mhberk

OK, this hasn’t been done in a while. So with Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d give it another try. After reading Meaghan’s article about the saline solutionand after watching a few cooking shows, I tried the brining thing again last night. In the article, it said that Chef Ruta uses “…fennel tops, carrots, spring garlic, celery…” along with the herbs and spices. Suzanne Goin uses a similar concoction here in her brine. So with this in mind, I revamped my original brine and created something that was superior to the ones I’ve tried up until now. Here’s what I used: 2 gallons of water 2 cup kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) 1 3/4 cups sugar 1/2 cup honey 1 lemon (halved and squeezed lightly; adding the juice AND the lemon after squeezed) Vegetable mixture: 1/2 cup fennel (chopped) 1/2 cup carrots (cut diagonally into medium sized pieces) 1/2 cup celery (cut diagonally into medium sized pieces) 1/2 large red onion (chopped) 6 fresh sprigs each parsley, dill, thyme, tarragon, sage 3 fresh sprigs of rosemary Dry ingredients: 1 Tbs mustard seeds 1 Tbs fennel seeds 1 cinnamon stick (break into small pieces using the bottom of a pot or pan) 2 large bay leaves 4 cloves ½ Tbs juniper berries ½ Tbs cardamom pods 1 Tbs black peppercorns 4 star anise ½ Tbs whole allspice As I did before, I took all the dry ingredients (minus the mustard seeds and fennel seeds (both too small), and the bay leaves) and pulsed them in the food processor to grind them a little and to release the oils. Chef Goin’s method of mortal and pestle looks like it would work much better. If this is employed, add ALL dry ingredients except the bay leaves. Then I did a rough cut on the vegetables. After that, I brought one gallon of water up to a simmer and then added the salt, sugar, and honey and stirred to dissolve them. Then I added all the other ingredients. I let them bathe for about 30 minutes and then added the other gallon of water. I put this in my refrigerator and let cool over night. The next morning I added the chicken and brined for 2 days. I tried something a little different when it came to the roasting as well. Instead of pan roasting it or placing it on a bed of mirepoix, I copied America's Test Kitchen's method of lining the pan with sliced potatoes as shown here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 But instead of adding a compound butter to the chicken, I sautéed some onions (until softened) and garlic in 1/4 to 1/2 stick of butter. Then added chopped fresh sage, fresh cracked black pepper, and salt and then let that sit to incorporate the flavors. I then sliced about 7 Russet potatoes in the food processor (as shown in the videos), tossed them with the butter mixture, and lined the roasting pan (on top of foil) with them. Then I placed the chicken on a wire rack on top of the potatoes. After the oven had been preheated to 450 for 30 minutes, I placed the roasting pan in the oven and roasted for 60 minutes (the half chickens that I get at Whole Foods are probably bigger than most and need the 60 minutes to roast). The result was stellar! The chicken was as crisp and as juicy as ever. Only this time, it had a much deeper flavor! The potatoes (after the brined juices from the chicken dripped on them while in the oven for an hour) were out of this world and really stole the show. For the next time, I think I'll add a little Dijon mustard to the butter mixture for the potatoes and let them continue to roast after I've taken the chicken out.

I LOVE that place!! Yeah, they don't mess around there

It was actually the for the salsa to be used in their Huevos Rancheros recipe. I was just using the testing technique as an example of how they make recipies several different ways and let their testers decide which technique provides the best outcome. But as far as the salsa recipe itself, the vegetables are cooled before the salsa is prepared. I'm sure the carmelization of the tomatoes, chilies, and onions provide a different flavor.

I like CI's approach. It gives me a different way to view a recipe. I remember (though not word for word), for example, a recipe for salsa started out by saying that they tried the recipe three different ways: 1) using just raw fresh vegetables that they bought from the supermarket 2) using canned vegetables 3) roasting the fresh vegetables in a oven They found (and the tasters agreed) that roasting the vegetables first will give a more desirable flavor. Little tips like that that give me a different perspective on a recipe.

Yeah, I remember him explaining that pan-frying allows the steam and moisture to escape easier than deep-frying. This prevents the coating goodness from all coming off with the first bite

My cousin (who lives in L.A.) is getting married and as a wedding gift, I wanted get her a G.C. to a nice restaurant in the area. What are some of the great (white table cloth, possibly tasting menues, great wine list, trendy, etc) restaurants of L.A.? Possibly on the level (or greater) as Maestro, Eve, Inn at Little Washington, etc. I was going to look into one of Suzanne Goins' restaurants (A.O.C., Lucques), but I thought someone could recommend something else. Thanks in advance!!

I just got an email saying that Chris will be doing this again. DATE: Thursday, October 5, 2006 TIME: 7:00 PM LOCATION: Hosted by Politics & Prose Off-site at Friendship Heights Village Community Center 4433 South Park Avenue Chevy Chase, MD PHONE: (202) 364-1919 RSVP appreciated

A friend of mine just showed me a Harvard Business School Case Study that Patrick O'Connell wrote about The Inn At Little Washington's operations. It looks like from the moment the guests walk through the door, their are given a grade on a scale of 1-10 based on their mood and then this grade is put on a chart in the kitchen. The rest of the evening is spent trying to elevate the mood of the guest. He has a system for training his staff to look for clues that the guest is unhappy or uncomfortable. O'Connell says that the guest is not to leave unless their mood is higher (on the scale) than when they arrived. This is achieved by additional courses, samples of selections that weren't chosen, complementary drinks, switching servers, O'Connell inviting the guests back into the kitchen for a tour, etc. It was a pretty interesting read

Congrats Jael!! Mrs mhberk and I wish the two of you all the best!

Not sure what they're doing this year, but Vidalia was one of the best meals/experiences I've had during RW in the past. I would HIGHLY recommend them. Please report back if you make it there. Ardeo was always one of my favorite CP restaurants, but I haven't been in a while.

I cancelled it last night to give them enough time to fill my spot. I think I'd recognize you. When I first came here, I was originally going to choose the name "Escoffier", but it was taken . My second choice was going to be Careme, but then I thought I'd just go with "mhberk" (an equally as important name ). We'll be at Mendocino Grille on Friday at 6:30 and Zola on Saturday at 6:00.

If you re-read my post, you'll see that their "fault" had less to do with them being busy and more to do with their incompetence.

Yes. The hostess said that it's about a 45 minutes wait, but with an outside table, it might be shorter. NO!!! Thanks Mark!

Well believe it or not (as I just explained to someone in a PM who had similar concerns), I go to Palena knowing that that the food is exceptional and then they always exceed my expectations. Similarly, I go in knowing that the service will be poor (unless I can have Scott or Jerome serving me) and somehow the service always falls short of my expectations.

We live in the suburbs (Howard County) and wanted to go to city and sit outside and enjoy the roasted chicken while the whether was nice. And we got there around 7:30 (at time when we felt the wait wouldn't be too long). As for the reservations: as far as I know, they don't take reservations for the cafe. Why don't you point out the part in my post where I stated that we had a problem with the original 45 minutes wait. That was expected on our part. Also, explain to me where it was my fault for originally requesting an outdoor table.

Well, went to Palena tonight (didn't get served though ). Drove (45 minutes) out there and asked how long it would be for a table outside. The hostess told us there was a 45 minute wait to be sat and that she would call us when our table would be ready. We gave her my cell phone number and went over to Starbucks and waited...and waited. 45 minutes later she called. When we got there, we discovered that it was a table in the cafe (and we wanted to sit outside and enjoy the mild weather). Already starving, we decided to sit at the table inside. Literally 20 seconds after we sat down, we decided that we'd wait just a little bit longer for a table outside (which is why we drove all that way in the first place). I got out of my seat and explained to the hostess that we've decided to wait for a table outside. She huffed and rolled her eyes at me and took our menus. We then step outside to wait. After about 10 minutes, a table cleared outside. My wife and I were both excited...until we saw the hostess seat another party at the table. It turns out that if you don't like the table they seat you at, they put you at the end of the waiting list! If only the customer service and the attitudes of the hostesses, restaurant manager, and servers (other than Scott and Jerome - the only two that I've found that make an evening at Palena enjoyable!) were 1/10th the quality of the food, that restaurant might actually show up on the radars of people other than us foodies. I've just about given up on them!

When you DO figure it out, make sure you go here and let us know.

I have a dinner reservation at Bistro Bis for Monday night for 4 that I won't be able to make. Before I cancel it, is there anyone that wants it? Here are the details: Bistro Bis Monday, August 14, 2006 7:00 PM, 4 people Please let me know.

You didn't happen to record the first two, did you?

Yeah, I caught that. I find saltines to be the best to use. They are great for binding and they don't add as much filler as breadcrumbs or cubed bread.

I've made mine very differently over the years. Over time, I've found that the simpler, the better. At home, I use nothing more than lump crab meat, eggs, mayo, saltines a SMALL pinch of Old Bay (just to enhance the flavor of the crabcake - not to add Old Bay flavor) and dry mustard. I've found that this gives the best flavor. Then I broil them. It's good eats!!

I'd like one, but I guess I can't get it in time for this weekend's Wine in the Woods

OK, I was COMPLETELY fooled!! I mentioned in the "Galileo Cooking Classes" thread that Chef Donna let the outcome of the rematch slip. His exact words were "we lost again, but what are you gonna do? Morimoto is THEEEE Iron Chef". All this time I went around feeling sorry for him and wished he had won! Even as he was prepping his dishes and all the way up to The Chairman announcing of the winner, I kept thinking to myself: "to bad he lost!". And then they announced the winner...Chef Donna!! It was a nice surprise.

Could be. Everything else he told you (the spices and herbs) is pretty consistant with what he told me (I assume we're talking about the same waiter). The side-by-side comparison would be great! I'm considering doing one brine with fresh herbs and one with dried. You've REALLY inspired me to do this soon! I might have to do it the weekend of the 20th.

Do us proud girl!! I've heard conflicting things (from the same person) about the pan-roasting step. The first time, I was told that it was skin-side up and then the next time I was there, the same person told me that it was skin-side down. My own theory is that it is started skin side down to create a sear, crispness, and carmelization to the skin, and then finished in the oven skin side up to finish the cooking process and enhance the crispiness. Let me know how yours turns out. Were you able to access the link to the Cook's Illustrated article that I linked about pan-roasting a brined, bone-in, chicken breast? I'm enlosing it as an attachment in PDF format. Pan_Seared.pdf