This brought back so many memories! I've never been a follower of food fashion at home, so I still serve Melba toast with my homemade paté charcutier, having fallen in love with it in a hotel in Mombasa in the 1950s (we used to go there for lunch); I ate my first fresh peach, bought from a market stall and warm from the sun, at the age of 12, sitting on the banks of a small Venetian canal; being recommended a Schwarzwäldertorte (a different breed entirely from the bastardised version called a Black Forest gateau!) in Oy-Mittelberg by a DB porter: 'It's the best Schwarzwälder in Germany, I know, my auntie makes it.' How could I resist? And I seem to have eaten my way through most of the items on your list!
I'm rubbish at slicing bread, so if I treat myself to a fancy loaf I get the bakery to slice it for me then bang it all in the freezer as one woman can't (well I *can* but definitely shouldn't...) eat a whole loaf before it goes stale. Sadly Melba grade isn't an option at bakeries -- we should start a campaign to bring deli meat slicers to bakeries! I tried slicing bread with my mandolin once and it didn't go well. No injuries, just a pile of scraps good for nothing but pangrattato. Which wasn't that big of a hardship...
Mine comes from a 100y store (Japanese pound shop) and is insanely good for something that cost 70p. I have yet to injure myself on it and it's been over five years. Yet. Probably just jinxed myself and I'll lose a thumb.
And, of course, Caesar salad (named not for a Roman emperor but for Caesar Cardini, the chef who invented it at his restaurant in Tijuana) and celery Victor (named for Victor Hirtzler, chef of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco). Hirtzler is credited by some with crab Louie, although the origin of the name (and recipe) is a matter of conjecture.
Celery Victor is celery hearts cooked in broth, chilled, and served over bell peppers or lettuce with a vinaigrette that incorporates the broth. Crab Louie, a California classic, arranges flaked Dungeness crab meat, tomato wedges, and asparagus over Iceberg lettuce, topped with a dressing of mayonnaise and chili sauce. It's divine.
My daughter likes to serve my version of French toast and call it "Dad's French Toast." (I make it with thick slices of sourdough bread long-soaked so they come out custardy in the middle.)
All sounds delicious, particularly Dad's French Toast. I've always been a tad picky about tomato in wedges. Somehow they taste institutional and the balance of flesh and filling leans too heavily in favour of the seed jelly in a way slices don't seem to.
This brought back so many memories! I've never been a follower of food fashion at home, so I still serve Melba toast with my homemade paté charcutier, having fallen in love with it in a hotel in Mombasa in the 1950s (we used to go there for lunch); I ate my first fresh peach, bought from a market stall and warm from the sun, at the age of 12, sitting on the banks of a small Venetian canal; being recommended a Schwarzwäldertorte (a different breed entirely from the bastardised version called a Black Forest gateau!) in Oy-Mittelberg by a DB porter: 'It's the best Schwarzwälder in Germany, I know, my auntie makes it.' How could I resist? And I seem to have eaten my way through most of the items on your list!
What a wonderful life of food and travel! I'd rather have Melba Toast than artisan bread - the latter has become ubiquitous making the former a treat.
I'm rubbish at slicing bread, so if I treat myself to a fancy loaf I get the bakery to slice it for me then bang it all in the freezer as one woman can't (well I *can* but definitely shouldn't...) eat a whole loaf before it goes stale. Sadly Melba grade isn't an option at bakeries -- we should start a campaign to bring deli meat slicers to bakeries! I tried slicing bread with my mandolin once and it didn't go well. No injuries, just a pile of scraps good for nothing but pangrattato. Which wasn't that big of a hardship...
Mandolins should come with a health warning.
Mine comes from a 100y store (Japanese pound shop) and is insanely good for something that cost 70p. I have yet to injure myself on it and it's been over five years. Yet. Probably just jinxed myself and I'll lose a thumb.
And, of course, Caesar salad (named not for a Roman emperor but for Caesar Cardini, the chef who invented it at his restaurant in Tijuana) and celery Victor (named for Victor Hirtzler, chef of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco). Hirtzler is credited by some with crab Louie, although the origin of the name (and recipe) is a matter of conjecture.
Celery Victor I don't know. Nor crab Louie? What recipe would you want named for you?
Celery Victor is celery hearts cooked in broth, chilled, and served over bell peppers or lettuce with a vinaigrette that incorporates the broth. Crab Louie, a California classic, arranges flaked Dungeness crab meat, tomato wedges, and asparagus over Iceberg lettuce, topped with a dressing of mayonnaise and chili sauce. It's divine.
My daughter likes to serve my version of French toast and call it "Dad's French Toast." (I make it with thick slices of sourdough bread long-soaked so they come out custardy in the middle.)
All sounds delicious, particularly Dad's French Toast. I've always been a tad picky about tomato in wedges. Somehow they taste institutional and the balance of flesh and filling leans too heavily in favour of the seed jelly in a way slices don't seem to.
...with the exception of tomato wedges in a Greek Horiatiki Salad.