viaChgo

America's Test Kitchen recently did a taste test with different kinds of broth. Swanson's vegetable stock won. (Can't remember if they included homemade stock in the tatse test, but I'm thinking they did.) I recall that test...I'm going to have to try to dig it up. However, I think I remember Swanson's stock to be the winner of the test of commercial broths but still was a distant second to homemade.

Would this be similar to a warm 'rice pudding'? It sounds pretty good.

I believe one of the most important things in making a good risotto is using a good home-made stock. I've found that canned broth yields a different risotto than one made with a good stock. In the summer when corn is in season, I've made sweet corn risotto with pureed corn & fresh kernels. Sometimes a little drizzle of truffle oil at the end. Sweet pea & shrimp risotto w/lemon zest & juice squeezed in at the end.

We had takeout baby back ribs from Smokin' Woody's (4160 N. Lincoln) this weekend & brought them over to a friend's for dinner. I've had take out from SW's a few times, delivery once, & have eaten in a handful of times as well. I've got to say, when I get the craving for BBQ, this place really hits the spot. I can't say if it's the best in the city -- I've never been to Lem's or Leon's -- but I think it's superior to those of Twin Anchors, which is what many swear by. What makes the 'Q here so good is that they really smoke the meat. The ribs are tender, pink, & the smoke flavor permeates throughout. There are no boiled ribs at this place. Has anyone else tried this place?

I completely agree. Great hamburgers and incredibly good fries. Jamie Yes, great fries too! There aren't anymore Checker's here in Chicago...I'm kind of bummed.

Glad this thread got bumped! 1) Big Mac 2) Sausage biscuit/Sausage Egg McMuffin 3) Arby's Super (the one with the red French/Russian? dressing) 4) Checker's/Rally's burger 5) White Castle w/cheese I've only had In-N-Out once, but it was damn tasty.

I am, by no means, any kind of authority on this, but it is my understanding that fresh pasta is made with type 00 flour & eggs; while dry pasta is made with durum semolina & water. I recently bought a bag of 00 flour & made a batch of fresh pasta and it made a really nice & smooth, soft pasta.

$48 for a box of cherimyas seems a little too much....I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled for cherimoyas here in Chicago. How many come in a box anyway?

torakris, do you know if it's easy to pickle daikon? I love it & often by packaged pickled daikon but I'd love to try it at home sometime. Thanks! I have never made takuan and probably never will. I can get them for a great price here and I don't think I could duplicate teh flavor as well. For true Japanese takuan you will need zarame (a type of brown sugar) and rice bran (nuka), if you have these available you can make it, oh and you need semi-dried daikon. Here is a good recipe, in Japanese sorry, but it has pictures of the step by step process: http://www.aranami.co.jp/takuan/re-601.html Thanks for the link! I think I'll stick to store-bought as well.

I was watching the FoodNetowrk the other day & Food Finds was on. It's not one of my favorites but they were talking about a farm in CA that grows cherimoya, a tropical tasting fruit w/custard-like consistency. It looked really interesting. Has anyone ever tried this fruit? Is it worth ordering a box?

If I were to take photos in a restaurant, I would most likely not use the flash & discreetly take a quick picture before the eating commences. My camera is really small, it fits inside an Altoids tin. So, hopefully, no one around me would even notice. As far as setting up a flash, tripod, etc...that's way more effort that I would want to exert. My purpose for all of this would just be to photograph what I'm eating not to eat what I'm photographing.

Last night we had steak tacos/fajitas. Marinated flank steak in a hot cast iron pan. Corn tortillas. Chihauha (sp?) cheese. Sauteed red bell pepper, onion, & thin asparagus with lime juice & Spanish paprika. Homemade salsa w/chopped cherry tomatoes, cilantro & onion. Guacamole. Boxed yellow cake & chocolate frosting from the tub for dessert (I love yellow cake).

torakris, do you know if it's easy to pickle daikon? I love it & often by packaged pickled daikon but I'd love to try it at home sometime. Thanks!

Serious kudos to jeffj for that Trio write up. It's what inspired me to consider bringing the camera along.

I think that's a little over-the-top. I think discreetly photographing the course at your table is a good way to remember what you had...especially in multi-course tasting menus with complex dishes. There was a great review of Trio in this thread where the use of photos greatly enhanced the review. Also, I wish I had my camera for my recap of my recent dinner at Moto.

For all those who take pictures in restaurants, what is your method? Do you ask if it's ok or do you just do it inconspicuously? I assume no flash though. I have a really small Pentax Optio S, so I was thinking of bringing it along to places in case I'd like to post a review. What do you all think?

These, along with the regular kalbi & blugogi are my favorites. I do like the unmarinated meats with the sesame oil/salt/pepper dipping sauce along with a spicy, dressed, scallions & lettuce for wrapping. Also the cold here in Chicago has got me craving braised short ribs...klabi chim. I'd have to say that's one of my favorites as well!

When we went in 2000, we stayed at this great little art deco style hotel called the Hotel Locarno. It's right off the Piazza del Popolo but away from the main street so it's quiet. It's around the price range you're looking for. Maybe a little more depending on the room. I remember paying about $150 US/night. It's not exactly the area you're looking for but Rome' not too big. Also it has a nice little terrace on the roof.

Finally made ragu bolognese & had with homemade fresh tagliolini. I used this Mario Batali recipe for the ragu. The only changes I made to it were that I used ground sirloin in place of the ground veal becasue my Whole Foods was out fo ground veal. I also added a handful of diced grape tomatoes that were lying around & needed to be used. It turned out really great! Reminded me of luch in Parma!

I'm sorry, I don't understand. The scallions were cooked sous-vide? And if so, how do you know - is it stated on the menu? The server told us in his explanation that the scallions were cooked in the sous vide method. There were quite a few items during the course of the meal that were cooked in this method.

The shaft or stem or whatever it's called is coiled to hold a sprig of rosemary. Then on the tines of the fork or the bowl part of the spoon is where the pear salad is. The scallions are sous vide, then mixed with the pear. Then you eat in one bite!

Hello fellow Heartlanders! Just got back from dinner at Moto w/my wife. Truly outstanding! It's kind of late so I'll be somewhat brief in my recap & can expand on it later. I wanted to bring my digicam but I wasn't able to, so I'll try to describe the courses the best I can. My wife & I are acquaintances of Chef Cantu & his wife. So we have been eagerly anticipating our Moto dining experience. We had the 18 course tasting. 1) A study in flatware Chef Omar has patented his own flatware for this course. the shaft of the flatware is coiled to house within a sprig of rosemary. So, when you eat the food that is on the flatware, you get the essence of rosemary without it actually being in the food. There were 2 pieces of flatware. The first had a citrus salad with citrus emulsion. The second had a pear salad with sous vide scallions. It was really neat to experience the essence of the rosemary without it actually being in the food. 2) Sashimiesque plate with blue fin toro There were 4 parts to this dish. There was a slice of toro with a layer of tuna puree (I believe) and yuzu. The other piece of toro had a citrus emulsion as an accompaniment. There was a slice of salmon with ikura (salmon roe). Lastly, sous vide scallops that were dusted with nori powder & sliced. Everything in this course was really clean and fresh in taste. The toro was outstanding & the scallops had an incredible texture. 3) fennel salad in hot jellied, slushy & natural forms Here we had a mixed green salad with vinaigrette & sous vide radish. I really liked the radish. It was served with 2 little ramekins. One had fennel slush & the other had cubes of jellied coconut, squash, and spinach. You eat this dish by mixing and matching the items. 4) watermelon soup, frozen mustard powder & virtual smoke Before they bring this course to your table, they bring a metal box that emits a smoky scent at your table. The frozen mustard powder is on a spoon & eaten first. Then the watermelon soup, which is a combination of sweet, smoky & spicy. There is a mango-olive oil emulsion that rims the bowl of the soup and carrot ice in the soup as well. This was fantastic! 5) caramelized cucumber sorbet 2 little scoops of sorbet on top of marinated cucumbers. Then a cucumber olive oil soup is poured into the bowl. 6) a duck roll pull apart everything up to this point had been somewhat 'light' & clean in flavor. This was the first 'rich' dish & it did not disappoint. A mound of duck confit & pureed duck (if i'm remembering correctly) is served with a fried wonton cylinder. You break the cylinder to release a sweet/sour soy sauce into the duck & proceed to eat. Really good stuff! 7) citrus & togarashi this was a nice palate cleanser. Lime sorbet withtogarashi & toasted almond. Then the server sprays a togarashi mist all over the dish. 8) rice injected with our secret sauce jasmine rice ball surrounded by nishiki rice, surrounded by a jalepeno crust. The server uses a syringe to inject the secret sauce into the rice ball. I love rice, so this dish was right up my alley. 9) more blue fin toro with yuzu & organic soy At this point they brought out a silicone box with a piece of fish in it. More on this below. On top was a spoon with little cubes of toro coated with the sauce. 10) bass cooked inside a cavity of pacific oceanic products This is one dish that is better seen than read about. There is a piece of bass that is cooking inside of a silicone box. In the base of the box is water with aromatics (konbu, bonito, lemon zest, etc) & the box has retained enough heat to cook the piece of fish at your table. The server brings a plate that has konbu, oyster emulsion & pureed sunchoke. The fish is taken out of the box & put on your plate. This is an amazing piece of fish. The texture is incredible. 11) wood poached pork belly with curry Sous vide pork belly served with curry sauce & a pork rind crisp. Amazingly tender pork belly with a subtle, smoky flavor that's enhanced by the curry. I love pork belly & I loved this dish. 12) oregon kobe beef with sapporo head slices of Kobe beef, cooked using the triple sear method, served with foam made from Sapporo beer. Delicious morsels of beef. 13) Juniper & gin A soda with foamy head with the flavor of juniper. 14) beets, parsnips & branch water This is a dessert. Little pieces of cake made with beet, served with roasted parsnip ice cream. It's served with a glass of rosemary branch water. This dish was so good. It's hard to picture this dish from the description, but it's really good...probably one of the best desserts I've ever had. 15) saffron & cardamom saffron ice cream in cardamom soda. Like a root beer float but so much better. 16) chocolate rice pudding made your way Crisped rice with homemade marshmallows in a dish that you pour liquid bittersweet chocolate into. 17) white truffled ice cream spaghetti A spoonfool of ice cream in 'spaghetti' form bursting with the flavor of white truffle. 18) moto to go haven't tried this yet. we got a little vacuum-packed pouch. one compartment contains a chocolate powder. The other contains a clear liquid. Apparently, when you mix the liquid into the powder, it turns into a foamy drink! Sorry folks if this recap is a little scattered. I wanted to post this while it's still fresh. I'll try to fill in any holes later. Bottom line: an amazing dining experience. Way to go Inventolux! (edited for really poor typing skills & additional details)

I remember seeing a picture on the wall of Clinton when he ate there.

I love my Le Creuset dutch oven. It's round & 8 quarts. But I use it for soups, stews, and for braising anything. It's also big enough to fit a chicken. Clean up is a snap. I've never used Chasseur but if it's just like Le Creuset, it's worth a look.

I recently purchased a bag of "00" flour from an Italian market & am looking forward to making pasta with it. I don't know much about the differences of flour types, but is "00" flour the same as Cake flour? Is there an "American grocery store" equivalent to "00"? So I'm also assuming that you can't really substitute "00" flour in recipes that use AP flour, right?