apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hey, Guido (and any one else looking for a potentially yummy and impressive-looking recipe),

If you're still looking for fun things to use apple cider for, check out this recipe for Chicken with Apple and Pomegranate Stuffing on Domestic Goddess:

http://www.domesticgoddess.ca/recipes.php?recipe=10064

:) Emma

hey Emma C - did you ever get your serrated knife sharpened?

following on the great taco debate: there is an article on gothamist about latin american food stalls in red hook here: http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/07/28/street_eats_soc.php

and, they talk about arepas. being a good southern gal raised on corn muffins, grits, and, well, all things maize, i realized i HAVE to try these.

does anyone know how to make an arepa? it seems like a fried tamale to me....

Hi Liz-
I lived in Venezuela in high school. Arepas are the national dish. I ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They are much creamier than tamale dough. You use harina (white corn flour) salt and water. You mix it up cook it on a griddle and stuff it with whatever you have on hand. In Colombia they also make arepas, but they are thinner. Definitely try them they are so good.

Hi Liz,

A fried tamale is a good way to think about an arepa, you're going to use the same masa, and will make a thick little cake that will be cooked on a griddle. I don't have any recipes I prefer, I've made them a few times. But when I want an arepa fix, I go to Caracas Arepa Bar on E. 7th in NYC. They just expanded, and now have a larger dining room plus a take-out place. Great for vegetarians and meat eaters... be sure to get one with sweet plaintains and avocado... yum!

Have you ever tried a Mozzarepa from a street fair? I know you'd love these. Think sweet corn muffin meets melted mozzarella. So good. I know it's sumer when it's mozzarepa time!

I have yet to find any place that makes arepas here, but we're very Tex-Mex-oriented... I've only had the Goya ones that are kept in the freezer section of the grocery store. I think of an arepa as a corn pancake filled with cheese or meat or beans, which is the Colombian style I think.

I did discover the yumminess that are pão de queijo, Brazilian cheese rolls. I have to drive across town to a particular grocery store to get the cassava flour for them, but it's worth it.

while we're on the deliciousness of things south of the border, can someone provide me advice on making tortillas from scratch? I just did and they're rather thick, even when I rolled them as thin as possible. The recipe I used I found online and it used 2c flour,2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp shortening and 3/4 c water (used less so the dough was "soft but not sticky." I realize homemade ones are thicker--but there's no way I could bend these things without breaking them. Any idea of what went wrong or tips? I'd love to make my own! Thanks!

I've always wondered why lemons have so many seeds and limes have none. Anyone know?

Hi, Ann! Nope, I haven't gotten my serrated knives sharpened yet--I circumvented the situation by coming across a fabulous deal at William Sonoma for a breadknife/bread board combo. I needed a bread board, so voila. Problem (momentarily) solved.

Re: pão de queijo--Verily, do you have a recipe for these addictive little guys? I had some at a Brazilian restaurant in Atlanta last spring and have been combing the internet for a home-kitchen-friendly recipe ever since.

Re: Christine's tortillas:
Here's a recipe for cornmeal tortillas from the King Arthur Flour cookbook. I have to admit I haven't tried it yet, but nothing from this cookbook has failed me yet:

1 1/3 c. flour
2/3 c. yellow cornmeal
1/4 c. corn or veggie oil
1/2 c. + 1 TBSP water
1/2 tsp salt

Mix flour, cornmeal, and oil. Gradually mix in the water and salt. Knead briefly until dough is smooth. Divide dough into 10 pieces. Roll them into balls, flatten slightly, and allow to rest for ~30 min. (Resting relaxes the gluten in the dough and makes them easier to roll out later.)

Preheat ungreased griddle or heavy frying pan over medium heat. Roll out each ball of dough into an 8-inch disk (maybe try rolling them thinner if you need to?). Dry-fry (no oil--the oil in the dough is all you need) each tortilla for about 45 seconds on each side. Stacking them on top of each other as they're done keeps 'em soft. Serve immediately or store, tightly wrapped, in a plastic bag at room temp. Keeps for a couple days or you can also freeze them (!!! I do so love freezing extra bounty). Good luck!

christine ( the one in DC)

I make wheat tortillas. the one reason that it breaks is because it gets dried as it gets cooked on the pan.

the secret to a softer tortilla is:

cranks up the heat in the first 15 seconds. heat the tortilla on one side. after 15 seconds turn on the other side. lessen the heat by 2 points and keep turning over and over. press the tortilla with a cotton cloth on all sides as you keep turning and pressing the toritll.

when it is done remove at once. otherwise the heat will overcook the tortilla , make it brittle and then it would break.

Kind of related to the tortilla question (but totally not at the same time), does anyone have a good recipe/method for malaysian roti canai? I'm obsessed with this flaky, buttery bread but have yet to find a good recipe. I know you can buy frozen roti in some asian food markets, but they are not available to me here in western New York.

Roti? Anyone?

Sticking with the tortilla vein: Does anyone have a recipe for a thicker tortilla soup? I've made a few of the recipes off of epicurious.com, and they all basically turned out like Mexican chicken soup. I love the tortilla soup I get at alot of Mexican restaurants, which usually has a thicker consistency. I'm not sure if they are pureeing part of the soup, using a starch based thickener, or if cooking it with the tortillas thickens it. Any suggestions?

I've never heard of roti canai, but now I'm tempted to go find it. We have quite a few Asian grocery stores here, but I think they specialize in your basic Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Vietnamese fare.

As for the pão de queijo recipe, I'll have to dig the recipe out of my cookbook. I'll try to get it up soon. There is a recipe on RecipeZaar that sounds similar and fairly simple; I have not tried this one though. http://www.recipezaar.com/68293 Note that manioc starch, tapioca flour, and cassava flour are the same thing.

I'm tempted to say that the thickener commonly found in most tortilla soups is masa flour.

minipanda... here's the wikipedia article on roti canai - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roti_canai. And if you're looking for a flaky, layered version of roti (as opposed to the puffed up kind) this might be a good recipe to try: http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10283

If it works for you let me know! I have been meaning to check it out.

Oops - Wikipedia link didn't work - here it is again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roti_canai

I've never made roti canai (which gets called roti prata in Singapore...and just plain roti in southern Thailand...don't ask!) at home before because I just can't be bothered when I could be making curry puffs instead with all that effort, but here is a major thread and collection of recipes I posted ages ago on rec.food.cooking

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/browse_frm/thread/b1d1827b92e0c42/98582b985dffb203?lnk=st&q=&rnum=2&hl=en#98582b985dffb203

You could also check out Kasma's website, she has a Thai-based recipe, and is a wonderful, wonderful food writer for all things Thai.

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/roti.html

Lastly (whew), Madhur Jaffrey in "Curries and Kabobs" has a recipe that almost makes me want to bother. She states that the Malaysian home cooks she talked to don't go through all the spinning hoopla, that was more a male vendor show off thing and she give a more simple recipe you could check out.

hope this helps!
trillium

Thanks for all the leads folks! Trillium - I have the "Curries and Kabobs" book at home! I never noticed a roti canai recipe but now I'm tempted to leave work to go look it up!

It's definitely the layered, puffed up, spinning hoopla kind I adore. There's the greatest malaysian restaurant in Elmhurst that makes it in their open kitchen right before plating and serving to you...alas, in Buffalo there is barely good chinese food let alone anything close to malaysian.

Thanks again!

My favorite South Indian restaurant serves a bread they call Calicut porota (paratha) that is like a heavier version of roti - not puffed at all, but with hundreds of flaky, buttery layers. It's thick and chewy and so delicious. I hope to figure out the recipe eventually...

anybody ever freeze wine? i'm thinking about doing this in ice cube trays for those times when a recipe calls for only half a cup or so.

sparky,
I don't think wine freezes, due to alcohol content

I just returned from a gorgeous weekend upstate
where two days of tortillas alternativas was practiced

Day One was white and whole wheat flour with butter, which came out much more like an Indian flatbread

Day Two, whole wheat and bacon fat - those were gooood flour tortillas

Christine, your original recipe really does not have enough fat/oil in it...

Hi, Sparky,

I've actually found recommendations for freezing leftover wine in a few places. My first thought when I came across this was, "When does anyone have leftover wine?" Har har. Every once in a while when I come across a truly dud bottle of wine that I (yes, even I) can't stomach, I'll freeze what's left. It's great to throw a couple cubes into broths and sauces for some added depth of flavor.

I've only ever frozen red wine. Not sure if white wine would freeze differently? It also doesn't 100% freeze--more like a fairly solid slushy, but it does the basic job.

Thanks for everyone's tortilla advice. I guess I'll have to fiddle with the recipe to add more fat and/or find some new ones, as well as trying the no drying out tips.

I went straight from homemade tortillas to homemade pasta, which in my world is an exciting Saturday night! :) My first time trying to make my own pasta. Kind of a flop. Not so much the pasta making as the pasta drying. I was not careful and it ended up all stuck together. and, boiling it was no help. Oh well,next time...though, I must say the actual making of it was MUCH easier than I thought it would be, so next time might be sooner rather than later!

Christine,
put a clean sheet over the bed for a pasta drying expanse.
(now that you know it's child's play . . .)

EmmaC,
You peered into my fridge and found the apple juice is still taking up space. Pom-apple sounds great

does the wine change in the freezer? I just use those air sucker things and let it stand around until I cook. Or keep a big cheap bottle of white in the fridge when it's a high cooking season...