News food 2008-08-07 Andanh.com

Rice rules Wednesday August 6, 2008
In all of American cooking there is probably no term less meaningful than "salad." I'm racking my brain for a way to narrow the definition, but the best I can do is a dictionary-like "mixture of food, usually cold or at room temperature, with some kind of dressing."

Quick meals no 'Nightmare' Wednesday August 6, 2008
Hard to believe perhaps, but superchef ("Hell's Kitchen," "Kitchen Nightmares") Gordon Ramsay is touting easy, quick recipes in his cookbook, "Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food" (Key Porter Books; $35). His goal is get home cooks back into the kitchen preparing real food and meals - a timely premise given the state of the economy. No more takeout or frozen dinners necessary.

Local produce goes into a great gazpacho Wednesday August 6, 2008
Gazpacho may taste great chilled, but the best flavors develop if some of the ingredients are heated first. And since it is grilling season, might as well do it right with a bit of fire roasting.

Jo Jo Taipei Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:51:43 GMT
Seldom enjoyed; thoroughly enjoyable
The contemporary cuisine of Taiwan, for its part, is influenced by Chinese, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese colonists.

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STEAM DREAM Xiao long bao (steamer of dumplings) is like Peking ravioli with super-juicy insides.
Photo by Brook Griffin.

Taiwan’s culinary situation is as wonderfully confused as its history and politics. It’s part of China, but it is not. Over the past century, Taiwan/Formosa has spent most of its time as a colony of Japan; the second-most time as part of China, but outside the control of the government of China; and the third-most time as the recognized government of China, without actually governing anything on the mainland. For 30,000 years, there were no Han Chinese in Taiwan. Today, they outnumber the indigenous population.

The contemporary cuisine of Taiwan, for its part, is influenced by Chinese, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese colonists, and most recently by the 1949 immigration of the pre-Communist officials and their cooks, from all the provinces of China. There used to be an argument over whether Taiwan had the best Chinese food; today, there is food that is distinctly Taiwanese. And even that has rapidly changed. Of the characteristic dishes of Taiwan on the menu at Jo Jo Taipei, I could find only one in my trusty 1969–1979 volumes by Fu Pei Mei, the Julia Child of Taiwan at the time.

I started tracking these changes when a helpful reader, Ju Chien Hsu, e-mailed me some pointers after I reviewed one of the first Taiwanese restaurants in Chinatown, 13 years ago. “You must try the Crispy Smelled Bean Curd,” she wrote. “This is uniquely Taiwanese and definitely an acquired taste. (I consider tofu to be the cheese of Chinese cuisine; think of this as one of the rank ones.)” All these years later, I finally found a restaurant that featured the dish on an English-language menu, and took advantage of the suggestion. (Although Jo Jo Taipei has translated almost everything, there is a little blackboard with about six specials in Chinese. Once we ordered enough exotic food, our excellent waitress attempted to explain what they were.)

Each table at Jo Jo Taipei starts with a small dish of Spanish peanuts, and another of a sweet-hot lightly pickled salad, mostly cabbage. Then a waitress comes with a tray of potential appetizers.

Rosticeria Cancun Dos Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:48:12 GMT
Two’s a charm
The first and most striking difference is that Cancun Dos has tables and a kitchen (at Cancun Uno, you had to settle for a counter and a stove).

Unraveling the mysteries of Madeira's special wine Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:00 EST

Some 800 growers contributed to the Madeira wine you enjoyed at the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament last weekend.

Chinese Dir