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jrshaul

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Everything posted by jrshaul

  1. The alternative is traditional advertisng where you simply throw out money into the abyss. Or you can forego advertising, which is not a very practical methodology. It seems to work best for new restaurants with limited exposure and clientele, who gain significant publicity amongst their often hard-to-reach target audience. A good example would be a vegan restaurant in a town known as the home of the deep-fried cheese curd and the world's largest brat-fest.
  2. I've found a place near my house that has very good prices on hanger steaks. They're half the price of a strip steak (and compared to the porterhouse, even less!), but just as good and seem to do quite well on the grill.
  3. I'm visiting Viet Hoa posty-hasty. I was at MATC for four semesters, and likely passed quite near it on a daily basis. My greens mostly come from either the family garden pot or, more often than not, a little frozen brick from Copps. Also, where do you get your meat? Bucky's Butchery is nice if you don't mind the irregular selection and highly inconvenient hours, but the major grocery stores don't generally have much decent meat outside of a few hideously overpriced options behind the butchers' counter.
  4. What on earth is a chuck mock tender? Sorry, Peter! I have to presume that it's an American cut, since you are not familiar with it. It's a cut from the chuck (obviously) that is about the size and shape of a nice fillet steak, but more marbled and with more flavor.Other than that I have no clue, but they're good! What's the thumb test?
  5. Fresh greens aren't so available around here, and the frozen stuff is often a fair bitt cheaper.
  6. Thanks for the tips on the peas - it's one particular example where the difference in quality is the largest. Keeping salad greens takes significant space and time for one person, and I figure I'll be eating a lot of preserved vegetables. Can anyone make a similar recommendation for collard greens or spinach? I lived down south for a while, and will cheerfully dig into a huge plate of greens 'n onions. These sound fantastic. We've got quite a few asian grocery stores, but I've yet to find quite a few of these items - any suggestions as to where I might obtain them?
  7. Madison, WI. I'll gladly accept commendations on those, too.
  8. I'm curious - what's Egullet's preferred varities of canned vegetables, tinned fish, and other shelf-stable raw ingredients? I'm on a somewhat limited budget, making fresh vegetables of several varieties (especially beans, for reasons of practicality, and tomatoes, which are simply awful) less than practical. If anyone can make suggestions as to the best student-accessible foodstuffs, I'd much appreciate it. Especially mushrooms.
  9. I'm curious - what's your preferred method of using chemical meat tenderizer on different pieces of meat?
  10. I'm setting up my first personal apartment, and have been filling out my cabinets with the spoils of yard sale saturdays. For next to nothing, I've acquired a set of saucepans, a crock pot, a full set of silverware, and the most obscenely yellow teapot I've ever seen. I've yet to find any quality cutlery, but I figure it to only be a matter of time.
  11. Despite my fairly minimal college-student budget, I've managed to acquire a crock pot ($5), PID controller ($17), SSR ($6.50), and vacuum bag sealer ($2!) However, I've had a bit of trouble finding a food-safe temperature probe at a reasonable price. Can anyone make a recommendation?
  12. jrshaul

    Dinner! 2011

    No pictures, but I made some pretty good souvlaki. I think I need to start brushing them with the marinade more during cooking, but they were tasty regardless.
  13. I've been mucking about with liqueurs for some time, and was thinking about trying one with a cooked lemon flavor. Lemoncello is nice on a hot summer's day, but I'd like something with the essence of lemon curd. While the use of butter or eggs is inadvisable for anything with a long planned shelf life, I'm wondering if anyone has ideas for lemon sauce recipes or techniques that might be applicable.
  14. What variety would you recommend? The "grade B" madagascar bourbon are very reasonably priced.
  15. I'm a bit late to the party, but what's the preferred vendor for vanilla beans?
  16. The barbecue was fantastic. I didn't even get a chance to barbecue the chicken (half done with the Cooking Light recipe above, half with the ga nuong,), but the pork roast was fantastic. The combination of the flavor, moisture, and not massively overcooking the meat (hooray for instant thermometers!) was superb. Here's the recipe I used. Pardon the shorthand - it needs to be rewritten. 2.75 pound pork loin roast with bones 2.5 cups water 1/2 cup red wine 1/4 cup salt (may want to reduce slightly) 1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar (may want to increase slightly) 1 big sprig fresh rosemary 1 Bay leaf 1 gram coarsely ground pepper + more pepper for rubbing 1/4 tsp dried thyme 1/4 tsp freezedried shallots 10 grams of garlic (measured before peeling), peeled and minced Instructions: 1. Mix brown sugar with water and salt and bring to a boil. 2. Stir until dissolved and add everything but the wine. 3. Lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. 4. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. 5. Add wine. 6. Put the meat in a Ziploc bag with the brine. Just dump on in all the bits and pieces. 7. Put the bag in the fridge for 12-16 hours. 8. Wash pork really well under water to keep outside from being too salty. Don't wash off all the herbs and spices, though - they seem to stick pretty well. 9. Grind up more pepper, and rub it in to the outside. If you're not sure if you've used enough, add more pepper. 10. Let pork return to room temperature, then put in oven at about 290 degrees. Allow to cook for ~1 ½ hour, or until inside hits 140 degrees - and no higher! 11. Wrap in tinfoil and a towel or, if you're in a hurry, a UPS box (herp de derp.) Allow to coast to 145 - at least 30 minutes.
  17. I can't say I have this relationship with any local food purveyor in particular - quite frankly, all of the superior ingredients available around here are far above my pay grade. However, if the local Wine & Hop Shop were ever in any danger of insolvency, I'd quite likely go ballistic.
  18. I just invented one consisting of my homemade ginger liqueur and grapefruit juice. The ginger liqueur has some cloves in it, though I might try adding some ginger next time.
  19. Pretty much. Trying to organize a collection of side dishes that aren't "Snickers salad" (don't ask) out of a motely group of college students is not unlike herding cats, though I think I've managed to finagle it. Incidentally, any suggestions on a brine/marinade for the roast? Maybe just put it in some red wine, salt, and honey?
  20. I'm holding a barbecue this Friday, and I seem to have been a bit ambitious. The local supermegastore (sue me, I'm a college student) was having a sale on bone-in tenderloins, and I picked one up along with a huge heap of chicken thighs - a grand total of 7 pounds of meat for $12.50. This leaves me with two conundrums. 1. Apparently, I made a major mistake in forgetting to have the butcher separate the bones so that the roast could be cut into sections. How do I go about doing this? 2. How do I cook the tenderloin? I'm told that if I keep it at ~270 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the inside is roughly 155 degrees, it'll coast to 160 after removal and be absolutely fantastic. I figured I'd cut it down the middle and apply a paste of rosemary, garlic, thyme, and lots of olive oil, then tie it up, though I'd be up to suggestions on this - something suitably festive and full of limes would be welcome. Another issue of note is that I'm told that brining the meat before cooking can do wonders for barbecuing leaner cuts of meat. Any suggestions for a pork brine? I'm half tempted to just soak it in a mix of lime juice, black pepper, garlic, and salt. 3. While I feel quite comfortable with chicken, I'm having a bit of trouble with Alton Brown's recipe. # 3 1/2 ounces kosher salt, approximately 3/4 cup # 1 tablespoon curry powder # 1 tablespoon chili powder # 2 teaspoons cocoa powder # 1 teaspoon adobo powder, without pepper # 1 teaspoon ground cumin # 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika Adobo, curry, and chili powders bear about as much semblance to each other as does a Maserati compare to a Mack truck, and the only adobo powder at el supermercado was full of MSG. Can anyone suggest a reformulation, preferably without the curry powder as well?
  21. I officially take back any bad things I've said about molecular gastronomy. (Mostly they're just grumblings over my inability to afford it, but I take it back regardless.) I've wondered the same thing, in fact - I'm surprised it denatures so low. Any suggestions as to the most effective method of denaturing?
  22. As the former food writer for the MATC student paper (and hopefully continuing similarly following my transfer to UW this fall), I have a few recommendations. Cooper's Tavern: A good alternative to the often mediocre brewpubs around the square. While the cuisine won't win many points for novelty, the execution is solid. Especially of note is the $8 Cooper's Burger, which trades the streaky bacon and Kraft for thinly-shaved pork belly and a slice of aged cheddar. Don't concern yourself over the "Irish Pub" thing - despite (or perhaps as a result of) the restaurants' stewardship by an actual UK expat, there's no thematic nonsense. The Tornado Steakhouse: I have no doubt that the proprietors of the Tornado have heard of nouvelle cuisine and molecular gastronomy, but they're not having any of it. The enormous iceberg wedges studded with Rocquefort and ferocious steaks are straight out of the Eisenhower administration, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The prices are high and the variety is limited (aside from a few lonely fish dishes as a sop to vegetarians and dieters, it's a glorious sea of red meat and cholesterol), but should you wish to indulge your inner caveman, I'd be hard pressed to recommend better. The drinks are good, too. Los Gemelos: This is the definitive Mexican taquería. West coast emigrees undergoing taco truck withdrawl will appreciate the excellent and extremely affordable a la carté menu, all items available with a truly absurd number of fillings. For those desiring more elaborate fare, more substantial entrees like chuletas are available, almost all under $10. I would particularly commend the excellent tamales ($2!) and quesadillas con chorizo ($3!), which are almost more like empanadas than the floppy tortilla assemblies of America. The only real quibble is that the chicken served in many of the a la carte items is inexplicably unseasoned, but there's a good six or seven more to chose from, so who cares? The Icon: Under the outward display of retro kitsch is a tasteful bar with some rather extraordinary tapas. Directly adjacent to the Overture Center, it's a pleasant place to enjoy a light meal before attending a symphony. The significant cost has barred me from sampling more than a small fraction of the menu, but what I've been able to sample of the menu has well justified the price, including a novel but extremely pleasant dish of lamb in bourbon sauce. It is of note that a selection of the less spendy tapas go half-price during happy hour, though I never seem to make it. Fuzzy's Tacos & Capriotti's sandwiches: Stay away. This means you.
  23. Thanks for the tips. I'm a college student, and the savings offered by the DIY route are significant. I'd quite like to try the recipe with the sugar - I don't know how it will work, but it's hard to argue with commercial success.
  24. I was at a friend's barbecue last night. In an attempt to de-blandify the chicken thighs, I tried to whip together a dry rub, but was horrified to find he had nothing in his cabinet but a few Mrs. Dash products. I managed to make a surprisingly palatable combination of black pepper, onion powder, and a mixture of salt, garlic, cumin, and ancho chili poweder called "Cajun Seasoning", and dumped the leftover from the chicken in with the burgers (which came out very nicely.) Anyhow, I figure I'm much better off mixing up my own multipurpose dry-rub than buying it from the store. Something similar to the aforementioned mix (salt, pepper, chili, garlic, oregano/sage/whatnot) seems like it'd be handy to have for when I just want to throw a lump of meat under the broiler.
  25. I'm placing my bets on congee, the traditional Asian rice porridge. It's just rice that's been boiled in water for a few hours. While most Western and Middle Eastern food has either changed a great deal in preparation or is made from relatively new strains of plants, rice hasn't changed much in nearly ten thousand years.
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