Luckylies

Today I ordered french onion soup at Jack's a faux bistro that just opened in my hood. It was tomato based and in a large soup bowl. Um, what the fuck? It was beef base, tomato paste and evil. three ingredients served poorly. Has ANYONE ever seen french onion soup not in a crock? EVER? gosh..just call it something elses... perhaps.... "yucky soup" The tarte tatain thing drives me nuts too...also mislabeled meats. anything thats supposed to have caramel that does not. grated parmesean insted of shaved. salad greens that are not what they say they are (spinach is not a sub for arugula)

I would, but he'd see me coming (him being psychic and all)

um...awesome. Now I just have to clear out some White Castle burgers to make room for the sugar goods...

So folks I'm catering a party coming up soon, and as I'm not a pastry chef I'd like to make most of the items ahead of time- and freeze them (so I dont have to worry about a last minute time crunch) These petit fours dont need to be completely whole, just really the important parts like the fillings and stuff. I have no experiance with freezing pastry so I'm trying to avoid any FUBAR-type consequences. This thread is really just for people who want to know- DOES ------ FREEZE WELL? So I submit for your approval: Pre piped choux puffs (baked, unbaked?) Ganache (for truffles) Lemon curd (for filling tartlets) Mexican wedding cake dough

I judge potential dates and friends by their restaurant etiquette, not the knife and fork stuff but the please and thank you stuff. It really does tell everything about a person and how they interact with the world around them. There have been times where I've dismissed my conclusions and been bitten in the ass in the end. At the table the good ones are good and the bad ones are bad. thats it.

stupid phone line's been busy all day. CHICKEN!!!!!!! GIVE ME CHICKEN!!!!!!!!!!!

Somehow my meal with another person is always 60 bucks it's just right for a super fully belly lunch between two friends.. I think with more people it would be less fun. Today we (my sister and I) had the crawfish it was excellent. Perfect.

that stuffed cabbage looks divine!

okay ya'll were beck on the passover train (some of us a bit late) I've been suckered into cooking dinner for four...wait! no....eight...for tomorrow. A sinch I've made a menu but as usual, think i've gone overboard. Were totally bad Jews so dietary restrictions are not a concern, but I am trying to be Bub's little angel and get this right. so...the menu Gefilte fish w/ horseradish Cheese plate...artisinal shizzy Chopped liver Boston lettuce salad with oven roasted tomatoes Brisket.... I'm making it stuffed cabbage style with cabbage, tomatoes, brown sugar, lemon juice garlic and onions. Latkes w/ sour cream and apple sauce Haroset mashed potaoes chocolate souffles. is it terrible that i'm skipping matzoh balls? The briskets I have are flats trimmed but not too much how does 200 degrees for 10 hrs sound?

oh man, I love cooking at the table, but I'm also a total control freak when it comes to dinner. I really like things "just so" so when i can cook my meat to my accepted doneness, or undoneness as is usually the case, I'm as happy as a clam. I love shabu shabu, korean bbq and anywhere you can pick toppings or mix and match...and hotpot! I love hotpot! You know? I really appreciate the experiance of dining at a do- it -yourself that much more than a regular restaurant.

Bar Pitti certainly gets my vote. It really delivers with excellent eggplant parm and a really good pappardelle dish ( alla fiesolana) with cream and bacon. They also have a great caprese (in season) and wonderful carpaccio. My only beef is it can be mobbed on sunday afternoons, and rude with tourists...they prefer their celebrity regulars. My favorite at any price point. Their veal milanese is also very good (when they have it ) I find Frank to be far to salty, just like Max. Perhaps it's an east village thing but I find alot of the restaurants are going with the "red red" sauce thing, and selling the often-dry meatballs hard. This food really only tastes good if you've been drinking copious amounts of swill (also available. ugh, and they're all cash only...

you hang out with people ouside of your socioeconomic circle (it usually involves effort, but can be rewarding...cheap dates!) Without a car, however, I'm more lost than Daniel. I know there are tons of Italian restaurants with okay food and okay prices and plenty with good food and prices that scare me very much. I wouldn't for a second know what to recommend. ← I just want to clarify, I am not going because I dont know any good Italian places, I would be going just to see what its all about for myself.. After begging my friends and offering to pay + drinks, I have not found one who will go. And these are not foodies mind you.. These are college friends who I have witnessed eat a stick of butter, a ball of wasabi, warm shots of vodka mixed with tunafish and tabasco, and living off of other people's room service carts in Vegas.. This is really telling me something.. I need new friends ← dude, really, count me in. I know we dont go back to college days or anything but...pleaseeeee. I've wanted to do a whole chain run for a while ( I chose 23rd st for my "zone") but my friends couldn't be persuaded.. f'ing friends...

Ottomanelli wasn't open on sunday...I love that place.

found it at Jefferson market...who wudda thunk it? Actually there butcher are very accomidating and nice. They're really quite good. I much prefer their meat to Citarella. They actually know how to cut meat (not jus trim it). rant over.

perrrfect. Dim sum to caul fat in one easy leap! Thanks! Should I soak it in salt water first? apparently some people do this...

anybody know where in NYC I can pick some up? todaaaaay?????? waaaaaaaa. I've got a trotter project I'm working on....and no dice on the fat so far....

heh.

score the fat broil them then glaze them with a sugar based sauce. serve with dark greens and a starch.

crunchy cheetoes The sugary fat on the outside of the ham double stuff oreos triple creme anything salt and vinegar chips curiously though I'm not that interested in ice cream.

marquet patisserie or patisserie Claude Marquet is more festive, I think, but claude is more tasty french clasics. Actually I think Marquet is your best bet. 12th st bet university and 5th. good luck.

I've had a special dream since I was a kid that involves a freeze dryer. and it's top secret. May I ask how much you found it for? I'm giddy!!!!!!!!!!

As a bright young thing poised in a cutting edge, fast paced New York kitchen, I have very little understanding of how a Chef could plagerize from another chef. The amount of time and energy it must have taken for Robin to move from place to place staging in some of the best kitchens must have been staggering. I'd imagine that none of these dishes are easy to recreate and that he must have spent a great deal of time researching them. I personally know how frustrating it is to come up short creatively, even more so when you have the best ingredients at hand yet, I've earned the respect of my Chef and could never imagine losing it by representing his ideas as my own. I'm quite surprised that someone with enough discipline to cook on such a high level, has shown them self to have so little self -control when it comes to kichen morals. Many professions have unwritten codes, and in my experiance Kitchens are highly notable for the rules of conduct, fair play and loyalty. Though these rules are often warped and weird (I could make someone I don't like look like a complete idiot and call them names openly, but not, say sabotage their mis en place..) It seems most people understand these rules and comply to them. The "bad seeds" always seem to get weeded out. Food Plagerism in definition is a slippery slope, in that without replication, imitation and mimcry the is very little innovation. Unattributed work is just that. No cods, moltens, or buts. "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material … but I know it when I see it" -Potter Stewart

um, A! It's got shaarp cheddda... * the donuts would have to be "hot donuts now" not cold grocery kreme, though. To melt the cheese, naturally...

ah yes, white people, known worldwide for their culinary prowess and standards...

pot roast episode?