ronnie_suburban

Maybe we did have parts from the same hog. Seriously though, is there something about the way processing is done by Niman that makes this outcome more likely? Or is it totally random? I guess all we really have here is anecdotal information but both instances of "green" which have come up on this thread used Niman product. =R=

I read the article and I thought it was just . . . meh. The praise given is muted and very conditional -- and the criticisms are nitpicky and falsely-premised in some cases. Honestly, after reading the following paragraph, which appears very early in the piece, it was actually difficult for me to read further: =R=

Regarding the green stuff I encountered, I was able to contact one of the charcuterie authorities who helped Michael and Brian out with the book. What he told me was this: and after I sent him the pictures (as seen upthread) . . . I've invited him to join the discussion here and I hope that he does. I don't know, Abra, if the above information applies to your current situation, but I felt like it was at least worth passing on. My guess is that if it is indeed bacterial, eating the stuff raw is probably not such a great idea. =R=

She owns the winery from which wines for the final dinners were sourced. =R=

It's really bizarre that so many are popping up at once. It almost feels like a (perceived) void appeared in the market a while back and a bunch of folks all decided, at around the same time, to attempt to fill it. Of course, it's also a bit bleak. Knowing what the overall odds of success are in the industry, you look at this list and you've got to figure that, even with the deep pockets behind some of them, with a year or so, half of them will probably have already been closed or reconcepted. Tough, tough biz. =R=

The traveling sounded like an excellent idea for Tiffani. Maybe she could have worked in some different restaurants around the world. All they said about the money was that it's to "jump=start" your career and that might do it for her. Paying off debts, on the other hand, does not sound like what they had in mind. ← OTOH, $100k won't go very far toward opening a place, especially in NYC. =R=

Here's a 'shout out' for one of my local faves, Eat Chicago. =R=

Chris, that is absolutely masterful. It really looks perfect. Congrats on a job well done and also for not screwing the pooch (as Gus Grissom might say), when things started to spiral on you. My peperone has been drying since Saturday and I cannot wait for it to be done. I realized tonight that I should have taken a portion of it and hot-smoked it. That way I could have been enjoying it sooner (like now!!) and getting to try it 2 different ways. Oh well, I'll save that for next time. Russ, it sounds like you've been a very busy boy. =R=

I know Judith isn't much of a fan, but I'd definitely recommend Sanford. =R=

Jean, I got it at Zier's Prime Meats. They came in a 4-pack, were frozen, cryovacked, and semi-boned. Very delicious. I should also mention that, before cooking, I brined them for a few hours in a solution of 1 gallon water and 1/2 cup kosher salt. That's just my preference with poultry. Quail isn't gamey, so brining or soaking beforehand is not necessary. Do they carry fresh quail at Harrison's? If so, I'd like to try them, although the frozen ones from Zier's were immaculate. =R=

I've definitely been enjoying this book and cooking from it. Recently, I made the Quail and Lentil Stew with Smoked Bacon and it turned out fabulously. Since I've been doing my own curing, I was able to use some home-made bacon and that made making this recipe even more fun. My 9-year-old son who'd never eaten quail before, had more or less requested this dish after we came home one night raving about the quail appetizer we'd had a Custom House in Chicago. He ended up eating 3 of them! I did make some modifications on the recipe, using what I had on hand. The lentils I used were French, green lentils. Sorry no step-by-step pics, but here are couple of the final product, which turned out great: =R=

May 24, 2006... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Under the weather...Bill Daley goes to great lengths to make sure that bad weather won't completely obliterate your holiday food plans. He even gets some great advice from our friends over at the LTH Forums. A brave brat/wine pairing...Bill Daley comes up with pairing that is so outrageous, it might just be perfect. Fast food that's good and fresh...Jennifer Carnig visits Chow in Elmhurst. Foie gras or faux gras?...in the wake of the city council's jack-booted ban on foie gras, the Good Eating staff offer some clever work-arounds for law-abiding lovers of the delicacy. Ghee whiz...in this week's Prep School installment, James P. DeWan offers tips and technique for clarifying butter. History on the table...food editor Carol Mighton Haddix reports from New York, the site of the Feeding Desire exhibit currently taking place at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. The exhibit explores the history and evolution of tools used for eating and preparing food. White asparagus...Donna Pierce with a useful guide. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: Food for thought...Dave Hoekstra profiles Gael Greene who was in town to promote her new book. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk previews upcoming events at Vic's Classic Italian Steakhouse, Poplar Creek Country Club and Red Light. Food news...Denise I. O'Neal rounds up the week's industry news which includes a couple of blurbs about programs being offered by Chicago's Green City Market. From the May 21 edition: Calif. chef wins here, will seek world title...Janet Rausa Fuller reports from the Bocuse d'Or national selection; part of the National Restaurant Show, which took place in town and wrapped up earlier this week. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: Beef up your cookout...food editor Deborah Pankey provides some useful tips for holiday cookouts. He takes a stick-to-your-ribs approach to food...Leah Zeldes profiles Chicagoland native, chef Daniel Sikorski, who's taken over the kitchen at the Birch River Grill in Arlington Heights (DoubleTree Hotel). Food and wine classes...a comprehensive listing of upcoming area food events, tastings and classes; broken out by day. ===== The May 19 edition of the Chicago Reader's Restaurants section offers brief reviews of Ole Ole, Avenue M and Spotlight Grill. Note: .pdf pages at the Reader's web site load slowly but they do eventually load. ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby report on Wishbone's plans to permanently expand into Berwyn, this July. They also take a well-deserved poke at Frank Bruni. ===== =R= <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Chicago media outlets, which do not 'go to press' on Wednesday mornings, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you. <><><><><>

Abra, to me that definition looks awesome. Really, that's exactly what I shoot for. Great shots, too. As for their lack of juiciness, I'm not sure what to say. My first inclination would be that you didn't use enough fat but you seem to have that covered. =R=

Probably so. 2 places I often recommend on the casual/ethnic side are Greek Islands (Halsted and Adams) and Nuevo Leon (18th Street). They both turn out excellent food -- with decent atmosphere -- for a very reasonable price. =R=

Previous thread about NoMi. =R=

Avec, which is definitely open on Mondays, opens in just a few minutes; around 3:30 pm CT. Blackbird is also open on Mondays. NoMi has a solid reputation but I really cannot recall reading any reports from there since Chef Gamba left. New chef is Christophe David and he's been there about a year. Custom House is definitely open on Mondays. Here's a link to a thread where Chicago restaurants which are open on Mondays are discussed. In spite of its age, it seems fairly accurate: Chicago Dining on Mondays, looking for the best =R=

Here's a brief -- and definitely incomplete -- list of nicer places in the city where I've eaten recently enough, that I think are worthy. And you should be able to find info about all of them here by searching the forum: Avec Avenues Blackbird Butter Custom House Frontera Grill Green Zebra NaHa Schwa Spring Sweets & Savories Topolobampo Tru (search on 'Gand') Giving us some parameters of what your specific interests are will definitely help produce replies. =R=

I should add that the worst part about this whole Green Bacon Affair is that I really don't feel like I can share it with anyone -- and I have a lot of the stuff. I mean, I've eaten it a few times, it's quite delicious and I really doubt that it's unsafe but I just couldn't give it to anyone else without knowing with absolutely certainty that it really isn't harmful. And I just cannot find enough information to get me past that point. =R=

LOL! I don't know about that, I may just be an idiot on a more general level =R=

Had the good fortune to hit Zier's after some Wagyu briskets came in . . . Compared to the briskets I normally get, this looked almost alien with all the marbling. A closer look. I was really pleased with this brisket, which was priced under $7/pound before trimming. While brisket is normally a fatty cut to begin with, having the fat within the tissue of the meat -- especially the flat -- instead of primarily on the exterior, made for a great eating experience. The brisket was totally delicious and even the meat from the flat was terrific. After a 4 hour braise, it was moist, succulent, and tender but still had enough integrity to be sliced into unbroken pieces. =R=

Here are a few more images from my 'green' jowl bacon run . . . Greenish jowls, before smoking. Looking much better after smoking for about 3 hours over apple and cherry but the discoloration is still visible in certain areas. A closer look . . . almost good enough to eat. On the inside, it looks damned near normal. In my haste, I ate all the pieces I'd cooked before I got a shot of them, but they looked totally normal at that point and they tasted fantastic. I'll try to upload a pic next time I cook some. =R=

Well, there was quite a bit about Alinea in the book. If your talking about a book tour, I know that Mr. Ruhlman's appearance schedule is still being worked out. The few upcoming east coast dates already on the books will, hopefully, be just the beginning. =R=

Yeah, and/or remix it for a few moments with the KA, using the paddle. And make sure you store it in a non-reactive container while you wait for the stuffer to arrive. =R=

Forum Host Note: We're veering off-course just a bit here. I think the Foie Gras discussion is an important one but let's try to save this thread for discussion which is more directly related to Alinea. We have at least 2 other discussions going in our forums regarding foie gras: Chicago's foie gras list., Countdown to zero. and Chicago is the first city to ban foie gras Thanks =R=

Sounds great. Australian or U.S. origin? =R= ← It's Australian but it feed certified GMO free white grains. and raised in a healthy lifestyle. The marbling is off the cart! ← Cool! I've seen some Australian #11 and it was absolutely unbelievable. The marbling was like nothing I'd ever seen before (or since for that matter). Unfortunately, I never got to taste it. =R=