Random Food Thoughts

It has been a while.  Things have not been going great and I just haven't felt inspired, though most of the problem has been actually getting out here and posting.  So, I thought that to get things back in gear I would start with a few random thoughts in the general area of food.

I've posted before about making deviled eggs, and there was a potluck at work, so I tried it again.  A while back I read a suggestion to use a large ziplock bag for mixing up the filling, and then cut off a corner and pipe it right into the egg halves.  Well, it worked okay, with a short list of caveats.

First, it is hard to see if the yolks are getting properly and evenly mooshed in the ziplock bag.  Of course, you can open it and look in, but it is not as easy as turning everything over a couple of times in a bowl.  Now, this feeds into the second problem, which occurs if you do not get the yolks mushed into a consistent mixture.

Second, bits of egg yolk get stuck in the opening.  When this happens and the mixture stops flowing, the instinctive reactive is to squeeze harder and....blap....egg yolk mixture all over the place.  Kind of a mess, as you might guess.

Third, my piping skills suck.  The cookie press gave me a lot more control, and made the result very pretty.  I did not take pictures, but the result this time was not pretty.  Of course, a bit more practice with a piping bag might solve this problem.

However, the deviled eggs were still a bit hit and I got several compliments, again.

The Hairy Bikers Minced Beef Pinwheels

I saw these on one of the their shows and wanted to try them.  The first try was pretty good.  I tried it with a rather cheap cut of hamburger, so I cooked it first so that I could drain off some of the fat.  As should be obvious, I do not do onions, but I did use a healthy dose of onion powder.  Also, I used Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry, and then also tried it using Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough.  It was basically a success, though mine did not look as nice as theirs.

But, I had an idea for a variation, and another thing at work gave me a chance to test it. 

Sausage and Cheese Pinwheels

I used Light Breakfast Sausage, Colby Cheese, and Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough.  I spread the sausage, uncooked, across the dough (it is a very messy job, use gloves if you have them) and then grated cheese on top of that.  Roll up the crust, cut into slices, top with egg wash and then bake for 15 minutes.  Nothing fancy about it, but those too were a big hit.

So, there are a few random thoughts and hopefully this will be the start of getting back into things and enjoying food again.

Comfort Food - Salami, Cheese and Bread

As a young man growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Marin County and Corte Madera to be specific, I remember going on camping trips and hikes as a Boy Scout and having to pack a lunch/dinner, either to eat while hiking, or while driving to where ever we were camping.  I remember buying a Gallo Dry Salami or Salame, as they say on their website.  The Salamis we bought back then weren't very big, only about six to eight inches long and maybe two across.  Sometimes, a couple of us would split a salami, a chunk of cheese and a French Bread. 

Now, there are two mistakes that you should not make as you imagine this lunch.  First, do not think of Cotto Salami when I mention Dry Salami.  They are utterly and completely different.  Cotto Salami is more like coarse ground bologna with more spice and whole pepper corns.  It is nothing like the heaven that is dry salami.  Nor, should you think of hard salami, which is dry salami's poor cousin.  Hard Salami is close, but not quite there.  Also, you should not compare San Francisco French Bread with the weak stuff they call French Bread in most of the US.  If you have a good bakery in your home town, you may compare it to that, but it will still be missing one key element, sourdough.  There is something about the San Francisco that produces a unique, and delicious sourdough that is used to make the signature French Bread.  San Francisco French Bread is crusty and delicious, and can even give a true French Bread...yes, I mean one from France, a run for its money...and yes, I do know that, as I have tasted both.  I grew up in the Bay Area and then spent two years in France. 

Now, with a true understanding of Salami and Bread, you may finally understand this nostalgic lunch of my childhood.  I have spent years trying to find Salami similar to the Salami of my childhood and the closest I have come is Boar's Head Bianco D'Oro Dry Salami.  It takes me back to my childhood.  I sometimes buy it for my lunch,  along with some of the Boar's Head Black Wax Sharp Cheddar Cheese, which is very good cheese, even better than what I remember buying all those years ago. 

Unfortunately, I have had to give up on good French Bread.  I can buy the Salami and Cheese at a local supermarket, but I have to go to a bakery to get the right French Bread, and it often isn't worth the trouble.  Here in Texas, HEB sells Pan Frances.  I am glad they use the spanish name, because it doesn't really deserve even that.  It is nothing like true French Bread. 

To me, this is an example of comfort food. Not only do I love it, but I get to relive pleasant moments from my childhood when I eat it.

Lays Tangy Carolina BBQ Chips

 If you don't know, there are two kinds of BBQ sauce in North Carolina.  In the East, they have a vinegar based sauce, and in the West, they have a more tomato based sauce, which is closer to other BBQ sauces, from Kansas City to Texas. 

 

Vinegar is the thing that truly sets these chips apart from your average BBQ chip.  It's a little like someone crossed BBQ chips with Salt and Vinegar chips, but the BBQ won.  They have what I can only describe as a pucker factor similar to, but less intense than most Salt and Vinegar chips.  These chips are spicy and a little sweet, but with a tang that can only come from vinegar.  They start off mild, but then build on you as you try to polish off more than just a few.  That lasting effect also separates them from most other BBQ chips. 

 

They are not my favorite chips...then again, I am not sure that I have a favorite chip.  I don't like them enough to buy them every time, but when the average BBQ chip starts to get a little boring, then these are a really nice change of pace.

Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

Shanghai Chinese Restaurant 

6718 Middle Fiskville Rd 

Austin, TX  78752 

(512) 458-8088 

Watch out, they are closed on Monday.  It was my bad luck to look for them a month or two back on a Monday and I ended up finding China Palace.  That day, I couldn't find the sign, but it turns out that they are closed on Monday.  Well, I finally gave them a second chance. 

I ordered my usual, Sesame Chicken, to go.  The lunch came with an egg roll, fried rice and soup.  Of course, I choose Hot and Sour.  Unfortunately, when I opened the bag, and then the box, I found the egg roll was in with the hot steamy foods, so that is one point against.  If you put the egg roll in with the steamy foods, then you end up with a soggy egg roll.  Fortunately, I have learned to look for this and so my egg roll did not get soggy. 

The chicken is battered and does not really seem to have spent any time in the sauce.  There's not a lot sauce, and the sauce is not overly sweet.  In fact the first piece of chicken has a decidedly sour taste.  It looks like the chicken was not prepared specifically for Sesame chicken and was just covered with some sauce at the last minute.  The sweetness of the sauce was not a problem, as Sesame Chicken can slide way too far into sweetness.  This didn't, and the chicken was quite tasty, if a bit tough, at least some pieces.  The only major problem was the amount of sauce. 

There was a good serving of broccoli, and it was still mostly crispy, but I don't buy Sesame Chicken for the broccoli, and I'd have rather had a little more chicken and a lot more sauce rather than any broccoli. 

The eggroll was very crunchy.  It was made with the thinner pastry that comes out very flaky and crunchy and has the disadvantage of flaking all over the place.  But, that is not really a negative, just a way of differentiating them from the thicker won-ton style pastry that is sometimes used for egg rolls. 

The fried rice was a little tasteless, needed more sauce.  In fact, it was surprisingly tasteless.  It certainly didn't have enough salt.  In fact, it didn't have enough anything and was barely edible after mixing with the sauce.  I didn't finish it. 

Which brings me to the Hot and Sour soup.  The soup was long on hot and short on flavor.  It wasn't terrible, and I like a nice hot Hot and Sour soup, but it wasn't all that tasty, and it was hot.  Half an hour after eating it, my lips were still burning and I didn't finish all the soup, because it wasn't all that tasty. 

So, in conclusion, there was only one thing in this lunch that really rates a good review and that was the egg roll.  The chicken was subpar, but not terrible.  There was too much broccoli and not enough sauce.  The fried rice was tasteless, and the Hot and Sour soup was overly hot and not tasty enough.  I enjoyed this lunch, and it wasn't over priced, but it just wasn't good enough, you can do much better at this price. 

Mama Fu's Asian House

Mama Fu's Asian House 

4615 N. Lamar  

Ste #307 

Austin, TX 78751 

One of my co-workers is leaving for a new job, so we took him to lunch, and he selected Mama Fu's.  I'd never been there, and it seemed like a good time to express a few opinions on the food. 

I checked out the menu before hand, and a lot of the food seems to based on vegetables that I don't care for, like peppers, onions and mushrooms.  Also, they didn't really have my favorite, sesame chicken, though they do offer a dish with a sesame soy sauce and chicken.  Mama Fu's is a little different because their entrees are Noodle or Rice dishes to which you may then add Chicken, Beef, Shrimp, Tofu or Veggies.  So, I could have had Sesame Chicken, or Sesame Beef, or Sesame Tofu....you get the picture.  The problem is the description has the sauce with "yellow onions, red bell peppers, white mushrooms and green beans..."  That didn't really appeal to me. 

What I decided on was an appetizer, a large order of potstickers,  and a side order of fried rice.  That ended up the same price as one of their entrees with chicken or tofu.  And, they have Coke Zero, at least at the Triangle location, so that is a big thumbs up for me. 

Now, at Mama Fu's, you walk up to the register and order and then find a table and they bring you your food.  We had a party of seven and the Triangle location isn't real large.  They had trouble fitting us in, but it didn't help that they had another large party in the restaurant while we were there.  The wait staff were very helpful and very pleasant to deal with. 

Our food arrived amazingly fast, which is important when you are out at lunch and need to get back to work.  It took them a moment to sort out the orders, because a side of fried rice looks a lot like fried rice with tofu.  My order turned out to 8 large potstickers, and a rather large side of fried rice...as I said, it was mistaken for a full order of fried rice, and it really was that large.  The fried rice was very tasty.  It did not taste particularly of anything, but it definitely wasn't bland.  The pot stickers were perfect.  You can get them steamed or crunchy, and I got them crunchy. 

If you have never had potstickers, you should know that crunchy potstickers are not really crunchy all over, it just means that they are cooked in a fry pan rather than being cooked in a steamer.  They come out crunchy in places, and these were just right, and packed with pork.  They were delicious, and could easily serve as a small appetizer for as many as four, at least the large order. 

Everyone at my table seemed to enjoy their food, and they had a variety of dishes.  I didn't taste them, as they didn't come to the restaurant to participate in my review.  On the way out, one of my co-workers complained mildly that it was a little bland.  He likes spicy Thai and Chinese food and he didn't get it. 

I won't mind going back, and I would certainly recommend it for the Potstickers and Fried Rice, if nothing else. 

Mustard as a Foodie Measuring Stick

I know that this may sound a little odd, but I believe that you can measure a person's worth, at least on a foodie scale, by the mustard that you find in their kitchen.  To begin, we need to define the different sorts of mustard. 

Yellow Mustard - is best represented in the US by French's, the king of mustard if measured by sales, but the fool of mustard from the standpoint of task, and clearly the lowest mustard on the foodie scale.  In fact, it is the only mustard to rank by itself...at the bottom. 

Brown Mustard - this is certainly a step up from yellow mustard, but a case can be made that it is only a small step.  However, it must be noted that the category of Brown Mustard is actually very wide, ranging from fairly mundane mustards like Guldens (my favorite) up to very spicy  deli mustards with their roots in the New York Delis. 

Seeded Mustard - some might consider this among the brown mustards, but I feel it deserves a place of its own on this list.  Seeded mustards are usually spicier than yellow mustard and can be either spicier or not when compared to the brown mustards.  The color will be closer to a brown mustard, but the thing that defines a seeded mustard is the texture.  Most German Mustards fall into this category, as do many specialty mustards. 

Dijon Mustard - I use the moniker of Dijon Mustard rather than French Mustard for two reasons, first, because the French do actually have a mustard similar to yellow mustard, though it is spicier, and second, because it is usually sold in US under this name.  Dijon mustards are a little hotter, though certainly not hotter than brown or seeded mustards, but there is a depth of flavor that clearly sets it apart from other mustards. 

Chinese Mustard - this is where mustard reaches its spiciest heights.  Chinese Mustard may often look like Dijon Mustard, or some of the lighter brown mustard and while it may lack the depth of Dijon Mustard it makes up for then with spice. 

Now, on to the Foodie Scale of Mustard. 

Which one of these mustards you have in your kitchen says a lot about you, but it not the variety so much as the number of different mustards in your house.  Now, here are the rules. 

• Yellow mustard can only be counted once. 

 

• Brands don't matter.  Guldens and French' s Spicy Brown Mustard do not count as two, nor do two varieties of Dijon Mustard. 

• Beyond yellow, spicy brown and Dijon, brands do matter, and points may be counted for decidedly different varieties  of Spicy Brown and Dijon, but remember rule #1. 

The pinnacle of foodie glory goes to those who have at least 5 varieties of mustard in their house at the same time.  You get points for yellow mustard, but not by itself.  Remember that you may not count yellow mustard twice and different brands of Spicy Brown and Dijon are not counted.  You may have different brands of Seeded, Chinese and Brown mustards, as long as the Browns are not Spicy Browns. 

5 puts you at the pinnacle, because it shows that you like different mustards for different occasions.  You understand that a corned beef sandwich with yellow mustard is wrong.  You know that many recipes will call for specific mustards, and you are ready. 

4 varieties of mustard makes you a strong foodie.  Again, no counting yellow mustard more than once.  You understand that specific foods require specific mustards, and you know that mustard shouldn't be bland and one dimensional. 

3 mustards should be the minimum for any civilized household.  You may still have yellow mustard for hot dogs (though I prefer Guldens), but you know that there is more to mustard than just yellow. 

2 mustards may just mean that you like something other than yellow.  That's okay, it's a first step.  Maybe, like me, you like Gulden's, or maybe you consider a seeded pub mustard to be the only thing worthy of your special burger.  You understand that mustard is more than yellow, but you still have room to grow. 

1 mustard is hardly mustard at all.  I will give a tiny nod to anyone with only 1 mustard, if that mustard is not yellow.  At least you understand that yellow mustard is not the pinnacle of gastronomy. 

And lastly, if you have only yellow mustard in your house, then please leave this page and go back to your TV and watch some Monster Truck Racing. 

The Great Austin Burger Hunt - Phil's Icehouse

5620 Burnet Road 

Northland and Burnet (Next to Amy's Ice Creams!) 

524-1212  

Best burger I've had in a long time.  This might have jumped to #1 on my list and if it's not, it's close.  Bun had nice tooth to it, and the burger was cooked perfectly, very juicy, eleven napkins needed.  The fries are okay, but my wife and son said that the sweet potato fries and onion rings were excellent. 

The lettuce on my burger was very crisp and tasty with the only downside that it tried to slide off the burger with each bite. 

But, don't bother with the Phil-a-Buster.  Two 1/3rd lbs. patties is just too much, even for me. 

I will definitely be going back to Phil's Icehouse...and it is also right next to Amy's Ice Cream. 

This is a very short review, and I am almost sorry for that, because it was tremendous.  I went WOW with the first bite.  I guess I am more eloquent about what I dislike than about what I like, but I cannot recommend Phil's Icehouse highly enough 

YOU.SHOULD.GO.HERE!!!!

Chili

So, I've been making chili for a while, but I use Wick Fowlers seasoning mix.  All three of us in my family like it.  I make it a little differently, after a suggestion my wife made, and I put canned corn in it.  The recipe calls for beans and beef, but the corn gives an interesting texture and both my son and I love corn. 

When I was younger I always ate chili with Saltines.  I don't know if that was just a California thing, or just something I picked up along the way, but it's good.  Later, I got introduced to Frito Pie, and I have never been the same.  I used to go to an annual gathering and someone started a tradition of making chili one night of the weeklong event.  At first, he would buy Fritos, but after a few years, the Chili Night grew so large that he needed to try to save money...since it was done gratis, with donations accepted.  So, one year he bought Tortilla Chips, because they were cheaper in bulk.  I made do with Tortilla Chips that year, and the next year I brought my own Fritos.  Recently, we got a deal on Mexican Cornbread mix and we tried that with Chili, and that is excellent as well.  Of course, I love cornbread so much that I think I could enjoy it with almost anything. 

I have been living in Texas for more than three decades, and Texans feel like they own Chili.  While driving through Cincinnati I noticed billboards for restaurants touting their Chili, and showing it served over Spaghetti.  Now, to a Texan that would similar to heresy...well, both Cincinnati Chili and Chili over Spaghetti would seem like heresy to most Texans.  After seeing it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I want to try it, but I have my doubts.  Of course, I don't want to make my own and try over Spaghetti, I want to try Cincinnati Chili. 

Today, I spent some time looking at Chili recipes.  I think I am going to give Wick Fowlers a miss and try making my own chili from scratch.  Of course, it will be Chili my way, so I will Hold the Onions and use Onion Powder in it, but I am sure that I will like it even better without fresh onions.

Comfort Food

What is comfort food? 

Mac and Cheese?  A good hamburger?  Spaghetti with meat sauce? 

How much of comfort food is cultural, and how much is personal.  On TV, you often hear chefs and presenters talk about comfort food as if it was cultural.  They talk about comfort food as if we all thought that a pot roast with potatoes and gravy was comfort food, but is that really true? 

One part of comfort food seems to be the memories that it evokes.  The roast may be a comfort food because so many of us, at least in my generation (end of the baby boom) had a big roast with potatoes and gravy almost every Sunday.  We saw that on TV and it became a shared cultural icon.  Like a good turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. 

But, I think that many of you are like me, you have comfort foods that aren't part of the larger cultural definition.  It might be something your mother made when you were sick, or the breakfast she made you every morning.  It could be that food that you celebrated big occasions with...now, I don't suppose that beer can really be a comfort food, but that is what many Americans celebrate with. 

Personally, I have some rather strange comfort foods, but they all have one thing in common.  They remind me of a certain time in my life, and were a special treat that I bought for myself.  Fritos and bean dip is one of my comfort foods.  When I get depressed, it is one of a small group of food that I turn to, because once upon a time it made me feel better.  Pizza is another comfort food, at least for me.  It was the food that my friends and I often went out for, sometimes for celebration, sometimes as a reward for moving a friend, and sometimes just because, and when I eat pizza it reminds me of all those good times. 

And, I think those good times are a key ingredient of comfort food.  Sometimes it is the thing we eat when we are flush, and others the thing we eat when we are broke, but in each case, that food becomes connected with a good memory, a comforting memory, and the memory is just as important as the food.