Yeah, usually that really thick, bleach-white chowder is frowned at. Really traditional chowder only uses the starch from the potatoes and cream to thicken it, and it’s more soup-like than the kind that’s basically the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Really traditional chowder would someotimes used crushed ship biscuits (hard tack) as a thickener, which is why some people use flour/roux these days. Hard tack is basically the progenitor of modern crackers, including the often served oyster crackers. I like a crusty sourdough myself. Better for the mop up work!

Rhode Island, a suburb of Boston (😁) has an interesting chowder that has a clear broth that is pretty good too. It’s basically identical minus the heavy cream. Great for people that don’t get along with lactose.

Also, pro tip, if you don’t have fresh clams, get a bottle of clam juice to add to taste. Usually you steam the clams open and then take out the meat and chop them up for the chowder, and you use the steaming juice leftover to add more clam flavor, as desired. Bottle of clam juice does the same basic thing (without needing to strain out the grit).

Usually the best chowders aren’t brilliant white. They’re a little darker like yours and almost look a little “dirty,” for lack of a better word. If someone served me a bowl of what you made, I would expect it probably will taste great just from the eye test.

New England chowder comes in about 15 “main” ways to make it. It’s pretty different from region to region in New England and even house to house. Just eyeballing this, it looks pretty legit. Some in the mighty northeast might accuse you of “being fancy with it,” but it looks great to me.

Bacon is kind of a west coast addition because their clams are wicked shitty, kid. Salt pork is used, but crispy bacon less so. And traditional chowder isn’t thick. Finally, some might quibble with carrots, but that’s definitely one that you’ll see regularly with and without. This doesn’t look overly thick to me, and I’ve done bacon add at the end and it’s hard to say it’s not great!

I think I’m probably being overly precautious, and I love and prefer wild game, so all respect to the cook here! I would never turn down a meal like that!

Also I don’t know, but I don’t think wildebeest carries CWD.

And ignore the haters, that looks like a good meal you made your pa, especially given the specific cooking temperature requests. Sous vide was a wise choice. I bet it was delicious and your dad loved it.

I miss venison, but there is so much CWD in the deer populations where I live that I decided a couple years ago to be extra precautious and stopped hunting deer. I know all deer should be tested, and proper cooking technique should eliminate any further concern, but prions freak me out.

Once I read the study that showed it was transmissible to humanized mice, I noped out. There were two hunters just this last April that contracted CJD, suspected to have come from them both eating the same CWD affected venison.

Excellent choice! You under-baked it looks like. Browning is important on this one. Cuocilo più a lungo, filisteo.

You’re a pizza.

K. But it’s a sandwich. Not a fancy-ass sandwich. And you didn’t even bother to cut it and show the constituents. And you just poured cheap crisps next to it.

I’m sure it was delicious. My 6yo makes sandwiches for herself every day with our homemade bread and with greens and fresh tomato from the indoor hydroponic, but it never occurs to her to take pictures of it.

Edit: sorry for being shitty. It seems like a very reasonable, normal, and delicious lunch. Thanks for sharing it.

It’s a sandwich on a dish towel.

Regarding the portion size, if you were receiving these dishes in a fine-dining establishment, this would be a single course in a multi-course meal. Depending on the amount of courses, you might not even finish this. That’s why you’ll sometimes see dishes where you’re thinking “you’d need 11 more plates of this to actually feed someone.”

Well… that’s because it would, in fact, be part of a 12-course meal. 😊

This one would likely be part of a three or five-course meal, in my estimation. And of course at home, you usually eat the nice plate and then make a second plate with less concern for presentation. Or like I do when I have a dinner party: every guest gets elegant presentation; for myself, I blend up the food, pour it into a dog bowl, and eat it with a soup ladle at the stove. 🤣

It did bother me too lol. But, it is only noticeable because the dish is so carefully composed. If it was slapped together, it wouldn’t stand out.

I really feel like you’ve focused on your plating for the last few weeks and it really shows. You’re really good at this! Plating, as a discipline, can seem a little pretentious to some people, but it’s really the difference between good good and great cuisine. It contextualizes a dish. It’s like the punctuation marks of food. A well-placed comma and exclamation mark matters.

This is like the platonic ideal of tuna steak. Almost no transition line, rare edge to edge, but a perfect crust. Nailed it. Minimalist presentation here centers the elegant protein and sumptuous sushi. Wonderful dish.

I want to hang out at your house.

You are really showcasing your presentation game. You have a great sense of balance. Even when you weren’t involving as much coloration, your dishes have always felt very thoughtful and poised–both in terms of flavor/textural choices and visual arrangement. Bravo!

I would consider plating the microgreens on the protein rather than in the sauce–it breaks the circularity (and risks soggy greens). And you over-poured the jus by just a teaspoon or so it looks like, but this is high-caliber work all around.

This is a BEATIFUL dish. I do think more berries would work, but it’s a hard to argue with the very nicely balanced and striking presentation.

It screams for a strong berry mimosa accoutrement! 😁

Great looking loaf! Baking is like dark magic to me.

Great color on the bread, looks melty delicious!

All those fats, yummmm. Maybe a bit more color on the chicken? And an herbacious dimension–maybe cilantro. If I was making this at home I would probably work in some black beans somehow too, but I just love them with Mexican-inspired chicken dishes.

This looks delicious. I would love a splash of color, even a creative use of sriracha or a bright sauce would make the plate composition pop I think, but this literally made my mouth water, so you’re doing the important thing right! Lol

Thanks for sharing your creations, they are a pleasure to see!