jende
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Posts posted by jende
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I should clarify, I think it was the Littlenecks that were gritty not the canned clams.
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If it's gritty, it has to be sand left over in the clams.
The clams need to be soaked in salt water for a while before cooking them. Use about 1 tbsp salt per liter of water and soak for at least an hour (3 is better). This will give the clams time to purge their grit.
Most people recommend adding cornmeal to the salt water when they soak their live clams. Apparently causes the clams to spit out the sand and opt for the cornmeal.
If your canned clams have grit in them, I think something is wrong with the brand you are buying.
Thanks, that's what I thought. I had never used canned clams before, but I couldn't imagine that they'd be gritty!
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Hello All
Sorry for the slow updates. Well...some things happened. Its a bit overwelming. I may end up in Detroit. I found a location a block away fom Comerica Park (Tigers baseball stadium) and Ford Field (Lions stadium). Although I will be doing business as usual in Ann Arbor. This has been the focus of my attention for the past month. Right now...it is a vacant lot within the city of Detriot...3,000sqfoot. So the landscape of this project has changed a bit. Introducing alot of other variables...The owner has had the land for years and just never came around to doing anything with it. So...I am going to see if I can make a go at this location...then when I am comfortable with the numbers I will let him know when I am ready then he will build the building.
Right now...using the land is free so thats a good thing. So now I have to think about being 30-40 min away from my business, hiring the right people etc. The great news is that it is right down the block form Johnny Rockets...I so look forward to competing with them
So now...I have my business plan solid, I have to form an idea of if I have a building...how would I want it to look on the outside and inside...also to make it so that I can duplicate it to other parts of the state and country if need be.
Will keep you posted.
As a Detroiter, this is great news for me!! I think you'll have big success in that location. There's tons of foot traffic not only on game days but any time there are events at Ford Field and the Fox.
Congratulations and best of luck.
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I made clam chowder using both canned clams and some steamed Littlenecks. The end result was very tasty, but kind of gritty and I'm trying to find the likely grit culprit.
I rinsed the Littlenecks then steamed them separately in water and wine. I pulled them out into a clean bowl, let them cool a little, then dumped them with some juices that collected in the bowl into the soup pot. I did not use any of the steaming liquid because I did notice some grit in the bottom of the pot and didn't have any cheesecloth to strain it with. The canned clams I just dumped into the pot.
My sense is that the Littlenecks held the grit. Anyone care to chime in? And if it was the Littlenecks, how can I avoid it in the future? Just rinse them once they are cooked?
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The frigid weather this past weekend kept me close to home, so we went to Enoteca Roma (wonderful cheeses and salumi). I still would like to try Terragusto some time soon.
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I'm usually 100% supportive of my compatriots in the brotherhood of New York curmudgeons but somehow I'm really surprised to see Pillsbury pigs in a blanket, mayo based caesar, and such an eclectic menu from someone who passes judgment on other people's cooking for a living.
I agree. This was a very interesting post and a bit surprising. I can never imagine Steingarten for example serving Pillsbury pigs in a blanket. I'd expect a lot more from Richman. There is a fine line between rustic and kind of lazy (the roast beef looks boiled). Although the tempura does sound good.
I get what you're saying, but note that Fat Guy found both dishes delicious, even if they are trashy. I kind of liked that Richman proudly served what he felt he made best -- he's a professional food critic, not a professional chef!
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Thanks for a delightful post! I've always been a fan of Alan Richman and his cranky ways, and it's cool to see him in his element. Pigs in a blanket are genius.
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Hi all,
I have sort of a tricky problem and need advice:
We intend to fly to Chicago especially for a "foodie trip".
Of course we have to plan the trip and book our flights way earlier than we can reserve tables at restaurants like Alinea (and Moto and the hopefully re-opened Schwa etc.).
But, as everybody can imagine, it would be extremely frustrating to have a costly flight from germany to chicago - and then not get a table at the restaurant(s) we came to visit...
So, is there any way to avoid such a situation? Any advice for the reservation process?
Thanks
best
kai
I would try calling/emailing and explain your situation. You never know, they might give you a reservation earlier than they normally do.
That's a good idea. If you call the full month ahead, though, I think you should be able to get a rez especially if you're flexible on the time.
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I'm still on the fence about going here or A Mano, but I'll report back either way.
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Renka, I wish I was at you house when you made all those! They look absolutely stunning!
Yesterday I made Banana Bread...with yeast. I felt like experimenting, so I made up a recipe and gave it a whirl. I've only ever had this kind of bread with baking soda or baking powder, but It was actually...good! I feel like it could have been a bit sweeter. If I ever made it again I would definitely change the recipe a bit.
Haven't cut into the loaf yet. I'm very curious how it came out though!
I would LOVE this recipe too. Did you eat it straight up, or use it for sandwiches and such?
We ate it straight up, mostly. I did toast it and put strawberry jam on it which was good. My dad did cinnamon and sugar, which he said was good. I tastes best warm, so I'd heat it in the oven or toast it very lightly, maybe with some butter.
This was the recipe I had written down, I ended up needing a lot more flour, maybe about 4 cups in total. I was really winging it.
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 oats
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
About 3 1/2 or 4 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
Mix together flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon, salt, and bananas. Melt butter, pour into the mixture. Warm milk to dissolve ADY. Pour dissolved yeast-milk mixture to flour mixture and let sit for a few minutes. Then I used a dough hook to mix together a bit before putting on floured counter and kneading. The dough should achieve a satiny and smoothish texture. When your almost done kneading, knead in walnuts. Put in lightly oiled or greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about 2-2 1/2 hours. (In all honesty, it didn't rise much, but I seem to have bad luck with that. It puffed up real nicely during baking.) Divide the dough as desired and shape. Cover and lets rise for about 1- 1 1/2 hours. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes and sheet pan. Rotate and bake for about 20 more minutes.
Side notes: Probably didn't need the oats. I had oats, so I felt like putting them in...haha. I used brown sugar, but granulated would probably be good too. I actually used buttermilk, but I think whole milk would be better. Those are the things I would change. Also, I just looked up banana yeast bread, found some recipes similar to mine. LOL.
If you decide you want to try it, please let me know how it turns out!
I made the bread this morning. I needed close to 6 cups of flour (so I ended up with a BIG loaf!) and I used a mix of white flour and whole wheat (about 2:1). I also cut back on the brown sugar to about a half-cup and the cinnamon to just a pinch. I had a little trouble with the inside still being a bit doughy after the outside was baked, but that's probably because it was such a large loaf. Next time I will either cut the recipe in half or make two loaves.
Also, I'll add a little more salt which is necessary for the amount of flour I used. Overall I really liked the bread. It was delicious spread with cream cheese for breakfast.
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This thread has put Terragusto on my list for my trip to Chicago in a few weeks, but I've been leery because I've heard some bad things about the service and atmosphere (some say it's very loud). Any feedback on those issues?
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I have an extra deep single sink and I love it. When I built my house about a year ago, I too had trouble finding a single sink but I'm glad I persevered. I can't imagine trying to wash my large sheet pans and pots in a double sink.
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Renka, I wish I was at you house when you made all those! They look absolutely stunning!
Yesterday I made Banana Bread...with yeast. I felt like experimenting, so I made up a recipe and gave it a whirl. I've only ever had this kind of bread with baking soda or baking powder, but It was actually...good! I feel like it could have been a bit sweeter. If I ever made it again I would definitely change the recipe a bit.
Haven't cut into the loaf yet. I'm very curious how it came out though!
I would LOVE this recipe too. Did you eat it straight up, or use it for sandwiches and such?
We ate it straight up, mostly. I did toast it and put strawberry jam on it which was good. My dad did cinnamon and sugar, which he said was good. I tastes best warm, so I'd heat it in the oven or toast it very lightly, maybe with some butter.
This was the recipe I had written down, I ended up needing a lot more flour, maybe about 4 cups in total. I was really winging it.
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 oats
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
About 3 1/2 or 4 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
Mix together flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon, salt, and bananas. Melt butter, pour into the mixture. Warm milk to dissolve ADY. Pour dissolved yeast-milk mixture to flour mixture and let sit for a few minutes. Then I used a dough hook to mix together a bit before putting on floured counter and kneading. The dough should achieve a satiny and smoothish texture. When your almost done kneading, knead in walnuts. Put in lightly oiled or greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about 2-2 1/2 hours. (In all honesty, it didn't rise much, but I seem to have bad luck with that. It puffed up real nicely during baking.) Divide the dough as desired and shape. Cover and lets rise for about 1- 1 1/2 hours. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes and sheet pan. Rotate and bake for about 20 more minutes.
Side notes: Probably didn't need the oats. I had oats, so I felt like putting them in...haha. I used brown sugar, but granulated would probably be good too. I actually used buttermilk, but I think whole milk would be better. Those are the things I would change. Also, I just looked up banana yeast bread, found some recipes similar to mine. LOL.
If you decide you want to try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Thanks, I will let you know how mine turns out. I'm thinking about using some whole wheat flour and cutting back on the sugar to make it more savory.
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Renka, I wish I was at you house when you made all those! They look absolutely stunning!
Yesterday I made Banana Bread...with yeast. I felt like experimenting, so I made up a recipe and gave it a whirl. I've only ever had this kind of bread with baking soda or baking powder, but It was actually...good! I feel like it could have been a bit sweeter. If I ever made it again I would definitely change the recipe a bit.
Haven't cut into the loaf yet. I'm very curious how it came out though!
I would LOVE this recipe too. Did you eat it straight up, or use it for sandwiches and such?
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I have friends who've been and said it was really good, but I haven't dined there yet myself. It looks cool from the outside. They're using some kind of cork motif.
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I finally made it to Bourbon Steak with three friends this weekend. First, I have to say that the casino is beautiful, comparable to the newer casinos in Vegas. The restaurant is gorgeous, too, with a small bar and lounge area up front and semi-private tables on the perimeter of the dining room. We were in one of these areas. Each table is enclosed on three sides by cool, almost sculptural metal dividers.
A little while after being seated and greeted by our server, we were given an order of duck fat fries with three dipping sauces -- a truffled mayo, barbecue sauce and sweet ketchup -- "compliments of the chef." I think everyone was receiving this, but it was a surprisingly large portion for a freebie.
The menu is quite large, with about 12 apps (mostly focused on tuna, crab, and beef) and a handful of salads. The starters we chose included a salad of Bibb lettuce with chunks of crisp slab bacon, blue cheese, avocado and hard-boiled quail egg; crab bisque; a Caesar salad; and crab lettuce cups -- small rounds of iceberg lettuce topped with a dollop of crab meat, a teeny piece of avocado and a round of red onion. This was served with a spicy vinaigrette that was billed on the menu as a "Maurice sauce." None of the apps blew us away, but they were serviceable. The crab lettuce cups were the most disappointing. There wasn't much flavor except from the spicy sauce and the presentation was blah.
Next we ordered our entrees and three side dishes to share. There are several cuts of Piedmontese beef, as well as "American" Kobe. Then there is a prime rib, Colorado rack of lamb, short ribs and a Kobe burger, along with a few fish dishes. We stuck with the Piedmontese beef and had a ribeye, filet mignon and two "cap" steaks between us. The cap was explained as a special cut just for Bourbon Steak, and apparently it's the center of the ribeye. We also ordered the truffled mac and cheese, mushroom pot pie and a trio of potato purees -- horseradish, sour cream and onion and lobster.
After our entree order was placed, our server brought a small round of cornbread in a cast iron skillet. It was deliciously sweet and buttery. We had been drinking beer (we ordered a round at the bar while we waited for our table to clear), but with the entrees we ordered a couple bottles of Verdad Tempranillo, from Santa Ynez. The wine had an interesting slightly raisiny flavor, but perhaps not enough tannin to pair well with the beef. Oh, I also had a glass of Iron Horse sparkling wine with apps, which was a nice complement to the crab.
The steaks were served on a huge white plate, bare except for a roasted shallot and small yellow pepper (I never understand why steakhouses, which almost always serve their steaks a la carte, don't use a smaller plate so it doesn't look so naked!). All of them had an intense mesquite flavor and good depth. The cap steaks tasted very much like the ribeye but there was no bone to gnaw on (so it just depends on whether you like that kind of thing) and the filet was dense and silky.
The sides were all good but very, very rich. The truffled mac and cheese didn't have any discernible truffles, but did have the distinctive funky flavor (I'm sure they just used truffle oil or butter). The potato purees were a big hit -- the horseradish especially was a nice complement to the beef. Others loved the mushroom pot pie -- a thick veloute blended with mixed wild mushrooms and served in a pastry crust-topped baking dish -- but I was hitting cream overload by that point and found it to be too much.
We were groaning with food overload but still managed to order dessert, beignets with creme brulee and another with chocolate pot de creme (the third choice was Macallan scotch butterscotch pudding), and mini donuts with jasmine cream, caramel sauce and a little cup of chocolate sauce. The beignets and donuts were both appropriately light and crispy, but the beignets didn't have any distinctive flavor and the donuts had an overwhelmingly lemony taste. I also thought the beignets would have been better served with a thinner dipping sauce instead of the small ramekins of creme brulee and pot de creme.
Service overall was very attentive, especially considering that we were in this semi-secluded area so it would have been easy for our server to neglect us, and offered nice touches like fresh napkins each time you returned from the restroom.
Prices were about he highest I've ever seen in Detroit -- of steaks are $40-$150, apps around $15, sides $11-$16, desserts $10. But for a special occasion I think it's worth it for the overall experience of a cool, luxurious atmosphere, high-end service, and food that isn't necessarily overly creative but tastes good.
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I enjoyed last night's episode a lot. I've been trying to remember what all he put in those lovely stuffed peppers.
Does anyone remember?
I caught the show about mid-way through him making this dish and I wanted to know what was in the peppers, too (they looked delicious). I went on the Food Network web site, but didn't see a recipe. I believe the "stuffing" contained chiles, whole cracked olives, capers, basil, s/p and a good douse of olive oil. There may have been more, though.
Oh, and don't forget his genius move of laying a thick slice of bacon on top before roasting.
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Funny you should post this, I just made a huge batch of my grandma's pierogis yesterday. Her dough recipe is just 2 eggs, 1 T. sour cream (low fat is fine), 1 tsp. salt and about 6 cups of flour. It worked really well for me.
The filling, by the way, was potato and cheese: about 8 mashed potatoes, 1/2 c. of shredded cheddar and 4 oz. of cream cheese. They're a lot of work but so delicious.
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As I lay on the couch yesterday, swaddled in an afghan, Puffs and a cup o hot tea with honey and lemon nursing the head cold from hell, I kept the remote close at hand. So, on food TV, some chef was using lime juice for something. She juiced the lime, pitched the juiced lime, and proceeded to grab a fresh lime for zest, then pitched that. Huh? If I want zest and juice, I just zest the lime, halve it and then juice it. Am I missing something here? Is there some reason not to juice a zested lime?
It's really difficult to zest a juiced lime, but all she had to do was zest the lime before juicing it! That's like the anti-trick -- it's teaching people a bad habit!
There's a lot of waste on cooking shows, and that drives me nuts.
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I know this isn't what you were asking, but I always found baked ziti made with ricotta to be very disappointing--it's just never creamy enough. The solution I came up with is to use mascarpone instead of ricotta. It's also key not to mix too much sauce into the pasta. I don't have a recipe written down, but here's what I do: I make a very simple tomato sauce with just garlic, red pepper flakes, a little wine and some herbs (preferably basil). Mix your boiled pasta with a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce, mascarpone, and some hard grated cheese (parmigiano or pecorino romano, or whatever you like). Spread the bottom of your baking dish with some sauce, put your pasta and cheese mixture on top, and then cover that with another layer of sauce. Cover that with mozzarella and some more of your grated cheese. Don't bake it for too long or it will dry out--just enough to warm it up and brown the cheese a little. Yeah, it's really bad for you (which is why I haven't made it in about a year), but it's so, so good.
I've made really delicious pasta sauces mixing ricotta and tomato sauce just put over boiled pasta, but I am worried about the baked pasta getting dry. Thanks for the suggestion -- I might try this method instead.
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That sounds like good baked ziti, and yeah that's perfectly acceptable. I do it that way all the time with ziti, lasagna, and all those baked dishes like that. Assemble, hold overnight, then bake the next day. Or, depending on the situation, sometimes I par-bake it then finish it when I arrive at my destination.
Let me add, bring a bowl of your sauce for the side, too, in case it dries out, which dishes like that often do.
Thanks for reminding me to have extra sauce on-hand. I have made baked pasta in the past that has come out a little dry. Since there's supposed to be a good, browned-cheese crust on the top of this one, though, maybe I'll just add a little extra marinara to the mix and hope that this along with the ricotta keeps it moist.
Any advice on how to cook the sausages? Usually I would brown them in a pan before baking with the pasta, but I'm keeping them separate this time. I plan to buy big links and cut them into smaller pieces.
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I'm making a cheesy baked pasta dish for a potluck dinner on Thursday. I'm basing the recipe on one from Giada which mixes ziti with marinara and ricotta, and is topped with mozzarella. I'm leaving out the meatballs in her recipe and serving Italian sausage on the side, in consideration of the vegetarians in the group.
My plan is to assemble the dish on Wednesday and refrigerate it until it's time to bake it on Thursday. This type of dish should hold ok in the fridge until it's time to bake, shouldn't it?
Any recommendations for other similar recipes to look at would be appreciated, too.
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Cloverleaf is my favorite wine-shop
Question: Does anyone know if Gibb's is still around? They were/are the greatgrand-daddy of all MetroDetroit wine stores, at least in my
opinion.Yes, they are. I was just talking to someone who used to always go to Merchants in Grosse Pointe, but since the sale to new owners they've jumped to Gibbs.
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Last weekend i went to Saltwater. We were dithering about a restaurant for the night, and by the time we called we couldn't get a reservation. But they have a lounge area and bar with full service, so we figured we'd do that. And as it turned out, with the snowstorm last Saturday they had cancellations and we were able to get a table after all.
It's a great room - nice high ceilings, nicely appointed. Big tables in the center, smaller tables along the wall, and a bunch of booth like semi-private spaces that were really neat.
In addition to the menu they have posted on the website, they have a 6 course tasting menu for $105. This was a no brainer for us, so that's what we ordered. It's been a week, and I didn't take notes or steal a menu, but I'll try to give some recollections anyway.
The amuse was some sort of mousse, coated in a crunchy something and deep fried, served with a meyer lemon gastrique. This was overall a little sweet for an amuse, I thought, but certainly tasty.
First course was a many layered tartare that i don't think is on the regular menu. At the bottom there was a hot potato pancake, then a couple different kinds of fish (tuna and something else?), then a layer of creme fraiche topped with caviar. Man, was that good. Like, really, really good.
Second course was from the menu, and is - we later heard - their most popular appetizer. With good reason. "Hawaiian Blue Prawns, dungeness crab-stuffed, hot & sour reduction." Just enough zing in the hot and sour reduction to keep it interesting without killing your palate for anything that followed. Another really great dish.
Third course was good, but I thought too filling for a 6 course menu. "Savory Black Mussel Soufflé, saffron-chardonnay cream." Individual small souffles are split open at the table and then the cream sauce is poured into them. Coming straight out of the oven, these are very, very hot. Which was noticeable - I can't remember the last time I had to blow on my food to cool it down in a high-end restaurant!
Fourth course was a potato crusted snapper. I can't remember the saucing details, though. Fine, but unremarkable.
Fifth course on the tasting menu was Kobe beef. We weren't overly excited about when we were ordering, so requested that one of us get the Berkshire pork from the main menu instead. They happily accommodated, and actually both dishes were quite good. The Kobe was served with a nice horseradish mashed potato that had just the right amount of kick. Sadly, I can't remember anything about the pork, except that it was really yummy!
Dessert was a caramelized banana tarte tatin with maple ice cream, and was excellent. Even though i was really full going in, i still managed to eat the whole thing.
Round about the middle of the meal, Don Yamauchi stopped by our table. We chatted about his tenure at Tribute (which we'd both managed to miss) and what the new chef there is up to. We talked about other favorite Michael Mina restaurants (this was my first, but my friend is quite a fan and has been to a bunch). We asked him about how the kitchen was set up - with an almost entirely seafood/fish menu at Saltwater and just two meat courses, we wondered if the two restaurants shared a kitchen, or if those coures were cooked in the adjoining Bourbon Steak. "Oh no, not at all" he said, and gave us his card, inviting us to go for a kitchen tour when we were finished. So that was cool. We got to see both the kitchens of Saltwater and Bourbon Steak. (They do share a dishwashing room.) Saltwater is the smaller of the two, doing about 200 covers a night. Bourbon Steak does 400+.
Note to foodies - Bourbon Steak doesn't advertise a tasting menu, but Don told us they will happily put one together for you if you ask.
One last note, about the wine list. It wasn't a stunning list, but there were some good options. The by-the-glass list in the reds look slim, until we remembered where we were, and that there were only two meat courses on the menu. And we were actually really impressed because they had a number of things that were really affordable. Like a $25 Gruner Veltliner. This is a wine that would be great with the type of food being served at Saltwater, and we gave them a hearty "good for them" for having a list that works at all levels. They also had a $26 bottle from India (i'm intrigued), but we got a nice Basque white. They offer pairings with the tasting menu but with the weather being what it was, we didn't want to overindulge.
Service was the weakest point. The pacing was really slow, with surprisingly long waits between courses. But we had nowhere else to be, so that was okay.
Summing up this really long report - great meal. Saltwater is a real boon to the Detroit dining scene, so you should all check it out. We talked a little with Don about whether he thought he was going to need to dumb down the menu to suit the Detroit market. He hoped not, but admitted that it was a possiblity. So you should all go eat there and encourage them to stay creative!
Oh, BTW - Valet parking at the casino is free.
Thanks for this great report. I haven't talked to anyone who's been to Saltwater (my brother, a non-foodie, went to Bourbon Steak and liked it) so it's good to hear more about it. I can't wait to try both, and I truly hope Yamauchi doesn't find it necessary to "dumb down" his menu.
The Tater Tot Topic
in Cooking
Posted
Add me to the list of people who hasn't even thought about Tater Tots for 25 years, but couldn't stop obsessing about them since reading this thread. I couldn't bring myself to buy Ore-Ida, even for the sake of sentiment, but I found a "healthy" brand that only listed a few ingredients besides potatoes, and no trans fat.
I'm going to bake them up nice and crispy with a beer-marinated sirloin and a nice arugula and avocado salad. My husband is psyched.