What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Astronuc]

I worked for years with a woman that hunted before and after work, weekends, etc, and arranged her vacation time to coincide with hunting seasons. She routinely brought in pictures of herself with turkeys, deer, grouse, and one time a bear that she had shot. She and her husband are avid hunters.

There are a number of people in the nuclear industry who hunt and fish. Outages at some plants have to timed before hunting season.

I have a petite cousin who is deadly with a bow and she bags deer regularly with it. She's a teacher's aide.

And she enjoys Indian wrestling, right?

 

[ZapperZ]

The Food of Chicago

In anticipation of the upcoming unofficial PF Gathering in Chicago this summer, I'm going to list some of the food that are identified with Chicago. In case anyone is visiting the city some time soon, this would be a guide to some of the things you might want to try.

1. Deep dish pizza

This, of course, is probably the most popular food identified with Chicago. It was invented here at the first Gino's restaurant. It isn't your typical pizza. It is more like a pie. And unlike New York thin crust pizza, the sauce is pilled on top of the toppings, not at the bottom. And you don't eat it with your hands - you need a fork and knife to handle this one.

While Gino's is credited with inventing it, my personal favorite (and the favorite of many Chicagoans) for deep-dish pizza is http://www.loumalnatis.com/" . I know of many transplanted Chicagoans who would mail-order Lou Malnati's deep-dish pizza. It is THAT good.

2. Chicago-style hot dogs.

This is not what you would call a "minimalist" hot dog. Made with 100% "vienna beef" (whatever that means), Chicago-style hot dogs is famous with not just the dog, but what goes on on top of it. You get lettuce, sliced cucumber, sliced tomatoes, chopped onions, hot peppers, and celery salt. But the most unusual topping that makes it really unique is the fluorescent-green relish.

The best places to get good Chicago-style hot dogs are the various hamburger/hot-dog stands around the city such as Byron's. Many people swear that the hot dogs at Wrigley Field is one of the best. Popular TV sports commentator Bob Costas has been known to have some flown over to him.

3. Italian Beef sandwich

Again, another Chicago invention, and has no connection whatsoever with Italy. It is thinly sliced beef, cooked in seasoned broth, and then served in between a good french-type bread. You may ask for the optional hot/sweet/mild peppers, and a spinkling of parmesian cheese. There are also various ways to have this sandwich. You can just have it "dry" (the meat is still a bit wet since it was fished out of the broth), or you can have it medium to super juicy. Medium juicy is when they ladle a bit of the juicy broth onto the bread, whereas super juicy is when they quickly dipped the entire bread into the broth. Either way, this is as messy to eat as Philly cheese-steak sandwich. Expect the juicy to want to run down to your elbow or it isn't a good italian beef sandwich.

4. Stuff-crust pizza

A Chicago variation of the deep-dish pizza, which many has credited Giordano for the invention. Here, you start almost like a deep-dish pizza where you pile the "toppings" at the bottom. Then, rather than cover it with a thick layer of tomato sauce, you actually put down another layer of pizza dough, and then, cover it with a thick layer of tomato sauce and grated cheese. Again, you can only eat this with fork and knife, and you probably won't want to each for the next week after finish one of these beast.

The most favorite ingredient in the stuffing at Giordano is spinach.

5. Pizza Pot Pie

Purely an invention of the http://www.chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com/menu.htm" restaurant, and it is the only place to get it. Literally, it is a pot pie with pizza ingredients and sauce, surrounded with the pizza crust.

The restaurant had a very old-Chicago atmosphere, and rumor has it that Al Capone was a regular back during his days. If you don't have a reservation, don't even think about going there for dinner on Friday and Saturday.

As a side note, one of my most favorite places to eat in the neighborhood, especially for breakfast, Nookies Tree, has gone all trans-fat free! Hooray! I can have their thick onion rings again!

Zz.

 

[turbo]

My wife and I just came in from our first real summer cook-out. The temperature was 82 deg F and we grilled cheeseburgers on the back deck (served with our home-made green tomato salsa and canned habaneros) and a side dish of potato salad with Molson Goldens on ice. Maine's summers are short, and the evenings that are free of black flies and mosquitoes are precious. Glory!

 

[Evo]

I was weeding the garden the other day and I have TONS of wild garlic. It always smells so good I decided to look online to see if it was good to eat. I read a few recipes with it and decided to give them a try.

I chopped up enough to make about 2 cups, and chopped an onion, I sauteed the wild garlic and onion in butter until they onion was transparent, then tossed them with some freshly made hot couscous. OMG! That was the best dish ever! Now I fear that my craving for wild garlic will soon deplete my supply. To think for years I would throw pounds of them into the trash.

 

[Astronuc]

I chopped up enough to make about 2 cups, and chopped an onion, I sauteed the wild garlic and onion in butter until they onion was transparent, then tossed them with some freshly made hot couscous. OMG! That was the best dish ever! Now I fear that my craving for wild garlic will soon deplete my supply. To think for years I would throw pounds of them into the trash.

I don't suppose you saved any.

So is garlic, as opposed to wild onion? And did you make the couscous with semolina wheat and/or pureed chickpeas in addition to onion and garlic?

I am growing (well trying to at least) some garlic. The one of two original plants (which survived the winter) have been divided and distributed. It's my first experience/experiment growing garlic.

 

[mathwonk]

wow is this thread popular. my browser couldn't even find the last page.

i like a nice fresh plate of pasta with maybe arugula salad, pepper and good parmegiano, and a glass of red wine, maybe regusci, or 2000 la cardonne, or andrew will, if i could find it.we also enjoy the worlds most expensive blackberries once a year, by picking them from a view lot we own in washington, facing the olympic peninsula. that's all we use the lot for, so that why the berries cost tens of thousands of dollars a pound, so far.

 

[mathwonk]

heres a real recipe, but i am not really a cook.

take an egg or two and mix them up with a lot of really good parmegiana cheese, grated yourself from the good gourmet store, not out of the green can we used as a kid.the mixture should look heart stoppingly cholesterol laden. then cook some bacon, actually in extra olive oil, drain and set aside.

then make the pasta, with lots of water. as an italian friend says "foreigners never use enough water for pasta."

it is ready when it tastes as if it is ("al dente"), or as some people prefer, when it sticks to the ceiling when flung, but my wife frowns on this method.

then drain the pasta, and pour into a thingy with holes in the bottom (collander?), and add the egg parmegiana mixture and mix it up. the hot pasta cooks the eggs enough.

then add the crushed bacon and mix further amd serve.

have freshly ground pepper and more freshly grated parmesan for people to sprinkle.

although not a cook, actually even i have had a success with this. oh yes, serve good red wine and preferably a salad if you have someone with salad skills.

 

[Astronuc]

the mixture should look heart stoppingly cholesterol laden. then cook some bacon, actually in extra olive oil, drain and set aside.

Breakfast - coffee and cholestrol -

 

[Evo]

heres a real recipe, but i am not really a cook.

take an egg or two and mix them up with a lot of really good parmegiana cheese, grated yourself from the good gourmet store, not out of the green can we used as a kid.


the mixture should look heart stoppingly cholesterol laden. then cook some bacon, actually in extra olive oil, drain and set aside.

then make the pasta, with lots of water. as an italian friend says "foreigners never use enough water for pasta."

it is ready when it tastes as if it is ("al dente"), or as some people prefer, when it sticks to the ceiling when flung, but my wife frowns on this method.

then drain the pasta, and pour into a thingy with holes in the bottom (collander?), and add the egg parmegiana mixture and mix it up. the hot pasta cooks the eggs enough.

then add the crushed bacon and mix further amd serve.

have freshly ground pepper and more freshly grated parmesan for people to sprinkle.

although not a cook, actually even i have had a success with this. oh yes, serve good red wine and preferably a salad if you have someone with salad skills.

Ah, pasta carbonara. In Italy they use a type of cream which can't be purchased in the US and pancetta. It is to die for. :!)

 

[turbo]

I was weeding the garden the other day and I have TONS of wild garlic. It always smells so good I decided to look online to see if it was good to eat. I read a few recipes with it and decided to give them a try.

I chopped up enough to make about 2 cups, and chopped an onion, I sauteed the wild garlic and onion in butter until they onion was transparent, then tossed them with some freshly made hot couscous. OMG! That was the best dish ever! Now I fear that my craving for wild garlic will soon deplete my supply. To think for years I would throw pounds of them into the trash.

That's awful! There is a lot of wild stuff that is delicious and it's too bad to waste it. If the wild garlic divides well like the cultivated kind wait until fall, dig up a bunch, divide the bulbs into cloves and replant the cloves. Maybe you can get a patch going that will keep up with your demand. One of my neighbors raises garlic and last year he gave us some purple Russian garlic that tasted wonderful, so we put some in a batch of our habanero sauce-Mmmmm I may have to beg some bulbs of that from him and start my own patch this fall.

Fiddleheads (immature ostrich fern) will be out this weekend, and though we still have gallons of them frozen from last year, there is nothing like steaming some fresh-picked fiddleheads and serving with a little butter and cider vinegar.

 

[hypatia]

When I cook fiddlehead's {bracken or ostrich} I always boil them twice, with a change of water inbetween. I find they taste sweeter. In Japan they roast them with other spring veggies and ginger. It has a very savory taste.

 

[turbo]

We've tried fiddleheads a lot of ways, including casseroles, and have also par-boiled them until still crispy and tossed them in a stir fry.

 

[arunbg]

Just like mathwonk said, wow this thread really is popular and its even listed in the classics!
Yeah, I keep popping in every 10 pages or so to check if everything is allright.
And now I'm back at home, eating my favourite food, the mom special.

I thought I should share an experience I had long back, it reminds me of the good old days.
One fine day, my dad told me that we were all going crab hunting. Now, we were in a middle-east asian country and the sea was miles away, and so I took it as a joke. Whoever heard of "crab hunting" anyway ?

A few hours later I found myself in a car with my whole family, on the highway along with other family friends heading for the nearby coastal town. Needless to say I was excited, I had never even gone fishing before. When we finally got there it was already twilightish. The shoreline glimmered in the setting sun (am I being too romantic here?). Initially, I thought that we had come late, but when everybody waded into the water I joined in too. Now the only light available came from the night sky and the bright torches in the hands of the company's adults.

I was quite wary stepping into those dark uncertain waters but after some time the fear vanished. Then I think my dad shone his flashlight into the water. Initially, I couldn't see anything except the murky waters, a few fish and the vegetation on the seabed. Then I saw them - crabs running away from the light, lurking in crevices, they were everywhere.
Us kids had a jolly good time spotting them while the adults scooped them up with their nets. At the end of the hunt, I think we managed at least 30-40kgs of the crustascean. We took our share and went home.

Then it struck me that we had to kill them before we could eat them, I was so used to getting crab meat on my plate served with mom's wonderful gravy.
So I watched as my mom put them in the freezer, I felt so sorry for the guys. Next day when I was served crab, I took one look at the plate and couldn't bring myself to eating, conjured up images of them dying were stuck in my head now. So my parents had to finish it all up on their own

Now that I think about it, I don't think that such unauthorized "fishing" was even legal in those parts.

 

[Astronuc]

This restaurant has a great menu and is not too far from where I grew up in Houston.

Masraff's - on Post Oak Lane

http://208.106.136.226/mas/menu.asp?mcid=3

 

[Evo]

Then it struck me that we had to kill them before we could eat them, I was so used to getting crab meat on my plate served with mom's wonderful gravy.
So I watched as my mom put them in the freezer, I felt so sorry for the guys. Next day when I was served crab, I took one look at the plate and couldn't bring myself to eating, conjured up images of them dying were stuck in my head now. So my parents had to finish it all up on their own

Now that I think about it, I don't think that such unauthorized "fishing" was even legal in those parts.

I know, my mom took us crabbing when we were little, but then when it came time to boil them, they would scream. I'm still traumatized by it.

 

[mathwonk]

i was pretty surpized at the idea carbonara has cream in it, as that makes me think of alfredo recipes, but i did find some recipes with cream on the net.

my recipe was that of a family in Rome we knew and lived with for a few months. apparently some recipes have cream, some have white wine, or whatever. the one i gave is pretty rich without the cream though, especially if you grate in enough parmeggiana reggiano.

 

[turbo]

we also enjoy the worlds most expensive blackberries once a year, by picking them from a view lot we own in washington, facing the olympic peninsula. that's all we use the lot for, so that why the berries cost tens of thousands of dollars a pound, so far.

I have probably the cheapest blackberries around. They grow wild on our property and on the vacant woodlot across from us. I can usually get around a gallon or so every time I go out picking, and apart from those that we ate or those that we juiced and drank, we froze at least 20 gallons last summer. There is a black bear out back that gets his share of them, too. I don't mind him eating berries, but he often tramples canes to get to good clumps of berries, and I wish he'd learn to be more careful.

 

[Evo]

i was pretty surpized at the idea carbonara has cream in it, as that makes me think of alfredo recipes, but i did find some recipes with cream on the net.

my recipe was that of a family in Rome we knew and lived with for a few months. apparently some recipes have cream, some have white wine, or whatever. the one i gave is pretty rich without the cream though, especially if you grate in enough parmeggiana reggiano.

My recipe is from my ex-fiance that is Sicilian (lives in Sicily) and there it is made with that special thick cream that you can only get there. :!)

 

[mathwonk]

well our neighbors seem to have cheap berries too, from the vacant lot (ours) across from them, as the easy ones always look culled when we go there.

 

[Evo]

I need to hack a chicken apart.

I used to be an expert at this, but it's been years since I've done it and last week I hacked one apart and it was embarrassing.

I need to do it again. I plan to sautee the pieces with several chopped onions and then plate it over hot couscous.

I just can't see paying $3-$5 per pound for cut up chicken when I can buy an entire 5 lb chicken for $3.45.

 

[lunarmansion]

I need to hack a chicken apart.

I used to be an expert at this, but it's been years since I've done it and last week I hacked one apart and it was embarrassing.

I need to do it again. I plan to sautee the pieces with several chopped onions and then plate it over hot couscous.

I just can't see paying $3-$5 per pound for cut up chicken when I can buy an entire 5 lb chicken for $3.45.

Not a live chicken I bet! If you hack a live one you have to hold it for a while otherwise it flies away as the muscles are still twitching.
One of my grandparents had a Dairy Farm. We had fresh milk, butter and yogurt. It was not mechanized like here and everything was done by hand.
Have you ever tasted butter churned by hand? Or drank milk straight from a cow? Ymmmm! And playing with the baby calves and goats or kids as they are called. Seeing a cow give birth...
My other grandmother owned a lot of land---in her house everything was from her land- the oil, the meat, the grain, the fruits and vegetables. I was very young then but I still remember those lazy summer days when you could sit outside and eat fruit all day from the trees. I was lucky to witness life on the land on such a large scale in my early years--such a lifestyle is not possible these days. Everything is getting ugly and mechanized everywhere. And the food how good it was even with very little seasonings!

 

[omega_M]

Hot Scrambled Egg

Things you need :

Eggs, Jalapeño, Ranch, cumin seeds, salt, oil

Heat some oil in a pan.
Put cumin seeds in the hot oil and let them sputter for about 10 sec.
Cut small pieces of jalapeños and put them in the oil. Fry for about a min or two.
Break 2/3 eggs in a bowl. Squeeze some Ranch and mix everything thoroughly.
Add Salt to taste
Put the egg mix in the pan and stir everything until cooked.

Enjoy ! This is my own recipe.

 

[turbo]

Not a live chicken I bet! If you hack a live one you have to hold it for a while otherwise it flies away as the muscles are still twitching.
One of my grandparents had a Dairy Farm. We had fresh milk, butter and yogurt. It was not mechanized like here and everything was done by hand.
Have you ever tasted butter churned by hand? Or drank milk straight from a cow? Ymmmm! And playing with the baby calves and goats or kids as they are called. Seeing a cow give birth...
My other grandmother owned a lot of land---in her house everything was from her land- the oil, the meat, the grain, the fruits and vegetables. I was very young then but I still remember those lazy summer days when you could sit outside and eat fruit all day from the trees. I was lucky to witness life on the land on such a large scale in my early years--such a lifestyle is not possible these days. Everything is getting ugly and mechanized everywhere. And the food how good it was even with very little seasonings!

My sisters, cousins and I grew up in a very rural environment, and my uncle and great-uncle had farms, and all of us had big vegetable gardens. We collected eggs, slaughtered chickens, hogs, and cows, incubated eggs, attended the births of all kinds of animals, etc. We had cream for berries, hand-churned butter, home-made ice cream, home-made blood sausages, spiced pork sausage links, head cheese, pickled tripe... Nothing went to waste. We kept bags of bones in the freezer that were broken/sawed up to add nutrients to soups. My family would be classed today as "working poor" but in some ways we were rich beyond belief.

 

[Astronuc]

Any thoughts on cooking fresh cod?

My neighbor came over while I was mowing the lawn and gave me a bag of cod fillets, fresh from the ocean off Maine.

I could bread and bake it, but thought I'd ask for any favorite recipes.

 

[turbo]

I could bread and bake it, but thought I'd ask for any favorite recipes.

That's absolutely the best way to prepare cod. Seal it with an egg wash and roll it in cracker crumbs with a little salt and pepper and serve with wedges of lemon.

 

[Evo]

For something different, this recipe sounds good.

Bacon wrapped cod

ingredients
1 pound (500g) fresh cod fillet
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces (90g) thinly sliced slab bacon, rind removed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
For the sauce:
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 shallot
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons capers

preparation

1. Season the cod all over lightly with salt and pepper. Roll or fold the cod so that it looks like a small roast, and wrap the bacon around it, securing the pieces of bacon with a skewer or toothpick, so the cod is almost completely covered with the bacon (except at the "corners").
2. In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the fish and brown it on all sides, which will take about 6 minutes. Cover the skillet and continue cooking the cod until it is cooked through, about 16 minutes, turning it occasionally so it doesn't burn.

3. While the cod is cooking, make the sauce. Mince together the parsley and the shallot and place in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil. Coarsely chop the capers and whisk them into the sauce.

4. When the fish is cooked, transfer it to a warmed serving platter and let it sit for about 4 minutes. Remove the skewers or the toothpicks and drain away any liquid that comes from the fish. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve

http://www.epicurious.com/cooking/menus/cooknow/recipes/104533

 

[Astronuc]

The bacon wrapped cod sounds good, but a bit challenging for me today. I do have breadcrumbs, so that is what I'm doing this afternoon - bread and bake. I'll need to buy a shallot (although I might be able to find a wild onion), and I need to buy capers.

Most of the cod fillets are small, probably a few ounces each, so I guess I'll have to improvise on the recipe, which I tend to do with recipes anyway. I could make sushi

I still have half the cod, which I'll freeze. I hope that holds it until I get back from a trip this week.

Thanks for those ideas.

I also have Progresso Tomato Basil soup, so I was thinking about using that.

 

[turbo]

I also have Progresso Tomato Basil soup, so I was thinking about using that.

Maybe on the side... Fresh cod has such a nice delicate flavor that it is a shame to overdo the sauce/seasoning thing.

As a Mainer (maineiac!) I grew up using my nose to buy fish. If you go to a store and they claim the fish is fresh, ask to smell it. If it does not have a heady rich aroma (especially ground-fish), just walk away. It is either too old or has been frozen and thawed and it is not worth the price. There is an exception. Tuna that has been flash-frozen at sea will yield very flavorful steaks if thawed and cooked promptly. Tuna is one of the very few fishes that can taste wonderful after freezing.

 

[Evo]

As a Mainer (maineiac!) I grew up using my nose to buy fish. If you go to a store and they claim the fish is fresh, ask to smell it. If it does not have a heady rich aroma (especially ground-fish), just walk away.

Wait, I thought fresh fish was supposed to be non-smelly, i.e. smell like the water it lived in. THAT'S WHAT ALTON BROWN SAID AND HE KNOWS!

Besides not smelling, my mother always told me that if I didn't know from whom I was buying the fish, to buy it with the head on so I could see if the eyes were clear. If the eyes were cloudy, the fish had been dead too long. Anyone selling the fish will be happy to then fillet it if you want.

Nowdays most ocean fish is frozen onboard ship and is fresher than ever. If the fish smells of ammonia, don't buy it!

 

[turbo]

Wait, I thought fresh fish was supposed to be non-smelly, i.e. smell like the water it lived in. THAT'S WHAT ALTON BROWN SAID AND HE KNOWS!

Alton knows a lot about food, but if he said that fresh fish should not smell sweet, like a bouquet of fresh flowers, he is in over his head. I cannot describe the smell of freshly-shucked Atlantic scallops or newly-filleted sole to you, but if you had ever smelled them, you would know how to identify FRESH seafood. If you live more than 100-200 miles from the fish piers, you may never have experienced fresh seafood. Seafood that has no smell is probably safe to eat, but it certainly will not be a great treat.

 

[Evo]

I grew up in Houston, TX, we would actually buy all of our fish/shellfish on the fishing boats in Keemah when they docked. My mother was so adamant that we get the freshest seafood that we boarded the boats and bought them even before they made it to the stalls at the pier. Everyone knew my mom. They knew they couldn't mess with her either, all 5' of her.

 

[turbo]

Smell is paramount. If the fish/shellfish no longer has a distinctive sweet, rich, bouquet, it has been dead too long and/or improperly stored and is not fit to eat.

If the fish has a pungent odor (even a little) it is probably spoiling, and this can take as little as 2-3 days under the right conditions even if it was refrigerated. If you are buying fish off trawlers in warm waters without adequate refrigeration, chances are you bought fish that was caught several days ago and was not fresh. If it has no smell or a neutral smell, the fish is no good. Even more delicate (and toothsome) is fresh-caught brook trout pan-fried in butter with salt and pepper. Nothing compares. I have a couple of sweet nieces that love my cooking and they would kill for my brook trout. Fish needs to be fresh, and it demands a light touch.

 

[Evo]

Smell is paramount. If the fish/shellfish no longer has a distinctive sweet, rich, bouquet, it has been dead too long and/or improperly stored and is not fit to eat.

If the fish has a pungent odor (even a little) it is probably spoiling, and this can take as little as 2-3 days under the right conditions even if it was refrigerated. If you are buying fish off trawlers in warm waters without adequate refrigeration, chances are you bought fish that was caught several days ago and was not fresh. If it has no smell or a neutral smell, the fish is no good. Even more delicate (and toothsome) is fresh-caught brook trout pan-fried in butter with salt and pepper. Nothing compares. I have a couple of sweet nieces that love my cooking and they would kill for my brook trout. Fish needs to be fresh, and it demands a light touch.

These boats only went out in the bay and left and returned same day, they were not deep ocean.

The worst fish was freshly caught bluefish in Chesapeke Bay, they smelled and tasted like motor oil.

 

[Astronuc]

The worst fish was freshly caught bluefish in Chesapeke Bay, they smelled and tasted like motor oil.

Well, it does smell like the water it lived in!

 

[turbo]

Chesapeake bay is not exactly a standard to which I would adhere. Even Gulf-caught oysters in New Orleans were just marginally better. This country has NO appreciation for fresh seafood, nor any standards to ensure that consumers get any honesty or accountability. If you were here in Maine, and could enjoy some butter-fried Atlantic scallops, some fresh baked cod, or a nice brook trout, you would know.

 

[Math Is Hard]

check out this multi-course meal!
http://www.howithappened.com/2007/05/underground-menu-at-lenclume.html
one of the courses:

This is "Lollipop 'perigourdine' and pickled onion turkish". The lollipop was a hard caramel of foie gras and truffles, reminiscent of fleur de sel and foie gras creme brulee, which is almost a standard on the Ile de Re. The turkish delight was really excellent too, with the sharp vinegar of the pickled onion cutting through the cloying powdery nature of the turkish delight.

 

[Moonbear]

The worst fish was freshly caught bluefish in Chesapeke Bay, they smelled and tasted like motor oil.

Can't speak for that caught in the Chesapeake, but I've had bluefish from off the Jersey coast, and absolutely LOVE it. But, most people I know don't like it because it tastes too strong for them (they're the sort of people who only want flounder and cod). It has a dark meat, so like dark meat vs light meat on chicken, it has a distinctly different taste from fish that have very light meats. And, it is an oily fish, but that just meant it could withstand my mom's cooking and still be moist. I miss having freshly caught fish. Even when we froze it, it still tasted better than store bought. I've found one Japanese restaurant in NYC that has excellent fresh fish (for sushi and sashimi) that has that wonderful fresh smell (when it's fresh, you can tell each different fish's scent and flavor from the others...when it isn't fresh, you can't tell one from the other because they either have no flavor or a "fishy" not-so-fresh flavor). When I was a kid, you could have blindfolded me and served me the fish we caught, and I could have told you what each kind was by the flavor. If you tried that with me in most restaurants or with most store-bought fish, I couldn't tell you at all, they all taste rather flavorless at best, or fishy and rotten at worst (if it smells or tastes "fishy" send it back to the kitchen, it's old and they shouldn't be serving it).

 

[turbo]

Mmmm, bluefish! They run up the rivers here feeding on pogies, shad, etc, and they can get pretty big. You have to use stainless steel leaders to catch them because their sharp teeth will cut nylon. They have a distinctive smell both fresh and cooked, and the flavor is strong enough to put off some people, as you mentioned. That is one variety of fish that can withstand a heavy hand with seasonings and still come out tasting great. Not so with cod, haddock and other white fish.

My favorites are brook trout, landlocked salmon, brown trout, and rainbow trout - all with their own distinctive flavors. We also have white perch in some of the warmer ponds, with a delicate white flesh that makes great chowders or butter-fried filets.

 

[Astronuc]

5 Foodie Sites You'll Tell Your Friends About

http://food.yahoo.com/blog/dailyolive/652/5-foodie-sites-you-ll-tell-your-friends-about

5 Grills for 5 Personality Types
http://food.yahoo.com/blog/dailyolive/638/5-grills-for-5-personality-types

 

[Evo]

Trying to decide what to eat tonight. I have 5 lbs of yukon gold potatoes, I was think potato salad. I've been told that I make the world's best, I agree.

But I want to make something exciting tonight in addition to it, but not be too complicated.

Any suggestions?

 

[Evo]

check out this multi-course meal!
http://www.howithappened.com/2007/05/underground-menu-at-lenclume.html
one of the courses:

This is "Lollipop 'perigourdine' and pickled onion turkish". The lollipop was a hard caramel of foie gras and truffles, reminiscent of fleur de sel and foie gras creme brulee, which is almost a standard on the Ile de Re. The turkish delight was really excellent too, with the sharp vinegar of the pickled onion cutting through the cloying powdery nature of the turkish delight.

Pickled onion and turkish delight?

That lollipop looks like it has dead flies in it. ZERO points for appeal.

 

[Astronuc]

Trying to decide what to eat tonight. I have 5 lbs of yukon gold potatoes, I was think potato salad. I've been told that I make the world's best, I agree.

But I want to make something exciting tonight in addition to it, but not be too complicated.

Any suggestions?

Besides potato salad? What else do you have in the pantry or fridge? You could make scalloped potatoes with ham, but that takes a while. We also do sausage and potatoes, in which we more or less boil the potatoes and sliced sausage, with carrots and celery, and seasonings.

or

GERMAN POTATO SALAD WITH SAUSAGE
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1938,148190-245199,00.html

Or something like a potato omlet or pancake with vegetables and cheese.

 

[Evo]

I meant something without potatoes since I'm making the potato salad. It doesn't have to go well with potato salad either.

 

[Astronuc]

Coleslaw? Carrot or carrot, raisin and pineapple.

Do you have fish, poultry, pork, sausage, bacon, beef, lamb?

Shiskabobs? Vegetarian, or meat + veggies?

 

[wolram]

I meant something without potatoes since I'm making the potato salad. It doesn't have to go well with potato salad either.

Shredded crispy beef?

 

[wolram]

1. Cut steak across the grain into thin strips.
Beat eggs in a bowl with the salt and flour, adding a little water if necessary.
Add beef strips to batter and mix well until coated.
2. Heat the oil in a preheated wok until smoking.
Add beef and deep fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring to separate the shreds.
Remove with slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

 

[Astronuc]

1. Cut steak across the grain into thin strips.
Beat eggs in a bowl with the salt and flour, adding a little water if necessary.
Add beef strips to batter and mix well until coated.
2. Heat the oil in a preheated wok until smoking.
Add beef and deep fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring to separate the shreds.
Remove with slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

That sounds good.

And it would go well with shredded or chopped red cabbage and shredded carrot, in a sweet and sour sauce (optional).

Or season it like Mongolian beef.

 

[Astronuc]

I meant something without potatoes since I'm making the potato salad. It doesn't have to go well with potato salad either.

Hot dogs or hamburgers would go well with potato salad.

I've been told that I make the world's best, . . .

So when can I put it to the test?

 

[turbo]

So when can I put it to the test?

Really! This is a pretty hefty claim, and it needs to be tested. My cousin's potato salad is world-class, but my wife's is killer, made with Caine's mayonnaise, Yukon Gold or Katahdin potatoes (which-ever are the crispest and tastiest at the time) and whatever ingredients that she wants to throw in.

 

[Astronuc]

Shredded crispy beef?

Now you've got me craving shredded beef in ginger sauce or Mongolian style.

I also like to cook beef in a nice sweet red wine. It forms a really nice gravy.