mmm-yoso – Page 255

In a pickle: Utopenci – The Drowned Man

July 23, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

All hail the Drowned Man……

We always return from our trips having learned a little something….about ourselves, our tastes, there's always a new wrinkle. While in the Czech Republic, we fell in love with this "hospoda" (pub/tavern) specialty; Utopenci, literally "drowned man". There's just something about these tart-sour-porky sausages that really refresh when you have it with a cold one.

Why "drowned man"…well, we heard two stories, typical of the rather dark, ironic, humor we found in the Czech Republic,….the "Czech twist" we call it. The first is that the inventor of this dish, a pub owner, got drunk one night and drowned to death, hence the "drowned man". The second story is that these pickled tubular meat items look like drowned bodies bobbing around in the jar……

We tried Utopenci wherever we saw them on the menu in the Czech Republic and even bought a couple from markets when we went shopping. The Missus could be heard exclaiming "I really am craving a drowned man…." in the airport….luckily, we were in Prague so other than the tourists, everyone else knew what She was talking about…. I think.

These are knackwursts from Tip Top Meats, smoked forcemeat type sausages. If you buy an uncooked sausage, you can heat them in the pickling liquid before bottling.

Couple of key points, it is important to make that slice two-thirds of the way through. It ensures that the sausage absorbs all of that pickling goodness. Second, as with the Pickled Onion recipe, this is a "starter" type deal. Make adjustments to your taste, this uses a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to water…add celery, chilies, garlic….smoked pork!

Main thing is that those little "men" floating around in your fridge hit the spot……

Utopenci – The Drowned Man:

3/4 Cup Water

1 1/2 Cup White Vinegar

1 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp Whole Peppercorns

1/2 tsp Whole Allspice Berries

2 Bay Leaves

1/2 Onion sliced 1

1/2 lb Smoked Sausage – kielbasa/smoked knackwurst, or whatever sausage tickles your fancy.

– Combine water, vinegar, and salt in a pan and bring to a simmer.

– Add bay leaves and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in peppercorns and allspice

– Once liquid cools slice sausage 2/3 way through – if using kielbasa cut down to size first.

– Place a slice of onion in sliced part of sausage. Place a couple of slices of onion at the bottom of a sterilized jar.

– Pack sausages in the jar

– Cover with liquid, seal jar and leave 5-7 days before eating.

There you've a set of drowned men you can call your own!

Lunches at Fish Attack

July 22, 2014 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

**** Fish Attack has closed

Fish Attack….yes, I actually ate a place called Fish Attack. I thought Playa Azul which used to be in this location was pretty good; perhaps not as good as La Playita, which is also now gone, but a nice place for some mariscos and perhaps a beer. It closed back in 2010 and Fish Attack took the place of the "Blue Beach".

I really wasn't motivated to eat here however, a couple of folks I know like the place…..not for the "California Sushi", which they said was better than Sushi Deli, not exactly a glowing recommendation, but for the lunch specials…….

So there I was, waiting for my Fish Attack……

To be perfectly honest, the Servers here on my two visits were just wonderful….very nice, efficient, on top of things. It looks like a roll heavy neighborhood sushi place, which is really nice if you go for that kind of thing.

The lunch menu features various combos, about 10 or so in all….though I was kind of surprised that the 4 piece nigiri bento was $9.95….you can get a good 8 piece nigiri lunch from Kokoro for $15.

A nice touch with lunch is that a bowl of edamame is brought to your table.

This was fine, a nice touch, and we'll leave it at that…..after all, just the color of the edamame tells all.

I went with the Chicken Katsu Bento ($8.95).

Which came with some bare bones miso soup, which was not bad, it had flavor, and wasn't too diluted.

I was kind of wondering if there was dressing on the salad as it didn't seem so…….tasting like plain packaged greens.

The chicken katsu was thigh meat, which I kind of liked, it was moist, had more fat, flavor, and was fried quite well. This was pretty good…..

So when was the last time I had a California Roll? Probably somewhere around 2008. There's a no substitution rule….and frankly, I'm trying to think what I'd be able to substitute for this. In all honesty, the "surimi and mayo" to rice ratio was edging on the "krab" end. Still, it's not my thing……. hopefully, I'll have another reprieve until like 2020? You get your choice of spicy tuna or this….. but really, saku fish in Sriracha mayo versus this? Like I said, it's just not my thing.

Well, that katsu did have an effect on me, so I decided to return to try the Chicken Karaage ($7.95).

This was a mixed bag….the salad was better than the last time… I could taste the dressing.

Not a big fan of the karaage; I enjoy crisp and light. This was dense and gummy. The rice was also mushy this time around.

But….the folks here were really nice. So I thought I'd come back to try something once again. Until I thought about this; because the folks were really nice, I tip about $3 each time, which makes this an $11-$12 lunch. For under nine bucks, I get this at Kayaba.

And while I tip the gals doing the cleaning a buck, it's still under ten……I mean really, which would you choose?

Fish Attack
4575 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Mariscos Monday: Oscar’s Mexican Seafood – Hillcrest

July 21, 2014 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, Taco Shops

It seems like more than a bit over two years ago that the Missus and I had a meal at Oscar's Mexican Seafood. While the meal was decent, we didn't find it especially great, at least in comparison with other Mariscos restaurants and trucks we eat at. I think the major draw was the location; there was nothing quite like it in the area. Since then, Oscar's has expanded. To PB and Hillcrest. I'd always been meaning to return and revisit, but having a location in Hillcrest is pretty easy since I'm in the area quite often for work.

One really great thing is that they open at 8am. I often have meetings at odd hours and the early opening was a big plus for getting me here….also, the parking here can be a nightmare during prime time.

Like the decor, though the regular seating is nd of uncomfortable. The menu is very gringo friendly…everything fully explained.

I decided on the Smoked Fish Taco (Taco de Marlyn – $4.25) and the Fresh Fish of the Day ($4.50) which was Yellowtail….actually I ordered a Battered Fish Taco ($1.99), but they just rang up the grilled fish….which I probably should have ordered anyway.

There was much to like about the Smoked Fish Taco, loved the way the queso was melted onto the tortilla (very routine mass-produced) to prevent breakage and add a mild milky edge. The fish was a bit too mild in terms of smokey flavor and even salt….I consider this "bacon of the sea". On the good side; it was less fishy than some versions I've had recently. I do think the portion was pretty small…..

I also thought these tacos were a bit under-dressed, though I do understand wanting to make the rather mild yellowtail the star of the show. The fish was a bit overcooked for me…..yellowtail can dry out pretty quickly. I also thought it needed to be seasoned a bit more. This was on the bland side and really needed more….also, there wasn't enough onion or anything else to give it some textural contrast.

A quick word about the salsas…the Chipotle is nice and mild….I thought that white salsa was crema…but whoa, I believe it's habanero based, which I really thought added a nice kick.

In total, not bad, perhaps priced on the high side….but of course, there's the location.

I had an odd hour meeting and another scheduled over lunch so I headed back to Oscar's before traveling back to the office. This time I did order the Battered Fish Taco ($1.99).

The batter was light, but could have been a bit more crisp it got soggy fairly quickly. The fish was moist, though the whole thing lacked flavor. Still, definitely worth a buck ninety-nine.

Curious about both the shrimp and non-seafood items, I ordered the Surf and Turf Taco ($4.50). This was a nice two-fisted taco.

The shrimp was well seasoned, cooked to the edge of being overcooked, but didn't go over that line. The skirt steak was too tough and chewy, which I don't mind if there some nice assertive flavors to obscure the texture, but that wasn't the case here. Overall, a decent taco.

I'll probably return to Oscar's because of the location and hours. I think I'll go with some shrimp tacos and maybe the Cucarachas which we enjoyed last time, but is now like $11.

Oscar’s Mexican Seafood
646 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 8am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 8am – 10pm

Prague: The Charles Bridge, the Little Quarter, the Lennon (not Lenin) Wall, the Jewish Quarter, and lunch at Kolkovna

July 20, 2014 mmm-yoso Czech Food and Restaurants, Czech Republic, Prague, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

We awoke early as we usually do when on vacation. It seemed the sun had risen even earlier as it was bright and sunny when we stepped outside.

The Charles Bridge was to be the first stop this morning. There would be no messing around with the weather and getting lost in the streets around the Old Town Square. This time we headed west and walked along the Vitava River. Along the way we passed Kranner's Fountain, which you can read about here.

And then of course, there is the view of the Charles Bridge, Little Quarter, and Castle Quarter looking like it came fresh out of a postcard.

The bridge really had a strange pull on the Missus…well perhaps it was Prague itself that drew Her. We kept coming back to the Bridge at all times of the day. Each time it seemed to have a different personality. On a morning like this, it seemed so peaceful and serene…….

Construction of the bridge was started in 1357. In keeping with all the lore surrounding the bridge; Charles IV, in addition to being Roman Catholic was quite interested in astrology and numerology. In order to have luck on their side, the palindrome 135797531 was used to guide in the building of the bridge; which started on 531 am on July 9th, 1357. Apparently, Charles IV's Astrologers also noted that this would be a favorable time to start as well based on the positioning of Earth and Saturn.

The bridge itself features 30 statues, the earliest of which was built in 1683. All of the statues have been replaced by replicas, which seem aged and "gothic" enough to suit my taste.

Of all the statues, the one thing the Missus wanted to see was this plate.

This marks the spot where John of Nepomuk was thrown off the bridge and drowned by the order of King Wenceslas….I guess he wasn't "Good King Wenceslas" after all? Apparently John was the priest to whom the Queen confessed all her sins. Of course the good King wanted to know all the juicy details, but John refused. Thus, he was tortured, but still refused to give up the goods. The King decided to put an end to John by throwing him off the bridge. Notice the five stars? Apparently, when John hit the water five stars appeared above it. Time has been good to John, who became Saint John of Nepomuk, the National Saint of the Czech Republic. His statue, also on the bridge is probably the most popular.

The bridge ends right below Prague Castle in the area known as the "Little Quarter" (Malá Strana). Originally the area where the ethnic Germans settled, some of the architecture still reflects that time.

We headed right up the street and had an espresso at the cafe right in front of the Church of St Nicholas. As you can see, clouds were forming, it was getting to be a bit windy, and it looked like rain was again on the way.

After our cup of fortifying espresso, we headed right back down the street toward the bridge. What, were we done? Not quite. Right at the Little Quarter end of the bridge; before the tower are stairs. These stairs lead to "Kampa Island", built from the rubble of the Little Quarter.

Water was diverted to feed the waterwheels of the various mills that were located on the island. If you'd like to see the last existing water wheel, you can see it by finding the bridge with all the "love locks" - padlocks sometimes inscribed with names or initials, the keys are thrown away to symbolize a love that cannot be broken…..

How quaint….though the cynical side of me wondered out loud, "in how many cases have these locks outlasted the unbreakable bond?" Which had the Missus mark me as "unromantic". To which I replied, "ok, how's this…..my love for you is unbreakable….it is forever….now let's go to Home Depot and buy a lock!" The Missus reponse? "You're right…I'm better off telling you to give me a couple of hundred bucks to go buy some lululemon……"

Yet, right after this conversation, all my synicism melted away…..

Right around the corner and down the street is the "Lennon Wall". When John Lennon was killed in 1980, this wall was suddenly filled with artwork and graffiti. I can only "Imagine" what the music and lyrics of the music of John Lennon and the Beatles would mean to those who felt repressed by the Communist regime. I've read that the wall would be whitewashed constantly; only to have it full of graffiti by the next morning. In the end, it had become a symbol of freedom and perhaps, an agent of change….a wall. To this day new messages and artwork is constantly added, the originals are long painted over…..but, if you take time to read them, dodging the photo opportunity "peace sign for the camera folks" ….some of it can be very touching.

For me, this was probably my favorite place (other than sitting in a basement having some sausages and beer) in Prague. We'd return one more time to the "Lennon, not Lenin" Wall. Funny thing is, the folks that now own the wall are the Knights of Malta! So, two years ago we went ot Rhodes and I found out about the Knights of St John, who were defeated by the Ottomans and settled on Malta, which we visited last year…..I know, I'm way behind on travel posts…..but if you only knew how much I want to make these posts "right"………which takes a large chunk of time when you do things "stream of consciousness" style.

After this we headed up Ujezd….the area is colorful, though we were now dodging an occasional drizzle. There was one last thing I wanted to see. Up on Petrin Hill, in a serene, park area is this sculpture.

It is a haunting piece…….the human figures start whole at the top, but slowly appear to disintegrate as they move down the hill. This is the Memorial to the Victims of Communism. Down the middle of the sculpture the inscription repeats, "205,486 arrested, 170,938 forced into exile, 4,500 died in prison, 327 shot trying to escape, 248 executed……" Kind of heavy I know…….

We walked back up and around…..the Missus wanted to "save the Castle Quarter" for when we returned…..

Where I saw what is probably one of my favorite signs of all time. You can't say the folks here have no sense of humor, can you?

We walked past a variety of people……folks who seemed to be government bureaucrats, tourists, locals trying to make a buck. And yet, this area didn't seem quite as touristy for some reason.

And so we ended up where we had been the day before…. more confident and comfortable….but still not quite sure where the heck we were.

I pride myself on having a decent sense of direction….but what the heck, who really cares, right?

Soon enough we were at…guess where?

Yep, Old Town Square….and the Ooompah Band was playing "If I Were a Rich Man"…… Take a left right past St Nicholas Church and you're at the "high rent district" with upscale shops and upscale shops. Right past this is the Jewish Quarter……..the Missus and I were in need of a break by now though I really wish we spent more time here.

When we're back, we'll spend much more time here…….

At this point, two things were happening; first we were getting pretty hungry….second, it was starting to rain. This meant we needed a stop for lunch, which was close by.

There were several restaurants I had on my "list" in the area, but Kolkovna was the closest. With raindrops starting to come down, we decided this should be the place.

I believe this restaurant is owned by Pilsner Urquell, not necessarily a stamp of approval in my mind. The restaurant does look slightly corporate, but there's a non-smoking area in the basement.

The menu is large and full of items ranging from Greek Salad's and Jambalaya (???) to Moravian Sparrow.

Kolkovna is known to have it's Pilsner Urquell delivered "tank style" straight from the brewer, so that was obviously the way to go. The Missus went with a "half and half" – half Pilsner Urquell, half Kozel Dark.

We started by going with a sampler of Czech beer food type items.

Much of the charcuterie was fairly routine; ham and head cheese. What we both really loved was the pickled sausage, called "Utopenci", which literally means "drowned man". Typical of Czech humor, this pickled sausage is either named after the creator of the dish, a pub owner who got drunk and drowned to death, or because the sausages bobbing in their jars resemble……drowned men. Either way, we loved the tart-sour-porkiness of it. We'd have it almost everywhere we could, even from Tesco, but this was our favorite by far….the most sour. The pickled cheese (nakládaný hermelín) had both that wonderful perky sour flavor and the fermented milkiness. It's made with hermelin cheese which is like camembert.

The Missus went with everything but the kitchen sink…..the Bohemian Platter.

In case your keeping score; beer sausage, thick cut "bacon", smoked pork, sparrow (gamey), red and white cabbage, bread dumplings, and a duck leg.

Nothing really stood out and of course the Missus said the duck was missing Five Spice.

We took a lot back to the apartment and had it with dinner.

It was an interesting way to taste a lot of dishes……and yes, this is for one person!

I ordered the Cabbage Pancakes…..think of potato pancakes with sauerkraut and bacon in it.

These looked greasy but were not. Nice crisp exterior, some smokiness from the smoked pork, a little tart-sour form the cabbage, this went well with the garlic-sour cream condiment. It was also a bit lighter than it looked. Since cabbage was involved, you know the Missus loved this.

Overall, we thought our meal here was decent and would return if in the area. Service was casual but efficient and our server was kind of funny, even joking with us. Of course, as we left the place started getting crowded, it was a good decision to eat early. The prices were also reasonable; we ate all of this and had 3 beers for about $45 US.

Kolkovna
8 V Kolkovne
Prague, Czech Republic

Belgian Independence Day at Brabant

July 19, 2014 mmm-yoso Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants

*** Brabant has closed

Well, technically Belgian Independence Day isn't until June 21st…..but having a couple of Sours and stuff like this on Saturday is much better than Monday, right?

The Missus and I decided to head over to indulge a bit. There were a couple of specials for BID.

That's a Frikandel, an Angus Beef version of the hot dog like sausage….and yes, it is deep fried. With frites, of course…..

And a Boudin Blanc de Fowl, a chicken a duck fat white sausage….this one is wrapped in pastry.

The usual suspects are available as well……the Missus still believes the stoemp here is better than anything She had in Belgium.

So if you're in the mood for anything like that…..or perhaps this……

They're serving this stuff until closing today. Which I think is midnight…….it's all Belgian style beers on tap and 20% off bottles.

The Missus and I need a nap now…..

Brabant Bar & Cafe
2310 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104

Duck Confit

July 17, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Meet our latest "staple", something the Missus says we should always have on hand……

Basically, duck legs, cured, then cooked at a very low temperature covered with fat (oil poached) for hours, which produces and amazingly flavorful, juicy, and tender product. It can then be stored in it's own fat for rather long periods of time. Most folks hear "duck confit" and think it;s something difficult to make; but at its core it's basically a preservation method, with animal fat used as a barrier to the elements. It is amazingly easy….basically prep, cure, rinse, dry, poach in oil, cool, put in the fridge.

Prepping them for a meal is also easy; the most basic method being putting in a 400-425 oven and baking until heated through and the skin is crisp. I prefer doing this on the stovetop, starting with a cold pan and under low heat. The fat renders out…which we later use for eggs or potatoes. The idea is to heat through slowly while crisping up the the skin. I usually raise the temp a bit near the end.

This one had a simple pan sauce where the duck fat is poured off into a bowl for later use, shallots are softened, since we're still not doing cooking with alcohol at home; I used veal stock to deglaze and reduce. When reduced I add a touch of Date vinegar, and creme fraiche, since it's fermented and allowed. This one is served with a version of stoemp, made a bit more creamy with the cooking liquid from the sauteed vegetables and some duck fat. It is, in a word, quite the meal.

All you really need for curing the duck is really salt….but of course, the Missus needs that little "Chinese touch", because She believes all duck should have that flavor profile, so I use Five Spice powder…..from QingDao…where you actually go to a herbalist/pharmacy to have them mix up for you. The duck legs I order from Bristol Farm, I pick them up, usually the day it is delivered….it's never frozen and quite fresh.

Duck Confit – mmm-yoso style

Seasoning per duck leg:

3/4 Tb of coarse sea salt – we use Maldon Salt because it's pretty easy to get

several grinds of black pepper

1/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

Duck fat to cover/submerge duck legs. About 6 cups or so. (you can supplement with pork fat, or other neutral oil – not too much)

– Rub seasoning into duck and place fat side down in a single layer in a pan

– Place in the fridge overnight

– Wipe cure off duck and place duck in a single layer in a pot and submerge in duck fat

– Cook at a low temperature, preferably 180-190 degrees….the lowest in our oven is 200, which I measured at 210, so I make due.

– Cook for 4-8 hours. We're usually at the low end.

– When a skewer goes easily into the duck legs remove from the heat- the tricky part is to stop before the duck start breaking down. It will keep cooking as it cool.

– Cool, and remove to a container, cover with fat and place in the fridge.

Once you've finished eating your duck, you can reuse the fat for confit a few more times before it gets too salty…..

Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore, the Usual Suspects, and dinner at Da Danilo

July 11, 2014 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Italy, Rome, Travel

Just about everyone I know who has travelled has been to Rome….really. There's so much to see….a bit too much…the crowds, the scams (impersonating police seems to be just fine with local authorities), the somewhat jaded attitude toward visitors….. And yet, Rome is full of history, chock full of amazing sights….

If I were to do posts on everything we saw and ate in detail….well, it would be too much. So I've decided to most of these as sort of a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) posts and keep the verbiage to a minimum.

So, we arrived. The Leomardo Express from the airport is a total joy, like much of Europe, public transportation is excellent. We stayed at a "B&B" close to Termini Station, the one great thing about the place was the person who ran the whole operation. More on that later.

You know the Missus by now right? We dropped things off and were off to the races! With something quick to eat of course…

The Missus doesn't have the best sense of direction; so the thought of having a map in Her grubby little hands would usually send chills up my spine….not so much here.

You know how they say, "you always remember your first"….that really hit home as the first church we visited was Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. My goodness……

It was indeed an impressive sight.

What was really interesting were the Chinese tour groups… they would often push themselves to the front of the line, trying to force themselves in front of everyone. It was especially bad at the Vatican where the guards actually had to push them back.

They often make interesting statements which would make the Missus crack up. Like when one of them said to another while looking at the statue of Pope Pius IX, "look, a statue of Buddha praying…."

One thing that really fascinated both the Missus and I were the Obelisks.

Each different….there seemed to be a story somewhere here….

06082013 1362 One could just wander like we did and find a church like San Pietro in Vincoli, which has the tomb of Pope Julis II.

Apparently, this work was by Michelangelo, what more can you really say? How often do you see a work by Michelangelo? Really?

The church also holds a relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter while he was imprisoned.

The sheer amount of art, displayed in sculpture, on canvas, and in murals is quite amazing.

There is of course, the Colosseum and the Forum, but for some reason the Missus wasn't interested in visiting either.

Her reason? Well, having visited the Colosseum at El Djem and having the whole place to ourselves, ditto our visit to Sbeitla (Sufetula) had provided the Missus with enough exposure…..

And then of course, there's Trajan's Forum…..

And then there is the "Torta Nuziale", (the wedding cake), also known as the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

The Missus loved the architecture….I thought it as being a bit too gaudy…..

Around the back is the Basilica Santa Maria in Aracoeli.

The view from here is quite nice.

We made our way back to our room. Max, the proprietor of our B&B had made reservations at a place I was just itching to try, Trattoria Da Danilo, which was a scant three blocks away.

We were warned about the "typical Roman service" which was pretty much isolated to the woman who seemed to run the place….in other words, we should be honored just to eat here.

There's a big push for the antipasto here…..as in a major Ronda Rousey armbar upsell of dishes…some of which were good….some not.

The fried dishes were cold and were not especially good…..

And then of course was what I really wanted….the dish that had me going, "oh my….." The Cabonara with truffle…..oh my, what can I say? The flavor of shaved truffle…perfectly al dente noodles. the restrained richness of the dish.

In the end, there was a payoff for me……. I was willing to endure the lousy service for the carbonara of my dreams. I guess we all have a price, eh?

Trattoria da Danilo
Via Petrarca 13
Rome, Italy

Revisits: Single dishes from Sushi Yaro, SuperNatural Sandwiches, and 777 Noodle House

July 10, 2014 mmm-yoso Sandwiches, Seafood, Vietnamese Restaurants

Some quick one dish revisits…..

Hwe Dup Bop from Sushi Yaro:

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

It's been a while since I've been here. One of my favorite non-menu items which I enjoy for lunch is the Hwe Dup Bop. Think of it as a sashimi salad rice bowl if you've never had it before.

Topped with spicy-sweet cho-jang and sesame oil, this is a filling, refreshing, and rather healthy meal.

It's always nice to see Sam as well.

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Lobster Roll from SuperNatural Sandwiches:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches is under new ownership

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has closed

One of my first stop when I got back to work. I decided to go with the lobster roll, which ain't cheap at $15 and isn't quite your traditional Lobster Roll. This one is aggressively seasoned, but there were two whole claws in my roll.

This won't replace my favorites, but it was pretty good.

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Hieu Tieu Nam Vang from 777 Noodle House:

Hieu Tieu Nam Vang Kho (dry), still under six bucks.

Half the fun is gnawing on that pork leg bone. It's still my favorite here.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

In a pickle: Easy Pickled Onions starter recipe

July 9, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

It's a getting a bit too warm in the hallway for fermentation. Yet we've kinda caught the bug. So why not play around with pickling? I love pickled onions and I'm thinking about using those Ghost Peppers, or maybe Red Habaneros to make some spicy pickled onions.

So I thought I'd go with a starter recipe for pickled onions, like we used to make "back home". The recipe has been scaled down for a single jar and can be doubled, quadrupled, etc as desired. You can add more salt, less salt, soy sauce, etc….. My original recipe had sugar…..equal to the amount of salt. No bueno here since the Missus is on Her "diet". I added a couple of cloves of garlic and three serranos.

Anyway, here's a decent base recipe. It's a nice start; you can make adjustments as you desire….

This is good with any rich meat…or fried chicken…or fried whateva'.

Easy "Local Kine" Pickled Onions:

3/4 cup bottled water

3/4 cup white vinegar

1 1/2 medium onions quartered – but not cut all the way through

1 1/2 Tb Kosher Salt

1/4 red bell pepper cut into strips

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

A couple of chilies, garlic, etc…..

– Wash a sterilize Ball jar – Combine water, vinegar, and salt. Stir until salt dissolves – Pack Ball jar with onions, bell pepper, etc…. – Add peppercorns – Pour in pickling liquid – Cover and seal. Leave in a dark place for 1-2 days shaking occasionally – Then refrigerate for at least 5 days before eating

Turo Turo Tuesday: Erlinda’s Filipino Cuisine & Ice Cream Parlor

July 8, 2014 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Sisig

**** Erlinda's has closed

I hadn't been down to National City in a while, at least it seemed that way. So this past weekend I headed down with no real plans, I actually was taking one of my scenic drives….you might like evergreens, giant redwoods, an ocean view…….for me, well, it's seeing a new turo-turo shop and the smell of sisig in the morning!

This one was a surprise; I was taking the 8th Street drive from the 5 and was shocked to see Conching was gone! After how many years? It was now something called Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine and Ice Cream Parlor.

Well, the interior looked the same, the food looked the same…….I decided to have a two item combo.

Now, I've cut down severely on my rice intake in recent years. I even asked them to go easy on the garlic rice….I didn't need too much. I guess this is going easy on the rice?

In retrospect, I should have just gotten pancit or nothing at all since the rice was terrible; mushy, the garlic burnt and bitter, and in dire need of seasoning…….

As you can see; it was pork adobo and sisig.

Once upon a time, Conching made one of my favorite versions of sisig, though it was terrible and disappointing the last time I had it. This version was good, not as good as the best I've had at Conching, but it was pretty close…it was still on the mushy side, but at least there was enough sour-salt-spice to make it enjoyable.

The adobo needed more vinegar and black pepper flavor and a ton less sodium as it was unpleasantly salty. In terms of texture it was fine, a couple of tough pieces, but adequately tender. It was just much too salty…..

I haven't been a real regular at Conching's over the years so I'm not sure if the cooks and staff are the same….based on the sisig, I'd venture that some if not most of the folks here are still the same Conching folks.

Anyway, there you have it……. RIP Conching.

Erlinda's Filipino Cuisine & Ice Cream Parlor
3400 E 8th St.Ste 115
National City, CA 91950