redgirl's Profile
soft polenta proportions
my question got a little lost in the wonderful responses about braising lamb shanks. so...fresh start here (now that the shanks are firmly in hand):
soft polenta for 9. how much polenta and how much stock? going under lamb shanks but one person is not having lamb...just polenta and salad (their choice). would rather have more than less. i do have a large pot so can make a good amount...just unsure of the proportions and how much is needed. thanks.
lamb shanks...roasted or braised?
YUM. ...we've been here a very long time and the neighborhood shifted around us. happens that way.
i made them and pulled them from the liquid - covered them and put them in the fridge. my intention is that tomorrow i'll easily grab the fat off the top and then - here's the 1st question...put the shanks back in the liquid til saturday? or keep them separate? i haven't reduced the sauce yet...thinking i would reduce it til later...but maybe i should before i put the shanks back in or it will be a pain and they'll really fall apart when i go to serve them hot!
2nd quesiton: how much actual polenta (dry and uncooked) for soft polenta for 8 or 9?
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lamb shanks...roasted or braised?
i live in an mainly-orthodox-jewish section of brooklyn (not borough park) and we're not orthodox. but, guess what? orthodox families are BIG and the local store has some BIG pots and i bought one years ago. fit all twelve of them (yes, they aren't huge but will be perfect one per person). i wouldn't want to lift it though so i'm simmering them on top of the stove instead of in the oven.
lamb shanks...roasted or braised?
found them for $5.99 and bought 12...they are not huge - just under a pound a piece. the harder part will be browning them in batches. putting them on soft polenta. the decision here is (and i'd love opinions): a plain polenta made with water or a polenta made with chicken stock (there's stock in the braise liquid for the lamb.) i think the latter...I always want lots of bang for flavor but not quite sure.
lamb shanks...roasted or braised?
i didn't buy them at that price! am going out looking for less. i was going to do 1 leg per person..about a pound a leg.
lamb shanks...roasted or braised?
ok...love the responses here. i've decided to serve braised lamb shanks - am using lidia bastianich recipe which incorporates some dried porcinis and using a nice orange-rind gremolata on top. am making them thurs. night and then defatting the pan - serving them sat. night so the flavors will have time to develop a bit. am serving them on top of a soft polenta. olives and pieces of parm to start and an arugula and radicchio salad. no idea what to do about dessert - something to cut through all that richness i think. have to go find the shanks tomorrow...found some fancy butcher and they are charging a ton for them...almost $10 a pound! geez. i need 11 of them - i'll go broke!
lamb shanks...roasted or braised?
i was going to make a lamb shoulder but decided it was just too fatty (vs. a pork shoulder which, i think, has more meat together with some fat). i was going to do the long cook - as described in the l.a. times article from way back in 2009 about 6-8 hours of slow cooking (i've done it for pork shoulder before and it was superb..but one of our guests doesn't eat pork but does love lamb).
anyway, am thinking lamb shanks now...thinking 1 per person (they are about a pound each) ...but wondering if they can be slow roasted at 250 or would braising be the much better way to go?
iso pizza near flatiron
i know there's eataly - been there; done that. going to the movies with family and want to grab a nice (and good) pizza dinner in the flatiron area tomorrow night. along the lines of keste or motorino. the reviews for tappo didn't look good. any recommendations?
thanks.
Decent Italian for 25 on a Sunday night near Carnegie
here's where you should NOT go: trattoria dell'arte...on 7th between 56/57th. we went there with out of town friends because we going to see 'the messiah' at carnegie. the food was awful and the service was not good...we were upstairs in a claustrophobic mezzanine where the drinks/service bar smelled really sour as we passed it on the way to our table. and wildly wildly overpriced. we had eaten at la masseria for lunch and it was dignified and with good food. i passed by angelo's and it looked just fine, frankly.
congratulations to your brother. what a lovely occaision!
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Trattoria Dell'Arte
900 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019
Best Brooklyn Frozen Dumplings?
I know that there have been posts regarding great frozen dumplings in Flushing...but I need to grab some in Brooklyn...either Sunset Park, Avenue U or even up near 86th Street. Suggestions?
zito's sandwiches - 7th avenue park slope..anyone tried them yet?
hmm....i stopped going to russo's because the store feels a little old and yucky and if i feel that way up front, i can't help wonder about what is going on in the back.
zito's sandwiches - 7th avenue park slope..anyone tried them yet?
haven't had a chance - but wondering if they are worth the $. the menu looks great.
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Zito's Sandwich Shoppe
300 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Bare Burger (Park Slope)
HOW is it that not one post has mentioned the really great bar burger at rythym and booze in windsor terrace on prospect avenue????? they serve a great sized burger - cooked perfectly med. rare if you order it that way with a pile of fresh fries on an english muffin - about $8.95 plus charge for cheese and extras (mushrooms, etc.) great flavor, sweet completely unpretentious service and they pour a great guiness - or, about 20 other beers. no fancy schmancy $16 burger. just a really really good bar burger.
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Rhythm and Booze
1674 10th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
paris: i need to choose between le florimond and la fontaine de mars
hi beach chick: WE'RE STILL HERE!!!!! :::she says jumping up and down with delight!::: we have 2 more nights in paris then we're off to the dordogne for 3 nights then one last night (a monday...boooo.....) in paris then it's all a long-vacation memory.
tomorrow night is our l'ecallier du bistrot reservation and we're all looking forward to that. i took photos at le baratin and will post when i get a moment but know that we had a really good satisfying solid meal there and loved the place.
need quick suggestion: dining 'near' the louvre
we are meeting our niece at the pyramid on monday in the late afternoon and have about 4 hours with her. we'd like to take her for dinner even tho it will probably be early by paris standards...so thinking cafe or brasserie. i was think near the louvre (since we have to drop her back at the pyramid) or i thought that ile st. louis would be utterly doable. suggestions that would work for the adults as well as the temporarily-adopted teenager?
have just been told that said 17 year old is a vegetarian - we are not. wondering about the chatelet area which is close enough by.
thanks!
Review: Le Philou 7/15/11
we met friends who live in paris and they suggested le philou - i was thrilled because it was on my list and now i would get to go ...and at someone else's suggestion. we had an 8:30 reservation and by the time we were all seated (5) outside, there were easily 10 people waiting for tables. Sadly, no photos today (I was a little embarrased with my friends to be taking photos! I can get away with it when it's just myself and hubby). easy menu - about 6 choices in each category and 2 choices for dinner...2 courses or 3. I think the 3 courses were 30eu. we had 2 carafes of red - each recommended by the owner. don't remember the 1st - which was meant for the entrees but it was a lighter red. the 2nd was a cahours and we really all enjoyed that one.
entrees: i had the clafouti with mushrooms and jambon...really a cooked custard in a large ramiken - with a little salad on the side. husband had a nice sized arugula salad with shaved parm.
plats: i had the beef cheese (joues de bœuf) - different than i've had it before. it was a single large piece (one large cow!) extremely fork tender with great flavor sitting on top of long cooked endive and chard but with an almost clear jus. i've always had it with a dark long simmered sauce. hubby had the roasted lamb with small roasted potatoes and mushroom pieces...i tasted it and it had good flavor and wasn't overcooked. my friend had the breste chicken which i also tasted...man...chicken in paris is so so so much better than in the states. tastes like real chicken .
dessert was shared...a lime citron tarte with a side of a lime sorbet. it wasn't overly sweet. good. not memorable.
all in all..popular...great location and we strolled back up the canal to our apartment about 15 min. ...the canal just lined with people out sitting, talking eating and drinking. a good solid choice. not earth shattering but executed everything pretty well and it was a fun atmosphere.
need asian change of pace in paris
ok....we're topping out after 5 nights in paris...need some crunchy spicey asian fare...big pile of flash wokked veggies with some noodles or such. (new yorkers that we are..we're used to changing it up.) any ideas on somewhere that will satisfy this one night need? then back to the reservations awaiting us next week. (we don't want the made-ahead steam table stuff i've seen in lots of little vietnamese style shops here in the 10th. we want stir-fried string beans in some kind of garlic paste buffered by a little rice. does it exist here?
Review: Les Papilles: 7/14/11
reserved this morning for tonite... bastille day in paris. we were given a reservation but a bit early. we ended up being the 1st ones in - geez, when you walk in the whole place just smells of something roasted and wonderful. anyway, we were solos for just a few minutes and we had a change to talk to the owner while he described the menu and we asked him to choose a wine for us. (morgan 2010 - an organic about 30eu. lightly chilled it was perfect for me).
i'll try to do some justice but suffice it to say that i was beaming from ear to ear when we left. everything (with one exception) hit all my happiness buttons.
soup: lukewarm (his description) endive soup in the terrine (which also floated a drop of oil in the stock) poured into the bowl which contained slivered endives, lardons, bits of parsley and chives and pieces of blue cheese (that was the only thing i didn't love but my husband did...i have a low tolerance for chunks of blue) and a dash of red pepper dusting the edge of the bowl.
main: slow-roasted lamb shanks (when he said this i grinned ear to ear since this is my master dish every holiday and i LOVE lamb shanks...just my favorite thing ever) in a thick beefstock/lamb reduction on a bed of vegetables including whole cloves of garlic in their skins, onions, snow peas, and roasted red peppers. the sauce was velvety-thick and glossy. i had a chance to speak to the chef, thom, and he told me that he adds the beef bones to the stock after the roasting and then - having removed the shanks - slowly reduces the stock all the way down to a velvety thickness.
cheese: honestly, i don't know soft - maybe a brie. with a bit of honey and chives on top, a drop of dressed lettuce on the side and a small quenelle of apricot compote on the side. (i would have preferred more salad!)
dessert: peach panna cotta. which doesn't do it justice. layered like a parfait, there was muddled peach pieces on the bottom with thick peach sludge and then the panna cotta in the middle and a peach syrup with sesame seeds on top. it was outstanding
the place was packed. the service was lovely. and i really loved having the chance to have a good conversation with the chef in his teeny tiny kitchen (i was outside the teeny tiny kitchen).
2 set meals and a bottle and 2 coffees were 109.50
we're probably going back next week.
Chez Casimir - July 12th
2nd evening in paris...staying in the 10th. have managed to already walk about 8-10 miles in the 2 days! and we're just wandering...so after letting jet lag pass (we're here for 3 weeks and staying in an apartment), we wandered over to chez casimir in the 10th - a few blocks from gare du nord. no reservation and they were gracious - i'd say 4/5's full. we got a 2 top by the window inside at 8:30pm. the menu was 32 eu - the host wrinkled his nose at my husband's wine selection and picked an alsace pinot noir for us which was great - about 25 eu (the one he picked was the same price).
1st:
a soup with smoked duck breast slivers - the 'dry' in the bowl - smoked duck breast slivers, crouton and bits of carrot - and a pitcher of the soup. i only had a taste but the base was green and creamy - it was fabulous.
i had the salade du tete du cochon and am no longer a head cheese virgin! i liked his better; he liked mine better but i am not a huge aspic fan.
2nd:
his: classic roasted chicken with mashed potatoes under - herbs all through the potatoes. classic and well-executed
mine: an osso bucco of monkfish sitting on top of slices of turnip. it was excellent.
3rd: the help yourself cheese platter. insanely good.
4th:
his: a deep deep cassis sorbet with rasberries - i tasted it. very intense - really fabulous
mine: a tarte au citron with fruit on top and a fruit syrup/sauce just lining the bottom of the shallow bowl. but what made it really good were the slivers of verbena and bits of poppy seed.
the atmostphere is classy casual and there was only one other table there speaking english a wonderful start to our trip.
paris: i need to choose between le florimond and la fontaine de mars
thank you all and thanks luna. well, we leave tonite and will wake up tomorrow in paris! (ok...at the airport...then the slog on the r.e.r.!)
so....amazingly, at the moment we are not reserved for either of these. i had to make some choices and yes, i nixed la fontaine about a week ago. we may make it to le florimond this week - my husband and i alone before our guests come. we really enjoyed our meal there (my 50th bday dinner) 4 years ago. but for the week our guests are in, we're going to josephine chez dumonet - a drop early 7:30 - but then a nice walk up to the eiffel tower.
excited that our reservations include:
josephine chez dumonet
le baratin
le philou (the choice of our parisian friends)
l'eccallier du bistrot
and we're hoping to also make it to:
les papilles
le comptoir
chez casimir
le hangar
a lot of thought and a good list for, hopefully, some really good meals. thanks for all the input to ch france board and will report!
paris: down and dirty in the 10th?
we live in brooklyn, ny. we're always going to small ethnic restaurants all over the place - some are really hole-in-the-walls and others are just local as-authentic-as-it-gets but not known to the larger tourist crowd. we live around the corner from difara's pizza...this grungy old pizza joint that has been our local for 20+ years is now the darling of foodies all over the world.
we're staying in the 10th. suggestions for some mom-and-pop joint that is really good? it can be take-out or really basic...just care that it's good and interesting. and this can include a stellar food/spice joint also.
thanks!
paris: i need to choose between le florimond and la fontaine de mars
thanks to all. and thanks phild - really appreciated your further thoughts. our guests would feel a bit 'at sea' at clj but i think that le florimond will suit them as a celebration but not over the top. additionally, we're taking them to either chez casimir or le hangar and i'm hoping to go to Les Papilles either with them or before they come - and then we have a last night dinner reserve at L'Ecailler du Bistrot - so i think everyone will be happy. really...thanks all. i enjoyed the discussion and it helped me understand what i want to do.
paris: i need to choose between le florimond and la fontaine de mars
no need to be snippy. it has taken me a while to figure out and sort out what will be good for all of us. in fact, i have a reservation at la fontaine but was questioning it. that's why i asked specifcally - and would still like to hear from anyone else with an opinion - about these two restaurants which they would pick. you said it was not disney but another poster in these forums, whose comments i find interesting, said it was. that's why i'm posting a specific post to see what others think.
geez....no need to be gruff.
paris: i need to choose between le florimond and la fontaine de mars
my husband and i went with friends 4 years ago to le florimond. it was a lovely evening...the service was gracious and the food was very good. the decor is sort of ...eh. i said that it reminded me of a really really solid upper east side neighborhood restaurant in manhattan. the menu was about 35 eu plus whatever supplements and, of course, wine. it was not an inexpensive evening but it was my 50th bday dinner and it went off beautifully - everyone was happy.
we are visiting paris again and one evening will have guests - my goal is to put together one evening with dinner and then a walk under the eiffel tower and over to the trocadero. (hope the weather cooperates.) it is actually one of our guest's 50th bday dinner this time. it has come down to 2 choices - balancing food; cost; location; and atmosphere. le florimond or la fontaine de mars. it will be a special occaision but in a warm and easy way - our guests are not at al fussy and would be uncomfortable in a very fussy restaurant but are looking forward to some meals more luxurious than they usually treat themselves to. my husband and i are nyc foodies and love great food with fun warm surroundings.
even tho le florimond is a bit longer walk, i have the choice of either for a dinner with our guests. i read a comment by phild in another thread where he felt le fontaine was a bit 'disney' and i keep thinking that too....
so...please put me out of my misery. which would you pick? (i was thinking chez dumonet but i think it's much too far of a walk and, perhaps, too long of a meal to do the whole evening...but i'll take input on that too.)
thanks. we leave in a week and it's about time i figure this out so appreciate any response from those in the know (or just with an opinion!!!))
bean
Au Bon Accueil
so phild: i ask you - specifically - because your comment touched an instinct for me - where would you recommend - same general area (we can walk after dinner...so a bit further is ok...the plan being to walk under the eiffel tower and then onto the trocadero). solid bistro food not so fancied up -
last visit we had a lovely confit at le florimond but then we're in the wrong location - walking from trocadero over to the eiffel. for many reasons i want it to go the other way. please post...i'm very interested in recs.
Au Bon Accueil
phild: this is my worry...too disney bistro for us. where would you recommend right near there (easy walk to le tour) that has really good comfie bistro food. appreciate your input.
a few scattered questions re paris restaurants
le fontaine du mars: how's the duck confit? it's a specific request from one of our group of 4 and we would go there as part of an evening where we then walk over to le tour eiffel.
le bistro des oies: near the canal st. martin. i never see this mentioned here. has anyone been and is it worth going?
les papilles: i know it's a set menu...what happens if you don't like/ever eat something. is there *any* choice? is it very very offal based?
le ziryab: thinking of going for a lunch and for the view. is the lunch acceptable? i know the view is!
lastly, i remember hearing about a restaurant near les halles area that has 'new' owners but is still a great steak frites joint. anyone know which one i'm remembering? (or not remembering as the case may be?)
dinner near the trocadero -
recommendations for dinner near the trocadero - the idea being that we'd eat and then walk over and watch le tour light up on the hour?
