« First-World Problems... | Main | Gun Thread: Six Frickin' Years (Plus a Week) Edition! »

Food Thread: Brisket And Sauterelles Dans La Pâtisserie

That's brisket...Jewish style! or more accurately, Eastern European Jewish style. Given my druthers I would eat Texas smoked brisket, because it is the Platonic ideal. But the Jewish version ain't bad.

It's really just a pot roast with attitude. traditionally there are some sweet components to the recipe, and I have heard rumors of raisins in it. Yeah...that's weird, and I will not be putting anything silly in my brisket for Rosh Hashanah.

What I will be putting in is wine and ketchup, which don't seem to go together, but work nicely with the fattiness of the brisket.

What? Use just the flat? Nope...not in Chez Dildo. Remember the First Rule Of Fat? It adds flavor, and the point of the brisket has oodles of lovely, unctuous, flavorful fat. Managing that fat takes some effort, but it's nothing out of the ordinary with braises. I might trim a bit more than usual, but even that is okay, since I will happily render the trimmed fat for frying.

This is rapidly approaching axiom status.

Fat: eat it!

Any questions?

******
Even the cowardly, authority-loving, muzzie-accomodating Frenchies are pushing back against the lunacy that is enveloping the eating world.

Let Them Eat Crickets!

France has a long history of well-heeled elites telling other Frenchmen how to live. These days, those prescriptions mostly have to do with the environment. Or that is the claim, anyway. So the Mayor of Paris wants municipal employees not to eat so much meat

And they don't like it one bit! Good for them!

But it's just socialism wrapped in a vegetarian cloak. And they have been voting for that crap for a long time, so it shouldn't come as a surprise.

And we haven't dodged that sort of crap. Take a look at school menus reccomended by the Department of Education. They are insidiously slipping vegetarian options and planet-friendly foods into our children's world. Hell, I look at the many restaurants in my town and a few of them are explicitly vegetarian or vegan, and more of them have those options on their menus.

Who willingly eats that sh*t?

Here in the U.S. barbecues will be under attack soon, if they are not already. The Left hates enjoyment of all forms, including dietary. They want you (not them) to eat bugs, not steaks and pork chops. They claim it is about the environment, but that makes no sense: really, it is just about the Left's eternal lust for power over the rest of us. Don't let them get away with it.

Yup!

******
There's always a different way to cook...everything!

I really like halibut, and my preferred method is to choose a thick piece, then sear it on both sides and finish in a medium oven. It works, but it is very time sensitive. A few extra minutes and the halibut is a bit dry, and with the price of halibut these days, that is not an acceptable result.

But last week I watched a friend make halibut in a different way, and I am nothing if not a thief of someone else's good technique!

He used small and relatively thin pieces and gently sautéed them in butter. Lots and lots of butter! The fish turned out perfectly cooked, with light browning but not an ounce of toughness or dryness. And of course he made a Beurre Blanc, which is nothing more than a butter-based pan sauce.

Absolutely delicious, and something that will change the way I cook fish.

******
Best Mustard Ever might be a tad optimistic. There are some glorious commercial preparations that come damned close to perfect. But homemade mustard sure is tempting, although a friend who enthusiastically suggested that it was easy to make was also a tad optimistic. I tried, and it is definitely harder than it sounds.
******
Good Italian-American cooking is wonderful. Nothing outrageously complicated, nothing using expensive ingredients (although veal is stupidly pricey), and there is a certain aesthetic to the classic restaurants that makes them tremendously appealing.

This one is my favorite!

I was sitting at the bar, waiting for one of the brats, drinking an excellent martini (Hendricks, a small splash of vermouth, and a twist. As God intended), and I realized that they are gradually falling by the wayside. There are some in NYC, Philadelphia, maybe Chicago and San Francisco, but they are essentially neighborhood restaurants run by recent immigrants, and nowadays we get other sorts of food at those joints.

What did I have? An order of their excellent meatballs and the Arancini special to start, then a Chicken Sorrento with sautéed spinach.

I hope Leo's and the rest of that sort of place last forever!

******
Man...I really like pan-fried foods. Unfortunately my stove hood is cruel joke, and I hate cleaning the stovetop.

I think you lunatics should rotate cleaning duty and I will cook for you.

******

[Hat Tip: Powerline Blog]

******
Good butter, and Flap Meat...whatever the hell that is...just send it, Broccolini that isn't $6/bunch, garlic...lots of garlic!, well-marbled hanger steaks and elk chops to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Who are those poor deluded souls who shake their Manhattans? These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

My and the world's patience has run out. Shaken Manhattans henceforth will be banished to the land of Long Island Ice Teas and Frozen Strawberry Margaritas.

And yes, I used to demand fancy bourbon, but let's face it, $1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.