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chow guy

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Everything posted by chow guy

  1. I'm not sure how far away you are from Boulder Utah (I think it's near Moab). Is there any chance you'll get to the Hell's Backbone Grill during your blog? One of these days, I'm going to make a pilgrimage to HBG, which is a 10-12 hour drive from here in New Mexico. I hope Moab is hard by, and I'll have some SW Utah dining tips. Blog on!
  2. I've enjoyed tequila with blueberries alot. For the overage problem... I buy those little nips of fancy booze (Grand Marnier etc). They're usually just the right amount for cooking.
  3. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts provide a great blank palate for jerk, Italian, Chinese, Cajun, and Japanese (etc.) seasonings. They also provide a quick, healthy, protein addtion to salads and soups. I can't do without them.
  4. The market is such here, that most new places really need early patronage to stay open. Name recogntition helps star chefs get folks in early, in larger markets (often in droves), but I think even a big name like Jean George, would have name recognition problems with the masses here. I always watch for the shakedown phenom that happens with a new place. It usually takes about 3-4 months for first shift. The owner finds out how much those diver scallops cost, how few Kobe beef steaks are being sold, how slow the garde-manger is, how much the chef drinks, how snooty the waiters turned out to be, etc. etc. etc. There are often lots of changes in staff, menu and even decor. The bottom line for me, is hearing an indepth report about a new place from any number of well informed friends; whoose opinion I respect. There are certain people who share my tastes and biases and when they rave...I dine.
  5. Thanks for the link. I'm in the middle of revamping my pantry. At this point, herbs etc. are in sevearl spice racks, opaque medicine jars, lots of baggies, and zip lock bags, and in total disarray.There have been lots of good ideas in this thread. I love the idea of larger tins for those bulky bags of tiger lily buds, dried galanga, star anise and tree ears etc.Then using magnetic strips on the bottom.... Brilliant!
  6. From Aug 18 till the 27th Costco.com is offering the Saeco Incanto Rondo RS SBS Super Automatic Espersso machine for $649.99 including shipping (which is $150 off the regular price). It looks like you can make two cups at the same time, so it might even work for a small cafe.
  7. Souffles both savory and sweet get my vote too. I found them daunting and Everest like, for years.
  8. But I think that's a perfect example of Kent's point. I'm a huge Katz's fan and have been for decades. But "the best pastrami"? Even if you just mean in NYC, isn't that a stretch? And NYC is a small sample if you're talking about world domination! It's that rhetorical drive to assert something is "the best" that's at work here. I don't quite know how it works, but why do we need to say that some kind of food or a particular dish is "the best" at all? It's unprovable, of course. ← We, like sheep, have been whipped into a" Best ...Mine's bigger, better than yours", kind of Kulture. It's everywhere. That said, I would tell you Katz's is the best pastrami in the city... and I haven't eaten it in several years. It all boils down to the self centered notion of what "I" like best, informed or uninformed. It's just, personal opinion, which, many of us seem driven to share.
  9. Ditto for me! I do the exact same thing ,and rarely order blind. As a reviewrer, I always ask for recommendations from the server and I expect the staff to know the food and how it's prepared, even at a diner.
  10. The local news here last night showed rivers of rushing water flowing through the streets of Hatch. That same piece mentioned that the Chile crop was spared. It's a milagro! We shall see. It's been very wet this year, so the chile will not be as hot as dry years. The weather report is for more torrential rain the rest of the week. Not good!
  11. I told my wife at the beginning of the Marine episode. The Marine has got to win, even with a much lesser cut of meat etc. As for the chowders....Lobster vs eel? That's a no brainer for me and I thought, rather unfair. I have no idea why Flay should get the ingredient list of his opponents. It's not fair from the start.
  12. I was on a tee shirt run at a thrift store yesterday and low and behold I spied what looked like a brand new George Foreman Grill for three bucks (after 25% store discount). It was plugged in in, worked very well and went home with me.
  13. I don't like haggling, but that said, When the peaches are tiny, tomatoes, overpriced and over the hill and the corn wormy and far from the field etc.. I will haggle, in a heartbeat.
  14. Try making it with quinoa... you'll never go back to bulghur. It's very tasty and complete protein to boot.
  15. This time of year you can make a great Gazpacho and then serve it with pre made non grilled vegatable Panini. You don't need a paninni press. I use a delicious Ciabatta, or other crusty Italian bread. Cut the loaf in half and hollow it out, (almost down to the crust) Then, fill it with roasted red peppers, ripe tomatoes, fresh basil leaves or pesto, grilled portabellos, poached fennel and slices of Fontina cheese. Re- assemble the filled halves and wrap in foil, and weigh it down with heavy books on top of an inverted sheet pan for 15 mins. Then heat it in a 350 oven till the cheese melts. Try it, you'll love it.
  16. I agree, and in fact, it's lists like these that make people think that all "foodies" are rich snobs, which is not the case at all.
  17. This thread reminds me of a very snooty place I worked at, in NYC back in the 70's. One night the place was closed to the general public, for an opening night party for a David Mamet play. The very uppity doorman stopped a couple at the door and wouldn't let them in. (they were dressed in faded jeans and leather jackets). The doorman gave them the ole head to toe and with arched eyebrow told them the place was closed for a private party. The man responded with," I know I'm David Mamet". The doorman didn't miss a beat and shot back with, "Yeah, and I'm Queen Elizabeth" We found out later, it was indeed Mr Mamet that was turned away. We also discovered the doorman was indeed royalty, but not a Windsor.
  18. This is a very tricky subject. Very few folks want to hear about nutrition. It often comes off sounding like religion. In my own experience, every single time I've heard what a nutritionist had to say, I was appalled by their lack of actual knowlege about food. They have espoused "good food" and gave me deadly dull recipes, I would never try. I think the challenge is to educate and expand peoples ideas about what food "can" be, and to make nutrition more palatable. I am also a Weight Watcher devotee, and I must say that I ate a pretty heathy diet (lots of fruit veggies etc.) before WW. My problem was portion size, high fat cheeses, sugar, carbs and pints of Hagen Daz. Now, that I write everything down I know exactly, how many servings of fruit and vegetables, dairy, water, oils etc. that I'm consuming. I won't lie to you, it's a pain in the butt, and takes way too much time, But...this accountability has had a remakable effect on my nutrition My labs and blood pressure are a testament to that. Besides I've dropped a whole bunch of weight and feel great. I've been involved in writing a grant for a garden to kitchen program for grammar school kids here in New Mexico. I was fortunate enough to be invited to spend a day seeing how they do it at Alice Waters' wonderful Edible School Yard project. Their program works very well but, they also have a HUGE budget. Our biggest challenge here is money. Fresh fruits and vegetables cost alot more than fast food. I myself, even balk at paying 99 cents a pound for bananas and a $1.89 for apples. The reality is that vegetables for many of the kids mean french fries and onion rings. Salad is even a hard sell. It's an uphill battle that needs to have lots of money thrown at it.
  19. Welcome to the boards Tex Mex. No small feat your quest, you certainly are jumping in with more than both feet. I spent a grueling two years researching a chow book and often ate at three different places in one day, but they were rarely the same genre. Have a great time, I look forward to your posts.
  20. Out here in New Mexico grass fed refers to "range fed" but, more often than not, there ain't alot of grass to feed on. These bovine beasts are eating bitter herbs long before Passover, and it shows . As a special favor, I cooked some local range fed beef for a ranch family party. A huge percentage of the guests aked what kind of game it was. It was awful. I guess, you really are what you eat.
  21. chow guy

    frisee aux lardons

    Moi aussi....Your photo has me salivating.
  22. I live on salad and make it out of just about anything these warm summer days but, all of your choices are on my top ten list. I also have a very warm spot for Salade Frizee au Lardon.
  23. Mizducky, Your title really got my attention, it describes me to a tee. I love finding great cheap places to eat, spend way too much time in ethnic/ farmers markets and am dropping pounds and counting points on the WW plan. I really look forward to your blog. You've even moved me to start thinking about blogging someday. I was sitting and counting points at a Vietnamese Pho place yesterday. I assumed there were very few points on the Pho (there was no listing for Vietnamese food, tripe, tendon or rice vermacelli), So, I just guessed. I have a feeling I'll be upping my Pho intake exponentially in the near future.
  24. how about a pot? for chervil, i mean. i threw a bunch of seeds in a pot earlier this year and it seems to be coming along nicely, but it would be kind of a bummer if they died. ← It's tricky to grow because it likes to be moist but not have wet feet and it' can't get too much sun but can't flourish in shade either. Using shade cloth helps with all these little stumbling blocks. Over the years It has doe well for me... but not very often.
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