CathleenH's Profile
Live Below the Line
I lived in Guatemala for an entire year on the following diet:
Breakfast: black beans and tortillas
Lunch: black beans, tortillas, and a cooked vegetable dish - occasionally a slice of queso fresco
Dinner: black beans, tortillas, and an egg, or the leftover vegetable dish
Not only did I survive, but I got used to it and felt healthy. Chili sauce is essential for the beans. Occasionally making refried beans with onions adds variety. It helped that the tortillas were made with fresh nixtamal. Maseca would at least be better than factory tortillas. For the vegetables, we ate a lot of cabbage and gusquil, aka chayote, which grows there in profusion.
Matzo Ball DISASTER! Please help!
I was wondering if Janie used too little salt. There isn't much to a matza ball, and salt is integral to the flavor. I used the recipe on the back of the Manischewitz matzo meal container, and the proportions were 2 eggs, 1/2 c. meal and a full teaspoon of salt. Your recipe is closer to that proportion than the recipe above.
Janie, if your end product is flavorless, make sure you're adding enough salt!
Wild boar
Broken Arrow Ranch has instructions on their website for cooking a whole leg. They recommend low and slow, but only cooking to an internal temperature of 150.
http://www.brokenarrowranch.com/Recipes/Tips-WholeLegs.htm
Can I save my wok after a grease fire?
Sorry, I don't have an answer to your question -- just a question of my own. Did you heat the wok on a burner, add the oil, and have it instantly flare into a fire? I ask because I'm always afraid this might happen. I heat it gingerly with some water droplets in it, add the oil soon after the water burns off and then try to get the food in immediately....
Fancy Brunch in Northern Suburbs for 60th Birthday Celebration
That's what I was going to say. Prairie Grass should be reasonably child-friendly, too.
Quick Phoenix report
Hello Phoenix Hounds,
Three days gave me a chance to try some of your recommendations. Here’s a quick rundown of my experiences:
1. Gallo Blanco – Good coffee, pleasant if hipsterish atmosphere, and sweet and hardworking waitstaff. The chicken chilaquiles were good, except that the whites of the sunny-side up eggs were not fully cooked, which is something I hate. Anyway, I’d be willing to try Gallo again on my next trip.
2. Tacos Atoyac – I really enjoyed this hole-in-the-wall Oaxacan taqueria in spite of its somewhat scruffy location. Exceptionally friendly atmosphere. The fish tacos and molotes were good, not great. However, the memelita (kind of like a sope) was delicious and I wished I had ordered a couple.
3. Carolina’s North – This was the big disappointment of my trip. I can understand why some Hounds like this place – You grew up eating it, it’s nostalgia, the real taste of Phoenix…But this food is just not prepared with enough love. I got the machaca (shredded beef) burro. There’s a silver lining here – I learned the name of the greatest item of Mexican food I have ever eaten, sold to me by church ladies at a fundraiser in Fort Hancock, Texas. Turns out it was a machaca burro. That burro was the Platonic form, of which the Carolina’s version is but a pale, stringy, sodden shadow. The wet, flavorless filling overwhelmed the homemade flour tortilla, which was what had drawn me there in the first place.
4. El Bravo – I hit El Bravo after Carolina’s for a green corn tamale. It was o.k., but not something I’d make a special trip for.
5. La Condesa – Totally inspiring, the highlight of my trip. Two tacos, shrimp with creamy cilantro sauce and the Sonoran carne asada, set me back $12, but it was money well spent. The carne asada, which included a disk of Oaxacan cheese griddled until brown on one side, flirted with perfection. If La Condesa were in my town, I’d eat there every week.
Thanks for the tips.
What were your last cookbook purchases? Holiday edition! [old]
Purple Citrus ruined my Christmas dinner. I made the veal shanks braised with baharat, and for some reason, it came out with a strange, liquorice-like flavor. Really just awful.
Simple things you can't get right
For you and the others who fear cooking meat -- I used to have the same problem, and like Lady T., I stuck to braises and stews.
The Complete Meat Cookbook by Aidells and Kelly got me out of my rut. It gives really clear instructions about exactly how to cook all the different cuts of meat. I bought the book and a good meat thermometer, and after several months of study and practice, I was able to roast fearlessly and pan sear a mean ribeye. I highly recommend it (with the caveat that their strange method for carnitas was a total flop for me).
Menu for a stove-top Christmas dinner?
Shrimp cocktail.
Pan seared filet mignon or ribeye with a red wine or port pan sauce.
Creamed spinach
Crispy fried potatoes, if she can handle two dishes finishing at once, mashed or smashed if not.
Trifle for a Christmasy dessert. With store-bought cake and homemade custard.
Christmas Day menu. Any suggestions?
The first thing I noticed about your menu is that your appetizers don't go with your spiked cider cocktail. Neither tomato-basil nor remoulade is a good match. I get how the cider goes with the chicken and dumplings and pecan pie. I'd suggest changing the apps. Just about anything with bacon will go well with cider. Country ham...cheddar...I wish I had more concrete suggestions, but maybe someone else can pitch in with a recipe.
Bacon-wrapped dates are nice, but they might actually be too sweet with a cider cocktail.
How Would You Spend a 4 hr Layover at ORD?
Honestly, I think you would be cutting it very close if you tried to get breakfast outside the airport. Public transportation is not a good bet, especially because it runs slowly on Sundays. Even with a cab, you would still be in a rush. The destination dining spots are not close. Security is usually not that bad, but I got stuck in a horrible line a couple of trips ago. It took me well over half an hour to get through.
I suggest heading over to Tortas Frontera, the Rick Bayless restaurant in Terminal 1 (the United terminal). We make a point of eating there every time we fly United. Their tortas are really good, especially the cochinita pibil and garlic shrimp. They also have a bar. I have not tried the airport margaritas, but the margaritas at the Frontera Grill downtown are great.
The website says there is another branch opening in Terminal 3 in "Fall 2011". I don't know whether it's open yet.
http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/tortas.html
http://www.rickbayless.com/news/view?articleID=171
Rabbit....Anyone??
That's what I was thinking. It's a great dish. I haven't tried this recipe, but it looks good:
http://thefrugalcook.blogspot.com/2009/03/lapin-la-moutarde.html
Hanukkah Treats!
Hi Lindsey,
The trouble with Hanukkah foods from a cocktail party perspective is that they are generally deep fried. If you can fry up some latkes on the spot, your guests will love you, but that's pretty labor-intensive for the hostess. Some people may have tips for re-warming latkes, but I haven't had good results.
A smoked fish platter might be a good non-fried but vaguely Jewish option. I like smoked salmon, sturgeon and smoked trout spread with a variety of rye breads. You could also do smoked fish canapes.
If you are just sticking to sweets, then I'll chime in in support of sufganiyot, which are wonderful homemade. The fresher the better, but as long as they're made the same day as the party, they should be better than anything you'd get in a donut shop. I fill mine with a mixture of high-quality raspberry jam and cooked puree of frozen raspberries, which I press through a sieve. Truly the world's best jelly donuts.
If you're not up for deep frying, Marcy Goldman's Chanukah Gelt Double Fudge Chocolate Layer Cake is my favorite chocolate cake ever. You really do need to decorate it with the gold coins to make it Hanukkah themed, though.
http://www.jwi.org/Page.aspx?pid=2305
recipe for shrimp dejong
I made this when it was published and it was excellent, though extremely buttery. It was part of a great article about two classic Chicago dishes - Shrimp deJonghe and Chicken Vesuvio.
Evanston Restaurants
Wilmette? No. Except Walker Brothers, of course. And Homer's Ice Cream is a much-loved institution.
Glenview? No. Except there is a branch of Pita Inn that is much less cramped and chaotic than the Skokie location. If you're in the area at lunchtime, there's a bakery/cafe on Waukegan called Sweet Dreams. It's organic and owned by a central European woman who pulls her own strudel. She also makes a lot of vegan baked goods and some not so great American cakes. Because I so want to love this place, I've taken the time to sample pretty widely to figure out what's actually good. And the answer is spinach ricotta strudel, which is worth stopping for. You can get a tiny piece of it with a bowl of soup for a light and expensive lunch. Because of the organics, the place is really pricey. Some of the European tortes have been good though some are heavy with a lot of dense buttercream. There is usually a sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh berries which is nice.
Such as it is, Evanston is really the dining Mecca of the North Shore, unless you venture as far north as Highwood.
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Homer's Ice Cream
1237 Green Bay Rd, Wilmette, IL 60091
Pita Inn
3910 Dempster St, Skokie, IL 60076
Sweet Dreams
343 E 47th St, Chicago, IL 60653
Evanston Restaurants
I wonder if the mussels were bland because they were steamed in ale, or if it's a problem with the mussels themselves. I just bought some from Whole Foods about a week ago. They were from Canada. I steamed them with white wine and they were bland - both the mussels and the liquor. Small mussels, too.
Bummer about the scallops. My Cellar favorites are the bleu cheese beignets, shrimp & grits and lobster curry.
Inexpensive white to pour at a fundraiser
Luckily, I found some sharp cheddar in the fridge. I opened the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay and tried the wine with it. The folks who voted against Chardonnay with cheese were right in this case. It was pretty awful. The Pine Ridge is not an amazing pairing, but it's far more pleasant so I'm going with it.
Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions.
Inexpensive white to pour at a fundraiser
New information.
I went to the liquor store yesterday. I found the Pine Ridge Chenin/Viogner for just $11 a bottle. I decided I could up my price a bit and bought a bottle to sample. Nice stuff! I figured I'd found my wine.
I just talked to the event organizer who picked up the cheese. And it's going to be a cheddar extravaganza. A bit of gouda, brie, swiss, and then mild cheddar, aged cheddar, very aged cheddar, cranberry cheddar...The lightly floral Pine Ridge seems so wrong.
The internet suggests Sauvignon Blanc with cheddar, but a bottle of Houge I had on hand failed the test. Not offensive, but quite watery.
I've got untried bottles of Columbia Crest Chardonnay (lighty oaked) and Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 (an unoaked white blend) in the fridge. I think my husband will kill me if I open them both. Partially drunk bottles are piling up in there....
If anyone has a last minute vote on which of these three would work, let me know. If the Columbia Crest doesn't work out, I may just get the Pine Ridge and call it a day. Most people will probably choose the moscato, and those who want a better pairing with their cheddar can choose red!
Evanston Restaurants
Maybe the French pastry chef was on vacation last time I dined at Oceanique! It was several years ago, so I'll trust you that my experience was not the norm.
nsxtasy, we've been at odds over Lupita's for a long time. Did I say it was "dreadful"? Make that "beyond dreadful". Maybe Jake123 will be brave enough to try it and post back. Jake, I will vouch that nsxtasy has provided me with much valuable information, but on a few points, we have to agree to disagree. (Union's pizza dreadful!?)
Ahhh, Kabul House. How I loved the old Dempster Street location. I at there at least twice a month. It was my favorite place for honest, home-cooked comfort food. I've only been to the new downtown location once, and was so disappointed I haven't been able to bring myself to return. The food just did not show anything like the same finesse and love that I remember. Did I catch it at an off time, or is it really not what it used to be?
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Oceanique
505 Main St, Evanston, IL 60202
Kabul House
4949 Oakton St, Skokie, IL 60077
Evanston Restaurants
I agree with you. I think Evanston dining is extremely mediocre. It's sad, given the number of restaurants. There are only three I really like: Union Pizzeria, Campagnola and The Cellar, which is the casual sister to The Stained Glass.
Fraiche on Noyes is nice for lunch, but gets really crowded. My husband likes Al's. Kuni's is o.k.
Other non-Evanston suggestions I'll second: Pita Inn, Taboun Grill, Kaufman's Deli (takeout), and Walker Brothers. Yolo and Libertad look promising, but I haven't tried them yet. I do like Wholly Frijoles in Lincolnwood.
I haven't been to some of the high end restaurants in ages - Stained Glass, Chef's Station, Pete Miller's. I had a really nice meal at Oceanique a few years back that ended with the most bizzarely pathetic dessert tray I have ever seen in a fine dining establishment. Unless they have a new pastry chef, plan on not getting dessert.
Restaurants I consider desperately mediocre: That Little Mexican Cafe, Joy Yee's, Dixie Kitchen, Blind Faith, Davis Street Fishmarket (way downhill in the last couple of years), Lulu's, Lucky Platter (o.k. for breakfast), Pine Yard, Dengeo's... Lupita's is dreadful.
On the bright side, with Whole Foods and the great markets of Skokie, especially the wonderful Marketplace on Oakton, we are well set up for grocery shopping. Cook more.
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Lucky Platter
514 Main St, Evanston, IL 60202
Wholly Frijoles
3908 W Touhy Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Blind Faith Cafe
525 Dempster, Evanston, IL 60201
Taboun Grill
8808 Gross Point Rd, Skokie, IL 60077
Oceanique
505 Main St, Evanston, IL 60202
Campagnola
815 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL 60202
The Stained Glass
1735 Benson Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201
Dengeos Restaurant
3301 Main St, Skokie, IL 60076
Pine Yard Restaurant
1033 Davis St, Evanston, IL 60201
Chef's Station
915 Davis Street, Evanston, IL 60201
That Little Mexican Cafe
1010 Church St, Evanston, IL 60201
Pita Inn
3910 Dempster St, Skokie, IL 60076
Union Pizzeria
1245 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL 60202
Joy Yee
1221 W 33rd Pl, Chicago, IL 60608
Davis Street Fishmarket
501 Davis St, Evanston, IL 60201
Libertad
7931 Lincoln Ave, Skokie, IL 60077
Inexpensive white to pour at a fundraiser
I was hoping nobody would ask! I am not sure what it will be. It's being donated and I am not in charge but I am expecting mostly hard or semi hard cheeses like cheddar and gouda, possibly brie, possibly even cheese spreads. No goat cheese. I almost added a note to my original post not to overthink the wine-cheese pairings. The event is not that fancy. I am definitely going to check out the Cupcake and Gallo. And I'll look into some of the others for my personal consumption, but I think that $12-$14 is really too high for this event.
Inexpensive white to pour at a fundraiser
I've been asked to come up with a case of dry white wine to pour at a wine and cheese fundraiser at short notice. Can anyone suggest a wine, maybe an unoaked Chardonnay, in the $6-10 range? Something mass-markety that I'll be likely to find at my local liquor store? It doesn't have to be great -- Just pleasant, inoffensive. There won't be many wine connoisseurs in the crowd. Most people will probably choose the moscato, but we want something dry for those who don't like the sweet stuff.
I tried asking the wine guy at the liquor store. He unhesitatingly recommended Two Oceans South African Chardonnay at a mere $4.99 a bottle. But I found it just not quite good enough -- sour and too oaky. Further suggestions will be appreciated.
Pastry flour in the north suburbs?
No, the class was at the Vancouver Pastry Training Center.
I was very discouraged by this link so I ordered 10 lbs. online from Birkett Mills in New York, which was much cheaper than KA and other brands.
Just after ordering, I went to Whole Foods Evanston South and found a very ambiguously labeled package from Arrowhead Mills. It was labeled "pastry flour" and said that it was suitable for baking cakes and piecrusts, etc...However, running alongside the main label, in a different font and color were the words "whole grain". So it may be yet another variety of whole wheat pastry flour -- There are several brands available. Since I have 10 lbs. on the way, I didn't buy any.
Pastry flour in the north suburbs?
I took a class with an amazing German pastry chef who swears that if we chuck the all-purpose flour and use pastry flour, we will see an immediate improvement in our pastries. I'm willing to try, but I haven't found it at Jewel or Whole Foods. Can I buy this locally?
I am not looking for whole wheat pastry flour, which is readily available.
Geneva - Need Recommendations!
The address:
Restaurant Le Corail Rose
10 Rue Montbrillant at Passage des Alpes
022-733-03-98
Geneva - Need Recommendations!
I was recently in Geneva for a couple of days and it seemed tough -- lots of undistinguished restaurants, and all terrifyingly expensive.
I did have one absolutely fantastic meal, but it might not be what you had in mind. There is a little restaurant called Le Corail Rose just behind the main train station. They only serve one thing -- "gambas a gogo", which I would call camarones a la plancha. You have to love a place that makes only one dish and does a phenomenal job. They just bring you a platter of big, head-on, shell-on shrimp sauteed in garlic and accompanied only by french fries. Indeed, the smell of fried garlic wafts from this place, and permeates the air halfway down the block. We found it just by following the smell to its source. The shrimp were intoxicatingly good, and the dinner was truly among the best I've had this year.
However, such pleasures do not come cheap in Geneva. If I remember correctly, one plate of gambas for two, one beer and one mineral water cost 89 euros. Keep this in mind when they offer to bring you a second platter...
Budapest and Prague Fine Dining
Gundel does require a jacket. That is the only establishment in Budapest I checked.
I am finding that in Budpest's heavily touristed restaurants, the service charge is included about 50% of the time -- It's itemized on the check.
help me identify a tart from a portuguese bakery!
When I read your description ", I immediately thought of cabello de angel, which turns up in pastries throughout Spain. It is candied squash.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabello_de_%C3%A1ngel
Translated from the Spanish on the Wikipedia page:
"The resultant sweet, which consists of thin filaments that are transparent white or lightly golden in color, is used as a filling for pastries and tarts."
However, I wouldn't consider it "mind-blowing". I found it insipid and tried to avoid it.
Favorite restaurants in Vienna?
Sturmi, I have been lurking on this board as I plan my trip to Vienna, and have culled many ideas from your previous posts. Thanks for taking the time to seriously consider this particular question. I'm hanging on your every word!
I would suggest that visitors planning to eat Tafelspitz in Vienna might like to prepare for the experience by reading Joseph Wechsberg's essay "Tafelspitz for the Hofrat", originally published in Gourmet Magazine, and later reprinted in "Blue Trout and Black Truffles - The Peregrinations of an Epicure".
