The Philly cheesesteak has an international reputation---I found a purveyor of them at a highway rest stop in Korea---even though it was invented remarkably recently. It shouldn't be surprising that Atlanta has a large selection of Philly cheesesteak vendors. Pennsylvanians are moving to Atlanta by the busload, bringing their tastes with them. I've been intending to evaluate Atlanta's offerings in this area and today was truly the first day of the rest of my life, so I went to Philly Connection in Decatur. I've been to Philadelphia's shrines of cheesesteak: Pat's, the inventor of the cheesesteak, and their archrival Geno's. I've also had a number of cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia area; naturally, their average level of competence in this dish is very high. I'd rate Philly Connection as fine but not exciting. They chop their steak a la Pat's rather than leaving the bigger chunks; they do serve with onions and give you your choice of cheeses. But I didn't find their cheese or their meat to be quite as rich as I had hoped. Pat's is known for using high-quality meat, and if you think that is a waste in a lowly sandwich, I suggest that you stand out in the snow at Pat's and find out what a cheesesteak should taste like.
I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...
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