wannabechef

Thanks for the tips everyone. As for the veggies, i cut the potatoes to about 1 inch squares, the carrots as well. I used a lot of potatoes though and they totally surrounded the chicken. I'm wondering if this blocked the heat flow and contributed to my long cooking time. Also, I supposed the constant basting could've added to that as well. Also the veggies weren't done enough after that time. I just bought a cast iron pan a few weeks ago and would like to try again using that. Will the pan be good for searing chicken? I'm worried that the skin will stick to it and pull off when I turn it. Does roasting in the cast iron (w/o searing) make any difference than roasting in another pan? I'm totally inexperienced right now when it comes to cast iron cooking. I know there's a lot of talk about cast iron 'round here and I certainly have my reading cut out for me.

Hey Everyone, So last night I made a whole roast chicken for my first time - came out pretty spectacular if say so myself Here's what I did: Finely chopped up a bunch of fresh herbs - parsley, sage and thyme. Then I added fresh minced garlic, shallots, paprika, salt, pepper, butter and olive oil. It smelled amazing! I then washed and dried my chicken and placed lemon quarters inside the cavity. I then cut some slits all around and stuffed some garlic cloves inside the meat. I then took my herb mixture and slathered it all over, including some under the skin. Here's where I wasn't so sure though. I couldn't decide which method of cooking I wanted to use. ie - high heat short time, or high heat to crisp, then low, or vice versa, etc. I kind of made everything up so far combining all different techniques I read here and elseware, so I decided to continue by the seat of my pants. It was a 3.5 lb. bird. I started it off at around 425. I should add though, that I surrounded the entire thing with potatoes and carrots. I also didn't use a real roasting pan - rather a deep toaster pan covered with tin foil. I baked for about 30 min then took it out to check on it. It seemed to be doing nicely. I basted it a bunch and spread the herb mixture and juice all around the veggies. I put it back in and decided to lower the temp to 375. I baked it for another hour basting every 15 min or so. I thought it must be done by now! I took it out and wasn't happy with the crispness or browness of the skin. Also the temperature of the meat was only about 140 at this point in the thigh! I cranked up to 450 and continued baking. It took another 30 minutes and the temp just barely made 180 which is what I read it should be. But I'm not sure if I took the temp in the right spot. Anyway, the hard part came next. After letting it rest for 15 min came time to carve. It was my first time carving a whole chicken and I totally screwed it up. The legs, wings and thighs came off fine, but I literally butchered the rest of it. The meat was incredible though! I could taste all the herbs and the garlic and lemon - MMMMMM. My wife said it was the best chicken she ever had! But believe it or not, the dark meat still wasn't done enough - even after all that time. What did I do wrong? Also, the veggies were still hard. I'm wondering if the vegetables blocked the heat flow or something? Maybe I need an elevated roasting rack? Any tips or suggestions on this? I also wasn't sure which way was up or down. What I really want to do is cook the white meat down at first, and then turn it to crisp up - but I didn't even know which way was which. And about the carving, although the meat tasted great still, screwing up the carving made the presenation pretty horrible! I'm wondering if there are any disadvantages to using precut chicken parts as opposed to a whole chicken? Can I just do my same technique with the parts? Will I lose anything?? Any tips or suggestions greatly welcome! Thanks, ~WB

I actually like wasabi a lot. Maybe I wasn't chewing properly or something I found that occasionally, as I was chewing, I would hit the wasabi towards the end and just get a big chunk all at once which overwelmed me. Also, another question I have about omakase. How does the pricing work exactly? Do you know how much it's going to cost beforehand, or is it just the sort of thing where you shouldn't think about the price at all and they just figure it out at the end depending on what you were served? sighh...wish I didn't have to consider such minor details like...MONEY

Ok, here's my Yasuda report: I immediately liked the place as soon as I walked through the door. The staff were overwelmingly warm and friendly. We were seated at the exact time of our reservation at a table in the back. After pondering the menu for a while, we decided to "wimp out" and get the Sushi prixe fix. Not for price reasons per say, but just because we didn't even know where to begin with the rest of the menu and weren't ready to brave the omakase. Anyway, I ordered a sake and my wife a Japanese soda. When they brought the drinks they also brought us a tiny dish which was salmon skin in some sort of vinegar dressing. Delicious. My wife got the red miso soup with clam, and I got a grilled teryaki Chilean Sea Bass appetizer. Both were outstanding. The soup had 4 or 5 clams in it and my sea bass was possibly one of the best pieces of fish I've ever eaten. Next came my salad which was part of the Sushi prixe fix. Great standard salad with a miso dressing. Then our sushi came. I got 5 sushi pieces - salmon, yellowtail, rainbow trout, tuna, and mackeral. The rolls I got were salmon skin roll and tuna with scallion roll. Everything was truly outstanding. At first I didn't notice that most of the sushi pieces already had some soy sauce on them so they didn't require any extra dipping. My only complaint about the sushi was that each piece, including the rolls, had wasabi already on them. I like wasabi, but some pieces had too much for me and I felt it to be overwelming. I was surprised that they did this because I would think there are a lot of people who may not like wasabi, and also that it maybe masks the flavor of the sushi. Maybe someone who knows more about sushi can explain to me why it's done this way here. Even still though, it was fantastic. The star of the show for me though was the toro sushi pieces we got. We only got one piece each for a taste - of the second highest grade they had that night. It literally tasted like butter in my mouth. Phenomenal. By the end of all this food, we were aboslutely stuffed and couldn't eat another bite. As for the service - it was great. Even though almost everything we got was standard sushi, the server was extremely helpful in explaning to us the differences between many of the items. One thing I really appreciated - after we first ordered -the server came back 10 minutes later and suggested that we may want to switch one of them because two of the pieces we got were very similar - both white fish, etc. (I don't remember exactly what they were). I don't know if it was her that noticed, or the chef, but I told her we were beginners I felt she wanted us to experience a good variety. I told her to just recomend something good and that's how I got the rainbow trout. My only criticism of the service was that it was slightly brisk. I did feel like the meal was moving pretty fast, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We sat there for almost 90 minutes which is plenty of time for a relaxed meal - and we didn't feel rushed. The total bill came to $115 - including a 22% tip - much less than I was expecting to spend. Overall, I would definately go back here again - but next time I will come with a bigger wallet, sit at the bar, and perhaps try an omakase. Question about that: do you just get the choice of the chef who you're sitting in front of? Or does Yasuda-san do all of the omakase himself? Does this make the seats directly in front of the master more in demand? Again, I dont' have too much to compare to, but this was definately the best sushi I've ever eaten. Overall great experience. ~WBC

Thanks! That definately makes me feel more comfortable. I was looking over the menu and starting to feel a bit intimidated. Our seats are not at the bar as it was full - but I think I feel better about a table for my first time. I'll definately ask the server about doing an omakase and be sure to report back! ~WBC

I hear ya. I'm just trying to taste some excellent renditions of some classics, with maybe a few different things thrown in. I was imagining, an app or two, 2 drinks, and then just an assortment of rolls and sushi pieces. Is this reasonable? Just don't have the $$$ to go all out. Also, are there any deserts that I should or shouldn't miss? Does anyone know of a good desert place in the hood? I know about Saka Gara across the street but never been there. Maybe we'll head there after dinner and check it out. thanks for the help... ~WBC

Hi Everyone, Taking my wife to Yasuda tonight for her birthday. I read many many many glowing reviews of this restaurant here and elseware and I am excited to go. I was wondering though - is this an appropriate place for two sushi beginners? We're not that much beginners - but just started eating sushi semi-regularly over the last year. We don't want order anything too exotic, or risky. I figured that Yasuda would be a good place to try "the best" of the basics. ie - different grades of toro, yellowtail, etc. Is Yasuda the kind of place where they will get annoyed at us if we don't do an all-out dinner? We're planning on trying to keep the tab at $120 and under total (we don't drink that much). Is this unreasonable? Also, this is a weeknight dinner and we're not sititng at the bar. Does anyone have any recomendations of a plan of action for us? Also, what would be a good dish or two to try if we want to start to expand our sushi horizons slightly? Any advice is much appreciated! Thanks, ~WBC

Are these tamales really good? I'm curious, how do they ship? ie - frozen, fresh, etc?

Jaymes, my wife and I were given a gift certificate there for our 1 year anniversary - which was over the summer. Although I wasn't really enamored by the place, the food was actually decent. Depending on what kind of gift certificate it is, they may have a limmited menu offered to them. That's what we had. We had a choice of soup or appetizer, a main course selection (not off the entire menu), and then desert and coffee. I had the prime rib and a soup I can't remember. And I think my wife had chicken picatta - but I'm not 100% sure. In any case, it actually wasn't too bad. My prime rib was pretty tasty although over salted - and it was better than the chicken dish. And even though I don't remember my soup, I remember that wasn't so bad either. The thing that did kind of annoy me was their service. I just totally got the impression that they simply do not care over there. It seemed that they are just such a NYC "staple", that they don't even care about their patrons. It wasn't that the waiter messed up, or anything - they were just not attentive in the least bit. I just felt like I was getting processed through a machine - virtually ignored. Part of this may have also been the fact that we were on a gift certificate, I don't know. I won't ever go back unless I have to - but don't worry about the food being too bad. If your daughter and her boyfriend like red meat, you can tell them to go with the prime rib. Just tell them to go there with extremely low expectations and they'll be fine. That's pretty much what happened to us. ~WBC

Anyone have any opinions on Carol Fields's The Italian Baker for a beginner bread baker? I just ordered this one today on Amazon based on hearing tons of great things about it. By the way, I found the Amazon marketplace to be an incredible resource for cooking - and all other books actually! When you look up a book, it tells you the Used and/or New price next to it. Then you can buy the book directly from a person. Sometimes they're used, but almost always in good to excellent condition. I've bought 3 books that way in the last few weeks. I got the Carol Fields book for $8 and it normall sells for $25. I got the Il Fornaio Baking Book on there for $4 and its like-new condition. Just thought I'd remind everyone of this great resource. ~WBC

I actually tried this place for the first time yesterday. I didn't have the exact experience as you, but I could see where that could happen. First the most important thing - the food. I've been to Pat's and Jim's in Philly - both a few times. My first time there was a cosmic experience. I had never had a REAL cheesesteak and I was blown away. I idolized those steaks in my mind, and as a result, every vist since then has been a disappointment. Especially my last visit - to Pat's, over the summer. The sandwich was a disgrace. It was so oily that the entire bread fell apart in my hands after my second bite. It literally became inedible without a fork and knife. My very next steak expereince after that time was Carl's - yesterday. I have to say, I was blown away. I think the steak was out of this world. I ordered the standard - whiz-with. The meat itself was slightly dry but not to the point where it ruined the sandwich - and the cheese helped compensate that. But the star of the show had to be the bread itself. It was a delicous, fresh bun which held together beautfully until the last bite. I also liked it that the sandwich wasn't outrageosuly huge. It was small enough to eat comfortably and big enough to totally fill me up. I happened to be one of the only 2 customers in the whole place and I still waited about 10-15 minutes for my steak. And it didn't even look like they were doing take outs. The staff just seemed a little incompetant. I noticed there was at least one brand new guy who they were training. I also saw, who I think was the owner, lecturing some of the employees which wasn't really professional in my opinion. Also, some of the workers were eating in front of customers - which I was always taught in my experience working in restaurants is a big no no. So I pretty much agree with ppace. The steaks here seem to be wonderful - but the service was ehhh. (by the way, the actual store itself was very pleasent, if not a little small) All in all, I'm pretty sure I'll be returning. It's definately the best cheesesteak I've had in this city. I am interested to see if they can be consistent - and also how the staff operates in a more busy environment. ~WBC

Yeah, I saw that Alton Brown show where he recomended the quarry tiles. I agree that it doesn't seem to be too practical - unless I could find one large enough to cover the oven. As for what's inexpensive, I don't really know. I looked around online a bit and found them to be mainly around $30 for a square stone which would cover the dimensions of my oven. If I buy it online, I'll probably also have to pay an additonal $10 for shipping. That's why I was thinking of going to a local store instead. Is $30 the right price for something like that? I may check out Broadway Panhandler. Thanks for the suggestions! ~WBC

Does anyone know of a good place in the city to find an inexpensive pizza or baking stone? I'm also interested in picking up some other baking supplies such as a peel, etc. I know there are a hundred places on the Bowery but I found a bunch of those to be pretty pricey. What's your favorite spot for these types of supplies? I also read that it's possible to pick up some tiles or stones at a place like Home Depot which could do the trick. If that's the case, what exactly should I look for? Thanks! ~WBC

Whenever I think of quinces I think of my favorite Turkish desert. One that I used to eat during my trips to Turkey. It's called Ayva Tatlisi - basically they're candied quinces, served with a sort of clotted cream. They are truly fantastic!!! I found a recipe via Google and I'm sure you can find many more. Enjoy! P.S. I have to admit that this is the ONLY form I've eaten quinces in! http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/46/248870.shtml ~WBC

I've been reading all the past threads on molten chocolate deserts and finally decided to try one as an experiment for a possible thanksgiving desert. I went with this recipe posted by Steve Klc back in Sept: 50g 72% couverture 50g butter (40% fat like Plugra) 1 egg 35g sugar 40g AP flour One thing I was surprised about was the quantity that this recipe made. I thought that it seems suspciously small and once I put it together it ended up being enough for one serving of the size molds that I have. Is this recipe meant to be for one serving only and you just multiply by the amount you want to make? If that's the case, it seems to be a bit expensive - esp if you use the highest quality chocolate (which I did). I also suspect that maybe my molds were slightly big because instead of the 5 minutes which was suggested, mine required 8-9 minutes - and probably could've even used a minute or two more. Anyway, it actually turned out pretty well. I had a nice molten center. The only thing I wasn't too happy about was the texture of the cooked/outside part of the cake. I don't really know how to describe it other than it was maybe a big eggy. I was expecing more of a richer, cake or brownie-like texture. It was still good though. Thanks to all the people who reported back their experiences with these recipes. I don't think I'm going to use this recipe for Thanksgiving though, partly because of price (we're having 30 people) and partly because of the hassle of reheating them all before serving, etc. I also think this desert would have to go with some sort of rasberry or fruit sauce. I'm definately going to try this again one day - perhaps for a dinner party.

Hi everyone, I've been toying with the idea of experimenting with machineless breadmaking. Like many, I adore bread, and a good hot loaf of Italian bread is one of my favorite things in life. Is it realisitic to make a homemade italian loaf at home, with a standard oven, etc? Is this a good bread for a beginner to start out with? And if not, what would be? One of my other loves are onion rolls - stuffed to the max with onions and poppy seeds. Does anyone have any good beginners recipes, or any tips or advice to share on this subject? Thanks ~WB

My favorite all time ever back of the box recipe (and one my favorite deserts): Bananna pudding from the back of the Nilla Waffers box. Fantastic!! Lot's of variations you can do on it too.

Maybe I'm missing it somewhere else, but I was surprised to see nay a thread about turkey techniques. I'll start by posing a question: A few years ago, a chef friend of mine cooked the best turkey I ever had. The thing that stood out most for about it was the juicyness - especially of the white meat. Many times in my family, the white meat ends up getting dried out and everyone goes for the dark. I remember asking my friend what he did to keep the turkey so juicy. Alas, it was a few years ago, and the only thing I remember is that he said he cooks the turkey upside down - I guess meaning the white meat is on the bottom - so all the jucies collect down there. Is this a common technique? I'd like to find out more about this - and also hear everyone elses other turkey techniques as well. We are having 25+ people over for dinner this year and I want to blow their minds (or their palletes)!! Thanks everyone! ~WB

Question to everyone - after reading this thread today I just had to make this. I tossed the cauliflower in olive oil salt and pepper and then roasted them for 20 min @ 400. They were delicious but not exactly what I was expecting from the descriptions here. Do you guys get them to come out crunchy? Mine never really made it to that stage. I left them in for a while longer but to get really dark they needed almost 35-40 minutes. And then a bunch of them were burned. Also, i found that i had to keep flipping them because the bottoms were getting burned from touching the hot baking tray. Am I doing sometihng wrong? It seems that cooking them at a lower heat and slower would yield crunchier veggies. Anyone try that? Thanks! ~WB

Does anyone have a non-pork suggestion as a substitute for pancetta? I have a recipe which I want to make, but my wife doesn't eat pork. It's a pasta dish which involves browning the pancetta until nice and crispy, and then using the fat in the rest of the dish. So I need some kind of meat which will accomplish a similar task. I guess I won't be able to get the exact same flavor, but I'd like to try something at least. Any ideas? Thanks! ~WB