We Artsies thought what you did was completely irrelevant. Now look at me.
I was cruising a market aisle the other day, weighing the merits of sauvignon blanc vinegar and riesling vinegar, (still not many fruit vinegars...) when I was struck by my sincerity in wanting to attend a good vinegar tasting session.
I am just happy with a whiff of musk, a dash of zest, a hint of bouquet. I am truly hopeful for the coming Global Age, and for some serious tapas.
As it stands, there are only a handful of true fine dining category restaurants in the area. Among these, my current favorites are The French Laundry, Fifth Floor, Gary Danko, Coi, Michael Mina. I'll include mom's favorite Fleur de Lys, and my sister's favorite La Folie.
I cannot include Boulevard ("fine dining" place without fine food), Chez Panisse (food has become boring, and no fine dining attitude), Scott Howard (excellent food, perhaps slightly informal), Ame (savory food and elegant decor, yet it is somehow not all that fine, yet).
The hickory smoke did cast a spell, though - I found the rest of the dinner bewitchingly palatable.
My wine choice : Chateau Prieure Lichine, Margaux
-chocolate vs. fake chocolate made with vegetable fat and no cocoa butter
-crab meat vs. pollock surimi, a.k.a. imitation crab meat
-cheese vs. low-protein imitation cheese slices
-ice cream made with real cream vs. ice cream made with hydrogenated vegetable oil
-sugar vs. sugar substitute
-fruit juice vs. fruit juice substitute
-wasabi vs. horseradish with green food coloring, a.k.a. the green glop you find in most Japanese restaurants
-naturally fermented or brewed soy sauce vs. synthetic soy sauce made with acid hydrolysis method, possibly carcinogenic (*note to Muslims - synthetic soy sauce is halal, but natural soy sauce may be haram due to minimal alcohol content, or at least mushbooh.)
Well, not having tasted this fish (knowingly), I can't say for sure, but I tend to find fish high in omega-3 generally tastier than the rest. Are you kidding? Otoro, tuna's fatty belly, laden with omega-3, is just about the most delicious thing anywhere, and fatty salmon! Even the fishy mackerel can be good grilled.
The fragrance, crispness or juiciness of this novelty fruit, however, does not measure up to the good old nashi varieties of pear, a familiar sight in most stores.
Update (Dec. 18, 2006)
Check out Harold McGee's detailed blog.
Almond flour, or almond meal, should be used like flour in your main course or side dishes.
Fleur de Sel restaurant in New York serves almond flour crusted soft shell crab meuniere. Fish is always good rolled in almond flour and fried in butter, served with lemon juice and chopped parsley. Almond crusted calamari makes a good appetizer. Alfredo of Rome in New York serves zucchini rolled with ricotta cheese, raisins, almond flour.
Added bonus - just ask low-carb nuts about almond's health benefits.
Bought a packet today at Trader Joe's. Going to try it on trout tonight, perhaps with forbidden rice risotto.
At the cheap Chinese restaurant we frequent in downtown Oakland, they speak minimal English, and it is always packed. They do manage to explain, for instance, "chicken, wif ginseng". It comes in a tall individual cup, and the aroma released when you tear the paper seal is a delight.
Recently we asked what the special soup of the day was. "Um, don't know how to say it." "Meat or Vegetable?" "Meat." "Pork? Beef? Lamb?" "no, no, no..." This is a moment to reflect on the narrow range of choices we normally face. How did pigs and cows and sheep get to be the center of all this unwelcome attention? "Veal? Venison?" "??" "Chicken? Duck? Fish?" got a firm "No." Frog, rabbit, I was already running out of options.
Well, I had to know what it was.
"Long tail." Okay, let's play 20 questions. More like Charades. "Big teeth." (Horse?) "It lives in water." (Water snake?)" "Scary. Big mouth. Long face. Tail kill people."
"Crocodile???" "Yes!"
Bring it on. I'd rather eat cold-blooded reptiles and not think about warm cuddly piglets, calves and baby lambs. I know they sell alligator meat in the U.S. and crocodile meat is imported from places like Australia. In any case, it is fine-tasting meat, especially the tail, and don't let anyone tell you it tastes like chicken.
???
1) People in this neighborhood wouldn't think of taking someone else's fruit, even when it belongs to the city, or
2) Many people must still be oblivious to this one of the tastiest fruits on this planet, or
3) People are very knowledgeable indeed - they know this is hachiya, on the left, a pointy shaped, soft-ripening persimmon, which can be extremely bitter when not completely ripe.
...as opposed to flat-shaped fuyu, on the right, which ripens firm, and almost always tasty.
It tasted, I have to admit, at least as good as one of its three individual parts.
The thought did cross my mind - that I should try to make it myself this Thanksgiving.
However... I don't feel ambitious enough even for a turduck or turken. Turgoose might be another story? Nah.
Vacation last week with parents in the Yuba River region (Tahoe National Forest) now reminds me of an ingredient that is soy's equivalent of milk skin. It is, of course, yuba, a.k.a. tofu skin. The protein-rich yuba is a clever substitute for pasta. And so tasty.
Coi in San Francisco does a pappardelle version with chanterelles, coconut milk and kaffir lime, their best dish.
Try making yuba lasagna, yuba and cheese, yuba primavera.
The highlight of the meal was playing with a plate of orecchiette, expertly prepared by an imaginary Italian grandmother.
Its entry, a wallful of apples, was intensely fragrant. Lovely interior.
What made the biggest impression? Soy gelee cubes only slightly bigger than the size of pin-heads. A tuna sashimi dish was sprinkled with these dark, salty miniature jelly cubes. There were white mystery jelly cubes, too. Yuzu cubes?
They dry well when sliced thin, and make excellent Turkish-style fruit tea.
My mom's favorite fruit. Nowhere to be found in California.
Once I did find it in a market (was it Vancouver?) but the shriveled sad fruit didn't measure up to the juicy ones I took for granted in the tropics. So abundant, I could even make mangosteenade.
Update: I found freeze-dried mangosteen. Sadly, a disappointment.
Small fish, small roe - masago.Big fish, big roe - ikura.
The amount of eggs (masago) the tiny fish capelin (shisamo) can hold is astounding. The fish itself is a taste treat when grilled.Salmon, a relative giant, contributes the proportionately large "bubble wrap" roe - ikura.
A decent New York Times article (yes! shichimi togarashi) seemed to dump on the "ah-so" sauce.
It so happens that my #1 party hit - the kind which unfailingly elicits recipe requests- is barbecued char siu shrimp. I am always tempted to exaggerate my effort in making the dish.
Okay, skewering the little guys takes some time. But marinating them - a snap. Char siu sauce, meant mainly for pork, comes bottled or in powder form. You can marinate for a couple of hours or overnight. You may or may not skin the shrimp. Skewer, deliver to the grill, and watch them fly off the platter.
Like a good Kyoto kaiseki dinner (my favorite!), food ought to be simply beautiful, and be appreciated in small quantities.
Even a fake fish roe -tonburi- dish with a quail egg sitting in the middle looks pretty in this setting.
Fun to check out restaurant versions. L.A.'s Water Grill and Opus. New York's Sumile.
Recently I had a delicious cup of chicory milkshake at Coi in San Francisco. Chicory has confused me forever. Here is the simplest explanation of the source of this confusion.
The bunched white leaf vegetable with yellowish border is called endive (or Belgian endive) in America. It is called chicory in England, where radicchio is chicory as well. The green curly leaf salad, also known as frisee, is called endive in England. In America, it is called, what else, chicory. Chicory "coffee" is made from (American) endive roots. I think I got it now. I won't confuse myself right now with escaroles and curly endives...
Bacon and eggs? Bagels with cream cheese and lox. Blueberry pancakes. Cafe au lait and croissants. A hot bowl of congee.
My vote is for Turkish breakfast - olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, yogurt, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, bread with butter, jam, marmalade or honey, tea. Indeed, during the two-week stay, I never got tired of the same old breakfast. I wanted to continue, but how?
There is a runner-up. Points for doability. Extra points for having craved it this morning.
Large, juicy papaya breakfast.
The simplest recipe;
-Cut in half.
-Scrape the seeds off.
-Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt.
-Get a spoon. Dig in!
Despite my disinclination for lists, I will come up with a top ingredient list sometime (ah, sometime), and you can bet ankimo will be up there, along with otoro, perfectly ripe hachiya, 40% fat-content heavy cream.
