jaybee

Hee's one source: http://www.absinthespoon.com/glasses/glass.html and here's another: http://www.absintheoriginals.com/page10.html You must mix the stuff with sugar and water to drink it. There are some authentic brands available, but they are expensive ($60-80 a bottle). The original absinthe poisoning came not from the wormwood, as thought, but from lead contaminants in the production and bottling process. I have a small collection of authentic carafes, glasses,spoons, advertising. The main dealer in the US is in Chicago, and the French dealer ("Frenchman Phil") sold out his business a couple of years ago. Check eBay. This place sells what seem to be authentic Absinthe: http://www.laboheme.uk.com/absinthe.htm

I was interestred to note that the author mentions a "short cut" method using a pressure cooker that she says cuts the prep time in half and tastes "almost as good as the traditional method. I wonder if that's the secret at Rissoteria. I don't have the book here but here's the "basic" method as near as I can recall it: There are four main ingredients to risotto: The brodo--the broth or stock; the soffrito--usually onion sauteed in oil and butter; the rice--arborio, and the condimenti--the ingredients added after the rice is cooked with the stock. basic stock is made from a mixture of beef, or veal and chicken. Fish stock is for seafood risotto. 5 cups stock, 1/2 cup white wine. 1 1/2 cups arborio rice 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese Butter and olive oil One onion diced. Heat stock to a simmer. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, sautee the diced onion in a mixture of olive oil and butter until translucent. Add rice to the onion and stir to coat rice with the oil and butter. Cook rice for one minute or so, then add white wine. (cook over medium heat so as not to evaporate the stock but to let it absorb into the rice) Stir until the wine is absorbed and begin adding the hot stock, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir slowly with wooden spoon until stock is absorbed. Scrape spoon over bottom of pan. If you can see bottom, add more stock). Continue this process until all stock, save 1/2 cup, is absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, the remaining 1/2 cup stock and a pad of butter, stirring all to mix cheese with rice thoroughly. Spoon into bowls, add chopped fresh parsley and serve. Serves 4-6 The main variations on this theme are in the condimenti. If you are using fish or seafood, use a fish stock. A vegetable stock or mushroom stock may be used for vegetarian or mushroom risotto. I sometimes add 1/4 cup light cream to the rice just before serving. Saffron may be added to make the famous "a la Milanese." Note: I buy fresh fish stock from Jakes or Citarella to save time. But I usually put the shells of shrimp or lobster to the boiling stock to add flavor. I make my own mushroom stock.

Steve, I knew Artie from his early days at Murray's Sturgeon Shop. He once told me that he loved Jakes Fish Store the best of all the establishments he helped start. It grew out of Docks. He was a truly lovely man; gentle, kind, smart. His friend Godfrey and he were the ones who started Carmines. I think Godfrey is a partner in Ouest. I wrote about Sassy's Sliders a long time ago. I was delighted when I "discovered" them. But I've been less than happy with my visits there. Friday I stopped in to the White Castle on Fifth near 33rd Street. Surprisingly, I preferred their product to the "upscale" copy. For some reason Sassy's leaves an unpleasant reminder in my gullet long after eating them, and I found the taste and texture of the White Castle product peferable. I'd be interested in any comparisons you or others make. In fact, if you want to arrange a tasting, let's do a side by side. Game?

It was suggested that a thread start on this subject. I was reading a book this weekend that has over 100 risotto recipes and I noticed something I'd overlooked in the ten years or so I've been making the stuff. The "official" recipe for risotto a la Milanese calls for the addition of bone marrow to the condimenti! This is because the dish is often served to accompany osso buco, and the marrow from the shanks was added to the condimenti to compliment the taste. Though called "optional" by the authors, I imagine that marrow adds a richness and subtle taste to the rice. Next time... The author calls for broth to be added in 1/2 cup increments, and suggests running a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pot to see if it is time to add more broth. If the spoon leaves a clear and open trail, it is time to add more broth. The title of the book is Risotto and it was published in paperback in 1988. Amazon sells it. Risotto book

SA's direction is right. The rice should be wet but there should be no liquid visible before you add the next ladel-ful. You also need to watch that the bottom does not stick, hence the careful stirring, with a wooden spoon or wooden spatula so as not to break the rice kernels. Stir right to the bottom of the pan, I start with a 1/2 cup of dry white wine before adding the stock. When this is absorbed, the stock goes in. It's good to have a one-cup ladel. I think 5-6 cups of stock usually work for 1 1/2 cups of rice, which is enough to serve four. The volume of rice almost triples in the pot, so you need to use a deep and heavy bottomed pot.

$160 per couple, included one round of coctails and a bottle of wine plus $70 tip.

Six of us enjoyed a superb meal at Ouest tonight. Starters included a truffled "omelette souffle" with mushrooms, charred lamb carpaccio with red peppers, gravox. Mains were roast guinea hen, squab, tuna, shortribs and breast of capon. All were tasty, well sauced and well presented. I'm a little too soussed to describe the desserts or the mains in detail. Suffice to say the meal was far better than some posts here had led me to expect. We were seated at a round banquette facing the kichten which was both comfortable, intimate and interesting for me, as I sat in the center seat facing the pass. Service was prompt, attentive and careful. I have no hesitations about going back.

It comes from San Daniele, where they make good proscuito. I been dere.

I like Moretti.

OK OK enough of this idle chit chat, or shit shat as the case may be. Sandra's post caused me to go to Risotteria for lunch today. It is a small, almost coffee-shop sized place with a small number of tables along a banquette and a long counter separating the kitchen area from the eating area. It is bright and pleasant during the day, and the service was both friendly and efficient. I ordered the most basic risotto--the saffron, parmesan version with the addition of pine nuts. I could not finish the whole dish (else tonight's dinner would be shortchanged). I give the dish a B+. After adding more ground parmesan and some black pepper the taste picked up. The texture was excellent. The grains were perfectly al dente in a creamy yellow base with pieces of fresh chopped parsley and chives dropped in at the end. Two good italian beers on menu. I wil definitley reurn and try one of the more complex versions. The woman at the next table said she loves the mozarella, porcini mushrom and truffle oil version, and comes in from Park Slope to eat there. It's a great neighborhood to shop in too.

I learned to start by cooking the soffrito until the onions are translucent, then add the rice and stir, letting it "toast" as Steve says for a couple of minutes. Next goes 1/2 cup of white wine, stirred in 'till absorbed, then one cup ladles of simmering stock are added and stirred in 'till each is just absorbed. This process takes about 15 more minutes. Then remove from heat and stir in saffron (if Milanese), a large piece of butter and a little cream, mixing until the whole is creamy, but the grains are separate and crunchy but never gloppy. Each grain of rice is like a little nut that you can chew by itself. Add cheese and chopped parsley, ground pepper to taste. Total time from going on heat to coming off heat is 19 minutes on average. I sometimes add toasted pine nuts as a garnish. The stock can be chicken, fish, mushroom, or beef/veal depending on the condimento/condimenti. When using shrimp, I add the shrimp shells to the fish stoch and reduce to produce more shrimp flavor. Lobster shells add great flavor too.

That's because the Italian men don't take no for an answer. And yes, when I am in Rome I'll say it as the Romans do, but when I am ordering it in Noo Yawk, I'll call it like what we here do. ey 'enry?

To prounce it correctly - the R should be slightly rolled. The s is not pronounced like a z - it's softer than that, without being an English s. The emphasis is on the second syllable. The second and third syllables do not rhyme with "no" - it's a softer o, and we don't have it in English. The second and third syllables also do not rhyme exactly with each other - the third syllable has a slightly longer vowel. The the two t's are not pronounced like a d. It's a soft t - again, we don't have it in English. Americans typically say "reez-oh-doe" What are you, Professor Henry F*ckin Wugmeister Higgins? The rrriszAHtoh in Milan falls mainly on the piazza.

I recently had a dish as you describe made for me by a Milanese woman as a first course before a wonderful osso buco. It is perfect. I have a recipe for a seafood rosotto that calls for the precooked ingredients (lobster, crab and shrimp) to be reduced to practically a pulp and mixed/cooked into the rice at the last minute. The effect is eating rice that magically is full of the taste of the sea without any "ingredients" to speak of. If you use a full flavored fish stock, enhamced with the shells of the lobster and shrimp, it is a knock-out dish that makes a great starter. Drink a crisp Reisling or even an Alsatian wine with this and it is one of the best courses you can have. I've tried several different brands and types of Italian short grained rice. ChefShop sells some pretty good ones. Does anyone have a real favorite you've tested vs others? Wilfrid--I say riz-oh-to because whenever I hear someone say riz-otto I think he's a snob who wants people to think he's English. (uness of course he's an English snob)

We have had nothing but extraordinary food, service and care everytime we've been there. Staying at the hotel is exquisite. Mme. Boyer is charming and might take you on a tour of the kitchen during slow times. Don't miss a tour of the Pommerey cellars across the street. Our charming guide poured us liberal amounts of the house product.

Steve is right when he talks about the place for the product to fit in being important, but it is not all. Any time people can look at a food and say "Oh, so I eat that instead of "x" you have an easier time selling it. When it isn't clear, the job is tougher but not impossible. When Stove Top Stuffing began advertising "Stove Top instead of potatoes," and showed servings next to roast chicken and other dishes normally accompanied by potatoes, their volume took a big uptick. Risotto can replace pasta or any other one-dish meal people serve as an in-home product. Or, like Chinese food, it can grow as an out-of-home product. I imagine that most people would like the taste and texture of a mainstream risotto, so it isn't a "learned" or "acquired" taste. The vodka example is perhaps not right, though I was talking about super-premium vodka, not the category. Sure, the Bloody Mary and the Vodka and OJ put the product on trhe map, but the original selling proposition was to heavy lunch time boozers with the not so subtle headline "Smirnoff leaves you breathless." The super premium vodka category which was really created by Absolut (despite Stoli and Finlandia's lead) was a whole new ballgame. Initially the idea of paying $30 for vodka when Smirnoff sold for $8 seemed ludicrous. It was marketing (though not advertising) that made Absolut a badge product. but, as I said, it took ten years to really reach major volume. The vodka martini is a heavy % of on-premise consumption of super premium vodka.

Re: Kosher surimi, I was sitting in a meeting room in Duluth Mn, with a bunch of Swedes who owned the Kemp Seafood Company when the door swung open to reveal a full-dress Hassid in the reception room. The door closed just as quickly and I thought I was having an "Annie Hall" moment, being the only Jew in the room. I learned that he was making his weekly visit to kosher the equipment for the special run they did.

Certain things take lots of time to be "discovered." Today everyone thinks $30 and up for a bottle of vodka is normal, but it took many (10 at least) years for Absolut to become the standard bearer of vodka to the point where they sold 1 million cases annually. Cognac is an example of a status drink that will never be "mass" because most people don't like the taste. With risotto, as I said, i don;t think people have a reference point to know what it is or how/when to eat it. (I think we agree here). I found the Chinese were confused when Hormel introduced American style bacon because they didn't understand when or how to eat it. It is not intuititvely clear where it fit into their meal structure or habits. That kind of thing take years or huge amounts of "education." I worked on a high quality brand of surimi, and the biggest problem was that people didn't quickly see how or when they should eat the stuff. Give them a sample to try, they'd say "delicious." They might even buy a pack. But unless they know how or when to serve it or to what it was meant to replace, forget it. It is a staple in Japanese restaurants, but that's far from the mass market. It has a big orthodox Jewish following because it is "kosher crabmeat." It is the mystery meat in "seafood salads", but beyond that, forget it. Look at Nutella--the chocolate/hazelnut spread that Italians go nuts over (pun intended). It is as ubiquitoous and used as often as peanut butter in the US. Try to sell it here? Forget it. People don't know if it's candy, a snack, a sandwich spread. The chocolate confuses them. So it can be marketed, if it is done right and the company has a lot of money and patience. But these days, no business can afford that luxury.

Why you sanctimonious hypocrite! We aren't arguing, we're discussing something that is of interest to at least some of us. Why a food is or is not accepted is a pretty fundamental to eGullet's topics. You seem to have no problem arguing any fucking topic that suits your fancy. Why do you want to censure our discussion here?

I think the phrase "gourmet comfort food" sums up the problem. The mass market has a preconception of rice and its role in a meal. The most common anchor points for rice are in or with Chinese food and as a side dish for certain types of protein. Risotto doesn't fit those preconceptions. The idea of a bowl of rice for a meal is strange to most Americans. Paella and other rice dishes may seep in to the mass through the Hispanic populations and the restaurants that serve them. Remember, it was only in the last fifteen years or so that spaghetti became "pasta" and found its pride of place on the table. Before that it was seen as cheap belly filler for kids and working class families. Henry Lambert (Pasta & Cheese) really sparked the packaged "fresh" pasta and gourmet sauce business. Nestlé bought his business in 1990 (with my suggestion). Hershey, Kraft and others were bidding for it and Henry got over $50 million). Pasta, with all kinds of high class toppings, is now a staple on restaurant menus and has translated down to low price mass restaurant business as well. People are not very adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. My experience working with the major food companies (Nestlé, Kraft, Unilever, Hormel) as well as lots of smaller boutiquey companies is that "exotic" foods for which people have no reference point are rejected by the majority. So it may take another ten years before risotto makes it to the mainstream (if it ever does).

Is the place not doing well? The review that Asimov gave it was very good. You and Sandra say the food's good. I wonder why it wouldn't do well? Is risotto a little to exotic or esoteric for mainstream Villagers? From the write up, it sounds like they provide take out and delivery as well as eat in.

I've had risotto in Milan and I make it at home, and I can make it taste as good as it does in Milan. Except I don't offer a view of Duomo and shopping.

Youi mean like the short cut method they use at Daniel's? Precooking the rice, say half way, drying it and then finishing it when ordered?

We had a local butcher, Modesto Perraccio, who ran a small food store near our country house. Moe's steaks were legendary among the weekenders at the lake. He had a huge walk in refrigerator in which were hung large sides of beef. Moe would drive from Putnam Valley down to the NYC meat market every month and buy beef. He had his buddies who he'd buy from. They were like a family, he explained to me. He bought only USDA choice, he explained (this was 1965-1975, so "choice" was the equivalent of today's USDA Prime). He inspected the beef and pick the sides his trained eye told him were best. Then he would haul the meat back to the store and dry age it for, I think, four weeks. When we would order steak, (usually stip sirloins or porterhouses) he'd cut a piece, scrape the surface and trim it up. The steak always had a strong beefy taste that I could identify as "Moe's steak" It was fibrous, tender but firm to chew and always full of juice. When we would buy steaks from any other butcher, no matter how good, Moe's always stood out a better tasting. This was consistent for over ten years. From memory, I judge it the equivalent of a Lugers steak, and could find five people who would agree, We usually bought Moe's steak once a week and grilled it on weekends, summer outside and winter in the fireplace. There had to have been some set of specific decisions and practices that Moe used to wind up with a consistently great steak every time for ten years. Replication is the essence of science, so there must be some science involved here. Alas, Moe closed his store after his beloved wife Rose died. It became a ho-hum deli and then burned. Now someone, after fifteen years, is constructing a new store on the sight. I hope they can find another Moe. I doubt it.

Lugers charges an inordinately high price for vitriol, but it is well aged, served with a side of bile and a souçon of acid. Just give them 24 hours notice if more than six are in your vitriol party.