Text 12985, 83 rader
Skriven 2008-08-30 10:28:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: taro 842
================
 ML> Anyone going hungry would have been force-fed!
 NB> I believe it... as long as the hunger had been acknowledged... ;)

I have yet to attend a picnic where any of the guests regularly
said "no, thank you" to anything but durian.

 ML> It would have been possible, with a small amount of advance notice,
 ML> to make a substitute tiramisu or equivalent without coffee.
 NB> I have enjoyed, on occasion, a berry tiramisu from Wegmans.  :) 

For me one of the joys of the stuff is the interplay of the coffee
and chocolate and the gentling effect of the dairy product (all
things that I should be very careful about ingesting); but whipped
cream and fresh cheese together can make something quite wonderful
even without those flavors.

Pot de creme
cat: not really, but good
Yield: 1 batch, about 4 servings

1 1/2 c ricotta (or mascarpone), beaten well
vanilla to taste
sugar to taste
1 pn salt, optional
1 egg yolk, optional
1 1/2 c stiffly whipped heavy cream
minced dark chocolate to taste
slivered toasted almonds

Mix ricotta with vanilla and sugar (and a dash of salt
and an egg yolk if you like); fold gently together with
the cream and the chocolate. Mound into pot de creme
cups (or small custard cups) and strew almonds over
just before serving.

After what was served a restaurant in Boston called Dom's
back in the 1970s. It's essentially cannoli filling, only
maybe a bit rich for that. source: moi

 ML> When I think dry and crunchy, I think deep fried, which would make
 ML> even chicken fingernails edible. That's what Occam, may he rest in
 ML> pieces, would probably say as well.
 NB> Yes, that would make sense.  But does deep-frying by itself make
 NB> anything/everything edible?  One could take the simmered feet and then
 NB> deep-fry them...??

Yes to all.

 ML> As you know, there are several kinds of fried taro balls: the least
 ML> impressive has julienne of taro molded around shrimp or similar;
 NB> I don't think I've seen that one.

The first time I encountered them I thought that maybe the
cook had read a description of the real thing and extrapolated
a dish without realizing that the taro was supposed to be
mashed beforehand; but in recent years I've seen it in various
dim sum settings, so maybe it's a real dish unto itself. It's
not bad, but instead of the tender crisp shell you get these
razor-like shards on the outside (which of course shatter
before they can cut you, which is fine).

 ML> then there are the nice lacy shell ones, which I enjoy; then there
 ML> are the ones where the outside is teased a bit so that coming out
 ML> of the nice lacy shell are these tufts rather like cowlicks. These
 ML> last are the yummiest of all, as the surface area is maximized.
 NB> I think that what I've had are the latter ones... lots of surface
 NB> area, sticking out indeed a lot like cowlicks... ;)  Very good.

These invariably come in little paper cupcake cups, and when
you're finished with the pastries, you get to finish off the little
crispy filaments in the cups. Makes me want to go out for dim sum
right now.

 NB> There's another totally different one, where the mashed taro is baked
 NB> inside a pastry shell and then cut into pieces (think sushi rolls). 
 NB> They're ok, but I like the others better.  :)

Not my style at all, 'cause in this setting the taro might
as well be mashed potatoes.

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