emilymarie

I have read many recipes and been told by more than a few people to use the lobster heads only when making lobster stock. Is this true--should I be using lobster heads only in my lobster stock? And if so, why? Also if so, what should I do with the rest of the shells? Is it only the heads that contain flavor? Lots of questions, I know, but I'd love some feedback. thanks.

Indeed.

I don't know if Nice Matin qualifies as a bistro. It seems a bit on the expensive side for that, and I had once thought of it as a bit more an upscale, reservation place than Le Monde or French Roast. French Roast does certainly serve its purpose and I would frequently find myself there despite any reservations, if only for a glass of wine late at night. Being open late into the night is a big advantage and was for me at the time. Le Monde, well, was never very good but I did go occasionally for their burgers and fries to get out of my routine of eating at Toast 2 to 3 times a week. And I'm a--YIKES--Barnard alum.

I spent 4 years during college sitting thru meals at French Roast on the UWS, and, well, I have NEVER been a fan. It might meet some people's criteria as a bistro, though: It's very much a neighborhood joint, open 24 hours (or at least seems to be) a day, and is a place you can on most nights just drop in to for some steak frites and a glass of wine. I, personally, have never found the food that good, or even acceptable for the prices they charge and I've always found the service rude. Not worth it in my opinion. And, you could say that it's kind of kitschy French, with faux French everything. But on the more important points I think it could quality as a bistro, just not my favorite.

And to answer the original question--I think for everyone at some point the law of diminishing returns comes into play. For me, that will never happen with food. I will scrimp and save for weeks to afford a dinner at Per Se or Alain Ducasse and will happily continue to do so. Eating out at these restaurants is a learning experience for me not to mention purely enjoyable and exciting. Some people would never think of spending that much on food but will spend that much on clothes, handbags, electrical or computer equipment, movies, DVDs, or musical instruments, etc. I know this is the easy way out but I truly think that this depends on the person and how they want to spend their money. As for a poor person being able to save, I don't want to touch that one! I will remain on the sidelines for that conversation.

I want to address a couple of points made. First, the situation you describe in Atlanta sounds very much like the situation in St. Louis. For one, St. Louis is very neighborhood-driven, and I don't think anyone west of highway 270 does not live in a subdivision. Incidentally, when I first moved to St. Louis, as a freshman in highschool (in 1996) someone asked me what subdivision I lived in. I had never heard that term before and was completely baffled. Any rate, there's West County--or suburban St. Louis as portrayed in Edward Scissorhands or Desperate Housewives --and then there are areas like Clayton, University City and other neighborhoods just outside of the city proper--where people live in very old, very beautiful houses. It's overall a much wealthier area than the outer, West County suburbs like Chesterfield. Therese, when you say: "Tell me where somebody lives here and I can probably tell you how long they've been in Atlanta and what their politics are and where they shop and eat" I think the same could be said about St. Louis. At least in my experience, people I met who had been born and raised there had very particular ideas about the kind of people living in West County. Nevermind what my relatives in NJ thought of St. Louis when we told them that's where we were moving. Second, now I live in NJ, right on the border of Clifton and Upper Montclair (which is a wealthy suburb about 15 miles or so west of NYC), having attended college in NYC. I ride the train with these Upper Montclair/Glen Ridge dwellers and all I can say is--Bobos (as in bourgeois bohemians a la David Brooks). This may be harsh, but there is definite conspicuous consumption--i.e. Hummers, Land Rovers, Luis Vuitton, etc. When it comes to going to a restaurant just to have eaten there, there is certainly a lot of that, though I do not see a lot of people going and ordering just a salad. I see a lot of people going out and eating a lot, spending a lot of money, enjoying themselves. A lot of people who move to these close-in NYC suburbs are moving out of NYC, are transplanted New Yorkers, and so are very aware of what is trendy in food, fashion, home design. And, they are, by their nature (like me), restaurant-focused. I know a lot of folks in my area go into NYC for special dinners or spend time seeking out fancy, new places in NJ. I also think that the sheer number of restaurants in the area and the number of people on the egullet/NJ board illustrate this. To answer your question, phaelon, yes there is a lot of conspicuous consumption in this area but as far as I can tell, people eating out are doing it to be on top of the newest trend/hot spot but also because they love food and trying new things. Is this specific to all NJ suburbs--no, certainly not--but that's because there can be such an economic shift from one street to another in north Jersey.

I agree--some things being worth more than their cost. I do find Epernay a bit on the pricey side but have always found the portions very large, in fact almost too large on some occasions. An order of bouillabase contained enough fish for 2 or even 3 people. It was just beautiful to look at but entirely too much for one person to eat. The salmon with white beans and chorizo was also quite large. I, of course, am one who likes to eat 2 to 3 smaller courses rather than one large. Now that's a good thing, and, to put it less elegantly, certainly a good bang for your buck indeed.

Yes, you are correct nightscotsman. Buried at the end of one of my posts upthread, I asked if I needed to temper chocolate before applying it to the acetate. The white chocolate mousse recipe I used (very simply-melted white chocolate, whipped cream whipped to soft peaks and a scant amount of milk boiled, mixed together to set) fell. I need another recipe for white chocolate mousse that will hold up, perhaps one with eggs. Should I use gelatin in order to make these stay set once I remove the molds? Oh, and does tempered chocolate normally harden or set very quickly? I tried to do a mini temper last night: Melted some bittersweet chocolate and then added some chopped chocolate plus a large-ish chunk of the same chocolate to what I'd melted and mixed until the chocolate had cooled. It hardened rather quickly.

Oh, bravo, Jason! I am and have been a huge fan of Martha Stewart from the minute I saw her show for the first time, about 10 years ago. She is the original queen of domesticity--and the only one in my opinion, even though she's a Jersey girl who pronounces ham like a Brit. But that's not even really why I like her so much--she's bright, creative, intuitive, strong-willed, and not afraid of it. I have a feeling that she will come out of this whole debacle as a hero, though I am slightly hesitant about dear Martha appearing on a reality TV show. She's never been very good at ad-libbing.

thanks everyone. i can't wait to get back to this tonight. it's been a multi-day project already. this may be another thread in the works, but what else could i use the acetate for. i was thinking of trying to make some sort of chocolate decorations to put on top of the mousse cake, like a tic tac toe shape that i could stand upright. just for height. do i need to temper the chocolate first?

I have a small tomato sauce can which I might try to use as a mold. How do I line the inside of the ring correctly with acetate? And will that melt when I use the hair dryer to release the whole thing? thanks.

I am trying to make (for my own knowledge) a dessert consisting of a layer of chocolate cake, a layer of chocolate mousse, and a layer of white chocolate mousse. I want to put it together in a mold so it's really nice and neat. My question is: I've only been able to find molds that are about 3 or so inches high. How do I layer the cake and mousses? I bought acetate paper but I don't think this is what acetate is for. Should I cut a piece of parchement that's double or so the size of the mold and pipe the mousses onto one another that way? But then how do I get the paper off the mousse without messing it all up? By the way, what can I use acetate paper for? thanks!

Ellen, I can't see the photo too clearly on my screen. A few questions: Is that a piece of fruit in the middle? What is the larger square undernath the carpaccio?And what is the sauce/liquid around the edge? This might be my favorite plate, next to the quail. thanks again for these pics.

How were the desserts?

puh-leeze. then what would we do to feel better about our insignificant lives? ← I'll toast to that, tommy. In all seriousnes, though, I will say that the most annoying people on Food TV (IMO), Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee, are not food people first, at least not in the same way that Wolfgang Puck, Emeril (long, long, long ago), Tyler Florence, Jacques Torres, and Sara Moulton are all food people. And I even think that a lot of what appeals to many Food TV viewers is Rachael's "bubbly" personality, giggles, EVOO, and all. To me, the thing I wish someone at Food TV would change is Tyler Florence's penchant for constantly talking OVER his co-host Jack Corrigan (sp?). I'm not sure if he even realizes there's another person in the room the way he talks over, around, and under her--not to mention condescends to her constantly. I think, though, that you don't need to talk through all of the dead air. Sara Moulton isn't that big a talker when she's working, neither is Martha Stewart or Jacques Torres. A little quiet time while you're working isn't that bad really...

Mmmm, how cryptic. I wonder why they won't say? Too good a secret maybe? Well, I'm going to have to go there myself and investigate--and maybe order some if it's as good as you say.

Ellen, if you have more pictures, please post them! They are beautiful and I like the step-by-step thing you've got going.

You're right, what in the hell was I thinking? Crazy talk. I have a recipe from epicurious that looks good, standard. It calls for cooking the whole lobsters first and then removing the meat and taking their shells and cooking those with aromatics, some of the reserved lobster cooking liquid and then fish stock. It says you can use bottled clam juice (which has been suggested here) or fish stock. But I think lobster stock would be good, if not better than fish stock. Will tweak recipe by adding fennel to the lobster stock. Now who can get me lobster on the cheap??

Would the owners not tell you where they got the bread in Paterson? What bakery? Ah, you can't beat good bread. Thanks for the report. This place sounds very good.

I checked my french laundry cookbook when I got home last night--and you're right, no fish stock. But he did have a lobster stock recipe. Do you think lobster stock for lobster bisque would be too much lobster? would it be too overpowering? And that lobster creme brulee sounds just divine!

I wouldn't say floored as much as extremely FRUSTRATED! I have a friend whose mother is a horrible cook--flank steak cooked to the point where one slice could be used as a paddle to discipline small children when they get out of order, painfully overcooked, grey string beans, and the worst offense--NO SALT IN ANYTHING! Any rate, rant over, they all love her food and gobble it up with smiles on their faces. They are used to it. It's what they grew up on. It's how, apparently, they think food should be done, how it should taste. But, on the other hand, this friend turns his nose up at my very Italian grandmother's homemade caponata and eggplant parmaggiano as to oily. Well, she does season her food, so I guess that's what he means. Oh, dear!

Yes, I'm going to attempt the fumet and yes I think I will do a fine job at it. But, let's just say that I screw the whole thing up. Are there any other fish stores around where anyone's seen fish stock for sale? And thanks for rec. on Caldwell Seafood, by the way. There was once a seafood story called Lucy's right next to Mountainview NJ Transit train station? Still there, any good?

On the tip of my tongue. I was trying to figure out what Lorelai likened the brine to and I think you're right, FG--cleaning solution!! My memory's not up to speed right now, so it coulda been molasses, coulda been bourbon. And I fell asleep early last night... Does anyone remember this quote from Wayne's World? I thought that I had monno for a whole year. Turns out I was just really bored (or somesuch). How I'm feeling right now!

Not pretty, indeed! I have the French Laundry cookbook at home, which may or may not have fish stock recipe--can't remember. But I'll check out Les Halles and may do some more searching myself. To be honest, I hadn't thought about making my own stock before this morning because I hadn't done any searching for a recipe--or thought much about this bisque at all until this morning. I think I'd like to make it all from scratch, if I can get me hands on some bones!

Yes, last night's episode was full of food references: Lorelai talking about those briny pork chops, which she said Sooki marinates in a salt and molasses solution. I immediately thought to myself: Hmmm, salt/molasses brine. Interesting. Rori's college pal brings back hors d'ouvres from a party. One of the little treats apparently contains bacon wrapped around something bacon should never be wrapped around, after which Rori and pal comment on how weird rich people are. And of course, Lorelai's parents, though total cliche's, are a hoot with their scotch clean, butlers doing their food shopping, etc. Sooki's obsessive, perfectionist, produce-purveyor husband is also fun, especially when he starts going on and on about his fruits and veggies. It's good to know I'm not the only person over 18 who watches this show.