HungryChris

I'm sure part of it is where I live, but when I put some endive or a tomatillo or two in front of the cashier, I pretty much know I'm going to have to be ready to spell it too. The way I see it, it 's a step in the right direction that I can find them here at all, so I don't mind.

I think that one of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed here is that when you are cooking on the line you are pretty much following orders (no pun intended). Someone out there has told you what item on the menu he or she wants to eat and you must prepare it the way it is always prepared, unless told otherwise. Cooking at home is not the same thing at all. You spend time thinking about what you might want to prepare and how you might want to do it. If you have guests you think about how they would best enjoy this thing you have decided to serve up. That is what makes cooking at home much more fun and also why I think telling the chef to prepare what he thinks you would like makes sence in some cases. HC

ninetofive wrote [on ,May 3 2004, 05:27 PM] We made a trip up to Ipswich yesterday, and we stopped at the Clam Box for a "snack." We got a box of fried native clams and a box of scallops. I have to say I was disappointed. Although the clams were small and tender, they didn't have a lot of flavor. I guess I'm willing to chew a bit more for stronger clam flavor. My friend agreed, saying that the breading was all she tasted. Perhaps the big bellied clams have more flavor? I have to admit that in a perfect world, I would have liked the clams to be a bit larger than they were so there would have been more clam to breading ratio. That is also a matter of personal preference. I remember going to Woodmans and seeing a hand printed sign that said "The clams are running large today." We looked at one another and said "What do you suppose that means?'. When we got them, that question was answered. There were a few that had bellies the size of golf balls. You just don't want them so big you gotta cut those bellies to eat them because that just takes all measure of the romance of fried clams out of the picture, for me, at least. That being said, the Clam Box clams were still damned good. They are one of the things that speaks of New England summer to me and I'm ready for it!

We drove up to Ipswich Mass yesterday and went to the Clam Box. We used to go to Woodman's in Essex, but were told by a local "That's just for tourists, go to the Clam Box." It was a beautiful day and the drive went by quickly. When we arrived there was a line of about twenty people out the door, a good sign. Fried clams, here we come! There are picnic tables outside, but the shade trees were shedding flowers in the light breeze, so we opted for a table inside, which opened up for us on que. We have found that fried foods tend to fill us up pretty quickly, so we have to just stick with the basics, fried clams! No onion rings or french fries for us, just give us fried clams, please. We ordered a large "box" of them. They were the best! They were not too big, nicely breaded, tender and sweet. We were hooked! Someone in line ahead of us ordered a "box" of fried oysters, not on the menu, but one of my favorite things to eat. Immediately our next trip there was taking shape and fried oysters would play a roll. I have been looking for soft shell crabs without much luck lately and on a whim decided to take a look in Whole Foods on the way home in Framingham. Bingo! They were already cleaned which would normally put me off, but I have had such good luck there, I forged ahead and bought 3 "whales", popped them in the cooler and spent a little while in Trader Joe's next door. Between us we bought about six bottles of wine, some cheese, greek yogurt and a few other items. I didn't get home until about 8:00 PM and was hungry again....You guessed it! Soft shell crab, baby! I put together a batch of seasoned flour and pan sauted one of those bad boys in a combination of butter and olive oil. One word...Fantastic, OK two words..Fantastickly good! I wasn't crazy about buying "whales" and would have preferred "Hotel" or "Medium" size because I was concerned about getting them crisp and done at the same time and thought the bigger ones might be a problem. Well, not an issue. As I went to sleep last night I was thinking about two things. Fried oysters at the Clam Box and the two soft shell crabs in my freezer. Life is good. Some days are larger than others. Yesterday was a whale! Cheers, HC Edited to say: I forgot to mention that on the way to MA we stopped at Plainfield Dogtrack and each put ten bucks on the Kentucky Durby. We tried to listen to the race on the radio, but couldn't find coverage. When we got home we saw that the $4 bet on Smarty Jones paid off along with one of the place bets. What a country!!

Lodge cast iron, cheapo wooden spoons, but best of all is my collection of free paring knives that I have gotten over many years of attending those little demonstrations at county fairs and Walmarts. The guy that has a little temporary booth at the back who smushes the loaf of bread and crushes tomatoes with dull blades then saws the hammer etc...etc. They are quite good little knives. When the guy is really good it can be fun to watch. I think Ron Popiel got started that way BTW.

I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and after a long day on the golf course, I had a hankering for a steak. I may have a steak 4 times a year, at most. My friends were going to the buffet at the RIO and another buffet was not in my cards. I spotted an Outback across the street and decided to give it a try. I had a 12 oz NY strip, rare and was impressed with it. It was cooked to perfection and had great flavor, not Lobel's cooked at home, but close. I had to rein them in a bit on the baked potato (they wanted to put butter, sour cream, cheese and bacon on it). The salad was good, but not great (there are too few great salads out there). I ate at the bar and they had this wooden device that allowed me to rest my plate on the bar rail and avoid that annoying reach forward. All in all, it was a good meal and they won me over. Two for one Fosters on tap didn't hurt either. As for Olive Garden, I look at it as a dependable soup and salad outpost for my travels and nothing more. HC

Just my two cents: I have had them deep fried in a batter and pan sauteed in seasoned flour. I greatly prefer the latter to the batter any day (and all day, for that matter).

Don't overlook the Danial Packer Inn! It is at it's best off season for lunch. Show up early and sit in the little tavern downstairs. There is usually a fire going and the atmosphere is almost magical. The food will not dissapoint. Oysters are not on the lunch menu but ask. Another favorite starter is the bread with roasted garlic. Cheers, HC

I'm with woodburner on this one. I have found that brining the whole bird overnight has pretty much made this problem history. Even though I knew the chicken was cooked through, I would nuke the pieces in the mike, because I just couldn't eat chicken that looked bloody and I would never serve it to a guest.

I too, enjoyed the man's shows until the later years. When he started commenting about different cultures as "wonderful people", I started rolling my eyes and avoiding his shows. He just ran out of fresh material, like they all do. I didn't know at the time that he was in search of "fresh talent". In the early years, he was good to watch, but he just wore it thin. HC

Reading and looking at this thread makes me realize that we are one sick bunch, but I'm with you 100%! HC

Now this is one of my favorite subjects!!!!! There are a few things that must be right here. The romain must be flawless and not smell of bolt. If you smell a bolting romain head, you will know what I mean. The egg must be fresh ( I go to my sisters house and watch the hens). The romano cheese must be freshly grated. The anchovies must be mashed into a paste so that they dissapear into the dressing. The croutons must be still hot from the saute pan and they must have fresh thyme, garlick, evoo and paprika of the utmost quality. OMG how I love this dish! I made it with TJ's marinated shrimp the other day and it was killer.

I usually make my own soups, but sway on the side of Progresso when necessary. I am a fan of their Manhattan Clam Chowder which I do my best to "kick up". It's not related but kind of fun to remember a story in the news about 15 years ago that involved a Progresso clam chowder plant. They had a system that processed sea clams. It took in the product from boats and then washed them and eliminated rocks and such. Apparently one area that the boats had been given recent acces to had a trove of WWII grenades in it and those grenades made it past the screens for non-clam items. There was a period when particular places in the production line were quite hazardous. It just goes to show you that you are never really safe.

New Years Day.......The cooks and kitchen crew are not ready for the all day dinner crowd that's about to happen. The cooks come in and light the grills and go upstairs to change into their working garb. The kitchen crew brings out the greese screens that were the last items thru the dishwasher the night before. They put the screens on the grills that are not yet hot enough to alert them to the fact that this wasn't such a good idea.....a passing motorist, Thank god!!! rushes in to say "there is whole shitload of black smoke coming out of the roof exhaust fans!" I shut the grills off and emptied two 1 lb containers of Morten Salt (When it rains it pours) onto them just as they were about to go balistic...Happy New Year, but it could have been worse!!!

fifi, That looks like a whole lotta fun. When will the 2005 event be? I wanna go.

That pic of Momo is priceless....talk about a dog with a tude!

Pan, If I lived in the city, yes, I think I could try and get used to the peppercorns in the dish, but because we visit NYC on average about once a month, by the time we go again, we will have another place we are looking forward to trying. There are places in NYC that blow me away, like Gramercy Tavern, that I must go back to to see if they blow me away again, which they do, otherwise we just move on. Grand Sichuan was interesting and fun but NYC has so much to offer for the occaisional visitor that I just can't go back for good, I go back for great! Looking for great is such a fun pastime! HC

After all the commotion here, I had no choice but to go to GSIM on our most recent visit to NYC, Monday. I had the Kung Pao Chicken from the Fresh Chicken menue and Deb had General Tso' Chicken. Deb also had Wanton soup, I enjoyed my meal , but had a slight problem with the Sichuan Peppercorns. To me, they were like little pieces of walnut shell that when bitten down on, released a pleasent heat and intense flavor, but were unpleasent in that they had a texture that implied that they were there by mistake. I enjoyed the meal greatly, but if I were to try to reproduce it at home I would try to infuse the heat and flavor of the peppercorns in oil and then shitcan them! I would do this knowing that the overall effect would be to reduce the hot and cool spots in ths wonderful dish. Deb's Wanton soup was, I thought, good, but not great. I am not a fan of General Tso's Chicken, but I could tell that Deb liked her version. We are greatful to this forum for allowing us to approach Manhattan with a plan that we would not have had otherwise and discuss the outcome with like minded folk! HC

I had occaision to work with an older carpenter some years ago, who told me that he had grown up on an island off CT in the 1940's and 50's and his dad was the lighthouse keeper. He said there were two other families on that same island and they all cooperated with providing for each other. He matter of factly told me of one bad winter when one of the fathers of the other families slipped and fell in the pig pen and the pigs ate him!! I decided that pigs were not in my future on that day.

I'd like a walk in pantry off the kitchen with floor to ceiling shelves and hanging baskets for dry storage. Plenty of counter space in the kitchen, a fan that actually vented outside and not in my face, a salamander broiler and an industrial wok with a burner made by Pratt and Whitney.

We went Framingham, Mass over the weekend and noticed a Whole Foods Market up the street from Trader Joe's. We decided to take a look around and I found some really beautiful fresh Sardines (abeit at $6.99 per lb). I cut the heads off, cleaned them, pulled the spines out with my fingers and rinsed them quickly under running water. I put on a dash of sea salt, some lemon juice and brushed them with evoo. Then I skewed them on little bamboo sticks soaked in water and briefly grilled them up turning just once. They were fantastic! It is hard to believe that a fish with such a strong aroma when being cleaned developes into such a delicacy on the grill. I think next time I'll just cut the heads off, clean them and take the bones out after grilling them whole. HC

I got a cheese making kit many years ago. You could make about 8 oz of cheese with it. I scaled it up and started making wheels as big around as a phonagraph record (for those of you who might remember them) and about two inches thick. It is surprisingly easy, but one of the first problems you come up with is the fact that you need some kind of press to compress the curds into a homogeneous mass. Many pharmacies carry rennet, which curdles the milk to start things off. It's really quite interesting and can be a lot of fun. I'll never forget the look I got when I brought a big hunk of garlic cheese to a Christmas party and people found out that I made it myself.

I must say I love them raw, but I will not turn them down cooked. Wilt some fresh spinach, wrap the shucked oyster in a wilted spinach leaf, top with a cream/munster cheese/garlic sauce and a dash of paprika and bake until golden.