First Ever NY eGullet Pot Luck Dinner

[D RAY]

Please let me know what you think of that?

[D RAY]

THANK YOU.SALUTE

[B Edulis]

D Ray, very interesting..... since monk liver is sometimes called the foie gras of the sea...... mmmmmmmm.

[Rachel Perlow]

The mango sorbet is all ready! I made it yesterday, what a sticky mess. It is awaiting the pot luck well wrapped in our deep freeze.

[jaybee]

Miss Otis regrets she's unable to come to lunch that day,

and I'm pot out 'o luck for the dinner this time.  And I like monkfish liver too!

[=Mark]

So, has a location been determined for this soiree?

[stefanyb]

So, has a location been determined for this soiree?

Very definitely.  I will messenger the location to each participant within a few days.  Its all set!

[stefanyb]

The pot luck is fast approaching.  Eleven of us are contributing and the menu has been set.

I PM'd everyone with the address and directions.  If there is any participant who did not receive them please let me know.

This is going to be incredible!

[cabrales]

Eleven of us are contributing and the menu has been set.

Stefany -- Thanks for coordinating on the potluck. When you have a chance, please consider posting the expected menu. Also, please confirm that participants would be bringing their own wine or other beverage.  

[=Mark]

I gots no mail!  Am I being shunned?  

[stefanyb]

I gots no mail!  Am I being shunned?  

Mark,

I sent it all to you again (I checked my "sent mail" and I had, indeed, sent you directions a couple of days ago).

There will be no shunning here!

[La Niña]

I am SO unhappy about it, but I have to back out of the potluck, due to a family obligation.  I'm so sorry, I was so looking forward...

[tommy]

i am sooo looking foward to hearing about this.  with any luck, there is a laptop next to the stove, and y'all will remember the rest of us who couldn't make it and post some details asap.  next time, we need to hook up an egulletcam.  a live feed from the kitchen.  now that would be some "must see tv."

[=Mark]

i am sooo looking foward to hearing about this.  with any luck, there is a laptop next to the stove, and y'all will remember the rest of us who couldn't make it and post some details asap.  next time, we need to hook up an egulletcam.  a live feed from the kitchen.  now that would be some "must see tv."

Sorry, I'd have driven over there and told you all about it and then punched you out for not showing up, but my radiator decided to spring a major leak.  My Bro Rich showed up and wowed the crowd with a great shrimp & pasta tarragon salad with broccoli and grilled proscuitto with grape tomatoes and red onions.  You also missed the foie gras and red currant jam sandwiches and Mango sorbet.  This is only the beginning, recipes and more photos to follow!

Pictured above from left:

My Bro Rich ,Rachel, SobaAddict, ahr (Alan), =Mark, Stefany, Sandra, & our wonderful host Maria.  Turn your monitor around and you'll see Cabrales taking the picture...  

The menu:

spicey smoked salmon rolls

tasting of bleu cheeses

fois gras mousse and red currant jam hors d'oeuvres

Shrimp and pasta tarragon with grape tomatoes and grilled prosuitto

fettucini with brussel sprouts

Liza's special green market salad

millionaire chicken with szechuan peppercorns

braised lamb shanks

white bean puree

souffleed carrot ring

spicey zucchini casserole

mango sorbet

strawberry blondies

blintzes

chocolate tasting

[Jason Perlow]

You also missed the foie gras and red currant jam sandwiches

Kind of like finger food for the Kennedys.

[=Mark]

Look at the space we had to work in!  A 5th floor loft in lower Manhattan.

Here Jason checks out Soba Addict working out in the Kitchen, which is a major part of the main living space...

[=Mark]

StefanyB and Sandra pose around a huge hunk 'O wild mushroom that B Edulus hacked apart and insisted we take home and eat.  If we start showing major signs of behavior change let this be a heads up...

[SobaAddict70]

I prefer to de-leaf each and every brussel sprout in the container, so that the sauce consists of the anchovy/shallot/garlic/hot red pepper paste, olive oil and brussel sprout leaves.  Then I take the core of each sprout and chop that finely.  Proportions vary according to taste, but here's the rule -- for each container of brussel sprouts (1 container will make enough sauce for 4 people (or 2 with hearty appetites)), add 2 anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, 1 clove of garlic (more garlic if you like), minced shallots, and a pinch of red pepper flakes (how much or how little to add depends on how spicy you like things).  Be sure to saute the shallots FIRST, then add the garlic till lightly browned, then add the anchovy -- saute for a few minutes or until the anchovy disintegrates into the mix; this along with good olive oil, will form the base for your sauce.  Add the red pepper anytime, earlier on will cause the pepper to mellow out, later makes it sharper.  After a minute, then add the brussel sprouts and if you like 2 T. of cold water to thin the sauce out.  Lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the sprouts have turned a bright green and the core/leaves are tender, at which point you can toss cooked, al dente, drained pasta (I prefer conchiglie or penne rigate) into the sauce.

For fried bread crumbs -- to 6 T. of good olive oil, add 2 split garlic cloves and 1 fillet of oil-packed anchovy, saute until the anchovy disintegrates and discard the garlic; add half a loaf of slightly stale Italian bread, which you have broken up into crumbs and fry until the crumbs are a light toasty brown, taking care not to burn them or let them absorb too much oil.  A second or two before you take them off the heat, add as much minced Italian parsley as you like, and toss together.  This will make about 1/3 to 1/2 c. of herbed bread crumbs, suitable for use as topping pasta or vegetable dishes in the same manner that you would use cheese.

These are the recipes as originally posted.  For the pasta with brussel sprouts, I used farfalle in this instance.  I should also add that the sauce also includes about 1/3 c. of olive oil (preferably NOT EVOO).  When saucing the pasta, be sure to take the recently drained pasta and pour directly into the pan containing the sauce; toss to coat.  You can top off each serving with a drizzle of EVOO.  Other differences:  for the sauce, I used 4 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 shallot, minced; and LOTS of freshly cracked black pepper as a finish.  For the bread crumbs, I used about 2 cloves of minced garlic.  I had forgotten to get the bread earlier in the week, so used half a fresh loaf instead.  The crumbs turned out fine.

The fried bread crumbs are good for just about anything, not just the pasta.

Oh and one other thing before I turn in -- the blintzes were great!  I want the recipe.  

[stefanyb]

There will be more posts to come but just a word right now before retiring for the night, A great big thanks to everyone, especially Maria.  I could barely tear myself away after 6+ hours of eating and talking about food.  Just excellent!

[tommy]

great, and i had pizza and watched the sopranos for the 100th time.  i'll have to re-evaluate my priorities the next time this thing comes around.  

[=Mark]

A nice tasting of Stinky Blue Cheeses!

[=Mark]

The Stevens Bros with Piquant Salmon Rolls and Shrimp Tarragon Pasta Salad.

[cabrales]

Below are the dark chocolates included in the chocolate tasting (the pieces were expertly cut for sharing by ahr/Alan):

(1) Payard

-- Palet d'Or: Dark chocolate ganache infused with crushed coffee beans and rum covered in dark chocolate and finished with 18K gold leafing [in speckles]

-- Picasso: Dark chocolate ganache infused with earl grey tea, wrapped in dark chocolate

(2) Martine's

-- Piano: Soft butterscotch caramel

-- Oval (shaped like a sea shell): Double chocolate truffle

(3) Pierre Herme-Wegman's (order of tasting may have differed slightly from sequence below)

-- Deep Indulgence: Dark chocolate ganache, dark chocolate coated

-- Regina: Rasberry and dark chocolate ganache, dark chocolate coated

-- Perlia: Chocolate caramel ganache, dark chocolate coated

-- Finesse: Hazelnut gianduja with toasted, salted peanuts, dark chocolate covered

-- Rovival: Praline with toasted almonds, dark chocolate coated

-- Esmeralda: Pistachio flavored almond paste, dark chocolate coated

(4) La Maison du Chocolat

-- Yoko: Tea infusion flavored ganache

-- Bacchus: Ganache with raisins flambeed in rum

-- Zagora: Fresh mint infusion flavored ganache

-- Garrigue: Fennel infusion flavored ganache

-- Andalousie: Lemon infused ganache

(5) Valrona Chocolate Bars, courtesy of Sandra Levine

-- 71% Bar

-- 56% Bar

-- Unspecified lower percentage  

Many thanks to other participants for their company and their food and wine contributions.

[=Mark]

The Chocolates arranged for the Tasting:

[=Mark]

About 6:30 pm.  A brisk Spring breeze blows over the hors d'oeuvres...