Alex Parker

Hi forum! I found a couple of sampler bottles of wine from 2000. Looking at them their VERY off (sediment on the bottle of the bottle, neck sludged up..) I was wondering if I could use these somehow, and vinegar was the first thing to jump into my head. I really dont want to have to bin them, but if I have no other choice, thats what I will do. What do you think?? Alex

Hey everyone! So the poor old Moose seems to have deteriorated between the time it was killed and the time it was frozen, as It had such an off putting smell I had to throw it out. It was like sour fecal or something, Nasty. Anyways, I ended up just doing shortribs instead and they were lovely! I served those with a chocolate cheese, and a really nice coconut bbq sauce that I did up. Really mellow, with a bit of heat, and it offset the richness of the Cheese nicely! Alex

Thank you so much! So excited to work with this beautiful piece of meat! Taking your advice, and bringing down cooking time and temp. Cannot wait to get going on it! Again thanks so much! I will be taking plenty of pictures to document, and of course, I will put them up on here. Yours sincerely Alex

So far I have Turkey with a Cornbread stuffing. Sous Vide root Veggies, Potatoes done in duck fat Going to do a fish course, definitely sous vide and grilled off at the end. May do something with beef. No clue yet though. I need a soup. Still not sure what Im doing yet, but may do a mushroom consomme. Cranberry and Apple Chutney. Fairly traditional as I have my sister coming who isnt very adventurous with food at all. Keeping it relatively old school! Christmas Eve is smoked moose meat, and various cheeses and whatnot. Prosciutto wrapped bocincinni with some fresh sage pesto, Pulled Pork, lots of good wine and beer, and chocolate! A lot more laid back! Alex

Thanks Michaela! I did a search on the forums and that topic didn't appear.. Ugh! Sorry. Alex

Ok so I am going to do this on my own it seems. I was way off in my initial temps and times. I did some math and figured out what I want texture wise and decided on 145 degrees for 24 hours. I am going to add a little red wine, a couple of drops of rose syrup to bring out the sweetness a little.and some salt and pepper and thats it. I know that cooking time seems a little optimistic in terms of complete doneness, but I think the smoking at the end is going to take it up to where I need it, which will be 155 degrees. May do a mustard and red wine reduction as a sauce. I will get pictures of the entire process and report back with my findings early Christmas morning! Alex

Hey everyone. I have a Moose loin that I am planning on doing for Christmas Eve. Its about 4 lbs, and looks delish! I have a few questions though, as I am planning on Sous vide, followed by a light smoke of dry pine branches. 1) - Does Moose benefit from a couple days of dry aging? Or is there simply not enough fat content to do anything of significance to the meat? 2) As I said above, I am planning on Sous Vide. I have settled on probably 48 hours at around 62.5 degrees. Does this seem about right? Or again, am I way off the mark. I am throwing this out there, because I haven't dealt much with Moose other than in ground form, so I want to make sure this is perfect. Any and all help is super appreciated! Thanks so much Alex.

I love this area. Without a doubt check out Wellington Court. Its right across the street from me, and its unreal. As well theres a little known place on Queen Street in St Catharines called Toi, thats amazing as well. Well worth the visit. For good Italian, my friend Bill is the exec at a great little place on Church street called La Scala. Its tiny, only 30 seats, and the food is lovely. I wont recommend Treadwells as hes a tyrant in the kitchen and well past his prime In my opinion. alexP

Roast them out, crush them. Add pepper, Salt, and some Thyme. Use as a crust for a meat or something, and then serve with a pumpkin reduction. Alex

Holy cow thanks everyone! Lots of different options here. Skate on Slate is hilarious. Has a nice ring to it as well! I will be doing all sorts of research when I return home tonight. Again thanks for all the responses. I will be up late tonight! Alex.

I worked for a place that did just that! We would do it in a pan though. Dry fry it, then add some white wine, let it evap, then start adding stock a ladle at a time until the rice had absorbed enough to make it about 75% done. Cool it on a pan, and your good to go. To finish it, start with some oil, meat first if your doing a meat risotto, some veggies, then throw in the risotto. We would cheat a bit and throw in some cream at the end to finish it off, which within our confines was the only way we could get it out quickly, and retaining a creamy smoothness. Hope that helps! Alex Parker

Heh. Not basing it on the name. My client has a love of seafood, and as such her pallet is exceptional, so "fish" taste isn't really going to cut it. I am definitely wanting do a whole fish presentation, skin on etc, and I am going to probably plate it on slate. Did shark when I was in culinary school. Didn't notice any ammonia tastes within it, so I cant say all shark tastes like that. What kind of shark was it? Alex

Sorry. Wrote that in a hurry as I am busy here. I am in Ontario Canada. I was thinking about shark but its pricey. To the person who suggested the Pacific Saury, I never really thought of it. The dinner is in two weeks, and in keeping with a late Autumn theme, the fish would go well with that. Maybe do something with a Daikon lime reduction, as those flavours lend well to the fish. Hmm.. I know there was a shortage in 2010. Are prices still on the rebound because of that? Keep them coming! Alexander.

I am doing a dinner for 15 people and the hostess has decided on Fish as one of the main courses. But she doesn't want anything too common. I have done Salmon and Tuna for her in the past. I was thinking something like Monk fish but its pricey here as its trendy as all hell at the moment. Anyone have any recommendations as to a fun weird, great tasting fish? Thanks in advance. Alex

What ipad app is that Vengroff? That looks fantastic.