Trader Joe's moved to my neighborhood

On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 18:56:34 +0000 (UTC), [email protected]
(Steve Pope) wrote:



It sure is!!

The Spanish Table is just down the street, and so is that great Indus
market. Plus a whole host of others...

And a few blocks down University, is 4th Street, which has some great
stuff too...like Sur Le Table, Peets, Cafe Rouge, The Pasta Shop and I
am probably missing a ton here....

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com
 
sf wrote:



I've never tasted Grano Pardano straight, so I'm not sure. I've
only ever had it on pizza (it's standardly on New York style pizza,
so I assume it's the non-mozzarella cheese flavor in such a pizza).
I have not felt the overt urge to buy some to bring home with me.
There are too many cheeses in the world and it's not on the A-list.

The different grades of Reggiano differ in agedness and saltiness.
It's not too difficult to tell them apart. At the Pasta Shop
they have single-estate Reggiano -- definitely good but over $20/lb.

If I'm looking for a grating cheese other than Reggiano, the next
one on my list is pecorino. So far, the list ends there.

Steve
 
Giusi wrote:


I make a simple pasta dish that has Pecorino and white wine vinegar.
The exact outcome is highly dependent on the quality of these two
ingredients. At it's best it's superb but it's hard to control.

It is (maybe Christine is reading) one of the 1% or so of things I
cook that absolutely requires a little butter for top effect. In the
distant past this was goat butter, but my source of goat butter went
belly-up 15 years ago or so and I haven't found another truly good
one since.


S.
 
Andy wrote:


Even five years ago, there were three Pakistani stores on San
Pablo, a raft of Indian establishments on University, the
Spanish Table nearby, the Afghani restaurant (or is it two?)
around the corner.

Plus, the local Latin Americans are from numerous different
countries besides Mexico.

Steve
 
"Steve Pope" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
They also have bulk spices at fairly decent prices, although in that area we
buy spices in bulk at Milan, an Indian store, on the southwest corner of
University and about 10th. For 30 cents you get what you pay three dollars
for at the Safeway.

Do you know of another bulk spice place, other than the Berkeley Bowl?

Kent
 
On Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:40:44 -0700, "Kent"
wrote:


If you want to go to Richmond, there is Williams..on San Pablo Avenue.
It is close to the border with El Cerrito... They have bulk spices.

I think there are some places in Oakland, too. I cannot remember the
names, or where they are...it would take some exploring for me to
remember where and what they are.

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com
 
Christine Dabney wrote:





I would have to reverse-engineer the quantities, but it's your basic
stovetop macaroni-and-cheese. I sautee some diced Criminis while I
cook/drain the pasta (usually penne rigati), then I assemble these
ingredients along with the grated Pecorino and a pat of butter,
return it to the stove top to stir and heat through on very low heat for
a minute or two. Toward the end I stir in the white wine vinegar and
some EVOO.

I will include some seasoning but in very small amounts... tiny amounts
of cayenne and oregano or similar.

The Pecorino and vinegar quality are paramount. The butter seems necessary
for the texture of the melted cheese to blend in.

I have made this for guests, when I had a particulraly good batch
of home-made white wine vinegar on hand, and knew of a Pecorino
I liked.

I just call is pasta Pecorino.

Steve
 
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