The Rest of Us

[Sneakeater]

15 hours ago, Wilfrid said:

Elisabeth Luard says neck of mutton or lamb is traditional in Liverpool, although I agree I've generally seen it made with beef.  Now I want some.

You know, it never occurred to me to look for this dish in Luard.  I guess I thought it was too recent.  Or not culturally elemental enough.

[Sneakeater]

What eating (most of) a Portherhouse at home by myself -- where I'm paying real attention to the meat, and not being distracted by conversation with tablemates -- drove home is that I can actually appreciate Filet Mignon as a foil to New York Strip.  It does have its good points, in context.   It's when you eat it by itself that it seems intolerably bland and mushy.

Porterhouse really is a genius cut, putting on display the different good points of steak in its different varieties.  No WONDER it's the Universal Steakhouse Favorite.

[joethefoodie]

7 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

Porterhouse really is a genius cut

Cows are smart!

My guess is that it's also because it's a shared hunk in a steakhouse, and the sharers can each get some of their favorite part?

[voyager]

1 hour ago, joethefoodie said:

Cows are smart!

My guess is that it's also because it's a shared hunk in a steakhouse, and the sharers can each get some of their favorite part?

When we were first married, before I had a handle on cooking + spent a couple of hours commuting every day, a porterhouse was my regular go-to.    Husband got the strip, I got filet and tail.  

[Evelyn]

Welcome to the Cult of Flannery! David Kinch indoctrinated me almost 15 years ago 😍. And while it's not really relevant to the product-an added bonus is that Bryan and his daughter Katie are two incredibly nice people. 

[voyager]

The Cult of Flannery is wide.   We have been enjoying meat from Peter, a Flannery brother, and previously the father, the original Bryan, for at least 50 years.    It's indeed a lovely family.  I remember all three boys working in the butcher shop as teenagers.   Peter is a gem, quiet, with a twinkle, no clever quips but always on target shopping guidance.   

Chuck let's me know when I bring home something from a lesser source.   Quality will out.

[Sneakeater]

More of that farinheira and eggs on toast.  On the side, some Marcella Hazan's smothered cabbage.  And lest anyone think I'm getting too "authentic" (not that Venice is anywhere near Portalegre), I dumped some Milu chili crisps over the cabbage, just to keep things interesting.

I wasn't going to open another Beaujolais.  So how about something vaguely Beaujolais-like?

2013 Bodegas y Viñedas Ponce Buena Pinta

Blah blah blah Moravia Agria.  Blah blah blah Garnacha.  Blah blah blah light but with substance.  Blah blah blah delicious.

[Sneakeater]

15 hours ago, joethefoodie said:

Cows are smart!

I don't think cows do the butchering.

[Sneakeater]

On 1/6/2021 at 10:57 PM, AaronS said:

have you been to the new fishmonger at 5th and carrol?

I'm probably having a trouble navigating, but all I can see them offering in Park Slope is premade food.  I must be wrong, right?

[joethefoodie]

6 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

I must be wrong, right?

 

[bloviatrix]

Hey Sneak - spouse is making cholent for Shabbat. I know you're jealous.

[AaronS]

sneak - that was wrong last time I walked by. I have to be in the area later, I’ll check.

[Wilfrid]

On 1/13/2021 at 11:41 PM, Sneakeater said:

You know, it never occurred to me to look for this dish in Luard.  I guess I thought it was too recent.  Or not culturally elemental enough.

I think labskaus is ancient, and I have always assumed Liverpool picked up a version of it from Danish sailors using the port.

[Sneakeater]

It's so stupid.  I always heard of Scouse having come to Liverpool by way of the Hamburg shipping trade, and for no reason at all I figured that must have been in the steam era.  But why would THAT be?

[Sneakeater]

Cheeseburger.  More fancyass this time:  aside from cheddar, a steakhouse slab of bacon, some mushrooms, and green-tomato ketchup and mustard.  (Martin's bun, duh.)

Fried jerusalem artichokes with sage butter on the side.

I had a wine pairing picked out.  But I had a problem:  the sage butter for the jerusalem artichokes required a teaspoon of lemon juice.  What was I going to do with the rest of the juice from the lemon?  I thought about it, and it occurred to me that a Whiskey Sour might go well with a cheeseburger.

Whiskey Sour (no egg)

Pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 3/4 oz. lemon juice, and 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker.  Shake.  Strain into a rocks glass over ice.  Garnish with a lemon twist and a cocktail cherry.

It didn't work as well as I hoped.  My thought was that the lemon sour would provide the kind of sweet-and-bitter affect of Coke (which God knows is a great pairing for a cheeseburger).  But Bourbon is itself pretty sweet.  So the whole thing became cloying.

A Manhattan would have worked better.  (Although it wouldn't have helped with the lemon.)