Reflections of a stormy petrel

That was my suspicion, actually. I am familiar with the effect of a lemon on one's mouth (as well as with its life-saving properties when on a mountain hike in summer).

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--Make a key lime pie.

--Get a bottle of tequila, cut the limes into quarters. Take a shot, dip the lime quarters in some salt, and suck on the limes.

--Squeeze the juice onto fish.

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I'm afraid that

inverarity just spoiled your fun. 8-)

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Pretty much anything one does with lemons, then.

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Pretty much. Limes have a more interesting taste, I think. Oh, and the juice is fantastic on rice with cilantro.

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Cilantro?

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Yep. The tanginess goes well with the lime...unless you have that gene that makes it taste like soap.

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The thing is, we aliens on Planet Europe have no idea what cilantro is.

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It looks like this (http://images.google.com/images?q=cilantro&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi). According to the Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander) and the Gourmet Sleuth article (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Exotic-Herbs-Spices-and-Salts-639/cilantro.aspx), both of which show up when the term is Googled, cilantro is the leaves and stems of the coriander plant.

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OH! Now I feel like a fool. Well, of course I know it. I call it Prezzemolo or Leaf Parsley. In fact, it's an Italian commonplace to use Prezzemolo as the image of something that is everywhere and used for everything. Apologies for the lexical confusion.

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helixaspersa.livejournal.com

They are very very nice squeezed onto avocado, or in guacamole. All likely recipes probably only account for one though. Any extra I would cut into quarters, wrap individually and freeze - then next time you want a G&T or similar, you have a ready made fruit slice + ice cube.

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I second the motion for key lime pie. It's really the only thing I can think to make with half a dozen limes. Otherwise, I just purchase them individually for recipes (like guacamole) that call for a little lime juice.

Of course, Cherry Limeade is a nostalgic drink for me. Makes me think of my undergrad days.

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This is the second piece of advice to do with strong drink. Not that I am ungrateful or offended or anything, but the fact is that I don't drink anything stronger than port. (And I still feel rather unkind, now I have said that.)

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The problem is that I bought them because I had inherited a kit for key lime pie from an American friend who was going home. I was under the impression that I needed limes for it, but when I looked at the package, it turned out I did not. I shall have to make limeade or freeze them.

(This post has garnered more responses than almost anything except some of my polemical items. I wonder whether more food- and drink-oriented posts would get extra interest.)

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I know that now. And not for the first time in the course of this thread, I feel rather foolish. I have used Prezzemolo all my life; it is a native plant in Italy, and indeed an Italian by-word for someone or something that goes everywhere.

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No, they are not the same thing at all. They look similar but smell very different. Cilantro is the leaves of the coridander plant (coriandolo), also sometimes known as "Chinese Parsley"

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I like the note in the "Gourmet Sleuth" article that, "people of European descent frequently are reviled by the smell of cilantro. It has not gained in popularity in Europe as it has in many other parts of the world."

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I just went and got my Ritcher's herb guide. Leaf Parsley (Prezzemolo) is Petroselinum cripum neopolitanum. Cilantro is Coriandrum sativum.

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notebuyer.livejournal.com

Check out this page.

And yes, food catches everybody: mainly with praise, since we like eating, as opposed to politics, where we want to argue...

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cette-vie.livejournal.com

People do love food and cooking, and have strong, but rarely irreconciliable, opinions about those things. They're usually a good draw!

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sanscouronne.livejournal.com

Lime sorbet. It is a great palate cleanser between courses.

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cette-vie.livejournal.com

I recommend lots and lots of pico de gallo, which is also made with a lemon, cilantro, tomatoes, red onion and garlic, all well-chopped. Limes are really awesome. =)

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That actually explains a lot. At any rate, coriander - named - is easily found in Indian shops in London.

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deansteinlage.livejournal.com

garlic, juice of a lime and your favorite hot sauce, maybe some brown sugar.
Marinade some shrimp for a few hours (or overnight) then either saute, bake or grill.

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joetexx.livejournal.com

This post has garnered more responses than almost anything except some of my polemical items. I wonder whether more food- and drink-oriented posts would get extra interest

Damn straight! People may fake passion about literature or history or politics but no no one is cooly objective about something they are going to put in their mouths.

Was I myself not lured here by your arriabata post?

Note on cilantro,though you may know this from your experience with Prezzemolo:

It does not taste like coriander and the one cannot be substituted for the other.

It is wonderful. I once knocked a few few sprigs of cilantro into my Pepsi
and now I never drink Pepsi without it!

You must try Pico de Gallo (rooster beak)! All Italians and Frenchmen must, for reasons detailed below.

It's great with pork and especially with fish. Make ceviche with it. Arrange raw fish/shellfish in bowl, cover with juice of limes which you now conveniently have to hand. Whip up a batch of p de g, ommitting the lime juice which of course is aleady covering the fish. The linked recipe is huge so adjust proportions. Personally I prefer serrano to jalpaeno. Mix p de g with fish thoroughly and refrigerate overnight. Consume with any good thirst quencher but ideally Mexican beer.

You see, to persons trained in the traditions of French and Italian cooking a good sauce invariably means a thick sauce. In tragic consequence, they are foredoomed to ruin when they attempt Mexican salsa, as they always try to thicken it or make it more 'chunky' with excess tomato. They must simply learn to accept that the salsas with the most bite are meant to be runny. If you think of salsas as relishes rather than sauces it may help.

Soory, this is a hobbyhorse of mine. I drank way too much coffee this morning.

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In that case my mother isn't Italian. She's stopped making her fabulous Porcini sauce (to go with rare steak) because it's fatty, but it's certainly not thick. And anyway Worcestershire sauce has always been a staple in our family.

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About cilandro: there is nothing that can be bought that cannot be found in London. That is one of the reasons why I and eight million other people put up with the place. Cilandro is used in West Indian cooking, right? I'll just have to find the West Indian name for it.

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joetexx.livejournal.com

West Indian? I have no direct experience but the herb isknown over the Carribean so they probably do use it.

And in London I'm sure you can find anything, including dilithium crystals to cure your breakfast ham.

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shezan.livejournal.com

Make punch! It's still cold enough outside!

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joetexx.livejournal.com

Porcini. On rare steak. Does your sainted mother's recipe resemble
this ? I note that it contains heavy cream, but that don't scare me.

It is true that many European meat sauces are made of butter, drippings, Worchestershire, wine, or herbs and run freely over the meat.

Nonetheless I have seen the lamentable atrocities I described committed on salsas, and under prolonged interrogation the perpetrators have confessed to Italian or French ancestry, or at least influence.

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