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I'm a transplanted South Florida native up here in the Pacific Northwest, and I realized lately that I've never tried cooking anything with manila clams. Which are delicious, I just had them at a local restaurant. So later this week, it's fresh manila clams steamed in garlic and butter over linguine.

The local fish monger is running a special on live Dungeness crab too, so that's next in the project list. I miss Florida/Caribbean seafood -- stone crabs! florida lobster! conch! mangrove snapper! snook! redfish! -- but I need to get more into the local stuff up here besides halibut and salmon.
 
So I had to work last Saturday and drove in. Decided to stop at Joong Boo (asian grocery store) on the way home in my never ending search for demi glaze for omurice (which some is now on order from amazon). Did my shopping and decided to pick up a few steamed buns to snack on during the drive home. There's a little booth outside the store that sells them along with a few other things.

Pork and chopped veggies. Originally I planned to eat them in the car in the parking lot, but couldn't because they were too darn hot. So I set the bag on the floor and got on the expressway...

...and immediately realized I made a HUGE tactile error. The fragrant aroma of mouthwatering porky goodness soon became overpowering. Even though as a rule I don't eat while driving I was driven (pun intended) to break that rule by the siren smell. Or at least, try to.

These "buns" were easily the size of a small softball and I'm not exaggerating. Plus, way more filling than bun and there was NO WAY I could safely nom on these while driving in Chicago bumper to bumper traffic.

Pure torture! Gathering every last ounce of willpower I had, I wimpered at the container on passenger floor next to me but kept driving at a reasonable speed until I got home.

Then promptly tore into them (60 minutes later!!!) they were still warm. Ohhh, so good! Street food at it's best.

I now am slightly upset because, BUNS have been on my way home when working weekends for years and I didn't know it!!!

While having to go in on the weekends sucks (when working a full week), these mounds of porky joy will make it just a bit easier.
 
Might be a dumb question....Why don't you make your own demi glace seeing as it's a breeze to make? Or is the stuff used for omurice significantly more complicated to make?
 
StonedEdge said:
Might be a dumb question....Why don't you make your own demi glace seeing as it's a breeze to make? Or is the stuff used for omurice significantly more complicated to make?
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https://www.reluctantgourmet.com/demi-glace-recipe/

"Making demi glace at home, in culinary school or a high end restaurant is arduous and extremely time consuming but when done right, the backbone of most of the world’s greatest sauces."

Am I over complicating it? First off, believe it or not for being in such a large metro area, it is really hard to source veal and beef bones, which I kinda think would be needed for the depth of flavor?

I even have a hard time getting chicken necks when I want to make a really good pot of chicken soup. Curse the wing craze, cause that used to be my cheap fallback.

In my area we mostly have chain grocery stores with a few ethnic stores that still get the bulk of their meat pre-cut. No bones for me.

I'm willing to try?
 
TheCaptain said:
https://www.reluctantgourmet.com/demi-glace-recipe/

"Making demi glace at home, in culinary school or a high end restaurant is arduous and extremely time consuming but when done right, the backbone of most of the world’s greatest sauces."

Am I over complicating it? First off, believe it or not for being in such a large metro area, it is really hard to source veal and beef bones, which I kinda think would be needed for the depth of flavor?

I even have a hard time getting chicken necks when I want to make a really good pot of chicken soup. Curse the wing craze, cause that used to be my cheap fallback.

In my area we mostly have chain grocery stores with a few ethnic stores that still get the bulk of their meat pre-cut. No bones for me.

I'm willing to try?
Click to expand...

Order the bones from a butcher or nice supermarket or find some under the couch. Everybody should make demi-glace at some point in their life.
 
Essentially water + bones, very low heat, lots of time and a fine strainer/cheesecloth. Easy as pie (probably even easier).

I forgot you're in the Chicago area, I can definitely see how finding heaps of (cheap) bone in a sprawling metropolis is a challenge.

Veal bones or not, any reduced bone broth or demi glace made at home will have sooooo much more flavor than anything you can find in a store.

I guess my question was indeed dumb....I now realize I take being on a first name basis with the local meat farmers for granted.
 
In my part of the US it's sadly common even for higher end "butcher" shops to receive only primal cuts and further process them from there. And please don't get me started on what goes on in the chain grocery stores. America's food distribution, while relatively cheap and very effective, does have drawbacks in terms of quality and flexibility.

Local places that do sell soup bones/beef bones are small organic operations where you start a $5 a pound. The only way to get bigger chunks is to go in on a quarter share, and that's a bit rich for my blood.

We do awesome with fresh produce year round, though, so I can't really complain.
 
TheCaptain said:
In my part of the US it's sadly common even for higher end "butcher" shops to receive only primal cuts and further process them from there. And please don't get me started on what goes on in the chain grocery stores. America's food distribution, while relatively cheap and very effective, does have drawbacks in terms of quality and flexibility.

Local places that do sell soup bones/beef bones are small organic operations where you start a $5 a pound. The only way to get bigger chunks is to go in on a quarter share, and that's a bit rich for my blood.

We do awesome with fresh produce year round, though, so I can't really complain.
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In Denmark, at least in the area I live in, if you go to the local butcher or the meat department in a medium to high end supermarket, they can usually get you anything from veal bones or chicken wings to wagyu beef or whole geese with a 48-72 hour lead time.

But you do usually have to pay out the nose for it.
 
daveb said:
Harissa Pork.
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Speaking of harissa. I've been on a harissa butternut squash craze. I first tried it at Toro Bravo in Portland, OR and immediately had this childhood holiday season deja vu moment. It's simple to make at home, but Toro Bravo has the recipe down to a T and I always order it when I stop by.
 
Aleque said:
Speaking of harissa. I've been on a harissa butternut squash craze. I first tried it at Toro Bravo in Portland, OR and immediately had this childhood holiday season deja vu moment. It's simple to make at home, but Toro Bravo has the recipe down to a T and I always order it when I stop by.
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Oooh, I looked that up (supposedly the Toro Bravo recipe here) and I want to try that instead of my wife's usual butternut squash soup. That is, if I can wrangle that seasonal squash thing away from her... I've been accused of muscling in on her soup specialties lately.

That recipe calls for rose harissa, which sounds nice, but I can only find it in a $15 jar on Amazon that only lasts 4 weeks refrigerated and not sure I'd use that much. There are recipes online for making it from scratch, but not sure I want to go out scouting dried rose petals. Regular Harissa work okay, 'ya think?
 
Paraffin said:
Oooh, I looked that up (supposedly the Toro Bravo recipe here) and I want to try that instead of my wife's usual butternut squash soup. That is, if I can wrangle that seasonal squash thing away from her... I've been accused of muscling in on her soup specialties lately.

That recipe calls for rose harissa, which sounds nice, but I can only find it in a $15 jar on Amazon that only lasts 4 weeks refrigerated and not sure I'd use that much. There are recipes online for making it from scratch, but not sure I want to go out scouting dried rose petals. Regular Harissa work okay, 'ya think?
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I've only used a harissa paste that I found at my local grocery store. It comes in a tube similar to concentrated tomato paste.

The recipe doesn't really mention this well, but in order to cook the squash properly, it take longer than you think. The first time I made this, the squash wasn't enough and didn't get the soft stew like quality Toro Bravo gets.

I add a lot more cream than the recipe states because it starts to dry out in the pan due to needing to be cooked longer. Also the fresh cheese turns an awesome dish into something spectacular. I've eaten it with the cheese and it's still good, but that tangy fresh cheese adds a nice balance to the very rich squash.

If you get the chance to eat at Toro Bravo, you should order the squash. It's a good price as well. I bought the cook book primarily for this recipe and for the fact I love eating there. The cooks are very friendly while eating at the bar by the kitchen. Fun to watch as well.
 
@Aleque, thanks for the tips! I'm headed to the store tomorrow for some squash. I just discovered that Mt.Townsend Creamery here in town has a fresh, locally made fromage blanc. So I'll pick up some. Never tried it, this will be an adventure. And I'll definitely check out Toro Bravo next time we're headed down the coast to the Portland area.
 
So I’m down at the Disney food and wine festive, kidless of course. Today was the Epicot food and wine event. Wow was the food terrible. Reminded me of Carnival fair food. Going to the Swan/Dolphin food and wine event tomorrow admission was $131 so my expectations are high.

The Wagner family presented some of their new Camus offerings. That’s was strong.
 
D, sorry not catching your drift?

So the swan and Dolphin was not much better than Epicot. Todd English did make a tasty lobster roll but I’m no much for truffle oil so a ding there. The wine was paltry too. Nothing but Pinot and oaky chard’s. Camus did have a nice white emollo that was decent.

Saving grace was the brunch at Narcoossee’s at the grand Floridian was the bomb.com.

$70 a head, Bloody Mary with crab claw, Monster shrimp and bacon as garnishes. Endless menu ordering. Pure fine dining decadence. Hope there pics post

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Mucho Bocho said:
D, sorry not catching your drift?
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Just a wee joke.

"Albert Camus (/kæˈmuː/;[2] French: [albɛʁ kamy]; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. His views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism."
 
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