Liana Krissoff's Profile
Main dish to follow cheese tasting?
Just an update, here's what I think I'll do:
MAIN:
Zuni roast chicken
braised broccoli rabe with garlic
maybe bread
INTER:
grapefruit and Campari granita
WITH CHEESES:
candied pecans
savory fig confit or something
almond-flour crackers
regular crackers
DESSERT:
gingerbread cake
Greek yogurt gelato
Thank you again, all!
Main dish to follow cheese tasting?
I guess because I roast chicken and have it with sautéed bitter greens fairly often I hadn't considered it here, but maybe simple and homey would be best after all. Thank you so much, everyone, for getting the gears turning in my addled brain.
Main dish to follow cheese tasting?
Oh, I was thinking pork loin, which is not something I cook very often. I hadn't thought of roulade-ing it, though. I love all these ideas!
Main dish to follow cheese tasting?
Just four people, four cheeses. The salad is a good idea—never tried it with smoked salmon! Thank you!
Main dish to follow cheese tasting?
On our way home from Apalachicola for Thanksgiving, the family and I stopped in Thomasville, Georgia, to visit the lovely Sweet Grass Dairy cheese shop. I picked up a bunch of cheeses (the tomme, Asher Blue, the Camembert-style double cream, and a French aged sheep's milk) and some dry salami. Now I want to have a cheese tasting dinner! I have some ideas about accompaniments for the cheeses and salami themselves (almond crackers, sweet-onion confit, candied or spiced pecans...), but I'm wondering what to serve as the actual dinner, either before or after the cheeses. Something simple, of course, and not too filling. Any ideas? I don't know why I'm having such a hard time coming up with a plan, but it could be because I just wanna eat that cheese already!
Athens, Georgia: Peking Restaurant (East Side)
I just saw this post after months of not looking at CH. A paper menu wouldn't help. My friend took a picture of each page of the orange menu and emailed them to me, but when I refer to it when placing a phone order there's always confusion. Just need to go there and tell them what you want in person.
Oh, and the pork with sour beans dish isn't supposed to have that ma la effect. Just spicy and sour!
Annual (or so) sour yard-long bean query
Okay, for those who are interested, here's how I've been doing this dish since I realized those damn beans were fermented and not vinegar-pickled (this is just cut-and-pasted from my own ms., with most of the goofy headnote material omitted). I do still use a little black vinegar in the final dish, but it's not necessary.
Fermented Yard-Long Beans
Makes 1 pound.
1 pound yard-long beans
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup pure kosher salt or pickling salt (see Notes)
Wash the beans well and trim off the ends, as well as any soft or very dark areas. Cut them in half and put them in a large stainless-steel mixing bowl or pot, or a food-grade plastic tub. Sprinkle the red pepper flakes over the beans.
Combine the salt and 12 cups water, stirring to dissolve the salt. Pour the brine over the beans to just cover them, then pour the rest of the brine into a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, seal, and place it on top of the beans to keep them submerged in the brine. Cover the container with a clean, heavy towel and let ferment at room temperature. After 2 or 3 days, scum will start to form on the surface; skim it off, and skim every day or two. When the beans are sour, after about 1 week, refrigerate them in the brine for several weeks, or drain them and freeze them in freezer bags for up to 6 months.
Notes: Pickling salt is finer than kosher salt and will dissolve more quickly in cool water; use it if you’ve got it, but use a scant measure.
“Chopped Sour Long Beans w. Minced Pork”
Sometimes I add some minced ginger and garlic to the pan (or ginger-garlic paste) when the pork is almost cooked through, but they aren’t really necessary: The fermented long beans give the dish quite enough flavor on their own.
Chinese black vinegar, which is dark and syrupy (but not sweet), is available in most Asian grocery stores and is worth experimenting with. If you can’t find it, balsamic makes a fine substitute, or you can add some of the sour bean fermenting liquid. The dish should be quite spicy, sour, and salty.
Serves 2 or 3.
1 tablespoon chile oil
8 ounces lean ground pork
2 1/2 cups diced Fermented Yard-Long Beans (above)
6 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch lengths
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon shao xing (Chinese cooking wine)
1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
Hot cooked white rice
In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring to break it up into small pieces, until lightly browned and no longer pink. Add the beans and scallions and toss to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are just tender, about 4 minutes. Add the soy sauce, shao xing, vinegar, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot with rice.
Annual (or so) sour yard-long bean query
I did try this recipe, by the way, and it was fine but pretty distant from the dish I was trying to re-create. The spices in the brine were pretty overpowering, and the beans never got very sour.
Annual (or so) sour yard-long bean query
I've never actually seen jars of pickled beans in Chinese markets, just the ones in vacuum packed bags, which are refrigerated (probably unnecessarily). Oh, and I forgot to mention in my other replies to these recent posts (sorry I missed them last month) that when we moved from outside Athens (GA) into Athens proper a year and a half ago, I walked over to the nearest Chinese restaurant—just a typical college-town buffet-type place—and discovered that they had a separate Chinese menu full of dishes like the ones I loved in NYC, including one with sour long beans (except this one is with ground beef rather than pork). I was astonished! They also have cold appetizer dishes like spicy, oily beef tendon with Szechuan peppercorns, garlicky bean curd with minced fermented mustard cabbage—all delicious, and in the most unexpected place. Still, I'm glad I finally figured out how to make that old favorite.
Annual (or so) sour yard-long bean query
I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one! I haven't been back to GSI in ages, and even though I've since figured out a reasonably good way to make this dish (fermenting the beans is the key), yes, I do still miss that great wok flavor I'll never get in my own kitchen.
Annual (or so) sour yard-long bean query
Sorry, I haven't been checking CH for a while and just saw this reply. I did eventually determine as well that the beans were simply fermented, and I have been making this dish fairly regularly for the last few years. I even put a version of that recipe in the cookbook I published last year (Canning). I do want to check out the Grace Young recipe now too. Thank you!
Persons in my household sometimes have sentimental cravings for casseroles (like tuna noodle)
Update: This worked pretty well, and to me strikes a good balance between ease and old-school deliciousness, so I'll write up a condensed version below. The sour cream–milk idea comes from good old Betty Crocker. Instead of canned mushrooms and pimientos, I sautéed some fresh vegetables (I don't care for mushrooms in this, but you could chop some and sauté with the onion and whatnot until their liquid evaporates. Also, I use 2 cans of tuna to make it more protein heavy, and add blanched and chopped broccoli (just because my mom always did and because I had some leftovers; you could also add broccoli to the rest of the vegetables as you sauté them). Measurements of the vegetables are quite approximate. I had some chopped stuff in the fridge and threw it all in fairly indiscriminately.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
8 ounces medium egg noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced bell peppers or mini sweets
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 onion, diced
Salt and pepper
About 1 1/2 cups blanched chopped broccoli
2 (5-ounce) cans tuna, drained
3/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
About 2 slices stale bread, torn up, with crusts
Grated hard cheese like Parmesan (I used some crumbled-up “aged Asiago” I bought by mistake a while back; this is definitely optional)
Cook noodles until just barely tender (a couple minutes less than it says on the package). Put in a large bowl. Heat oil in a sauté pan and add peppers, celery, onion. Sauté with a little salt and pepper until just tender, then scrape into the bowl with noodles. Melt butter in the same pan and add bread; toss for a minute and set aside. To the noodles, add tuna, milk, sour cream, broccoli, and salt (about 1 teaspoon) and pepper to taste. Toss, put in baking dish, top with buttered bread shards and some cheese if you want. Bake at 350°F until bubbly and browned, 35 to 40 minutes.
Persons in my household sometimes have sentimental cravings for casseroles (like tuna noodle)
Preparing to make tuna noodle casserole for the same reason tonight—it's a rare thing around here. The last time I made it, which was probably three or four years ago, I followed the recipe on Epicurious linked to by karykat, the one with sherry and so on. You know . . . it was fine, but really didn't taste that much better or seem much more healthful than the old recipes, and I felt kind of like a schmuck for going to all the trouble for something as basic as tuna noodle casserole. This time I'm compromising. No cream-of soups and certainly no mayo, but there will probably be sour cream involved.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Done. I meant to do that last night but got distracted.
Cooking from Radically Simple by Rozanne Gold
Blistered Chicken, Tandoori-Style (page 198): Slash 8 bone-in skinless chicken breasts and 8 bone-in skinless thighs a few times and rub all over with a spice mixture of 2 1/2 tablespoons each of turmeric, cumin, garam masala, sweet paprika, and 2 1/2 teaspoons cayenne. (Add salt, too; I'd say 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons for this quantity.) Toss in a couple large bowls with 4 cups plain yogurt (you could use quite a bit less, though) and grated onions. Cover and marinate in fridge for 12 to 18 hours. Spread out on racks set over baking sheets (separate the pieces and spread marinade on top) and cook at 550°F for 35 minutes, until "firm and golden."
Made this last night to go with the chopped broccoli and spinach dish from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian (page 145). It was excellent. Definitely a keeper. For just three of us I used a whole cut-up chicken rather than just thighs and breasts (next time I'd do just thighs—they were by far the best), cut the spices approximately in half, used about 1 1/2 cups yogurt, and used just 1/2 onion; salt is missing from the recipe, and I added about 1 teaspoon to the spice mixture. I only marinated for about 10 hours (prework to postwork), but that was plenty. My @%$ oven shuts itself off if it gets over 500°F, so I ended up cooking a little longer than in the recipe and then broiling the chicken from the middle rack for about 8 minutes at the end (off and on, since the broiler turns off when the oven gets hot—a safety feature, I guess, but a terrible one), until cooked through and blackened in spots. Husband said it was some of the best chicken he's ever had. A little too spicy for the five-year-old.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Yes, this was amazing. It's one of her many recipes that, as a friend says, shouldn't be as good as it is. I loved the nubbiny texture of the chopped broccoli (to clarify, you cook broccoli and spinach together, drain, and finely chop both of them together before adding them to the sautéed onion mixture).
For what it's worth, this was perfect with the Blistered Chicken, Tandoori-Style in Rozanne Gold's Radically Simple (page 198).
Cookbooks you covet - which cookbooks are on your wish list this year? Which books are just too expensive to buy for yourself without feeling guilty? – PART 2
I don't buy a whole lot of cookbooks, but I'd been ogling David Thompson's "Thai Street Food" since it came out and finally bought it at Borders (RIP) the other day at 40 percent off its $60 list price. I find that very few books of that type—enormous trim, tons of full-bleed photos, not many recipes—actually inspire me to cook from them, but this one has, in a big way. I've already gotten at least $36 worth of reading and cooking pleasure from it, and if I'd known that I might have purchased it at full price earlier.
Best 12" chef/saute pan?
Yes, the Tramontina tri-ply stainless-steel sauté pan is excellent, and I don't have it but I imagine the "jumbo cooker" would be great too. Extremely well made, especially for the price. I use mine several times a day, over high heat and in the oven; it's indestructible and easy to clean.
well known brands that just arent as good as in the past
I used to love Breyer's mint chocolate chip. They changed the chocolate chips, too (to those waxy "chocolate flavored chips"), and then added _more_ of them—thus completely ruining the whole eating experience. Ugh. Such a shame.
Athens, Georgia: Peking Restaurant (East Side)
Real Chinese in Athens at last! See Hillary's 5/12 review: http://flagpole.com/Weekly/GrubNotes
We've been to this place a lot since we moved to a house nearby a month and a half ago, and I've been working my way through the Chinese menu. In addition to Hillary's assessment of the dishes mentioned in the review, I can report that the Szechuan kung pao dishes from the orange menu are excellent, though each time we've ordered them they've been a little different. The dan dan noodles are not hand-pulled, but are otherwise just right (hey, it's Athens Chinese, I'll take it!). And the stir-fried Chinese broccoli and the cold asparagus were perfect: simple, crisp, just barely tender and bright green, with lots of garlic and a little ginger. I've seen Asian people eating big platters of sautéed pea shoots there recently, but when I asked about them they said they didn't have any that day. And although scallion pancakes are on the menu (the regular Am-Chinese one) they say they no longer make them—darn it.
Oh, and I'll also add that if you want something really great, ask for the beef with sour long beans to be made extra-extra-spicy. If you close your eyes and pretend the beef is minced pork, it's just like the "minced pork w. sour string beans" you can order at Grand Szechuan International in Manhattan—from the "Mao's Home Cooking" section of the menu. I've been looking for a reasonably local version of this dish for about 8 years, and finally here it is. The cold beef and tendon dish is also very similar to one I enjoyed many times at GSI, although my palate is not sensitive enough to have discerned much ma la—not much numbing, mostly just spicy and very tasty. (Is this dish made with some sort of air-dried beef, by the way?)
Anyway, Athenians: definitely check this out. It's the first good Chinese I've had in town.
Christmas in New Orleans?
I'm really looking forward to it!
Any Dec. 25 ideas? It's tough, I know, and I won't mind if we just hit a grocery store for sandwich fixings and root beer, but if anything occurs to you I'd love some options.
Christmas in New Orleans?
Good point. Thanks.
Seems that Lüke is filled up already? I went ahead and reserved at the Rib Room. A bit schmancy for my taste, but it looks very festive.
Christmas in New Orleans?
Where would you go for a nice Christmas Eve dinner in the city? Tried Cochon, but it's closed on the 24th. Saw one mention here of Lüke for Xmas Eve, which would seem to be about right. Any other ideas?
What about Christmas Day? What do you think will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner? Should we go with Vietnamese or something?
Varasano's Pizzeria mini report: Northeast-style pizza in Atlanta!
Second visit, a couple weeks ago: Had another margherita and white clam, both of which were superb. Also had a third pie (we were hungry) of Emmenthaler, minced olives, minced garlic, cappcolo, and baby arugula (the latter two ingredients added after baking). It was brilliant: salty, a little spicy from the garlic and arugula, briny from the olives, and also fresh-tasting. The crust was awesome, again.
Varasano's Pizzeria mini report: Northeast-style pizza in Atlanta!
I was aware of that, yes. :)
Still, having been back to Varasano's a second time a couple weeks ago and again finding it spectacularly good, I stand by my purely objective rankings. (Admittedly I have not been to Patsy's in quite a long while due to geographic handicaps, but am considering making an effort to get up there on my next trip north. Will repost . . . if necessary.)
Could Athens, GA, support an "indie" butcher shop?
I asked about this before Simply Meats had opened, and now, very sadly, it's closed. Really too bad. I've read that there's a new meat place in front of the Carmike movie theater on Oconee St. Has anyone been there? I think I saw it in what used to be like an ice cream place?
Fried Smelt!!!
I adore fried smelts, and make them two ways: dredged in seasoned cornmeal and shallow-fried in vegetable oil; or dipped in a thin batter (1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cold milk, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, a little salt, a little sugar, and some chile flakes) and deep-fried in hot (375 or 400°F) vegetable oil until very brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
Yes: cut off the head, gut, fry, and eat, including bones and tail, which get nice and crunchy. No scaling, of course.
Tepache and beer
I'm trying this again now using scraps leftover from pineapple jam making (for Malaysian pineapple tarts). I made a batch of tepache a couple years ago and it was terrible—I'm pretty sure I didn't use nearly enough piloncillo, though, having gotten bored of grating the stuff, plus I let it go too long so it got vinegar-y. I'm very optimistic about this batch. Thanks, Eat Nopal and everyone else, for the tips.
Should be in the upper 80s and 90s all this week here in Georgia, and I'm looking forward to a few cold glasses of tepache this weekend.
Puff pastry and meringue log ("nunettine"?): What is it?
Okay, if anyone is still interested, I've posted a picture of my (gloriously messy) success here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lianakrissoff/3546148898/
Thanks for all your help. Finally getting this right, after all this time (five years, off and on, I've been searching for clues about this pastry), I feel very satisfied and good . . . if a little directionless.
Puff pastry and meringue log ("nunettine"?): What is it?
I finally found out what it's called: sfogliantine glassate ("glazed" is the operative word here, I suppose). Glazed puff pastry. I found some Italian-language recipes online: http://dolcienonsolo.myblog.it/archive/2008/06/15/sfogliatine-glassate.html and http://www.cookaround.com/yabbse1/blog.php?b=26510
And I see on the packaging of commercial versions that it does indeed come with apricot jam or something, but I still don't know how exactly the jam gets in there. It's probably just a very thin layer of it on top of the pastry and beneath the glaze. I plan to try it tomorrow.
http://www.amazon.com/Sfogliatine-Glassate-Puff-Pastry-Glazed/dp/B000LRIG5I
