Rocknrope's Profile
Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the US - ??
I too came looking on Chowhound after watching this segment to see if there were any Hounders with experience at any of the top eateries. I was sad and shocked to see New York restaurants severely underrepresented in the top 100, and from reading this thread I can gather why.
As an example, take a look at these photos from one of the only three New York restaurants represented in the "Top 100 Buffets" http://us.chinesemenu.com/r/514742580/photos.html
Not to judge a book solely by the cover, but those sad heat trays don't look appetizing at all.
Top Chef Premiere (spoilers)
Knife skills are always a fun part of each season. Everyone talks about how Hung butched those chickens like a buzzsaw, and prepping the steaks last year was fun too.
Maybe you should just stop watching regardless if elements like this annoy you so, and stick to Lidia Bastianich. There'll be plenty more to come this season, i'm sure.
Lump Crabmeat in Brooklyn?
Hey gang,
Wondering if any of you have recommendations on fish mongers who provide good lump crabmeat in Brooklyn, preferably around the Park Slope, Windsor Terrace area? I went to the two fish places on 7th Avenue, and the crabmeat was ok. It may be more about the brand available than those specific stores.
Any thoughts would be great!
R
Fairway Produce
As an update to my original post, I have to say that the produce has improved tremendously in the year and a half since I originally posted. The fruit, specifically, seems to be consistently good. Some times you get some stinkers with the greens or herbs, but overall, much better than before.
WASP-y recipes for Badminton picnic outing
Hi all!
Thanks for all the suggestions, and the hilarious posts. I decided to go with a variation of TNExplorer's recipe of cucumber sandwiches, adding abit of sprouts to the mix.
I used one loaf of Arnold country white bread. Not knowing how many people are attending, this could fall on either side of inadequate or adequate quantities. Either way, it sounds like I can play it to my advantage.
WASP-y recipes for Badminton picnic outing
Hi all,
My friend is having a badminton picnic, and requiring us to all wear white. This sounds like a very waspy thing to do, and as such I would like to bring a dish that conveys that sentiment.
Being non-wasp, I'm not sure what's appropriate. In my mind its some sort of crustless finger sandwich so as not to get your whites dirty.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
R
Pound Cakes in NYC?
Just as a followup, I found some great poundcake from the bakers at the greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza on Saturday's.
All Clad Pot vs. Creuset Dutch Oven
Hi all,
I'm debating whether to invest in a Creuset Dutch Oven. I have a smaller cast iron DO, but use that mostly for camping. I'm thinking of getting a larger CDO to make pot roasts and braised chicken dishes.
My question is, I have a pot from my All Clad set, so do I really need a Creuset Dutch Oven? Both can be used on the stove top, then transferred to the oven for low heat braising. What, if any, benefits does the DO have over the All Clad Pot?
Thanks,
R
Bon Appetit or Gourmet Magazine Subscription?
Thanks for all the suggestions! It looks like if I want better writing and a nicer designed magazine, I should go with Gourmet.
Bon Appetit or Gourmet Magazine Subscription?
chowbern,
I really like Domino, but it is not a food magazine. It is more of an interior designing/entertaining magazine, with cooking as one of its elements. It's particularly great if you're looking to redecorate your house/apartment, and want to add some modern elements, as it does have abit of a Midcentury Modern slant to its design preferences. You can check out a feel for it at www.dominomag.com
Cooking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Hi all,
So I've heard that when cooking (sauteing, roasting), using extra virgin olive oil is abit of a waste because the heat destroys the flavor of the oil, which has a low smoke point. On many cooking shows, however, I see many of the chefs using evoo regardless (except for Ming Tsai, who seems to use alot of grapeseed oil.)
I mostly use grapeseed and canola for cooking. Sometimes I use evoo for coating vegetables before roasting, but I feel this may be abit of a waste as well.
What do you all think?
Pound Cakes in NYC?
Some additional info would be helpful - do you mean Yura and Company on the east side on Madison? And do they sell it by the whole loaf?
Pound Cakes in NYC?
I live in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, but obviously can pretty much get anywhere in or around the city.
Pound Cakes in NYC?
Hi all,
I'm looking to make a berry trifle for my holiday dinner, and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for bakeries with good pound cakes in NYC? I don't eat many baked goods, so I'm clueless as to purveyors of quality whole pound cakes here.
I'd prefer not to go the Entenmann's route.
Any recommendations?
Campania Restaurant, Fairlawn,NJ on Hell's Kitchen
I must say joe, compared to the other restaurants featured on the show, you guys came off looking ok in terms of getting things sorted out. Broken stove, undisciplined staff, and portions that were too large - not too bad. At least all the food in the walk-in was clean and fresh, and not rotting like some of the other featured places.
Gordon - tonight's episode
I love the fact that the woman says "It's horrible..." just as she's shoveling another bite into her mouth. Reminds me of the scene from The Imposters where Oliver Platt stuffs his face with cream puffs, then tells the baker "I hate them.", mouth frothing with cream.
Bon Appetit or Gourmet Magazine Subscription?
Hi all,
Amazon is offering a free subscription to Gourmet, Bon Appetit, or Domino with an order over $25 from Home and Garden Store. I already get Domino, so I was wondering which of these two mags should I pick up.
I would prefer a mag that offers more cooking advice, recipes than Restaurant reviews, although restaurant recipes would be great. I've read that Gourmet is more about dining out.
Any thoughts from you all?
Thanks,
R
looking for great "bar" recipes (lemon bar, seven layer bar... etc.)
I love citrus bars. Here's one of my favorite recipes, which I cobbled together from several different ones: Key Lime Blueberry Bars:
Crust
5 ounces animal crackers (or graham crackers, if you prefer)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar (light or dark)
Pinch table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
Filling
2 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
1 tablespoon grated lime zest , minced
Pinch table salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice , either Key lime or regular
Zest from the juiced limes (add to taste, 1-2 TB)
1 cup fresh blueberries (you can leave out if you wish, given the season)
Garnish (optional)
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut , toasted until golden and crisp
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place foil in and up the sides of an 8-inch-square baking pan, allowing excess to overhang pan sides. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. THE CRUST: In workbowl of food processor, pulse animal crackers until crumbs are evenly fine. Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine. Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling.
3. THE FILLING: In medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zest, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly). Mix in lime zest.
4. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Drizzle blueberries evenly right onto the filling. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.
5. Loosen edges with paring knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil extensions; cut bars into 16 squares. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using, and serve.
Cooking with fresh ginger
Make some great Ginger Syrup:
http://www.ming.com/simplyming/showrecipes_season4/410_GingerSyrup.html
which you can keep in a squeeze bottle for dishes like "Ginger Beef and Leeks"
http://www.ming.com/simplyming/showrecipes_season4/410_GingerBeefandLeeks.html
Plus, the ginger you use to make the syrup can be rolled in sugar, dried, and voila, candied ginger!
Cocktail Party/Housewarming Menu for 30
Agreed. I used only the dark meat, mixed it with a fine dice of celery, shallots, thyme, rosemary and toasted chopped almonds. So easy and fast.
Cocktail Party/Housewarming Menu for 30
Hi all,
We had a housewarming party this past weekend for 30 people, and although I wanted to feed everybody adequately, I didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen or behind the grill the entire night, so I devised a menu that seemed sophisticated but required very little cooking time during the party. I wanted to share what I came up with:
- Smoked Paprika Hummus and Homemade Pita Chips
- Black Bean Mango Salsa with Chips and Guacamole
- Crab Cakes with Garlic Remoulade
- Spicy Red Curry-Lime Chicken Wings
- Rotisserie Chicken Salad Canapés
- Farfalle Pesto Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Pine Nuts
- Spiced Apple Rum Cider
- S’mores
All of these items were prepped the day before, or right before the party. I didn't make the crabcakes, but went the Costco route on these. I know, I know...doesn't sound good, but honestly, people LOVE these, and I did make the remoulade. Almost every recipe is sourced/adapted from Alton Brown, America's Test Kitchen, or Tyler's Ultimate.
Everything was a big hit, but people really seemed to love, of all things, the pita chips. These did come out so much better than anything you could buy, and so cheap! .79 cents for a packet of pitas, split, cut into 6ths oiled/salted, and toasted for 10 minutes on each side.
I had little to do during the party except plate dishes from the warm oven. As expected, the wings and crabcakes weren't as good sitting in the warming oven for an hour as opposed to first cooked, but that's how the mop flops.
We have a roof deck, so s'mores cooked over a fire pit was a big hit, and a no fuss dessert.
Gordon Ramsey Nightmares, USA version
Umm...he DID get sued in the UK by the owner of Bonaparte's, which Ramsay won. The judge threw out the US lawsuit from the restaurant Dillon's.
Steamed Hamburgers???
Skinner: Superintendent, I hope you're ready for mouth-watering hamburgers.
Chalmers: I thought we were having steamed clams.
Skinner: Oh, no, I said steamed hams. That's what I call hamburgers.
Chalmers: You call hamburgers steamed hams?
Skinner: Yes, it's a regional dialect.
Chalmers: Uh-huh. What region?
Skinner: Uhh... Upstate New York.
Chalmers: Really? Well, I'm from Utica, and I've never heard anyone use the phrase 'steamed hams.'
Skinner: Oh, not in Utica. No, it's an Albany expression.
Chalmers: I see. You know, these hamburgers are quite similar to the ones they have at Krusty Burger.
Skinner: Oh ho ho, no. Patented Skinner burgers. Old family recipe.
Chalmers: For steamed hams ...
Skinner: Yes ...
Chalmers: Yes, and you call them steamed hams despite the fact that they are obviously grilled.
Top Chef - best cut ever (obviously a spoiler...)
Clearly this is the "Howie and Sara" thread for past week's show, so I'll throw my 2 cents in.
Howie should have gone, and Sara could have sent him packing by being more outspoken. I know it's easy to say "If I were up there I would've blahblahlbah", but if Sara had pointed out something to the effect of "I deserve to stay, noone wants to work with Howie, because almost every time you do, you end up on the chopping block! He doesn't listen, he doesn't inspire, he doesn't lead. Just look at the people who have been up here on your team,and where are they now? Gone." That may have gotten to think more about Howie's lack of leadership and pigheadedness rather than Sara's own wilting lillieness.
But then again, the producers probably want to keep Howie around for the drama anyway, so it's a moot point.
Brooklyn Burger Bar: Uh Oh...
Exactly what I thought Nehna. And given that it's "Grouch"'s only post, I smell something rotten.
Outrageous Behaviour in Restuarants-NYT
Sounds like you hang with a pretty rough crowd. You actually saw a guy get his throat slit? And how did you know it was an ex-marine? Not that I don't believe you or anything....
Best Cooking DVDs/Podcasts? Julia? Alton? etc.
The NPR Food podcasts are not bad, albeit inconsistently produced. Worth signing up for though as they are free.
Top Chef Q&A
Hmmm, no wonder Ken was such an abrasive, loutish @ss. He obviously has some deep-seated emotional issues behind that 'tough-guy' attitude.
Best and Worst Recipes You Made From a Cooking Show
That's one of my fav recipes too, when I'm in a ham mood. I didn't have that sliding crust problem, maybe you piled it on too thick, or didn't press it into the mustard enough?
Top Chef Q&A
At least that a-hole from Season 1 who got kicked off first wasn't on the reunion. He was a complete tool, and is probably frying fish and chips somewhere.
