Recoil Rob

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.

Resurrecting this thread, I was walking through Eataly for the first time last week and they had shishito samples out for tasting. We immediately bought a pound and have been eating over the New Years weekend. I fried them very fast in light olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. Addicting!

Yes, well wrapped and kept in the bottom of the drawer, still very good.

As usual my mom bought way to much lamb for Easter and I have a cooked 8 bone rack. I would appreciate some suggestions other than just reheating the rack, and it's my feeling that the meat from rack would not do well in a "stewed" dish such as a tagine or vindaloo or curry, not enough connective tissue like shoulder. I suppose I could cut them apart and quickly grill them scotto ditto style but any other suggestions? A good sandwich? thanks, Rob

Am heading down tomorrow morning, Sat., 2/20 to see the daughters new apt. will probably have brunch or lunch but what, foodwise, should I try to get to? Don't need Italian but interested in all other ethnic markets. If possible a name and address? thanks, Rob

Not NYC but many years ago (back when you could by 1963 ports for under $10) I worked at Zachy's in Scarsdale. We were then, and I'm sure they are now, happy to order any single bottle of spirits available. The idea is to think ahead, order, and order a backup for when you run out.

It's just a recipe for a Florentine steak adapted to venison. Venison gets a bad rap for gaminess due to mishandling of the game. good backstraps should be treated simply. I like your recipe, will try it with my next kill.

I take mine and cut them into manageable lengths to fit into a large black iron skillet, about 8-10" In the meantime take about 1/2cup of virgin olive oil and heat gently in a small saucepan with fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, etc. Salt and pepper the meat and brown all over, the meat should be about medium rare since it is small diameter. Rest a couple of minutes and slice into pieces about 3/4-1" thick and drizzle with the warm herb oil.

Very lovely Baron, did you use something to keep the pink color intact? I was very pleased with my first attempt, universally declared delicious by my table. My only minus was the skin, though beautifully colored deep brown, was thin and leathery, certainly not crisp enough to eat. Next time I may try the dusting of baking soda. I did cover the snout and ears with foil and the ears were crisp enough as was the tail.

T minus 7 hours and counting! Babe will hit the oven at 6pm for 6-7 hours at 250˚ and then teh high heat if needed to crisp the skin. My butcher, (Peter on Arthur Avenue, for those that get Saveur there's a full page picture of him in this year's Saveur 100) said it weighed about 20 lbs before he boned it out. He left the legs intact so I also took out the leg bones ( and kept the four baby trotters for another adventure). It was then filled out with about 6 more pounds of boneless pork shoulder. I kept the seasonings along the lines of a traditional porchetta, plenty of salt and black pepper plus a mixture of finely chopped garlic, sage, rosemary, fennel seeds and lemon zest. I have to practice my bondage but I think it will work out. The whole package came out a bit larger than I thought so I will have to cook it in a curve. Already had to hacksaw a grate to fit the bottom of the roasting pan. First time with a small pig, should I remove the eyes? The die is cast, will report tomorrow. Rob

Good advice, low & slow. I'm leaning toward boning a whole small pig, 18-20#. Low & slow is the way to go.

I still remember the porchetta sandwiches I had in Rome almost 25 years ago, a small shop with 4 tables, small glasses of red wine and paper cones with olives. The entire pg would come out of the oven, each pannini had meat and skin along with some fat, just great food I've always wanted to try this at home and the time has finally come. I'm going to do it for my girlfriends birthday. I have done the requisite searches online and come up with mostly variations involving a boned pork shoulder. One looks very good, it comes from Jamie Oliver, at least the photo looks like the real thing. What I'd really like to do is a small whole pig, just for the presentation value alone. I imagine I could do it with a 18-20lb pig, I have the skills to bone it. Would love to hear any comments, ideas, warnings, etc. before proceeding. thanks, Rob

One of my pet peeves is restaurant tea service, usually never fails to disappoint. Le Bernadin is an exception though, but then again, they do everything right... I also get to visit Harney's store and tearoom in Millerton, NY regularly, they are trying to promote proper service in restaurants that use their teas. They have a tasting room with hundreds of teas.

I get the real deal, available year round, at the Calabria Pork Store on Arthur Avenue in The Bronx. Got mine on Wednesday and the Italian lentils were available inside the old Mercato. I like Batali's recipe with the red wine vinegar in the lentils, cuts the fattiness of the cotecchino.

I eat only steel cut oats and I toast them in butter before adding water. About 1tbl./cup of oats.

Similar to rabbit but richer tasting, they eat nuts instead of grasses. Young ones can be grilled, older ones braised.