The food thread

I must admit my meals at "institutions" have been universally unsatisfactory

Depends upon the institution. "La Grenouille" in NYC is completely engaging. My wife sat next to Derek Jeter and she was equally well treated! The maitre d' sent us to his fave restaurant in his home-town in Brittany. We go there only once a year.

We sent back a cod dish at "Le Bernardin" as it had been hugely over-seasoned (NaCl). The apologies were profuse, the official taster came over to beg forgiveness. Bernardin is closed, hopefully returned when enough are vaccinated.

I took some clients to "Chapon Fin" in Bordeaux a dozen years ago. Last year when I took a key supplier there the food was very good, but the sophistication and elegance was much diminished. FR is having its tough time, but they put up a good face.
 
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Depends upon the institution

It certainly does, I was thinking of the stodgy American institutions. Food IS subjective best to let that be.

When we went to 3 star Arzak in San Sebastian they made my wife her own 12 course tasting menu due to her allergies (the owner's daughter and head chef is anaphylactic to some shellfish so they understood).
 
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Oysters Rockefeller should be made with Absinthe, not Pernod.

And no spinach.

I guess I'm not making Oysters Rockefeller then. The topping is Spinach, Panko, Butter, Asiago, Romano and seasonings. The worst part is they will be served in little cups rather than on the half shell, as I had to buy a jar of oysters, not fresh. I took a bad spill on the black ice last Saturday and shucking is still out of the question.
 
Beef Ribs, smoked around Thanksgiving. Huge Fred Flintstone brontosaurus ribs, that's a 18 x 13 in cookie sheet they are on. Just salt, pepper, and pecan smoke.
 

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Beef Ribs, smoked
Love the dinosaur ribs JR.
Cal: isn;t that missing the main ingredient?
Not to worry Bill, 5pm is not that far away.
Cal,
Best wishes on a speedy and complete recovery.
Thank you Ed. Two years ago today is when I dislocated my shoulder and I seem to have a penchant for reminding myself as I play slip and slide on the ice at least once a year.
.... : )
Oysters from the jar are good .
I used to prefer them to the fresh ones
We have to part ways on this my friend. I did an imitation shucking at home before heading to the store and realized it wasn't going to happen. I like nothing better than a freshly shucked oyster with some lime, hot sauce and a little pink salt. This 'Rockefeller' was the unfortunate alternate. That's not to say there's anything wrong with it but...
 
Cal,

I have done both shoulders! Left shoulder got so bad it would pop out almost daily. The a friend who was a myofascial trigger point therapist bent both arms up begind my back and showed the bad one could barely move. He pressed on the trigger point quite hard for a few minutes which was a bit unpleasant. However since then it hasn't popped out! Pretty sure I mentioned this before.

BTW popping out the front is more common than out the back, also out the back hurts a bit more!
 
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You probably have better fresh ones up there .....
The waters near here are questionable ...
As a matter of fact, I live close to the largest bed of pacific oysters left in the world. Problem is, the farm effluent run off. It's tough to watch when there are oysters as far as the eye can see and nary a one to eat.
 

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I am never happy to hear this kind of news Ed. It reminds me of me. I am oft referred to as a walking train wreck.

Then my good news, my left leg is my major body part that is still fine!

I suggest you try the simple test of putting your arms behind your back and seeing how far up they both go.

(Even though my left leg is the only all OEM part, everything works just fine after repair!)
 
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So.... been reading some turkey brining "theory" and wondering what you folks think about these points:

- never longer than 24 hours - otherwise the meat can be mushy or otherwise unappealing

- prepare and cook stuffing separately - otherwise the stuffing will end up too salty

Further on the matter of stuffing, some say that it is a bad idea to stuff the bird anyway because the added time to cook through to the centre of the stuffing typically results in an over-cooked bird.

Any opinions on this? My mother has always just defrosted a bird and stuffed it with traditional dressing/stuffing and cooked it. I can only remember a couple of times that the bird was noticeably overcooked, although I think the stuffing may have been undercooked a few times (which introduces some risk, obviously).
 
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The dry brine process I use takes about three days for the salt to diffuse through the bird. No problems with mushy meat. I've never done a wet brine, I could see how too much absorbed water could make a mushier bird. The drippings from the brined bird can be salty, account for that in making gravy.

We do dressing in a casserole dish, for easier doneness timing, food safety and so that the stuffing does not draw moisture from the bird.

Our kitchen only has one oven, so when we started hosting Thanksgiving we bought a tabletop roaster. I used it once for the turkey, but realized I didn't like the way the bird steamed in the small volume. Now the bird goes in the built-in oven and the dressing goes in the roaster.

Bill