tommy

cabby, i must say that i was not exactly gleefly awash in concorde grape reduction. it was there. upon further reflection, i should rescind my comment of "it's not that expensive." i do recall thinking that for the same price, i could have gone across the street to Esca and had a brilliant meal. the meal, if i recall, excluding tip (including it really isn't all that helpful now is it), was about 160. this included the above dishes, plus one dessert, plus 2 glasses of champagne ($9 and $12), and a bottle of modestly-priced wine ($45 maybe?). i recall entrees ranging from the high teens to the high 20's perhaps.

rhea, does the rice flour offer the same texture as ground rice? also, cellophane or glass noodles in larb is very nice. in fact, another popular thai dish, yum woon sen, is glass noodle, ground chix or pork, with lime juice, fish sauce, shallot, etc. quite similar to larb i'd say, and very very tasty...if you like glass noodles that is.

i had one of the worst dishes in my life at marseilles recently. i've often stopped in for a post-work/egullet glass of wine, as they have a decent selection and a nice bar area. so i looked forward to trying it for dinner. yikes. started with the vegetable meze, which is described above by cabby. relatively uneventful, and the matbucha flan was actually a bit disturbing in texture and flavor. then again, i don't like flan. veal raviolo was a special app. it was quite tasty, but certainly lacked the white truffles that the menu claimed. i went against my better judgment and ordered monkfish, which was wrapped in a leafy green. served with a beet reduction. just passable. nothing stellar. lacked flavor and seasoning. the scallops in a concorde grape reduction were just horrendous. mealy, dirty, nasty, and inedible. they went untouched. service was amateurish but friendly. one saving grace is that it's really not all that expensive. however, i don't see myself returning, 'cept for maybe a glass of wine. yuck.

my spice grinder works fine. and while we're telling the truth, i used some sort of indian rice because it's the only thing i had. and i use shallot and not red onion. truthfully. spice grinder:

it takes up more space it takes more thought it takes more equipment in the way of a large vessel the first-timer runs the risk of having an over-salty or over-sweet bird your family looks at you funny when you suggest it your family looks at you funny because you're wilfrid steak

junk science. phooey.

dave, nice avatar. how much could a kosher turkey possibly cost? is it that much better? i'm thinking that the extra expenditure once a year probably isn't a big deal in the big scheme of things.

has anyone here actually done an experiment that is at least *slightly* scientific? such as, cooking 2 birds, bought from the same place, under the same conditions, one right after the other, in the same oven, equal amounts of basting, same aromatics, one brined and one not, and compared them side-by-side? (col apparently has done this with chicken parts to some extent). i'm betting the number of people who can answer "yes" is way off from the number of people who opine that "brining really does make a difference." personally, i'll be brining for the first time this year. and i'm under no allusion that i'll be able to confidently say that the result will be markedly better than any other year. that said, i'm thinking that brining can't hurt.

lot's of blue hair and blazers at this place? that's always been my impression, although i've never been. reminds of the Sea Shack, also in hackensack. they have a commercial on local cable, espousing the virtues of their "steak, ribs, chilean sea bass, lobster, salmon, shrimp." they might even have "pasta" in there. can't be sure.

blue sky et al are just as expensive as 28 oak, latour, and probably even zarole, all in ridgewood, all decent enough. the poster seems to be making a statement more than asking a question. i find it strange and i'm done repeating myself.

no, you are both absolutely right. i'm not sure where to get "creative new american" for less than 18 an entree and 9 an app, especially in NYC. perhaps i should get out of bergen more often. both panache and matisse are considerably more than i remembered. but they're worth it, imo.

which restaurants in millburn and montclair are you talking about? it's hard to get a feel for what you want when you mention only one restaurant. and what restaurants in the city are less than 100 a couple and notable, or better than those i mentioned? additionally, in my experience, you can get out of 28 oak and latour for under 100 a couple.

for 50 a head you can eat at cafe panache, cafe matisse, latour, 28 oak, and quite a few others. i'm thinking that these are the "best" that bergen has to offer. scrolling through the NJ board would certainly yield many many ideas.

dude, mint sure definitely get its own pot. it's a killer weed. last year, my basil lasted at least until this long, and actually well into november. i think we must have had some severe dips in temp, maybe coupled with some rain at night. it caught me off guard.

jasmine perhaps. i have a spice grinder. a mortar and pestle would probably work, although it would take a bit more effort. you don't need much, however.

here in NJ, i've already lost all of my basil and thai basil. thyme, mint, and sage are holding up.

blue, the approach i used was similar to the one you linked. 'cept i didn't/don't use kaffir and sometimes don't bother with lemongrass, and, i add cilantro, mint and some red pepper for color/texture (now i see the recipe says to garnish with cilantro). the proportions of fish sauce/stock/lime juice are very important for the correct balance. as you can see, that recipe calls for "2-3" Tbs of each. that's a lot of room to play with. i've found that lime juice and fish sauce can be half-and-half, or maybe a bit less fish sauce, depending on your taste. until yesterday, i'd saute the pork (i use pork, and i grind it myself - a food processer works well for this) i a little oil. now i'll "poach" it in abot 5 Tbs of chicken stock/broth. i also throw in some minced garlic. many restaurants don't serve this dish with lettuce, or much of it. i prefer more than less, so i plate accordingly. this recipe calls for "ground chilis." i, however, use a mix of fresh thai chilis and "pickled" thai chilis. i find the fresh add a hotter and fruitier flavor than the pickled chilis, but the pickled chilis offer a nice acidic bite. you say that the balance was off in the version you had. thai food is all about balance. so if you don't hit it 100% the first time, try again soon. be sure to tell us how it went.

stuplicate.

bingo. any time you get someone in your front door, you're in better shape than you were. any time you get even 23 cents extra out of a customer, you're in better shape than you were. that's part of the theory behind "super-sizing" at mcdonald's and its ilke.

it's *never* too late to find a thread. in fact, i wish more people would find old threads. there's so much stuff that goes missed. even by me.

*still* on fire. we gotta get that kitchen sorted out for you dude. you're close to losing in completely.

cathly, da blue platter was a gift, probably from a friend with whom i no longer speak. do you have a friend like that too? itsanice-a blue platta for doz tings. the duck for the entree was roasted at 375 and then 350. scored and rubbed with s/p and orange zest. stuffed with 1/2 orange, head of garlic, and ginger. had i actually used the pan juices, i'm thinking this routine might have had that much more of an impact. however, i did use the drippings to do the onions and peppers, and i refuse to put any type of carcass in the oven without stuffing it with *something*. the confit i roasted to crisp the skin at 375 or so. my oven has the heating element in the oven part (as opposed to a broiler part beneath), which aids in that task. duck confit (from d'artagnan) just goes right in sans prep.

my first duck ever. roasted it for about 3 hours. served as a thai dish, with peppers, onions, scallions and chili. i was hoping for a crispier skin. i think i'll baste it more next time, as i hardly did at all this time. to start, duck confit on puff pastry, with a dab of hoisin and some sliced scallion. a tiny bit of cinnamon serves as the "secret ingredient," as always. as usual, it looked and tasted better than 1.3 megapixels would lead you to believe.

i started a larb thread, finally. please speak.

this thai dish really really needs it's own thread. finally made it again tonite. this was the first time i used ground roasted rice. i do love that texture. share your larb stories.