mhberk

For those that want to know, here is IndeBleu's RW dinner menu: appetizer shaved vegetables and greens with orange lemon grass dressing and spiced cashew nuts crispy wild mushroom dosa with bleu cheese gratin and truffle oil duck confit samosa on apple chutney with rum raisin jus and greens mains white cassoulet of chicken confit, boudin blanc and navy beans ginger studded stripe bass with sautéed spinach and fenugreek tomato sauce fried green plantain on braised young vegetables with tamarind jus dessert chocolate mint ice cream with cardamom hot fudge sauce and peppermint bark rose water panna cotta with mango ice cream and mango foam $30.06

Let me know how it goes. The variations that I made were to use 1 1/2 cups of salt and sugar (instead of the ratio that was in the recipe). But I think I'll bump the salt up to 2 cups next time. I also used 4 sprigs of all (including the rosemary) the fresh herbs and I tore them into smaller pieces. And for the dry ingredients, I used a mortar & pestle (just as Suzanne Goin did on "How to Cook Everything") to release the flavors and oils. A food processor can be substituted for the mortar & pestle using the pulse mode. It's good eats!!

I tried to make it again last weekend (Christmas weekend) with some half chickens I bought at Whole Foods. I made a few modifications to the brine recipe that I listed in my previous post and it came out VERY, VERY similar to Palena's as far as flavor and juiciness! As far as the roasting method, I took the chickens out of the brine earlier in the day. I then let them sit in the refridgerator, uncovered, for 7 hours. When it came time to roast them, I started by setting my oven at 500 for 30 minutes. After the oven had been at 500 for 30 minutes, I placed the chicken on a bed of mirepoix, 1/4 cup chicken stock, and a 1/4 w. wine and placed it in the oven. After 20 minutes, I turned the oven down to 425 and continued cooking for another 45 minutes (these Whole Foods chickens were much bigger than the average half chicken). The skin was a little darker than "golden brown", but I think it was just the carmalization from the honey. I retained the juices and drippings as a dipping sauce for my guests and even served the mirepoix as a vegetable for those that wanted it (you'd be amazed at the flavor of the mirepoix from the drippings). Since the chickens were so big, we had leftovers. In fact, my wife just finished her chicken last night (almost a week and a half after they were prepared) and she was still amazed. As I was placing it in the pan to cook it, I could still hear the crackling of the skin as I pressed on it (even after sitting in my fridge for over a week!). Has anyone else tried the recipe that I listed?

Has anyone tried IndeBleu in the past for RW? If so, would you please share your experience (ie menu selection, upcharges, etc) Thanks in advance!

Is that what we are? "Rockweillers"? Hmmm, interesting...

When I saw the title of this thread, I immediatley thought of IndeBleu. Although, Palena should ALSO be given consideration for NOT giving their roasted chicken recipe under their "Recipes" section!

I thought that the service, the food, and the atmosphere were great! I've heard mixed things on the service, but when we went, we were very impressed (even the young assistants knew to serve on the left and clear from the right - or is it the other way around? - for each of us). Like I said, I'm not sure what the experience would have cost us if we had gone on a regular night, but it WAS one of the more pricey RW experiences we've had. It was also one of the most memorable. If you're on a limited budget (like me), you would probably do better going to two (non-upcharge) restaurants than to Vidalia. But then again, they won't be as memorable. If I had been to every restaurant that is offered during RW over the years and was looking to repeat restaurants, Vidalia would be one of the first I would repeat. Galileo, on the other hand, is one that I would make sure I got into EVERY year! Not trying to make the comparison between the two, but they are both touted as high 3-4 star restaurants.

That's how I remembered it as well. For the two of us, there was an up charge on both apps and both entrees (I can't remember if the desserts did or not). When it was all said and done, I think I spent close to $120 with one glass of wine and tip. It was a great excuse for eating there and the service was probably better than any other place that year (I think we did Ceiba and another place the same week), but the RW pricing was a little misleading (although it was probably less than full price). As I mentioned before, Galileo was by far the best experience we've had for RW! No upcharges and our food was some of the best we've had in DC. They are, IMHO, unparalleled for RW. Even the server seemed like he'd been to culinary school.

Mon: IndeBleu Tue: Wife works late Wed: Galileo (by FAR the best meal we had last year for RW) Thu: Having tonsils removed (Damn you tonsils!!) Fri: Recovering Sat: Recovering Sun: Recovering

I remember watching Iron Chef Sakai dry out the skin of a duck by sitting in front of a fan (or cold air blow dryer) for 20 minutes. I was thinking about trying that.

I grill the wait staff everytime I go and get a little more info each time. The last time I was there, I told our server that I was going to work in the kitchen on the weekends just to get the recipe. He said that it wouldn't do me any good because no one in the kitchen knows what goes in the brine. Apperantly, Frank makes the brine himself and he is the only one that knows what goes in it. The only thing our server DOES know is that it is brined for 24 hours. Once an order comes in, the chicken is first seared in a pan and then placed in a "hot" oven (he didn't know what the temp was, but I'm assuming that it >400 degrees). After our last visit (2 weeks ago), I found Patrick O'Connell's brine recipe and tried that (this was posted on eG Forums): "BRINED CHICKEN from Patrick O’Connell, found in NYT 12-22-99 serves 4-5; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus overnight brining My notes: This recipe imparts a wonderful taste to the fowl; used on both chicken and Turkey. Time must be adjusted for the size of the bird. Used on parts do not follow timing here or it becomes too salty. For the turkey (fresh, organic, free range), I multiplied the recipe and used a picnic cooler which I left outdoors in the chill Fall air. Worked fine. BRINE: ½ cup kosher salt 1 3/4 cups sugar 1 cup honey 3 sprigs each parsley, dill, thyme, tarragon, sage 1 sprig rosemary 1 Tbs mustard seeds 1 Tbs fennel seeds 1 cinnamon stick 2 large bay leaves 4 cloves ½ Tbs juniper berries ½ Tbs cardamom pods 1 Tbs black peppercorns 1 lemon, halved and squeezed lightly 3 star anise ½ Tbs whole allspice CHICKEN: 3-4 lb chicken 1 cup sliced carrots 1 cup sliced celery 1 cup sliced onion 2 Tbs butter, melted 1. Large stockpot or roasting pan that holds chicken in one piece: bring 1 gallon to a boil; remove from heat, add all brine ingredients, stir. Cool to room temperature. (Of course you can substitute a ziplock for the pan once the brine cools.) 2. Add chicken to pan. Cover, refrigerate overnight. From here you can substitute your own favorite way of roasting the bird, but I give you O'Connell's instructions for completeness: 3. Drain chicken well, discard brine. Cut off and discard wing tips. Preheat oven to 350f. Roasting pan: place carrot, celery, onion. Place chicken on top of veggies. Brush chicken with melted butter. 4. Roast chicken til thigh joint temperature reaches 150f, about 1 hour. Baste with pan juices at least every 15 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. If parts become well browned, cover with foil. When chicken is done remove from oven. Allow it to rest at least 10 minutes before carving. (depends on size of bird, of course)" This was VERY similar to what I've had at Palena (minus the crispy skin, but I'm working on that). My only variation would be to multiply the water by 0.75, multiply the salt by 1.5 and brine it for 24 hours instead of 12 or overnight. And of course I cut the chicken in half and brined the two halves instead of brining and cooking it whole. Let me know what you guys think!

Still nothing??