UnConundrum
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Posts posted by UnConundrum
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Just rolled in to Portland for a few days before the Kneading conference in Skowhegan. Not our first visit, so we have our lit of must go and maybe repeat restaurants, but this trip my wife wants a really good lobster dinner. Any suggestions for the best lobster?
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I just received a 10 cup Cuchen black diamond as a gift. Only time I use a pressure cooker is for canning. Does anyone have one of these? What do you make in it other than rice and beans? Does the pressure cooker work like any other electric pressure cooker?
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Evan,
I know this is a very old post, but I was wondering if you had a recipe for pane rosetta. I was fortunate to receive a stamp as a gift from a friend traveling in Germany, so now I'm searching for a recipe. I'd like to make the Roman style, crispy and airy.
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Scargo, your link was broken. I think I fixed it HERE, but it still doesn't list your POI's
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Thanks. That gives me three and we'll be there 4 nights... That should work out well. Thanks a bunch.
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We're heading up to Portland the end of July for a few days and then up to the Kneading Conference at Skowhegan. Last time to Portland, we really enjoyed Fore Street (went there twice I believe) and a small sushi place.... I can't remember the name, but it was fabulous. There was a little bodega next door (or really close) that had upscale saki chilled. I think there was a parking lot on the corner, across the street....
Anyway... I was wondering if there's anything new worth checking out?
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My wife and I are heading up to Skowhegan for the Kneading Conference. She doesn't bake bread, so she'll be staying in the room with the dogs during the day, and I'd like to hit some nice restaurants with her at night if there are any in the area. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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Our trip so far:
Upon our arrival, we were tired from driving and just checked out the area. Found Bayley's in Scarborough (We're staying at a dog friendly motel in Scarborough) and pigged out. We really enjoyed the lobster rolls and fried clams. We apparently showed up shortly after closing, but the staff took our orders and served us with a smile, never letting on that we were there after closing. I only found out when they started cleaning up... They earned an extra tip for that
For lunch Thursday, we went to Gilbert's Chowder House in Portland. Really enjoyed the lobster stew my wife and I shared. She ordered the mussels which she said were done perfectly. I had the "fish and chips" special. That was ok, but probably not the best choice. We'd gladly return.
Thursday was our anniversary and I had reservations for Arrows. The restaurant was beautiful and very much to our tastes. Despite the pouring down rain, we had window seats and thoroughly enjoyed looking out onto the gardens. The food, well.... was another thing. Nothing bad, but nothing exceptional like we expected, either. We opted for the 5 course garden chef's choice. We started out with a fish plate which was fair at best (IMHO). The smoked salmon was dry and somewhat salty, the salt cod was... well... salty, the caviar did nothing for me... Next was a garden salad, with some nice greens, but the dressing did not enhance the segregated greens. It was a mustard vinaigrette that seemed to bring out the bitterness in the greens. The main was next with a lobster "cocktail" in a house made mayo. The lobster was tender, and sweet as it should be, the mayo ok, but nothing to say this was stellar restaurant. There was also a small portion of a rib eye steak "au poive" but I couldn't taste or see any peppercorns and there was a distinct smoke flavor reminiscent of bacon, although we had advised our waiter we didn't want any pork products. This was followed a cheese course that was nothing different or spectacular, and the dessert was three scoops of home made ice creams (vanilla, chocolate, and caramel). Ice cream was a decent quality, but I can get ice cream at any restaurant. That said, my wife really enjoyed the house red wine.
Friday lunch we hit Duck Fat in Portland. I had the tongue panini and my wife had the duck confit panini. We thought both were somewhat skimpy, but tasty. We also shared the french fries cooked in duck fat, which we enjoyed, but didn't think they were as special as the press would lead one to think. They were good fries, not exceptional.
Friday night we took a breather and ate in our room. During the day we made a whirlwind tour stopping at Whole Foods ( a very nice version, bigger than most we've seen) picking up various fruits for a fruit and cheese plate. We passed by their beautiful cheese display as we planned on stopping at the Cheese Iron. We're sorry we did. The staff at the Cheese Iron was very nice and helpful, but they simply didn't have the variety of cheeses we expected from a cheese specialty shop. We would have done much better at Whole Foods. None the less we had a nice meal in our room with a bottle of red wine.
Saturday lunch we tried out J's Oyster Bar on the suggestion of a friend. Another big disappointment. We shared an order of the baked stuffed oysters, which was supposed to have a lobster stuffing. We didn't see or taste a hint of lobster; just an oyster topped with a bunch of dry stuffing. My wife had a lobster salad plate and I the crab. She felt the lobster was "ok" but was mostly knuckles with once small claw. My crab was the worst I ever had; a stringy substance that reminded me of crumbled shredded wheat, except shredded wheat has more flavor.
We made up for that Saturday night by going to Miyake and enjoyed the Omakase II. Outstanding. Everything was perfect. I expressed my low tolerance for spicy (hot) foods, and they bent over backwards to make sure everything was within my limits. We live in a sushi challenged part of Pennsylvania, and Miyake was quite the delight. A definite on our next trip to Portland (maybe another visit this trip).
For lunch today we went to Flatbread and had a great pizza. Good brick oven pizza.
Tonight we're off to Fore Street, and tomorrow we hope to go to Evangelene's on Monday.... If we stay longer, hoping to hit Hugo's yet
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Rabelais Books on Middle Street
We stopped in there today, after lunch at Duck Fat. Great book store, but I started feeling old when I saw several books in my collection on his shelves
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Visiting Portland this week and looking for foodie places to visit. Thanks to this thread, we'll hit Harbor Fish and The Cheese Iron. Any other places worth tracking down?
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Visiting Portland this week and we're overwhelmed by the great restaurants. We hail from rural PA with little to brag about beyond shoo-fly pie. Tonight we're heading South to Arrows and my brother suggested Hugo's. Anything else we should not miss?
Thanks in advance.
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We make our own dog food for three large dogs. The recipe calls for leafy veggies and fruit to be chopped up into the food. Some local green grocers give us boxes of trimmings (outer leaves from escarole, chard, celery, parsley, you name it) packed full for free. We usually process two full boxes at a time. I tried putting the leaves through a pretty substantial meat grinder, but the veggies don't seem to do well, and the grinder constantly jams. I have a Cuisinart DLC X in which I've tried the knife blade, but it seems to take forever to go through the two boxes.... Does anyone have another suggestion to reduce fibrous leafy veggies to a pulp? Would a buffalo chopper be good for this? Anything else?
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Had lunch with my 87 year old mother today
She remembers watching her mother make them, and said she used to roll the dough out into a finger thick rope, press down along the length of the rope to make a valley. She'd then put chopped walnuts into the valley, and continue rolling the dough to seal over the valley. Then, as in most recipes she'd just cut off pieces and boil in the honey. -
My grandmother used to make Teiglach, but I was too young to ever watch her. I have her recipe somewhere, but when I tried it, they came out like rocks. Of course, that was many many years ago. I was hoping more people would post to this thread so I could compare recipes and procedures... Many fond memories. I'll have to search for that recipe again.
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Funny, I was wondering the same thing today as I had made some chicken stock and cooked a couple stewing hens all night. I set the meat aside for the dogs and was wondering if was still considered a protein. I'm guessing it does.
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On the salt issue, I've never encountered any problems salting before bagging either, but I do let the meat sit a good hour (or more depending on thickness) before bagging. I think the issue is that wait while the salt distributes through the meat. At first, some moisture may well get squeezed out, but with time, the salt will distribute through the meat, and reabsorb some of the moisture. That distribution of the salt into the meat more than makes up for any lost moisture.
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Since I am from Montreal, and if you ask me Montreal has the best smoked meat, I have been searching for the best technique to smoke a whole brisket and not have it come out dry or too harsh in its smokiness. I don't have the luxury of a commercial sized smoke house so I have had to make due with my Centro brand electric smoker and I find that the temperature control is too finicky and the resultant smoke too harsh.
Love Schwartz's You realize they sell their seasoning in bulk, right? They have little jars that are expensive, but if you ask, they'll sell it by the pound too...
Part of my love for their smoked meat is the texture. While I'm a big sous vide fan, I don't find it right for smoked meat. If you want to get close to their product, try a Big Green Egg. I've come darn close.
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Chad, there's been a recent discussion about scallions being hard on a knife's edge, dulling them quickly. Do some foods beat up an edge more than others?
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I believe someone told me about a wonderful sushi restaurant in Bethlehem, but I can't remember the name, and there don't seem to be any posts here. Does anyone have a favorite? Quality is more important than price.
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I'm wondering if anyone knows how can I find quinoa in bulk 4-10kg here in Montreal, for a reasonable price?
What's a reasonable price?
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While we have some local fishmongers, I'm not sure what is truly fresh, and what has been previously frozen. I decided to shop for some black cod (sablefish) that was packaged and quick frozen on the fishing boat, and was surprised to find that the prices (before shipping) are substantially higher than at the local fish market. Once I add in the shipping charges, it's pretty hard to justify online shopping. Anyone have any suggestions for online buying of black cod, and/or any idea why the prices are higher right off the boat?
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I just commented to my wife how I'm happy this thread was started, hoping I can pick up some recipes. She looked at me and said, "You of all people... croquettes are just diner food." I'm speechless. C'mon guys, prove her wrong.
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71 seems a bit high for breast. I usually do mine at 60 C and dark meat at about 70.
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First, are you baking on a pizza stone or similar material? That helps a lot. Also make sure your oven is well pre-heated. Not just hitting the desired temp, but sitting there a good half hour. You want to minimize the heat loss from opening the door so you need whatever retained heat you can get. The baking stone is a fair help in this, but you have to make sure it too is heated through.
Second, as mentioned, steam is very important. Put a pie pan (metal) on the bottom of your oven and throw some ice cubes into it just before you close the oven door. They will melt and vaporize into steam.
Do not put oil on your dough. Use a water based solution. Water thickened with corn starch (cooked) is wonderful, especially if you want a shine to your loaf or want to place seeds on top. It acts like glue
Best Atlanta restaurants avoiding construction
in Southeast: Dining
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This is a big weekend for Atlanta with the NRA convention in town. There are a lot of great restaurants in the ares, but most seem to be on the other side of the construction. Any suggestions for the best on the downtown side of the construction?