27-DEC-2007
Caponata finished.
It tastes better after it mellows and melds in the fridge for a couple of days.
It also freezes well.
Serve as an appetizer, with crackers or Italian bread. Good on sandwiches with some mellow cheese.
27-DEC-2007
Caponata
Caponata is a Sicilian-derived eggplant, peppers and olives dish.
While it superficially resembles the French ratatouille, caponata has more wham, more zest and no courgettes (zucchini). The sauce is a tangy, sweet and sour melange. Some recipes call for pignoli (pine nuts) but I prefer it without. Another version has bitter chocolate added, something I've never tried, but I have serious doubts that it would help it at all.
This picture shows most of the ingredients prepped and cut and ready to cook.
Grand Central Oyster Bar
Icy oysters on the half shell.
Grand Central Oyster Bar
Oyster Pan Roast.
(A bit sloppy in serving, but it was very good.)
Harold's NY Deli
Pickle Plate from the Pickle Bar
Caffe Galleria, Lambertsville, NJ
Seitan and Couscous with Canellini Beans and Vegetables
08-JUN-2003
Birth of Dutch Baby
Susie removes Dutch Baby From Oven
05-JAN-2004
Caldo Tlalpeño x Dos.JPG
Aquí está una sopa muy sabrosa, que originó en el Distrito Federal de México. Tlalpan es una parte de la ciudad al sureste.
La sopa consiste de caldo de pollo, enriquecida con pechuga de pollo deshebrada, garbanzos, arroz, y bien sazonada con chile chipotle y epazote, ajo y cebolla. Se pone cubitos de aguacate y cilantro.
05-JAN-2004
La Sra. Anónima aquí disfruta un buen Caldo Tlalpeño
Un rinconcito Mexicano en el corazón del sur de los EUA.
< Vanlang Vietnamese Restaurant >
A relative newcomer to diners in Little Rock, this wonderful restaurant has never failed to satisfy us, and at times has amazed us. The food is fresh, tangy, succulent and varied. The house specialty is Pho, Vietnamese Beef and Rice Noodle Soup, served in large bowls, and accompanied by platters of fresh herbal garnishes. The prices are remarkably economical. The service is friendly and sincere. The waiters try very hard to fill your needs.
05-MAR-2004
Baking with a Mexican Twist
Brioche dough Cinnamon Raisin rolls, left, brushed with a Margarita syrup (Simple syrup, lime, Tequila and Triple Sec).*
Right, a prune and wanut -filled Brioche Twist.
Inspired by Panadería Los Hornos Ortiz, Morelia, Michoacán, México
< Foods From Our Mexico Trip: February, 2004 >
untitled 2 copy
Coming soon...More Culinary Delights
17-MAR-2004
Chuletas De Cerdo Al Pastor
Thick cut loin pork chops, marinated in a secret sauce with 4 different chiles, fruits and imported spices, browned in a cast iron skillet, and baked to perfection.
Served with our own Arroz de Oro Mexicano, Ensalada de Lechuga Romana, jitomatitos, toronja, y nuestro aderezo agri-dulce de amapola.
24-MAR-2004
Carrot Coriander Soup with Asiago cheese tostada crisps
03-APR-2004
MrWhiskersCaramelCustard.JPG
15-APR-2004
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29-APR-2004
BurgersWithPepperjack.JPG
01-MAY-2004
AnonimosFridge.JPG
Sorted! (Before dinner party.)
05-MAY-2004
Churipo1.JPG
An "interpretation" of a beef stew, in the style of Michoacán, cooked with onions, garlic, carrots and courgettes/zucchini. Seasoned with chiles anchos, guajillos and chipotles, sesame seeds, various sweet spices, and a touch of chocolate Mexicano. (This is not the authentic version, often made with several types of meat, some of it often dried.) The results, nevertheless, were delicious.
16-MAY-2004
Catfish'nTrimmings.jpg
A 3-piece Catfish and trimmings Dinner, from Dj's Hilltop Diner, Drasco, Arkansas. Note the generous servings of plump, moist fillets of catfish, served very hot and fresh in their crunchy, cornmeal coating. The pickled green tomato relish, in the paper cup, was very good. The slaw was a bit gassy and sweet, and, alas! the 4 large hushpuppies were too sweet, over cooked, and greasy. I only ate one.
The French fries were fine, the traditional slice of raw onion was there to bite on, offsetting the richness of the fried food, and a less-traditional dill pickle spear, instead of pickle chips, was welcome. The price for this, the smallest plate of catfish offered, was $5.50, a very good and filling meal at that price.
22-MAY-2004
Pain Bagnat Ingredients setup
22-MAY-2004
Pain Bagnat and salmon close
22-JUN-2004
Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts1.jpg
22-JUN-2004
Anniversary Chicken Breast.jpg
01-AUG-2004
Tomato Basil Foccacia
Dough was made with a 20 hour sponge. White flour, whole wheat and rye flours, olive oil, Kosher salt and ground anise. Four hours rest time after kneading, 2 hours second rise.
26-AUG-2004
Lulu's Mexican Style Gelatinas
< Dinner at the Penang Malaysian Restaurant, E. Hanover, NJ >
Four friends from LonelyPlanet.com's Thorn Tree Get Stuffed Food Forum got together to meet in person and dine on Malaysian food.
A good time was had by all.
29-SEP-2004
Banana Pudding
I made this Banana Pudding, following a discussion on the Get Stuffed Branch of the Lonelyplanet.com Thorn Tree.
It's a 4-banana pudding, with the requisite vanilla wafers serving only as a foundation.
09-OCT-2004
Sausage and Mushroom pizza
The image color on the web is a little darker than in the original photo. The pot holders are well-used, so please forgive their less than pristine appearnce!
The pizza was baked on a non-stick, perforated pizza pan for about 25 minutes, in a 450º Far. oven.
30-OCT-2004
Panes De Los Muertos
Elaborated to commemorate El Día de los Muertos.
21-NOV-2004
New Kitchen Purchases
Linens N Things had a sale. Among the tempting items were the Rival Digital Timer Crock-Pot for #30, and a Sharp Carousel Microwave Oven for $50.
We decided that we didn't need the Microwave Oven at this point, but the Crock-Pot was a steal at the price. Discounter Sam's Club, down the street, had the same item at $39.76.
While browsing the LNT Store, I came across a "Martha Stewart", by Salter, 11-lb capacity chromed kitchen scale, but it lacked an ingredient receptacle. After a little gentle bargaining, we got a further 25% off. I knew that I could replace the missing receptacle with a stainless steel bowl from my kitchen shelves.
05-DEC-2004
Flat Onion Pletzlach.jpg
Got the recipe from the Weekend edition of The NY Times!
12-DEC-2004
PanaderiaVictoria.jpg
Panadería Mexicana nueva ha abierta en Little Rock, Arkansas. Se llama "La Victoria".
We visited this yesterday, Sunday, December 12, 2004. We had a nice chat with the baker-owner, Gustavo ?
The products were superior to those of othe local Mexican bakeries we've tried.
12-DEC-2004
Panes Dulces de La Victoria a Nuestra Mesa
Aquí se ve un surtido de panes dulces y postre de la Panadería "La Victoria".
They were quite tasty, especially accompanied with mugs of "Té de Siete Azahares" that we brewed.
< Making Boston Brown Bread >
This is an old recipe from New England, typically eaten with baked beans or spread with cream cheese. The breads are steamed in their cylindrical moulds for two hours in a kettle.
24-DEC-2004
sopa_frijol_negro.jpg
This is a vegetarian version of a Mexican Sopa de Frijoles Negros. It's garnished with totopos (fried tortilla strips), crema and cilantro sprigs. Despite the lack of meat or chicken stock, it's a very tasty soup. The recipe was adapted from the original in "Mexico - The Beautiful Cookbook", by Susana Palazuelos and Marilyn Tausend.
26-DEC-2004
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27-DEC-2004
Goat Cheese Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula
Thin, crisp, whole wheat crust; herbed garlic softened goat cheese; balsamic marinated cherry tomatoes; finished with coarsely chopped fresh arugula.
Toothsome Threesome Coffee Cakes
< Supermercado "La Regional", Little Rock, Arkansas >
Located in south Little Rock, near the corner of Baseline Rd. and Chicot Rd.,precisely 7414 Baseline Road; it is an excellent store in which to buy all sorts of Latino foods and products. There is a carnicería, a small dining room serving pupusas, antojitos Mexicanos, soups and lunch plates.
There is even a hat department! The store is busy, in my opinion, because the product line is extensive, the store is well-arranged and clean, and the prices are reasonable.
26-APR-2005
Spiced Banana Bread
Hot from the oven, only 10 minutes ago!
24-APR-2005
Sopa de Ajo
This simple yet delicious soup consists of lots of chopped peeled garlic cloves cooked in olive oil until lightly golden but not browned; chicken stock, Spanish Pimentón, and tomato puree (optional).
Toast croutons with melted aged cheese, (eg, Parmesan, Romano, Manchego or Asiago) on top. The soup was garnished with dollops of thinned sour cream (creme fraiche preferred) and some fresh basil leaves we had on hand.
The style of this version of the soup is similar to that of the Restaurante "El Tragadero" in Zacatecas, México, although not identical.
02-MAY-2005
Pizza alla Casera 1
Pizza with a homemade tomato sauce, homemade spicy sausage, onions, fresh mushrooms, Asiago cheese and Mozzarella cheese.
The perforated pizza pan gives the crust a nice crispness.
02-MAY-2005
Pizza alla Casera 2
The dough for the pizza crust is simple: flour, yeast, water, salt and a drop of extra virgin olive oil are slowly fermented over many hours.
01-MAY-2005
Porkchop Breakfast
Thick cut boneless centercut porkchops, coarse polenta, fried apples. A nice Sunday breakfast.
The porkchops were dredged in a mixture of cornmeal, flour, salt and chile to give them a good crust when pan-fried.
The apples were slice cored but not peeled, then fried in butter, in the same skillet in which the pork chops had been cooked (on "hold" in a low temp oven). The apples were sweetened with a little sugar and spiced with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
09-MAY-2005
Breville Classic Blender & Kitchen appliances
09-MAY-2005
Breville Classic Blender alone
10-MAY-2005
Jelled 2 Perfection
Ah, Perfection Salad again!
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21-MAY-2005
Mezzes plates
Mediterranean style antipasto. Potato salad, several varieties of cheeses, salamis, tomatoes, black olives.
25-MAY-2005
Meatloaf Sandwich
Note the thickness of the slice, and the abundant bread 'n butter pickles.
< Kiwi Appy Gift Package >
(Of interest mainly to posters on LonelyPlanet.com's Thorn Tree, Get Stuffed Branch.)
We received this box of New Zealand goodies from "Appy", a young woman in New Zealand. It was part of an international gift exchange. We had sent her wine corks, chiles chipotles en adobo and Mexican Chocolate for drinking, aswell as some Arkansas postcards and tourist info.
I am a big believer in international friendships and exchanges. Thanks, Appy!
< Panadería y Taquería "Las Americas", Little Rock, Arkansas >
A new, Guatemalan, Salvadoreño, Mexicano eating place has been open for several months in south Little Rock.
8622 Chicot Road, Little Rock 72209 Tel: 501-565-0266
DISCLAIMER: I have no financial interest in this business, nor family members working there. I simply admire the immigrant hard-working ethic. The staff are very friendly people, como se dice, "Son gente muy amable."
The baked foods are unique and distinctive. Tropical beverages are served including horchata, tamarindo, jamaica and piña. I haven't tried the comida yet. Today, when we visited, several satisfied looking customers eating plates of antojitos, and one was just getting ready to start on a bowl of good-looking Caldo de Res.
ChooChoo Fusion Cuisine
I was struck by the eclectic and varied offerings at the Choo Choo Catfish, Sushi, Hot Wings, Korean Barbecue and Super Sandwich, etc. Restaurant, at the intersection of Chicot and Baseline Roads in South Little Rock, Arkansas.
It's next door, just west of Supermercado La Regional.
29-JUN-2005
pavlova1.jpg
My first attempt at making a Pavlova. Oi!
< Dallas Ethnic Dining >
(A sampling from a very brief visit.)
Hot Hamburger Buns and Juicy Peach-Blueberry Tart
< Thorntree Get Stuffed Branch Fall 2006 New Jersey Asian Dinner Meeting >
Little Saigon Restaurant, Montclair, NJ
Attendance was light, but the group was congenial.
< Pizzas and Focaccias >
A collection of pizze and focaccace I have made or purchased and loved.
< New Haven and Other Connecticut Restaurants >
(This consolidates all our favorite Connecticut restaurants into one gallery.)