improvcook's Profile
What fish to substitute for pike in quenelles?
Thanks. Maybe I'll try Dover sole. I agree that it should be a mild-flavored fish. I tried cod once and don't recommend it. The quenelles hang together, all right (which was my concern with sole), but cod just tastes too strong. I prefer a beurre blanc as a sauce, but that's just a preference, and there are many good ways to serve this dish.
What fish to substitute for pike in quenelles?
Thanks for your suggestion. Are we talking Dover sole, petrale, or another type? Julia Child wrote that gray sole works, but I'm on the Pacific Coast, and you can't get that here.
What fish to substitute for pike in quenelles?
Fish dealers in my city don't sell pike (and if they did, the fish might be environmentally unsafe anyway). What can I substitute if I want to make quenelles?
Would mahi-mahi work? I've tried salmon and can't stand the result. I could try sole, but it would probably fall apart. Any ideas?
Thanks.
Soft-Serve Ice Cream Maker
Thanks very much. You just saved me a hundred bucks and a pile of disappointment.
Soft-Serve Ice Cream Maker
Saw one on sale, a Cuisinart, on the Sur la Table's website for $100. Has anybody ever used this?
Or would it make more sense to use the perfectly good ice cream maker I have, a Krups, and simply spin it for half the time? But if I did that, wouldn't I have to alter the recipe, because wouldn't I get half-frozen ice cream instead of creamy soft-serve?
Something low-key near Town Hall
I'll be attending a lecture at Town Hall and want to know where I can have a quick dinner beforehand. Just about any cuisine will do, so long as the place isn't expensive or pretentious, and I'd like it to be within reasonable walking distance of Town Hall (1119 8th Ave) so that I only have to park once.
Thanks for your advice.
Indosesian Restaurant in Seattle
I've been to Indo Cafe, 543 NE Northgate Way, several times. The service can be slow, but the food is excellent. I'm no expert, but I suspect it's authentic.
If you don't live near there and aren't keen on traveling that far, don't succumb to temptation and go to Julia's Indonesian Cafe on NE 65th. I've been there once and have no plan to go back--bland food, served cold, and so haphazardly that my wife and son got their food a good half-hour before I got mine.
Coppola Black Label Claret
I thought the 2004 would last about four or five years in the bottle, and I have another in the cellar, so I may leave it there a while. If the 2005 has more tannic than the 2004, that might add a year or two, so the 2011 estimate makes sense to me. BTW, if the Safeway in your neighborhood is like mine, they're selling the 2005 for $13.50 if you buy six or more--definitely a bargain over the $18-$20 the Coppola usually goes for.
Coppola Black Label Claret
I've tasted the 2004 and loved it, and now I see the 2005 is on sale for a good price. I'm wondering, though, how long it'll stay in the bottle. Any thoughts on that, and has anyone tasted both vintages? Thanks.
Good food in Leavenworth?
Was in Leavenworth a week ago and ate at South. It's absolutely terrific, maybe the best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to. Not your classic cooking--more cooking-school Mexican--but the preparations were thoughtful, the ingredients fresh, the combinations interesting.
Greek in Seattle
I've never tried Georgia's, but I used to like Panos until I found out that if you order the wrong things, the food can be awful. I think the mezes are better at Olive You, and the main dishes better at Yanni's, also on Greenwood, not far from Olive You. Beware the service at Yanni's, though, which can be slow. The portions are immense. I particularly liked the chicken souvlaki and the butter beans in tomato sauce.
Steaks in Seattle that won't break the bank
My fourteen-year-old wants a steak for his birthday dinner, and I don't want my parents to have to break the bank to dine with him. Any suggestions on a good restaurant?
Looking for best inexpensive Indian food in Seattle
Interesting what you say about the tip. I left a very small one, having debated with myself whether to leave one at all, thinking that would send a message. From what you say, I realize that was meaningless. . . . I ate at India Bistro once and liked the food, though the portions weren't generous, by any means.
Anyone else starting to do some Passover planning?
I've found what I hope will be the perfect slow-cook recipe--chicken osso bucco. (Several good recipes are available on-line.) You can make it for a crowd, and if it's in the pot longer than you expected, no worries. For dessert, I suggest looking through Alice Medrich's "Bittersweet," which has plenty of flourless recipes, and one of the best--her Bittersweet Deception--has no butterfat and is therefore pareve as well as low-calorie. Not so you'd know, either, it tastes that rich. The recipe actually calls for two tbsp flour, but I once forgot them, and the cake was splendid anyway. I'm fairly certain that you could substitute matzo meal. Sometimes I've made sorbet from the Cook's Illustrated recipe (I have it from the magazine issue of many years ago; don't know whether it's in the cookbook). The recipe calls for vodka, and I use potato vodka so that there's no grain involved. Big hit, and a pleasant way to end a long, large meal.
Looking for best inexpensive Indian food in Seattle
The other night, I went to the Kabab House on 81st and Greenwood and came away full but frustrated. For one thing, the service was dreadful, and this was before 6:00 on a Saturday night. The grim-faced servers didn't bring us our food for a good forty minutes, and when they did, they got the order wrong. No apology, either, though the kitchen did whip up the missing dish in no time. As for the food itself, my chicken kabab was dry; my son's beef kabab was much better. The naan was superb, as was the paratha, strongly spiced and tasty. But the so-called salad was a couple of shards of iceberg lettuce, a single slice of cucumber, and pieces of onion; no dressing.
Was this meal an exception? What Indian restaurants do you prefer that are modestly priced, as this one is?
Has anybody tried this month's 25 for $25 in Seattle?
My wife and I are thinking of trying the 25 for $25 deal at a couple of places that offer it. But reading recent reviews, I've been put off by complaints about several restaurants where either the portions were too small, the servers snotty about bargain hunters, or both. It seems to me that if a restaurant wants to participate in a promotion like this, they should enter into the spirit of it, and most of them have.
Two places that got raves were Ray's Boathouse (where I've always counted on the graciousness ) and Champagne. Wild Ginger didn't fare so well. Your thoughts and experiences?
Added fresh pineapple to coconut cake--fabulous
Yes, blue room, two layers, nine inches. I used fourteen ounces of pineapple, which seemed about right. I cooked them somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes (I was interrupted in the middle, so I can't be sure), until they were so soft I could cut the pieces with the soup spoon I'd stirred them with. When drained and cool, I chopped them up further into tiny pieces (I wouldn't recommend a food processor, here, because you might release more liquid). No, the cake didn't taste of almond, too, that I noticed, though maybe it's underneath. I may have been too timid, with only a half-teaspoon of almond extract. I used no pineapple between the layers, only the cream cheese frosting, which had a hint of pineapple because of the reserved liquid.
Where can I find Mac'n Jack's in Seattle?
I've had Mac'n Jack's African Amber in restaurants and loved it, but I can't find it in stores. Is it sold under a different label? Or am I just not looking in the right place? Thanks.
Would like recommendations on inexpensive Chardonnays
I was wondering whether anyone had found a good Chardonnay for $12 or less that would be worth buying by the case. My taste runs toward the dry and full-bodied, but I like balance; a finish that's too acidic puts me off, and I can't stand wines that are too floral. Thanks for your help.
Added fresh pineapple to coconut cake--fabulous
All the recipes I'd seen for pineapple coconut cake called for pineapple between the layers but not in the cake itself, and I was wondering how that would work. So when my wife unexpectedly brought home a fresh pineapple the other day, I remembered I had leftover coconut milk in the fridge. I pulled out my favorite coconut cake recipe, from Nick Malgieri (I forget which book) and wondered whether I'd have to adjust for extra liquid. I decided I wouldn't, so long as I cooked the pineapple with a little sugar until it was very soft and drained it well. Turns out I was right. I added a small amount of almond extract for good measure, but the rest of the recipe remained the same. I iced the cake with cream cheese frosting borrowed from my favorite carrot cake recipe, and instead of lemon juice, used some of the leftover pineapple cooking liquid. Rave reviews from the family; my younger son, who just turned seven, announced that he wanted this cake for his next birthday.
Hammentaschen recipe?
I've got the opposite problem with hamantaschen. I'd like a dough that's easy to roll out but like a hard cookie when baked, and I've never found it. My wife insists that she grew up with these in Brooklyn.
Classic Coconut Layer Cake
I think I know what rockycat and IdaRed are talking about. A few years back, I clipped from the NY Times a recipe titled Lemon Cake with Coconut Icing. It's a three-layer cake with lemon curd between the layers; the icing is a boiled icing with coconut. I've never made it, in part because I pale at the thought of all those eggs and butter besides the coconut, but I may be faint of heart. I prefer a two-layer cake of Nick Malgieri's, which uses coconut milk and shredded coconut in the batter.
Which brings me to a question. I'd like to do a twist on this cake, adding fresh, cooked pineapple to the batter. Do I need to reduce the liquid? (My choice would be throttling back on the coconut milk.) Allow for extra acid? (How?)
