Haha yeah that does sound cool.

tsearcher, I always look for crack seed/li hing mui when I go to Chinese or Vietnamese areas, and for good rice crackers that aren't at crazy prices when I go to Japanese places, but rarely find good rice crackers and have never found crack seed/li hing mui outside of Hawaii and Guam. It's a Chinese thing, so I doubt you'd find it in a Filipino place.

tsearcher -- FYI, Costco sells rice crackers comparatively cheaply, but it's one of those "Haole" (white guy) mixes with cheaper junk throw in, like peanuts etc. And the rice crackers in there aren't that strongly flavored. I got a bag just to throw away everything but the rice crackers. I may keep some of the wasabe peas, but they're not a snack anywhere near as great as good strong rice crackers.

FYI re what makes them strong, it's the strength of the soy sauce they were dipped in or sprayed with or whatever, I think. Some rice crackers are very mild, and those are usually the ones that are quite pale.

Anyone got any ideas for using tinned sardines in a meal?

I usually just eat these on toast, but I've been thinking there must be other uses for them?! I was thinking they could work in a tomato based pasta sauce.

Ideas?

I've seen them used in red sauces on cooking shows before.

They might be decent with eggs for breakfast. The English use smoked herring (they call that "kippers") instead of bacon with their morning eggs sometimes, and it's delicious. I actually like it better than bacon. Regular sardines won't have that smoked flavor that makes both kippers and bacon so delicious, though. But still, the meat could be a good texture contrast to some eggs and help make the meal more hearty.

Funny thing I've always felt strange about fish for breakfast! But I rly don't know why!

Interesting tho, sardines & eggs! I could imagine having sardines on toast with a boiled egg. Maybe sardine soldiers dipped into a runny egg would work?

sardines + lemon zest + cream cheese in a stuffed tortillini (sp?) perhaps...

________________

I experimented with salad for dinner last night.



Chicken quarter on a bed of spring greens with sauted bacon, mushroom and carrot ragu. Then I made a ginger and herb hollandaise.

No idea. Interesting thought though.

Ginger and herb hollandaise sounds awesome. I am pretty much vegetarian though, no meat, fish, poultry or chicken. I do dairy. Any ideas of what that hollandaise might work with that I can eat?

Do you eat eggs?

Looks tasty, livin.

I Jen

Holla sauce works with anything butter works with....and thats pretty much everything lol. Id stay away from citrus with it though but thats just me. Traditionally, I guess its more for fish, eggs, I dont hear of it paring with meat a whole lot. ...but actually the sauce itself is really bland (s&p helps but its still a butter sauce... kinda 1dimensional) its what you add to the mother sauce that really makes it kick.

Tip:
1. either bust out the blender or hand mixer or you're arm is going to be sore
2. add the butter gradually
3. be very careful of the heat unless you like scrambled eggs soaked in butter
4. clarify the butter first....it really does make a big difference.


You can do this without chicken and bacon and just add some other veg. soy would be a good option here too since it would soak up a lot of strong flavors in the carrot and the sauce. I actually browned the butter for about 20 min. before using it so it would have a really nutty flavor.

basically I was going for a carrot and ginger soup in salad form. .....with chicken.

If u eat eggs then def thats a winnar! Other than that it may work with some thinly sliced potato which have been baked for a while. You could make a potato stack & then pour the sauce over.

I guess you could try this on top of lots of different veggies, string beans & asparagus come to mind.

also this:

If she doesn't eat eggs, I don't think she'll want Hollandaise on her veggies.

ah right yeah lolz!

it doesnt taste anything like eggs imo...just butter.
Next im going to try and fold in some sour cream and maybe some rehydrated morels.....kind of a play on beef stroganoff. I think it will go well with some roasted red potatoes

I've never used dehydrated mushrooms, but if you've got any opinions on how good they are or whether or not to use them, or a TR on them whatever, I would like to hear it.

I'll pick some up next grocery day and TR it.

I only do rehydrated morels. I can usually find most other common ones fresh somewhere. However the water you soak them in is like liquid gold. I'll add some beef broth to it for risotto.

I saw Fish posted itt, thought maybe fishette had surprised him

kev and poin

I am awake early on a Sunday with nothing to do until I begin grinding at 1 (5 hours away). I want to make some food to last me for the day + maybe some leftovers for tomorrow. It must be (1) delicious, and (2) the ingredients must be available at the local grocery store. I like learning how to cook new stuff, and I will eat pretty much anything. Thoughts for a good Sunday meal?

The usual, a panzo from Pizza Nova with extra cheese, and portobello mushrooms..mmm.

Way back somewhere else in this thread, I mentioned dried morels. They are expensive, but worth it, as a little goes a long way.

IMO they are best used for sauces. The flavor they convey is uniquely earthy (I hate this word, but there it is anyway), and at least vaguely reminiscent of truffles. SO great with any steak.

They don't have the greatest texture in the world (spongy), but if that bothers you, just make sure they're finely chopped in the sauce.

This thread will be gold for you then. There is a ton of great stuff throughout.

One thing that I find is fun to see evolve as you add your own touches is chicken salad. There is a limitless number of ways to make it, and it can be fantastic and even refined if done right, so that's where I would start.

First question to ask is do you want to dice or shred the chicken? I suggest poaching the chicken and shredding it. Some folks prefer chunks.

Submitted for consideration:

Red grapes
Curry powder
Celery
Onion powder
Shaved almonds
Mayonnaise

But as I said, it's a great thing to just keep tweaking until you find your own way.

I find it difficult to avoid just eating it with a fork out of the bowl, but when I do manage to do so, if you can find nice soft ciabatta, it makes the perfect sandwich.

I dunno. Just throwing out an idea.

I love chicken salad too. I've had it a number of different ways, and it definitely takes well to being played around with.

I have been casually going through the entire French Chef series from episode 1.

If you haven't seen these, and if you can get past the fact that they were done live and had virtually no production value whatsoever, there is a lot of very useful stuff. She was really a genuinely charming lady, and the shows are made for the layman, yet also seem inclined toward refinement.

I have been working from home more and more lately, and I like to just put the episodes on rather than music, and I have been surprised how much I am absorbing.

Note: don't let the first couple of episodes put you off--she was just learning how to be on television, etc. What I have gotten out of it more than anything is that you don't need to be some sort of artisan to cook elevated cuisine. Give it a try, especially if you're sort of a noob like me.

I usually use dried shiitake mushrooms when cooking chinese. And you are so right livinitup-the water used to rehydrate the mushroom is a wonderful broth. I use it in soups and stir frys. Risotto would be another perfect use for that very intense broth-good thinkin'!!

Sounds yummy, Mrs. Utah and livin.

Rushmore, I love those Julia Child shows. She's really great at illustrating basic techniques and ideas. That said, some of her recipes do call for some very time consuming preparations and exotic ingredients. She gives as friendly and inviting an intro as you could get, I think, on what are sometimes intimidating projects. But for practical non-exotics like myself, her basics make up for the shows on haute cuisine, and her charm makes up for most everything else.