FullPalate's Profile
What Are Your Irrefutable Food Rules? [moved from Not About Food]
bug me too, it's poor manners to rain on someone's parade :P
Recipe Etiquette when Sharing
This is such a hilarious problem, but I feel terrible for people struggling with a friend that blames their bad cooking on a close friend's advice. Of course it's instinct, but children should be corrected when they avoid taking responsibility for their mistakes... apparently, they may never grow up.
Unfortunate foreign food names or brands
The chemical make-up is exactly the same as sweat..?
Right.
Strange fruit?
Yes, that is the case :p
Its a cactus-fruit and it has a decent yield. It should probably be cheaper but the shipping/ low demand makes it expensive to sell outside of asia.
In response to the thread, I really enjoyed picking apart a pomegranate in the yard when I was a kid. This should be done in clothes you don't fear staining....or as I experienced, in swim trunks on the grass.
Interesting accidental discovery story: Onion Marmalade
I finally got around to trying the recipe - it was excellent! I've tried adding some sturdy herbs to infuse different flavors and made an orange variation with apricot jam and white wine/ vinegar.
I am a believer. This is goes between the pickled jalapenos and the mustard on my refrigerator door.
The Hardest Things to Cook Thread
Rich Indian curries traditionally get their texture from ground nuts used as thickeners. Cashews work quite well, but peanuts are a good choice and I've used all sorts of nuts(brazil, macadamia, chironji). I drop half a dozen nuts into the coffee grinder and add them to my curries to produce a nice texture.
Curry powders can make delicious dishes and the first two sentences of the method below can be substituted by a nice madras curry powder. However, if you make your curries with whole spices, you will have more control over their final color and fill your house with some very nice aromas.
Break a 2-inch cinnamon stick into a few pieces and drop it into 2 tablespoons of heated oil. Add 3 cloves, 4 cardamom pods, a bay leaf broken in half, a piece of mace, and 1tsp cumin seeds. When the seeds sizzle, add 1 whole chopped onion with some salt and saute it until browned. Ginger and garlic should be added to the curry in whatever proportions you like, I add 2 tbl spoons of each ground and cook with the onion. Add a teaspoon of turmeric, tsp powdered cumin and bright red chili powder to taste, then mix in 2tsp finely ground nuts. An optional chopped tomato for richness, and some water to help it reduce.. mine usually takes about 15 minutes stirring occasionally at a higher heat. When the oil separates, add the beef/lamb and cook it through. Stir in 1/4 cup(or more!) of cream or coconut milk, salt to taste and finish with Corriander leaves.
If you want a yellower curry, add minced green chillies(jalapeno/serrano) instead of chilli powder and avoid the tomato. If you want the oil to separate out and finish your curry faster, add pre-cooked tomato sauce - I make a batch of sauce and use it throughout the week in curries and other things.
11 Mustards In My Fridge and I'm Still Reaching for the Plochmans
I'm going to grab some Kosciusco to compare it to Plochman's. I most often use Maille dijon for its high pitch heat. I have precious little space in the fridge for condiments so I mix Maille with brown sugar for "Honey dijon" and sometimes add some soaked/cracked red mustard seeds to get the grainy texture.
Fermented Black Garlic Storage
Living in a cooler, milder climate here. I left a bulb on my counter for a couple months and it still tasted just fine.
Sins in the Kitchen
Defrosting meat by letting it hang around makes me think twice about eating, but not as much as half-cooked edges on lukewarm meat caused by microwave defrosters.
I know this sounds too picky, but I can't handle more than one chef at a time in my kitchen. I'm stuck with two working burners on an electric range, there just isn't any heat in the tiny apartment kitchen to share. But I do take turns!
Sins in the Kitchen
Robin made a heartwarming post about spending time with loved ones. Expanding on the struggle of her family member and calling her insensitive was indeed combative* and entirely inappropriate. It was probably not necessary for her - or polite for you - to draw any detail of her sister's condition in a topic dedicated to kitchen pet peeves.
Processed Foods, What I eat & why. Jamie's Food Revolution has me thinking. What , if any do you eat & why?
The point of labeling some food "processed" is that it identifies the presence of edible food-like substances. Things that were not eaten by human beings at all before the 1930s are now showing up on our shelves. These items have not undergone the same scrutiny, the severe trial and error that all foods were given over time in past societies. Frequently these items contain wholly synthetic material that remains undigested in the body, these are clear divisions between old and new. That is why, though there might not be a "perfect standard", there is certainly a standard by which Americans did not become diabetics at age 13 and die of obesity before 50. There are also standards of eating that stretch the limits of how good we feel in our bodies and how much time we can enjoy life on this planet.
What is American cuisine?
Good approach. The reason asking about American Cuisine is such an undertaking is that its asking what an American family looks like. Answers are just as varied, interesting, insightful, and incomplete.
The truth is that I grew up in a household with a pretty decent food obsession, so this is one of the more varied entries. Neither of my parents were in any professional food industry, just wedged fortunately between some of the world's most productive farmland and some exceptional fishing water on coastal California. Most of the food my family ate was common in other homes as well, and friends had similar tastes in restaurant food. However, a slow trend towards processed frozen meals for dinner in many households was quietly ignored by my household, and recent visits to the homes of childhood friends is generally a sobering reminder that home-cooking is now considered a specialty skill even to their parents.
The American cuisine of my home(mom's kitchen mainly) was oven oven-baked chicken - the breast, pasta and tomato sauce, chili and cornbread, split-pea soup, swedish meatballs, oso buco, sourdough bread, moussaca, lamb chops, grilled flank steak, abalone, salmon, shrimp in pasta, crab on its own, enchiladas, chile verde, salsa, canned tuna sandwich, dill pickles, baby back ribs, pork roast, eggs benedict, bacon and eggs with wheat, sour, or 'english muffin' toast, yogurt, orange juice, milk was for coffee - not to drink, for adults wine and water, vodka for my father. We usually had friends and family over for dinner, so food outside the home was at restaurants: Chinese, Hamburgers and French Fries, Japanese, Deli, Pizza, Mexican, Thai, and Italian(not US pizza) in that order. The groceries were bought from a local grocery/butcher about three times a week in my mother's home, and the restaurants were generally in San Francisco.
The cuisine I cook at home is less well planned so I go to the store nearly every day..a food co-op in a smaller town east of San Francisco. I cook roasted chicken, beef stew, carnitas, beans & rice, pasta & tomato sauce, curry & naan, jigae & banchan, kofta, kebab, grilled burgers and skirt steak, dill pickles, pork ribs, lasagna, dal & rice for breakfast, yogurt, fruit pies and bread puddings. water, sparkling water, coffee, beer, wine and sparkling apple juice to drink. Restaurants are once every week or two and generally Mexican, Hamburgers, Mid-eastern or US Breakfast(scrambles, benedict, potatoes, OJ) is involved. For accuracy, things I don't do that I notice most of my friends enjoy on a regular basis are sandwiches, fast food, in-store(mall "food plazas" and "dining courts") and frozen prepared meals.
Interesting accidental discovery story: Onion Marmalade
I haven't tried it, but this really sounds like an amazing condiment. I would very much appreciate a recipe for your onion marmalade takadi, I have nowhere to find this item locally.
Worms in my cod
Visible worms will only gross you out, they will not cause an infection because they don't stand even a slim chance of surviving through your digestive track. Sam makes reference to Fish Tapeworm above, but this critter "hatches" from cysts in the fish tissue that are generally undetectable with your naked eye.
Visible worms, are gross as they are, will only contribute to protein.
You don't like that?!
What an informative topic, it's remarkable that so many people find their food disagreeable.
I'm thankful I don't share this condition. Save for high standards in preparation and the occasional fear of bacterial contamination, I can't imagine any foods worth avoiding. Products like cheezewhiz, McDonald's, Twinkies, and Ranch Pringles are among the items passed off as "food" that I find completely inedible, but I would doubt anyone is fooled by such an obvious misnomer.
Does dim sum just suck in San Fran?
I skimmed the topic to see how your trip to the Hong Kong Lounge went, but could not find what you thought of it. Maybe I missed your review of the restaurant, but I would like to know what time you went and what you ordered if it disappointed you.
My weekend morning visits to this restaurant have yielded unmistakably fresh dishes. The fried and shrimp-stuffed eggplant has been crispy and hot, the flavorful meatballs steamed rare and absolutely tender when served, and the skins of the dumplings always had an excellent consistency - never gummy or mushy.
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Hong Kong Lounge
5322 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94121
where to get Indian ingredients in San Francisco
I know just how old this topic is, but it is still rather relevant to me. A store opened in San Francisco at the end of 2009 that satisfies all my needs.
Jai Ho Indian Grocery
1462 Fillmore St
415-567-1070
located in the Safeway parking lot, it is a small store with an excellent selection of fresh packed Indian goods and ingredients. I just returned from a trip with Fresh Curry Leaves, Black Cumin, Nigella, Amchur, and dried Methi leaves. They have a well-organized, clean store with very friendly and helpful management.
Help! Too many ripe avocados! Need recipes fast!
I must admit your diet sounds unappealing.
What can I do with this bag of Juniper Berries, besides garnishing G&T's?
Does "Scandinavian food is lousy with juniper berries" imply the cuisine makes use of them in a many dishes, or is it a recommendation to avoid it entirely?
I put a couple of them in my pumpkin pie spice mix, just a half a gram.
your fave baked fish recipe
The local market often has golden or rainbow trout in the fish section here and I have a simple standard preparation for it. I'll clean it and season it inside and out with salt and pepper, then fill its cavity with thinly sliced shallot, garlic, and sprigs of thyme. I put this in a cast iron skillet with a good cup of white wine and bake it covered at 275-350 until the flesh can be gently lifted from the bones. I vary this with sliced lemon or tarragon in the cavity or uncover it and turn up the heat to crisp the skin on one side.
How Do You Top Your Steak?
Fresh mushrooms are the best when I can get them, well-seared with plenty of butter. Bernaise, a compound butter. or aioli if I made steak and potatoes.
What is one tip that you learned about cooking that was simple but made a huge difference? [old]
Regardless of its authenticity or popularity, I have seen fresh thyme as the herb for simple tomato sauces in many recipes. I make my sauce with marjoram, though I do remember Batali once commenting that oregano was a "pizza man's herb".
Simple Soups?
and sad :)
I need a soup to be filling. This one is fast as well:
saute:
2 T Olive Oil
1 medium Onion - rough chopped
1 large Sweet (Bell) Pepper
2 cloves of Garlic - smashed
1 Jalapeno -diced
Ground Chili
When aromatic and soft, add:
6 cups Chicken Stock
1 can Tomatoes
1 can drained Pinto/Black Beans
and cook through, 1/4 cup diced Cilantro, salt and serve. Sometimes I add frozen corn or break up tortilla chips, or drop in some sour cream before serving.
What to do with dehydrated mushroom mix- including shiitakes?
This and this. Keep powdered mushrooms to put in any stew or soup for amazing rounded flavor. People who don't enjoy mushrooms will enjoy their savory flavor without their obvious presence.
Why do restaurants do this when you're trying to book for large parties?
Regardless of the feasibility of your proposal, a poor attitude from an establishment should be duly noted. No customer should be treated as if they should simply "know better", be happy to walk off and let the disgruntled staff drive its establishment into the ground. I don't care if its a "really difficult" request, MANNERS still matter, and you held up your end of the bargain.
ever wish you could lower your food standards?
Rice Vinegar = Rice Wine Vinegar. Some Chinese varieties are darker and sweeter than the pale/clear thin kinds in the United States, if you have a dark rice vinegar it may not apply well.
If you plan on making Korean BBQ try adding some puree of asian pear to your marinades for traditional sweetness.
ever wish you could lower your food standards?
Lower my standards? Not even for a moment.
Industrial food's standards are based on production speed, shelf-life, transportability, retail profit margins... My standards are based on taste. It is my opinion that the absence of quality ingredients, 'food' does not exist. By this standard it is unfortunate to find chain restaurants and supermarkets stuffed to bursting with False-food items.
The price we pay for our knowledge of Germ Theory is a constant defense against infestation; we all use a refrigerator and attempt to store our animal products properly, do we not? Perhaps this is too bothersome. Perhaps we would be better off not knowing in the first place...? No, I think you'll agree this vigilance is not uncalled for, and is not without its merit. Many of us quite directly owe our lives to this notion.
The defense against Industrial Food is of the same nature; refusing to support Fake Food in bad restaurants or purchase it from supermarkets is the price one pays for an enriched (and probably Longer) life.
Besides, if we're already on the subject of wish-thinking, I would just as soon raise the standards of everyone else ;)
What is one tip that you learned about cooking that was simple but made a huge difference? [old]
Steal the secrets of the grandmothers of all nations.
