Fat Guy

I think the phrase "sticky rice" tends to be used in two ways. If you're just talking about rice that's a little sticky, like Japanese-style short-grain rice, that's one thing. But Thai-style sticky rice doesn't really happen in a rice cooker. It requires long steaming in those basket things. Thus, I never make it, even though I love it.

Cooking sticky rice and risotto can be labor-intensive. It would be a lot easier to make a batch of regular rice, add a few drops of something and -- poof -- it's sticky rice.

I was contemplating some sticky rice from a Thai restaurant yesterday and it got me thinking: surely it is possible, using some food additive or another, to make el-cheapo long-grain white rice behave like sticky rice. Or it should be possible to make brown sticky rice. Or get regular short-grain rice to behave like Arborio. Has anybody worked on this? Should we work on it?

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It does sound like your pan is too hot. In terms of a target temperature, even if you measure with a Raytek or equivalent thermometer, you'll have to find the right temperature for your pan and stove -- variations in thermal capacity etc. mean that not all 300-degree-F pans are created equal. IR thermometers seem more useful for cooking things like pancakes where the griddle-surface temperature is very important. I'd be more inclined to take a temperature reading on the meat itself, and I wouldn't worry about puncturing -- I've never known it to matter. I'd pull it 6-7 degrees below target.

FYI I've started a TurboChef stub in our wiki. All members should feel free to edit, expand, etc.

So, in the past few years, has anyone in the eG world acquired a TurboChef home oven? I don't personally know anyone who has one at home, though I do see them all over the place in Subway et al. for commercial use. As far as I can tell, they are pumped-up microwave-convection ovens.

In terms of North America, I think the observation is relatively factual: local-seasonal-organic is a Western-restaurant thing, particularly at the high end. I'm asking about the rest of the world and whether it's a cultural difference or just a local phenomenon on my continent.

Is the seasonal-local-organic ethic something pretty much confined to Western restaurants? It seems to me that, for example, every great Japanese restaurant I know of is buying fish from all over the world -- proudly. I haven't been to a Chinese, Thai, Korean, etc., restaurant that seems to make a point of using seasonal-local-organic ingredients. Is this a valid observation and if so why? Or am I wrong? And what does it all mean?

An article in the New York Times by Florence Fabricant notes that: Mostly, the article says, restaurants and other purchasers are just shifting to other suppliers to get the same stuff, so the shortage is not really visible at the sushi counter. I imagine it's only a matter of time before a price hike kicks in, though.

I may soon be getting one as part of a package of appliances. The research I've done indicates they're good units, if a bit underpowered compared to a Bluestar (which is also more expensive). The oven-ignition system sounds annoying. They're quite attractive.

Are microwave-convection ovens useful? If so, for what?

It was described as "dairy-free, egg-free." It makes it really cold.

It seems that everything I read about agricultural policy is oriented toward bashing crop subsidies. So, what is the argument in favor of crop subsidies? Are they completely irrational, or is there a good reason for them?

The notecard next to the dish said: "The grits are combined with water and corn juice. They are then vacuum sealed and pressure-cooked for nine minutes."

It was universally loved. (Correction: it was Kenji not Ed from Serious Eats who thought the omelet was overcooked on Monday.)

Last night I attended a Modernist Cuisine event at ICE (the Institute of Culinary Education). Attendees were mostly industry people, plus a few hangers-on such as attractive women and me. The evening began at 9pm with a cocktail half hour, during which roasted-corn elote (freeze-dried yellow corn kernels with N-Zorbit, brown butter powder, spicy mayonnaise, cilantro blossoms, lime and ash powder) was served. I figured this would be my one taste of modernism for the evening so I elbowed my way up to a platter, took a bad cell-phone photo, and grabbed a pre-portioned spoonful. At first it seemed I might not be able to eat it, as in not physically and mentally capable. As I brought the spoon to my mouth and inhaled (I tend to smell my food before eating it), little particles of ash powder flew up into my nasal passages, causing me to sneeze. This created a not-insignificant and terribly embarrassing dust cloud, which left the front of my shirt looking like I'd been baking bread and my shoulders looking like I was in need of Head & Shoulders shampoo. I abandoned my first spoonful without tasting it, and proceeded to secure the best seat possible for the lecture. Sitting in my second-row aisle seat I noticed several people with white powder on their neckties, jackets and blouses. It looked a little like Less Than Zero meets New Jack City meets James Beard Awards. I started to think, if all these people can eat it so can I. Restricting my instinct to inhale, I brought another spoonful to my mouth. It wasn't exactly easy to approach. I used the tip of my tongue to grab the top layer of powder a bit at a time, which made me look like a very large and clumsy cat drinking milk. Eventually I made it to the corn layer, which was worth the effort. The freeze drying concentrates the flavor making it taste along the lines of Cope's sweet dried corn, and the rest of the ingredients did indeed give the overall impression of Latin street food. I'm glad I persevered. Nathan M. then gave about a 45-minute presentation about Modernist Cuisine. The guy has been on a PR death march this week but seemed entirely energetic. I made a very short cell-phone video for anyone who's interested in seeing him in action. He also gave eGullet a shout out, which was kind. After the talk, we were invited upstairs for a tasting of eight modernist dishes. The dishes were spread around four of the ICE kitchens, and the crowds were dense, so I needed to strategize. I also got some photos, albeit not quite up to the standard of Modernist Cuisine, or any other published book ever for that matter. The corn/powder thing was upstairs as well, leaving seven new dishes to try. I thought every dish save one was superb. Oyster cocktail, consisting of a "cryoshucked' (dipped in liquid nitrogen for 30 seconds to facilitate shucking) Kusshi oyster dressed with centrifuged pear juice flavored with yuzu, white soy and honey vinegar. Topped with hazelnut oil they made themselves, lime droplets and shaved foie gras. It was off-the-charts refreshing, with all flavors preserved in their entirety. Caramelized carrot soup topped with roasted-coconut ice cream foam and chaat masala. This is actually a dish a normal person can make without too much trouble. The soup requires only a pressure cooker and blender. The foam is a little more complex, requiring an iSi unit and perhaps a water bath, but the soup alone would make for a nice dish. Polenta with marinara. "Creamiest polenta ever," was what several tasters said. It's so trite I didn't want to say it here, but it was indeed the creamiest polenta ever. The "marinara," by the way, was made from strawberries. I think this was my second-favorite dish, after... ...Pastrami and sauerkraut. I had Nathan's pastrami earlier this week at the Modernist Cuisine breakfast at Jean Georges. I can't believe a gentile from Seattle has improved pastrami. I'm pretty passionate about deli meats and Nathan's pastrami puts all others to shame. It is also a resounding demonstration of the thicker-is-better principle of pastrami, taken to its logical extreme. I sent Nathan an email in the middle of the night asking what cut of meat he used. I figured he'd reply during his next free minute some time in 2019. But at 6:04am he wrote to say short ribs. Now I'm looking at the written description of the dish and it says short ribs. I hate wasting people's time. Then again eGullet has taken so much of Nathan's time that an extra 30 seconds isn't exactly going to tip the scales. Goat-milk ricotta with centrifuged pea puree. The pea puree was particularly nice, made from pea juice and pea "fat." Also pickled lemons, cinnamon, walnuts and pea-butter toast. Which brings us to the mushroom omelet, which I had on Monday and Wednesday this week. On Monday I said I had a quibble with the texture of the "striped omelet" layer -- too rubbery -- and the same day Ed Levine wrote that he thought it was overcooked. The thing is, when you use modernist techniques, pretty much nothing is ever overcooked. In re-tasting on Wednesday I still found the striped omelet to have a gelatinous texture that I didn't like. I figured I'd give it one more try, so about a half hour later I had another omelet from a different batch. I still didn't like the texture. It's a visually stunning dish, and the egg and mushroom base is great, but I just don't get that top layer. Finally, pistachio gelato. This was pure frozen pistachio stuff (plus sugar and an emulsifier). In other words, no dairy or egg at all. Yet it was as delicious as the equivalent flavor from Grom. A very impressive demonstration of technique. It was after I made it through and checked off every dish... ...that I decided to re-sample the mushroom omelet, after which I grabbed another piece of pastrami. Then, looking at my list, I realized I was only six items away from trying every dish twice. So I re-entered the fray and made it through the list again. I apologize for having no photos of Nathan. He moves so fast he's always beyond the shutter speed of a regular camera.

Not short ribs? The correct answer is: short ribs.

If they do fill some orders with new units, I wonder what that indicates about their profit margin. I guess if the thing is selling for $379 at Costco there's still room to profit on a $250 direct sale.

Ditto. I wonder how the production of a reconditioned item can be elastic. Maybe they'll just ship new ones?

The New York Times has a piece on veggie burgers, chronicling the innovative and delicious approaches several American chefs are taking to this traditionally bad item. I've noticed that vegetarian food in general has been getting more sophisticated, so this bit of news about veggie burgers doesn't surprise me. Does it square with all of your observations?

Advil at 6-hour intervals works better for me than Aleve, Voltaren, Mobic or Celebrex. I've experimented extensively. The issue with ibuprofen is that no matter how you schedule it you wind up with one dose falling late at night. I've taken to eating a yogurt just before using the drug, but have wondered if that's really necessary, or if I can eat it an hour before, or two hours, etc.

I'm thinking specifically about ibuprofen. You're not supposed to take it on an empty stomach. So let's say I need to take it at midnight. Do I need to eat something at 11:59pm or am I covered by what I had for dinner a few hours earlier?

It turns out Zabar's didn't have a metal set or the two components thereof. I already have a metal-and-glass Boston shaker and I don't favor it. It gets stuck most every time I use it and there's always a big to-do getting it unstuck. I had to mix about 30 cocktails the other night and really wanted metal. I'd still like to have one around.

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