Life In Da Burbs

Braised Kobe Beef Tongue with Shiraz Wine Reduction Sauce. Accompanied with Cauliflower and fried Yukon Gold Potato Slivers.

Cherry Tomato Salad - Halved, then seasoned and tossed with smoked olive oil and julienned Ohba leaves.

Buta Kimuchi

Another turkey dinner... and I'm not complaining. This time, we had a 12 pounder and stuffing. We ate from 1pm to 9pm... Yes.. that is correct. We ate for 8 hours. Talking, drinking and eating.

Lunch today... We had some crab meat from the Clam Chowder so it had to be used this weekend. Crab tastes so much better when you don't have to do the work.

Our Annual Thanksgiving Potluck at Wayne's Place. (left to right : j, foglia, marisa, ed, kohji, winnie, wayne, me) Tonight's dinner was a huge success. Thanks to everyone practicing all year, it went off without a hitch. The timing was good, the food was good, and the company was perfect. Good work guys... Tonight's Menu : Aperitivo - Prosecco Antipasto - Spicy Capicola (Foglia) Zuppa - Sweat Potatoes with Chipotles Vino - Both Red and Whites Primo - Risotto alla Wayno Secondo - Roasted Turkey Dolce 1 - Chocolate Lava Cake Dolce 2 - Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Digestivo - Pierre Ferrand Cognac e Bubble Tea

Mr. Kosugi showed off his culinary skills tonight when he debuted his Vietnamese Spring Rolls. These were the best I've ever had. Seriously, no joke. The sauce he made complimented the rolls so well, I would go so far as to ask if he could bottle it and sell it to Whole Foods. Man, was that good.

Mr. Edwards coming again to the plate and blasting one out of the park. A sweat potato puree with some chipotle blended with a stick blender. Great flavor and mouth feel. Very homey dish.

This risotto has to be one of the best, if not the best risotto dish I've ever had. My buddy Wayne made it tonight, and it rocked. Usually made with Arborio rice, tonight's risotto was made with Vialone Nano. A larger grain rice, smoother starch and the mouth feel was heavenly. Cooked with care for about 20 minutes with basic, olive oil, homemade stock, and mushrooms, I would have paid $25 for a portion of this at a restaurant. Better than any risotto I've ordered at any restaurant, hats off to Wayne. Good job dude.

Roasted Turkey (sliced and shreaded) which I prepared earlier in the day. Marinated with a compound butter... (Hungarian Paprika, Garlic, Parsley, Salt & Pepper)

Mr. and Mrs (2B) Edwards made some peanut butter cupcakes frosted with homemade chocolate ganache. Way to go guys...

Mr. Foglia's culinary school repertoire. With a little vanilla sauce and fresh raspberry puree. Ladies watch out, this is the stuff that makes, "It's just dinner..." to "We had breakfast at his place." : )

Going to a Potluck at my buddy Wayne's place tonight... I got Turkey duty... Hope it tastes alright.

14 1/2 lbs. Fresh Turkey rubbed down with a compound butter... Butter, Hungarian Paprika, Garlic, Salt and Pepper.

J wanted some New England Clam Chowder today.. So here it is... (She just wolfed it down as I type these last words for the blog.) Made with Cento clam juice, backfin blue crab meat, yukon gold baby potatoes, smithfield bacon, and harry wils(my company) 40% heavy cream.

White Alba Truffles... I don't know if it's worth all the stress that comes with bringing these white turds in from Europe. US Customs, FDA, USDA... then all the Primadona chefs I have to deal with in NYC. C'est La Vie. fyi - These puppies are going for $2150 / lbs. this week. If you want some, let me know. I'll give you a Blogspot Special.

I had a great conversation (highly intelligent dialogue) with my friend Wayne the other day about cheeseburgers. What we prefered and what were key elements in making a good burger good. Me : Ground sirloin (80/20) with sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and gorgonzola cheese. Wayne : Ground sirloin with onions, bacon and swiss cheese (gruyere). We spent most of the conversation around the topic of the perfect cheese. I chose a creamy young gorgonzola while he chose a sharp swiss. here's part of our conversation copy and pasted... please feel free to comment on your "perfect burger." The picture is a sirloin burger with chopped onions mixed into the patty, comte cheese and some shaved Alba Truffles. (Obsurd, I know, but I needed to use them up) wayne : I'm a bigger fan of gruyere, but gorgonzola could be nice. george : on a burger? i'm going to have to say no with swiss and go with bleu all the way.. i've actually thought about this and let me tell you why....