Text 35120, 131 rader
Skriven 2016-01-15 02:48:38 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av RUTH HAFFLY
Ärende: spendy food 813
=======================
> Those are the only two horror stories of the latest trip.

That's good. The fewer the better.

> Probably no surprise, especailly if you're on the road a lot. Truckers
> probably see a lot more incidents than most drivers, if only from the
> sheer distance they cover. We covered a lot of ground so I'm surprised
> we had as few incidents as we did.

Well, the amount of driving a professional trucker
does would put regular folks in the dust. Same with
flight attendants, despite their working only half
the days in the month - they still are on airplanes
a bunch more than all but the most fanatical frequent
flyers.

> We've yet to try the place that replaced The Fire Pit (bbq place in
> town) this past summer. New place concentrates on grilled sadwiches,
> mostly with soup--not really a place that intrigues us enough to make an
> effort to try it out.

I'd go out of my way to avoid such a place. Not that
I want any restaurant to fail, but, well, maybe I'll
make an exception and hope that BBQ place gets a worthy
successor.

 Other places we try, then try to get back to as
> often as we can.. BTW, saw that our favorite place for prime rib is now
> up to $14.95 now; they started at $9.95, then inched up to !12.95 and
> have jumped two more dollars. It's a really good meal, just pricing
> themselves out of our range.

The same price evolution at both of my prime rib go-tos.
'tis too bad. No wonder my bank account is hard to see
without a magnifying glass these days.

>  ML> Best with the shellfish done to order, the sauce
>  ML> perhaps already done.
> Worth the bit of a wait for really fresh shellfish.

Really fresh shellfish is worth a lot, but it's getting
a bit too costly for me itself. I hope I'll find something
here that's reasonable in price but won't give me Sultan
Ismail's revenge.

>  ML> Checking the map, I was surprised to see that his britches
>  ML> have grown so he has 6 restaurants in a quarter-mile radius
>  ML> in NOLA and more elsewhere. An eyeball indicates probably Luke
>  ML> or August, possibly Domenica - all outside my price range
>  ML> except for very special occasions. I guess he's smiling as
>  ML> he counts the take.
> It was August; I was almost but not quite sure of the name. Unless he
> lowers prices or we inherit the lottery winnings, we won't be able to
> eat there.

I doubt he'll lower the prices. Maybe your situation will
allow you to make the mark. On the other hand, will you
want to even so.

>  ML> I enjoy them. In NOLA, the good ones have been sussed out,
>  ML> which makes them marginally less appealing, but they can
>  ML> still be good.
> We didn't have the time or spare change to hunt the really good places
> down when we were there. Maybe have to do a return trip when we've more
> time and money.

A judicious winnowing of the Internet crapola might yield
some useful guidelines. Or you could just ask me.

Persian Jeweled Rice
categories: Iranian, Persian, starch
servings: 6 to 8

2 c best-quality Basmati rice
Kosher salt
Unsalted butter, 6 Tb in total
1 large onion, diced small
1/4 ts saffron threads, crumbled and
- soaked in 1/4 c hot water
1 lg pn ground cinnamon
1 lg pn ground cardamom
1 lg pn ground allspice
1 lg pn ground black pepper
1 lg pn ground cumin
1/3 c chopped dried apricots
1/3 c golden raisins or currants
1/3 c dried imported barberries or goji berries,
- soaked in warm water for 5 min and drained 
- (sub dried cherries or cranberries)
1/3 c blanched slivered almonds
1/3 c roughly chopped pistachios

Rinse the rice several times in cold water until the 
water runs clear. Drain. Bring 3 qt water to a boil in 
a large pot with 2 Tb kosher salt. Add the rinsed rice 
and boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 min, then drain 
well in a colander.

Heat 1 Tb butter in a small skillet over medium heat. 
Add the onion, season lightly with salt and cook until 
softened and lightly colored, 4 to 5 min. Moisten with 
1 Tb saffron water and stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, 
allspice, black pepper and cumin. Cook for 1 min more. 
Stir in the apricots, raisins (or currants) and barberries 
(or cherries or cranberries).

Melt 4 Tb butter in a heavy-bottomed enamel or nonstick 
Dutch oven over medium heat. Spread half the parcooked 
rice over the bottom of the pot. Spoon over the onion-
fruit mixture, then the remaining rice. Leave the pot on 
the flame, uncovered, for 5 to 8 min to gently brown the 
rice. (Do not stir or move the rice — you will need to 
rely on your nose to tell if the rice has browned.)

Drizzle the remaining saffron water over the rice and 
put  on the lid. Adjust the heat to very low and leave 
undisturbed for 30 min. Turn off the heat and let rest 
at least 10 min.

Heat the remaining 1 Tb butter in a small skillet over 
medium-low heat and gently toast the almonds and pistachios 
for 1 min, taking care not to get them too brown. Set aside 
for garnish.

To serve, spoon the rice into a wide bowl or platter. With 
a spatula, carefully lift the bottom crust, placing the 
crisp side up. Sprinkle with the toasted nuts.

Source: David Tanis
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