The Good Plate

Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Ah yes! The time has come again to get all those tools out for the Holiday cooking. These days are pretty hectic, so it’s important to have your tools on hand, and that they are clean and in working order.

I’m always surprised to see people buying cooking tools that only do one job. A friend of mine went out and bought a Quesadilla maker, that couldn’t be used for anything else, and she already had several frying pans that were perfectly suitable to the task. That, to me, is a waste of time and money.

So, what I’m going to talk about here are tools that you can use any time of year, and that can be used for many jobs. I have all these products in my kitchen.

I’ve done a lot of shopping for you, found the best prices, and best products. This is a no-brainer! You can shop for the products by clicking on the link provided, or the picture, the choice is yours.

1. Stand Mixer
2. Food Processor
3. Cookie Press
4. Cookie Sheets
5. Nesco Roaster Oven
6. Electric Knife
7. Knives
8. Measuring Tools
9. Timer
10. Thermometer
11. Mitts
12. Bowls
13. Organizer

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Recipes In This Post

• Turkey Salad Stuffed Tomato and Avocado

Paula Deen is going to be at Barnes and Noble to do a book signing this evening at 7pm. That made me think of how lucky I am to be living here in Glendale, California. We have things here that you just don’t find everywhere else.

This morning, I went to my favorite store, Best Grocery on Maple, and got two big, red tomatoes, a fat slice of smoked turkey and an avocado. I went home and made a wonderful stuffed tomato salad.

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There is a wonderful restaurant in Glendale, California, called Elena’s Greek Armenian Cuisine that we go to quite frequently. The rice pilaf is just the best, I could eat it every day. Dinners are usually served with a tomato and green Anaheim chili that have been grilled on the barbecue. Often, we don’t finish everything, so I wind up packing up the rice, tomato and chili pepper in a to go box.

In 2010, I threw together a dish for Teacher Appreciation Day at my son, Spane’s elementary school. I was in a rush, and when I was asked later how I made it, I didn’t even remember. In 2012, the PTA is now putting out a cookbook, and I was again asked about that recipe, so I started wracking my brain to figure out what it was.

Tonight, being a Friday, and wanting to use up left overs, but not eat meat, I remembered there was a box from Elena’s in the refrigerator. I also had some corn tortillas, some cheddar cheese, and a half full jar of green enchilada sauce. Serendipitously, while making this, I rediscovered that old recipe!

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In this post

• More Than Waffles
• eCosway
• The Good Plate’s Waffle Recipe

Yesterday was very interesting. My friend Josef asked me to come with him to see something new in Encino, and also promised me breakfast.

Since this blog is mostly about food, let’s talk about breakfast first.

More than Waffles

Encino is an interesting place, as it is dominated by Ventura Boulevard, and if you are a merchant, and you want to be successful, your business almost has to be on Ventura Boulevard. It’s been that way since the Tonngva Indians settled the area thousands of years ago. Ventura Boulevard was part of the original El Camino Real, and was a popular stop for clergy on way to various Missions on the route.

Josef told me there was a breakfast place right downstairs from where we were. I wasn’t too excited, thinking it would be a little hole in the wall, office workers’ cafeteria. I was wrong! More Than Waffles has outdoor seating, is very popular, and has a lovely interior.
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In This Post

• Milkless French Rasin Bread Toast
• Super Salad at Scarantinos

I love it when I discover new ways of making things. My friend John, who was Chef at Birds in Hollywood in the 1990′s, brought me some wonderful raisin bread a few days ago. This was interesting bread in that it was thick, crusty – almost like a sour dough.

Milkless French Raisin Toast

I got the bread out, and I got eggs out, and then I looked in my refrigerator and realized I did not have any milk.

No problem, I thought. So, I got a bowl and put some cinnamon and sugar in it, and I got an iron skillet and melted butter in that.

Then I took each slice of bread and dipped it in the sugar/cinnamon mixture, and put them in the butter. I let them absorb some of the butter, then took them out and redipped them, then let them brown on both sides before putting them on a plate.

Spane loved them! They were crispy sweet, with an almost candied coating on each side.

The only thing you need to do if you are going to make this is not get a bread with a fine crumb. It has to be an artisan bread that will stand up to all that.

Scarantinos

Spane was diagnosed with Dandy Walker Syndrome. You can read about Spane and my adventures with DWS at the Spane Beeper blog. We had an appointment with a new doctor, and the new doctor’s office was right next door to Scarantino’s.

I have wanted to go to this restaurant for years, but never had the chance. The staff was wonderful.

Super Salad!

Waiter

You spaghetti meal comes with soup or salad, which one do you want?

Spane

Spaghetti

Waiter

Well, it comes with soup or salad, which one?

Me

Spane, the waiter wants to know if you want (slowly)soup or salad(end slowly) with your meal.

Spane

Salad

So, when the salad came, Spane looked at it a little funny. It was a just a nice side salad.

Spane

Oh, that’s super salad.

It took me a while, but finally I started to laugh when I realized he thought he was getting a SUPER salad, not soup OR salad.

Me – laughing hard

Spane, it’s Soup OR Salad, not SUPER salad!

The waiter and I both laughed, and we had a very nice lunch.

I highly recommend you go to this wonderful, family owned restaurant that has been around since 1967! Enjoy!

This morning, the television happened to be on to my local PBS station, and being Saturday, there was a cooking show. This one caught my attention because the chef was using an open hearth instead of a stove. This was eighteenth century cooking! It reminded me of cooking with Berta because she does not have any temperature controls other than me.

I was intrigued and decided to check out the web site, A Taste of History. Well, I would be happy to report back what I found, except that I can’t read any of it.

As some of you know, I am a web developer, and I have always been a champion of accessibility. In the United States, we have the Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically section 508, and if you violate that, you and your website can get into a lot of financial trouble.

I called the restaurant this morning, and then I sent an email to Chef. Here’s what I said:

Chef, I spoke with your wonderful wife this morning, June 25, 2011 about visiting your web sites.

I called because I wanted to make sure that you were made aware that the sites are not accessible. The font size is way too small, and there is not enough contrast between the text and background color.

Your wife said that the designers of the web sites say this follows an 18th century theme. Well, text in the eighteenth century was not tiny. Look at the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. It’s large black letters on a buff background. Even printing presses in those days did not have itsy bitsy letters, they could not make the letters that small. Do a Google Image search for 18th century books <http:/tinyurl.com/69d8xfe> and you will see what I mean.

The websites would not pass Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and since A Taste of History appears on PBS stations, and PBS stations are funded in part by the Federal Government, you could face problems.

Even my son, who is seven years old, with perfect vision, says “You have to change the color, Mommy, I can’t read it with that color”. If he can’t read it, no one else can either.

–
Adrienne Boswell
Arbpen Designs
http:/cavalcade-of-coding.info/

Well, we shall see what happens and if any of the web sites are changed. It’s a pity, they look like they might be interesting, but it’s a little too distracting to turn CSS off, or where there are images/flash up the size to 130% in order to see. I’ll be reporting back soon.

Update: June 27, 2011
I got an email! Here’s what the email said:

Ms. Boswell:

We are very sorry the “A Taste of History” Website was not displaying in a clear manner for you to read. We are currently designing an updated website, and we will keep your suggestions in mind as we make these revisions.

Please don’t let your experience with the website color your opinion of our series. We’re thrilled that you are enjoying watching “A Taste of History,” and hope you will continue to watch.

Best Regards,

Ariel Schwartz
Producer
Multi Media Productions

Update: July 18, 2011 – No changes yet!