toodie jane's Profile
Olive Oil Based "Cream" Cookie?
yes, sure--http://www.tibercanyon.com/recipes.htm
if you email Chris, she may have copies of the recipe booklet which has more recipes
Paula's English Pea recipe = what's wrong with Food Network
...perhaps substitute the words "admit to herself that" for the word "realize"...?
Olive Oil Based "Cream" Cookie?
Jon, some friends of mine have a small olive ranch and during their yearly oil sale/food festival, they showcase the oils by serving samples of favorite foods cooked using oil instead of butter fats. Ice cream, brownies, cookies, cakes, etc. I've made their brownie recipe which uses olive oil, and while a bit more dense, they are flavorful and moist. Choose a good mild cold-pressed oil from a purveyor you trust . Nowdays they come pressed with fruits that flavor the oil. My friends press with yuzu, mandarins, meyer lemons, and the mandarin goes nicely with the brownies. I think if you can find a good "oreo" recipe for home cooks, you should be able to sub oil for at least part (start with half?) of the butter , which makes a crispy outer cookie. The filling would be more challenging. I'll ask a couple of pro cooks I know and report back.
Here's a good basic recipe from Smitten Kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/my-kingdom-for-a-glass-of-milk/ ; the 'comment' section offers further insight in a thoughtful discussion thread. My aging boomer body does not process fats so well anymore, so it's a question of moderation of intake for me. Maybe only half a cookie will do, rather than 2 or 3.
Current favorite Mexican spots in Watsonville?
Loved the holly tablecloth--what a nice touch.
sidecar san luis obispo
Sidecar appears to be in the block of Broad between Higuera and March, in the spot vacated by Broad St Tavern.
Niki Rothman vindicated At Last...by Harold McGee
I see that Niki's original thread had 400 replies. I gave up reading the thread after about 75. I couldn't take it any more. One of the most dissapointing threads on CH I've ever read. Perhaps it got better as it went. ..Thanks for pointing out the other thread & discussion.
Niki Rothman vindicated At Last...by Harold McGee
I just bought some corn pasta at TJ's so tried this method for a one person serving of mac n cheese.
I put about 2 cups of cold water in my #8 cast iron skillet, poured in about a generous cup of corn penne, slapped on a tight lid (one of my saucepan lids fit tightly about 1/2" down the pan lip) and set the flame to low. Then I melted 1 T of butter and 1 T grapeseed oil in a larger CI skillet, on med.
Chopped a small shallot and in she goes, stirred and when the shallot began to wilt, sprinkled on 1 mounded T of flour, stirred while it bubbled, and added by increments, 2 c cold 1% milk. When it thickened ,after about 4 minutes, I rummaged for cheese and found some Rosemary Asiago and Cheddar w/caramalized onion. Chopped about 4 oz. of cheeses and melted it in the sauce off heat.
Meanwhile the pasta had been cooking. I removed the lid, it looked just as McGee described, al dente with a few tablesppons of liquid. In went the cheese sauce, S&P, and my quickest ever stovetop mac n cheese was ready.
I have found my new way of cooking pasta.
And the corn pasta had a nice texture, not grainy like the WW stuff. Delicate corn flavor for you corn-o-holics out there. It was a nice marriage, the corn and cheese.
I balanced off this richness with about 3 cups of baby greens so I wouldn't feel guilty.
Niki Rothman vindicated At Last...by Harold McGee
Anyone been around long enough to remember the contentious post by Nikki Rothman about cooking pasta? Specifically, where she opined about not needed huge amounts of water or salt to produce perfectly good cooked pasta.
She was disagreed with ( to put it more politiely) by fellow chowhounds, relentlessly.
Now along comes Harold McGee and low and behold:
http://www.chow.com/food-news/94799/how-to-quickly-cook-pasta-in-a-frying-pan/
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
wow--they must be baaaad. Stale as well as dry perhaps? I'm a bit jealous that you've eaten the Real Deal in- country. I took a cooking class from an Austrian woman who taught us how to make these--complete with the royal icing swirlies. They are great with coffee.
Not the first of TJ's cookies to be less than great. I am still mouring the deletion of the shortbread buttons of past years--they came in a brown bag with a window. The Best! Used them for coffee time, dressing up with lemon curd. They are gone with the Wind. Other replacements are *meh*...
Did you try the spongey German spice cookies? I love these... spicy pillows coated with sugar or chocolate glaze. Wish they had the ones with the marzipan filling...
Biscoff Spread aka Speculoos [moved from Food Media and News board]
I was intrigued by the concept but then did some digging--not the most healthy of 'treats'. The cookies themselves have hydrogenated palm and canola (rapeseed) oils, and the spread is "57% cookie" meaning the rest is more sugars, oils and stablizers.
Would like to see the nutritional breakdown for a tablespoon of this stuff.
Biscoff Spread aka Speculoos [moved from Food Media and News board]
Biscoff spread (which is what Speculoos ccokies and spread got renamed here in the U.S.) is availble at Cost Plus World Market. http://biscoffblog.com/recipes/
(Have not tried this yet--am afraid to!)
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
Oh yeah!! the ginger ones are over the top--the others just a bit toooo sweet. Glad they only come inthe multi pack or....well, you know the scenario!
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
lol...the choccie ones oughta be called Pretzel Fatties...addictive
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
Your dad sounds like a real "card" as my dad was. Wish he was still around. I inherited his wacky sense of humor and food preferences, and wish I could trade some with him...
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
lebkuchen are dry by nature. Like biscotti they're terrific dipped in coffee.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
have you worked with the corn noodles yet? bought some fusilli but have not made it yet. Was jonesing for gooey fontina mac and cheese when I bought it.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
Newman's Own are realy quite good if you are looking for a minty Oreo type, available all year round at regular grocery stores.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
ditto that on the "lemon" cookies. poor stale flavor, stale texture. Waste of calories.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 4th quarter 2011 [OLD]
'my' Thai restaurant says there's some sort of peanut shortage...crop failure thing going on? His wholesale price for peanut butter has more than doubled.
thanks for the heads up on tj's organic--I'm about out.
Santa Maria Barbecue restaurants with a vegetarian in tow?
there is some good SYV winery info buried in this post about dining in Santa Barbara:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/824836
mid week wine tasting Lompoc SSR hills Edna Valley
here's a recent SYV winery discussion buried in a post about dining in Santa Barbara.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/824836
Central Coast- Need help with wineries... which ones am I missing out on?
Saucelito Canyon's tasting room is on Biddle Ranch Rd (between Orcutt Rd and Highway 227/Edna Rd) in the Edna Valley area of SLO. Nice Zins . Some very old head pruned grapes in their rural Arroyo Grande Valley vineyards.
http://www.saucelitocanyon.com/wines
Need help with British candy making ingredients
Cost Plus World Market carries Lyle's syrup. They have quite a few staple products from the UK. Trader Joe's carries a very good quality Drinking Chocolate or "sipping chocolate". Scharffenberger probably does one as well. Check Whole Foods?
Not your average Christmas Cookie.
--could you do a photo tutorial? lots of cookie worthy holidays coming up this spring--this would be a great skill for cookie makers to know!
ISO Corn muffin recipe
Justin Wilson, the Cajun Cook, clued me in to corn flour for use in Cornbread. Had never heard of it before then (80's) but found some at the local health food store bulk buns.
In recent years, Bob's Red Mill was a Revelation in freshness--taste a few grains on your finger, and there is no bitter aftertaste from rancidity. Fresh flour makes ALL the difference.
I like a bit of texture (non cake-like) in my cornbread so sometimes add some Bob's Polenta for a coarser crumb. You might want to try using fresh stoneground whole wheat pastry flour in lieu of regular white flour. The texture is the same but way more flavor.
Good luck on tweaking the recipe till you get what you want.
Roasted potato advice needed
Not so--my mom always roasted chunks of russets along with a whole chicken. Given enough fat and a good medium hot oven, they will roast and brown very nicely if not turned too often. And they reheat well in a hot oven. Ate them for 20 years that way.
ISO Corn muffin recipe
* note the "stone-ground cornmeal". This means NO grocery store boxed stale stuff. Bob's Red Mill brand, available in grocery stores, does a great fresh stoneground corn FLOUR which would work well for this recipe.
please do let us know how this turns out. This is my recipe exactly, gleaned from Adele Davis' Let's Cook It Right c 1948, though she adds some non-instant dried milk pdr for extra protein. I bake it in a #8 cast iron skillet. It's even better if I can get and grind some fresh dried corn.
San Francisco to Los Angeles Itinerary Recommendations/Help
There are three roughly parallel driving routes from SF to LA. The closer you are to the coast, the smaller the road and the slower the driving.
Coast Route 1 is mostly a two-lane-only narrow, crowded, curving road. It has spectacular scenery but is slow going till you hit the San Luis Obispo County line. Not much chow, (or anything else!) at all along the southern end of Big Sur. it would take at least 6 or 7 hours to get from SF to south Big Sur. This SF to LA extreme coastal route and local chow could take a whole four -day trip in itself.
U.S. Highway 101, mostly four lane and freeway, runs south towards LA behind the coastal range of mountains through the verdant southern Santa Clara and Salinas Valleys ("salad bowl of the nation"). About 1/2 way to LA, you enter the Paso Robles Wine Growing Region. Literally hundreds of wineries within 50 miles. Rural, pleasant and unhurried area. From San Luis Obispo south to Ventura County (2 1/2 hours) the road skirts the ocean front only at Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara. Other than that, rolling hills and ranchos through more wine country. Lots of chow opportunites in the local towns. (Where there's wine, there's chow. Look at a map and search the Calfiornia board for recs.)
You'd catch U.S. Interstate 5 (from the East Bay area, via Pleasanton) to the wide open San Joaquin Valley. It's a major trucking route, so you'll be looking at gas stations and truck stops for chow opportunities, mostly. Vast boring stretches of driving with little chow, but you get to LA in about 5 hours rather than 8.
If I were to do this drive, I'd leave at first light or before, take the Coast Route from SF though Santa Cruz to Monterey, stop for lunch in Pacific Grove, and then head east to Salinas, and down 101 freeway to wine tasting in Paso, 2 more hours. Then hop west over Highway 46 to Cambria at the coast, enjoy a snacky-picnic at the beach with local wines from Cambria's Fermentations wine shop, and then drive down the coast towards the SLO area, stopping at Harmony Headlands just south of Harmony , and stay overnight in Morro Bay near Montanya de Oro and Morro Bay St Parks. Plenty of decent casual dining options in MB and Cayucos.
Next morning, catch an early Cajun breakfast at Bon Temps Creole Cafe on San Luis Obsipo's Olive Street (just off Santa Rosa & 101) or at Big Sky Cafe on Broad St. downtown, then head south on 101 stopping in Buellton and/or Solvang area for more wineries and lunch. Have dinner in Santa Barbara at Brophy's on the wharf or Stella Mare's (a bit fancy) stay in SB overnight if you have the time or leave SB for LA (after the local traffic crush is over) at 8 pm. CalTrans and the Calif. Highway Patrol both have excellent traffic alert websites, for your driving safety. check edhat.com for lodging recs from locals.
Santa Maria Barbecue restaurants with a vegetarian in tow?
Janet, the " BBQ Places" have always been transient weekend fundraisers (and these have been curtailed the past few years--weeknds only, along Broadway)or private catered events.
BBQ tri tip isn't well-suited to restaurant serving because it is a roast from which slices are served, much like prime roast of beef. Tri tip is not something that does well being pulled from the grill (it is open pit BBQ rather than Southern-style enclosed & smoked bbq) and held. But the steaks locally are fairly good. Some places may have Hearst Ranch (the closest thing we have to grass-fed around here). As far as Vegetarian fare, perhaps some fo the Asian restos would do? Not thrilling, I know. But most restaurants will serve local seafood, "snapper"(rock cod) line-caught Black Cod, Channel Island tiger shrimp, etc.
The "major restaurants" in SM are the more traditional dinner houses like Shaw's and Santa Maria Inn. That said, probably the best places to get open pit grilled beef on the Central Coast would be Jocko's in Nipomo (10 minutes and long table waits), or Rancho Nipomo (8 minutes), Far Western Tavern in Guadalupe (10 minutes) , or the Hitching Post in either Casmalia (35 minutes) or in Buellton(35 minutes).
No sneering around here, we don't have snooty waiters in general, order what you'd like and I think most places would be happy to oblidge. Bear in mind this is not a sophisticated city dining atmosphere.
Other dining rec's for SM, as the pickins are slim:
Atari Ya in the Stowell Center off Battles--best Japanese food in town. No showboating here--congenial and restrained service, will serve sushi rolls sans mayo if requested. Full tradtional menu. Rec the Black Cod special, and the Salmon cheeks.
Chef Rick's is closed, as he has gone to work at the Far Western as exec chef, preparing for its move to nearby Orcutt this spring. Trattoria Uveltto in Orcutt ( 10 minutes) is updated classic Italian with a good local wine list.
In the Santa Maria Town Mall there is a nice cafe, the Cental City Market, open for lunch till mid-evening. Highly trained chef, so you'll find some menu items with a Euro flair. Some picnic supplies and frozen versions of their popular deli menu items, plus local wines and olive oils.
Mexican food in the sit down & tablecloth restaurants is pretty miserable--very Americanized, salty, cheesy and gooey at best. The authentic stuff is from the loncheria trucks and at the various Mexican groceries around town--almost all have a small DeliMex which are all good. My fav is the tiny La Mesa at Blosser and W Main, and La Mia at N. Broadway and Grant near CVS. Excellent simple deli foods. order, and pay at the checkstands, then pick up to go. A couple of decent plastic table Mexican restaurants are La Unica at S Broadway and McCoy Center, near Starbuck's, and Panaderia Carmelita inthe Big Lots/Penny's center at Broadway & Stowell. Maybe you can find some of your own to post about! My favorite lunch truck is Tichita's, parked on East Betteravia about 1 mile east of 101. (on the road to the wineries along the Santa maria River). Senora Rosa a su servicio.
Not very many picnic spots IN SM, two best city public parks are Presker at north end of Broadway and Waller Park at the other (south) end of Broadway. The prettiest rural picnic spots are out south of Orcutt along the back road to Los Alamos (shoulder of the road). There is also a pretty little park tucked into the canyon behind Los Alamos--something out of the 40's.
In Los Alamos, ( 10 minutes south) you'll find Bell Street Farms, a Wine Country Picnic outfitter. Good stuff! Also, Full of Life Flatbread serves pizza, salads, etc Fri Sat and Sun nites only. Great old bar in front. Fills early, try the early bird if you can make it.
Buellton has a brew pub and a great wine tasting bar just off the freeway, east frontage road. There is an active post about it right now. Melanie Wong wrote a note about Lompoc area wine producers from a trip last spring. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/815913
If you can swing it, try to make time for a trip out to Jalama Beach outside of Lompoc. Gorgeous rural drive over unbroken ranchlands to the coast (about 35 minutes from Lompoc) with a scrumptious Jalama Burger & beer waiting for you at the beach shack inside the tiny beach park.
About 25 minutes north is Pismo Beach with two or three good restaurants, The Lido, Gardens at Sycamore, etc.
That's all I can think about now, let me know if I can help (I live near Jocko's) with anything. Of course, you'll be close enough to SLO and environs (40 minutes) to catch the Thurs nite Farmer's Market, the beach at Avila, and Edna Valley and Paso Robles wine tasting, etc. Grab some picnic supplies and the binocs for a stroll over Osos Flaco Lake boardwalk to the world-famous Pismo Dunes complex and dibble your piggies in the Pacific. (vistior's center in downtown Guadalupe).
