misspastina's Profile
Veal Shank for Osso Bucco?
Hi! Does anyone know where I can buy veal shanks to make Osso Bucco? Anywhere from Cody, Wyoming up to Billings, Montana would be fine. The best meat store in Cody (IMO) sadly, doesn't carry it and can't get it.
restaurants in/around Melville, LI?
I'll be in Melville for the next couple of days for business. A hotel lunch is ok, but where to go for dinner? Not too pricey ... not fish-centric ... but otherwise, anything good. Would prefer a real dinner, rather than sandwiches, but simple, well-done is great! Thanks so much!
Thanksgiving restaurants in Northern Westchester - Putnam or nearby Connecticut
We ended up at John-Michael's and it was wonderful! The dear old 1775 building itself is the perfect setting for Thanksgiving, with its big stone fireplaces burning. We first enjoyed romaine salad with house-made duck pastrami, sun-dried tomato bits, and brown sugar dressing, and gnocchi with braised short ribs and poached egg. All delicious! Our entrees were the Turkey-stuffed roast turkey, with an assortment of traditional sides and the fennel-rubbed duck breast with fennelkraut and mashed potatoes (a special request). The turkey was moist and excellent, and the turkey stuffing, made with the dark meat added another layer of turkey-ness to the flavor. The duck was marvelous ... cooked exactly to my request ... and the fennel seed rub was a terrific complement to the rich duck, savory, but with just a hint of sweet element (not overwhelmingly sweet, as you get at so many places). While we tried to resist dessert, all that we saw looked so good! We both chose the Granny Smith apple crisp with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Delicious! Any other apple would have made it too sweet, but the tart Granny was the perfect choice along with the other sweet components. Ultimately, we did choose to go over our budget, but we both feel it was worth it. 3 courses for 2, plus a bottle of Pellegrino, 1 glass of wine, 2 espressos, and tax came to $128. Not something I'd do too often, but I'll certainly go again!
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John-Michael's At Purdys Homestead
# 116, Purdys, NY 10578
Thanksgiving restaurants in Northern Westchester - Putnam or nearby Connecticut
Anyone know of places which will be open? Preferably in the $30. - $40. per person range. Thanks!
Sweetgrass Grill in Tarrytown sort of open!!!
I guess that explains my experience a couple of weeks ago. I had been so looking forward to going here, but it took until now to get there. We both had burgers and both were way overcooked for what we ordered. They also took quite a while, and we didn't have time to re-order. And the donuts which I REALLY had my heart set on, remembering Grandma's homemade donuts, were awful! Hard on the outside, underdone on the inside. So vey sad. The concept is great. I hope they get it together!
sesame paste
Does sesame paste have nutritional value? Cold sesame noodles are great to make ahead for a couple of lunches, when I know I'll only have a very few minutes ... but I'm worried that they might be empty calories.
Best Burger
Was at Sutter's just last week. Nothing special at all. 8 oz., very homogenous soft meat on a squishy white bun.
More Pizza Coming To White Plains
So ... did anyone go tonight? Trying to walk home past it tonight, the place was mobbed and loud. I can't comment on the food as of yet, but so far, it seems just another pretentious, plastic place whose valet parking is making another mess of the traffic at another point on Main Street. We need individually-owned good-quality "neighborhood" places in downtown White Plains ... not more mall food. (And yes, I do realize that that wish is an impossibility, what with WP rents and the difficulty of keeping any restaurant afloat for more than a year.)
New in White Plains: Westchester Burger Co
Wish I had read all these reviews when a friend wanted to go for lunch on Thursday. What a huge disappointment!!! The only thing that was good was the meat itself ... not the burger as a whole, because both mine and his as whole sandwiches, were sort of misbegotten. Mine was billed as a burger between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. Barely grilled, the bread was so thick there was no way to pick this up and eat it! My friend ordered something with mozzarella, pesto, and pancetta. There was no pancetta on it. He had to ask and then wait for it. Then he admitted that although he likes all those ingredients separately, they just didn't work together. Way overpriced for what you get ... $3.00 for each 10 oz drink ... $3.00 for 3 pieces of onion ring ... $14. - $16. for an 8 - 10 oz. burger with a small portion of truly awful, taste-free "fries." Aside from the fairly lousy food, this is essentially a slightly-nicer-than-average sports bar. At 2:00 in the afternoon, both the music and TV were on, loud! Not going again.
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Westchester Burger Company
106 Westchester Ave, White Plains, NY 10601
ground chicken ...?
What does anyone do with ground chicken? Every once in a while, it seems like a really good idea, then I use it, and it's disappointing ... mostly a texture issue ...
thoughts on frozen meats?
Well, while I'm pleased for you all that you don't have this problem, I can tell you that the meat is fully thawed. It has lost moisture into the plate or bowl in the refrigerator while thawing, and lost more into the saute pan. I always let meat sit out to come up to temperature before cooking. I never have this issue when sauteeing fresh meat.
thoughts on frozen meats?
At home, I never use frozen meat unless it's going to be braised. It simply loses too much of the "juice" and feels "dry." When I visit my parents, they have a freezer full of really good grass-fed local beef, lamb, and pork. I hate to not use this, but, frankly, the taste is still good but the texture is bad. My last experience was with some gorgeous pork chops which I sauteeed - they lost all their juice in the pan, which congealed into that nasty blood pudding thing. Then, although they were cooked to perfect doneness, with a lovely sear, they still felt dry.
If you have suggestions to avoid this juice loss, I'd sure love to hear them! Thanks!
Ada Boni's Regional Italian Cooking ...
Anyone have this book? I'm away from home right now, and would love to make Pizza Rustica for Easter. The crust recipe in this book was particularly easy and good when I made it last year. Thanks so much if you can help!
Elder Food
Shepherd's Pie - type preparations are great. Use any combination of meats/vegetables they like. Adapt other combinations into this. The great thing about it is that everything under the potato/whatever puree on top is in bite-sized pieces. What about Tourtiere, the French-Canadian pork pie, Cornish pasties, or Jamacan Curry pies? The first is easily adaptable, and the others are meant to be individual-sized, hand-held. Make your own (healthier) versions of those commercial things, even if you have to use a frozen crust - thaw it slightly, cut it, and slightly re-shape so you can fold & crimp it to make individual portions. Stromboli variations can be made with frozen or commercial fresh pizza dough. I've been making thick soups/stews for first grandma & Aunt Tillie, and now my parents, to put in the freezer in containers portioned for 2 for many years now. A favorite is chicken corn chowder - meat, vegetables, potato all in manageable bits and a little sweet and a little salty. Take any soup recipe they like,and find a way to adapt it into a stew. Quiches, meatloaves, ricotta & egg-based crustless "pies" can all be made in small pans and frozen. I've had great success picking up a variety of pans cheap at thrift stores. For 50 cents, it doesn't matter so much if you don't get it back. Hope this helps! Just keep in mind: can be eaten on a spoon or fork, out of a mug, one-dish things and just get creative!
Another thing which may help at some point - as a friend aged, her family served her meals in a pie plate, rather than a flat plate. The vertical edges gave her something to push against (and a lot less food on the table!)
Roasting issues ... Altitude?
Actually, that was the type of thermometer I started with yesterday. It was the first time I'd used it, so I didn't know that until a certain point, it only reads "LO", then it starts to register. Well, when it looked gorgeous, had great drippings, and smelled perfect, this thermometer still didn't register. So I took the roast out and checked it with a new digital instant-read. It said 161, which was 6 degrees higher than I wanted. (Although only 1 degree higher than recommended for medium.) I let the roast sit out of oven for 20 minutes, and when I cut it, it was totally well-done. (I know about carry-over cooking, but what could I do?) Not ruined, but not what we wanted.
What you say about the boiling point makes sense ... it's also a nightmare trying to cook pasta here ... and on an electric stove that cycles on and off! I'm a little confused, though ... wouldn't we want a lower temperature in our meat when it's done, not just a lower roasting temperature?
Thanks for the help and please, folks, keep it coming!
Roasting issues ... Altitude?
I need help! At home, I can make a nice roast ... always comes out medium-rare to medium. My family lives in Cody, Wyoming (where they have fabulous grass-fed beef!) and I have NOT had a singe one turn out properly! I've checked the temperature of the oven ... I've used a variety of thermometers ... ALWAYS it's raw for nearly 2 hours, then suddenly in moments, it's well-done! Is there an altitude issue that I don't know about? It's about 5000' here. Thanks!
Family foods I thought was normal
Not sure I really remember this, or have created a memory out of what I was told - I was found on a Saturday morning when I was around 3 1/2 or 4 watching cartoons and eating raw hamburger with sugar. I'm pretty sure the sugar was a mistake, but didn't know the difference yet between the sugar bowl and salt shaker.
My other favorite Saturday morning breakfast - and this I do remember! - was a carton of TempTee cream cheese. I'm afraid I would still do this, given the opportunity!
Family foods I thought was normal
Every morning of 4th grade I had a slice of Sara Lee poundcake, lightly toasted, smeared with raspberry jam. This was my own creation, after my mother left for work.
Best of Idaho?
As someone who lives in the New York suburbs, I can get "fancy" food anywhere, but can't find a good "mom and pop" home cookin' place at all anymore. So when I find a great greasy spoon/diner/hole in the wall, I get really excited!
Passing through Coeur d'Alene on a Sunday, not much was open in the neighborhoods we drove through. We paused where there was Something or other Bistro on one corner, and The Breakfast Nook on the other. I took one look at the folks coming and going from the Nook and made my choice immediately! These were largely people coming from church, who've obviously been coming here for YEARS!!! A few multi-generational families, a few people who are obviously on their way to or from work on a Sunday ... in other words, people who won't waste their money on nonsense ... and the place was PACKED! We had about a 15 minute wait, and looked over the good-sized menu during our time. After narrowing it down to a couple of choices, we asked the waitress to help pick among them. No need to choose between breakfast and lunch at 1:00 on a Sunday ... we both had 2 eggs (mine scrambled, his fried) with pork schnitzel and sausage-laden country gravy, a HUGE portion of crispy hash browns, and well-buttered rye toast. Sure, plenty of places cover the table with food, but THIS REALLY WAS GOOD! The pork had flavor! The eggs were incredibly fresh and tasted like real country eggs! The country gravy was loaded with sausage, and very well seasoned! The rye bread seemed to be home- or at least locally- made. Finally, he also had a glass of milk, which was "old-time" creamy, which he loves. The only thing which could have been improved slightly was that the schnitzel was just a little bit greasy, but tender and so tasty, that's just a little quibble.
So, I know, I know ... that's just one meal, one day ... but I really don't think The Breakfast Nook would have the clientele it does if it didn't deliver the goods regularly! Did I mention that the waitstaff knows all its regulars by name? Did I mention that our feast came to $17.00?!?!
So, step back in time a bit - I don't think you can go wrong with the Breakfast Nook. I noticed that there are 3 locations - we were in CAD.
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Breakfast Nook
1719 N 4th St, Coeur D Alene, ID 83814
Some nice surprises on Granville Island today
And I found tourtiere, which I had been told not to expect in Vancouver! Excellent crust, and nice and flavorful filling - almost breakfast sausage-y, but not quite. I wish I could tell you the name of the place - a woman's name beginning with "L" - anyone know?
Cafe Barcelona-Vancouver
My father wanted tapas for his birthday dinner, so off we went! I found it unremarkable. Nothing was bad ... needed a little salt, but many things do. Nothing was outstanding, either. Shrimp with garlic were fine - I expected a slightly bigger shrimp, but that's probably my inexperiece with tapas - patatas bravas nice and crispy but the tomato sauce and aioli pretty bland,;"tomato bread" with manchego was a piece of cold bread with an underripe tomato rubbed on it, then a slice of manchego laid atop; ham croquettes were well-fried, but lacked salt and HAM! My father seemed to enjoy his calamari - not something I could report on. My salad was also bland, with oily, unbalanced dressing and pink (ie. very underripe) tomatoes.
I'd like the place to do well - it's different - but the food needs some improvement, IMO.
Basic Dim Sum Recommendations Needed for Vancouver (not Richmond)
Wandered off into Chinatown today without my notes ... asked for a recommendation from a woman in a shop and she sent us to Jade Dynasty. Very good! Neither of us is particularly adventurous, so we stayed with shrimp and pork dishes: prawns in rice noodle wrapper, roast pork in "pastry" with sesame seeds, steamed pork dumplings, shrimp and garlic spring roll, and I forget what else. Cooked to order, hot and fresh, and under $20!
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Jade Dynasty Restaurant
137 Pender St E, Vancouver, BC V6A1T6, CA
Ploger German Deli
Thanks everybody, for your efforts and comments. Disappointing. I was hoping it was going to be good for lunch, not just a shop.
best non-asian for visitors ...
Thanks! From what I had read elsewhere, that's what Isuspected!
best non-asian for visitors ...
Thanks! One thing confuses me a little ... is "'For Seafood" the name of the place?
best non-asian for visitors ...
Nothing against asian foods, but there's an abundance of recommendations already for these. I'm sure we'll go to one of them.
I'm not much of a fish-eater, but my father is looking for halibut or walleye, and we'd be interested in crab - again, you've already given great asian recommendations for the crab, but what about just a seafood joint?
Any place you'd recommend as truly Canadian? I'd be interested in a good Tourtiere ... and in learning what else is regional.
We love schnitzel!
We don't need fancy ... we're not fancy people and we're not bringing "dress clothes". We like mom and pop places or family-run, just good cooking, good value. (That doesn't necessarily mean cheap, just that we can see & taste what we're paying for ...)
Thanks for the help!
Ploger German Deli
Thank you! I look forward to your comments! (I wish there were a menu on their website.)
