Mussina

Anyone have a recipe for a warm asparagus foam? Any tips or techniques? Thanks!

Great feedback. I have done my cold foams with an ISI canister and I am not a real fan of the heavy cream foams. Would anyone be willing to share a recipe for a lecithin foam?

I've successfully made numerous cold foams but never a warm one. How does this work? I would like to make a porcini foam to serve alongside a mushroom risotto. Thanks!!!!

Thanks for the suggestions. I ordered my casing and sent Whole Foods an email. Perhaps if enough of us ask it will be stocked. For now I am stuck ordered back fat from Niman Ranch (I'm also going to throw in some caul fat as well) as I am not familiar with any local butchers that carry it. Many thanks!

When I ask for this at Whole Foods I am handed salted pork fat. Not cool! Where is the best place to buy pork back fat and sausage casings online? Thnaks for your help!

Friends installed sub-zero in their villas on St. Barths. What a nightmare! Ice makers didn't work and then the units conked out completely. They looked great for a short time but are less attractive when sitting outside for months (new GE in the kitchen) waiting for parts and the service person from St. Maarten. Also, we have a walk in in our house which has seen better days. I always dreamed of ripping it out and installing a sub-z (this was pre friend's horror stories) but my commerical fridge person said that they were garbage.

I am planning to make some squid ink pasta. Does anyone have any tips as far as how much ink to use? Also, any tricks for insuring that it won't turn my guest's teeth black?? (This happened to me in a restaurant -- NOT a good look).

Longer cooking times at final tempertures question. Let's say that we are cooking a duck breast to 131 degrees. It is 1" thick at its thickest point so according to nathan's tables it goes into a 131 degree bath for 41 minutes. What would the effect be on the breast if it stayed there for 2 hours or even as long as 8 hours?

A+ in math. I am delighted to hear that it is not the culprit. Many thanks!

The rice flour squid -- despite the mess - was delicious. Crispy and light. I tried to do about 1/4 lb at once and that might have been a bit much for my pot.

Thanks for all the advice. Last night I dried the calamari (tenticles only - I ceviche the tubes) best I could and dusted them with rice flour, salt and pepper. Into a pot (about 10 inches high) with about 2 inches of canola oil -- there was an immediate flood. Oil was flowing over the side of the pot all over the stove and onto the floor. A HORRIBLE mess! Perhaps I put too many in at once(I made enough for 2 small servings)? Per another suggestion, I air dried another batch over night (after salting and weighing down with a heavy pot) that I am going to try today. I am a little nervous about the oil flood thing happening again so if anyone has anymore advice . . .

Electric Bill Question --- does anyone know what impact an immersion circulator (mine is Polyscience - old, analog model) would have on one's electric bills? My bill for December and January where I did quite a bit of sous viding has sky rocketed (by about $400/month -- not dissimilar to using window air conditioners in the summer. It didn't occur to me that the circulator could be the culprit until it kept repeatedly blowing a fuse today.

What about Duck Breasts cooked sous vide. Is there a benefit to cooking them this way (they obviously are not tough like a short rib)? If so, what times and temps do you recommend?

Are there any secrets to making perfect fried calamari? I normally use a batter that is cake flour combined with cold club soda. Works great for squash blossoms, green beans, etc. When I use the same batter on calamari (the tenticles) I end up with a mushy mess. So . . . what are you calamari techniques? Batter used?. Oil used? Temp of Oil? Cooking time?

Duck confit sous vide question. I cooked the legs (Muscovy) for 11 hours at 180 degrees F. Chilled in an ice bath and refrigerated overnight. Reheated for 10 minutes in 165 degree water bath and then seared in a hot copper pan. The problem was that the fat wouldn't sear properly -- a lot had rendered during the cooking process and it just stuck to the pan/melted when I tried to sear it in a pan lightly coated with Canola oil (making for a less than stunning visual presentation). I am curious whether others had had similar experiences with their confit and if they use other methods to brown the legs (sear ahead of time, broil, propane torch??). (The taste - by the way - was sublime but it was not a good looking finished dish).

Fox & Abel sounds perfect. On the bar front -- which neighborhood is close to Tru/our hotel (I am a Chicago "newbie" (Hate that word!))

Hi all - looking for an after dinner suggestion for a bar. We'll be eating dinner at Tru (can't wait!) on Wednesday night on our one night tour of Chicago. Are there any cool bars or places to listen to music in the area that we should check out after dinner? Also - any good breakfast spots? We'll be staying at the W on North Lakeshore Drive. Thanks all for the advice.

Thanks for all the recommendations! Our previous trip to Chicago got cancelled because of snow (what else?) but we have rebooked for one night. Dinner will be at Tru (picked Tru over Trotters -- I have wanted to try it for ages) and I am still seeking out that perfect lunch spot before flying home the next night. Now that Trotters is out I am up for an over the top lunch experience as well. $$ no option but fab food/setting a must. Thanks!

Yes, for an elegant presentation, cut the end of the drumstick bone off & then you can scrape the meat toward the other end to make a really plump, round portion of meat. I've seen the same technique used for the 'drumette' portion of the wing. ← Thanks everyone for the great advice - I combined a bunch of it. I did the drumstick lollipop thing (after cutting off the end of the bone and removing the tendons)- salt, pepper and flour, pan seared and then finished roasted in the oven (with shallots) with a parchment lid. I loved the presentation -- it was exactly what I was looking for. Many thanks!!! (this site is amazing)

I was wondering if anyone has had a divine Chicken leg experience/recipe that they would be willing to share. I am on a mission to make it special but falling short.

As Keller said . . . New Yorkers "require" cocktails. So true. I like the aperitifs idea (and champagne of course) and I am intriqued by the ratafias -- which is keeping with seasonal emphasis that the restaurant will have (it will be housed on an organic farm). The portonics sounds great as well. I think we are limited by ingredients but I am not certain about that. Thanks again everyone!

It is a zoning issue -- the town has a limited ordinance which only permits the sale of wine and beer. It is a high end restaurant -- not a bar -- so the majority of the alcohol served will be wine (which has a fairly substantial markup as well) but we are looking for a few innovative options. We are also considering going the Keller/Trotter route with no pre-dinner drinks but wanted to explore the options first. Thanks much for the suggestion so far.

Thanks for all the replies. Just to clarify - it was $150 for just the two of them so we were looking for around $75 a person. Right now they are leaning towards Joe's in Venice. Thanks again.

You are correct - brandy is out. Our state defines "Spirits" as any beverage that contains alcohol obtained by distillation mixed with drinkable water and other substances in solution, including brandy, rum, whiskey and gin. "Wine" is any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of the natural sugar content of fruits, such as grapes or apples or other agricultural products, containing sugar, including fortified wines such as port, sherry and champagne. We can also sell cider up to 6% alcohol. "Beer" means any beverage obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt and hops in drinking water. I just looked up angostura bitters and they don't appear to contain alcohol so they would be fair game.

I am looking for cocktial recipes that can be served in a restaurant that has a liquor permit that is limited to wine and beer. Wine is fairly broad as it encompasses sake (think sake martinis) as well as brandy, eau de vin, champagne, port, etc. I was wondering whether people had recipes for before dinner drinks when you are limited to no hard alcohol. Many thanks!!!