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The Ten Most Recent Posts By slogger

From Talk

Veal bones, where art thou?

Posted by slogger, February 5, 2008 at 2:42 PM

Since reading Michael Ruhlman's "Elements of Cooking" I have become obsessed with making veal stock. But my search for veal shanks, knuckles and breasts has turned up fruitless; they're either impossible to find or impossibly expensive. The only thing Whole Foods had was meaty shanks for $15/lb and the high-end butcher had the same for $19/lb. With 10 lbs of veal bones, that's some expensive stock! Has anyone had any luck finding these items at a reasonable price? What's your secret?

8 Comments

The Ten Most Recent Comments By slogger

From Talk

(Sort of) embarrasing things in your shopping cart

Frozen burritos. I love 'em.

*hangs head in shame*

slogger at 1:11PM on 03/05/08

From Required Eating

Traitor Joe's?

Not really a surprise at all. I've always assumed their Goddess dressing was the same as Annie's. And it's pretty widely known among beer geeks that Gordon Biersch brews some of their beers. Even their yearly Vintage Ale bares the Unibroue logo (maker of La Fin du Monde, among others).

slogger at 1:03PM on 03/05/08

From Talk

Does Topping Order Matter?

I have only one rule: the mayo cannot touch the cheese. Ugh--that drives me nuts! When the two are together, they create a creamy synergy that overpowers the flavor and texture of everything else in the sandwich.

slogger at 2:14PM on 03/03/08

From Recipes

Serious Sandwiches: Whatta Tuna Sandwich!

I've had a hankering to stuff some choux puffs with a doctored-up tuna salad. This might be a good candidate...

slogger at 3:47PM on 02/20/08

From Talk

Do you make your own stock or do you cheat a little?

I'm a huge fan of homemade stock and plan on trying Ruhlman's veal stock recipe as soon as I can source the bones cheaply and conveniently. For chicken stock, I don't really use a recipe, but generally stick with 2-3 lbs of bones and .25 tsp salt per gallon of starting liquid, then a healthy amount of carrot/celery/onion/parsley in the last hour or so. A few tips?
• Start with cold water
• Keep it at a simmer or below (I like 180-190'F)
• Skim early and often until the grease and scum is completely gone
• The longer the simmer, the better--a minimum of 6 hours, up to 10 or longer
• Strain well, especially if you're concerned about clarity

When cheating and using store-bought stock, I like Swanson too, though do find it a bit lacking. Julia Child recommends simmering store-bought stock with a bouquet garni, which I've found works well. Also, if I have the time, I'll reduce store-bought stock with a vigorous boil to concentrate the flavors before using.

slogger at 2:27PM on 02/20/08

From Talk

Veal bones, where art thou?

Yeah, I've tried the local Asian and Bosnian grocers in the area. I've also tried calling the local mom-n-pops places and even an organic farmer. It seems nobody touches veal these days. I've been trying to work some restaurant connections too, but that's a little more slow going.

slogger at 5:36PM on 02/05/08

From Talk

Almost immediate gratification artisan bread

Gah. My link borked. You can find the recipe here: http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/accompaniments_fiveminute.shtml

slogger at 4:34PM on 02/05/08

From Talk

Almost immediate gratification artisan bread

I heard about this on Splendid Table, and it sounded so easy I had to give it a try. (Recipe here.) For the minimal amount of effort involved, the results are fantastic. The flavor really does improved over the course of storage time, and I've been adding a couple of dashes of malt vinegar to boost the faux sourdough flavor.

slogger at 3:08PM on 02/05/08

From Slice

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

Regarding St. Louis style, I have to agree with foobar and ajthronton. Provel is an abomination; to call it cheese is indeed a misnomer. I liken it in flavor and quality to Velveeta, except when provel cools, it coagulates and takes on a tacky, gelatinous texture that sticks in a lump to the roof of the mouth. When ordering a pizza in a new neighborhood restaurant last week, I triple-checked with the waitress that it did not have any provel, to which she responded, "you're not from around here, are you?"

slogger at 4:49PM on 01/25/08

From Required Eating

A Map of Regional Foods

They chose the eponymous Buckeyes for Columbus, but overlooked the delicious Sauerkraut Balls from Akron--delicious rounds of sauerkraut and corned beef breaded and deep fried. They're just about the only think I miss from home.

slogger at 12:38PM on 09/25/07

Responses to Comments by slogger

From Talk

Best knives?

I just got a set of shun knives and they are fantastic. They are comfortable and are the sharpest knives I have ever used. Cutting is a breeze. A great investment.

silip at 12:46AM on 05/09/08

From Slice

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

I moved away from Pittsburgh the Bay Area (where there is plenty of good pizza) and i STILL crave Aiello's!!!! Pittsburgh pies do have a unique taste- its the sweeter sauce.

Ohio Valley pizza certainly deserves its own category- its pretty unique.

If you want true Ohio Valley Pizza, you have to go to the Firehouse in Ambridge, PA on Merchant street. Only open on the weekends, the business is run by firemen to support the firehouse (we're talking real social capital here). Its not my favorite (really dougy crust) but its certainly an experience.

Another experience would be Tony R's pizza in Sewickley on Nevin Ave. A tiny pizzaria run by Tony (who does all the deliveries himself) and his two sons.

katie123 at 2:03PM on 05/07/08

From Recipes

Serious Sandwiches: Whatta Tuna Sandwich!

mmm, that does look good. you should add it to http://www.welovesandwiches.com/

howard at 6:34AM on 04/14/08

From Slice

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

When I read "Ohio Valley Pizza" above, I knew immediately what you were talking about but there is only one chain who prepares it in that way these days, DiCarlo's. About 20 years ago there were several copy cats but they have long since closed down.

Honestly I'm not sure that the Ohio Valley deserves it's own pizza style category, but if it's all we've got we'd better hold on to it I suppose.

Ellavemia at 10:57AM on 04/12/08

From Slice

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

I'm a New Yorker born and raised. I make pizzas at home in a variation of the "grandma" style. After reading about Old Forge-style pizza, I tried mixing in a little sharp cheddar with my mozz. Ya know what? It's really good! It adds a nice "tang."

It pays to be open-minded :)

NewYorkDave at 5:49PM on 04/06/08

From Recipes

Serious Sandwiches: Whatta Tuna Sandwich!

Italian tuna sandwich sound awful. I don't like Italian food. It would be better with just regular tuna, pickles, onions, lettuce and a little mayo.

paris221966 at 2:51PM on 04/06/08

From Required Eating

Traitor Joe's?

It's no secret that TJs sells private label items made by other companies. They happen to have a high quality standard to match the more reasonable price point. Unlike most shops doing this and placing them alongside brand names, they'll only carry limited varieties of an item. If you want a taste of this on a more budget level, check out ALDI. Yes, the place where you have to pay 25c deposit to use a shopping cart. They're about the most fantastic low end supermarket ever. No frills, mostly private label, and unbeatable prices. Same great satisfaction guarantee as TJs. I miss their $1.69 monster box of Frosted Mini Wheats dearly. And guess what - ALDI owns TJs.

jraphs at 10:25AM on 03/08/08

From Talk

(Sort of) embarrasing things in your shopping cart

Would a cart half full of Bagel Bites and premade French Fries be embarrassing? A little bit...:)

Hillary
Chew on That

Chew on That at 5:00PM on 03/07/08

From Required Eating

Traitor Joe's?

This is idiotic. The packaging is usually an obvious tip-off of what product the TJ brand is a twin of - I'm pretty sure they do that on purpose.

Glad to hear they are a tough customer on quality control - thx jfultz.

guido at 8:57AM on 03/07/08

From Required Eating

Traitor Joe's?

Simple: Regular Distribution is manufacturer (x% margin)->distributor (30% margin)->Retailer (30-40%Margin). Trader Joes has huge volumes so it goes like this Manufacturer (lower margin than usual)-> Trader Joes. They cut out 30-50% of the margin. Hopefully that helps understand why they contract manufacture.

karstenrobbins at 3:53PM on 03/06/08