zoramargolis

Do you have a recipe you'd like to post?

Well, yes and no. My mother was a passable cook, but in the 50's, many of her traditional Russian-Jewish recipes got "modernized" with garlic powder, canned soup, and bottled salad dressing. In some cases, I've eliminated her shortcuts, but there really aren't too many things I currently make that I ate when I was growing up.

Here are a couple:

Koteleten

1- 1 1/4 lbs. ground beef

1 egg

1/3 c. cracker or matzo meal

1/3 c. tomato juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

dash worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp. salt & grind of black pepper

cracker or matzo meal for breading

shallow vegetable oil for frying

Mix meat and egg together, combine tomato juice and cracker meal until it forms a thick paste. Add to meat mixture along with garlic, worcestershire, S&P. Mix until thoroughly combined (I use my hands). Form oval, slightly flattened patties, roll in dry crumbs and fry in shallow oil until browned and cooked through. Serve with spicy ketchup.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Borscht

1 large or 2 medium onions

5 or 6 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 small/ medium head green cabbage

2 stalks of celery (with leaves)

2 carrots

3 or 4 T. olive oil

Nice chunk of stewing beef (shank or chuck), bone-in

Large can of peeled tomatoes

3 or 4 bay leaves

Several stalks fresh thyme and Italian parsley

Salt and pepper

Honey or sugar to taste

Lemon juice, cider vinegar or citric acid to taste

Chop onions, carrots and celery. Brown meat in olive oil in a large, enameled cast iron pot. Remove meat and sweat the mirepoix in the oil, then add garlic. Chop cabbage into medium (spoon-sized) chunks. Add to pot, and saute briefly. Add canned tomatoes (chop them slightly if whole) and return meat to pot. Add enough water to cover everything well, add bay leaves, herbs and s&p. Simmer on stove top or put in oven on low heat for a couple of hours, adding hot water occasionally, as the soup reduces. When the meat is falling apart tender, add sweetening and sour elements gradually to taste, until it suits you. Cook for another half hour or so, to blend all the flavors. Remove the herb stalks.

Serve with a big dollop of sour cream in the bowl, and fresh rye bread and sweet butter on the side.

Corn Pudding

1 (#2) can corn, be sure to drain it

1 (#2) can creamed corn

1/2 cup yellow corn meal

1/4 cup melted bacon grease

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

Mix everything and pour into a greased baking dish. Bake in a medium oven (350 degrees) for 40-45 minutes until browned. Serve with molasses if you like it sweet.

This was always on the table at Thanksgiving. You could use fresh corn, or butter instead of the bacon fat, but if you do, it won't taste like my Grandma's.

Jonathan LOVES corn pudding, and this recipe sounds like just the ticket! I'm not waiting for Thanksgiving to make it--just the next time a mood stabilizer is indicated.

Later on around this time of year Union Meat also have venison from animals one of the guys there shoots himself. Not sure it's legal, but who cares?

There is enough concern being expressed lately about the epidemic of "wasting disease" (similar to mad cow) in the wild deer population in the midwest, that I am about to give up wild venison. so far, there haven't been any documented cases of humans being infected, but mad cow does take ten years before symptoms show up...

Seriously, though, even after all these years I am unclear on the concept of "comfort food." What is the alternative to comfort food? Discomfort food?

Comfort food is familiar, the dishes that Mom and Grandma fed you when you were a child. The opposite would be things that are outside your box, pushing your envelope. It's all culturally determined. I imagine if aloo gobi and murgh makhani were what you were fed as a child, you would consider those your comfort foods, and grilled cheese and Campbell's tomato soup might seem exotic.

Dry-aged bone-in rib steak from WF, spice rubbed and charcoal grilled

(Grilled, spice rubbed portobello mushroom for Veggie-teen)

Broccoli with Meyer lemon olive oil and roasted garlic

Potato-celery root mash with whole grain mustard

Italian plum crisp with vanilla ice cream

2004 Rosenblum Petite Sirah, SF Bay Heritage Clones

Why not turn the "problem" into an opportunity -- use the temporary appetite loss to kick-start a 5 or 10 pound weight-loss goal. One reason it's so hard for me to lose weight, is that I get so f-ing hungry, and when I am, I don't find lettuce with rice vinegar the least bit tempting or satisfying. Years ago, I had an inflammatory condition that resulted in my becoming nauseated any time I tried to eat solid food. I subsisted on chicken broth, yogurt and scrambled eggs for close to a year. I was miserable, needless to say, because I love to cook and eat, but wow did I get thin.

Feed the kids breakfast-for-dinner or Annie's mac-and-cheese, get some Tasty Bite or Trader Joe's Indian entrees or chicken and green chile tamales for Scott, and get by on chicken broth and yogurt for a few days.

3-cheese queso with carne asada steak!

Is that anything like "prime rib with au jus gravy"?

Joe, thanks for NOT thinking twice, and sharing a bottle at the picnic over the weekend. Very good stuff, and very generous of you to share it.

Joe also generously shared a bottle of Dal Forno valpolicella that was jaw-droppingly delicious, and an equally good amarone, the undoubtedly famous name of which I cannot recall. His shrimp remoulade was extraordinarily good, too, and disappeared within moments of being set down on the buffet. Joe is definitely the man to invite to a potluck!

pork porn

As always, if I took a picture that you want me to take down, just PM me. I tried to minimize faces, but there are always some.

Thanks to zora and all the others responsible for making this event happen. What a thoroughly excellent time.

more pig skin, please.

Just so's ya know-- I was only one of a number of people responsible for organizing this excellent event-- crackers was the big Oinc, don't forget. Porcupine organized the chili tasting, and goldenticket, cucas87, Jacques Gastreaux, mdt, Jparrott, RaisaB, NotQuickDraw and AGM, crescentfresh et al involved in the pig roast smackdown all contributed in major ways. Hillvalley advised and inspired. And of course, it would never have been the fun event it was without all the cooks, bakers, shoppers, connoisseurs and schnorrers who showed up to share, eat, drink and mingle.

Lexington NC Style BBQ sauce-Check

Martian Pig Slop from Hell-Check

Smoked Pork Chili*-Check

Caja China-Check

Charcoal-Check

Cigars-Check

Wheat-Check

Rice-Check

Corn-Check

My internet connection has been down for the past 18 hours, so I'm a little behind the 8-ball here. I will be out of town all day tomorrow, so if there are last minute changes, please send a PM to goldenticket.

CU Sunday, everyone!

z

agm and NotQuickDraw: roast pig

alan 7147+1: wine

Barbara: red velvet cake

BBhasin (poss.)

bbq4me+1: lumpia with finadene sauce

Billy deLion: plates; water

Bilrus+1: red ranch chili with pork shoulder

brr+3: cheese; bread; beer

Camille and Beau: Italian chicken salad; brownies; lemon cake

Capital Icebox:

Catherine+1: vegetarian chili

Chica Grace+2: Cuban rice and beans

Cjsadler&txaggie: wine;beer;ice; a dessert

clayrae+1or2: Prosciutto&artichoke schiacciata, guacamole:

Crackers+1: chicken chili with toppings

Crescent Fresh+4: roast pig; paper plates; paper towels;

Cucas87: Spicy roasted sweet potato salad; roasted corn salad+ avocado, wine

Dame Edna: zucchini

DanielK+?: soccer equipment;sodas&gatorade

Demvtr+1: tofu in curried coconut milk; eggplant entree

eating out+1: Oktoberfest beer

Erik Ox+1: water

Escoffier: water; trash bags

ferment everything+2: homemade gouda&mustard;beer

goldenticket+1:

Gubeen: key lime pie; cranberry chutney

Heather+3: drinks

hm212+2: New York style Texas chili; brownies

holdtheline+1:

Iliane+1: thermonuclear beef chili; corn sticks;beer; 2-burner stove; chafing dish

Jacques Gastreaux+3: roast pig; smoked pork butt chili; 2-burner stove;Martian Pig Slop from Hell

Jamie Stachowski: roast pig

Jlock:

JoeH+2: shrimp remoulade

Johnny Rooks: roast pig

JParrott: country ham; green tomato chutney; wines; corkscrew

JPW: slaws; assorted wines

Lackadaisi:

Legant+2: onions, cheese, sour cream, marshmallows

MBK+1: guacamole&salsa

MC Horoscope+1: Sausage and cabbage jambalaya

mdt: roast pig; cornbread; pate

MeMc+1: chow-chow; something to drink

Mktye+1: bacon buns; mystery bread

Monavano+1: country captain chicken; coffee cake with blueberries

Monique DC:

Nadya: Moroccan spiced chicken& couscous

Nutty Buddy: carrot cupcakes

NCPinDC: crudites; apples; s'mores

Pat+1: Noodle-cheese casserole; turkey chili with beans

pidgey+3: red potato salad

Porcupine: chili; steam tables; serving spoons;water; two-burner stoves

RaisaB+5: pig roaster; four kinds of cookies

Rissa P: corn bread 3 ways; cantaloupe drink

rvanrens+2: beef skewers

Scott Johnston: collards; deviled eggs; cigars;sauces for pork

ScotteeM: green bean salad

Skysplitter: pies; film crew&camera

Spiral Stairs +1: cinnamon-poached pineapple

Starfish: assorted booze

StephenB: deviled eggs

Synaesthesia+1: Platanos maduros (poss. with black beans)

Treznor: bbq sauce

Tripewriter: Cincinnati chili with five-way fixins

ustreetguy: plastic knives, quart ziplock bags; plastic wrap

Walrus: mystery dish

wineguy+1: guacamole; bocce

xcanuck+1: smoked salmon; beer; chili with cubed meats

Xochitl10: chocolate marble cake; New Mexico tortillas

zoramargolis+2: roasted tomato-chile adobo; mustards

New updates on who's bringing what:

agm and NotQuickDraw: roast pig

Barbara: red velvet cake

BBhasin (poss.)

bbq4me+1: lumpia with finadene sauce

Billy deLion: plates; water

Bilrus+1: red ranch chili with pork shoulder

bonaire +1: corn chips; dip; beer

brr+3: cheese; bread; beer

Camille and Beau: Italian chicken salad; brownies; lemon cake

Capital Icebox:

Catherine+1: vegetarian chili

Chica Grace: Cuban rice and beans

Cjsadler&txaggie: beef chili;cornbread;wine;beer;ice

clayrae+1or2: Prosciutto&artichoke schiacciata, guacamole:

Crackers+1: chicken chili with toppings

Crescent Fresh+4: roast pig; paper plates; paper towels;

Cucas87: Spicy roasted sweet potato salad; roasted corn salad+ avocado, wine

Dame Edna: zucchini

DanielK+?: soccer equipment;sodas&gatorade

Demvtr+1: tofu in curried coconut milk; eggplant entree

eating out+1: Oktoberfest beer

Erik Ox+1: water

Escoffier: water; trash bags

ferment everything+2: homemade gouda&mustard;beer

goldenticket+1:

Gubeen: key lime pie; cranberry chutney

Heather+3: drinks;

hm212+2: New York style Texas chili; brownies

Iliane+1: thermonuclear beef chili; corn sticks;beer; 2-burner stove; chafing dish

Jacques Gastreaux+3: roast pig; smoked pork butt chili; 2-burner stove;Martian Pig Slop from Hell

Jamie Stachowski: roast pig

Jlock:

JoeH+1: shrimp remoulade

Johnny Rooks: roast pig

JParrott: country ham; green tomato chutney; wines; corkscrew

JPW: slaws; assorted wines

Lackadaisi:

LaShanta+1: red velvet cake

Legant+2: onions, cheese, sour cream, marshmallows

Malawry: butane burner

MBK+1: guacamole

MC Horoscope+1: Sausage and cabbage jambalaya

mdt: roast pig; cornbread; pate

MeMc+1: chow-chow; something to drink

Mktye+1: bacon buns; mystery bread

Monique DC:

Nadya: Moroccan spiced chicken& couscous

NCPinDC: crudites; apples; s'mores

Pat+1: Noodle-cheese casserole; turkey chili with beans

pidgey+3: red potato salad

Porcupine: chili; steam tables; serving spoons;water; two-burner stove (2?)

RaisaB: pig roaster; four kinds of cookies

Rissa P: corn bread 3 ways; cantaloupe drink

rvanrens+2: beef skewers

Scott Johnston: collards; deviled eggs; cigars

ScotteeM: green bean salad; sauces for pork

Shogun:

Spiral Stairs +1: cinnamon-poached pineapple

Starfish: assorted booze

StephenB: deviled eggs

Synaesthesia+1: Platanos maduros (poss. with black beans)

Treznor: bbq sauce

Tripewriter: Cincinnati chili with five-way fixins

ustreetguy: plastic knives, quart ziplock bags; plastic wrap

Walrus: mystery dish

xcanuck+1: smoked salmon; beer; chili with cubed meats

Xochitl10: chocolate marble cake; New Mexico tortillas

zoramargolis: roasted tomato-chile adobo; mustards

Gosh, big bowls lead to big portions?

and big other things, too...

If the Icelandic lamb ever comes back to Whole Foods I wouldn't buy it for stew, just for roasting or grilling. It had a fabulous herbal flavor that braising would roll all over.

At the Toigo booth at Dupont last Sunday, I overheard Ris Lacoste (former chef at 1789) telling someone that she was going to be doing an Icelandic food prep demo at Whole Foods--unfortunately she didn't say when or at which WF it would be. I presumed P Street, since they have had Icelandic food demos there in the past, although I could easily be wrongt. Anyway we should keep an eye out for that, and it does suggest that the Icelandic meats are coming back to WF.

Yeah, that'll show 'em.

Wild mushrooms, with cream, thyme, sherry and brown chicken stock. Thinking about that might be enough to get my appetite back.

When I was last at Surfas chef supply store in L.A., I found a product I had not seen before: porcini powder, which is exactly what it sounds like: dried porcinis pulverized to a fine powder. I can add it to risottos, stews, soups, etc. to add some wonderful porcini flavor without having pieces of mushroom there that <he who doesn't think he is a picky eater> will bite into and complain about.

I read somewhere that the water/rice ratio depends on how much rice you are making. Less rice requires more water.

I use 1 1/2:1 even when I am just making one cup of rice. I used to use 2:1 until I saw a one hour program that Alton Brown did about rice, and he said the appropriate ratio is 1 1/2:1. I tried it and have used it ever since.

On a slightly different note: I've been trying to make rice molds for some time. I've been working with basmati rice and although I rinse the rice before cooking (and removing the starch) I keep thinking there must be some way to "mold" the rice and have it retain its shape.

I tried adding cream (which didn't do it) and then tried forming the rice/cream mixture and broiling/baking it (still didn't work; the mold held until I attempted to remove it from the pan.) Even tried adding cheese to warm rice (natch!).

Any suggestions? Do I have to use sticky rice? Will any short grain rice do? Will sticky rice impart a different flavor to my dish? I've only used sticky rice for desserts.

Basmati rice is a long grain variety, which tend to be less sticky than shorter grain types. Also, you are defeating your purpose by rinsing the rice before you cook it. I use a ratio of 1 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup rice, rather than 2:1, and I like the texture of the rice better. Try not rinsing your basmati, using the 1 1/2:1 ratio. Oil your mold and pack the rice in firmly. If that doesn't work, switch to a shorter grain rice.

where do you buy shoulder at? I only ever see leg.

The best/cheapest place that I have found to buy lamb (and goat) is Halalco in Falls Church. The butcher will carry a whole carcass out of the meat locker and cut it up in front of you. They also have veal--good place to get veal shank for osso buco.

Last night:

Pan roasted duck breast with fig-plum chutney

Puree of roasted kuri squash

Yellow wax beans

Tomato-cucumber-avocado salad

2004 Castle Rock Carneros Pinot Noir

Tonight:

Salmon croquettes made with leftover wild coho en papillotte, remoulade sauce

Baked potato

Steamed broccoli

2004 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina

We-he-hell, folks...

Five more days until "Over the River and Through the Woods to Fort Tryon Park We Go"

I've been trying to keep tabs, despite Internet connection problems at home. If there are glaring errors, please let me know. And for those of you who have not decided what you are bringing--I'd like to fill in those blank spaces on the list. If I've got you down only for water, please let me know what ELSE you are bringing. This is a not-so-subtle hint, that water ain't enough...

agm and NotQuickDraw: roast pig

Barbara: red velvet cake

BBhasin (poss.)

bbq4me+1: lumpia with finadene sauce

Billy deLion: plates; water

Bilrus+1: red ranch chili with pork shoulder

bonaire +1: corn chips; dip; beer

brr+3: cheese; bread; beer

Camille and Beau: Italian chicken salad; brownies; lemon cake

Capital Icebox:

Catherine+1: vegetarian chili

Chica Grace: Cuban rice and beans

Cjsadler&txaggie: beef chili;cornbread;wine;beer;ice

clayrae+1or2: Prosciutto&artichoke schiacciata, guacamole:

Crackers+1: chicken chili with toppings

Crescent Fresh+4: roast pig; paper plates; paper towels;

Cucas87: Spicy roasted sweet potato salad; roasted corn salad+ avocado, wine

Dame Edna: zucchini

DanielK+?: soccer equipment;sodas&gatorade

Demvtr+1: tofu in curried coconut milk; eggplant entree

Erik Ox+1: water

Escoffier: water; trash bags

ferment everything+2: homemade gouda&mustard;beer

goldenticket+1:

Gubeen: key lime pie

Heather+3: drinks; two-burner stove

hm212+2: New York style Texas chili; brownies

Iliane+1: thermonuclear beef chili; corn sticks;beer; 2-burner stove; chafing dish

Jacques Gastreaux+3: roast pig; smoked pork butt chili; 2-burner stove;Martian Pig Slop from Hell

Jamie Stachowski: roast pig

Jlock:

JoeH+1: shrimp remoulade

Johnny Rooks: roast pig

JParrott: country ham; green tomato chutney; wines; corkscrew

JPW: slaws; assorted wines

Lackadaisi:

LaShanta+1: red velvet cake

Legant+2: onions, cheese, sour cream, marshmallows

Malawry: butane burner

MBK:

MC Horoscope+1: Sausage and cabbage jambalaya

mdt: roast pig; cornbread; pate

MeMc+1: chow-chow; something to drink

Mktye+1: bacon buns; mystery bread

Monique DC:

Nadya:

NCPinDC: crudites; apples; s'mores

Pat+1: Noodle-cheese casserole; turkey chili with beans

Porcupine: chili; steam tables; serving spoons;water; two-burner stove (2?)

RaisaB: pig roaster; four kinds of cookies

Rissa P: corn bread

rvanrens+2: beef skewers

Scott Johnston: collards; deviled eggs; cigars

ScotteeM: green bean salad; sauces for pork

Shogun:

Spiral Stairs +1: cinnamon-poached pineapple

Starfish: assorted booze

StephenB: deviled eggs

Synaesthesia+1: Platanos maduros (poss. with black beans)

Treznor: bbq sauce

Tripewriter: Cincinnati chili with five-way fixins

ustreetguy: plastic knives, quart ziplock bags; plastic wrap

Walrus: mystery dish

xcanuck+1: smoked salmon; beer; chili with cubed meats

Xochitl10: chocolate marble cake; New Mexico tortillas

zoramargolis: roasted tomato-chile adobo; mustards

Had some of Azami's last batch of posole and homemade tortillas. Does anyone have a good strategy for keeping dough round as you roll it out? The tortillas were quite tasty, but looked more like maps of Ohio than tortillas.

Were these flour or corn tortillas? I have a tortilla press for corn tortillas--roll a small ball of masa about the size of a walnut, put it between sheets of heavy-duty plastic (from a cut-open zip-lock freezer bag) and then into the press. If the ball of masa was round, the tortilla will be round.

I haven't had it, but am ready for a coffee tasting. Anything.

I have good beans and a Krups coffee maker and my coffee tastes like dishwater this morning. And, I even whipped the milk with an aerolatte.

On a separate note, someone told me about Michas in Old Town. Apparently it's one of the few places around that roasts its own beans. I didn't buy a bag to take home (what was I thinking?) but it was great in-house.

How does a recent roast make a difference in taste? Or does it? Would doing a Michas beans/St. Lucias taste test be like testing a reisling against a pinot noir? Or are the variations much more subtle? (Maybe this should be split into a "coffee 101 for the ignorant" thread.

Is your coffeemaker a Krups drip pot or an espresso maker? A number of years ago, we "graduated" from filtered drip coffee -- anybody here old enough to remember Chemex pots, from the pre-Mr. Coffee days?--to Bodum press-pot to serious espresso machines (and I don't think the low-end Krups espresso machines are adequate). If you are a coffee drinker seeking gravitas, it is inevitable. Over the years, we have had two different Swiss Rotel machines, a Saeco Italian machine, and graduated to a La Pavoni last Christmas. And we get freshly roasted Peet's beans shipped to us monthly. If coffee is as important to you as it is to us, starting the day is unthinkable without a kick-ass homemade cup of cappucino, made with a triple shot of espresso from fresh-ground beans. Compared to what we make at home, Starbucks sucks.

A good night to use the oven.

whole wild Alaskan coho salmon ($5.49 a pound at Costco), en papillote*

roasted fennel

baked russet potatoes

bartlett pear crisp

2005 Turkey Flat rose'

No filets for sale, but they had whole fresh fish on ice, gutted, scaled and with the head off. At that price, how could I resist? I've gotten so used to the flavor/texture of grilled salmon, that this was a wonderfully pleasant change of pace. The fish was packaged in heavy duty foil with fresh thyme and Italian parsley, chopped shallots, slices of lemon, olive oil, S&P and a splash of dry vermouth. When it came out of the oven, the meat was succulent and tender and tasting of the sea. The skin was too flabby for us to eat, but the dog told me it was superb, mixed with her kibble.

Jonathan liked the pear crisp better than any of the other baked fruit desserts I've made lately. I put ginger and cardamom in with the pears, which were so sweet, they didn't need any extra sugar.

*my recipe reads "4 1/2 cups 1/4 cup"; so perhaps "to taste" is a better measure. 4 1/2 cups would be outrageous.

Yes, but four 1/2 cups would be two cups, which wouldn't be quite so bad

while it is still hard these days to arrive at any hard conclusions about what is healthy to eat, going organic seems to be a better guide for getting to where you want to be healthwise than going vegetarian.

Maybe, more specifically local, small scale. As we've just seen with the recent spinach kerfuffle, industrial organic food is no panacea.