A grammarian's lexical choice; It's supposed to hint at the variety of topics I cover in my posts (plus my gender). A little convoluted & punny, but it amuses.
The conversation on the 3rd day in a row of Thanksgiving celebration meals turned naturally to leftovers. The aunties debated the correct proportions, agreeing (with my cousin Grace) finally on the proportions 8 water:1 rice. The beauty of this simple rice porridge is that you can make it out of anything, of course this week it's turkey.
Break the carcass down and fill a large pot with (8 cups) water just up to cover the bones and bring to a simmer. Add a tablespoon of soup chi in a sachet and 2 bay leaves. I like to use half glutinous and half plain rice for texture and creaminess, about 1 cup total. Simmer on low for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally. The rice should cook and then reduce till it's a thick porridge, adjusting thickness with water or stock. Add salt to taste.
Serve over meat and veg with a handful of fresh chopped herbs (green onion, cilantro), roasted peanuts, thousand day old eggs (quartered). A little soy sauce, hot pepper sauce and sesame oil round out the profile.
Mmm a simple satisfying meal.
Every now and then I find a song I like. This one by The Calling is very sad and romantic but in a haunting stalkerish kind of way. Why does he think he'll be gone? And how creepy is it that he thinks he'll be back to watch over everything. I guess it's comforting to imagine that you've got someone looking out for you. But just consider for a moment, does he get to see you in the bathroom? or picking your nose? or when you're with someone else?
The tune is very reminiscent of something else by Pearl Jam (the name escapes me now) and Creed's Arms Wide Open, but it's catchy and I enjoy it.
So lately, been wondering
Who will be there to take my place?
When I'm gone you'll need love
To light the shadows on your face
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all
Then between the sand and stone
Could you make it on your own?
If I could, then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
And maybe, I'll find out
A way to make it back someday
To watch you, to guide you
Through the darkest of your days
If a great wave shall fall and fall upon us all
Then I hope there's someone out there
Who can bring me back to you
If I could, then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
Run away with my heart
Run away with my hope
Run away with my love
I know now, just quite how
My life and love might still go on
In your heart, in your mind
I'll stay with you for all of time
If I could, then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
If I could turn back time
I'll go wherever you will go
If I could make you mine
I'll go wherever you will go
I'll go wherever you will go
A long time ago, I went to a Thanksgiving meal hosted by my friends Andrew and Trish.
It was a feast where the center piece was a humongous smoked turkey. Normally turkey is dry, bland cardboard which I hide under my marshmallow jello fruit salad. To my surprise the meat was so succulent and fragrant, redolent of spices and fruit with a tangy smokey aftertaste. When I inquired about the secret to the miraculous transformation, Andrew admitted to brining the bird in cranberry juice and then smoking it on the grill.
The generic ratio suggested is 2 quarts water:1/2 cup salt:1/2 cup sugar and 6-12 hours. They adjust it somewhat if there are larger pieces of meat or multiple carcasses.
I decided not to use the sugar since I substituted cranberry juice for water. Then
after reading another site on what gives meat it's flavor I also used some vinegar for acidity to help tenderize the meat. Instead of a whole turkey which is just really too much meat unless you're entertaining 25, I used Cornish game hens which are just the cutest tastiest little birds with the added bonus that they cook well on the grill. I guesstimate about 1/4 bird per person.
* 3 quarts cranberry juice
* 1 quart vinegar
* 1 cup kosher salt
* 1/3 cup chopped ginger
* 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
* 4 bay leaves
* 4 sprigs fresh thyme
* 12 cloves garlic, unpeeled and lightly smashed
* 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
* 2 bunches green onion
* 8 star anise
* 1tbs coriander seeds
* red pepper flakes to taste
Heat the liquids and add salt (and sugar if used) stirring till dissolved, while simmering, add spices. Allow to cool before adding meat. Since the Cornish game hens typically come frozen, I omit the defrosting stage and just pop them in the brine to thaw overnite. Remove from brine and allow the skin to dry in the fridge and then bring to room temperature before cooking. Roast in the oven (325oF/15-20 minutes per pound) or smoke as directed.
This is a story that I hope illustrates the feeling I get when I talk to stupid people.
While talking to my smart friend in the gym locker room about the Madeline Albright's talk at City Arts & Lectures, Wilda mentions a story about how people don't really know who Madeline is.
this stupid girl [TSG] was listening in and joined our conversation,
[TSG] Oh who's that ??
[Me] She used to be Secretary of State during the Clinton administration
[TSG] Oh oh she's a secretary?
[Me] No, no, she represented the US in foreign policy
[TSG] oh she was a police?
[Me laughing] no she was just complaining that the US intelligence about Kim Jong-il was bad
[TSG] I'm intelligent!
All I have to say about that is- Sweetie, ignorance is curable, stupidity is genetic!
Hey everyone, its Gwynie! I'm doing a guest entry, I specifically took this class to make Astrid jealous since she was off to the East Coast to play in the Howe Cup. Well I think she's rather pleased that I know how to make them, so much for sibling rivalry. I made 3 types of tamales: plain with chipilin (a herb), mole negro with chicken and a dessert one,(pineapple with raisins). That evening I had a tamale party to try them. Well worth the effort.
Rebecca Sibrack of Edible Explorations says that tamales are super easy to make and I agree. Piedmont Adult School has many interesting classes, including cooking classes. I have always wanted to take a cooking class as the aromas wafted over to my non cooking classes and this was the perfect opportunity. The class was on a Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm and we got busy right from the start.
We soaked the corn husks in warm water, defrosted the frozen banana leaves and wiped them down. We used two types of masa for our tamalas, the fresh and the dry. Masa, which literally translated means dough, is what we would call the fresh, already hydrated dough. We also used the Maseca, or masa harina (dough flour), the dry masa we needed to re-hydrate with our hot stock. The fresh masa we used was purchased at Primavera at the Berkeley farmers market. You can pre-order masa for tamales from Flacos, but theirs comes with vegetable shortening already mixed in. (Per Rebecca's explanation)
We did two methods of adding the masa harina and fat . With the first method the fat was added to the masa and then mixed and with the second method the fat was whipped/creamed first and then the masa was added in small handfuls at a time. I liked the latter method because it produced a much fluffier and lighter dough. The test was to take a pinch of dough and drop it into a glass of water. The first method the dough sank like a stone to the bottom and resulted in very stodgy tamales, the second method the dough pinch floated like a happy iceberg, oooh!
Chopped chipilin herbs added to the dough during mixing and then placed into the corn husks and steamed. The mole negro with chicken were cooked in banana leaves. The pot was lined with banana leaves before placing the tamales in to steam. For the dessert tamale we added fresh crushed pineapple to the dough after the fat was added which made it very slurry like. Again the dough was put into corn husks, sprinkled with raisins, folded up and then steamed.
So what did I learn from this fantastic hands on experience. Tamales take a while to make and cook but are leagues better in flavor, taste and texture to store bought ones. You can control exactly what fillings you have and if you're like me you put more flavor filling to masa harina ratio and to hell with the bursting. Vamos a comer! Gwynie
A Perfect Evening- The French Laundry & Victory Toast
The French Laundry has been a dining destination objective of mine for a long time. Award winning fabulous French Californian food, it's located in the picturesque village of Yountville. A tiny place with only 15 tables, reservations are extremely hard to procure- like try 2 months in advance and they're gone within minutes. Imagine my glee when my friend Aaron called (& emailed simultaneously) with exciting news. He'd managed to score reservations for 4 on Tuesday Election Nite, did I want to go? I agonized for about 60 seconds, me being unemployed. But really it was a forgone conclusion (I'll have to put it on my credit card as part of my effort to stimulate the economy) Heck yeah! Dress code is fairly strict- jackets are required, so we all raided our dry cleaning, Mike going so far as to iron a shirt. Aaron and Dana picked us up at the Pleasant Hill Station and we drove out towards Napa discussing the current electoral stats. We arrived early and waited in the foyer watching other less fortunate souls beg and plead for tables. The hostess was polite but adamant- no room, please try again! We were seated in the downstairs dining room somewhat under the stairs. The linens were snowy white, napkins crisply folded, pinned with the signature laundry peg.
I took pictures but didn't use a flash since it seemed intrusive to the other diners. In some cases I was so distracted by the flawless presentation and flavors of the dish that I forgot to photo-document. Sorry! Thomas Keller was in managing the lunch service, out at Per Se watching the election coverage, and then returned to finish the dinner service once the election was called. Dinner lasted 4 hrs 20 minutes. After some discussion on preferences and budget Aaron and I decided on a tasty Siduri Pinot noir, "Cargasacchi Vineyard," Santa Rita Hills 2006 at $160 one of the more "price conscious" options in the 200 paged wine list. Soft and fruity, it was a superb match for the first half of the tasting menu. There were 2 options- regular and vegetarian, which both looked yummerlicious. Despite my attempts for 5-9 servings of fruits and veg, I chose the regular menu which included foie gras, duck and lamb!
chef’s tasting menu | 4 november 2008
PRIX FIXE 240.00 | SERVICE INCLUDED
6640 WASHINGTON STREET, YOUNTVILLE CA 94599 707.944.2380
We started with 2 interesting little amuse bouche, mini gourgeres stuffed with melted Emmentaler and crunchy savory cigarillo cones stuffed with sour cream and topped with a scoop of salmon tartare. Both taste explosions to whet our appetites.
“OYSTERS AND PEARLS”
Exquisitely creamy “Sabayon” studded with Pearl Tapioca and Island Creek Oysters nestled next to a succulent quenelle of White Sturgeon Caviar that popped saltily against my teeth.
SALAD OF COMPRESSED FUYU PERSIMMON
French Laundry Garden Radish, Nasturtium and Niçoise Olive Oil
MOULARD DUCK “FOIE GRAS AU TORCHON” ( 30.00 supplement )
Sunchoke Glaze, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Marcona Almonds, Mizuna and Juniper Gastrique served with exactingly golden and crisp toast points. Halfway thru we got more warm toast points. Mmmm
SAUTÉED FILLET OF JAPANESE SUZUKI
Yukon Gold Potatoes, Bluefoot Mushrooms, Romaine Lettuce and Dill Crème Fraîche
I loved the embossed raised relief pattern on the china.
CRISPY FLORIDA EVERGLADES FROG LEGS
Sweet Garlic Pudding, San Marzano Tomato Compote and Watercress “Velouté”
This was an ok dish but not as good as the frog legs I had in Thailand, in fact it was kind of bland. Prolly the least interesting dish for me.
SWEET BUTTER-POACHED MAINE LOBSTER “MITTS”
Toasted Barley, Asian Pear, Pickled Pearl Onion and Parsnip Cream
Wow another toothsome set of tastes, tiny micro greens adding sparks of flavor but way too small! I wish it had been slightly bigger.
Across the way another group had their iPhones out, updating the election results live. Impeccably timed to coincide with the 2nd half of the meal, my friend Wendy texted me with the news that Obama had won the election. A toast to the future of America! We ordered a Brunello di Montalcino, Ciacci Piccolomini d'Argona, 2003 again at a "reasonable" $160. The sommalier decanted this one, a floral nose, fruity yet dry with a challenging tannic mouth feel it definitely opened up as the meal progressed.
“AIGUILLETTE” OF LIBERTY FARM PEKIN DUCK just exquisitely done, juicy with a crisp skin, Glazed Salsify, Brussels Sprouts (single leaves- I guesstimated they maybe used 2 whole sprouts for our entire table) and Pomegranate Essence
RIB-EYE OF ELYSIAN FIELDS FARM LAMB
Panisse, Sweet Peppers, Globe Artichokes and Spanish Caper Jus
This was just sublime, tender, juicy taste dynamite. Wowow.
ANDANTE DAIRY “CAVATINA” a pungent goat cheese with compressed Green Apples, Celery Branch and Black Truffle Coulis paired with multi-grain rolls and walnut & cranberry bread. Very earthy richly satisfying.
MAUI GOLDEN PINEAPPLE SORBET with Golden Pineapple and Salted Pili Nuts
refreshing ambroasial palate cleanser
SESAME SEED AND CHOCOLATE “GÂTEAU”
Tahini Ganache, Domori Sambriano Chocolate Crème and Shiso Sorbet
The boys ordered this one.
“GÉNOISE DE PIGNONS DE PIN GRILLÉS” small cubes of nutty cake grilled and smoky with Honey-Poached Cranberries, Mascarpone-Pine Nut Ice Cream and Aged Balsamic Vinegar
a heavenly way to end the meal.
“MIGNARDISES”
Fabulous little treats and chocolates to sweeten the price tag. Ouch!!! Our favorite was the pumpkin pie truffle, which was so richly decadently transcendental there was no room for anything more. Such a surprise that altho each dish only consisted of a few bites that left you longing for more, by the end I was comfortably stuffed. Was it the pinnacle of fine dining? The food was delightful and service impeccable. Aaron and Dana picked up most of the tab, so while it was expensive, I'm not bankrupt. The tough question on everyone's mind- Would you go again? It was split between Maybe for a super special occasion and No thanks I'll just savor the golden memories. Made sweeter by the overwhelming victory for Obama. Thanks again for including me on your foodie adventure!
I think the first time I had salsa fresca was in Mexico City when I was 7 years old. The meld of sweet tomatoes with the piquantly spicy peppers was a perfect topping for quesadillas con jamon. My mom recreated this favorite at home, and we learned it early on in our culinary education.
I don't really measure things so the taste varies but if you use a standard set of ingredients you can come up with something that you like after a bit of tweaking. This recipe is for my friend Jenny who misses salsa in Taiwan.
The trick is very ripe tomatoes (some recipes recommend seeding to reduce the juice but i think you miss out on a lot of flavor). I like intense color and texture so I'll also use bell peppers of different colors. The debate is also out for whether to skin the tomatoes/peppers. I generally leave the skin on (for the fiber and it's less fiddly) but if you want to remove the skins, grilling is a quick and easy method. Roast the skins until blistered and black, then pop into a paper bag until cool. The skin should come off in large strips. Any specks of black will impart a smoky flavor. Coarsely chop into small chunks- here the size is up to you, however fine you want it to be. Remember if you use the blender/chopper it will be more saucy paste like and what we're going for is a crudo style. As far as peppers go in terms of picante heat, use whatever's available and adjust your amounts based on the Scoville score of the pepper. The trick is to remove the seeds and veins for less heat and also cut into very small pieces. If you're not sure how hot your pepper really is, add small amounts to the main set of ingredients while mixing in thoroughly and tasting as you go. Dice a small to medium onion. Coarsely chop cilantro (basil is good too). Lime zest can add another note to the complex palate. My mom swears by garlic, which when minced finely can be good, but not too much or too big else it's overwhelming. Toss in some lime juice. Toast coriander, black pepper and mustard seeds, grind with salt. Season salsa to taste.
Use tortilla chips as approved vector.
If you find you have used too much hot chile, you can take it down a notch or two by adding sugar.
Guesstimated proportions:
4 medium/large tomatoes (super ripe)
1 bell pepper (seeded)
2-4 hot peppers (jalapenos/serrano/habanero/bird/thai) depending on heat desired
1 small onion or bunch green onion
bunch cilantro
basil (optional)
1Tbs lime zest
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp each coriander seeds, black pepper, mustard seeds (grind)
salt to taste
Allow to sit for at least 40 minutes, the longer it sits the more intense and mingled the flavors are.
How was the tournament??????? you ask. My apologies for not blogging sooner, it was a combination of zero network access and being super busy squashing away. Here are my thoughts on the Howe Cup
I arrived more than 4 hours late due to weather holds for flights into the East coast. Exhausted and delirious, I agree to an early morning rise to check out the courts before our matches started at 10:30am. Uggh I can't face breakfast, it's really 5am for me!
The Fairmount Athletic Club is massive, with 12 international courts (and 2 hardball doubles courts). 10 courts are on the main hall with 4 more international singles courts off to the side next to the ladies locker room, 2 of which convert into more doubles courts by dint of moving the walls outward. Wow I've never seen so many women (200+ =high estrogen levels) all playing squash. It was really inspiring to see the superb athleticism (some of the leanest women ever) and intense competition. The balls were just flying around like bullets.
The weekend was spent watching, playing, scoring/ref'ing SQUASH. (And of course fueling up to play more squash altho the supplies were somewhat limited as you can see by the shot of the bananas as green as the Granny Smith apples) Wilda called them "Investment Bananas- you take one and wait for it to mature".
Well to cut a long story short-
the A team came 4th
the B team came last
the C team came last
But if you insist on reading the details, here's the gory story.
Friday
B & C teams' matches started at the same time so we couldn't cheer each other on.
The order of play was 5/2/4/3/1. Our first was against Baltimore.
Everything went so quickly I didn't get a chance to record all of the individual scores. The Baltimore B team was heavy duty. My match was 3-0 to me. But we ended up losing 4-1. I think the combination of the late nite arrival and the early morning start was a bit too much for us all. Rohini pulled a muscle quite dramatically and had to be carried off court. She managed to play out the game but it affected her thru-out the rest of the weekend. Since we lost the first round and the B's were set up in a knockout draw, we didn't have any games till Saturday morning in the consolation draw.
The C team fared slightly better in games but ultimately lost the match against Boston. Carrie won her match decisively and Wilda lost 3-2 (10-8 in the fifth) a real nail biter. Penny also took her opponent to 5 but was unable to clinch it. Elaine lost 3-1 and Ma lost hers 3-0.
But Ma cheered our spirits by rocking out on her squash racket air guitar.
Now it was up to the A team to represent against Boston in the evening. Kristen, Kim and Deb lost to tenacious players. Nikki held up her end to win 3-0. Mei Lin's game was the most interesting where halfway thru the match both Boston and Mei Lin pronounced the referee useless and demanded replacements. hahaha. Especially when the referee was a Boston team mate. Still Mei Lin destroyed her opponent, who was not pleased.
Wilda was recruited to play for the New York D team, since they were missing a D4. She played very well, confirming her position on the C team. All it takes is a couple of elastic bands to improve her game!
Dinner was inedible for Wilda due to allergy concerns and the A team couldn't eat before an evening match. So after the dust had settled, we headed to Maggiano's for dinner. There the portion sizes were so ginormous that you could split a half order of an entre between 3 people. It was pretty generic spaghetti factory style food, nothing to recommend it except for the company and the location (within the mall complex).
Saturday bright and squirrely.
We were up against the New York B1 team. I had watched them the night before and was very impressed with the level of play, particularly B4 whom I was slated to play (in other words I was sweating bullets I was so nervous). Imagine my surprise when I won the first game 9-0. I won 3-0. Rohini won her match. Jacinta managed to go to 5 but couldn't finish it hampered by her injuries. Jocelyn lost to an aggressive B5. Losing 3-2 in the consolation bracket meant our last match would be Sunday 9am, the playoffs for the losingest team.
Against Philadelphia our C team suffered a crushing blow 5-0. Carrie managed to win a game, but everyone else lost 3-0. Philly had a particularly deep team and the home team advantage. That was all for the C team since it was a knock out format.
Our A team also played Philadelphia, it was very close. Kristen, Nikki, and Mei Lin won their matches. Deb and Kim lost theirs. So they advanced to the semi-finals vs National Capital a Washington DC team from our friend Norman's club. Unfortunately DC had an extremely strong and formidable team, where the ex #1 national champ was playing A2! So our girls got spanked soundly and retired to the 3/4 playoffs on Sunday.
Saturday night was the awards and party at Kildare's. Despite the large boat of a car that Carrie had rented, it was still a tight squeeze getting us all in. Then with complete disregard to the GPS unit, we drove in circles trying to find first Kildare's and then somewhere Wilda was not allergic to the food. Dinner was great fun, and the party afterward a blast also.
Sunday
In the morning the B team had our playoff for last place against Philly B2. Again I won my match 3-0. and Rohini won her match, but altho Jocelyn managed to snag a game we did not prevail, losing 3-2 for last place :^(
To our dismay the A team was up against the Boston team whom they'd played previously. So they shuffled the play order around to get more games against new people.
I can't tell here, are we losing?
it was a lot of fun, good rallies etc, but the A team bombed conclusively and took 4th place.
I return victorious and undefeated, my team however was the losingest team, so it didn't really count that I won all my matches (altho it does mean I get to gloat over my teammates, that's all that matters)
I also played Laurie who played at B3 and beat her 3-1. So it seems I played in the
wrong slot. oh well now we're calibrated to the exalted heights of East Coast squash for next year. I have some tremendous squash to try and channel.
Our friend Ben invited us to watch the UC Berkeley Football vs the Oregon Ducks. It was a pretty fun time, since it was my first football game EVER. A friend warned me that one was supposed to be miserable at football games. So I went expecting the worst, but I didn't have a good concept of how bad it could really get. It was so bad that the two rows in front of us left before half time. As you know, I'm now a precipitation expert having sampled quite a few kinds in Taiwan. For the majority of the game it was a steady downpour, and in the 3 quarter it really started to resemble freezing cold monsoon conditions! Luckily we had come prepared with technical dri-weave socks, hats, raingear and large garbage bags to use as skirts shield the legs while we were seated. The only real problem was the wicking action from the bottom up, which did account for some seepage up to the knees. The players splashed around the field, dropping the ball frequently. The game was very close and exciting- Oregon was within 3 points for a long time. Cal eventually won 26/16.
Afterwards Gwynie and I hosted an apre-game tailgate party. We were so glad to warm up with bowls of chili and chili cheese dogs. I was quite pleased with the result, and altho I felt it could have been spicier, Gwynie voted for mild.
Beans
1 ham hock cut into pieces
1 medium onion chopped (about 1 cup)
5 cloves garlic whole
3 chipotle chiles en adobo , minced
2 scotch bonnet peppers whole
1 lb dried kidney beans
10 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp mustard seeds
Rinse and sort the beans. If you are concerned about beans being the musical fruit you can soak them overnite and discard the water. I generally don't bother with that step coz it requires planning, forethought and an empty kitchen counter upon which to place the soaking beans. I haven't personally noticed any difference in the tooting, but some people swear by it (including the oracle). If you do soak then reduce the cooking water by 2 cups.
I throw all the ingredients into my trusty crock pot. Set it on high and walk away for about <3 hours, the beans should be slightly al dente but cooked. You can stir if you like but it's not really necessary. If you let it go for too long (4+ hours) the beans start to lose structure and will disintegrate (good if you're going for refritos style).
At this point cool the beans, & pull out the bones. Shred the pork and return to the pot.
If you used scotch bonnet, make sure to pull them out intact. Cooling allows the flavors to develop more fully inside the beans, so don't skip this step.
Chili con Carne
3 Tbs ancho chili powder toasted
3 Tbs New Mexico chili powder toasted
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp cumin seeds- toasted & ground
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp coriander seeds toasted & ground
2 onions chopped
2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
1 can (28-ounce) diced tomatoes , with juice
1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree
2 cups water
beans as prepared above (or 2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed)
Fry onions with oil till translucent and soft. Brown beef over high heat, maintaining largish chunks.
Toast and grind herbs and spices. Stir in the herbs & spices making sure that all the meat is coated. Place in crockpot. Add the tomato diced and pureed, top with 2 cups of water. Allow to simmer 2 hours. Add the beans and allow to simmer another hour or so. If you have time, another round of cooling allows a more cohesive melding and will intensify the flavors. Skim any fat that rises.
Heat and serve with crusty bread, corn bread, dogs. Garnish as appropriate
lime wedges
cilantro sprigs
pickled jalapenos sliced
grated cheese
shredded cabbage
