Text 17166, 149 rader
Skriven 2007-06-25 15:56:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DALE SHIPP
Ärende: bird nest 717
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 ML> Trips that there is a restaurant called Ships Cafe and Pub
 ML> on Frederick Road in Catonsville.
 DS> I did a google on that, and came up with a review -- but no web
 DS> site. Hard to tell if it is worth a visit, especially given the hard
 DS> luck I've had with some other places that the Baltimore Sun gave
 DS> decent write ups to.

I finally did get on to the site and read some of the recent
reviews with interest. I thought it gave an unduly unfavorable
one to the oZ Chophouse, which I thought pretty good though a
touch pretentious.

 DS> http://tinyurl.com/2ysp6c

Stupid site required registration. I went to bugmenot.com and used
poriferabob at hotmail with the password crabcakes.

=

 ML> Above all, do not connect through Philadelphia.
 ...
 DS> In addition to any potential luggage problems, the connections can
 DS> be bad.  We once changed planes there, landing at the very end of one
 DS> terminal wing -- only to find out that our connecting flight was at
 DS> the very end of the furtherest wing.

Good ol' US Air. Abandoned what might be the best airport in the
United States (Pittsburgh) for what might be the worst. PIT is
just as huge as PHL, but laid out as it is (in an X), it is so
much easier to navigate I can hardly believe it.

 If it had not been for the
 DS> motorized shuttle carts, we never would have made it in time.  
 DS> After that, we swore never again would we change planes in Philly.

I sometimes deliberately connect there, but then I like a challenge.
PHL gives me a cardio workout plus helps me hone my negotiating
skills (how else does a Silver member get upgrades in competition
with Golds, Platinums, and Chairman'ses).

 ML> and for some inexplicable reason forgot to pack a shirt along
 ML> with the rest of the tuxedo (I keep a tie in the breast pocket
 DS> What is that strange word, "tie", above?   I think I used to know
 DS> what it is but have long since forgotten:-}}

It's a badge of servitude, actually.

 DS> Sounds like you need to add some thrift stores to you shopping
 DS> tours:-}}

Possibly. But people who give things to thrift stores usually have
even worse taste than I.

 DS> Title: Pelmeni (Siberian Meat Stuffed Dumplings)

Question to ponder. Why is the former Soviet Union, home to
shortages and unspeakable poverty, the source for some very
interesting recipes?

Real Uzbek Plov
cat: main, Uzbek
servings: 4

4 hd garlic
4 ts olive oil
2 lg onions
5 lg carrots
1/2 c barberries
1 ts peppercorns
2 Tb coriander seeds
2 Tb cumin seeds
100 g lamb fat
400 g leg of lamb, cubed bite size
2 c long grain rice
4 c hot vegetable or lamb broth
h - vegetable broth
1 leek
1 onion
1 potato
2 garlic cloves
salt (optional)

Decapitate one garlic head per guest, sprinkle olive
oil on top, and wrap in foil. Roast 1 hr at 180C/350F.
The garlic flesh should be soft and brownish when done.


Peel and halve 2 onions, then thinly slice crosswise.
Peel and coarsely grate 5 large carrots.

Soak the barberries in a little water.

Some cooks use coriander seeds and some don't, but all
agree on cumin seeds. There are many types of cumin, and
I experimented with a number of different seeds from
Uzbekistan. My conclusion is that you'd better use quality
whole cumin seeds from any provenance rather than using
more fancy but old cumin seeds.

Grind the spices in a mortar or electric spice grinder
to a fine powder.

Prepare your workspace with the broth or hot water behind,
a large Dutch oven in front, and the ingredients on the
side. Set two plates aside to reserve the meat and lamb fat.

In Uzbekistan they use* lamb tail fat*, called kudryuka, but
I've never been able to find it even in Russia. Use the white
patches found on legs of lamb or at the bottom of the rack of
lamb - both converge to the tail. Russian cooks normally use
enormous amounts of industrial vegetable fat instead. In the
West we try to get rid of as much fat as possible, but in
this dish lamb fat is key to the proper taste.

Melt the fat in the Dutch oven over high temperature and use
a potato masher to get as much liquid fat out as you can.
Remove the remaining patches of fat and discard. Heat the fat
in the Dutch oven until it smokes. Don't let it burn though.

Quickly fry the the lamb cubes on all sides until nicely
browned. You may have to do two batches. Cover and reserve
the meat.

Heat the fat remaining in the Dutch oven and pour in the
onions, turning frequently until soft and light brown, 6-8
min. Add the ground spices and mix well for 1 min. Add the
grated carrots and cook for 3 min or until carrots are soft.
Add the reserved meat and any meat juices that escaped.
Mix well and reduce heat to medium hot. Add rice.

Add rice and hot broth. You can use water but please hot,
not cold, as this would stop the cooking for a good 10 min.
Cover and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 min. Turn
frequently to make sure the plov does not stick at the
bottom. When the rice is cooked through, add the drained
barberries. Remove the lid and let all liquid evaporate,
turning the rice regularly.

Serve piping hot with a garlic head for each guest.

You can also bury the roasted garlic inside the plov after
you add the broth and bring the pot to the table. Some cooks
add a large hot pepper to each plate.

fxcuisine.com, 25 June 2007

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