Remag1234's Profile
Problems with San Marzano tomatoes in sauce
Heirlooms of any variety are the best. The canned San Marzano tomatoes are no better than many of the better than California tomatoes. Almost no one realizes this: San Marzano tomatoes would have to be planted in the whole of Italy, and even then there would not be enough to supply America. Italy and Greece buy olives from Spain to blend with their olives to make olive oil.
Problems with San Marzano tomatoes in sauce
My parents came from Naples in 1920. They called it Ragu or Sugo.
Vincent's Sauce
Corn starch..........ugh! Italians from the old country NEVER used corn starch. My mother came to the US in 1920 and we never had corn starch in the house. Forget the garlic powder too. Real Italian cooking uses garlic cloves.....period.
I agree with many of the others, Tomato paste and more tomato paste.
HELP!! Too much ham!
Simple solution, bring it back to the butcher. Have him cut is in half.
Chinese "Peking sauce", what exactly is it?
WOW, a load of answers, some opinions, some from eating a restaurant. I love Peking Pork Chops, BUT they are similar in different restaurants. Every cook makes it a little different. I live very close to the New Chinatown in Flushing NY. I've search the 'Net for a recipe and IMHO none come close to MY taste. The one I like does not have corn starch and is not gooey. It is a very thin, red sauce. I detect the following flavors, Tomato sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sugar. There are other ingredients that I cannot detect.
BTW, Hoisin is the Official sauce served with Beijing Duck in Beijing in ALL the restaurants. Everyone should know that recipes from foreign countries are never the same when making them elsewhere. Case in point, the food in China is far different than the US. Food is different in various parts of China. Beijing, Shangahi, South, West China are all different. Another example is Pizza, how many bastardized versions are there here in the US?
ISO of the best potato salad
No doubt that there are thousands of recipes. Living in NY the home of the Original German Deli's. I feel the original potato salad brought over from Europe is the best. Sadly almost all of them are gone. The potatoes are boiled, peeled, sliced/chunked and then put in brine overnight. The brine consists of water, vinegar [Heinz only], salt, white pepper and sugar. The next day excess brine is drained and Hellman's mayo is added and topped with grated onion. Salad is then put in fridge for another day for the flavors to meld. NO pickles, capers, olives, liquid smoke or other foreign ingredients. These ingredients are from a 100 year old recipe that came from Germany. No fancy vinegars, home made mayo or fancy potatoes.
Best Sam Gyup Sal in NY (Flushing) - Tong Sam Gyup Gui Restaurant (w/ pics)
Sorry, but Northern Blvd. runs East & West
One more...Cooking w Jazz replacement?
Give up the search for Cooking with Jazz. The place was too small and in the wrong neighborhood. Will he open again is anyone's guess. If he does open it should be in Bayside where prices are astronomical and parking impossible.
Grimaldi's Pizza
Grimaldi's in Douglaston is a no no for my friends and I. 6 of us 1 being in the Pizza business for 35 years and 1 being in the food business for 40 years and 4 who have eaten pizza everywhere all agreed not to patronize Grimaldi's again. We were the first customers there and the pizza's bottom was overcooked and burned. Topping was fine but that's only half of the pizza. Service in fast food places is better. Grimaldi's in Garden City is good but overcrowded but is worth the effort if in the area. It's sad that success breeds a non caring attitude and too many people do not notice. I'd soon go to Pizza Hut than go to Grimaldi's, now that says a lot.
Best Italian Cookbook?
Having watched Battali on TV, I put him to the bottom of the list. Ingredients are difficult for the average Joe/Jane to find as they are only available through wholesalers or HIGH priced specialty stores. IMO, that's not what good cooking is about unless you're a SNOB. My favorite cookbook[s] are from Marcella Hazan, Mary Ann Esposito and David Ruggerio [his books are out of print]. My #1 is D Ruggerio, #2 is MA Esposite, #3 M Hazan. IMO Southern Italian is Italian as I love anything with tomato sauce. Northern Italian is too indicative of French, German, Swiss cooking with the white, brown and pink sauces. Of late the cooking phases of Fusion to me is a bastardization of food, ie. Chinese is mixed with French. Being a purist I want the real thing, no substitutes..
Perfect Team Corporation aka Guang Zhou Jiu Jia
Corner 28 is a favorite takeout. 4 items, soup & bottle of water for $4.50. You just can't beat it the price. The food is excellent. Upstairs has a good view of Main St. but the menu is beyond extensive. Far too many ways to order the same food item. The only complaint I have is the wait. If it's crowded the wait is even longer. The food comes from the kitchen downstairs [they use a dumbwaiter to bring up the food].
Flushing - I can't decide on dim sum?
Miss Needle, Your comments about restaurants LOSING money is completely wrong. First of all, as long as I'm paying for small, medium or large orders what difference does it make if I eat it or bring it home? IT'S PAID FOR BY ME. No lose to the restaurant. I had no objection to paying for the tea, but for the containers YES. The lose will be Tung Yi Fung's as I, my family and friends will not be going there anymore.
Fetid Feta Water
Brine is made with water, salt and buttermilk is optional. How much brine do you people think the feta comes packed in? VERY LITTLE. Store owners make brine with the above ingredients, some use buttermilk and some don't. It's your choice. The only way to get the best taste is when the Feta tin is opened and you get the first piece[s]. When the tin has been opened, Oxidation starts taking place and that alters the flavor. Original brine or newly made brine cannot stop the oxidation effect. If you like salty feta then you make a salty brine, if not the lower salt brine will make the feta less saltier. Simple
Interesting Uses For Won Ton Wrappers
Think CANNOLI. Wonton skins make one of the BEST mini cannoli shells. You will need cannoli tubes. Wrap skin around a tube, seal with water/egg. Deep fry until golden. Fill with cannoli cream or your favorite filling. You can also cut skins into strips/squares and deep fry to add to soups, just like the ones you get at the Chinese takeout.
Best Gyro?
A better place than Gyro Corner or Fontana's [last time at Fontana's, it was a pig sty. Never again. Back to a better place, Try Nikita's Place on Utopia Pkwy and 19th Ave. Whitestone. Good food at good prices.
Flushing - I can't decide on dim sum?
Your reply makes no sense to me. We are not speaking of a Buffet which is all you can eat for a specific price. As you know with DimSum you pay for every dish you order. When I pay for a dish of food, small or large and I choose to take home the leftovers there should be NO CHARGE for the container. Weekdays or weekends has no relevance. My wife [who is Chinese] ordered tea, PLAIN tea and they charged for that. So for a $1.75 container charge they no only lost me but my familly and friends which are numerous [about 65 in number]. There are many other dim sum restaurants that are more than happy serve us.
Best Gyro?
What do you think a Gyro is made of?, it's ground meat or as I called it Mystery Meat. It contains Beef, Pork & Lamb with lots of garlic, oregano and salt.
I have no idea of what proportion of each meat goes into a gyro, but it's not 100% lamb. No one would pay upwards of $15 for a gyro sandwich. Take away the pita and other condiments and you have a Salty piece of overly spiced CHOPPED MEAT. So those of you who call it SPAM are technically RIGHT. Only the spicing makes is different from Spam.
Flushing - I can't decide on dim sum?
HELLOOOOOOOOO, yes I'm shouting. Just REREAD my post. I was referring ONLY to TUNG YI FUNG.
Flushing - I can't decide on dim sum?
Lau, please reread my post. I commented on Tung Yi Fung. Has anyone ever been charged for the food containers or tea???
Flushing - I can't decide on dim sum?
I just got back from Tung Yi Fung and it will be the first and last time. Food is okay, place is extremely noisy. What bothered me most was when we asked for containers to take home the leftovers they charged us for them. The other thing was they charged for tea. We gone to several places for dim sum and never were charged for tea and containers. Their dim sum was no better than any of the others and did not warrant the extra charges. I still like Ocean Jewel the best of all. I will try Jade Asian in hopes it is under new ownership. We ate there last year and it was a place not to go back to.
shanxi or China's Secret vinegar?
NO secret, it's in every store in Flushing and costs $1.29 for a 21.2 oz bottle.
Macao Hot Pot??
NOTHING CLOSE TO IT IN THE US. It may come somewhere close but that's it. You cannot get a Beijing duck anywhere like the one's in Beijing. They are raised and fed differently and are meatier than anywhere else. In addition to that they are cooked at extremely high temperature in about 55 minutes.
Favorite Bensonhurst Italian - restaurant and dessert cafe?
Gino's is dirty and Joe's is a better choice as it's spotless. Great espresso too. Joe's also has panelle sandwiches. Spleen is considered Offal and I wouldn't touch it.
Best pizza in queens??
guttergourmet,
Rosa's on 69th Street [same owners as FreshPond] has one of the best onion pizza's. Their regular pizza is just okay. There really is NO BEST as you say it's subjective. Too many pizza places are not consistent Tortonno's for one. BTW, Tortonno's does not use fresh mozzarella. Fresh is moist and theirs is not. I'm referring to precooked mozzarella. Very few use Grande mozzarella which is in my opinion one of if not the best, but of course it more expensive that the other stuff that's around.
Best pizza in queens??
janie, you must be old to remember Gloria's. They are looong gone. The owners did open another pizza joint called Amore's which was as good. They like all the them started to cut corners and make pure crap. Blended or Imitation mozzarella was used, you needed 5 sheets of paper towels to blot. I stopped going there 15 years ago, but they're still busy because most do not know a good pizza.
Where can I find pure lard?
I just checked prices at Flying Pigs, it should be called Flying GUNS. I can buy everything they sell for a fraction of the cost. Fresh pigs feet/knuckles $1.10lb.
I go to the New Chinatown in Flushing Queens. Amazing prices and terrible parking. Look for private pay parking, muni parking is overcrowded and metermaids are always there.
Mom-in-law in town. Any great Kosher delis still in Brooklyn?
I would say you are mistaken as to J&L being Kosher. They MUST CLOSE on the SABBATH. Hopefully a knowledgeable Kosher member will verify.
Joes of Avenue U or Gino's Focacceria
Joe's of Ave U is the better of the two. Gino's is in desperate need of a re-do. The food is just okay. The octopus/calamari salad was not good due to the calamari being rubbery. At Joe's I ordered octopus only salad and it was good.
Shea Stadium Eats
Hey guy, wake up. When going to Shea or any other stadium you can only expect garbage at caviar prices. They have a captive audience and can serve any kind of crap. Either eat before or after you go or better yet smuggle in a sandwich, then all you do is get screwed when you buy something to drink..
Nice dinner before Shea
Flushing is 5 minutes on the 7 train, 1 stop. Dozens of good Chinese restaurants, Thai, Korean too.
