Shula's - midtown

Shula's in Orlando is excellent, but I don't think I'd go to New York and eat at Shula's. Keen's seems like a much better New York venue, though I can't personally vouch for it yet because I've just been researching it and it's on my must-try list.

Have you ever heard of Dylan Prime? We really enjoyed our meal there a few years ago. Good steak, great wine list, nice atmosphere. That's another one to consider (along with Strip Steak).

But back to Shula's, they really do serve a good steak. For some reason, I just can't see myself going to NYC and picking Shula's over all the more authentic NYC choices.

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Dylan Prime
62 Laight Street, New York, NY 10013

AnnaCG in Manhattan

Carol's Cookies, how does she get them to stay tall, not flat?

Sorry I left out the temp. You are right in that it was 350F. I just made an edit.

Thanks for trying the experimental version. Can't wait to hear what you think of the real thing.

AnnaCG in Home Cooking

Carol's Cookies, how does she get them to stay tall, not flat?

One more thing. The lady at Central Market told me that the cookies arrived at CM frozen and they thawed them and sold them. After making some of mine, I tried freezing them and thawing them. I thought the texture seemed more like Carol's after the cookies had been frozen and thawed.

AnnaCG in Home Cooking

Carol's Cookies, how does she get them to stay tall, not flat?

Well, they tasted almost identical to Carol's. In fact, I did a side-by-side and couldn't tell the difference. If you look at that photo, you'll notice the crumbliness. Carol's cookies are definitely unique in texture -- dry but still "fatty" and appealing. My theory is that drying out the butter and flour (removing all moisture via a roux) give you that sandie texture and allows you to replace the lost moisture with extra fat via the European style butter. Again, this is all just guessing. I made the cookies with regular butter and they were good, but not quite the same as Carol's but still good.

The NYT Cookie is great. My only complaint is you have to have all those flours on hand and I'm too lazy to go find them all. LOL. But I really like that one.

The two cookies are different animals, though. It's hard to even compare them.

AnnaCG in Home Cooking

Carol's Cookies, how does she get them to stay tall, not flat?

Hi All!

I was glad to see this thread. A few months ago, I was completely obsessed with cloning these cookies and had a never ending stomachache from all the experimenting. My cookies were most like the ones mentioned when I cooked the butter and flour (a roux, so to speak) then made the cookies in the food processor using the cooled butter and flour mixture. Because I don’t like wasting ingredients, I kept my batches small. If you all would like to play around with it, here’s the recipe. I put links to some texture shots at bottom. The first cookie is an actual specimen (purchased at a specialty store) and the second cookie shot is my clone.

Experimental Cookie Recipe
2 ounces unsalted butter, European style (e.g. Plugra)
3.1 oz all purpose flour (weigh the flour or carefully measure 2/3 cup plus a tsp.)
1/4 scant teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon beaten egg
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Small handful of chocolate chips – milk chocolate actually taste great here
European style butter works best, but if you don’t have any, you can use regular. Most important tip is to let the cookie cool completely. These aren’t very good served warm. They need to go through the whole cooking and cooling process. And, so you know what to expect going into this, these aren’t chewy.
So start by making the roux. To do this, melt the European style butter in a saucepan set over medium heat. Slowly stir in the flour and stir the flour around in the butter, coating it well, for about 3 minutes. You should end up with a thick, dry, doughy, looking mixture. It will be thicker than a typical roux. Set it aside to cool. At this point, I like to just dump it in the processor bowl and let it cool there.
It’s takes a while to cool.
Add the salt and baking soda to the flour mixture and pulse to mix. Add both sugars. Pulse to mix. Add in the egg and vanilla then pulse until moist. Dump crumbs into a bowl. If mixture is still warm, let it cool before adding the chocolate chips. Mixture should look like a bowl of crumbs, but it will hold together when you form it.
Add the chocolate chips. Use your hands to mold the crumb/chip mixture into a big fat 8 oz ball.
Set the big ball on an insulated cookie sheet and bake for about 18-20 minutes. You can bake it as few as 18 minutes (for a softer inside) or up to 21. It won’t brown much at all. In fact, it won’t look very tasty. Let the cookie cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Transfer it to a rack to cool for another 20 minutes or so, then put it in the refrigerator to hasten the process. Waiting is the hardest part. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temp for a while. Now cut into it with a knife and serve it in little wedges.
Makes 1 giant cookie

The real thing

http://www.cookiemadness.net/?s=Carol%27s+Cookie

Clone

http://www.cookiemadness.net/?p=2540

AnnaCG in Home Cooking

New York Culinary Experience

I keep clicking on the ad and dreaming about it. It's around the corner! It's a little pricey, but I am encouraged by Chef June's post. Hmmmmm. What to do.

I am surprised it's not sold out.

AnnaCG in Food Media & News

The Grove Wine Bar and Kitchen

Thanks for the "kid"report. We almost went the other night, but I got the feeling that it was more of a bar type place. I'd be willing to give it a try either way.

AnnaCG in Austin

Spiaggia, A Trivoli, North Pond or ?? some help please

I have not eaten at "regular" Spiaggia, but my daughter and I had a wonderful dinner on Friday at Cafe Spiaggia. If you have the opportunity, definitely book a reservation at Spiaggia. If Cafe Spiaggia's food is any indicator of the quality of regular Spiaggia (and it is!) then you have to try it. Also, despite the odd location in the office building at the end of Michigan Avenue, the atmosphere was nice and the crowd was vibrant and mixed.

Also, you might want to consider buying a bottle of Spiaggia's olive oil. It was definitely the best I've ever had and I'm kicking myself for not walking out of there with a bottle. I think it's about $40.

AnnaCG in Chicago Area

Clueless about fudge

I like making homemade fudge and find most storebought fudge disappointing, with the exception of Fredericksburg Fudge. Maybe you could order some and have it delivered express mail.

http://www.fbgfudge.com/

AnnaCG in Austin

Alhambra Palace -- Kids

Pete, thanks for recommending Red Light. That's one I've never heard of and I've been doing a lot of restaurant research. I didn't know about Quatro or Yoshi's either. We're actually staying in the Magnificent Mile area (near Oak Street Beach) but I'm willing to take short cab rides to good places.

I'm still on the fence about Alhambra.

AnnaCG in Chicago Area

Alhambra Palace -- Kids

My daughter and I are visiting Chicago for 3 days and I'm looking forward to introducing her to a few very fun, upscale, interesting restaurants. Since we are from Texas, I'd like to go to places that are decidedly UN Texas. Alhambra Palace looks like a lot of fun, but is it appropriate for kids? My daughter is a well behaved, will-eat-anything, 7 year old.

AnnaCG in Chicago Area