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Funny thing is America's Test Kitchen did a ham using Coca Cola and they raved about it.

Here's what I use: AHHH the lazy days of summer!! The Smoker is a Costco special. It was a gift but I know it sold for under $200 and the results are great!!. It maintains the proper temps real well.

Last week's Clambake for two:

Ok, I've got 2. First was in Culinary School. Me and 2 other guys spent 6 hours deboning 100 quails. The Chef instructor who had a VERY HEAVY French accent told me to roll the rack into the warmer on the second floor. I did exactly that. The next day he begins the class by screaming"Who put the quails in the warmer!!!!" I stood up, knees knocking, and said that I did. Ends up he said "walk in" not "warmer". OOOPS!! The second was at home making Rye bread. Similar to the post a few above mine, the recipe calls for spraying with water to form a crisp crust. I had completed several sprays of water, and went in for my final spray. After closing the oven, I look at the bottle I had in my hand and it was NOW ( an enviro friendly cleaner from Costco that they don't carry anymore) OOOPS again!!. The good news was that I was certain that it was only the final spray that wasn't water and besides, it's biodegradable so how harmful could it be?

Absoluteley!! I made Vanilla Ice cream with Habanero and a Mole Pablano Swirl. The killer combo of sweet and heat!!

OK where do I sign up? The Egullet dinner was so good I swear I could have gon back the next night!!

the cream is for Chocolate Mousse, I better buy more tomorrow!!

HELP!!!! I have a cooking event Tomorrow for my Les Marmitons chapter and I had purchased a few items for the shopping list so I don't have to spend 3 hours in Wegman's doing the shopping. My spare fridge in the basement that is from the '50s, froze some things like 3 huge bags of spinach(being made into creamed spinach so I 'm not that worried about them) a Costco size tub of sour cream, a few qts of light cream and heavy cream, and 3 costco sized packages of mushrooms for the cream of mushroom soup. I'm primarily concerned about the dairy products. Has any one had experience with frozen dairy products?

WOW!! What a feast. Beth and I had a really great time tonight at China 46 with all of you. The food was superb and the company was wonderful. Pictures of the food Enjoy the pictures. BTW, the non food pics will follow soon. Eric

Here is my reconstruction of the vague recipe as seen in the lower lobby of Pal's cabin. 1 gallon chix stock 1# sauteed button mushrooms- Chopped 10 Oz blond roux cooked to produce a nutty aroma Maagi seasoning Accent salt White peeper 1 pt light cream Paprika--for garnish To each gallon of simmering chicken stock, add 1 pound of sauteed mushrooms. Then add 3 Shallots finely chopped. In a sautee pan, make a roux and cook untill the aroma resembles toasted almonds. Using approximateley 10 ounces of roux, pour enough chicken stock over the roux to create a Veloute'. Once smooth and with out lumps, add the Veloute back into the stock/ mushroom mixture. Season with Maagii, accent, salt and white pepper. Add light cream. warm through. Sprinkle Paprika on each serving as garnish.

Well, I didn't exactly get permission, Are you suggesting that since it was pub'shd in the Ledger that it's fair game? Jason?

Thank You for helping me stay out of trouble Jason!! I did go to Pal's and saw the article on the wall. It was published in the April 4, 2001 SAVOR section of the Star Ledger. I copied it down although I can't immagine that they would print a recipe that they are famous for out in the open for all to see like that?!?! The method of prep was pretty vague ie. not written up in the typical format (list of ingredients then method of preparation) I'm going to make it for my wife for Valentines day cuz I romantical like that ya know. To heck with flowers, feed me big boy!! LOL

Sue the important question is are either of these 2 places any good? I'm craving good chinese take out, but it's probably cuz I can't stop thinking about The Egullet dinner tomorrow at China 46!!

I'm hoping one of you guys has the recipe that was published in the star ledger--Oh God knows when. They have it hanging in the lower lobby of the restaurant. Before I drive over there to stand in front of the article and write it down, I want to see if any of you guys have it. Thanks!! Eric

Shoprite still had pork at 40% off. I've got more pork in my freezer than a sausage factory. I had already bought 2 whole loins that yielded 3 large roasts and 15 fat chops. Today they had a 19# Bone in fresh ham for $16 that i just couldn't leave in the store, and just for sh*ts and giggles I bought 3 bone in Boston Butts for 5-6$ a piece. They'll look right pretty in my smoker this summer!!

It's on Northfield Ave in West Orange, right next to Rock Spring Water.

AlisonA, Right in your back yard, my dear!! Los Tapotios on Main street in West Orange. Authentic Me-hi-can. No Tex Mex here. Park behind the resto in the lot on Valley St and go in the back door. It's family owned and the food is just delicious. try the seasoned steak in anything they offer like tacos or burritos or chile rellenos. Also, the soups, Black bean and chicken soup are some of the best I ever had. don't miss the Tres Leches for dessert. Eric

Ok, I just returned from EKKO. It was my first Invite only Grand Opening of a resto and I kind of expected that they were using family and friends to work out any bugs in the service etc... I was wrong, It was more like a party!! It began with balloons at the entrance to the parking lot. I was happy that when I asked the valet if it was ok to park my own car, he complimented me on my car and allowed me to park it right up front. Upon entering the resto, we were greeted by very friendly young ladies and my friends son who is a waiter there(that was my in to the joint) They checked our names off the list and gave my friend a packet with a $20 gift certificate and a comment card for after our meal. I first noticed the rather large bamboo plants in the foyer that were 2 stories high. We went upstairs and gave our coats to the coat room. The decor was simply exotic with warm dark colors. There was a band playing easy listening music that really added to the party atmosphere. We went to the bar for a drink and were told that they were only serving Champagne pored into flutes that had various liquors in them already like Chambord, Midori, stuff like that, and soft drinks. I don't drink (see thread on Marijuana food-those stories were ametuer nights compared to my college days) so I wasn't bothered by the fact that they ran out of Champagne 1/2 an hour after we arrived. Anyway, we scoped out the place and discovered that they had food laid out buffet style throughout the resto. We grabbed plates and dug in. They offered the usual sushi offerings, Salmon, tuna and cooked shrimp as well as a few rolls; california, salmon and cream cheese, smoked eel, etc.. Being a regualar a ZEN, I was not impressed. There were several chafing dishes with fusion offerings like Sweet and sour pork that was a little on hard/dry side, Garlic shrimp, and shrimp in chili paste that were both quite good. They also had very tasty tempura veggies that had something different about them that I just couldn't put my finger on. It did take me a minute to warm up to the Tofu Francaise?!?! The funny thing was I joked to my friend earlier in the day about what Japanese/French cuisine actually is. I said it's probably stuff like Ginger Wasabi souffle' LOL. We then went into the back of the resto and sat down at one of 8 hibachi tables. The table we were at was obviously a virgin without a scratch on the thing. Interesting design piece here, there was a definate lack of the usually obtrusive stainless steel hood ventilation systems typical of the Japanese Hibachi resto. These table were very high tec in that on one side there is a fan blowing and on the other a vent sucking, so the smoke gets blown away fron the diners and towards the chef where it is downdrafted into the abyss. I'm a gadget guy and I thought it was way cool. We were served by an 8 year veteran of Japanese Hibachi cooking named Tommy(of course) He flipped his utensils and made corny food jokes like rolling an egg on the table and calling it an egg roll better than any guy at Bennihana ever could. He expertly prepared us a very tasty garlic fried rice followed by a simple palin lo mein noodle. Then it was on to some Veggies and both Steak and Filet Mignon. Then the crowd was addressed by the owner, a small asian man named HO. It is apperently his 3rd vie into the restaurant biz. He introduced some of his key culinary staff members some of whom are Japanese and some of whom are French. After the thunderous applaus had ended, Opera singers began to sing. Figuring the fat lady was going to sing any minute, I bellied up the dessert bar and grabbed a few apple pastry bits and a thin sugary wafery kinda thing. they were good. So in conclusion, While I enjoyed my self immensly, I didn't feel that I got a decent cross section of the menu, which by the way was not available for our viewing pleasure just yet. HMM I wonder how they expect to open to the public tomorrow without menus? Oh well. As far as i can tell, I'm still gonna be a deciple of Zen for sushi. I'll go back to try the fusion items which from what I was told will bank heavily on gorgeous presentation. I will pray tonight for my new friend HO that his Hibachi venture, doesn't become a magnet for the 10-15 year olds special occasion birthday destination crowd like so many other places have like Bennihana and Fujiyama in Summit.

You MUST go have a burger at PAl's Cabin as soon as you can. It's like a steak on a bun. A fistfull of hand ground sirloin. With all due respect to your own burger, I have yet to find a better one than a Pal's with swiss and sauteed onions.[/red]

The nice thing is the father is a retired butcher who knows his stuff. Great fun to talk to so stopping by the market, when it is not busy!, is fun and educational. Their contact information: Greenwood Farm 135 Port Colden Rd. Washington, NJ 07882 908-689-2227 It being off season at the farm they are not so prompt at returning calls so it AlisonA,That's too funny, did you see my reference to Greenwood Farm in my post about Dry aged Beef today or is this a complete coincedence? Spooky!! They're pricing me on 2 whole Ribeyes of dry aged beed for 30 people for a Men's cooking society of which I am VP. they may even let me join thm on Monday evening to watch them break down a few sides of Black Angus!! Anyway, I frequent the Millburn Farmers market and can't wait untill spring. Maybe I'll see you there. BTW, I saw your post on JOY LUCK they deliver to my 'hood too. HMM seems to be a nice showing of W.O. people on this board. Eric

UPDATE::: While I did come across this informative website, Ask the meatman.com I decided not to risk it with the amount of meat I need for the upcoming event (30 people). I met a guy at the Millburn Farmers Market over the summer who owns Greenwood Farm in washington, NJ. He also does Black Angus Beef. He's going to shoot me a price and dry age it just for me. We have a $500 food budget and I really could spend a good portion of that on the meat because the side dishes are made with pretty inexpensive ingredients.

I'm not sure when public opening is but I'll find out tomorrow. Also drove by tonight, and the proper spelling is EKKO.

This is where BICE used to be. Supposed to be Japanese/European fusion. I hope they have a great sushi bar. I love Zen in Livingston, but ECKO is 1/4 mile from my house.Any one else on the invite list?

Ok folks, I have a cooking event on Feb 15th and I'm thinking of doing a quintessential NY steakhouse menu. I wanted to do Dry aged beef and was considering doing it at home using a whole ribeye. From what I 've read, Prime is the optimum grade choice, but you can also use the top of the Choice grade which is what Costco sells. I'm looking for any hands on experience from fellow gulleteers. I'm a bit concerned because after all what is dry aging but controlled rotting of meat. I don't want to mess it up and have to throw the meat away or even worse, get someone sick. If it is recommended that I don't try it, do you know where I may be able to buy dry aged beef for 30 people for a decent price? I have a budget of $500 for the food portion of this event and the ingredeints for the side dishes(creamed spinach etc..) are not expensive so I can blow alot of the budget on the main attraction--the steak.

SHOPRITE!!! WOW!!! Whole pork loin with club card comes to $.99 a pound. It cost me 8 bucks for a (you guessed it) an 8 pound loin. I cut it into 1 large roast and 10 thick chops. Froze them on a sheetpan then Vacuum seal with the trusty Foodsaver. One per visit so I'm going back today.