Hoping to get some advice here - I’m so nervous about ruining this very pricey piece of meat!

I started this recipe yesterday and followed the directions as stated through the second cook.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...

But it was still pretty tough - not fork tender by a long long shot. I let it go another 40 min occasionally checking on it, and then gave up for the night when it didn’t seem to be making much difference. I tasted it and it was definitely chewy (also disappointingly bland but that’s another issue, and hoping that defatting the sauce will help since it was very flavorful after the first cook). Also I checked the temp of a few slices and they ranged from 190-202.

It’s now in the fridge and my plan was to defat the liquid and put it back in the oven today for a couple hours at 300. I’m nervous it’s not salvageable, but would love any thoughts if this is the right way to try to force it into tenderness. Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for ideas for a shower venue in the city and was hoping a Chowhounder might have some suggestions. There's no budget determined at the moment, which I know can be annoying. But I have other requirements so I'm hoping maybe the other things can be addressed with a "reasonable budget" guideline, meaning not someplace like Spiaggia or other fancier restaurants or venues with huge event fees.

I'm looking for a place for about 25-30 people that is a little more of a blank slate that I can decorate in a more involved way. I would like to be able to bring in linens, florals/table decor, maybe have the flexibility to hang things on the wall or something like that. I had my own bridal shower at Ba Ba Reeba which was awesome, but is so stylized that it's hard to decorate around, so I'm thinking about either restaurants with private rooms that are more plain/clean/stark in feel, OR non-restaurant venues that fit this description where we can bring in catering.

Other than that, the only other "requirement" is that it be well suited for a shower - tabled seating, but enough room to have a table for presents and walk around/mingle. If it was at a restaurant, I think the option of having more family style or small plates would be ideal, but not a necessity. Timing-wise, it would likely be held on a Saturday early afternoon. And location-wise, I'd prefer closer to downtown - north/northwest/west sides are all fine (so, the loop north up to Lincoln Park or Lakeview, west to West Loop, northwest to Logan Square to give an idea of neighborhoods)

I've searched around, but it's hard without hearing from people with personal experience to determine what spaces offer the decorating flexibility outside of the bigger wedding venues.

Any ideas would be very welcome! Thanks in advance!

I would love some help planning a menu for a small dinner party - I tend to have issues determining food that will go together well through a whole meal so I'm at a loss of what kind of entree/sides I should serve based on a soup I'm interested in trying. The soup is from the New England Soup Factory book, it's the Pumpkin, Ginger, and Lobster soup (side note, has anyone ever made this soup?). I want to do a braised meat of some sort but I need help figuring out what would go best after that soup. I had been thinking short ribs but then a number of people at this party were with me at another party last week where short ribs were served so I feel like I should go in another direction. I have All About Braising and was flipping through last night trying to get ideas....maybe osso bucco? Or lamb?

Most of the time I cook it's just for myself and my husband and I get lazy and focus my energy on a star dish and then ignore the sides...so I don't have a lot of practice doing full-on menu planning and would appreciate any suggestions!

Can anyone tell me an average dinner at Fore Street for two adults assuming maybe a couple drinks or moderately priced glasses of wine each? I don't even know if they'll do gift certificates as the website doesn't mention, but I'm trying to arrange for a gift meal for a couple going to Portland. If there's some sort of gift certificate option, it doesn't have to 100% cover everything, but a VAST majority of the bill would be ideal and I can't seem to find any discussion of the prices. Would $200 work?

Thanks!