MiniReview: Copa Cuban Restaurant

Wound up at lunch time feeling a bit peckish parked across Main Street from the newly opened Cuban place, "Copa". Checked the menu on my smart phone. Looked yumm and affordable. Greg Cox gave it ****, $$, a great ratio of quality to cost. Son Jon and I popped in, were immediately seated. Durham is still very quiet after Hurricane Florence, even though all roads are clear and the sky was sunny. An elegant room, cream lemon walls, photographs of Cuban scenes. Not old Havana. Today's. 

The verdict? Best Cuban sandwich possible! They bake the bread. Perfect crust and crumb. They cure the ham. They cure the pickles. They roast the meat. Their own sauce. And wonderful blackbeans in a rich, aromatic gravy. Good golly, tops! Only drank ice water, which they serve at the table in an elegant, ice-cold glass bottle. Friendly, effective service. We both ordered the same meal, total was $24 before tax and tip. Worth every scrumptious morsel. I took half of mine home. We both made happy noises.

Copa
106 W. Main St.
Durham, NC 27701
https://copadurham.com/

Rave. A great thermometer at a great price

A reliable, fast, and accurate thermometer is a kitchen necessity for food quality and safety. DrDaddy has used this model for many years and is amazed at how good it is and how cheap. Taylor is an old-line maker of temperature instruments used throughout science and industry.

Taylor 9842 Commercial Waterproof Digital Thermometer

Only 14 bucks at Amazon. Free shipping with Prime. Treat yourself. Only downside is the on/off button. Press it really hard. Keeps it waterproof, almost. NSF. -40 to 450 F. Easy to calibrate.

A Sound Knife Set for a Serious Cook

Which knives and cutlery accessories should a good cook of Western foods have at hand? 
• First, the material. Stainless steel. Not ceramic or high carbon steel. Those have their value, but this is the basics.
• Second, how many? If only one knife, an 8-inch chef's knife. Next, a paring knife. Third, a bread knife. Fourth, a boning knife, and finally a carving knife for roasts and other large objects. Other favorites: grapefruit knife, Japanese sushi knife (special gift to DrDaddy from his sons), hefty cleaver, microplane, serrated peeler.
• Third, what else? A good knife sharpener is essential. Preferred is the PriorityChef Knife Sharpener, about $15. An alternative is the excellent hand-held Accusharp 001, about $10. Cutting boards (maple or teak, and a polyethylene board for dishwasher cleanup, and a steel or ceramic hone round out the system. To prevent injuries, store knifes  on a wall-mounted magnetic carrier for ready access and edge protection.
• Which knives? Victorinox (the Swiss Army knife people) offer great quality at a modest price. Buy from Amazon or other value-oriented, reputable, online vendor. Here's what to get:

• Victorinox 40520 8-Inch Chef's Knife
• Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife
• Victorinox 47547 10-1/4-Inch Wavy Bread Knife
  
• Victorinox 47513 6-inch Flex Boning Knife
• PriorityChef or AccuSharp 001 Knife Sharpener
• Victorinox 12-Inch Granton Edge Slicing Knife

Quick Apple Compote

Prepared and recorded November 23, 2009. Does nicely as a fruit course for breakfast or brunch.

1 medium apple, peeled, cored and sliced in thin wedges
about 1/2 t sugar
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 c apple cider
1/4 t tapioca or corn starch
1 T cream (optional)

Place apples in a glass bowl. Add the other ingredients, and mix well, to disperse the starch and flavorings. Cover with plastic foil, and microwave on high for two minutes. Vent the steam carefully, and turn gently to mix. Microwave uncovered another 1 to 2 minutes, until apples are cooked tender-crisp. Serve warm, topped with cream or half-and-half. Serves 2.

RAVE
Honeycrisp™ apples are fantastic. Named the state fruit of Minnesota in 2006. Sweet, tangy, fruity, crisp, complex, versatile. I just tried them. Should have done sooner! (Fuji, don't worry, I still love you too. And Cortland, where Laura raised her kids.)

NOTE
Zeigler's Cider is excellent. Made in Lansdale, Pennsylania. Always fresh and distinctively applish. Can vary in sweetness during the season.

Rave: Plouts

[This post repeats a contribution I made to the Usenet news group, triangle.dining in August, 2007.]

I chanced upon these fruits at Kroger last week, bought one, and let it ripen.

Bit into it, and was rewarded with a super-sweet juicy flesh much like a plum. No sourness or bitterness. Tender skin. Gorgeous flame-red flesh. I don't recall the variety but it looked like "Flavor Supreme".

Googling pluot (pronounced plue-ott) I learned it is a complex hybrid patented in 1989 by Floyd Zaiger said to be the modern Luther Burbank of stone fruits. Two-thirds plum (the plu-), one-third apricot (the -ot) (but I couldn't detect any apricot quality. There are more than a dozen cultivars.

Try 'em, you will love 'em. Harris-Teeter is offering 4 varieties this week at $2/lb.

Read more at Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluot

RAVE: Nicoise-Coquillo Olives

I first heard about this olive on the PBS program Spain On the Road Again, that follows the travels and feasting of  an American cook who lived there as a youth (Mario Batali), an American actress (Gwyneth Paltrow), an American food writer (Mark Bittman), and a stunningly beautiful Spanish TV actress who trained partly at UNC-Wilmington and who worked in the US (Claudia Bassols). They were joined in this episode set in Barcelona by American composer, singer, and friend of Paltrow, the neurasthenic Michael Stipe.

They spent the better part of the evening tapas tasting at the "best tapas restaurant in the World" in the company of the couple who founded and operate the place. The husband is apparently an icon in the Spanish cooking hagiography and is a damn fine cook, quiet leader and inspiring teacher of sous, waitstaff, etc. by the looks of it.

One of the many courses was a selection of olives. As one who grew up with pitted ripe California olives on his fingers, this was an eye opener. So many kinds! So many flavors and curing and spicing. I was most engaged by tiny olives that are mottled green-brown-black. The pits seem almost as large as the fruits. The flesh is a bit spicy, sour, and fruity. They are often available on the Mediterranean appetizer bar at a Durham megamart. An essential component of salade nicoise (salad in the Nice fashion).

A warm olive assortment is a nice way to dress up a plain breakfast of creamy cottage cheese and buttered rye toast.