FoodMan

Bacon Pancetta Braseola different sausages (hunter, andouille and fresh stuff) terrines Duck Roulade ...just to name a few I posted about them when I made them

Elie, what are you going to use as a curing chamber? I think uptopic, Abra said she got several kinds ready at the same time, and felt that it was faster than doing three or four separate "getting everything ready" sessions. And Rob, welcome to the party! You've done a very impressive job of getting going, and I'm going to have to try the hot plate method. ← Being in Houston, humidity is more than available. My problem is the hotter than ideal temperature (probably in the 70s) in my house. So I am not too sure but I think I will try a large cardboard box to start with and see if it works out. If not then the extra fridge in the garage (too low of a temp and humidity) that I used for the Braseola way back when might have to be my chamber. Any other -inexpensive- ideas?

For us with no FoodSaver, is rewrapping the Bactoferm tightly and freezing it ok for long-ish (several months) term storing?

Welcome to the Society on to this fantastic thread Rubashov. I like your cold-cmoking setting and it reminds me of one I saw Alton Brown do a couple of time.

Lovely plate Abra! I put in my first order of Bactoferm and some collagen casings yesterday from BP and I am ready to do some dry curing this weekend. Problem is where to start.... Coppa Tuscan Salame Soppressata Pepperone too many choices

Yes, yes and YES. I will go back to Da Marco because the food is excellent, but this is one of the places I was talking about concerning the VIP/status/age factor in my Mark's post earlier. Nothing bugs me more than waiters who "assume" (you don't want wine, you don't want to hear specials...), especially at finer dining restaurants where service and cordiality is almost as important as the food. Da Marco was the definition of "impersonal and loud" for us. For an all around fine dining experience, IMHO, in HOUSTON Mark's fits the bill. Expense accounts holders do not bother me one bit. They are all over the place anyways and good for them and the restaurants. If I had an unlimited expense account I would do the same too. As for the noise level I always request to be seated on the balcony where this is hardly a problem. Compared to Da Marco's insane noise level Mark's is a church ...literally.

Kevin, I found a similar recipe in Molto Italiano for wild boar with sweet and sour sauce. I think this Saturday's dinner is decided .

For the cooked yogurt sauce, follow the procedure I outlined in this thread. The filling that I make is normally rice (raw, uncooked), ground beef or lamb (about 1/3 the amount of the rice), samen, salt and pepper. Simmer the stuffed zucchini in about an inch of water till pretty much cooked and most of the water evaporated (you might have to weigh them down with a plate). Now add the the cooked yogurt sauce and allow it to simmer gently for another 15 minutes but not longer. Garnish with dried crushed mint and enjoy. I always request this dish from my mom whenever I visit Lebanon and this is pretty much her procedure.

There are hundreds doing it better than Mark's in France as well....

Interesting, usually when you see "marinara" here in the US it simply means red tomato sauce. I've never seen it any other way.

Mark's certainly is way more than just ok (Cafe Annie is just OK, especially for the $$$), you should have a great experience there.

You can use cane sugar, but you should dissolve it. The good thing about corn sugar is that it is so fine that you can just stir it in and it will dissolve. Table sugar crystals have a tough time getting fully dissolved in cool solutions. ← Actually last time I also dissolved the Dextrose in a little water to incorporate it better. So, 2 oz of cane sugar should sub ok for 2 oz of Dextrose?

I agree Kevin...it all looks great. Can you elaborate on the sweet and sour sauce a little more, for, er....research purposes . Some proportions would be great. As for the Lobster lasagna, I am sure it came out great and I see no reason why it cannot be layered and baked for a very short time using the sauce provided in the recipe. I might give it a try. Thanks again.

Dry hopped this past weekend using 1/2oz cascade and 1/4oz Kent Goldings. I also took a small taste using a scrupulously sanitized spoon and made sure that there is no sugary taste and there certainly were none. So, fermentation was fine. I just noticed that I only have half the amount, 2 oz, of priming sugar (Dextrose) necessary for bottling. Can I make up the other 2oz using regular granulated sugar or corn syrup? Or should I head back to the brew shop and just buy more Dextrose?

Here's Mario's Lasagna Sarde With Lobster, Tomatoes And Saffron recipe. I think it's the expired one you were hoping to find? I made it for my Mom's birthday, after I got my first pasta roller. (I was a little late on the bandwagon of making my own, but have been making up for it ever since!) Thank goodness I'm a recipe packrat. 2 spiny lobsters, 1 1/2 lbs. each, steamed 10 minutes and cooled 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 medium red onion, in 1/8" julienne 2 ribs celery, in 1/4" pieces 1 medium potato, in 1/8" dice 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1/2 lb. overripe tomatoes, in 1/2" dice 1 cup dry white wine 1 pinch saffron 1 lb. DeCecco fettucine 1/2 cup finely sliced chives Remove lobster from shells and cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Bring 6 quarts water to boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat olive oil until smoking. Add onion, celery, potato and garlic and saute until golden brown. Add tomatoes, wine and saffron and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 1 minute. Cook pasta according to package instructions and drain. Add lobster to tomato sauce in pan and toss through. Add hot pasta to pan and add chives. Toss to coat and serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings ← Many thanks! So it is basically fettucine tossed with lobster sauce? no layering, baking and all that jazz??

Jay- Merguez is made with lamb traditionally since pork is not consumed in North African muslim countries, is that what theirs has?

Must be a Mark’s time of year. Mark’s is our favorite Houston spot to celebrate our anniversary both for the outstanding food and flawless, gracious service. For our fifth anniversary I made dinner reservations (maybe it is just me, but I love the fact that they know all our preferences, names, special dates as soon as I give them my last name) and we had a lovely meal there last weekend. For starters I picked the Asparagus “off-menu” special with three different kinds of asparagus (and each type prepared differently with sauces), wild mushrooms and greens. It was delicious and my wife kept picking on it instead of on her seafood tropical salad dish. I have to admit though I was sticker-shocked at the price of this one. I guess I should’ve asked, but I did not expect to pay $22 for an asparagus appetizer no matter how good it was. For our main course we both got chops, my wife had the veal chop with, if I remember correctly, bacon studded risotto and several other miniature garnishes and sauces. I had a very juicy spice rubbed pork chop with a nice reduction, finely diced roasted root vegetables, a potato chip and the lightest creamiest whipped potatoes (“chantilly” I think). I am sure I am forgetting little things here and there. Dessert was terrific as well, for me it was a chocolate hazelnut torte. A very light and fluffy round cake with strong flavors of cocoa and hazelnut. It also had a delicious hazelnut tuille (sp?) type cookie served with it. My wife had an excellent nectarine and blueberry tart. For wine the sommelier recommended an affordable and very well balanced Shiraz (The Footbolt by D’arenberg) that went great with the meal and was great to sip even with my dessert. Being probably the youngest (under 30) couple in Mark’s that night, almost this is always the case, we are always treated exceptionally well. I wish I could say the same of a couple of other places we’ve been to in Houston and out of town. The service from everyone is top notch and the sommelier made sure I had all my questions answered including my price restrictions. At no point did we feel at the receiving end of mediocre service because we were not the right age or status. Mark’s remains one of my all time favorite fine dining spots in Houston and I find it difficult to go anywhere else for such dinners (although the new Tony’s has been on my list for a while ).

fried batter "balls" smothered in rosewater syrup is a favorite Lebanese dessert called "aawaimat" (floaters) or "Lokmmat el Kadi" (judge's food bit). SO I am sure a Greek version topped of with honey is more than acceptable . I'll give it a shot next time around. Now, how about that guy who actually tried all the Gelato recommendations? I was actually impressed that he did.

I actually love their food, especially the gyros, the awsome lemony rice soup and that huge sampler platter they have with all kinds of stuff in it. Oh, and the yellow potatoes . Never had their sweets though.

what a wonderful read Chris. Thanks for writing and sharing. Did you ever hear back about the survey results? How did they even get in touch with you in the first place? BTW, I am very surprised that Peychaud's is so dear in other states. Here in Texas I buy at at any liquor store and always have it on hand. I've never had a Sazerac, but the next cocktail I will make at home is going to be one...more or less.

Awsome! canned fishes of all varieties are always in demand in my house. I cannot wait to give it a shot. Thanks for the report.

In this week's food section the following article immediatly caught my attention: Pampering the international palate by Dai Huynh This quote pretty much sums it up I've been to Phoenicia a couple of times years ago and never was too impressed. It was cramped, with barely room to move around and a bit out of my way. Seems like that has changed, well except for the location I guess. I am looking forward to checking this out now. That olive bar alone promisses to be worth the trip. Hopefully I can stop by at some point next week and report back. I would love to check out their butcher department as well for good lamb or chicken. Has anyone been recently? Any comments?

Today's W&D: So someone went to Niko Niko's AND ordered fried calamary!!! AND complained that it is bad? I did not even know they serve calamari at this great Greek dining spot. If it does not come from a lamb, I probably would not order it here

Asparagus usually has a bitter tone to it. I would think that's where you are getting it from.

Several interesting recipes can be found in Molto Mario's episodes about Sardegna. Here is a list of the episodes, Sardegna is about halfway down the page: Molto Mario Episodes Luckily, pretty much all recipes are there and not expired. The ones that piqued my interest include among others...: Partridge under oil fried zucchini-ricotta fritters the fried ravioli type dessert Culingionis con Cirubba, this just sounds cool I wish the lobster lasagne one was not expired. Sounds tasty.