Sako’s is located in a former coffee shop, hidden behind a rentable banquet hall.
Sako’s Mediterranean Cuisine [San Fernando Valley–West]
6736 Corbin Avenue, Reseda
818-342-8710
Board Link: Turkish Restaurants in Westwood Area
Posted
on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
by C. Thi Nguyen in Los Angeles Digest |
More like this: los angeles area, sako's, sako's mediterranean cuisine, turkish, turkish restaurant, westwood
A show-stopping golden bird, brought to the table bursting with savory stuffing—what better centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner? Amazing 66 in Chinatown does the job with one of its house specials: chicken stuffed with sticky rice.
kobetobiko describes a big bird, bones removed, its ample filling studded with bits of roasted pork, the whole thing deep-fried to crispy goodness. This dish must be ordered at least a day ahead of time, and kobe suggests that an advance order might secure you a table even if your party doesn’t meet the eight-person minimum for reservations.
You won’t need a reservation at Wah Ji, the neighborhood’s newest go-to spot for Taiwanese-style fried pork chops. You won’t fit a party of eight in there, either. This is an unassuming-looking hole in the wall that happens to fry up a huge, meaty, delicious chop, just $4 over rice, didactic katydid reports. The key is the marinade, which imparts a complex blend of flavors with hints of star anise and coriander. katydid’s chop included a band of fat, “but not so much that it eclipsed the meat … they weren’t just the standard Chinatown piece o’ fat.”
Besides pork chops, try spicy popcorn chicken with crispy fried basil. That and a scallion pancake could make a nice $3.50 lunch.
Amazing 66 [Chinatown]
66 Mott Street (between Canal and Bayard streets), Manhattan
212-334-0099
Wah Ji [Chinatown]
7 Allen Street (between Canal and Division streets), Manhattan
212-219-9876
Board Links: Chinatown Dinner on Thanksgiving
new pork chop shop in Chinatown: Wah Ji
Posted
on Monday, November 24th, 2008
by Mark Hokoda in Manhattan Digest |
More like this: amazing 66, chinatown, chinese food, Manhattan Digest, thanksgiving, wah ji
Chowhounds have had few kind words in recent years for Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn. But the minichain’s newest location sounds like a different story. stuartlafonda, one of the many who lament the decline of the Brooklyn shop, says Grimaldi’s in Douglaston, Queens, turns out a very good coal-oven pie.
The fresh mozzarella is quite decent, the sauce is tasty and just sweet enough, and the crust is superthin, very crisp, and touched with smoke from the oven, stuart writes. It may not be worth a long trip, he adds, but in a corner of Queens that’s short on destination pizza, the new Grimaldi’s is a welcome addition, on a par with Salvatore’s, a hound-endorsed coal-oven joint a few miles east in Port Washington.
The problem with this place is its location, buried deep inside an anonymous strip mall by the Long Island Expressway. “They will get some help from the overflow from the movie theatre,” stuart figures, “but it is not an easy place to find.”
Grimaldi’s [Douglaston]
242-02 61st Avenue (near Little Neck Parkway), Douglaston, Queens
718-819-2133
Board Link: Grimaldi’s Pizza
Posted
on Monday, November 24th, 2008
by Mark Hokoda in Outer Boroughs Digest |
More like this: grimaldi's, Outer Boroughs Digest, pizza, pizzeria
In a neighborhood suddenly thick with wine bars, Vai has made an impression. Hounds have been happily grazing on generous cheese plates, cured meats (bresaola, prosciutto, etc.), and crudi with ever-changing seasonings (yellowtail might come with avocado one week, preserved ginger and white soy the next).
There are pizzette; Marine Engineer likes one with prosciutto, fig, and Brie. There’s pasta; rigatoni with sausage, tomato, and ricotta is a standout. There’s grilled seafood; calamari gets a lift from lemon preserve and caper sauce. Over all, harrison sums up, “pretty damn good!”
Vai, open since summer, is a full restaurant as well as a wine bar, but few hounds seem to have gotten past the small plates. harrison, who has, recommends the roasted whole branzino.
Vai [Upper West Side]
225 W. 77th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue), Manhattan
212-362-4500
Board Links: Vai–UWS
Posted
on Monday, November 24th, 2008
by Mark Hokoda in Manhattan Digest |
More like this: italian food, Manhattan Digest, small plates, vai, wine bar
Café Saint-Honore is like a little patch of Mediterranean France in the East Bay. The currant macaron ($1) is “crisp, creamy, tangy, sweet and deeply flavored,” says rworange. “I’ve never had a shell on a macaron that had such a delicate crunch to it like that with a light, lovely, melty center.” They are very small, about quarter-sized. The canelé ($2) is also top-notch.
The lunch menu is mostly salads and baguette sandwiches, plus croque monsieur and “chien chaud,” a Frenched-up hot dog on a baguette with bechamel sauce and Gruyère. Looks like they’re setting up some French grocery items in one corner as well. Sunny and cozy, the place is open from 6 a.m. to midnight and also features Ici ice cream and very good, strong coffee—labeled “frog fuel.”
Café Saint-Honore [East Bay]
862 San Pablo Avenue, Albany
510-898-1318
Board Link: Albany–Cafe Saint Honore … Oo la la … chien chaud, canneles, and the world’s best macaron
Posted
on Friday, November 21st, 2008
by Cicely Wedgeworth in San Francisco Bay Area Digest |
More like this: baguettes, canneles, macarons, san francisco bay area
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