geryon's Profile
Goose Breast
I inherited about a dozen split, boned goose breasts from my aunt over the holidays. Her old boss hunts regularly and brought her back a dozen birds, halfway butchered and sealed up in ziploc bags. Was never very good at deboning poultry so spent a long time christmas eve up to my elbows in goose, and now I want to know what to do with them. There was no skin on them, sadly, so there will be no goose fat. I know folks often cook them rare and sauce them with something sweet and musky, like port and cherries and such--but was hoping folks might have some thoughts on the matter...
Thanks!
Taco wagon on S. 1st and ummm..Johanna?
No but I'll definitely check them out! What do you recommend?
Galloway Hits The Big Time...
The recent acquisition of a new (used!) Piaggio LT150 has freed me from the confines of campus and is making me salivate in previously unexplored ways. I'm vowing to get to all these places (Angie's, Mike's, the Korean places up on Lamar, Swad, the Riverside taco strip) that I could never squeeze into an hour lunch break.
So after walking out into a still-cool morning, I scooted to Garza high to pick up a friend and then hightailed it to Galloway's. As tempted as I was by the beef enchilada casserole, I was here for meat and two and so received a stunningly elegantly plated dish of greens, red beans, a scoop of rice and a perfectly tanned hunk of a boneless country style pork rib. Oh-and a knob of corn bread.
First, the greens-doused with sport pepper sauce, they were honest; supple, bitter, tasting of green and the pot. The beans, next, were like the best ranch style beans you ever tasted; rich with cumin and chili and pork fat. And then there was the rib. Dry rubbed, a good dark crust that is all I ever want off of smoked meat, a delicate squeeze of barbecue sauce that didn't smother the rib but just accented it. About three bites in, I struck a vein of pork fat that was swoonworthy; everything leapt into balance, the room brightened, doors opened and closed. It was everything scrumptiouschef had promised it would be, and it was all I could do to put myself back on the bike and go back to work.
AND
halfway through the meal, Mr. Galloway himself swung by the table, and in the gentlest voice I've ever heard, asked if everything was allright over here.
Yes, sir. Sir, yes, sir.
Thanks, Austin, thanks, scrumptiouschef, thanks, new scooter, thanks, chowhound, and thank you, Mr. Galloway.
Taco wagon on S. 1st and ummm..Johanna?
It's called El Primo and it's in the parking lot of the Pecan Mart at S. 1st and Live Oak. I wanted to be excited about a taco truck in the neighborhood that wasn't Torchy's but what I've tried has been underwhelming, as scrumptiouschef said.
There are nights, though, when I'd give anything to trade places with the guy in there in the dark, with that old staticky tv.
Natto
The Korean market at Lamar and Airport definitely sells natto--look in the refrigerated section, comes in styrofoam three packs. I got really into it when I was visiting a friend in Japan last year. Enjoy!
Meet me for dinner in Hong Kong?
Hi.
I've been traveling the past five months, around the world, and finally, as of today, have booked a flight home. I fly out of Hong Kong on March 12th, and will be there the evenings of the 9th, 10th, and 11th. I love to eat, and am very excited about the dim sum and Cantonese possibilities in Hong Kong. However, dim sum alone sounds sad at best, humiliating at worst. Is there anyone who would like to show me what the city has to eat? I'd be happy to trade stories, cooking experiences, or gifts from Thailand in exhange.
Thanks!
Dashi simmering?
So after some internet scouring and a handful of test runs, I've got some questions about making basic konbu/katsuobushi dashi. All the recipes I've found have you soak the konbu awhile, bring it just to the boil, then cut the heat and add X amount of bonito flakes. Steeps for a few minutes, then strain and use. Some folks then tell you to make second dashi with the same solids and new water. However, every batch I've made is very delicate/mild, bordering on flavorless. Is there a reason not to simmer the first batch for longer? In Japan, alone, for the holidays and wanting to perfect my miso soup, donburi, kare raisu, etc... Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Where to find Red Bean Paste?
There's a Japanese specialty store called Asahi Imports, I think, on Burnet north of North Loop, and they may have red bean paste. good luck!
Empanadas
i know it's terribly after the fact, but sweetish hill makes some mean, and massive, empanadas.
Where can I find smoked eel?
Making sushi tonight, was going to run by Quality Seafood after work for tuna, but I'm on the hunt for smoked eel. I went to MT last night, searched every aisle, and asked a few of the staff, but no dice. Does anyone know where I might find it here in town?
Thanks!
Jamaican patties
Last time I was home to visit the folks in Houston, I drove across town to pick up a dozen. We had them at every family gathering growing up, and so I crave them like crazy. Next time I go to Houston, I can pick you up a dozen...
Aster's Ethiopian - now open!
I had Ethiopian for the first time in Houston in January, and was waiting with bated breath after I heard Austin was getting an Ethiopian place. After finally checking Aster's out last Friday, however, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, the food was excellent. We split the lamb with berbere spices, tender spicy hunks of lamb with a few mouth and mind melting pieces of fat, and the two vegetable sides. The injera was a little tough, but the dishes themselves were spectacular--well spiced, hot, playing off each other with each bite. The injera was a little dried out and chewy, and not as tender and spongey as I've had it before.
My disappointment may just be in relation to the spectacular experience we had at Blue Nile in Houston, where the food was just as good and we got way more of it, plus unlimited injera. We couldn't have gotten by at Aster's without another order of injera, and even then we could have used another piece. I'm glad Austin's got Aster's, and I will go back, but only when I can't make the drive to Houston...
Buttermilk peach cake. Am I crazy?
I've got this notion all the sudden that I could make a mean skillet cake with buttermilk and peaches. Kinda like a yellow peach upside down cake. Am I delusional? Do the buttermilk+fruit combination sound familiar to anyone else?
DOP tomatoes in Austin?
Since this posting, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for San Marzanos, and apparently Austin heard the call in the past few months. Central Market on N. Lamar carries them now, and Spec's (at Airport and 290) has several to choose from. I've seen them, but not consistently, at Fiesta and Phoenicia. All were under $4.00. WOOHOO!
BTW, Spec's has about the best selection of import groceries I've seen in town...
Venison Tenderloin
I've inherited a frozen venison tenderloin and am excited about it, but not sure what best to do with it. I tried Mark Bittman's twice cooked pork tenderloin that was in the Times a few weeks ago, and it was great. Seared the whole thing, then sliced it into medallions and seared both sides, and then a cider/rosemary/cream pan sauce. Could I get away with doing the same with the tenderloin? If so, are there any flavor affinities that folks recommend? I was thinking a port/cherry pan pan sauce might be good...
(AUS) Anyone tried Sazon?
Oh, my god. I read the review, was intrigued, went to check it out a few weeks ago. The food, when it finally arrived, was fine. The service, however, was wretched. No rudeness or grouchiness, but just complete disregard for everything. Beers took forever to come, waters never refilled, and food came far too long after ordering. When the waiter came to check on us, he didn't wait long enough to hear the response to "Y'all doing all right?". It was a Friday night, but the restaurant wasn't full. It might be good for lunch, or on a slow night, but bring something to read...
andouille and tasso in austin
does anyone have recommendations about where to get good andouille or tasso or other cajun goods in austin? i know you can get some of this at central market, but i'm hoping there's a place like burt's meat market in houston somewhere in town...
thanks!
Sawadee on Manchaca in Austin
I want to like Sawadee, but it just doesn't measure up to other Thai places in town. The last time I was there, I found myself needing to seriously salt my curry-it was full of spices, but just didn't have any flavor. The owners are sweet, the building is kind a cool ramshackle old trailer of a thing, and it's the only Thai place I've found in that area, but it leaves a lot to be desired. It may have just been an off night for me, or for them, but I don't plan to go back...
road food! white sands/carlsbad caverns/alamogordo
We're taking a roadtrip next week from Austin out to White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns, and were wondering where to eat on the way. We eat everything, but are most excited about chili, green and red, and anything else New Mexican. Any suggestions for road food?
Lahey's No Knead Bread - Technique help for novice baker
The Times allows access, briefly, to recent articles and media, so you're in luck:
http://video.on.nytimes.com/ifr_main.jsp?nsid=a-6c63a127:10ef2f6388a:-6dfe&st=1163717767730&mp=FLV&cpf=false&fvn=8&fr=050306_095009_74521388x10afa234fabx13bc&rdm=299449.76665985293
crustless quiche
I think a crustless quiche is basically a fritatta, no? You could try searching for fritatta recipes. My mom has been making something similar lately, in muffin tins. Try making the basic egg/milk (or cream) base for a quiche, throwing your favorite things in the muffin tin (mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, bacon, cheese), and pouring some of the base over.
[AUS] Just moved down South and feeling food despair.
It's nothing spectacular, but Hunan, at Manchaca and William Cannon, has some pretty good but standard Chinese. Don't get your hopes up too high, but do try the combination moo shu.
The Michoacana supermarket in the shopping center at S. First and Stassney has a great lunch counter, and would be good for take out.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Krispy Kreme. Despite scepticism over chain donut places, each time I go there, and it's rarely, I feel like I remember what a donut is. They melt in your mouth. The gods on Olympus would have eaten them.
can someone tell me why my garlic turned blue when i made shrimp scampi?
was it an aluminum pan?
i think that may be the culprit.
Austin - Hoover's and Threadgill's - still good?
i gave up on threadgill's about a year ago, when I ordered the broccoli rice casserole as a side and got steamed broccoli and some rice with queso slathered over it. i work from the assumption that almost anything deep fried is good, so it's not that threadgill's makes bad food, per se, but it's uninspired. and i think of it as mostly a tourist trap, a restaurant version of the live music capital of the world.
i like the food at hoover's better, but i think it's overpriced.
gene's has a special place in my heart, and is definitely worth a trip. figure out what the special is before you go.
still haven't made it to the stallion, but i have high hopes.
Austin - University Area
my first real experience with thai food was at madam mam's, and so they set the bar, though i recognize that there are flaws. yimay-where else in town do you like for thai?
burgertex makes a mean burger. i second milto's; their small greek salad is the best deal around.
al pastor without a rotisserie?
does anyone have suggestions for making pork al pastor without a rotisserie? if i were just to do a pork roast with the requisite spices (chilies, pineapple, onion, garlic), would it just turn out as a sort of mexican pulled pork? i've seen recipes that have you stir fry it, too...
thanks!
Pot Roast in Austin
I'm not a big fan of Katz's, but they make a mean Yankee pot roast--tender, and swimming in brown gravy. If you haven't had their creamed spinach, and like things fatty, buttery, and cheesy, get that as a side with a potato pancake.
