So is toum like Greek skordalia (which I love)?
Not sure. Zankou was an Armenian family. There were a million copycat recipes online but I think it was generally known to be a ton of garlic, pureed and emulsified with oil, with some lemon juice and salt. So delicious! The pungency doesn’t bother me one bit 
The more the better!
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I bought the TJ’s version for my vegan daughter. I used it as the spread for garlic bread, and it was great.
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IMO, it’s delicious, but nothing like skordalia at all, other than being garlicky. Different consistency, looks and flavor. BTW, love Zankou chicken @Sasha; do you happen to know their very strange backstory? There are a few write ups online, if you’re interested.
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Is this the story? Whoa!
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Yes, very tragic, and quite the story.
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Takeout is WFD tonight but right now I’m basking in the glow of a dinnerware purchase. I’ve mentioned several times how “over” our ancient Corelle set I was. While we did not ditch it completely (just in case; its a HUGE set) we did upgrade with a four-service set which I eyed up in Target. The brand is Project 62, which I think is an offshoot from their Threshold brand.
This was strictly food blogging/food photography driven, and I’m just sick of Corelle. Nothing against it, but those same plates for more than half my life? Yeah, time to put those babies out to pasture.
New plates. I’m excited:
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Congrats on the new dinnerware! May those plates hold many delicious meals in your home.
The good and the bad about Corelle is that it lasts forever. How long? I bought my grandmother a set with earnings from my first high school job. The dishes stayed in the house I flew the nest, after my grandparents passed away, and even after that for the rest of my mother’s life. When it became my duty to sell the family home, wouldn’t you know that Corelle was still in great condition.
So, yeah. Better choice to treat yourself to new tableware than wait for that trusty Corelle to wear out!
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OMGosh I do. I read about it years ago. It’s daytime soaps crossed with the Godfather. Crazy. Success will go to people’s heads! Btw, I forget now if you have SoCal roots? Is that how you are familiar w/Zankou chicken?
Honestly, I would like it spread on the sole of a shoe. But because it has a very tart edge, my mind probably wouldn’t go to garlic bread, even if I spread it on bread, because I have never associated garlic bread with tartness of any kind. But really - it’s just semantics. I’m glad you and she liked it!
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MariaCarmen - this would be my dad’s death row last meal. Bread and butter. With a coke to wash it down. He may be a fancy shmancy guy now, but he grew up poor, and comfort food is comfort food.
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No SoCal roots, some relatives and good friends in the area, so I visit fairly often. My OC friend loves Zankou, and took me there. Another friend told me the backstory. We also LOVE Open Sesame, a small chain, mainly in OC I think. Wonderful. Along with that old Mexican resto in San Juan Capistrano that used to be a jail. Oh yeah, almost forgot, used to travel to San Clemente on business.
It’s funny you should say that, because most of the time when I encounter toum, it isn’t tart at all - basically just tastes like garlic and oil emulsified into mayonnaise. However, there is one place I order from at work frequently and theirs (which they call garlic sauce), is rather heavy on the lemon despite it having the same consistency as all other versions I’ve had. Maybe a regional difference in recipe?
Jealous of your sourdough! Were you happy with your bread?
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Here is a crazy crazy story of little restos in California. There was a new bagel place that opened my soph yr of college in NH. It was absolutely delicious/delightful, and had wonderful interesting flavors like spinach and sun dried tomato which I hadn’t seen elsewhere. Fast forward a number of years. H and I are in CA, driving up the coast to SF probably. We stop in San Luis Obispo for lunch and find THE SAME bagel bakery. Apparently there were only ever 2, per the shopkeepers, and we found 'em both!
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Could be. I’ve had 3 versions. Zankou, TJs, and some middle eastern place in San Diego that my parents sometimes do for takeout when we visit. Every version I’ve had has been tart. I would probably not like it as well if it wasn’t…
VERY! the crust was very crusty, chewy, and slightly sour. I’m struggling not to eat it all - some will be part of dinner tonight.
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good bread and butter is plenty fancy!
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that steak made me gasp!!
Hi @bear! i used this recipe for the starter:
believe me, I was almost ready to throw it away when 10 days in it still wouldn’t rise (after the initial rise)! but i read that it’s very difficult to kill so i just kept going. and yes, the hardest part for me was discarding so much for the feeds, so i wasn’t doing that as often as I should have been. once i started doing that, it took off.
the sourdough recipe is embedded in that link. i loved it, so I’d use it again!
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