lucaabrate's Profile
HELP! Manhattan Special Occasion restaurant
My girlfriend and her Brooklyn-based friends are looking for a special occasion Manhattan restaurant for their annual holiday meal. In the past they have gone to Balthazar, Babbo and Gramercy Tavern. I suggested Danube, Bouley, Eleven Madison Park, and The Modern (gasp, all the way 'uptown'). Any suggestions? THANKS!
Il Piccolo Buffalo review?
Going to Little Italy's Il Piccolo Buffalo tomorrow. Anyone been there, do you recommend it, and what dishes were tasty if any?
Need homemade bacon recipe
Greeting everyone!
My sister wants to try her hand at making her own smoked bacon. Does anyone have:
1) Good, practical, homemade bacon recipe?
2) Related reference book I can buy her for the holidays?
I remember a book came out about a year or two ago about the author learning how to create his own home cured meats but the name escapes me. Anyone know?
Many thanks as always!
~ Luca
Argyle Street eats?
Hi Everyone!
Returned to NYC exhausted, bloated and happy. My fave Chicago gal and I explored Argyle Street on Saturday afternoon to trace the area my paternal grandfather immigrated to in the fifties and for lunch. We wandered into a Vietnamese joint on Argyle off Sheridan (where the street ends) and had a delightful lunch of a pork bahn mi, beef noodle pho, chili squid with lemongrass, supplemented with Vietnamese coffee, and feeling emboldened, a durian shake. The food was well prepared,delicious, space filled with locals, staffed with pleasant service ending with a modest total bill. My apologies but I don't remember its name. My gal is trying to locate their biz card.
Later, we hit the local markets to fill our shoppong cart with exotic condiments, sauces and fruits including: fresh Longans aka "Dragon Eyes", Asia pears, Dragon fruit, and a fresh Durian! (She enjoyed the shake at the restaurant and was spellbound by its unique spiky football form.) We opened the durian back home and in short, she loooooves them. It wasn't as bad as what I was prejudiced to believe it would taste like. (English novelist Austin Burgess famously said that dining on durian is like eating vanilla custard in a latrine.) My friend tasted cinnamon in the soft, creamy, flesh. I detected carmelized onions. (We're both right.) If you ever purchase one yourself, open the windows before you open the fruit, and store the uneaten in an airtight container. My friend found out the hard way! The smell/stench isn't as bad as what Mt. Burgess wrote but it won't remind you of a spring rain either!
Thank you all again for your thoughtful input. See you the next time I'm in town. Until then...
GO B E A R S ! ! !
~ Luca
Argyle Street eats?
Hi Jesster,
I'm visitng from NYC so I don't really know and my Chicago gal is unfamilar with the nabe but we so want to experience something tasty whatever the cuisine may be. Do you have 1 or 2 solid options for us?
Thanks!
~ Luca
Argyle Street eats?
Any suggestions for a good Thai, Vietnamese, or Korean reataurant on Argyle Street? Thank you!
What's Your Favorite Food Movie?
Dinner Rush (2000)
Is it just another evening at the hugely popular Italian restaurant of proprietor and bookmaker Louis Cropa (Danny Aiello) in New York? Anything but as tonight's guests include; a local police detective and his wife specially invited by the owner; on the balcony rival bookmaker gangsters from Queens who want to become partners in the restaurant; in the corner renowned food critic 'the food nymph' is her usual demanding self; and at the bar, seemingly unnoticed, is Ken ('John Corbett' ). As the evening continues enter Duncan (Kirk Acevedo), inveterate gambler and sous-chef on-the-line in the frenetic kitchen downstairs, who acts as the catalyst that causes the evening to draw to its inevitable, explosive, deadly conclusion.
Rent it, buy it, steal it,...you'll dig it.
Have you a better recipe for NE clam chowder you'd like to share? (The Joy of Cooking seems to have the best I've seen yet)
I swear by Japser White's recipe. Wear your big pants, it's addictive!
http://www.recipezaar.com/37340
Beautiful Pork Belly - but what to do??
Made this last month and was a hit with my swine loving buddies
Braised Fresh Bacon
Serves 4
prep & cooking time approx: 4+hrs
1 tablespoon peanut oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds pork belly, skin on
1 onion, peeled & coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled & coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, peeled & coarsely chopped
1 leek, white part only, trimmed and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
About 3 cups, chicken stock
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat until the oil slides easily across the pan. Salt and pepper the pork and add it, fat-side down, to the skillet. Cook until the skin is browned, about 15 minutes, then transfer the pork to a plate.
2, Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat and add the onions, carrots, celery, leek, and garlic to the skillet. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they are tender and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Return the pork belly to the skillet, fat-side up, and add about 2 cups of stock (it should surround but not coverthe meat.) Bring the stock to a simmer, then transfer the skillet to the oven. Gently simmer the pork, uncovered, for 1 hour, then add another cup of stock. Continue cooking until the pork is tender enough to cut with a fork, about 1 hour longer.
3. Allow the pork to cool in the braising liquid. Remove the pork from the liquid, then gently lift off and discard the skin or save for cracklings (use a small knife to seperate any pieces that don't come away from the fat easily.) Score the fat, making crosshatch incisions, then cut pork into 4 equal pieces.
4. lncrease the oven to 400F. Strain the braising liquid, discarding the solids. Return the liquid to the skillet, bring to a simmer, and skim off the fat. Return pork, fat-side up, to the skillet. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook, without basting, until pork is heated through and the fat nicely browned, about 20 minutes. Serve the pork in a shallow bowl moistened with a bit of the braising liquid.
Pressure Cooker novice
I have a Fagor pressure cooker but lost the owner's manual. Does anyone have any cooking tips for a first time user? In short, I don't know how to get it up to proper pressure, maintain it and know when the food is done. I want to make an oxtail stew and think the device can expedite the cooking process.
Thanks in advance!
Need romantic meal recipes
Visiting my Chicago-based girlfriend later this month from NY. Need some solid "go to" romantic meal suggestions (appetizer, entree and tasty side) to whip up for my lady during our too few weekends together. Thanks in advance!
