Comments for TracyFood http://www.tracyfood.com Recipes, rants, and intercontinental adventures. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:37:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 Comment on Recipe: Cheddar-Scallion Drop Biscuits by Peter http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/22/cheddar-scallion-biscuits/#comment-5937 Peter Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:08:21 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/22/cheddar-scallion-biscuits/#comment-5937 I usually use pretty strong (and good) cheese, since I live a few blocks from Farmstead, a really amazing cheese monger in Providence, RI. I like the "sock in the mouth with a biscuit full of cheddar" feeling, but your recipe might provide that with less cost and fat (although, yes, "Mmmm,fat." indeed). Haha, rosemary-Parmesan! Brilliant! Currently, I am doing sage (and usually basil) and cheddar as well as dill and Emmentaler. Now I will need to try this... Hmmm, a long weekend... biscuit makin'.... I tried ham and Gorgonzola once, but it worked out to be a little salty. Also, it wasn't a big hit with the vegetarians I know, and I got a little tire of shouting "no! not *those* biscuits!" What herb would go well with Gorgonzola? Just the cheese would be a little flat, I think. I usually use pretty strong (and good) cheese, since I live a few blocks from Farmstead, a really amazing cheese monger in Providence, RI. I like the “sock in the mouth with a biscuit full of cheddar” feeling, but your recipe might provide that with less cost and fat (although, yes, “Mmmm,fat.” indeed).

Haha, rosemary-Parmesan! Brilliant! Currently, I am doing sage (and usually basil) and cheddar as well as dill and Emmentaler. Now I will need to try this… Hmmm, a long weekend… biscuit makin’….

I tried ham and Gorgonzola once, but it worked out to be a little salty. Also, it wasn’t a big hit with the vegetarians I know, and I got a little tire of shouting “no! not *those* biscuits!” What herb would go well with Gorgonzola? Just the cheese would be a little flat, I think.

]]> Comment on Fun facts! by Peter http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/08/06/fun-facts/#comment-5936 Peter Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:01:17 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/08/06/fun-facts/#comment-5936 Madhur Jaffrey is a really good cookbook author. Her <i>Quick and Easy Indian Cooking</i> shocked me when I got it a bunch of years ago because it really was a) quick and b) easy, especially once you come to terms with some of the less-common-in-the-US spices. Easy to follow recipes that turn out pretty much as promised, and the text is leavened with a few personal asides that make it fun to read as well. Anyone who likes cooking and Indian food should check out her books! On seafood, I find the handy Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch page to be helpful in avoiding those fish that I'd rather not eat into extinction nor die from eating. http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch.asp Lastly, good luck with the sellin', movin', and travelin'! Madhur Jaffrey is a really good cookbook author. Her Quick and Easy Indian Cooking shocked me when I got it a bunch of years ago because it really was a) quick and b) easy, especially once you come to terms with some of the less-common-in-the-US spices. Easy to follow recipes that turn out pretty much as promised, and the text is leavened with a few personal asides that make it fun to read as well. Anyone who likes cooking and Indian food should check out her books!

On seafood, I find the handy Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch page to be helpful in avoiding those fish that I’d rather not eat into extinction nor die from eating. http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch.asp

Lastly, good luck with the sellin’, movin’, and travelin’!

]]> Comment on Fun facts! by Chris Phan http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/08/06/fun-facts/#comment-5932 Chris Phan Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:42:43 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/08/06/fun-facts/#comment-5932 They clearly weren't briefed about the EUG. They clearly weren’t briefed about the EUG.

]]> Comment on Moosewood Restaurant New Classics by TracyFood » Fun facts! http://www.tracyfood.com/2007/08/16/moosewood-new-classics/#comment-5929 TracyFood » Fun facts! Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:35:04 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2007/08/16/moosewood-new-classics/#comment-5929 [...] enough). I think it’s fair to bring my handwritten recipe notebook and a copy of my beloved Moosewood New Classics, but it’s a slippery slope from there to The New Best Recipe which kind of weighs a ton. [...] […] enough). I think it’s fair to bring my handwritten recipe notebook and a copy of my beloved Moosewood New Classics, but it’s a slippery slope from there to The New Best Recipe which kind of weighs a ton. […]

]]> Comment on Recipe: Cheddar-Scallion Drop Biscuits by Tracy http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/22/cheddar-scallion-biscuits/#comment-5927 Tracy Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:23:03 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/22/cheddar-scallion-biscuits/#comment-5927 Hi Peter! I HIGHLY recommend these biscuits; they are fun and easy and delicious. As always, I vote for using less of a stronger cheese over more of a weaker one, which used to get me in trouble when I ran cheese department customer service ("Ew, don't buy low-fat cheese. Buy something you can't or don't need to eat a lot of, you'll get less fat and be happier.") The other variation I've tried for this recipe is rosemary-Parmesan, and I think it uses even less cheese because a good Parmesan is assertive enough that you don't need to use very much. I suspect putting butter on at the very end of the recipe is another good way to get maximum flavor out of slightly less fat. Mmmm, fat. Hi Peter! I HIGHLY recommend these biscuits; they are fun and easy and delicious. As always, I vote for using less of a stronger cheese over more of a weaker one, which used to get me in trouble when I ran cheese department customer service (”Ew, don’t buy low-fat cheese. Buy something you can’t or don’t need to eat a lot of, you’ll get less fat and be happier.”) The other variation I’ve tried for this recipe is rosemary-Parmesan, and I think it uses even less cheese because a good Parmesan is assertive enough that you don’t need to use very much. I suspect putting butter on at the very end of the recipe is another good way to get maximum flavor out of slightly less fat. Mmmm, fat.

]]> Comment on Recipe: Cheddar-Scallion Drop Biscuits by Peter http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/22/cheddar-scallion-biscuits/#comment-5926 Peter Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:31:18 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/22/cheddar-scallion-biscuits/#comment-5926 I may try this -- I have a cheesy biscuit recipe I heavily modified from a sweet muffin recipe out of a magazine. Yours has a lot less cheese in it, which would make them cheaper to make (and moderately better for the eater -- my recipe is basically cheese and butter held together with a thin veneer of flour; tasty, yes, but also -- um -- a little *much*). I hadn't thought of putting foliage in a biscuit, either, and it sounds so good I can't imagine why I haven't.... I may try this — I have a cheesy biscuit recipe I heavily modified from a sweet muffin recipe out of a magazine. Yours has a lot less cheese in it, which would make them cheaper to make (and moderately better for the eater — my recipe is basically cheese and butter held together with a thin veneer of flour; tasty, yes, but also — um — a little *much*). I hadn’t thought of putting foliage in a biscuit, either, and it sounds so good I can’t imagine why I haven’t….

]]> Comment on Calling all lentil lovers: help me test a dal bhaat recipe! by Peter http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/02/15/dal-bhaat-testing/#comment-5896 Peter Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:34:48 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/02/15/dal-bhaat-testing/#comment-5896 You did mention the soupiness (first sentence under "Take 2"); I just a) wasn't expecting it to be quite so soupy and b) wanted something less wet, since I already had a pretty wet dish. It does seem to "dewetify" well, so I suspect that anywhere from 3-6 cups of water could produce an acceptable dish, depending on the cook's preferences (which makes it a more versatile dish, now that I think of it). You did mention the soupiness (first sentence under “Take 2″); I just a) wasn’t expecting it to be quite so soupy and b) wanted something less wet, since I already had a pretty wet dish. It does seem to “dewetify” well, so I suspect that anywhere from 3-6 cups of water could produce an acceptable dish, depending on the cook’s preferences (which makes it a more versatile dish, now that I think of it).

]]> Comment on Calling all lentil lovers: help me test a dal bhaat recipe! by Tracy http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/02/15/dal-bhaat-testing/#comment-5895 Tracy Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:21:06 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/02/15/dal-bhaat-testing/#comment-5895 Hey Peter (and everybody else who tried this recipe)! Thank you for cooking along! I probably should have mentioned that Nepali-style <i>dal</i> is a very soupy dish, almost more of a sauce for rice than anything else. Which, from what I know about the history of curry (the dish and the concept and whatnot) makes it sort of a throwback to the original dishes given that name (putting big chunks of meat in was only for rich people, then English imperialist colonizers, then neocolonialists and tourists, which might be the same thing depending on your interpretation). Hey Peter (and everybody else who tried this recipe)!

Thank you for cooking along! I probably should have mentioned that Nepali-style dal is a very soupy dish, almost more of a sauce for rice than anything else. Which, from what I know about the history of curry (the dish and the concept and whatnot) makes it sort of a throwback to the original dishes given that name (putting big chunks of meat in was only for rich people, then English imperialist colonizers, then neocolonialists and tourists, which might be the same thing depending on your interpretation).

]]> Comment on Calling all lentil lovers: help me test a dal bhaat recipe! by Peter http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/02/15/dal-bhaat-testing/#comment-5894 Peter Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:37:35 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/02/15/dal-bhaat-testing/#comment-5894 So, *months* after the post, I did make this, and I liked it very much, especially as a companion to a mushroom curry for a super-earthy kind of meal. Anyway, my only gripe is that is was really soupy, which may have been a result of the kind of lentils I used (didn't have time to get fancy at the Indian grocery, so I just used what I could find at the nearby Whole Foods) -- I knocked the liquid down by a cup, and I think I will cut a second cup next time to make it a lot thicker -- the mushroom curry is pretty soupy, to, so it made for a very wet meal! It was really tasty, though. So, yay! So, *months* after the post, I did make this, and I liked it very much, especially as a companion to a mushroom curry for a super-earthy kind of meal. Anyway, my only gripe is that is was really soupy, which may have been a result of the kind of lentils I used (didn’t have time to get fancy at the Indian grocery, so I just used what I could find at the nearby Whole Foods) — I knocked the liquid down by a cup, and I think I will cut a second cup next time to make it a lot thicker — the mushroom curry is pretty soupy, to, so it made for a very wet meal!

It was really tasty, though. So, yay!

]]> Comment on Saturday night randomness! by cj http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/19/saturday-night-randomness/#comment-5843 cj Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:43:06 +0000 http://www.tracyfood.com/2008/07/19/saturday-night-randomness/#comment-5843 Ooo! I will have to try to remember to look at that latter. Ooo! I will have to try to remember to look at that latter.

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