Text 12988, 108 rader
Skriven 2008-08-30 11:05:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE SACERDOTE
Ärende: absent 845
==================
First, an observation of the first Garfield cartoon that I've ever
enjoyed (on the whole, I think that Jim Davis should be fed to sharks) -

Jon: I know it's hard, but try not to think of food. Try to visualize
     a peaceful meadow ...
Garfield: I see it
J: Under a tree, sits a beautiful girl ...
G: Wearing a dress made of bacon

 -=> Dave Sacerdote said to Allen Prunty <=-

 AP> My grandmother tried this and claims to have had the best absinthe ever 
 AP> made in the 20's.  She is very firm that what you bought is -not- the 
 AP> absinthe that she knew.
 DS> There are several companies bottling absinthe; I have no doubt that
 DS> various labels have unique characteristics, in the same way that
 DS> various single malt whiskeys have unique characteristics.

Amusing that each of the companies claims to have the secret to
making the stuff, using some ancient recipe or another, and that
all other products are dreck.

 -=> Dave Sacerdote said to Allen Prunty <=-

 AP> She has tried a taste of several of them trying to bring back the 
 AP> memories... she insists that no matter which one she tastes it is not 
 AP> the same as the 20s...
 DS> As I said, I have no doubt that's true.  Even were she to find the
 DS> exact same brand of absinthe she once enjoyed, it is not likely to meet
 DS> her remembered expectations, not only because of the fluidity of
 DS> memory, but because older spirits were often produced using more
 DS> careful and time- consuming methods.  Just ask the people at last
 DS> years' picnic who tasted the 1950's bottle of Gilbey's Gin I brought;
 DS> nearly everyone tasted a noticeably smoother character to the gin than
 DS> today's Gilbey's. 

Truly, having tasted both 1920s absinthe and the 2000s products,
I can say there's not much resemblance. The 1920s stuff was like
Pernod only less sweet and rather fruitier; the 2000s is more
like anise water with raw alcohol.

 AP> but then again they did not put all the sulfides
 AP> and crap in the wine back then either.  I'll take a bottle of her home 
 AP> made wine over any commercial winery any day.
 DS> Oh yes they did.  Even the ancient Romans and Greeks used sulphur
 DS> candles to sterilize their amphorae.  Winemakers have been using
 DS> sulfites forever, and even your grandmother's home made wine
 DS> had some sulfites in it:  they are naturally-occurring compounds
 DS> commonly found on grapes.

Actually, the purity laws for wine are quite a bit stricter than
they used to be. Though OP's granny may have made wine according
to what would now be called "organic" specifications, commercial
stuff from before the snooty yuppie enological renaissance usually
had unknown proportions of undisclosed grape varieties processed
using hidden processes with unregulated additives. I'd still just
as soon have drunk the store bought as anything that anyone had
concocted at home (Dirty Dave's friend's offerings at the Illinois
Idyll being a notable exception).

Snow Pea Shoot Dumplings
cat: Chinese, dim sum
Yield: 30 pieces, serving 8

1 lb snow pea shoots
1 1/4 ts salt
1 Tb sugar
2 ts cornstarch
1/8 ts white pepper
1 Tb oyster sauce
1 Tb sesame oil
2 Tb onion oil
30 dumpling wrappers

Wash the snow pea shoots in cold water. Bring water to a boil
in a large pot. Add snow pea shoots and blanch for a few
seconds until just softened, not cooked through. Quickly
remove the shoots and place them in a colander under cold
running water until cool; allow to drain.

Place the shoots in a piece of cheesecloth or paper towels
and gently squeeze them dry, then cut into 1/2" lengths.
Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the salt, sugar, cornstarch, white
pepper, oyster sauce, sesame oil and onion oil. Then add the
pea shoots and mix well.

Refrigerate the filling until ready to wrap. It will keep
overnight.

To wrap, place 1 heaping teaspoon filling in the center of
one wrapper and fold in half. Bring the edges together,
making small folds along one side and pressing into the other
edge, which remains flat. Sealing is more important than
perfect folds. (You can freeze the dumplings at this point.)

Steam dumplings on cheesecloth in a bamboo or metal steamer
over a wok half-filled with boiling water for 10 min.

Note: Onion oil is merely an infusion of onion in oil,
nothing fancy like pressed onion seeds.

Source: Yank Sing restaurant, San Francisco

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