Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

This week, we have Savory, with Fruit! (Heads-up, pugmama!)

I've never been a very fancy cook, though I do enjoy making food pretty and presentable and will go to some lengths for that. Otherwise, I'm into 'comfort' foods.

But I greatly enjoy having something very different and unusual from time to time; and some of my favorites have been dishes that are savory, but include a sweet element, usually fruit.

I once vacationed with friends who came from a restaurant background, and eating with them was always a great experience - always something unexpected and never before encountered.

About 25 years ago, at the beach, the lady accompanied her meat with a carrot recipe that I loved. She wrote it down for me, and I've made it ever since - but I've always been a little suspicious of the accuracy of the recipe because it used so many carrots! When I've made it, I use about half the carrots.

When I decided to post it here, I thought I'd look and see if it was online anywhere, and whether my recipe was accurate.

Lo and Behold, here it is, at a very interesting website; and Yes, it uses a whole 2-1/2 pounds of carrots. I should have just trusted a gal who grew up in her family's restaurants ;-)

Carrots Sauteed withToasted Walnuts and Figs: (Don't substitute any other kind of fig, in this recipe)

http://www.laurengroveman.com/recipes/vegetables/the-carrots-sauteed-with-toasted-walnuts-and-sliced-calimyrna-figs/

Second, is another one that I think I saw in the Washington Post almost 20 years ago; the raisin/caper sauce was a revelation, and this is still on the menu at Restaurant Jean-Georges in NYC:

Scallops with Cauliflower and Raisin/Caper sauce:

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/jeangeorges/raisin.html#axzz3UCJovrc2

And Lastly: Green Apple Gado Gado

I'm confused about the Indonesian dish Gado Gado. The first recipe that I encountered some years ago, and still make frequently, seems very different from what I now read about the dish, as it has become more popular. I guess you can make it many different ways; or many different dishes carry the name.

Here's the Wiki on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gado-gado

And here's the one that I make, which doesn't seem at all like the Wiki description, but was called Gado Gado in the newspaper where I found it - and it's wonderful in Summer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59917-2004Jun22.html

[Jamestown1630]

It is delicious; but just as with Latkes, forego the food processor, and grate the carrots by hand. The one time I made it with a food processor it was too liquid and mushy.

(And, again as with Latkes, a little knuckle meat in the recipe is ‘de rigueur’ ;-)

-JT

[trisham]

I agree. There are some preparations that require the old-fashioned way. :)

[Jamestown1630]

It’s a beautiful little country, and very successful. My association with South Korean-Americans has engendered great respect for them.

I especially enjoy learning about the Heanyeo, the female divers on Jeju:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Kn4nYdZbQ

I’m also (perhaps perversely) fond of all the photos that show North and South Korea by night:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83182

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140226-north-korea-satellite-photos-darkness-energy/

I guess some ideologies ‘get it’, and some don’t.

(Any Questions?)

-JT

[V K Lee]

THAT looks divine. The berries make it pop!

Stumbled across this site for Civil War cooking. Still reading thru it. Love finding these sites about cooking thru history.
http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/cookbook.htm

[pugmama]

We have always stopped in SK, in transit to another SE Asian country. I think we should spend some time in the country next time we plan a trip. We love that part of the world. We considered Chiang Mai in Thailand for retirement, but it did not work out for us in the end. Thanks for the info.

[Jamestown1630]

There are lots of good reasons to take a vacation on Jeju; including Loveland, which is....um...’interesting’ ;-)

http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/play/10-things-do-jeju-island-045157

-JT