River19's Profile
"Poor Man's" $1 Big Mac -- save $$$ at Mickey D's
If you really want to screw with them, for breakfast order a "Smurf".
In the 1990s this was a sausage egg cheese mcmuffin without the egg.....so basically a sausage cheeseburger on english muffin......was good when my metabolism was quicker....
New Soup Thread for 2012...
Had a roast chicken over the NYE weekend and I’ll be making a lemon chicken soup with orzo etc. this week.
Still have a frozen batch of turkey soup to bang through.
I feel a good clam chowder coming on though……..
Been fighting the French onion urge.
I want to make a nice Portuguese Kale soup soon as that is a great cold weather companion.
Just finished up a nice batch of kale and white bean soup before the holidays…….that is a favorite.
NYE 2012 Menu Planning
NYE dinner will be straight forward………
Afternoon Apps of a really nice cheese plate made of selections we made from our favorite cheese shop. Including some smoked ham and sopresata.
Early evening apps of smoked grouse breast served on a crostini of homemade bread with a jelly of high bush cranberries and a dollop of goat cheese…..
Dinner is a simple meat and ricotta lasagna with my homemade sauce and sausage……..
NY Day is a nice roast chicken dinner with taters, gravy, fresh veggie (maybe swiss chard) and crescent rolls (my wife loves them)…….
What did I do wrong? Homemade chicken stock
I agree with Terrie………..I don’t think you necessarily did anything wrong.
Bottom line is, are you pleased with the taste? Is it something you can work with? If yes, then it was a success. We aren’t launching the space shuttle here, there are no “right” answers and there are many ways to accomplish similar results in cooking. Find a way that works for you and provides the desired outcome.
I’ve made what I would call chicken broth more than stock several times based on what I used, this past Thanksgiving I definitely made turkey stock as I was able to extract much of the gelatin from the bones and it is very concentrated………it is what it is…..if it tastes good, eat it.
Sally's Apizza is obviously better than Pepe's and Modern
It’s OK everyone, Observor has settled this decades long debate……no need for further discussion.
Evidently, Observor’s opinion is fact and everyone else should just acknowledge the superiority of this observation.
Glad you liked Sally’s, it’s a great pie. They are each a good pie in their own right, hence each staying in business for decades. They each have their fans. Glad to see you have a clear winner from your perspective. Enjoy it. Others may prefer another pie…….
Sally's Apizza is obviously better than Pepe's and Modern
Well I guess that settles it then………we can all stop this decades long debate……. :-)
The only thing obvious about this debate is that it really depends on people’s taste preferences.
That is what makes food and cooking so enjoyable, there rarely is a “right” answer or “right” way to do things. Each pizza place in NH has it’s following, which is why they all have been thriving for decades.
L'Elizabeth's in Providence
Holy crap !!! This place is still in business?
Obviously this thread was from 2008 originally and they sucked back then, I can’t believe they are able to keep the lights on with their act……….
Very average food and drinks with extraordinary prices and subpar service………feels very NYC to me ….. ;-)
Suggestions for Lyndonville, VT area between X-mas & New Years?
This has been consistent with my experience as well.
The Pizza Man is solid. I know Shane the owner and he does a great job with this business, just converted to a full bar with plenty of TVs etc. Never been to Hoagie’s, never had a reason with Shane’s place around.
The Tamarack is solid, I would sit in the bar area for better service. That is where they struggle, dining room service.
The River Garden Café can be fantastic as well. Willy’s does a nice job, but I have also had some experiences where their seasoning is way off…..as in none or way too much salt.
Juniper’s at the Wildflower Inn provides a nice view and decent food as well, however I have only been there twice.
Trout river is good hippie pizza……….decent beer, nothing great but good beer. The Barley Wine is decent.
Kahm’s is what it is, for the NEK it is better than you would expect, but I wouldn’t call it a destination. I would say it is a place to go when you have a craving and need something. Their spice levels are pretty weak IMHO, the max is 4 star and I tell them to find a 5 or 6 star level if they can
I would avoid the Pub Outback for more than a beer, wings, nachos and a burger…….those can all be expected to be average, the rest is a total crap shoot.
PVD/RI * December * Open/Closed/Coming Soon
I’m not too surprised. We hit there several times back in 2007 or so when it was relatively busy with decent food and really good bar service and drinks. Towards the tail end of that timeframe the food just didn’t seem worth the money or the wait……..never went back. I wasn’t surprised to see it on TV. Honestly, the location sucked. If you didn’t know it was there you would never go down that street, unless you are classically lost in Providence……..
Bumper crop of thai chiles
I'd dry them and use for sauces and soups down the road.
Then again, you could always throw them in a bowl and start snacking on them like popcorn while watching TV.......
Have a dish...but help me find the perfect sauce!
My first reaction was something simple like, butter, a small amount of shallot, a berry and white wine……..but it all depends, I wouldn’t want to overpower the dish, but the saltiness of the pancetta might be we complimented with something sweet.
But I could be completely wrong…………..
Food you stand in line or wait for
There isn’t much I would wait more than 30mins for………….too much good food in this world to wait for someone else to allow me to eat….
The one exception was beer……..I admit to waiting in line for 2 hours to fill a few growlers of beer……good beer……I’m not ashamed……
Morton's vs Ruth's Chris
Couldn’t pay me enough to eat at RC if I wanted beef.
If I’m dropping big coin, or heck, if my company is dropping big coin, then why would I want a steak served on a scalding plate? I’ve had 2 steaks (been there 2 times only) arrive a nice medium rare but to have the bottom third of my steak turn into medium well by the time I was 50% through eating it. If I ever have to dine there again, I’ll order my steak raw to as rare as they will serve it and let it cook along on their “platter”. And if your steak is aged well, seasoned and charred to perfection, why does it need to swim in butter?
Hold the plate and hold the butter………..
Thanksgiving 2011: What's on the menu?
One of the best appetizers my wife and I ever had was an excellent execution of fresh lobster meat with a vanilla crème fresh served on the side……..sometimes vanilla and flavors similar to that can be a great accent. I’ve used a lavender powder as well before with decent results. Not sure where I scored that stuff, but it was cool to use……gone now….
Help a Turkey Stock Rookie...
There’s nothing wrong with that result, in fact most will tell you that is preferable.
I made a stock this week as well and then made soup, the soup still gels a little.
Once you heat it up it returns back to normal form………..
Your "Get Well" Chicken Soup
I’ve used grilled chicken thighs cut up into bite sized chunks, chicken stock, celery, onions, carrots, mushrooms and parsley with some added lemon juice served over orzo when I want a simple twist.
I never add rice or pasta to my soups when I make a big batch as I freeze a portion of the soups and want the pasta to remain non-mushy.
I usually will make the orzo/pasta/rice to order then put some in each bowl while plating and pour the soup over it…………..but that is just me.
What about a thai twist?
Fresh vs. Frozen Turkey???
Never claimed it was a heritage variety........but thanks for the information.
I think it gets dangerous speaking in generalities when it comes to taste.........."tastes better" is largely subjective. If people are used to the standard Butterball (not saying there is anything wrong with that) they may think a stronger flavored bird closer to a pure gamebird might not "taste better". Taste is personal.
I've killed several wild turkeys and some folks like them and some folks don't, depends on what they are used to and what they prefer. It doesn't get more organic free-range or natural than a wild turkey.
Rabbit....Anyone??
As an avid hunter........we do hare/wabbit every way possible, hassepfefferererererer is classic.....cacciatore is a great idea. Anything with a moist heat seems to work well with rabbit. A ragu with hare is great and a traditional dish………..
All sorts of ideas with wabbits………..
Need help to fix my chicken stock
I think you nailed it already…………if using the same volume of water but with less “stuff”, the expected result would be a diluted version of your original recipe. I think giving it another round of simmering with some additional “parts” will go a long way.
For thanksgiving I roasted a 21lb bird and stuffed it with onions, apples, garlic etc., the other night I made stock for soup by just dropping in the whole carcass, cooked apples, onions and all……made a tremendous turkey stock…………but it was a huge amount of “parts”………….if I were to take 70% of that away, it would be very diluted……..
Thanksgiving 2011: What's on the menu?
I had done something like this about 10years ago with greens and it turned out alright but I was too heavy on the sweet and abandoned the idea. I have come a long way since then in the kitchen and I recently saw something Flay did with the same types of flavors and it reminded me of my semi-successful attempt. So I busted out the idea again for Thanksgiving.
Since I roasted the sprouts ahead of time, I was able to chuck one in a bowl and drop a touch of vanilla in to see if the flavors worked as well as I thought they would. It also allowed me to figure out what a light touch with the vanilla was necessary, you can always add.
The bacon’s saltiness was a perfect complement to the sweet.
I’ll do it again sometime…..came out well.
Fresh vs. Frozen Turkey???
I followed acgold’s advice on not dropping more coin than I needed to this year. In previous years my in-laws raised the turkeys and they were huge (40-45lbs) birds that were outstanding, but this year I was cooking for friends instead.
Paid something like $0.50-0.70/lb for a fresh 21lber and cooked with foil over the breast for 2/3 the cooking time and then pulled the foil. Basted every hour and pulled when the breasts were in the 150-155 range and dark meat was in the 165-170 range……….let sit………..came out great and moist.
Only organic one for me will be one that was raised by family and not paid for by me.......
"Red sauce" Italian
I agree with the thought that paste, while acting as a thickener in many cases, also adds additional depth of flavor to whatever it is included in. I don’t think paste was originally intended to be a thickener, I think it found itself worked into that role throughout the past 60 years or so when people’s lives and approaches to cooking changed.
Again, if it tastes good, eat it.
"Red sauce" Italian
Thanks, I make my decisions on what I cook with and eat based on whether it tastes good, frankly I can’t think of a reason to do it another way. Just because highly educated food-centric people may wax poetic about a certain dish doesn’t mean everyone will enjoy it. That is what makes food wonderful, the variety. Despite what people may claim, there very rarely is a “right” way to make something. Most anything has multiple approaches and recipes, each of them are just as “authentic” as the other.
The other thing people are missing about paste is perspective. If you have to make of say 10-12gallons of sauce and have maybe 4 hours or so and based on the financial aspect you are limited to reasonable quality canned tomatoes only along with your meat, garlic and herbs…………….what’s the most obvious way to thicken that sauce without damaging the flavor or adding an outside flavor to it? In a perfect world you could cook that sauce for longer than the 4 hours you have for prep and cook time……….but what happens when you don’t?
It isn’t like everyone cooks under ideal conditions and constraints all the time. Especially people of my grandparents era (born early 1900s). Tomato paste and other “new world” ingredients and approaches were a part of their cooking for a reason. Doesn’t make it wrong or bad or inauthentic in many people’s opinions.
Thanksgiving 2011: What's on the menu?
Roasted the sprouts in the morning in olive oil S&P like we normally eat them, then before dinner I cooked down some bacon and then scraped in some fresh vanilla and a drop or two of extract.........damn good. Go light with the vanilla as it can quickly overpower things. The little amount was perfect, worked well with the saltiness of the bacon. Will do again.
Thanksgiving 2011: What's on the menu?
Heading up to our cabin after work today…….
Apps:
Nice cheese plate along with some outstanding smoked meats
Seared woodcock breast on a crustini with fresh goat cheese and mushrooms
Pumpkin Martinis……..
Dinner (nice and simple):
Turkey
Stuffing with apple and sausage
Smashed Taters
Brussels Sprouts with bacon and vanilla
Boatloads of Gravy
Crescent Rolls (my wife loves these) and homemade bread
Corn in butter sauce for my friends who are on the fence on sprouts
A few good growlers of beer…..plus some bottles of wine available….
Dessert is whatever our friends bring…….
Word is about 6-10” of snow today up there, wood is stacked and ready for the woodstove. Tomorrow will consist of a nice morning hunt with the dogs, cooking, football, beverages and a nice fire in the woodstove……….sounds perfect to me.
Had Great Takeout....
I was thinking someone actually starrted a joint named Great Takeout.........which would be rather funny......
"Red sauce" Italian
My wife and her mother made a run and they enjoyed it quite a bit. Felt is was very similar to the way we like to make our food as well as her husband with the conch salad etc.
I still haven't been myself.......I'll get there.
"Red sauce" Italian
Paste has its place, I use it, my grandmother used it as well. It just depends on what you’re making.
My family and friends tend to enjoy a thicker, chunkier sauce(we have onions, garlic and sausage chunks in our sauce most times), and the paste works in that application. Sure we could possibly get there some other way without paste, but it isn’t like the Italian-American Authenticity Police have come knockin’ on anyone’s door yet….
If it tastes good, eat it.
"Red sauce" Italian
I grew up in CT with a Grandmother who was 100% Italian like many, and she was outstanding with the red sauce aspect of cooking. Her sister was even better from what I was told. I learned a lot watching her and eating her food growing up and I used to love eating lunch over there when I was “stuck” with them for vacations etc. while my parents worked.
Who knows if her methods and recipes would pass the CH test for Authentic (whatever that means).
All I know is I cook based off those recipes and have never had any complaints.
My MIL’s husband (long story) is also 100% Italian but more from the seafood, garlic and olive oil school of cooking. I have learned a heck of a lot from him about cooking a proper linguini with clam sauce etc. including banging out the full Christmas Eve seafood spectacle with him each year…….
To many on CH, all of this above would be dismissed as “Red Sauce” Italian etc. and probably would seek out the next Babbo etc. Which is too bad as they could be missing out on something truly made with love and truly delicious.
It’s all about perspective. As many have mentioned, if it tastes good, eat it. Screw the labels.
