ronnie_suburban

This is SO true. It's great to confidently pull those sausages off the grill at the right moment, when the juices are still inside the casings and the fat is still integrated with the meat. Knowing precisely what's inside those casings is a big part of being able to do that without worry. Liberating! =R=

Yes, this is the place to which Dish alluded back in their March 22 edition (Commence Salivating). Sounds like a great concept. Thanks, Michael, for the links and the good work. =R=

Drumroll, please . . . Here's the 'official' Alinea Anniversary Menu: This was culled from 153 total dishes; a busy first year. Do you see any of your favorites? =R=

I realize that Michael has already weighed in here but this is also how my butcher does it with the smoked meats he produces. He starts them out at lower temp, lets the smoke do its thing and then turns up the heat after that to accomplish the "cooking" phase. Of course, knowing exactly how much smoke to use is still the elusive (and personal) issue. As was said upthread, that's why note-taking is so valuable with these types of projects. Once you learn your own preferences, recording them -- and how you achieved them -- is incredibly useful. =R=

One thing about dried cherries is that they are often dried using sugar. Compared to other chemical-reliant processes, that might actually be preferrable. =R=

I agree! Harold said, hey all I had to do with this was hang back and cook, and the judges were fine with that. Maybe the judge's animosity was due to the fact that Harold was on the winning team? ← and had indemnity from winning the sandwich challenge. ← No. The reward was that the winning sandwich would be included on the menu at the SF outpost of Wichcraft. There was no immunity this time around. =R=

I was under the possibly wrong impression that it was yuba skin which forms like a pudding skin when the yuba is cooked. That 'skin' is then removed from the top of the cooked yuba, rolled, dried and then fried. But again, that's just my vague rememberance of its description. =R=

It's official, Celebrity Cooking Showdown has been 86'd. From Hollywood Reporter, via Yahoo: NBC cancels "Celebrity Cooking Showdown" =R=

A bunch of local, in-know-types had predicted this very outcome. Frankly, I find it incredibly sad and even though the Berghoff had long ago dropped off my radar, this officializes it. Union issues aside (because we are not going to discuss politics here), what a lousy way to treat long-standing employees. And to essentially admit to it in public is also baffling. Who knows? Perhaps the dismissed employees were treated well behind the scenes before they were rehired at their likely lower salaries. That seems very doubtful, however. The Berghoff, IMO, has lost its right be considered a Chicago institution. Now, it's just another (privately-owned) business, willing to manipulate and deceive just about anyone without any apparent remorse whatsoever. Whatever it had been in its glory days -- long before its orchestrated, faux "closing" -- the Berghoff had deteriorated into an over-crowded tourist trap, turning out mediocre food which was revered by the undiscerning. My guess is that this "reincarnation" by the Berghoff won't have much impact on those undiscerning fans. Anyone who walks into the place from this point forward is basically saying that they're ok with what the ownership did. =R=

Here's a link to the entire story, which appeared in the April 19 edition of the Chicago Sun-Times: Menu same, staff different as Berghoff Cafe reopens by Janet Rausa Fuller. =R=

Welcome, ZenKimchi, to the eGS! Great to have you with us. Thanks for chiming in. =R=

In case anyone missed it, there was a great piece about Martin Kastner, by Heather Kenny in the Chicago Reader's April 14 Restaurants issue. =R=

This one of those rare train wrecks that is SO horrible, it's basically unwatchable. So many great comments above, I'll just say that I agree with everything being said. All I can add to the snarkfest is a comment about the impossibly manic audience. That completely prompted, faux-cheering which spanned from end to end of the competition was hysterical. It was so obviously fabricated that it drew attention to itself. Who cheers for 50 minutes straight while D-list celebs assemble pre-prepared food in front of tv cameras? Apparently those who are lucky enough to not have to taste any of it. =R=

I would think that should work fine. ← Yeah, me too. Certainly worth the experiment. Please let us know about the results if you try it out. =R=

Agreed. It just stood out, relative to many of the other episodes of Opening Soon that I've seen. =R=

Well, I think there is some interchangability with fats, but it seems like they do need to be raw. For example, using fat back in a lamb sausage -- as is recommended in the book -- would certainly work. And I'll bet that rendered bacon fat might work if it were added in small quantities, as a flavoring. But, as others have mentioned, it probably lacks the attributes which would make it functional in sausage making. =R=

April 19, 2006... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Braving the blends...Bill Daley examines the growing popularity of multi-varietal, blended wines. A sweet serving of East and West...Amelia Levin visits La Patisserie P on Argyle Street. Off The Shelf...in this week's installment, Renee Enna files a brief review of American Wholefoods Cuisine by Nikki and David Goldbeck. Mache...food editor Carol Mighton Haddix with a useful guide. A not so everyday Italian...Virginia Gerst visits with Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis, whose celebrity has surprised not only De Laurentiis herself but just about everyone else as well. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: The power of potatoes...Sandy Thorn Clark with a useful guide; including recipes provided by some Chicago-area chefs. Wallack's Sola shines...Denise I. O'Neal files a brief review of Carol Wallack's recently-opened Sola. Food news...among other notes, Denise I. O'Neal reports on what some local restaurants are doing to celebrate Earth Day, coming up this Saturday. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk previews upcoming events at Bank Lane Bistro (Lake Forest), River East Art Center, Tin Fish, Scoozi, Va Pensiero, West Town Tavern and Green Zebra. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: Warm breezes mean farmers market season draws near...food editor Deborah Pankey previews the upcoming Farmers Market season as well as a few other upcoming, local events. Food and wine classes...a comprehensive listing of upcoming area food events, tastings and classes; broken out by day. ===== From their April 14 edition, the Chicago Reader's first ever Restaurants Issue (in .pdf), which includes an astonishing look at Harold's Fried Chicken by Mike Sula. Also, inside, Heather Kenny visits with Martin Kastner who designed much of Alinea's serviceware. There's also a great piece by Martha Bayne about the dramatic transformation of Kendall College. ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby preview Lisa Ko's soon-to-bow pan-Asian, Tamarind, slated to open in May in the South Loop. ===== =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. <><><><><>

No worries . . . I always like to add a small piece of text from any link I add -- and the source -- just in case the link goes dead at some point in the future. BTW, the space does look beautiful. If the food even comes close to matching up, it's going to be a good spot. Generally speaking, how is BBQ in the Twin Cities? Is there any of note? =R=

From the article linked above (actually an entry in the forums at Dexigner.com): =R=

This time of year, I love to grill aspargus with steak. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over it, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and lay it on the "off" side of the grill, so it heats indirectly. In anywhere from 5-10 minutes, depending on stalk thickness, it's done. =R=

Yeah, I'd really stopped thinking about it too but there were a few links in the case today at Paulina which had those lines and my friend reminded me to ask. Of course, there were thousands of links there and only a few of one type of sausage seemed to have them. Anyway, I thought it was at least worth mentioning that, according to one very seasoned voice, whether one ends up with them or not, isn't a function of the sausage-making, per se. =R=

Thanks, Chris, for the thorough "report from the field." Detailed information like that is incredibly valuable as we all work on our projects, in our separate locations. Today I talked to a man who's been making sausage for decades at Paulina Market here in Chicago. He was a font of information. It was very cool. Prompted by my inquisitive companion, I asked him about the sausage "spider lines" we've been discussing here, throughout the thread. He referred to them as "whiskers" and said, without hesitation, that they should not be there. But, he also said that they have nothing to do with any part of the actual sausage-making process. Sometimes, that's just how the casings come from the processor. But, they're not supposed to be that way. Not exactly a bad batch, but something along those lines . . . a QC lapse, perhaps. =R=

Very cool, Peter! Congrats on the new venture (way of life) and good luck! =R=

Que? ← Clickety =R= ← Thanks Ronnie!! I make them all the time (the cabbage ones) as piroshki, but had never heard of runza. Best, Bill ← Heya Bill! Honestly, I'd never even heard of them before I read the post upthread -- and I even spent some time in NE a few summers back -- so I looked them up and now that I did, I really want to try one myself (or a few ). =R=

Que? ← Clickety =R=