What did you eat last night for dinner?

now I am craving some Italian food



mgm9128 said:

This mushroom was just for you, Rambo.
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Did you really take the leaf of a Brussels Sprout and place it on top? :confused:

Those plating of the sauces looks really dumb, fyi. You're kind of regressing.

So yesterday was one of the more ridiculous days of eating I've had... Thankfully I was walking around for about 8 hours so hopefully that makes a difference...

Went to the airport, my favorite fastfood breakfast is only available at the airport so got that...

Get to NYC one of [I]New York[/I] magazine's favorite places for pizza is next to my hotel, grab a slice walk head downtown walk around OWS (lol) and head up to Vanessa's and had a ton of dumplings before getting there i had a stick of fish balls then went to mass, walked down and ate a really good ramen house and then went up little italy to meet my landlord and on the way had a really disappointing canoli. it is obvious that little italy is NOT the place, by and large, to get decent italisn

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little italy is awful. Except for Torrisi, which is fantastic.



gomestar said:

little italy is awful. Except for Torrisi, which is fantastic.

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It is now also only like two blocks wtf.

lombardi's is good too.

but isnt that in soho and not little italy?

quince are in!



mgm9128 said:

Well, I deglazed with the wine, then added the chicken stock and reduced by half. Strained three times, and added some butter to thicken. I wasn't planning on adding any cranberry juice or port, but as I said, it just tasted heavy and flat. What's the best way to brighten a sauce. Lemon juice?

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I guess I am a heretic when it comes to sauces, but I generally, I mean 99% of the time, hate red wine in sauces. I find it gives an off taste and a nasty look. With game, I think deglazing with a tablespoon or so of cognac is pretty good. Also, don't think I'd count on reducing by half, just reduce until you get your desired consistency. I also avoid adding butter at the end, because I don't really understand what the butter has to do with a game bird, and find that it gives a texture that is not that great with meats. Save it for cream sauces. I also leave a bit of fat from browning the meat in with the reduction as I think it improves the aroma. You have to figure out what you want, though. Do you want a nice, natural sauce, or do you want some modern version of old haute cuisine with a bunch of extraneous flavors? Both can be good, but don't confuse them.

As for brightness, with meat a little aged vinegar works, though I rarely find it necessary. A flat sauce is usually from bad technique, and the butter can accentuate that as it dulls the flavor.

Cognac! Yes, that would have been good. Thanks for all the tips.

Does grouse not give you much besides the breast? Kind of shocking to see a bright red stringy looking piece of meat like that. I've got an epic supermarket near my place now that specializes in all kinds of meats, especially game, and they've got all the weird birds that mgm likes to cook.



impolyt_one said:

Does grouse not give you much besides the breast? Kind of shocking to see a bright red stringy looking piece of meat like that. I've got an epic supermarket near my place now that specializes in all kinds of meats, especially game, and they've got all the weird birds that mgm likes to cook.

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The breast is the best part by far. The legs can be awfully strong. It isn't stringy. I made it recently:



Inside view for the Hustler fans:



His was just cooked poorly. He'll do better next time.

Did you soak yours in anything? I don't think the bird I had had been bled, because there was blood coming out everywhere, even after rinsing repeatedly. The milk was fuchsia colored the next morning.



mgm9128 said:

Did you soak yours in anything? I don't think the bird I had had been bled, because there was blood coming out everywhere, even after rinsing repeatedly. The milk was fuchsia colored the next morning.

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You soaked your grouse in milk?

Yeah. I read somewhere that you should do that...I guess not. I didn't bite into any bullets, though.

Pastrami from 2nd ave deli....ftw

Crab Salad with Apple Gelée.

Nantucket Bay Scallops, Pea Shoots, Spiced Jus.

Pompano, Avocado, Clementine Coulis.