As writers, we pay attention to our senses, so it's only natural that we will appreciate the aesthetics of what we perceive. Therefore, writers are often foodies. This thread is to share some of our thoughts about food, whether it be epicurean delights we have sampled or beloved recipes. I'll start out with a fairly indulgent breakfast I enjoyed this morning: Eggs Florentine For each serving, you need an individual oven-safe custard dish. Butter the dish, and add a couple tablespoons of cooked, drained spinach. shape it to form a shallow depression in the center. Sprinkle shredded Parmesan on top of the spinach, and crack an egg into the depression. pour a tablespoon of light cream over the egg, then sprinkle with more Parmesan. Dust the top with paprika, and season with sea salt. Bake in a 350F oven, until the egg is just set and the yolk is thickened but fluid, about 15 minutes if the spinach is warm and the egg is at room temperature at the start. Enjoy!
I must say, the food I enjoy most of all is Italian food. I make a mean Bruschetta too. What you need is a good whitebread baguette, cut it in half, sprinkle olive oil over it and then cover it in chopped tomatoes and cheese. Distribute in equal amounts. And then cover lightly with more olive oil and cook on full until the cheese has started to melt over the tomatoes, then take it out of the oven and cut into however many slices you want. Add some oregano and hey presto, you have tasty Bruschetta. The best thing is, whatever bread you don't use you can have the next morning for breakfast with some expensive honey. It's a perfect breakfast if, like me, you enjoy tasty a tasty breakfast without eating a lot. I really like small but high quality meals, and as I've got older the smaller the meals I like to have. I like other types of food too, I love Asian food. I can only have Chinese take away (when I get take away) and I really like Sushi too, but Italian food is just king.
Personally I must say, my favorite cuisine is the French and italian. In French cuisine, I do appreciate the duck the most. Especially confit de canard: a duck leg cooked in duck fat.
Tonight, for New Years Eve, I am making puff pastry tartlets with caramelized onions, anchovy paste, goat cheese, and whole cranberries, and I'm also making Cajun crab-stuffed mushrooms. EDIT: Well, the mushrooms were a bit disappointing, but the tartlets (my own creation/experiment) were amazing! The tartness of the cranberries balanced the other flavors perfectly.
Very nice! For us it has been a leak risotto with parmesan cheese and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.
Thai food, glorious Thai food. My husband is on his way with some right now. Also, I bought a bottle of Hickory Smoked Salt online. Good stuff! Was able to get my kids to eat asparagus for the first time by sprinkling it on as a finishing salt (don't cook with it! It somehow turns funky during the cooking process.) Mmmm... and now my mind is filled with all of my favorite seasonings- cajun, caribbean jerk, barbecue, herbs, herbs, herbs- which brings me to slow roasted tomatoes sprinkled with thyme, salt, and pepper. Slow-roasted tomato Bruschetta is like nothing else... I could go on and on! Happy New Years and happy eating to you all!
I'm of Italian heritage, and as such, I love good Italian food. My chicken Parmesan is downright amazing... not meaning to brag or anything... But, I also appreciate a good slice of Pizza... (It was gonna come up eventually ) This brings me to an important point. There should not be a debate between New York and Chicago Deep Dish! I don't care that each city takes pride in their pizza! I don't care that New York says theirs is closer to original Pizza! I don't care that Chicago says that Deep Dish is better... They are both freaking amazing! It's just, sometimes a person wants a thin, foldable slice of New York thin crust, and another time a person wants a giant slice of Chicago deep dish. My point is, they are both awesome, and there should be no argument over them!
Ash and I have decided we need to go on a diet (well, me more than her; a desk job does not do well for the waistline), which kicked off yesterday. We made a minted pea and feta omlette (well, without the mint) for lunch, which was more or less exactly what it says on the tin. And delicious. And then for dinner a vegetable thai red curry, which was delicious and fed a household of five (with a portion left over and frozen). My downfall is certainly that I love food. I just need to keep making the healthy stuff!
Mmm, food; I love to cook! Brilliant idea for a thread, looking forward to getting some new ideas! My most popular dish is Blanquette de Veau, a very very slowly cooked (ethically raised) veal and mushroom stew, served with rice. I love dishes that take time and care to make, there is nothing I like better than pottering about in the kitchen for hours with a glass of wine and an audiobook. I also make really good Gnocchi, if I do say so myself. It's easy to ruin gnocchi, but when you get it right it is so melt-in-the-mouth beautiful it is well worth it! My favourite accompaniments for gnocchi are home-made meatballs or a gorgonzola sauce. Normally I don't like shop-bought gnocchi at all, the texture is so rubbery, but here is a simple recipe I found for it that is delicious and actually works better with shop-bought than home made. This is *perfect* hangover food, really warm, easy and comforting: Ingredients: Gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella - ideally those little mozzarella pearls, mustard mayonnaise. - Halve the tomatoes and mozzarella balls, and set aside for now - Cook the gnocchi according to packet instructions (normally boil for a couple of minutes, until they float to the surface, then drain) - Heat up some olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then add the gnocchi and halved tomatoes. Stir them a little, but not too much as they need to get nice and crispy - After a few minutes when the gnocchi have started to brown, add in the mozzarella halves. Again, minimise stirring so the mozzarella doesn't all stick together - When the gnocchi is looking good and crispy (a few more minutes after adding the mozzarella, probably) add in a generous tablespoon of mustard mayonnaise, and stir it around for a couple of minutes. - Put it all in your face
Absolutely!!!!! I love both. I love having a stuffed spinach pizza with extra sauce. But that is totally, completely, utterly different from a good old NY slice. Both are wonderful. I would be happy if there were some way to have one for lunch and the other for dinner. Unfortunately, the quintessential examples of each are never available in close enough proximity to make this feasible. Although I suppose one could take a plane from NY after lunch and arrive in Chicago for dinner... (I also like California style pizzas -- ones with, say, butter, garlic and cheese, and I consider them even more to be completely different foods. I'd really have no problem having NY or Chicago style pizza for one meal and a "California" type pizza for the next.) It's probably not surprising that I love all things Chicago, but I like NYC very much -- it's an excellent #2 city, so I love going there. I recently went on a Chocolate tour of NYC. One of the very top chocolatiers in all of NYC is, surprise, surprise, actually based in Chicago! Vosges chocolate (I know, I know - I'm not supposed to make an endorsement, but this is a particular food recommendation. It's different.) -- their dark chocolate bar with bacon and sea salt is OMG out of this world. I bought some in NYC and I wish I'd bought more. I'll have to get more when I'm next in either NYC or Chicago. (I went on a chocolate tour of Philly, and it was fine, but nothing as great as in the other two.) Cheesesteaks are very good here, and there are some wonderful high end restaurants, but I'm always hauling back tons of food from either NYC or Chicago. Cog - your recipe sounds good. I will definitely have to try it. I've been thinking a lot lately about a recipe I haven't made in a while -- it's roasted garlic cloves (roasted for like, an hour or so in some olive oil), some caramelized sweet onions, sauteed in butter with a dash of brown sugar, if I recall correctly, and 8-12 ounces of goat cheese (I always like to add more than the recipe calls for, because I feel that you can never have too much goat cheese. Bake them all together and mix. Spread on baguette slices or crackers. The thing is, this is best eaten after it is made -- it's not something that keeps well for the next day. And my hubby doesn't like onions or especially like goat cheese, so I'd have to make it just for myself, which I can do if necessary, but isn't frequently justifiable.
I'm not a big fan of goat cheese, but it does work well as an accent. I can't say I have a particular affinity for one cuisine over another. I love Italian food, especially getting away from the "smother everything in tomato sauce" school. But I also love peppery Tex-Mex, New England seafood fare, Szechuan and Hunan meals, The rich spices of Thai and Indian dishes, and hearty dishes from Eastern Europe. I also make a lot of my own breads, also with world-wide variations. Basically, I love food.
Wow, these dishes sound amazing. Unfortunately, my mom is allergic to dairy and all buttery goodness, so my family is deprived of such dishes at home. I still eat lots of cheese though, don't know if I could live without it! My favorite foods are Mexican and Italian for sure. I love seafood Alfredo at good restaurants. Fajitas, burritos, and anything with sour cream I love. Being from Kentucky, fried chicken is a big deal too (just not KFC...blech). And I love barbecue.
I like all kinds of cuisine, and enjoy cooking. When my wife and I decided to lose weight early last year, I worried that I would have to rein in my cooking exploits in order to shed the pounds. But I actually found it easier, because there are so many great ways to use herbs and light sauces. We also avoided carbs like the plague and kept serving sizes small. We both lost over 30 pounds in five months. For New Years Day, I am broiling dry aged porterhouse steaks and serving them with a bernaise sauce, and brussel sprouts with grated swiss and parmesan cheese.
I made a really good shepherd's pie for New Year's Eve dinner. Loved it. We'll have the leftovers for lunch today. For dinner, I'll probably roast a chicken. I love good roast chicken. Not only does it taste great, but I can make a really good stock from the bones, and when that's done, I can get some andouille sausage and make chicken gumbo! Gumbo is a project - it takes a lot of time and care to get it right - but it is VERY worth it! I make it thick and serve it over rice, and I can't get enough of it.
I was just thinking about this thread and I cannot believe I forgot I also like Greek cooking. Show me someone who doesn't like Feta cheese and I'll show you someone I'll not be able to properly get along with. Mediterranean food, then, is best for me. To be honest I just love that part of the world. Always have.
Oh, I really need to try some more Greek food! I've only been to Greece once, 2 weeks in Kefalonia, and the food was awesome but it was so Italian-style it didn't really count to me as Greek food. My office went to a Greek restaurant for our Christmas party a couple of weeks ago and it was so tasty - I love the Mediterranean way of separating out the meat so you can properly enjoy it. But the baclava was my favourite part I have to say, I could live on that stuff. Feta is an excellent cheese; fried halloumi is the king of the non-British cheeses for me though
Hmmm I thought avocados had hair, that might be my whole problem. I was also wondering why I quit having syphilis outbreaks while I was eating it. Thanks for the tip.
I've never had it around long enough for it to become moldy. The avocados oxidize pretty quickly once exposed to air, which is why you often add lime juice to slow down this process. But even after having in the fridge overnight, it turns a very dark green, especially on top. It's still okay to eat, but it's not visually appealing. If I don't eat it at this point, I throw it away. So I think that it would look too unappealing to eat before it actually grew mold. Guac is best very freshly made. Wait until the avocados are soft enough to press, then scoop out the flesh, add garlic and salt. Delicioso! You can add peppers and/or some salsa, but I don't like peppers, so I eat it just with garlic and salt. I also often put it on a platter with fresh salsa and sour cream. Then you can mix them all together as you see fit with each chip.
Guacamole does turn a horrible brown color when it goes bad. It never usually turns that color for me though, since I eat it. My sister made some for us last night for fajitas and it was delicious. Just got home from eating traditional New Years Day pork and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, and stuffing. Grandma's good country cookin'.
Have you every tried putting a little olive oil in it? It gives it a nice creamy texture that you just can't get any other way. I like putting a little chopped onion in too Anyone here know anything about Middle Eastern/Mediterranean quinine? I went to a restaurant in the city once that had the most amazing Persian food. I've never been able to replicate it or find anything like it out where I live. I'm just fascinated by the variety of spices that they used and the flavors that don't seem like they should work together, but somehow do.
Take a bowl and place slices of cucumber and onion in it and then puor in a mixture of 50%water and 50%vinegar or what eve ratio you desire. Add salt and pepper. Place celphane over the top of teh bowl and place it in a refrigerator for 24 hours. Then one hour before serving, place sliced tomatoe in. You have an apatiser.
I haven't tried that, but I like the guac I make so much as it is, I'm not sure i want to change it. But I'll give it a shot. I used to go to Cousin's restaurant in Chicago, but I believe they closed a while back. Every time I'm back I head to Greektown, since it's so inexpensive and delicious. Which Persian restaurant did you go to? There's a Persian restaurant outside Philly that I love -- there's a dish called Chicken Fessenjoon, which is chicken with a pomegranite and walnut sauce which is incredibly delicious. It's a big deal dish in Iran, but it's not easy to find a recipe for it, or a lot of restaurants that serve it, since it's apparently not "Middle Eastern" but specifically "Persian." I did find a recipe book with a recipe for it, but I have not yet made it.
