Who Put the Goat in Me?

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Longtime ES readers remember when I made cheese for the first time and then talked smack about all the different kinds I was gonna start curdin up.

Um, yeah…I didn’t. I know, I’m kind of a slacker. But I’m totally gonna get back on the cheese cloth train, I swear. Getting me inspired this week is Kat over at Good Bite, who serves up a great step-by-step guide to making goat cheese—pics included—it’s well worth a look for any aspiring cheesehead.

Anyone else have cheesemaking stories to share?

(***For the uninformed, headline joke refers to my favorite Indian cultural moment so far)

Just Two More Meals

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With only two more meals left for Passover 2010, there’s the urge to never eat matzoh again, yet still use it all before its time is up. Matzoh as a cracker isn’t terrible, as I slathered on smoked whitefish salad and pushed raw onion and raw broccoli into the creamy mixture, simply topped with freshly ground black pepper. Matzoh is also tolerable as a base for melted cheese and salsa, as my sister discovered.

But I think matzoh is best when you can barely taste it at all. So, for you, the lonely observant Jews, for when every one else has longed reincorporated pizza and pasta into their diets, you have fought through the carb cravings and lasted until this eighth and final day. Here is a way to hide your matzoh.

Matzoh and Swiss Omelet

A few weeks ago at the farmers’ market I bought these long, slender greens that basically looked like grass. At the ends there was some barely leafy parts, but it mostly just looked like grass. And I totally can’t remember the name.

Nonetheless, I sliced it to about the size of my pinkie nail (currently painted in Essie’s Mint Candy Apple) and quickly softened it in a pan with butter. I then added in broken up matzoh bits, letting the matzoh also soften.

In a bowl I beat two eggs and threw in raw garlic. I poured the egg mixture over the greens and matzoh and tried to swipe around the sides to let the uncooked eggs start to cook. I seasoned the eggs with salt and pepper and then flipped the egg mixture over once the bottom started to firm up. I lowered the heat then tore up two slices of swiss and placed a lid over the pan. After about 2 minutes, the cheese still hadn’t melted and the eggs were starting to brown on the bottom.

I decided to flip it again, letting the cheese directly hit the pan. I was nervous that the cheese would burn, or stick. or the whole thing would get messed up. But I guess the cheese and butter had enough fat that the cheese slid around in the pan and was able to melt, but then also easily move to the plate.

Enjoy, especially not tasting the matzoh, which really only gives the open faced omelet some body and texture, but not that gross matzoh stale taste.

And now you can start thinking (if you haven’t already) how you’re going to break Passover.

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

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– Waste not, want not!  Britannia might not like a sub-par tomato, but Sam has a great solution for those unattractive end slices:

I know where I work, with the ends of the tomato we just chop/dice them and put them in a shallow container, and use them for omeletts that have tomato in it.

– Could it be that Annie Hall is the key to great movie kitchens?  Tia certainly thinks so:

Did you notice how many of those amazing movie kitchens star Diane Keaton? It just seemed odd.

– ML managed to implant the Filet-O-Fish song in all of our heads, but it was a Tyler that was the icing on the cake (Central Jersey REPRESENT!):

THIS guy…

(Photo: Jon Juan)

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: The Beet Pancakes are Delightful!

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The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– Users of the travel site TripAdvisor aren’t letting the fact that Schrute Farms doesn’t actually exist dissuade them from leaving reviews of Dwight’s North East Pennsylvania bed and breakfast.

Tom Colichio no likey the Grub Street.

After the jump…guess who’s back, Food Network tries to bring a little bit of gourmet to the home cook and tough times in Huntington for Chef Oliver.

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Indian Simmer: You Can Live on Bread Alone

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As some of you already know, your humble ES editor has temporarily relocated, and I’ll be spending the next month eating and drinking my way through India. Hope you’re all fans of the food there, because I’ll be checking in frequently to report on my fav finds, brag about eating for $3 a day, and hopefully never complaining about Delhi belly.

First thoughts: OMFG this place is scary. Why do they think it’s OK to drive the wrong way on the highway? Or shove 13 people into one rickshaw? Or bring your baby on a motorcycle without a helmet? Somehow, this crazy “system” all seems to work out for them, but I have to admit it’s pretty freaking overwhelming.

Second thoughts: OMFG this place is a bread-lover’s paradise. If you have ever eaten at an Indian-American restaurant that offers just one simple kind of naan, let me tell you, you are being shortchanged. Every establishment here, big or small, has countless kinds of bread on offer. Garlic naan, butter naan, naan laced in layers of ghee and nann stuffed with potato curry. Paper-thin dosas rolled out to five-feet wide. Crunchy dosas smashed up and mixed in with every ingredient in the kitchen. Crispy papadum ready for dipping. I could go on. And on.

But my favorite (so far) is the batura. It’s a giant, puffy bread usually served with channa (spicy chickpea curry), as in the channa batura above at Kwality Restaurant in Delhi. It’s hollow inside, super-thin, and slightly greasy. It’s served hot and you break a piece off to pop it all open. Then you just go at it Ethiopian-style, tearing off pieces of the bread and using them to scoop up the chickpeas. So fun. They usually only offer batura with channa, but I think I may ask for every meal in India to be served this way.

Burns My Bacon: Where’s My Tomato?

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There’s no denying it. When I come across a burger on a restaurant menu I’m tempted: a big fat juicy slab of meat always makes for a great dinner. I’m so tempted that even when I’m in no particular mood I always make sure that whichever restaurant I choose there is a good burger available. We all have our downfalls. I’m still seeking a gym buddy.

A nice fresh tomato and onions along with a little ketchup are what I look forward to on my burger, but you know what Burns My Bacon? A crappy tomato that’s what. I get it, tomatoes are expensive, always have been and always will be, but don’t skimp on the tomato on my burger or any other dish for that matter, slice it off and throw it out, just don’t ever serve it. If there are any other uses for ends of tomato then let us know in the comments.

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