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in (7) days I'll be eating french laundry for dinner.
Still jelly of the photos from last time. The personalized menus are a nice touch as well.
Originally Posted by Joe Perez
Just had lunch at Kuma's.
No pictures.
Had the Minotaur.
Amazing.
Updating, now that my body has had a chance to recover from this beef overdose. The burger was everything I'd hoped. Brie, bourbon-poached pear, caramelized onion and pancetta really delivers, and I love any place where, when you order a burger cooked "medium," you actually get a medium (mostly pink) burger. Actually, the menu goes all the way down to "rare," though I'm still a tad shy about ordering rare hamburgers since biting into one that was pretty much just a pile of cold, raw meat about seven or eight months ago. I love my steaks properly rare and bloody, but it doesn't work for me in a ground-beef product. I usually under-specify how I want burgers done, expecting them to over-do it. I took a chance here, expecting this establishment to properly interpret my preference. They did. "Medium" is the correct order at Kumas.
Skip the fries. I ordered without, and tried one off my companion's plate. Just one. They were ok, but not amazing, and it's clear that the burger is the star of this show.
The restaurant itself was exactly what I expected. Cramped, old, a trifle dank. Heavy metal played loud, and not just Metallica and AC/DC. There was stuff I've never heard before, and it appealed to me. The waitstaff consisted entirely of pale, well-built, heavily tattooed and pierced women in their 20s, and there very little kitsch. The Road Warrior was playing on the TV over the bar.
It's a place at which you should not dine often, but I will return once more before my days in Chicago come to an end. Already thinking about the next burger... Leaning heavily towards The Goatsnake.
Got a chuckle out of The Rules:
Also, the muse finally spoke last night. "Marsala," she gently whispered into my ear as I lay on the couch, watching Wrath of Khan and scraping the very last of the Gryuere mornay from the sides of the pan. Her voice dripped slowly through my ear canal like the ejaculate of an angel, and I knew at once that it was good.
And so Marsala it shall be. Researching and planning as we speak. It's going to be hard to resist adding a little goat cheese to the veal, now that it's on my mind...
Glass containers are the ****. If I leave my lunch in the back of my fridge at work for a month or two in a plastic container. Then that container is done it will never smell right again. Glass containers wash right out.
I potato'd for lunch today- along with a vidalia onion, bok choy, cremini mushrooms and turkey thigh. We subscribe to a fresh veg/fruit delivery service (Fresh Harvest) that delivers a tub every week. Priority is locally grown, then regional, and so on. Has definitely upped my consumption of fresh vegetables and fruit.
I never even realized that this was a difficult concept for some people, and didn't know it had a French name, until a year or two ago. Just seems very natural to me. Like having the oil filter wrench, the torque wrench, the 14mm socket, the new filter, the gasket, the funnel, a roll of paper towels, and the oil itself all laid out on the bench before you jack up the car and remove the drain plug.
Prep is its own step in the cooking process. You wash, you chop, you sort, you measure dry ingredients, etc. Then you prep the meat. Then you cook the food.
I mean, would you declare variables *****-nilly all throughout your code?
Originally Posted by y8s
but you gotta get glass or stainless containers so you can dishwasher them.
without getting plasticizer moobs.
Never even thought about using glasswear. I do have two small ramekins stolen from Red Lobster which I use for measured spices, and a small china bowl with the United Airlines logo on the bottom (the kind the salad comes in when you're riding up front), but the tupperware has always worked well for me.
I don't use the dishwasher. Well, I do use it as a drying rack for the dishes I wash in the sink, but I never* actually run it. Not sure why, I never have in any home I've lived in.
* = Not literally never, but maybe once per year or two, usually with an engine part in it.
Of course now that you've planted the idea in my head, it's pretty much inevitable that I'm going to cave...
Yesterday's fresh harvest tub. I ate kohlrabi for the first time today. Top and bottom is a lot like a turnip. I will skin the bottom next time. Not too tough to chew up, but definitely not pleasing to eat.
No sauce, just a roasted turkey. There's nothing fancy going on here- chop up the harder veggies and put them in a pan with onions, olive oil, salt, pepper. Cover on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Add the greens and softer veggies for 5-8 minutes covered. At this point I added some toasted sesame oil and tamari, with the already cooked turkey. I started doing this because eating salads every day at lunch was about to make me lose my mind.
re: glass containers - The biggest issue are the plastic lids, they don't last. Our latest fail has been "Snapware" - which has four locking tabs and a silicone gasket. They locked and sealed great when new, but in <6 months they're already failing to lock. The tabs are starting to curve and no longer lock tightly to the glass base lip.
However I'm moving in a month and so there will be no new purchases for right now.
Originally Posted by m2cupcar
No sauce, just a roasted turkey. There's nothing fancy going on here- chop up the harder veggies and put them in a pan with onions, olive oil, salt, pepper. Cover on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Add the greens and softer veggies for 5-8 minutes covered. At this point I added some toasted sesame oil and tamari, with the already cooked turkey. I started doing this because eating salads every day at lunch was about to make me lose my mind.
Sesame oil & tamari qualifies as a sauce. Ain't no shame in simplicity.
I'm definitely going to copy this one, though I'm thinking duck rather than turkey.
Originally Posted by m2cupcar
re: glass containers - The biggest issue are the plastic lids, they don't last. Our latest fail has been "Snapware" - which has four locking tabs and a silicone gasket. They locked and sealed great when new, but in <6 months they're already failing to lock. The tabs are starting to curve and no longer lock tightly to the glass base lip.
Really, lids aren't a big deal for me. I rarely use my prep containers for storage, and saran wrap works perfectly well.
In that case, snag the snapware and enjoy the lids as long as they work. when they stop working well (in 6-12 months... i had the same experience as m2cupcar) go back to saran wrap.
It's Memorial Day, when Americans honor those who have given their lives in defense of this nation by consuming large amounts of beef and alcohol.
It is well-known that the ritual consumption of beef in remembrance of the fallen is originally an Italian custom. The practice is thought to have originated in the late 16th century in Palermo, where each year a day-long celebration known as La Notte della Mucca Vivente (The Night of the Living Cow) commemorates the Bovine Uprising of 1583, when cattle from a nearby farm, under the leadership of a pig which was rumored to walk upon its hind legs and speak fluent Latin*, stormed the Palazzo dei Normanni. Hundreds of Sicilians were gored before the cattle were finally put down by the townspeople, after which their meat was roasted in a feast which lasted for a whole week.
* = That the pig spoke Latin is fiercely contested by contemporary scholars, and this detail is generally considered to be apocryphal. This is not meant to be a Pig-Latin pun, as Latin was still the predominant language of governance and religion in 16th century Sicily.
It is interesting to note that only one person ever claimed to have actually witnessed the cattle rebellion first-hand; a young farmhand named Cosimo Bramante who, by his own admission, had consumed a rather generous quantity of wine on the night in question. Even more interesting is the fact that the farmer's wife would later claim to have witnessed Bramante in flagrante delicto with the very same cattle on that evening. However, the veracity of her testimony is questionable, as she was widely known to to be an opium-user with highly flirtations tendencies. As Bramante had, some days earlier, written in his diary that he had rebuked her amorous advances, many historians suspect that this claim was made falsely, a spiteful attempt to seek revenge against him.
Regardless of the slightly unverifiable nature of the facts, the people of southern Italy continue to celebrate Mucca Vivente each year in late May. And in honor of that glorious custom, I present: Veal Marsala.
PREP!
We begin with a little over a pound of fresh Brussels sprouts. They are trimmed, divided, and soaked in a large bowl filled with water and 1.5 tbs of salt for about three hours:
Drain, dry. Toss in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet.
We prep the veal by pounding it flat between two pieces of parchment or waxed paper. Dredge through a mixture of flour and seasoned salt, and set aside to rest.
Yes, I still have several Chinese take-out containers left over from my fatty days which I use as prep dishes. They are a reminder to me of things past, and I bathe in the warm radiance of your hate.
SAUCE!
We'll be doing two tonight. A Marsala for the veal, and a Sherry-cream sauce for the sprouts.
For first, we add 1 tbs of butter to a large skillet on medium-high heat, and toss in 10oz of sliced mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes, then add one finely-chopped shallot and a few ounces of sliced prosciutto or pancetta and stir for a few minutes more.
Add 1 tbs flour, 3/4 cup Marsala wine, and 3/4 cup of your favorite broth (I used low-sodium chicken broth.) Bring to a boil, then down to low, and let simmer until reduced to your liking. Add another 1-2 tbs of butter, to taste.
NEXT!
For the second, prepare 4 thick slices of bacon by your preferred method. I baked it on parchment at 350° for about 20 minutes. We want it firm, but not crisp. (sorry, no photos of this step.) Crumble the bacon.
In a saucepan, saute 1 finely-diced shallot in olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add a couple cloves of minced garlic, then 1/2 cup sherry, 1/2 cup heavy cream (I always use powdered buttermilk blend for recipes which call for milk or milk-derivatives, and merely adjust the amount of powder added to approximate the consistency of the dairy product called for), the bacon, and a healthy amount of sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely diced. (I use the kind in a jar, and didn't measure. About half a jar went into this.)
As usual, raise to a boil, then down to low. Stir frequently until reduced to taste.
SPROUT!
Meanwhile, you've been pre-heating the oven to 475°. Put the brussels sprouts in, and let 'em rock for about 15 minutes.
MEAT!
Mix 1 tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter in a skillet, on medium-high. Cook the veal for about 1.5 minutes per side, then transfer to a plate or baking pan. If you're still a ways from completing the meal overall, stick 'em into the oven with foil over top to keep warm. (Presumably the sprouts are done by now, and you've turned the oven down to around 200°. If not, use the warming drawer which you don't own, but have been coveting on Lowes.com)
(Action shot taken concurrent with execution of above steps, because hyperthreading.)
@joe that's quite the epic dish. I see why you lost weight- portion size. I'd eat three of those.
I call this a salad and it makes me feel better. Heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Put this on a baguette and you have a meal.
05-22-2017, 08:49 PM
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