Recoil Rob

Not a reference to bahn mi, more a comparison of how when I learned to cook I was browning the onions. About 15 years ago I learned I was caramelizing the onions. Now I subject the onions to the Maillard reaction....

I see a couple refernces to making a confit bhan mi. Bahn mi apparently means bread in Vietnamese so wouldn't it just be a confit sandwich? "Banh mi"....is this the new "Maillard reaction=carmalization=browning"?

With some sauteed mushrooms, fresh thyme and robbiolo cheese on a pizza, the high oven temp crisps the confit nicely...some fresh pepper.

I'll add that this is a major fault of newly produced black iron cookware. Notice the pebbly finish to these new pans, they tend to hold burn food and not season as well as the older pans. Vintage pans were turned to a smooth finish on the interior, facilitating seasoning and cleaning. I hear there are some small ,boutique makers of cast-iron pans finishing them smoothly on the inside, but they cost in the hundreds of dollars. Probably from Brooklyn...

I'm a purist, one of my favorite things to do is to crisp it up under a broiler and then serve it atop a green salad. Some vinaigrette helps to cut the fat in the confit. Do I really need to say, served with good bread?

I'm not in NYC, but there's a large market about an hour away, I'll see what they have. How long will they keep, a few months, 6 months? I could try Penzey but wonder how old they are to start with....

There are hundreds of offerings on Amazon, I tried to sort by # of stars in a review but a 5 start review means nothing when there are less than 10 reviews. The quality of this stuff varies quite a bit, anyone have personal experience purchasing and using Szechuan peppercorns? thanks, Rob

A friend has wanted to try this since it's inception, we've tried to get reservations by playing the midnight game but to no avail. Her birthday is coming up and I was finally able to score a reservation at the sushi bar for a Saturday night, when Daisuke Nakazawa is at home with his family. Is there any reason to wait until we get a weekday reservation or should the experience be the same? thanks, Rob

More like an hors d'ouevre to be eaten before table service. Cucumber w/ salmon or shrimp is sounding good....

Definitely a contender....

While many of the other suggestions sound great, the main thing I am trying to avoid is any more dairy in any form, cream, creme fraiche, sour cream, cream cheese. There will be enough in the main course I am sure. Pissaladiere can also be made ahead of time and is portable. Pissaladiere is leading the leader in the clubhouse.

Not sure what's being served withe the main, noodles i imagine. We usually do a variation on Italian or other Mediterranean cuisine. I was planning a a Brandade/Morel pizza but I can't imagine it with Stroganoff. Both "soups" sound good but I was specifically asked to bring an app, i.e. something to be eaten before table sitting. Perhaps served in cups....

My sister is hosting a family birthday party and I have been asked to bring an appetizer that can be made ahead of time. The problem is she's making Beef Stroganoff for the main course. My mental palate tells me that eliminates anything with a Mediterranean influence, anything with cream or cheese? I would imagine something lighter as Stroganoff is a heavy dish. Smoked salmon on black bread is an option but predictable. Anyone have a suggestion for a really impressive vegetable app? thanks, Rob

I'm not that much of a hot dog aficionado, happy with a boiled dog, mustard and saurkraut. I've tried Super Duper and thought it was more about the condiments and hype rather than the dog which was a let down after the 20 minute wait. Walters in NY was just OK, same with Swanky Franks. But in Fairfield, about 1/2 mile from Super Duper is the Hungarian Meat market, a branch of the store from Manhattan. They sell their own made franks by the pound and they are wonderful dogs. Pick up a container of the homemade sauerkraut while you are there.

Thanks, will proceed with gusto!

I have always get my bags of flour in the freezer or refrigerator, currently in the large bin at the bottom of the fridge. I currently have some bags of Specialty flours (potato, semolina, King Arthur Italian) that are unopened but have been in there since 2004. Yes, I should have used it up but I didn't. I opened them up and they seem to be in perfect condition, no hints of spoilage whatsoever. Any problems using it up now or trash it and start over? thanks, Rob

Truthfully I didn't expect much, they have always seemed way below par to me. Do a search on eGullet for "Chinatown Fish" and you will get 2 threads from 2007 and one from 2004 that don't mention the mess I saw. Thanks for confirming my conclusions.

I did a search on this topic and everything seems to be at least 5 years old so I am going to broach the subject again. Let me start by saying I am an active salt water fisherman fishing mostly LI Sound in the Norwalk area and also New England when on vacation. I also actively shellfish for both soft and hard shell calms and oysters. I know fresh fish. This past Saturday my girlfriend and I decided to drive down to Chinatown to check out that new large market on Mott St. among other things and to have a Vietnamese dinner. Being a fisherman I love viewing fish markets wherever I go. I've seen the ones in Venice and Genoa, Paris and Provence as well as some of the better ones in New England. I have not seen the new Hunts point market but I used to go down to the old Fulton market all the time for Xmas eve. Arthur Ave markets are among the best. Some day I hope to visit the Tokyo market. I was appalled by the condition of the fish offered for sale in every Chinatown market I was in on Saturday. I went into at least 6 along Mott and Canal Streets. In all of them filleted fish had ice on the cut side. Just about every whole fish looked like it had been sitting there for days, sunken cloudy eyes, brown gills and mushy flesh. I saw one large (15lb?) red snapper that had started to putrefy, it's skin was turning yellowish white blotches. The most depressing thing though were the tanks of "live" fish. Mostly the looked like undersized blackfish (currently a 15" limit), a few had dead fish in them and one poor fish was on his last legs, just slowly rolling belly up and trying to right himself. I can appreciate a different culture having different standards but truthfully it seemed everyone was staring and no one was buying. I've read about the great bargains to be had in Chinatown's fish markets but I just don't see it. I was disgusted and can't see how anyone could by "fresh" fish at one of these markets.

This year I cooked the bird in parts and it came out great. Take the legs and wings off, bone out the breasts and flip them end to end and tie up in the skin in a roll. Put them in a 275˚ oven, pull the breast roll out at 145˚, it cooked up to 150˚, pull the legs and wings at 165˚. All meat perfectly done. Only drawback is no money shot of bringing the entire bird to the table (but my BIL saved the day with an additional whole smoked bird). And no wrestling with carving the breast meat, simply slice it like a filet mignon. The carcass was chopped into 1" pieces, browned, and used for stock to make the gravy. I'll never go back...

Of course, my apologies! The ravioli were Borgotti's plain cheese ravioli, a ricotta filling.

Chris, the raviolis were fine, they dried out just a touch, enough to make them feel integrated with the rest of the pie and hold their place so they didn't slip around. Perfect al dente! These were Borgotti raviolis and they make an excellent pasta dough. I'm not sure how a commercially made ravioli would hold up.

What to do with these leftovers I thought, then it came to me... A RAVIOLI PIZZA! Store bought pizza dough, a layer of ricotta tarted up with Penzey's garlic powder, herbs fine and black pepper, leftover Borgotti's raviolis from Arthur Ave. with Bolognese sauce from last summers tomato crop, all topped with wild boar prosciutto from Fairway. Baked at 500˚ for 12 minutes. Genius, delicious, satisfying, filling. Before and after cooking.

Tried the brant breasts tonight. Floured, browned in olive oil, deglazed with a full bodied red, finished in oven. Quite tender, a bit of mineral taste, similar to lamb, not unpleasant but not pheasant or duck. Tomorrow the Canada...

We braved the single digit temps on Sat. morning and I came away with one nice Canada goose and one brant. I would appreciate some cooking advice from those of you that have actually cooked Canada geese, not domestic. We took these over an inlet on Long Islands south side. I have to say my hands smelled a bit after cleaning these two birds, sort of a muddy smell. I have already brined the breasts and legs. I understand they taste better if they have been feeding on corn but is there any hope for this red meat? I'd prefer something other than the ubiquitous hunters recipe that starts out with a can of Cream of Mushroom soup or is put in a slow cooker with BBQ sauce for 8 hours. thanks, Rob

Was there last week and as solid as ever. Freezing cold outside and snow and slush everywhere after the big storm, nice and warm inside, Friendly, brusque bistro service. Excellent standby apps, endive w/ walnuts, pear and Roquefort, chicken liver with salad and a very good, not cloying, traditional French onion soup. Entrees were an excellent stuffed trout, moulard duck breast, the house cassoulet and I had smoked pork leg with cabbage. Everything was first rate, solid winter cooking. Wines tend to be in the $50-100 range, we had a nice Cahors. They still have a selection of Armangnacs. $18-35 depending on age.