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By JANET K. KEELER, Times Staff Writer
deconstructing dim sum
Traditional Cantonese dim sum consists of a variety of dumplings, steamed dishes, meatballs, wontons, sweet cakes, spring rolls, stuffed buns and other small bites. Think of dim sum as appetizers taken with tea or eaten for brunch, rather than as the opener for the meal. Dim sum is the main attraction. Dim sum was brought to the United States in the late 19th century by Chinese immigrants who settled on the coasts. Today, you'll find many places to eat dim sum in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and other cities with large Chinese populations. Traditionally, a cart loaded with small dishes of food is wheeled between tables of diners, who select the items they want. Usually two to four pieces are on a plate and each plate costs $1.50 to $4. The idea is to sample as many varieties as you can, so it's nice to share dim sum with a group. The experience can be noisy and sometimes intimidating. Don't be shy about asking the waiter what's what. For that matter, don't be afraid to ask the people next to you what they are eating. That's the communal nature of dim sum. There is usually an order to the way the dim sum comes to the dining room. According to www.about.com, the lighter, steamed items, such as steamed buns with roast pork, come first followed by exotic items such as chicken's feet, then the deep-fried offerings and finally desserts, such as mango pudding and coconut snowballs. Many Chinese buffet restaurants in the Tampa Bay area serve dim sum items on the line, but you'll have a harder time finding the rolling carts. On weekdays you can order dim sum from the lunch menu at TC Choy's Asian Bistro (301 S Howard Ave., Tampa; (813) 251-1191). The carts roll from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. At Forbidden City (25778 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater; (727) 797-8989) dim sum is served from the menu at weekday lunches and from carts 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. Some Asian markets also offer frozen dim sum that can be heated at home. constant comment
cooking classWhen a recipe says "cream butter and sugar together" it means to blend with a fork or mixer until they are aerated and lighter in color, so they look creamy. This can be done with a mixer or by hand. Creaming ingredients can produce cakes, quickbreads and muffins with a light, delicate texture and crumb. For the best results, allow butter to soften to room temperature before creaming. this web site cooksBroccoli prevents breast cancer. Yeast protects against anthrax. Honey fights cholesterol. These aren't headlines in a tabloid newspaper, but news from the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, an organization of chemists and chemical engineers. Scientists at the recent conference described a number of studies in which foods might be used to treat common diseases. You can read more about the findings at this Web site. cool chef clothesWant to see what stylish chefs will be wearing this fall? Check out the new Chefwear catalog. The company, which has been outfitting chefs in aprons, toques and jackets for more than a decade, has come up with camouflage pants and houndstooth hats. In keeping with the times, there are also stars and stripes toques and aprons and jackets with American flags on the collar. To check out the line, visit www.chefwear.com or call toll-free 1-800-568-2433 to order a catalog. quick cheese biscuits
More food on TVBeginning Sunday, Food Network programming will be listed in an expanded version of TV Times, the Sunday TV supplement in the St. Petersburg Times. Other channels new to all five editions of TV Times include Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, CNBC, CMT, Court TV, E!, FLIX, Fox News, Fox Sports, FX, Golf, Hallmark, Home & Garden, MSNBC, MTV, Oxygen, TV Land, VH1, WE and STARZ. - Compiled by Janet K. Keeler, from staff and wire reports
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
Dim sum means "to touch your heart" in Chinese, but it might as well mean to tickle your palate because these little bundles taste so good.
"Why can't life be like this? Why can't they bring around a cart with guys on little plates? That way you could sample a little, before you committed to a whole one." -- Will Truman on Will & Grace.
They don't taste like grandma's, that's for sure, but Bisquick's new Three-Cheese Biscuit Mix makes pretty decent biscuits in about 15 minutes. That's pretty helpful when you're in a hurry to get a meal on the table. The mix, flavored with Cheddar, Parmesan and Romano, is blended with just 1/2 cup water and plopped by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet. Eleven minutes later you've got six hot biscuits. The flavor is good and the price, about 99 cents, can't be beat.
