HungryChris

I'd like to add that a recent edition of Consumers Guide rated Goya Extra Vergin Olive Oil as one of the best all around buys to be had. Cheers, HC

Blue cheese dressing seems to benefit greatly with an overnight in the fridge, though. The flavors seem to really come together. I vote for a good brand of premade as far as tonight goes. Cheers, HC

I think the shank end braises well and can be surprisingly good that way. As you move up towards the shoulder though, I think that roasting is the way to go. I am also a rare to medium rare enthusiast for the meat in this portion of the leg. It might be difficult to get the stuffing cooked to satisfaction and still be on the rare side, but I 'm sure it will be quite good nonetheless. Cheers, HC

I am unabashedly the most enthusiastic consumer of oysters that I know and here is my take: Once that oyster has been opened, the clock starts ticking and that's a fact! If an oyster that is truly fresh is opened and then languishes on a bed of ice for even ten minutes, find another place! The last 2 times I was at the Grand Central Oyster Bar, I placed my order for a dozen Blue Points and they were put in front of me within a minute and a half. That is a genuinely bad sign! It means that they have been sitting somewhere, open, waiting for you to order them and that is how they tasted. Probably the vast majority of the oysters I have had in my life have been eaten over the kitchen sink doused with sauce I made earlier and opened by yours truly. Once you get that up close and personal with the creature, you are both cursed and blessed. Cursed because you can't stand most of the oysters on the half shell sold to you and blessed because you have an alternative. Open them yourself! As I have said many times before on this board, the one place I have had the absolute best oysters has been at the Union Oyster House in Boston, with this caveat: Get there at 11:30 AM when they open the doors. Make a bee-line to the dozen or so seats at the oyster bar itself and stand by for an oyster ephany. Those oysters are without peer. Don't even think about having them later in the dining room. I made that mistake once and my oysters had dried to crisp paper-like edges where they protruded from the shell, yuck!!!!! The problem becomes evident if you sit at the bar when it opens. The guys opening them, stockpile them for later in the day against the wall. No thanks! Cheers, HC

My first ever saltine was in 3rd grade. We had been reading about an early American pioneer family (written in the first person of a young boy). He talked about his chores which were all pretty straight forward to us kids. He also talked about his younger sister putting in her time at the butter churn. None of us knew what that was so the teacher sagely developed a scheme where we would make butter in class. We poured a pint and a half of heavy cream into a quart jar and passed it around the room, each kid giving it a few shakes. When it was done a bit of salt was added, the fresh butter was spread on saltines and they were passed around. I was hooked instantly! Today, (sigh...many years later) I will have a saltine with a lightly smoked sardine packed in olive oil and a bit of chopped onion or perhaps a smoked oyster. The world would be a much smaller, sadder place were it not for the saltine carcker. Cheers, HC

I found them in a little Itialian store in Westerly, RI, called Ritaco's. They are Scalfani brand "Genuine San Marzano Tomatoes". They were $2.69 for a 28 OZ can. I tried Stop $ Shop in my area, but the best I could do was Imported from Italy without mention of the San Marzano region. I'm sure I paid too much, but I do want to try the real thing to see if I can appreciate the difference. I'll report on the effort. Cheers, HC

I am sure this topic has come up in the past, but I can't find it. Is there somewhere in New England (CT) where you can buy good San Marzano tomatoes without having to have them shipped?

This is the last straw! We need pictures here! I got to get a digital camera. Anyone who knows what a good grinder looks like will recognize the tell tale oil stains on the paper. Without that, you are just talking about food. Grinders are so much more than that!

I hear so much talk about hoagies, Itialian sandwiches, subs, torpedoes etc, etc. Let's get it out in the open...there is nothing that can come close to the grinder! I'm talking about that olive oil and salt and pepper with the thinly sliced iceburg lettuce and tomato, salami, provalone cheese on an Italian bread roll that makes you want to go home to, no matter where you live now! My favorite is from Bennedito's in Groton, CT. Every time I am there during lunch, I try to have one. For me, it's the regular salami that makes it happen. The first thing my brother does when he comes in from Chicago is have a grinder. Those of us that know what it is, know what we like! What about you? Where is your favorite grinder made? Cheers, HC

I think the Sunday Brunch at Fox Harbor in Foxwoods is a good destination. The selections cover a broad spectrum that are sure to include something for just about everyone in your group. Speaking for myself, the fresh raw bar is a winner. Take a look at the menu: http://www.foxwoods.com/Dining/Gourmet/Men...pagneBrunch.htm Cheers, HC

I vote for Hughies's on Bank St New London. Stop in on Saturday for killer lobster bisque with lots of chunks of lobster for under $5.00 and a Love Salad with great garlic bread for about $3.00. We like to sit in the lounge for a kind of pub atmosphere plus a nice little fireplace on a cold winter day. Cheers, HC

I enjoyed Tampopo quite a bit. There are some strange things in the movie worth discussion elsewhere. It did, however motivate me to explore the world of ramen. Let me also say that I know nothing of the authentic stuff, but we had great fun checking out first Sapporo and then Menchanko Tei. I think we liked the Hakata Ramen at Menchanko Tei the best. Ramen is always part of our visits to NYC now. Cheers, HC

The Saybrook Fishhouse is a pretty good bet. Broiled oysters in scampi butter and mussels in wine and garlic with some nice warm bread for dipping are winners in my book. They have a pretty good salad in my measure (get the house dressing). They have a fruit basket after dinner that is nice too. Cheers, HC

I have a lot of friends / coworkers who have told me about how great pierogies are. After a great deal of exprimentation and frustration, I am now convinced that there is a peirogie gene, and I don't have it!!! Cheers, HC

Have you ever watched someone in food service who has been doing it for a long time. They are like poetry in motion. Things have their place and get returned to that place almost unconsciously. There is very little wasted motion and a clear sense of priority. They are an absolute pleasure to watch. Contrast that with someone who is new to the job. This becomes especially apparent if you are waiting in line for something. That's just the way it is. Some people are adept at picking up the skills quickly and some take longer. Knife skill is one of the big indicators to me. The way someone holds and handles a knife, how comfortable they are with it, how much effort goes into it's use tells a lot. The bottom line is practice and experience. Don't be discouraged! Cheers, HC

I saw Mario Batali cook stuffed squid on his Multo Mario TV program. He made the comment that squid must be cooked in one of two ways, either quickly or long and slow. His stuffed squid were pan sauteed then cooked for about an hour and a half in the oven. I have never done it though. Cheers, HC

I just called the local fish market in CT and the first ones will be in on Thursday. In the interest of expanding my culinary horizon, I will try them grilled with a little evoo, sea salt and perhaps a dust of Old Bay. They are pretty hard to beat pan sauted, though. Cheers, HC

Awright, here is my 2cents. Deb and I went to Grimaldi's a few weeks ago. Based on JosephB's reccomondations we decided to make a surgical strike at exactly noon......Not meant to be! We are frequent NYC visitors, but are always thwarted by subway construction that is not mentioned in the best of our planning procedures. As an out of towner, please allow me to vent a bit here. Not many things piss me off as much as announcements in the subway that only mean something to those who are listening who already know what is being talked about. For the rest of us, we only get the message that the station we want to use is all %^$ed up for some reason and we can't use it. The solution is only intelligable to those who know it already!!!! OK, Bottom line is that instead of getting to Grimaldi's at noon, we didn't get there until 3:00PM. We waited in line for about 20 Min. We were treated well and orderd a mushroom and roasted pepper pie. The reason we selected this one was because we had an absolutely fantastic one at Frank Peppe's in New Haven. Please forgive us, FG, but Sally's isn't open during the day on weekends and we like to get home before dark. The crust on the Grimaldi's was thin (in a good way) and watching the pizza makers made me realize the complexity of the whole process. I try to make pizza at home and always blame my failures on my shitty oven, but that is only part of it. Those guys get the dough so thin and elastic that it puts my efforts to shame and makes me realize how much territory I need to cover before my oven is holding me back. The crust, as I said, was thin, had a bit of pleasent char that seemed to bring out a wheatiness that we have admired in Frank Peppe's pies. I don't know if it was the lateness in the day or what, but the roasted pepper were not cooked through and the sauce was bland, so much so that I reached for the salt shaker, which is a rarity for me. I noticed many others doing the same. I do intend to make a return visit, get there when the oven is at it's peak and order a pie with some sausage or something to give it a bit of salt. I thought the Mozzerella was fresh, but bland, BTW. The next time we go, I'd like to take the water taxi back if the weather is nice. Cheers, HC

My approach is to have all three burners on high and put the steak on only after the temp reads 400 deg F. Since the heat seems to drive the juices away from it, I leave the steak on long enough to put the dark grill marks on one side, turn it over, leave it long enough to mark the other side and drive the juices back then turn it one last time, rotating 180 deg to get the crossed marks on the first side I cooked. I take the steak off the heat at that point and give it a rest of a few min under aluminium foil, while I assemble the rest of the repast. Of course this will not work on a steak that is overly thin. My favorite is a NY Strip about 1 1/4 " thick. Cheers, HC

Many thanks, and please allow me to be the first to extend a warm welcome to EG, LadyOscar!

I guess this might be the right forum to post this question in, so here goes. Remember that book and subsequent TV series about the vet in Britain, "All things Bright and Beautiful" or something like that? They were always making something called a "Pink Gin". Nobody has ever been able to tell me what the hell that is and I have wondered for years.

As strawberry season looms on the horizen here in CT, I'm looking for a decent strawberry ice cream recipe. I have made it a few times and some are better than others. The one reccuring problem I have is that the product is icey and I think it is because the California Berries I have used are large, but not really sweet like the ones you pick in season locally. I suspect that the California ones, because they are so big, but not sweet, bring more water into the equasion than the basic recipe accounts for. The one I've used is straight from the Lello Dessert Maker manual: 2 pints strawberries washed and hulled 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs superfine sugar 3 tbs fresh lemon juice 1 1/2 cup heavy cream I am hoping that when I use the local, sweeter berries, this ice problem will go away. Cheers, HC

You would think if someone was proud of their operation, they would want as much picture taking as possible. This thread calls to mind, however a time a few years ago when I was helping a contractor friend of mine on a Saturday in Norwich, CT. We got coffee and a muffin in a little place, in the morning a few doors down from where we were doing some renovation. At lunch time we went back to the same place only to discover that it was closed. The next morning that I was there, I asked why they didn't stay open for lunch on weekends and the woman running the register told me, "Oh no, we used to do that, but it just gets too busy!" People are funny!!!! Cheers, HC

I am surprised and dissapointed that you did not get any input on this post. I just wanted you to know that I fully intend to make this field trip and check it out. I'd go this weekend if it were not for Mothers Day. I do not have a background in Q, but hell that's never stopped me in the past. I'll only be able to say if I liked it or not and as soon as I go, I will! Cheers, HC