chefadamg

I've cooked quite a few welks from Long Island. They dont respond well to medium to long cooking. I used to flash them for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and cool in ice water...generally that would lead to a cold preparation. The flavor is quite nice..treat them like a chilled conch..they respond well to lime juice, olive oil and fresh herbs.

Just a heads up. Ddartagnan has in stock some INCREDIBLE abalone mushrooms this week. Nice and large..about a pound each..maybe a bit less. I just snapped up a case for a wine dinner I'm doing this weekend. Thought I'd give everyone a heads up..I am NOT affiliated w/ Dartagna but purchase quite a bit from them.

Hmmm..people DO in fact cure Kobe beef. Ask the French Laundry.And real Kobe is readily available here in the NYC area. I wouldnt cure a whole strip loin..as that would feed a major NY restaurant for a month or so. I've started w/ a 3# piece of A5 Kobe.(A5 on the Japanese quality score not the BMS scale) About 700 bucks. It cured for 7 days in salt and sugar w/ a few spices.... and has been hanging for a couple of weeks. I thought about the fat content and made the decision that I would go ahead and see how it goes. Remember that sausage has a VERY high fat content as well..and cures rather well if you've ever had a nice salami. I'll snap some picks of the finished product.

Well...Im not sure it's going to happen any time soon. I saw Stephanie this week in Southampton. I'm a private chef and got a chance for a short chat. Shes doing the "private chef" thang as well...for a family in NY City. Once she gets the taste of the "good life"...she might not go back. Anywhoo...she said she's working on the restaurant...but nothing solid yet. I wish her all the best...it was cool to meet her.

Lookng to cure a nice piece of Kobe striploin for a wine dinner at Sothebys at the end of next month. Had a nice "air" dried Kobe beef at The French Laundry last month and thought Id give it a try. Any recomendations on a recipe? I'm looking at a few basic bresaol recipes but they contain red wine. Thinking of using the basic recipe w/ out the wine, as Id prefer not to discolor the Kobe. I dont want to "pastrami" it or use any flavor detracting methods...just a nice dry cure of some sort. Any other ideas or recipe recomendations?

Hadnt heard about this one until I picked up this weeks Hamptons Magazine. Sam Talbot from Top Chef is running the kitchen. A small 32 room upscale hotel in Montauk. Checked the web site but not much info on the restaurant yet. Anyone eaten there yet? I think I'll check it out tonight and I'll update later. Hamptons Magazine talked it up pretty nicely..a few dishes: -Lump crab ceviche w/ blueberry, ginger and popcorn -sweet corn a la plancha w. peekytoe crab and marinated nectarine -seared scallop w/ pickled melon,ricotta salata and chimichurri -coffe rubbed beef tenderloin w/ cappachino butter and spiced broccoli rabe -truffle brownie w/ mint choc chip ice cream

Just a heads up to those who might be looking for manni olive oil and dont want to spend the 460 dollars to import therir own. Tim at Hampton Prime Meats in Southampton has started to stock Manni. You can buy it by the bottle, which is 1/10th of a liter..about 45 bucks I think.

Southampton and Hampton bays may be a bit far away for you but I can vouch for Cor J's in Hampton Bays..incredible local selection and they bring in everything from Monterey sea urchin to geoduck for me when I need it. Southampton Prime Meats just opened up a new shop. Tim stocks rabbits, squab, Ibericao jamon etc..I had 2 beatifull whole spring lambs last week..incredible. Hell order what you need. As a side note..he also stocks Manni olive oil, a real bargain in my opinion

Well..finally purchased a fresh Canadian Porcelet. I bought only 1/2 of the whole pig...Basically a milk fed young pig..about 80 pounds..Direct from Dartagnan. Looking forward to preparing and tasting. I'll update later w/ prep pics and final dishes. Any recomendations? Have a bone in front shoulder, bone in leg and center. http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/12089814..._5983_43176.jpg http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/12089814..._5983_41093.jpg http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/12089814..._5983_37227.jpg

You might want to try Restaurant Associations..I'm certain all states have them. Also..good "old fassioned" US mail might be the most cost effective way of reaching the masses. A nice effectively written mailer would work magic w/ little effort. Also..as a side note. There seems to be a need for a web based restaurant "owners association" for the exchange of ideas and information.

hmmmm...I wish him all the luck in the WORLD. And I hope I dont offend anyone w/ the following remarks: As a chef myself, and based what I saw on the show.. I'll wager it will be out of business in under 18 months. WHY.... OHHHH WHY would anyone want to bankroll a chef of average talent in what I would term an almost guaranteed failure? Matter of fact...we should start to track what I believe is 8 restaurants from Top Chef contestants. Any guesses on a failure rate?

I think for most restaurants...labor can be pointed in another direction.

haha...try them...its a great product. Im not suggesting high end restaurants charge 12 bucks an order for them..but they have a place in the industry.

Well...it is a fact that THEEEEEE Thomas keller uses frozen fries in his Bouchon restaurants. A fact that will hurt a few of his followers Im sure.

Well...had a visit from my local foodservice professional. He dropped off of a box of FROZEN potatoes. "what the hell is this?" I asked. By GOD it was little potato slices...and guess what happens when you fry them at 375 degrees? Oooo..perfect pommes souflee...AND they ALL puffed magically and were great. It's a hell of a product...just sliced potato, pre cooked like the usuall pommes souflee and then quick frozen for your pleasure. Anyone else out there get these yet?

Use a hot chefs knife(heat using gas range or hot water) and portion it out. The hot knife should cut right through. Portion in large pieces and wrap. for instance...if you will be eating (2) 1" pieces at a sitting...portion the foie in 2" pieces than re-freeze. You can slice the thawed 2" pieces before cooking.

looking to make "soup" dumpling dim sum. Anyone have a reliable ratio of agar to stock for the filling? Thanks

That sounds right to me..black mango powder or Amchur is used in Undian cooking. I'm not sure of a substitute..I've forgotten what it tastes like. Kalyustans carrys it in New York...they have a web site...google it

if you can find it....rice flour/sparkling water, ice and an egg yolk. Forget the egg white as I've found inhibits crunchyness. The batter needs to be THIN THIN THIN....less batter will yield a better crunch.

Puerto Rico is harvesting a few this year. I've been lucky enough to have them here in Southampton NY for a few weeks. About 30-40 dollars a pound. 8 bucks for 12??? thats a bargain

I LOVE Wd-50..as a chef, the staff is an inspiration. There is one BIG preference for the majority on these threads. (And I would certainly include myself in that majority) And that preference is a search for something NEW. And I think it's important to understand that "relevence" is NOT the same thing. And I dont believe this recent phenomenom is "intellectual" at all...quite the contrary. It's as "base" as we can get...it's our basic reaction to stimuli. Or, our lack of reaction to PREVIOUS stimuli already encountered. (i.e. our lack of excitement for Aureole)Why do we react to a droplet of mango juice encapsulated in itself? Afterall..its just mango juice?

OK...so 2 cups strained fresh carrot juice addded to .05% gelatine.....freeze...thaw in fridge w/ coffee filter will yield a clear carrot juice?? So .05% gelatine.... is by weight of the carrot juice?

Its quite evident youre not using ENOUGH flour. Many beginers make that mistake. This is a dough and needs the proper balance of potato to flour. Thomas Keller uses 2 lbs russets/3 yolks/salt and 1.25-1.5 cups AP flour. Thats what I use and it works every time. Also..some people dont quite mix it up enough...everyone always says over kneeding will make them tough..and thats true ,if you kneed for 10 minutes. The dough has to be mixed properly to homogenize.

If Aureole is not relevant in your opinion..I just wasted 2 minutes of my time reading this IRRELEVANT post. I've got news for all the "foodies" who believe new restaurants chasing so called avant garde techniques determine relevance. When Tailor/WD 50/Alinea etc. are out of business...and YES, I'm afraid they will all go out of business in the near term. Aureole and that old fogie Charlie Palmer will continue it's "ho-hum" march into that foodie land of irrelevance.

A "Baja" style is the simplest and the best. I generally use mahi-mahi..marinate in lime and oil for about 3-5 minutes..grill. Serve on a properly cooked corn tortilla (grilled or roasted over open flame. Dress with shaved cabbage..NO..I REPEAT NOOOO DRESSING ON CABBAGE. Now..the finish is up to you. I prefer a concoction of mayo and sour cream with lime juice and cilantro. Some like a simple salsa fresca..its up to you. You really need to keep this simple...the more crap you pile on the worse it will be.