Cookin again

[Dannyalcatraz]

There’s a Korean bakery about 15-20 minutes drive from here that has these addictive buttery bacon & garlic rolls. Got them the first time because we were in the neighborhood and needed a snack. So we pulled into a strip mall at the intersection of a major N/S street and an E/W tollway. Now we get them almost every time we’re over there!

Which is actually a bit of a shame. The last time we were over there, I counted about 30 different places to eat in that strip mall. Most of them are some form of Asian or Asian fusion. There’s a smattering of dessert places as well, and the anchor store- an Asian grocery store- has its own food court that includes a relatively well-reviewed poké place.

And all of that is on the southeast corner of that intersection. The northwest corner has a similarly impressive array of (still mostly Asian) eateries, and another Asian grocery…with ITS own food court. If I had the money, I could eat at a different place every two days for a third of the year.

 

[Zardnaar]

There’s a Korean bakery about 15-20 minutes drive from here that has these addictive buttery bacon & garlic rolls. Got them the first time because we were in the neighborhood and needed a snack. So we pulled into a strip mall at the intersection of a major N/S street and an E/W tollway. Now we get them almost every time we’re over there!

Which is actually a bit of a shame. The last time we were over there, I counted about 30 different places to eat in that strip mall. Most of them are some form of Asian or Asian fusion. There’s a smattering of dessert places as well, and the anchor store- an Asian grocery store- has its own food court that includes a relatively well-reviewed poké place.

And all of that is on the southeast corner of that intersection. The northwest corner has a similarly impressive array of (still mostly Asian) eateries, and another Asian grocery…with ITS own food court. If I had the money, I could eat at a different place every two days for a third of the year.

Reminds me up north pretty much everything on the strip near where we were staying was Asian.

Tried a Persian place run by Afghani family.

I like Asuan food but a lot of it has been available since the 80's so Chinese/Korean/Jaanese or whatever has very little appeal. Mongolian, Cambodian or Philippino if I can find it are nice, SEA and Indian also more up my alley.

I

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’m slowly working my way through the world’s cuisines. Nobody has suggested trying one I wouldn’t give at least one chance to.

So far, I haven’t found any that really turn me off, although some DISHES, RECIPES or INGREDIENTS have tripped me up. Some I like more than others, of course.

Of course, America is awash in all kinds of takes on European cuisine, and I dig all that. I‘ve also tried food from several of the unique American fusion cuisines (like Gullah and my own Creoles) as well as that of some of the First Nations tribes.

Of the Asian cuisines I’ve tried, Vietnamese, Chinese, Burmese, Japanese and Indian are all solid winners for me. The little bit of Nepalese, Mongolian, Filipino and Cambodian I’ve had were good. I’m still trying to figure out Korean, though- it’s very hit or miss for me. Bangladeshi food was OK. I’ll say this, though: across the cuisines, I’ve found the soups are usually a pretty safe bet. I probably eat a wider variety of Asian soups than any other region except America/European…but it’s not a sure thing.

I’ve gotten to sample a good portion of Caribb/Gulf of Mexico, Central and South American cuisine. Mexican & Tex-Mex are basically comfort cuisines for me, but Brazilian and Columbian are hot on their tails. There’s a brilliant South American fusion restaurant that emphasizes Argentinian cuisine over the rest, and evert bite I’ve had there was aces. There’s few Jamaican places around here, but I’ve liked what I’ve tried. The one Puerto Rican one I’ve been to was fun, but I’ve only been twice. I found 2 Cuban places, one was meh, and the other was brilliant. Dominican was OK, as was Salvadorian, but not so much that I’d go on a quest for a taste. Peruvian was good, but the 2 places I knew are gone.

We’re awash in pretty good Mediterranean/Middle Eastern places. I’ve yet to find one that didn’t have SOMETHING I’d smash. Saudi is the one that’s at the bottom of the list so far, and I still have a favorite joint for that.

African cuisine is just now getting a foothold here in Texas. Most of what I’ve had has been Ethiopian, which I do not pass up an invitation for. I was excluded from a chance to try Nigerian food at a private party (seating was limited, but my parents got to go). The few Egyptian places around here have been fusions with either Italian or Lebanese. The former is MUCH more Italian than Egyptian, and the latter folded a few years ago.

 

[Zardnaar]

Caribbean and African is good luck here don't think I've seen it. Well the rare north African place eg Moroccan or something.

Korean is to hit or miss for me prefer tobavoud that.

Malaysian and Indonesian are interesting.

Small city though don't have some of the other options.

 

[Zardnaar]

Generally Mexican places here suck, we have 3 in town and ones kinda new. One has a terrible reputation.

Using my Louisiana/Tex Mex couple that had their own place one of the other two is very nice the other is good/decent. It's not cheap same price as everywhere else.

Anyway went to the nice place last night they have better beer as well.



Open tacos were nice fried chicken left, Caesar salad right.

Also got this as a starter. Some sort of potato dish.



Bit there's kumara skins in it which is slices of kumara with the skin on and 3 dipping sauce.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

For SOME reason, I have started sneezing when I eat certain mildly spicy things, especially pickled pepprocinis. And it’s ONLY the mild stuff, never the spice bombs.

I’m finding this annoying.

So are people in adjacent counties, because my sneezes are almost always volcanic. No exaggeration: if I sneeze while lying in bed, the guitars on my wall 10’ away will resonate with a ringing chime.

Some people dining with me have complained I hurt their ears.

 

[prabe]

For SOME reason, I have started sneezing when I eat certain mildly spicy things, especially pickled pepprocinis. And it’s ONLY the mild stuff, never the spice bombs.

I’m finding this annoying.

So are people in adjacent counties, because my sneezes are almost always volcanic. No exaggeration: if I sneeze while lying in bed, the guitars on my wall 10’ away will resonate with a ringing chime.

Some people dining with me have complained I hurt their ears.

There are times when I'm working with a bunch of dried herbs/spices, and something lands just so on my trigeminal nerve and I end up sneezing about every thirty seconds for the next ten minutes or so. It seems to be more likely, the more dried ground peppers I'm using.

Pickled things, though, seem as though they'd have enough moisture that it's not anything like the same phenomenon.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And it’s not like pickling liquids are the trigger- at least, not by themselves. I eat all kinds of pickled foods without issues.

 

[prabe]

It's definitely weird. I got no ideas.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Repurposed leftovers: Boudin Ball Soup

My aunt brought us a bunch of boudin balls from NOLA, and I wanted to try something besides a sandwich. So I thought, why not soup? So I went looking for recipes and found…none. So I had to think of something of my own, which resulted in this:



Obviously, I was inspired by matzoh ball soup- one of my faves. I added the spinach and mushrooms because I thought they’d pair nicely with the boudin. I had also thought about tomato soups or avgolemono, but this was the one I decided to go down first.

I sautéed most of the veggies: a stalk of celery, a carrot, 3 white button mushrooms, and one bunch of green onions. After they looked & smelled right, I added chicken broth, a bouillon cube, parsley, white pepper, ground black pepper, and bay leaf.

When all that reached a boil, I turned off the heat and added some julienned baby spinach leaves.

This broth was served with a single leftover boudin ball.

Like a good matzoh ball, the boudin ball retained its integrity while soaking in the broth. But when you’d slice off a bit with the edge of your spoon to have a bite, the sliced off portion would soften pretty quickly. It almost became…creamy.

The verdict: this experiment was a success. I put in a little too much white pepper, but the overall flavor was a hit. Will do this again.