sazerac wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:

Jamieson22 wrote:I didn't like it. It had a very dead flavor and the Sichuan peppercorns were overwhelming. There were some liberties taken with the recipe, such as using a Black Bean Chili Garlic Paste instead of the called for Chili Paste that may have had some things to do with it.

I wouldn't be surprised if your substitution of chile pastes is at the heart of the matter. There's a plethora of pastes and fermented condiments from which to choose and they all have specific purposes and resonances when combined with one another. I remember taking the time to finally track down the, as far as I know, proper chile/bean pastes for ma po dou fu and, upon tasting them individually out of the jars, experiencing a revelatory moment; !that's the flavor I love so much in ma po!

Pardon this late response too, but the bean paste does make all the difference. I'm not sure about the boiled beef (I don't currently have the Dunlop book;) but for Ma Po tofu and other dishes from Delfs which I mentioned earlier, the chile bean paste (douban jian) is a critical element. CG, which brand do you use? I first tried the Lee Kum Kee (Chile Bean paste I think - it has douban jian also written on it) which is okay. LSC's Chef Tony mentioned I should look for one that is from Pixian (pronounced pee-she-yen approx.). I've tried a few (those that had Pixian in English on the label) and the added depth of flavor is tremendous. I settled on one that I liked best and before I left Chicago, I picked up five bottles at Chinatown Market. It's the one in the center - to the right of the brown earthen container. Most times the label on it is missing - (like the one at the back, on top) or oily and unreadable

This one is a bit salty and not very hot, so I also add some dried red chiles when I fry the paste.
That time I also picked up the one at the right (Xiang You Douban - fragrant oil douban) - it's a plastic pouch inside the cardboard tube that I haven't opened yet.

Some rapidly stir fried celery with some soy, chili oil and touch of sesame oil at end, is quite tasty. Makes a good, crunchy quick side for weeknight meal.

and here I thought my conscientious, considered observation had vanished into the void

I wish I had the power to post pics:

always in pursuit of the, at least for me, illusory pixian product, I compared Dunlop's book(can't wait for the February publication of her Hunan tome) and the always relevant Bruce Cost Asian Ingredients, finding(I forget at which Uptown Market...the big one just south of Argyle in the stripmall on Broadway that carries a small selection of Sichuanese items, maybe)

---blue, red, and orange labeled fat bottles of "garlicky pepper"

and "broad bean paste with chili"(sic)

both from Ming Teh Food Industry Co., LTD

to iterate...these are so yummy I find myself sneaking samples from the bottle every so often

hope this helps

I wish I had the power to post pics:

Three words: Free Flickr account.

Three other words: LTHForum Flickr tips.

Thanks for the tips CG and Sazerac!
I figured the taste was greatly influenced by the paste, so thanks for the pointers on which one's to try!
Once I get this cookbook back (it is on loan) I will actually dig into it and try to acquire the proper ingredients, rather than just improvising with what was on hand.
So would you say Chinatown Market is a good place to stock up on these things??
Jamie

I finally cracked open All About Braising, and I started with what is probably the simplest recipe in the book: Braised cabbage. This is a recipe that's so straightforward and easy that you'll only need to read it once. You'll only need to taste the results once before you add it to your regular winter cooking rotation.

I rarely ever buy green cabbage, simply because I have little use for it. I hate the mess of chopping it for cole slaw, and I abhor Jewish-style stuffed cabbage (a result of bad childhood experiences).

This braised cabbage is a revelation for me. A 2lb. green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges and put in a foil-sealed baking dish with carrots, onions, stock, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a dash of red chili flakes. Two hours (and one flip of the cabbage) later, the dish is uncovered, the oven temp is raised, and everything browns around the edges. What you wind up with is soft and tender, amazingly sweet, and full of crisp caramelized bits of cabbage and onion.

The two of us ate an entire head of cabbage last night.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:This braised cabbage is a revelation for me.
Best,
Michael

Don't you just love moments like that? For me, I had always loved cauliflower, and growing up it was mainly served steamed or boiled, then covered in breadcrumbs fried with butter to brown them. After reading through a dinner thread on eGullet I had noticed a TON of the meals had ROASTED cauliflower. So I gave it a shot. In my household, it has now officially been declared "The Greatest Vegetable Preparation in the World". It is funny too that Cook's Illustrated just had Roasted Cauliflower featured in their magazine.

Back on target, I think I will have to pull All About Braising out and make something from it this weekend. The problem with getting like 10 new cookbooks all at once, is wanting to cook from 10 new cookbooks all at once

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:It is funny too that Cook's Illustrated just had Roasted Cauliflower featured in their magazine.

Jamie,

Here's one of my favorite cauliflower recipes, which originated with my BBQ buddy Buzz in Wisconsin. The high temperature brings out the natural sweetness of the cauliflower.

High Roast Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 500°, though I use 450° as my oven may be a bit fast.

Separate cauliflower into florets, or simply slice into 1/2-3/4 inch slices, leaving core.
Lightly sprinkle both olive oil and kosher salt on cauliflower pieces.

After 7-minutes shuffle cauliflower around in pan.

Cauliflower is done when it starts to turn light brown.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Jamie,

Here's one of my favorite cauliflower recipes, which originated with my BBQ buddy Buzz in Wisconsin. The high temperature brings out the natural sweetness of the cauliflower.

High Roast Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 500°, though I use 450° as my oven may be a bit fast.

Separate cauliflower into florets, or simply slice into 1/2-3/4 inch slices, leaving core.
Lightly sprinkle both olive oil and kosher salt on cauliflower pieces.

After 7-minutes shuffle cauliflower around in pan.

Cauliflower is done when it starts to turn light brown.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary-

That is how I had been making it as well, breaking the head up into florets.

Last time I did it the Cook's Illustrated way, simply cutting head into 8 wedges, each with core attached. Sprinkle with olive oil, s&p, and put on sheet pan covered with foil for 10-12 minutes. Then remove foil and roast 10-12 more minutes, then flip pieces and roast 10-12 more (at 450 degrees).

I liked the Cook's Illustrated way of sectioning the head. Gave a nice combo of crunch and soft as the wedges are quite thick.

But either way makes for some great tasting cauliflower! Make next time I will guild the lily by topping with butter toasted bread crumbs as well

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:Thanks for the tips CG and Sazerac!
So would you say Chinatown Market is a good place to stock up on these things??
Jamie

Chinatown market is where I got the paste in the picture* (it's a plastic bottle). The shops on and around Argyle also carry selections ( but haven't seen that particular one). CG, I look for the Teh Food Industry Co one - maybe I'll get it here in Pittsburgh.

GWiv, didn't you post that cauliflower recipe somewhere before, but with bread crumbs?

*A big reason I took the picture at Chinatown market was so that when I was out of the five I picked up, some kind souls would know where to look...
4.25

sazerac wrote:

Jamieson22 wrote:Thanks for the tips CG and Sazerac!
So would you say Chinatown Market is a good place to stock up on these things??
Jamie

Chinatown market is where I got the paste in the picture* (it's a plastic bottle). The shops on and around Argyle also carry selections ( but haven't seen that particular one). CG, I look for the Teh Food Industry Co one - maybe I'll get it here in Pittsburgh.

GWiv, didn't you post that cauliflower recipe somewhere before, but with bread crumbs?

*A big reason I took the picture at Chinatown market was so that when I was out of the five I picked up, some kind souls would know where to look...
4.25

I'm recovering from last night's swellegant holiday party wherein we invitees were enlisted in the piecemeal preparation of scallion pancakes, ginger pork soup, pot stickers, and black sesame stuffed rice flour balls...oh...and to wash it all down a Dionysian deluge of happy-making fermented liquids.

All of which is to say that I was requested to bring a dipping sauce for the pancakes.

...after a somewhat fruitless netsearch(I ended up riffing off Ming Tsai's website and Fuchsia Dunlop's book in an attempt at a ma la effort)...I didn't want to do boring old soy sauce/sesame oil/ginger/scallion/sugar...
AND there was the mention of "could I maybe make something with fermented black beans?"

fermented black beans, you say? I just happen to have a bag right here!

...

...

...actually, I did

dipping sauce for scallion pancakes a la (if Chris and Ming Tsai had a baby this is what it'd taste like):

2 tblspns Ming Teh Industries Garlicky Pepper
2 tblspns M.T.I. Broadbean with Chile
tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
tblspn soaked, drained, mashed fermented black beans
1/4 C peanut oil
tsp light soy sauce
tsp sugar
1/2 tsp toasted/ground sichuan peppercorn (added at the end of cooking)

throw everything except the sichuan peppercorn into a saucepot and simmer for however long(not long) until you have a luscious, crimson skein of chile oil lasciviously-splayed atop the bed of earthy, unctuous bean/chile/soy

I had always loved cauliflower, and growing up it was mainly served steamed or boiled

one of My Favorite Dishes is breaded cauliflower, that i think, has been deep fried. i get it at kasia's polish deli, but if she has it i suspect other polish stores do as well. its definitely breaded, but when i reheat it in the oven, the outside is crisp and slightly greasy, but the inside is eggy and creamy. absolutely fantastic. it's available only wednesdays and saturdays.
kasia's polish deli(not a restaurant)
2101 w. chicago, chicago
773-486-7500

Jamieson22 wrote:Well, Thanksgiving kinda threw a curve to my cooking from the new cookbooks theme, but got back to it last night with Boiled Beef from Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop.

I had most of what was required for this recipe on hand, except I used chicken instead of beef (as that is what I had defrosted).

I didn't like it. It had a very dead flavor and the Sichuan peppercorns were overwhelming. There were some liberties taken with the recipe, such as using a Black Bean Chili Garlic Paste instead of the called for Chili Paste that may have had some things to do with it. Also, the amount of corn starch used also made it into a very thick glop sort of thing. I need to re-read the recipe to see if there wasn't some miscommunication in the amounts.

Buried under the pool of liquid is some stir fried celery and green onion. I think it would be better with something as a substitute for the celery, though I have never been a fan of it in Chinese cooking.

Boiled Beef is one of my favorite dishes at Lao Sze Chuan, and unfortunately this wasn't in the same league, though that may be my fault more than the recipe.

I also need to rearrange the serving bowl in my buffet so I don't keep grabbing this same one
Jamie

Well it WAS an adventure... To make the dish you need to basically sauté dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns in oil. The thing is that the book says to get the oil basically smoking hot (and they says take care not to burn). Well as soon as you throw the stuff in the oil it turns black and kills everyone in the room with vapor. Poor April (Jamie's fiancée) and Disco (Jamie's dog) were running for cover and opening windows left and right. We did it a second time bringing the pepper up more gradually but you can see the results on that were proper. I think part of the issue, besides the chili paste, is that we tried to double ( or 1.5 it) the recipe due to the amount of chicken that was defrosted. Doubling the cornstarch can have drastic effects even with the same liquid ratio depending on what other enzymes are in the liquid. I wasn't really thinking clearly enough to remember that (DAMN YOU PBR! ) but I know it had an impact.

But... anyway... yes this dish left something to be desired... My palette was so out of whack I literally got up and drove to McDonald's to get everyone a milkshake to cleanse that dead ma-la taste. Actually it was the perfect foil. I'm no great lover of McDonald’s Shakes but that tasted damn good after dinner...

Cooking is like skiing... if you don't crash, you aren't trying hard enough!

(damn you PBR!)

heh

interesting: I haven't tried the specific above much-commented upon recipe, yet

however, I typically dry-fry my dried red chiles and sichuan peppercorns...meaning, no oil.

I quickly learned not to lean over the skillet when blackening the peppers...oy!

as for the above technique with s.p. ...I try not to let them go all the way to black...when I begin seeing wisps of smoke I seperate them into my mise en place for mortar 'n pestle-ing later

So I added two new cookbooks that arrived yesterday, and few have had as many inspiring looking recipes as these two. One is The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart and the other is The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook.

I already have plans to make bagels from The Bread Baker's Apprentice this weekend, to save myself a trip to NYC Bagel, and will probably work on a few other breads from it as well (curse working a normal work week which seriously limits the ability to make breads on any days but the weekend).

As far as King Arthur, if you don't have it you SERIOUSLY need to add it to your collection. I flipped through the first half of it and have to say there was not a single recipe I didn't want to make. French toast made with banana bread? Flippin' genius!

Jamie

So last night I started the bagels from Reinhart's book.

A fairly easy process of making a sponge, letting it ferment for 2 hours, then making the dough. Once that is compete you portion the dough into rolls and after resting for a bit you form the bagels. Once formed, they sit overnight in fridge.

This morning I boiled them, then topped and baked. I made all sesame and one small plain.

They turned out quite well, though lacking a bit in flavor. I think these would benefit from more toppings, though I used sesame seeds simply because I had them on hand. The recipe did call for malt powder with substitutes of brown sugar or honey. I chose brown sugar so that may have had something to do with lacking flavor. They did have a great chew, though closer to Einstein than NYC Bagel Deli.

Overall, not too bad for someone that is far from a baker...







Jamie

1. Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection

Heston Blumenthal, the world renowned chef at The Fat Duck in Bray Village, England, sets about exploring and "perfecting" a number of English dinner favourites, including Roast Chicken & Potatoes, Bangers & Mash, Fish & Chips, Pizza Napoletana, Steak & Salad, Spaghetti Bolognese ("Spag Bol"), Treacle Tart & Ice Cream, etc.

This was the most educational and entertaining food read I've come across in years.*

Amazon Link

2. Andrea Nguyen's Into The Vietnamese Kitchen

Andrea Nguyen, world renowned expert on Vietnamese cookery and culinary tradition, puts forth a personal collection of classic Vietnamese recipes. One of the highlights, for me, is an entire chapter on the distinctly Vietnamese form of charcuterie. Readily accessible for all interest/skill levels.

Amazon Link

E.M.

* There is a lot of fairly serious science & pyrotechnics involved, so I suspect that this book will have limited yet zealous appeal, here, at LTHForum. Are you listening sazerac, Dmnkly, and Bill/SFNM? Oh, hell, if you've ever had a real Neapolitan-style pizza or a dry-aged steak, this book is for you too.

Plus, the Blumenthal book has such a great cover. It makes it look like, once Blumenthal has Bangers & Mash perfected, they will have to send James Bond to kill him.

Erik M. wrote:1.
2. Andrea Nguyen's Into The Vietnamese Kitchen

Andrea Nguyen, world renowned expert on Vietnamese cookery and culinary tradition, puts forth a personal collection of classic Vietnamese recipes. One of the highlights, for me, is an entire chapter on the distinctly Vietnamese form of charcuterie. Readily accessible for all interest/skill levels.

This is a real favorite of my wife as well (and few have more cookbooks than she.)

Hi,

A friend who collects old cookbooks loves the incidental items people leave in cookbooks: notes about recipes, newspaper clippings and maybe a handwritten recipe tucked in as a book marker. This evening I was going through a 1950's Time Life coffee table size picture cookbook. I found something wrapped in tissue: a dried rose. It was so brittle, I simply put it back in its paper cocoon and returned it to the book.

For many years, my traditional birthday present was to buy whatever I wanted at the Brandeis Book Sale. I filled the rickety shopping cart with as many books I could remember I didn't own already. Yes, just about every year I took at least one duplicate home.

Last year was the last Brandeis Book Sale. I thought some other charity was going to take on the grand used booksale mantle. Does anyone have any news?

Regards,

I have no information about a successor to the Brandeis book sale, but an alternative might be the sale at the end of July at the Newberry Library. Resale shops are also sometimes a good source for vintage cookbooks.

A few weeks ago I hosted a theme lunch for friends who enjoy old or odd cookbooks. Everyone was asked to bring at least one community cookbook (usually cardboard cover, spiral bound, compiled and sold as fundraisers by charities such as churches and junior leagues). We amassed quite an assortment and it was fun to peruse all the cookbooks. I thought we might trade cookbooks, but no one wanted to part with theirs.

Incidentally, all of the food served was prepared from recipes from these cookbooks. Probably the oddest one we tried was a recipe for a tomato soup bar cookie. The texture was actually more cake-like. It was very tasty: spice cake with raisins, nuts and a subtle sweet flavor that would have been hard to identify had I not known it was tomato soup.



Tomato Soup Bars from "Our Favorite Recipes," the Calvary Lutheran Church cookbook (1980).

Glad I found this thread. Early next spring I will be transitioning out of a year of cooking from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and I want to move into Spanish cuisine. I'm debating back and forth between The New Spanish Table and 1080 Recipes. The Simone Ortega book (the latter), is only soon to be released in English, so I don't know if anyone here would have any feedback on that one. If that's the case, has anyone had a NEGATIVE reaction the The New Spanish Table, and is there another text I should be considering?

(Also glad to see the discussion on Dunlop's book. I've read Land of Plenty and just finished her recent book on Hunan cooking. I will be getting to them both a few years down the line)

I don't know if you've seen this or not, but the New Spanish Table certainly looks pretty good from what I've seen, and would allow you a ready-made opportunity to give feedback to the site.

Or, you could pick a different book and create a new "Exploring a Cookbook" thread. We like to live vicariously through other people's kitchens.

starbird wrote:If that's the case, has anyone had a NEGATIVE reaction the The New Spanish Table, and is there another text I should be considering?

How about The Foods and Wines of Spain by Penelope Casas? I was considering this and The New Spanish Table when I was looking for a Spanish cookbook. Casas seemed to be the more distinguished authority on the subject so I went with her book instead.

Thanks, kanin. Thanks for making the decision even MORE difficult!! That book seems to fit right into that "The Julia Child of X" category that I'm looking for. Also, her book on Spanish home cooking looks quite enticing. Maybe I'll just put all of these books on my Amazon wishlist and see which one someone buys me first!

Well, one new cookbook that is currently en route is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. This just got released yesterday, so no real idea what it will be like, but it does not seem to be one of those "break out" books pulled from a larger cookbook as it is 1008 pages. Seeing as my wife is vegetarian and loves Bittman's How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, I can see this book getting a lot of use.

Anyone been pulling any new cookbooks off the shelf more than others?

Anyone have any advice on some great Creole/Cajun/New Orleans cookbooks? Creole Gumbo and All That Jazz: A New Orleans Seafood Cookbook was mentioned up thread a bit so I may grab that, but was also looking for some others that have recipes that are accessible for us living in Chicago where great seafood is not always on the menu.

I do know last week's weather had me reaching for All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking. Highly recommend the Caribbean Braised Pork Shoulder, a very simple dish marinated in orange/lime juice, coriander seed, allspice, paprika, cayenne and thyme. Will definitely make this again as it was a perfect cold weather meal.

Jamie

My old standby is Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way. I have the old two volume set that have now been combined into one book. The title is a little misleading since many of the recipies can be a little involved for a weekday meal, but the they have all been excellent and almost always come out well on the first run-through.

I've also had luck with Rick Bayless' cookbooks which at times seem more authentic than the food he actually serves in his restaurants. He certainly cranks up the spice more in his cookbooks - especially Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen.

More recently I picked up Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France which looks quite good. Interestingly, I picked it up from Costco - a suprising source for excellent cookbooks once you look beyond the piles of output from the cute but culinarily challenged Rachel Ray and the just plain offensive Sandra Lee. I saw Larousse Gastronomique there once, and also Howard McGee's On Food and Cooking.

If that's the case, has anyone had a NEGATIVE reaction the The New Spanish Table, and is there another text I should be considering?

I think it's slightly Americanized, for what you can realistically find here, and maybe for our style of cooking-- Spanish cooking is so simple, generally (the Adria school being the exception). All in all, though, I've been very happy with it and the last things I made, the desserts at my Spanish party with Pigmon and Trixie-Pea, were wows.

I picked up The Berghoff Family Cookbook at Costco and while I haven't made anything yet, the recipes look like fairly simple renditions of most of the dishes the restaurant served.

imsscott wrote:I picked up The Berghoff Family Cookbook at Costco and while I haven't made anything yet, the recipes look like fairly simple renditions of most of the dishes the restaurant served.

You know, I was flipped through that book TWICE at Costco and didn't grab it, and just now it dawns on me that they make my favorite creamed spinach. Any chance that recipe is in there?
Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:

imsscott wrote:I picked up The Berghoff Family Cookbook at Costco and while I haven't made anything yet, the recipes look like fairly simple renditions of most of the dishes the restaurant served.

You know, I was flipped through that book TWICE at Costco and didn't grab it, and just now it dawns on me that they make my favorite creamed spinach. Any chance that recipe is in there?
Jamie

The Berghoff creamed spinach recipe was published in the Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ ... ory?page=3

Jamieson22 wrote:

imsscott wrote:I picked up The Berghoff Family Cookbook at Costco and while I haven't made anything yet, the recipes look like fairly simple renditions of most of the dishes the restaurant served.

You know, I was flipped through that book TWICE at Costco and didn't grab it, and just now it dawns on me that they make my favorite creamed spinach. Any chance that recipe is in there?
Jamie

Yes, it is.