gourmet babble

About a week ago, I prepped batch #2 of pickles, with certain modifications — some intentional, some accidental. A couple of days ago, I finally opened up that jar.

Jar #2, before (left) and after (right) a week in the fridge

The results? There definitely was not enough dill and too much spice; the common word that everyone used was "strong". I think the apple cider vinegar somehow amplified the distilled white vinegar to give it an even more vinegary taste. The gross overspicing (by a factor of three!), combined with the vinegar, just caused overall palate overload. The salt isn't even really noticeable, and is thus mostly a waste. Finally, there simply was nowhere near enough dill, even before the haze of insane levels of (tasty but strong) pickling spices.

Still, it's a spicy dill pickle, and it's low sodium, and I'm not turning away from them. The consistency is good; firm, but not cucumbery; plenty of extra vegetables (especially onion) to serve as little enjoyable snacks as well.

I look forward to buying another three pickling cucumbers and a fresh batch of dill weed and trying to truly make a more classic dill with batch #3.

Posted by at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm sitting here, just watching the beginning of Bride and Prejudice, having just had a phenomenal meal from the new menu at Topolobampo, and suddenly it hits me: in over two months (and perhaps a lot longer), I have not had any food from of one my two staple cuisines: Indian. The music and the dance sets the tone as in so many of the great Indian restaurants I have been in, from authoritative staples like Providence's Kabob and Curry (Sanjiv, you are still the best!), to dives like that one place in Tempe (was that Dehli Palace?), to neighborhood legends like Forest Hills' Maurya of Queens, to vegetarian powerhouses like New York City's Vatan or Chicago's Hema's Kitchen, to high-end elegant restaurants like NYC's Darbar. Yes, it is time to cross the frontier and learn how to make my absolute favorite dish: call it Shahi Panir or Paneer Mumtaz, but tomato, cream, vegetables, nuts, and homemade cheese shall one day blend in my kitchen to make culinary magnificence — one of my true staples of life.

Sodium-free, of course, or as close to it as I can get. After all, what's life without a little challenge?

Posted by at 8:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Looking for a good Internet specialty cheese shop? I don't have any personal experience with these folks, but the site looks really good, and their bricks-and-mortar establishments in New York City are classic.

Check out Artisinal Cheese's web site to at least make yourself hungry — and, if you're willing to shell out the ducats, both poor and very happy.

(Of course, I have to give a shout out to my favorite Chicago artisinal cheese sources: Fox & Obel and Pastoral. Of course, if you're in New York City, you can't go wrong; in my old neighborhood, I always favored Fairway and Citarella.)

Happy cheesing!

Posted by at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)