Forget that it was 5 degrees outside in Madison today. Forget that it was Monday, a holiday and the inauguration was on TV. My girlfriend had the day off from her busy job and that was the only reason I needed to take her out for a stylish lunch. We chose HotelRED's restaurant, The Wise. The Wise has creative cocktails, appetizers and entrees to go with it's hip and minimalist decor. We ordered this strawberry, black pepper tequila cocktail and settled into our cushy chairs...unfortunately they were the kind of cushy that's just too cushy and you can't get comfortable or close enough. Service was a bit slow, as I've experienced at The Wise before, even though they were not busy. We ordered the Spiced Butternut Squash Soup with Hazelnut Cappuccino Cream, Pork Cassoulet Soup, a Wisconsin Grilled Cheese with Arugula Pesto and the Pulled Pork shoulder with Slaw Sandwich. The squash soup was our favorite. Rich,smooth and creamy, with a light touch of sweetness and hazelnut. No ingredient ...
Well it's that time again...January in Wisconsin. The holidays are over and so is Green Bay Packer football. It was 7 degrees out today. That's almost too cold to go outside. We're bored. Let's eat! Restaurant Week is a great excuse to get out of the house and try a few new restaurants in Madison. You get three courses so it's a great way to sample the restaurants offerings and decide if you want to go back again. I'll be blogging everyday this week so continue to tune in. Day 1- Lunch at Quivey's Grove. Quivey's is pretty quintessential Wisconsin. I mean you get to eat comfort food and drink beer in a stable. Fun, but those stone walls aren't insulated very well..it was chilly where we were sitting. Here are the menu options we had. We chose the Parmesan Potato Puffs and the Chopped Romaine Salad for our 1st course. The Potato Puffs were average and needed to be a bit more done in the center. The Truffle aioli was a delicious touch. The Chopped Romaine Salad tasted just like a summer ...
The best and quickest way to cool your food is using an ice water bath. If you don't have access or room in your food prep sink, use ice wands...and LOTS of them! Stir your food frequently and check the temperature every hour. You need to get your food out of the "Danger Zone" as quick as possible to prevent bacterial growth. Your food must reach 70 degrees within 2 hours (once it dips below the "hot holding" temperature of 135 degrees). You then have an additional 4 hours to get the food down to 41 degrees. Once you get a system down and know how long it takes to cool your food just use that system every time and you will avoid dangerous slow cooling procedures and bacterial growth.
