PicnicChef

Personally, I would have thought that River Palm would have won in that category. But, who can say. Their dry aged steaks are, when they are on, on! Have yet to go to Park, is it worth it? What is the common opinion here? Thanks CN

Thanks for all the thanks! My bet is part of the reason we were named in NJ Monthly was because of our friends here! Okay...here is my announcement, I was going to wait until right before, but I'll mention it again then. The day after labor day Picnic will begin its new hours...open until 7:30 for 6 to 8 different gourmet to go dinners with about eight different veggies and starches. I'm excited and already working on evening themes...Morrocan Night, different regional American nights, French, all seafood all the time, and more! After so many complaints about my hours, I decided to bite the bullet and get a little less sleep.... Thanks again! CN

Thanks for all the input so far. I was in Cornwall a couple of times and LOVE the pasties (and the sausage rolls and the meat pies and all those other great things). I want to take the pasties and make them into little tiny tiny pasties for hors d'oeuvres! Hope it works!

Does anyone have a great, tested authentic Cornish Pastie recipe they are willing to share? Thanks!

Mommy and her first boyfriend used to make out in the parking lot of Rutts. Call me crazy, but their dogs make me want to do the same...

I'll never balk at a $500 plus dinner for two, if I have great food and great wine. French Laundry my tab was high, same at many others. But...the Ryland Inn was simply not worth the dough.

I was there about a year or so ago and did the chef's tasting with the better wine pairings. I was disappointed in the food, and so wasted from the wine I couldn't figure much out! For example, the cheese course had three cheeses the size of a nickel each with three full glasses of dessert wine...so much wine, and food that just overwhelmed it every time. Dinner with wine, for the two of us with gratuities was just about $700. Not worth it, not at all!

hard to tell from the picture, but it could be salsify. Or could it not? A guess! Anybody else gonna play?

I love Patricia Well's Cooking at Home in Provence. Easy, delightful recipes. I've made nearly all of them. Well worth the time. James Beard Award winner!

I've said it before, and I will say it again and again and again. People come from all over to the Swiss Pork Store on Fair Lawn Avenue in Fair Lawn. Great stuff, that!

Maybe I've been to Wild Ginger on off nights, all three visits I've made, but I've never found it to be as great as I've heard. When was the last time folks made a visit?

it's a potato, but the shape is the same. you cut out little blocks of carrot or potato, keep the ends flat and cut around the sides to creat seven sides. it is narrower on towards the ends. edited to add: borrowed this photo from another web-site, and these are not perfectly turned. ← potatoes are softer. And you are right, these are not perfect. Carrots are the measure of the turn...but who really cares. Just those of us not on the line anymore...

I always found potatoes tougher to turn than carrots. And, it is a great little attention to detail. I think that to cook, indeed, it is that you need to get it perfect, everytime. It doesn't matter if it is a tuna sandwich or tuna tartare. Egg salad or bernaise sauce. Each time you do it it is the best it can be. Hence, the need to flute mushrooms and turn veggies!

Very Escoffier. Turning a carrot or a potato is like a football. Its used for looks in classic french cuisine. Not an easy task, there is a special curved knife for it. [ quote=johnsmith45678,Jul 9 2006, 06:18 PM] Heh, I was thinking about posting fluting mushrooms. And tomato roses. Sure they're just garnishes, but it shows that somebody is interested enough to have spent hours learning how to do it, just for that extra bit of flair. We used to kill slow time by working our way through a garnishi book. BTW, what exactly is turning a carrot? I'm not familiar with that. ←

Really, Mastering the Art of French Cooking has the best recipe in it. Do it that way. I do. Chef potato works fine. For me, no yukon gold...the color makes the soup off.... Enjoy.

I have to agree...as a professional chef, I think a roast, braise, saute, and a great fish dish that is not overcooked is essential. Know how to make a demi glace, correctly. Know how to turn a carrot, just because you can. Know how to flute a mushroom. Have great knife skills. Don't need recipes. Your scrambled eggs should have a glean to them. Your veggies should have no crunch but perfect color. Your hollandaise does not break and you can hold it!

Despite all these recommendations, I recommend simply steaming them yourself. You know what you've got. First, scrub, then let them soak about 1/2 an hour to an hour in water with a little bread crumb in it. They'll be irritated by the bread crumb and cleanse themselves and remove a lot of the sand that is in the long neck. stick them in a pan with boiling water. The minute they open, take them out. Dip them in butter and lemon and there's no need to leave the comfort of your yard, or take a beer out of your hand!

Kilroys is in Glen Rock, and we'll be featuring our salads starting tomorrow. I won't be doing any demos until fall because at this point my kitchen is already way too hot, and on top of that, this is our busy catering season. I'll try to make a curry for the shoppe this week, stacy!

I did them three weeks in a row. Simple saute, touch of lemon. I can't get my customers turned on to them. Season's gone now. I'll try again next spring... Personally, I don't love 'em.

I believe Latour in Ridgewood has a lovely tasting menu.

For those that can't get to Picnic when we are open. Kilroy's in Glen Rock ( a little mom and pop grocery that we locals love!) are starting, on Sunday, to carry a few Picnic items: Picnic Cobb Chicken salad with pecans and grapes Curried chicken salad Barbecue chicken salad New potato salad and a few others that I am still working out...

Oh my goodness! All this dissing of Pal's? A landmark! My 82 year old mom went there after dates. Their cream of mushroom soup used to rock (I haven't had it in a few years) and the whole attitude of the place says vintage, or as the kids today say, Old School. Who needs perfection when the atmosphere is so cool. I love their open faced turkey sandwich, and for the price of their menu items, really, what is there to complain about?

Okay...not this weekend (what? is everyone in all of Bergen County having a Bridal shower this weekend since we are catering nearly a dozen?), but next, I will try Iron Forge...Sounds like a light in a dark tunnel! I will report. Thanks for the replies!

Wait a minute...am I wrong here...I could be...but when I do steamers, I use pissers...long necks...soaked first in a little cornmeal...delicious...Pissers, I thought were steamers.

Jolly Onion...not so much. We tried it once. Got a kick out of the wine...the little bottles you can buy on a plane with screwtops...not much else to say after that. It was about four years ago...