markk
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Posts posted by markk
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I've been watching this from the beginning and enjoying it tremendously.
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Truffle butter. I take a good French butter and blend some black truffle oil into it, then re-chill it and top the steak with it. That's my all-time favorite. Well, nowadays I just sprinkle the steak with some truffle salt (Selezione Tartufi brand).
Sometimes, I'll go the olive oil, lemon and salt route.
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markk - was this your best/favorite dinner of the three you had in miami? everything sounds great!
bea
Well, remember that everything comes in half-portions for a "mix and match" event (although I'd call it a pig-out). We had the Sweetbreads with Veal-Cheek Ravioli, the Fettucine Carbonara, the Duck Confit, and the Short Ribs each of the three times, (because we had them the first time and couldn't not keep having them) and kept experimenting with the other things around them. I wish we'd had the Polenta sooner than our last time so we could have had it more times. I guess those were our favorites, but that's only of the things we tried. There was nothing we tried that we wouldn't gladly have again, though. Just need more visits there to try everything. We are definitely planning on going there every night the next time we're in Miami.
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You can't remember any little bit of the name?
I thought it had the word "buffet" in its name, but I can't be certain at this point. And it was most definitely Ft. Lauderdale or north. Thanks once more.
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No, it really wasn't any of those (Chima, Hardrock, or Gulfstream Park) 
.Whatever I saw had a website listed, and it definitely wasn't. And it really wasn't part of anything else.
That's not to say that I can't have remembered some detail incorrectly, such as that it's not in Ft. Lauderdale proper but a nearby town, but again it's only attraction was that it was a freestanding 'luxury' buffet like you'd find on Sunday at a very fancy country club or hotel, just that they had it every night because that's all they did.
Thanks a million to everybody so far. If I move into a mental institution over this, I'll be sure to find one with internet access so I can keep checking this board.
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Sadly, all I remember is "Ft. Lauderdale" (though it may well be one of the surronding areas), but I do remember that it's not any ethnicity, not Brazilian, not anything. There was no other food that was part of it - it was purely a lavish buffet. I don't remember if they specifically used the words "American" or "Continental", and let me tell you, it's driving me nuts.
Anybody down there who might solve this would help me retain what little last bit of sanity I may still have.
Thanks !!! -
When I was in Miami recently, I saw a large ad for a buffet Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale (with a fancy name, I think), and it was a very upscale Las Vegas-type place, in the $40-$50 price range (absolutely not one of those Chinese buffets with "international" choices). From the many photos and description, and the prices, it reminded me of a very upscale Vegas type operation, or what you'd see for Sunday brunch at a very fancy hotel (but it wasn't a hotel).
I've googled my brains out, and found absolutely nothing, so I'm turning to eGullet for help.
Does anybody know the place I'm talking about ?? THANKS !!
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Some years ago I went to what was then considered one of Miami's "top" restaurants, a steakhouse, whose wine list contained all the First Great Growth Bordeaux - from the two most recent years, plus a few from older years that still couldn't be drinkable (I had seen the list in advance). So I brought an older Bordeaux and happily paid the corkage fee. I had it upright for some time, and when I handed it over to the "sommelier" I pointed that out to him. When he came to decant it tableside, he had the whole works, candle and all. Nearing the last third of the bottle, he decided to turn it quickly back upright to look in it, of course mixing in all the sediment that was waiting to be left in the bottle, and we all groaned. These things do happen, although that was admittedly some years ago.
Getting back to your experience, and of course agreeing that they undoubtedly didn't need to decant the wine and should have done it in your presence if they did, do you remember if you finished off each glass to the last drop before they were refilled? I'm thinking that as the wine sat through the meal, some bits of sediment may have collected in the bottoms of each glass, which sometimes happens even when a wine (with sediment, of course) has been properly decanted.
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I'm surprised that only one person mentioned Madeleine Kamman, and then not her great book "When French Women Cook".
I'm certainly in favor of all the Julia Child books and most of the others mentioned, but this book takes a different approach, in that it tells you how to make the (sort-of) simple, hearty, comforting fare that French grandmas have always made. If your knife skills and pastry techniques are not school taught, remember that theirs weren't either. But you'll be eating some pretty, pretty delicious and robust dishes to tide you over while you master the more scholarly works.
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ok anyone wanna help me with other parts of the menu?
sweetbreads, fried, with a sauce made of ... (i don't have veal stock at the moment; only beef, chicken and lobster).
The chef/owner of a restaurant I love in France kept wanting to make me a dish of sweetbreads and lobster, but he wasn't getting sweetbreads in while I was there. But the combination sounds good to me, and I'll bet you could conjure up a great sauce that'd go swell with the sweetbreads.
Edited to say sorry, I missed the date on that one.
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I haven't been to Boca in quite a while, but here's a dining website with Boca suggestions that I've used with some success in other parts of South Florida, so these may be worth checking out, especially in the face of the "unmentionables".
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But I have a lot of memories of Jewish men who could cook omelette-style salami and eggs when their wives weren't around...(plus I remember) a comment that Itzahk Perlman had made about it once on a cooking show many years ago.
Perlman wields a mean fiddle but I disagree with his salami-frying technique. He would cut the salami into discs and fry them on each side. I much prefer to dice the salami into chunks, thus exposing more fry-worthy surface area.
Back on topic, my father left most of the cooking to Mama Fresser, just like most men of the generation. I learned to cook at the foot (and later elbow) of Mama Fresser, and I like to season the fry-pan with garlic powder while sauteeing salami for an omelette.
Chunks? Oy gevolt.
I took a real liking to him (Perlman) when he was on some cooking show telling about his quest to make "helzel" the way his mother did, having not had the good sense to learn it from her when he could have. (I know this well. I had planned to have my grandmother teach me the Jewish cooking repertoire she did so well - she was born in Europe around 1900- when I finished college, but sadly, it was too late then.)
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So, are there any bad places to visit in France? Can't you just take a blindfolded stab at a map of France and have a great trip on every count wherever you point?
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we have had much success with the "Bib Gourmand" and "value menu" reccomendations - fine meals for under 30 euros.
We too have had much, very spectacular success, with the "Bib Gourmand" restaurants, feasting ourselves silly. (There are photos of 4 such meals in the link in my signature, from a trip just spent following Michelin restaurants, especially the Bib Gourmand ones. I'd base a trip around it any day, and was told about it originally by a man I met at breakfast one day who was in France, visiting from Hungary, having just such a trip.)
Edited to add, now that I've read the entire thread, that a personal favorite region is Alsace, not that I think there are any regions that are not great there. I assume that the "warmth" comment somewhere above had to do with the people, and that prompted me to say that in Alsace, the people are effervescently and exceptionally warm (not that they aren't in other regions too, in my experience).
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Zuppa Inglese gets my vote.
Recipes abound. An Italian friend of mine who took me for my first one in Italy and was a great home cook told me to use layers of Lady Fingers, soak the layers in (or brush them with) different flavors of liquer, spread them with complementary flavored jams, and top them with a thin layer of vanilla pudding or custard, and keep building. Refrigerate for a few hours to "cure".
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I think everything changed post-WWII. It's not surprising to me to see male boomers and even those born just before the boom (since their formative years would also be post-WWII) have a wide variety of cooking skills.
For sure! When I see male boomers today discussing their experiences with demi-glace and posting photos of the incredible things they've cooked, I chuckle in amazement at the thought of my dad who could slice Hebrew National salami, sizzle it, scramble some eggs and add them to cook in the grease, and who, if he were here today to overhear two modern male boomers discussing cooking, would think they were talking Martian.
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What I've noticed is that older men -- not just Jewish ones either -- are most likely to have cooking skills that are limited to breakfast foods and particularly eggs.
Vell, I vouldn't know. (I never met a non-Jewish person till I went away to college, and then we no longer needed their dads to cook for us.) But I have a lot of memories of Jewish men who could cook omelette-style salami and eggs when their wives weren't around, and it wasn't just the Alan King book that had reminded me of my theory, but also a comment that Itzahk Perlman had made about it once on a cooking show many years ago.
I hope everybody vill keep these stories a'comin.
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Mimi Sheraton wrote a book called Salami and Eggs: Better than Sex?. . . .
Well, she co-authored it with Alan King, who gets most of the credit (I think). At least, I remember that the majority of it is his narrative (or so I remember).
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I'm testing a theory here.
If you take Jewish men who are (or would be) in their 80's or older, I believe they're from a generation when men were just helpless (and clueless) in the kitchen, and certainly didn't cook. Yet I think that every Jewish man of that generation can cook Salami and Eggs.
Any opinions or rembrances?
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If you can get nice Muscovy duck breasts (as opposed to the Pekin/Long Island duck breasts that abound), I think the best thing to do is pan-sear them to perfection and enjoy the delicious meat with just a touch of salt. I find that a lot of preparations (and sauces) really just mask the utterly delicious flavor of the duck. I'd score it and cook it skin side down in a really hot pan for a few minutes, flip it and cook the underside for a few more, and let it rest in a warm pan in a warm place, and when you slice it, pour the drippings over it, and give it a teeny bit of salt.
It's shown here with duck leg confit, and a salad that's got a hint of sweetness in the vinaigrette. I make duck breasts a lot, and I think that various sides set the crispy, rare meat off just fine. You can see a lot of the varieties I make on my duck dinners page.
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If we don't hear back from you before your trip, I hope you post your reviews of all the places you go!
I'd try to talk you out of the Gourmet Diner. The food's not as good as it used to be (or some of the other places around - at least not at the point we stopped going).
I'd have said also that Stone Crabs are a must if you're down there when they're in season, but... We used to go to Billy's Stone Crab in nearby Hollywood and have pristinely delicious specimens, but on our last trip (Christmas) they were sorry specimens instead, and I don't know a better place to suggest.
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Thanks, Mark! Our tentative (and incomplete) list:
Bissaleh Cafe
Timo
Hanna's Gourmet Diner
Hiro's Yakko San
Michy's
We'll check back soon for comments and additions.
We do have a place to stay, but suggestions are always welcome.
Why did you pick the Gourmet Diner? (I know it well, just curious how you chose it?)
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Well, I spend three or four weeks a year there, so I'll tell you what I've found.
The most local place is Timo (17624 Collins), and it's a thoroughly enjoyable place. I've eaten there several times.
Bice is at 18683 Collins, but I've never been.
I used to be very fond of Plein Sud (12409 Biscayne), but the chef has moved on and things have changed.
For thrilling food, and a vibe so happy that strangers actually talk about the food to the tables near them (as in "Hi, you must have the sweetbreads!"), I'd suggest Michy's at 69th and Biscayne. We ate there 3 times in one week over Christmas and I started a separate thread. This is better food than anyplace around (and because of the dining formula, there's infinite variety) and it's also the most enjoyable place to be.
In the Bal Harbour Shops you have the new La Goulue, which I didn't try because the menu didn't appeal to me, and most people are calling it a lunch place anyway, rather than dinner, which is just what I thought.
There's also La Terrazza (Italian) and Tangerine (Russian) around 181 and Collins, but when I checked them out, I just wasn't impressed with the 'feel' of them. Little Havana (127 and Biscayne) is a simple Cuban place with pretty good food, though it doesn't have the 'festive vibe' I like on vacation, and admittedly, I get great Cuban food where I live. Paul (144 and Biscayne in the Biscayne Commons) is the first US branch of a French bakery/cafe, and is a must if you like French pastries (they are spectacular), and is great for lunch.
A great source for restaurants in Miami, one that I have come to trust over the years because of all the great restaurants it has always steered me to, is the Miami New Times.
Do you have a place to stay?
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In hope that you are not serious,
No, I certainly wasn't serious. I was joking.
Baking / Pizza stones
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
We do it all the time. There's one large, heavy square baking stone on one rack, and a lower rack is lined with unglazed quarry tiles, and we leave them in the oven when we put it on self-clean. It's been ten years now.
(For what it's worth, unless it's a question of space, a pan so big that it won't fit in the oven with the big stone in, I cook with the stone(s) in all the time, lots of time right on the stones. That has nothing to do with the self-cleaning story, that was just a p.s.)