repoman

Has anyone tried Katz's mail-order pastrami? I am really craving some but I want to hear if any other eG members have tried it and if its anywhere near as good as at the restaurant.

Trader Joes has some excellent California Estate Olive Oil for around 6 bucks a bottle. I use it quite often as a finishing oil and it can hold its' own against California oils running 20-25 bucks a bottle. I also like Pope Creek Ranch California Olive Oil. For everyday cooking I usually have a large bottle of Colavita Extra Virgin. I get these large plastic bottles at Sam's Club for about 17 bucks. I also like DaVinci and Pilippo Berrio.

I know they edit these shows to come out a certain way, but I am so gald Emily got the boot. Her snide comment (something along the lines of "you with your 4 teeth and fat ass" about the woman who said her ice cream was too sweet really pissed me off. She seemed to suffer from the same problem Tiffany from season 1 had...the failure to adapt to the different challenges and inability to take criticism. I also didn't like some of the chefs attitude towards cooking for TGIFridays saying "I don't do that kind of food, I do high end cuisine!" At first I thought I would hate Marcel (again the editing has something to do with how each contestant is presented) but I am starting to like him. The others that I like are Cliff and Sam. I was really hoping Sam would have won the TGIFriday thing because I would have had my ass over there ordering that dish as soon as it was available. It looked amazing. I hope that Betty gets booted off so I don't have to look at her stupid over-exaggerated facial expressions.

I heard an interview with Tom Colicchio on the Restaurant Guys radio show podcast and he was explaining why he doesn't mentor the contestants. He said its in the contract and the rules of the show. He said its really hard to not give them advice, but he just cannot do it. Though I think it would be really cool if they had some kind of quick fire challenge where the winner gets to use Tom or one of the guest chefs (Ming Tsai, Bourdain, etc) to help with the final challenge. I don't think that he wants to rip the contestants at all so I disagree with some of the posters that make him out to be the American Gordon Ramsay. You can tell by some of his comments to the chefs that he is trying to let them know if they are on the right track or the wrong track, but I have never seen him be disrespectful or mean.

I marinade flank steak in a mixture of smoked paprika, pepper, olive oil, chopped shallots, red wine or balsamic, cayenne pepper and Worchester sauce. I am ashamed but the recipe is based on a similar marindade I found on the Food Network website created by Rachel Ray. It adds an awesome, yet subtle flavor to the flank steak. This is by far the best non-soy sauce based marinade for this cut of meat that I have tried.

Ok, initially I was shocked when I saw the commercial. Then I thought about it and really cannot blame him. First, the Food Network is huge. People all over America watch it and hope to one day eat at one of Emeril’s restaurants or visit the Lady and Sons in Savannah (Paula Deen’s place). However most of America is not near a celebrity chef driven restaurant. So they see Tyler pimping his Applebee’s menu, which looks decent enough, and they have an opportunity to try out a dish created by someone they enjoy watching on TV. Hell, Ming Tsai is coming out with a line of frozen and boxed dinners for Target stores, which I am sure he will get ripped for as well. I guess if given the chance to sell out and make a boatload of cash, I’d have a hard time saying no as well. Especially if I am a marginal celebrity chef like Tyler. I personally don’t have much interest in places like Emeril’s chain of restaurants; then again I am not a huge fan of the Food Network nor am I their target audience. I would much rather eat at a place that became famous because of the food and the chef, and not TV hype. So I dream of eating at places like The French Laundry, Le Bernardin, Chez Panisse, and Alinea. As for Applebee’s, I think the food there is edible. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible either. I am not going to get up on some pedestal and rip the place to shreds because it’s a chain. I have eaten at far more mom and pop and independent restaurants that suck than chains that suck. Just because something is independently owned doesn’t make it good and just because something is a chain doesn’t make it bad. I have eaten the fajitas, tilapia with tropical salsa and a few other items at Applebee’s and they were much better than I expected. Though if forced to eat at a similar chain, I must say I really enjoy the new Houlihan’s menu, which features some awesome salads and some ingredients and products not found at many chains. With the exception of a great sushi place, I work in a city that is culinary wasteland, so Houlihan’s is one of the few good places to eat.

I do not own this book but I found the recipe for the gnocchi and squash with mushrooms on Epicurious and though it was much more labor intensive than I had expected, the dish was incredible. You really get a nice picture of how Keller's mind works. Mushrooms go well with thyme so sautee your mushrooms, shallots and thyme togther. Squash, brown butter, and sage go together so cook them together. Most recipes would have you sautee everything together with all of the herbs and aromatics. Keller has you keep all components seperate then assemble them at the last minute. The result is awesome, each element has its own taste when eaten seperatly and when combined the layers of flavor were amazing.

If you have one of those escargot serving dishes a nice twist on the typical French garlic butter and parsely sauce is to take butter, chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and some finely chopped jalapenos. Essentially the same concept, but with different flavors.

With the very short cooking time it is very difficult to get a mesquite flavor from a fire. Are you using mesquite chips on your grill? One tip would be to not soak the chips, just throw em on the coals (or in a foil pouch for gas grills). For a more intense taste I would try a liquid smoke. I have seen mesquite flavored liquid smoke, which would work very well in a marinade. Many people rip liquid smoke but it is used by even the most hardcore bbq fanatics in their sauces, so you should feel comfortable using it. Just make sure to use it sparingly and taste the marinade before you soak the skirt steak in it. I prefer the Colgin brand, though I have not had their mesquite flavor yet. I do like their Hickory and Applewood.

I like to take jalapenos and shallots, grill (or roast) them until charred. Peel off the outer skin and take out some of the seeds (not all). Throw in a blender with a little rice wine vinegar, cilantro, and salt. The sauce is great. This year I have my first garden with a ton of poblanos, jalapenos, serranos, and habaneros. I will have to try some of the ideas here on EG.

I have a couple of ways that I like to prepare this cut of meat. One is to make a red wine-shallot sauce using...well red wine, shallots, butter and some demi glace. I find that it is an almost perfect topping for the onglet and I can almost get the sauce to taste like that served at Les Halles in New York. My second favorite, and much more complicated, method is from a local restaurant recipe (with minor modifications) that I probably make 4-5 times a year because people love it so much: Mix together the following: 2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce (you could use homemade, but Sweet baby Ray's works fine for me) 1 cup of red wine 5-6 chopped shallots 3-4 bay leaves Marinade the meat in this mixture overnight. Remove the meat from the marinade and wipe off excess sauce. Strain the marinade reserving both the solids and liquid. Sautee the solids for a few minutes until translucent. Add another cup of red wine and reduce until almost dry. Add the reserved marinade liquid and simmer for about 10 minutes Strain again and discard solids. Slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons of butter and add a teaspoon or so of sherry or red wine vinegar. Grill or pan cook steaks to desired doneness (no more than med-rare..I pull them off aroun 125 degrees and let them rest). Top with sauce and serve with frites or cilantro lime rice.

I like glossy pictures and I like books that don't treat the reader as if they had never cooked anything beyond a frozen pizza. I think that there is a place for more "advanced" cookbooks for experienced home cooks who want to learn a bit more.

I, like most people posting, love their spices. Their corporate headquarters and main factory store are only a few miles from my house so as you can imagine, I am there a lot. My collection of spices, herbs, and blends is nothing short of obnoxious. We received a subscription to Penzey’s One for Christmas. I have been thoroughly disappointed in the magazine, though not as much had I actually paid for it. It is definitely for the super novice cook and really tends to focus on the “Taste of Home” crowd (as mentioned in an earlier post). That kind of cooking is very prevelant in Wisconsin (the headquarters of both Penzeys and Taste of Home) and I think that may be their focus. They are definitely not trying to appeal to the Bon Appetit/Gourmet/Food and Wine crowd, which I would consider myself in. I think it is good that it is getting people to try different spices but the recipes are either super bland sounding or overly simplistic (i.e. you could have made them up yourself by looking in your spice cabinet). There are tons of recipes submitted by Penzey’s customers that just aren’t in line with what I like to eat…things like tuna casserole, deviled eggs, etc. They have had some features that are ok, but when someone who cooks a lot like myself looks at some of the recipes you realize that what you are about to make isn’t going to taste very good just by the technique and ingredient list. They really didn’t tell people what was going to be in the magazine before it was released, so I am sure I am not the only one who was disappointed. If I wanted a recipe for spicy salmon loaf submitted by Sally Housewife of Omaha, Nebraska I’d read Good Housekeeping.

I love my Batali dutch oven. I recieved a smaller LC peice for my wedding (not what we registered for and not large enough for what I wanted to use it for), I exchanged it for the Batali dutch oven, a knife sharpener, some kitchen utensels, and I still have 20 dollars on a gift card. Honestly, with LC you are paying a huge price for that name. I cannot imagine that a LC dutch oven is $100 better than Batali's.

I have a Fiesta Optima grill and when I make steaks I take the cast iron grate off of its normal resting place, rotate 90 degrees and set it closer to the flames. For some reason the grate gets wedges in almost the perfect spot for a nice char. I leave the hood open, which slows the cooking process to allow for a better crust. If I close the hood, the inside tends to cook much faster and inhibits the formation of the crust. Why some company hasn't come up with a fully adjustable grate gas grill is beyond me.

Selling them may be a bigger hassle than its worth. You are better off giving them away and putting a donation cup near your table. Put up a sign that says "Enjoy a free breakfact burrito. Please feel free to make a donation to help offset costs!"

I would say that Lake Park Bistro is great and is definitely worth a try. Sanford D’Amato’s other restaurant Coquette Café is an inexpensive French Bistro in the 3rd Ward. Another fun place to try is The Social which probably has one of the more adventurous menus in Milwaukee (how many other places in the City offer veal sweetbreads and rabbit?). I do think they have “borrowed” some of their dishes from Lola Bistro and Wine Bar in Cleveland, but they are still really good. Give them a try. Their other restaurant, Sol Fire is also very tasty. For a unique twist on a sushi restaurant try Sake Tumi on Milwaukee Street. I really want to try Bacchus and Dream Dance. However I hear that Bacchus has toned down their menu to accommodate the restrained palates of meat and potatoes Milwaukeeans.

I tried the Batali Dutch Oven and made his short ribs and I was very satisfied with the performance of the pan. I have a smaller LaCreuset and to be honest the performance was the same. Maybe some uber-chef could find some differences between the two pans but I am sure that the home cook would not. Only time will tell how this pan holds up but so far I am glad I saved the extra money.

This seems to be the fan favorite over at the BBQ Bible Forums I have a Char Broil electric water smoker, which does ok but is somewhat boring because you aren't using charcoal, just an electric coil with a thermostat. This summer I will be getting a Char Griller. I love the size of them and the fact that it doubles as an extremely large charcoal grill makes it all the more attractive to me.

I find this discussion very interesting and kind of timely because I have just noticed a local restaurant in Milwaukee, The Social that seems to have been very influenced by Michael Symon's Lola Bistro in Cleveland. The only reason I caught this was I just finished reading Michael Ruhlman's "Soul of a Chef" and I noticed some menu items that were oddly familiar; Crabby Tater Tots, Mac and Cheese with Goat Cheese, Chicken, and Rosemary, and the Knuckle Sandwich (made with Lobster) were all mentioned in the book and all appear on the menu at The Social in Milwaukee. I could see if there was one item on the menu that was similar, but to have three of the same items that seem to be Lola's signature dishes seemd a bit odd. I wonder if the chef at Social just assumed that people in Milwaukee would never link the two restaurants.

I love to make grilled or pan seared Belgian Endive. I cut them lengthwise add salt and olive oil and cook. Some things I do include: -Brushing it with balsamic vinegar before cooking -Melting goat cheese on top after it is almost done grilling and topping it with pine nuts - adding some lemon and parsley after its done. - add an Orange Vinaigrette (link to my blog with a recipe) - Grilling Guru Steven Raichlen has a great recipe in How To Grill that uses cocoa and it it also outstanding. - Top them with your favorite bruschetta topping.

And, for the love of gawd, don't slice habaneros, then go to the bathroom! ← Ummm....yeah...that is really painful. Not that I have ever done it or anythin

I bought the dutch oven last night. I had a gift card for 150 and couldn't bring myself to drop over 200 bucks on the comparable Le Creuset. The Batali 6 quart cast iron (enamel) pot was only 99 bucks. It seems like basically the same thing with some minor modifications (basting spikes). The way I figure it is that I will likely use this thing maybe 20 times a year. If it breaks down in 10 years I can buy another Batali one and I am still ahead financially. I think to give the pan its proper due, I will try Mario Batali's short ribs recipe from the Babbo cookbook this Sunday. I will report my findings here on Monday.

I have had a few meals with a port reduction sauce. One of my favorite appetizers at Kirch's French Country Inn in Lake Geneva, WI is a Crispy Duck & Portabella Mushroom Napoleon made with Crumbled Goat & BleuCheeses and a Port Wine Reduction. It is amazing. I could just eat that as my dinner and be satisfied. I have added port to mushrooms and for a quick pan sauce for lamb chops. The mushrooms were really good with about a tablespoon or so of port and a splash of cream.

I used to be scared of real butter until I became a foodie. Now I always use it. I also have some of that Blummel and Brown yogurt spread which I find tastes ok in certain applications. I tried smart balance and I found that it left a strange film on my tounge that made beer taste funky and if there is one thing that I hate, its anything that messes with the taste of beer.