ronnie_suburban

Beautiful work, Dave. I'll take that slice on the right with the nice little oval of fat in it (and a few more) ! =R=

We are. =R=

This idea is too sensible. The city council is only interested in headlines, not humane treatment of animals. The approach they took proves it. =R=

I've driven 150 miles for White Castles, so even at $3/gallon, driving 500 for some quality, home-made charcuterie seems worth it. I look forward to reading about your results, not only about the andouille itself but also what effect it has on your jambalaya and other dishes you make with it. I should probably make a pot of jambalaya myself. I was hoping to have turned out my own tasso before doing so but I do have some Poche's on hand . . . =R=

Trotter Boycott anyone ? ← Not sure this is Charlie Trotter's fault - he has said repeatedly that his decision to not serve Foie Gras is a personal choice, and he doesn't believe it should be banned or restricted in any way. He doesn't believe politics should enter the debate, period. He had a personal choice on the matter that got widespread press - he would be the last person to claim himself an advocate on the issue. ← You know, I'm not sure either. But, whatever his intentions, if he hadn't been so vocal about his personal choice, the folks who wanted to see this enacted would have had a lot less fuel for their fire. His comments gave their extremist agenda a certain amount credibility it would have otherwise lacked. =R=

Last time I was at Tru, at least 7 different preparations of foie gras were being offered. =R=

I'm thinking about the place that Chicago has carved out for itself in the culinary universe over the past decade and this news is so depressing; 50 ignorant politicians doing whatever they can to make sure that investors, chefs and diners think twice before doing business in Chicago. Nice, really nice. I'm sorry to say that in many ways, this all comes back to Charlie Trotter. He lent a lot of credibility to the "anti" crowd's ridiculous arguments about foie gras and I believe that if it were not for him, we wouldn't be facing this news today. =R=

Luckily, in this case, the ignorance of the Chicago city council only extends to the city's borders. We'll continue to enjoy foie gras served in the suburbs, at least for now. Although, I don't see the state's legislators as being any less ridiculous. Lousy, pandering politicians. Next thing you know, they'll be telling us who we're allowed to f*ck. =R=

April 26, 2006... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: This is a flop?...Virginia Gerst explores those rare moments when a 'mistake' in the kitchen leads to something wonderful. Egg poaching secret: Leave it alone...in this week's Prep School installment, James P. DeWan provides a step-by-step guide to poaching eggs. Put down the pate and pass the popcorn...Bill Daley explores the relatively uncharted world of snack food and wine pairings. Several local wine professionals share their favorite combinations. Gourmet food with a Parisian touch...Elizabeth Owens-Schiele with a brief review of La Pomme de Pin in Barrington. Lemon grass...Robin Mather Jenkins with a useful guide. Off The Shelf...in this week's installment, Renee Enna gives a shout out to Cipriani's Pasta, which has been made in Chicago Heights since 1929. Saison Dupont Belgian Farmhouse Ale...Jeff Boda files his Beer of the Month installment. The wonderful world of tofu...Nancy Maes explores a new exhibit at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, Tofu: The Wonder Food. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: 'Wicked' good...Sandy Thorn Clark visits with the cast of Wicked and finds out what some of their favorite local foods are. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk previews upcoming events at The Field Museum, Bin 36, Adobo Grill, Salud Tequila Lounge and Cafe 36. Food briefs...among other news, Denise I. O'Neal previews an upcoming Balsamic degustation dinner by chef Tony Mantuano at Spiaggia. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: Bye-bye Betty Points. End near for longtime loyalty program...among other news, food editor Deborah Pankey reports on the upcoming end of the Betty Crocker Points program, which has been in existence since 1931. Food and wine classes...a comprehensive listing of upcoming area food events, tastings and classes; broken out by day. ===== In the April 21 edition of the Chicago Reader's Restaurants section, Mike Sula reports on Matsumoto's recent tranformation into Chiyo. 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 confirm the worst-kept food secret in Chicago: Paul Kahan plans to open a gastropub which will focus on Craft beers and pork. Yum! ===== =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. <><><><><>

The casings repeatedly burst -- not while I was stuffing them -- but while I was twisting off the links after they'd already been filled. As many batches of links as I've made up to now, that was a first. One of the things I love about this entire endeavor is the endless variables. That's also what I love about bread baking -- there's always something new to learn. In this case, I decided not to sweat it and just sort of twisted up the few links that had burst. That's why a few of them have tapered ends, etc. I guessed that between the drying and the smoking all the links would firm up regardless of whether they were broken or not, so I just left them as they were. As it turned out, the links with the broken casings are just as moist inside as the ones that are intact, so all's well that ends well. Dave, on the chicken sausages upthread (which look great, btw), did you do any special prep on the sun-dried tomatoes? =R=

Jason, that looks beautiful. Not to stray too far off-topic, but are those lentils? How were they prepared? I used the larger blade on the KA grinder, 1/4", I think. =R=

Yes, I'm definitely ready to move on to salame. And in the interim, one round of jowl bacon coming up later this week. A small box from Niman just magically appeared at my door last week. =R=

Thanks, Jason, for the info about cotechino. I'll check it out. Here are a few pics from my most recent Andouille run: These casings were horrible and gave me nothing but trouble. A few of the links are misshapened and somewhat deformed because of it. But even with a few split casings, I tubed off and smoked every bit of filling. A closer look. This is pretty much the definition I was seeking. I'm really happy with the way these turned out. I smoked them over a combo of cherry and apple (couldn't find sugar cane or pecan locally) for about 3.5 hours, to an internal temperature of 150 F, then cooled them on a rack. They taste great -- very spicy -- and with a nice aroma. This is about 95% of the way to my ideal andouille. Here's the final revision of the amalgamated Andouille recipe I previously posted upthread: 5 pounds pork butt 1/2 pound fat back 3 oz. chopped garlic 2 T black pepper, freshly ground 2.5 T cayenne pepper 2 T dried thyme 3 T kosher salt 1 t curing salt 1 C ice cold water 10' hog casings =R=

I didn't mean to imply that every chef on FTV is of the made-for-tv variety. Obviously, that's not the case. I always enjoyed watching Gale on FTV, going back to her stint on Baker's Dozen which aired in the mid 90's. =R=

I was wondering about her just today... she has no upcoming shows on Food Network, and most of the rest are archived. ← She's busy being a mom to recently-born twins and being a real chef at a real restaurant. =R=

I agree about the concept and at times Carissa was likeable (had screen presence), but I'm not sure she was the right person for the show, even if it was her idea. =R= edit for clarity

Isn't this where chef Brian Polcyn teaches? =R=

Jason, is that the sausage that has crisply-cooked skin in the filling? I read somewhere about that, perhaps in Cooking by Hand. =R=

You can boil the skin until it's soft and add it to stuff like beans, jambalaya, etc. I've used the smoked skins from the bacons I've made for similar-type stuff, including a 'stock' that I used in some jambalaya. I think you can make cracklings with the skin too. My one attempt at that was delicious. although it was very hard to the bite. I'm pretty sure the method I came up with wasn't a sound one. =R=

Not cheap, that is for sure. Around $60/pound, so not exactly an everyday cut. My wife and I both agreed that it was worth it as far as being able to try something of this quality but not worth it in the sense that Zier's also carries awesome non-Wagyu, Prime, dry-aged beef -- and some of those cuts cost less than 25% of what the Wagyu costs. He also carries pork from Prairie Grove Farms at prices that are obviously, even lower. Still, the Wagyu really tasted distinctive and I'm glad I got to try it -- and more importantly -- cook it for myself. There was some sales literature about the processor in the shop. I'll try to actually read it next time I'm in and report back. This is best looking American-raised Wagyu I've seen, but I'll admit that I haven't seen very much of it. =R=

My understanding is that Coca-Cola of Hawthorne, NY, who makes the OU KFP stuff for the Northeast, uses beet sugar, not Cane sugar. Cane sugar is a very expensive ingredient and it has other residual compounds in it to give it that "caney" flavor besides just the Sucrose that is processed. ← Coca-Cola finally responded to my email inquiry, too late for this Passover but perhaps in time to buy a few left over bottles, this year. According to Coca-Cola's Industry and Consumer Affairs department they use sucrose made from cane sugar in their kosher brand Coca-Cola. ← Thank you for passing along that information. The value of the few cans I still have left just skyrocketed =R=

Zier's continues to be my source for all sorts of great products. I go there weekly and the service is, possibly, even better than the goods. I stopped in for a couple of things on Thursday and I asked Dave if the roast I was buying would keep until Sunday. Based on previous experience, I figured that it would but asked anyway. Dave made the issue moot by offering to cryovack it for me. It's in the oven right now. While I was there, I noticed some great looking Wagyu Beef in the case. I decided to pick up a couple of of strip steaks . . . When I saw this meat in the case, I had to try it. A closer look at the fantastic marbling (sorry for the hotspot). I hit them with a tiny bit of neutral olive oil, some kosher salt, black pepper and cooked them over lump charcoal. Just a few minutes on each side because I did not want to overcook them. The flavor was really interesting. It was tangy and minerally with a depth that lasted throughout the chew. I imagine, given the intensity of flavor, that the beef was aged but I'm not sure about the details. The texture was very nice. It was very moist and juicey with a slightly al dente (for lack of a better description) tenderness. I'm glad I tried them but the standard issue prime aged beef at Zier's is good enough that I won't be Wagyu-ing it very often. And speaking of premium items, in response to a question asked either here or on another thread, I checked with Dave and Zier's can get Berkshire Pork, Black pork, etc. with just a day or 2 advance notice. =R=

Apparently not... but, whereas the Hearty Boys seem to have a "hook" - I would have to agree with past posts that neither of this year's finalists have a particularly novel angle... not the least of which can be punned by Guy's "Off the Hook." Will be really interested to see how the next FN star fares... I actually didn't vote this year because I just couldn't decide on one... both have their strengths and weaknesses. I think from purely a personality point of view, I think that Reggie would be more amusing to watch, but Guy might actually teach me something... (and truth be told, I totally forgot about the deadline). u.e. ← Yeah, even though I've been watching, I didn't vote either. I just wasn't revved up enough about either contestant to bother. =R=

Interesting. I wonder if they'll be in a better time slot for the next run of episodes. Last I checked, the show was on once week, shown very early on Sunday mornings. In fact, being in that slot kind of made me feel like the folks at FN weren't too fond of the Heary Boys. With 26 more episodes on order, that probably isn't the case. =R=

Looks delicious to me, although it's a slightly different color than what I'm used to seeing. There's usually some pink tint in the flesh (and/or smoke ring, too) that doesn't seem to be there. Am I wrong or, perhaps, just not seeing it in the pics? Maybe it's a function of the Bradley? Am I just wack? =R=