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Pâtés & Terrines What can be more inviting than a slice of a carefully balanced, well spiced and rich pâté, perhaps with a fresh tart side salad and a warm crusty bread? Well, you’ll soon be in for exactly that treat: welcome to eGullet Cook-Off #89 - Pâtés & Terrines! Although at first glance* a bit more technical & complex than our previous wings topic, it offers plenty of space to explore and experiment: from a simple pâté de campagne to a foie gras-centered pâté en croute with a delectable pasty shell and a jellied Sauterne cover. There has been a longstanding topic on terrines with spectacular entries in the past, so we felt it would be more than justified to open the topic up for a spirited exchange in the course of our popular Cook-Offs. Typically something rather enjoyed in a restaurant setting (where these time-consuming, yet economical preparations have undergone a renaissance due to the nose-to-tail movement) or as a treat from your deli or traditional butcher, pâtés and terrines are surprisingly not difficult to prepare. They make – however – usually more than two servings, so maybe the upcoming Easter holidays could help to encourage you to give it a try and surprise your family and friends** … There are many definitions of what makes a pâté a pâté, and how and why terrines are different. I am happy to discuss with you the intricacies of these, but for setting a non-threatening starting point I’d like to think of both as a fancy meatloaf or maybe an oversized sausage (in a funky rectangular shape perhaps) with interesting, maybe surprising additions (such as liver, offal, nuts, dried and alcohol-soaked fruits), herbs, liquors and spices (quatre épice anyone?). What kind of meat do you prefer? The world is your oyster, and beside all types of game, domestic animals, poultry and fowl, fish & seafood (including said oyster) can be used as well. Do you like a smooth texture or a coarser product, maybe with inlays ? You can shape your loaf into animal shapes, wrap it in bacon, fatback or puff pastry perhaps and glaze it with any gelled liquid you fancy. I can already see your minds starting to get creative … Rabbit terrine from the Rabbit Cook-Off. So break out your books and magazines, peruse your favourite websites and maybe even show off tried & trusted family recipes and show us what you are capable of – if you can get ground meat and have an oven*** I’ll repeat my mantra: there is really no excuse this time 😊 See the complete eG Cook-Off Index here: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/143994-egullet-recipe-cook-off-index/ —- * well – having seen how much work can be put into a humble chicken wing, only at first glance. ** they make a terrific presents as well. *** or sous-vide setup, or …

While I can’t recommend any brasserie in NYC, I think you might need a bit more than just gigot d‘agneau to start comparing preparation techniques. Gigot d‘agneau refers primarily to a leg of lamb, so a cut of meat and not a dish per se. You can start by checking different preparations of this cut: grilled, braised, confit, SV’ed, … You may look into different chef‘s ideas what to do with leg of lamb (a modern classic would be Thomas Keller‘s Bouchon version). You can - of course - eat your way through all the brasseries in NYC (which I would admire). But to get an overview maybe do a bit of research first which type of preparation for gigot d’agneau you‘d like to compare to the one you‘ve experienced at Abidjan, and then … enjoy ?! Or create your own version ? Good luck !

Now … this I‘d like to learn 🙏

Little one had a sleepover guest, so Pizza & Movie night was moved to Saturday evening. Needed to keep things simple as the guest was a bit “unadventurous” concerning toppings … Salami … ”Triple A”: anchovies, artichokes and asiago cheese. Could have been great with Provolone, but then it wouldn’t sound as good. Raw state shot, as pizza loading produced a significant dent in the round shape. This is the parents pizza … Margherita pizza with a lovely buffalo mozzarella. Enjoyed while watching Pokemon for the XXth time 🤔

Leftovers. Still pretty good - must be the butter 😉 …

Classic German SchniPoSa* night - this time with a bit of help in the preparation … The Schnitzel … The (commercial oven) fries … Salad and mushroom cream sauce (the latter for the Schnitzel 😉) … A good way to start the weekend ! —- Schnitzel, Pommes Frites & Salad

Little one brought a friend home after school, so I made spaghetti with meatballs. The friend obviously liked them a lot and when he told my son that, little one answered “Because my father uses butter” … I would have pointed out the De Cecco spaghettini, the Mutti crushed tomatoes, the Spanish anchovies in the sauce, the fresh basil or the copious amounts on Parmigiano and fresh herbs in the meatballs, but obviously it was just the butter I fried the garlic in … 😜

Definitely bread …

A German dinner: minimal heating required 🤗 Weisswurst, Bratwurstschnecke, Brezel and Brötchen. Straightforward, yet delicious …

Catalan braised rabbit legs & meatballs, with wild mushrooms and (completely untraditional, yet requested by my wife) farfalle … Tastes much better than it looks 🤗

Nope, sorry … that for the breakfast thread then. You don’t expect us to wait for 6h, do you ?!

I really don’t care at all for anything sweet* … —- * And it was Peaky Blinders, not Gilmore Girls 😎

Made a lovely & sensible salad - fresh greens, avocado, goat cheese, pine nuts, balsamic cream … Two hours and one Sake Martini later I boiled up some commercial pork Pelmeni, dressed them in the usual kewpie/chili crisp/Sichuan peppercorn oil combo and had then while watching Peaky Blinders … 🤗

I have my doubts …

You certainly know that the Hamburger is named after the city of Hamburg, where it originated in the mid 17th century. Of course the closer you get to the source, the better the product, so I recommend searching for the best burger only in German Youtube channels, such as Klaus grillt …

I buy frozen cooked large octopus arms from a fish wholesaler. They are excellent, just need thawing in slightly salted water …

Little one requested pica pica, which is the Catalan equivalent of tapas. That is mostly his way of saying he wants to eat octopus … Shrimps with salt & garlic (ran out of parsley) Patatas bravas (plus the sauce, of course) Albondigas (meatballs) and a curious truffled salami covered with Parmigiano, that I found recently at the supermarket … One octopus arm. My wife got one slice. I wasn’t fast enough 🙄. Omelette in the background … Plus olives, fuet, cheeses, mussels in escabeche, bread, oil, tomatoes. Sangria for my wife and a beer for me. Happy family 🤗

I know this well for Kombu, but Nori flakes in a soup would not be so attractive (at least not to me) …

This is a thing of beauty, @shain !

If you look at the copycat recipe posted above, you'll see that they are emulgating the sauce with an egg yolk. With that you will tone down the acidity significantly as well, while upping the viscosity, and it will coat the the wings better (same holds true for the cornstarch). Maybe give that a try as well. Please also note the copious additions to the basic "vinegar & butter" flavor profile ...

It will change the flavor. It will evaporate part of the vinegar, it will mellow the spiciness and eventually concentrate flavours and increase the viscosity. Whether you like those effects depends on your preferences …

Great minds think alike (including the phrasing 😝) …

Sorry, but these questions were not directed towards your wings, but the ones you are comparing them to … And FWIW, you can always google the „copycat“ recipes (e.g. this one for example) and see according to the feedback how close the individual recipe gets to the real deal. Still need to follow the recipe and cook the wings, though …

My suggestion is to start with a few simple questions: Why do you think they use only these two ingredients ? In which percentage ? Which butter ? Is the sauce coating the wings processed (cooked/homogenized/ …) ? How is the wing itself pretreated/marinated/cooked/seasoned before being drenched in the sauce ? Serving temperature ? Source of chicken ? … There are so many variables. You might start by analyzing what flavor component you are missing* and tweaking your wings bit by bit** … Or have a look at our recent Wings Cook-Off and get inspired 🤗 —- * my personal guess is always MSG … ** of course this means cooking wings again and again (cf. the cupcake conundrum)

Feeling a bit sentimental recently, and food memories are a way to compensate. So, while Okonomiyaki means „cook as you like it“ and there are countless versions, this is my favorite one, modelled after a small and not particularly fancy or famous place in Kyoto, Teppan Izakaya Gionwa. It’s just the place I went to so often during my years there, and that is exactly what I wanted tonight: Getting there … No Asahi, but still good … Served with the works and shredded nori instead of aonori … No complaints 🤗