Bicycle Lee

I just put some very fragrant rose petals in with some regular granulated sugar...For my real experiments I will buy some caster sugar, but for now I'm just playing around. How long do you think I should leave them in the sugar? I know that flower petals can smell pretty bad once they are on the turn...

sounds like one of those nights where it's just you and the bong. I'm not dissing you...cuz I've been there...

Servers are always bugging me when I am cooking at one of the restaurants I work at...that annoys me immensely... At home I do not mind, but I definitely have to maintain concentration without pretending to be listening. Oh yeah...and I'd like a fat joint...where can I find you and bug you?

Does anyone have knowledge of how to flavor sugars? Can you dry things like veggies and powder them and then blend into caster sugar?

make some powder, man... take out the ribs and seeds and use for other applications and use the flesh for powder. That is, if you have enough after your hot sauce. My buddy gave me some habaneros last year and I too was afraid. I harvested them for seed and am growing my own right now.

That looks really good - what weight of asparagus do you allow for per person? Uhhh....I end up serving about a cup and a half per person, so maybe ten asparagus spears?? I make it at one of the restaurants I work at, so I start with maybe 3 pounds of asparagus...and a quart of cream. sorry i can't be of more help

Within city limits I refuse to touch the stuff...but tuna helper is a good backpacking meal...you'd be amazed how great that stuff tastes when you are 30 or 40 miles from the nearest town...

The only tripe I have ever eaten was at a roadside taco stand...I really only did it to show the Mexicanos that I was no silly, carne asada eatin gringo...you know, a little bravado...it wasn't bad, although I'll stick to the tongue and head meat, thanks... I have been curious to try braised tripe... I bet that if you cooked it much like a lamb shank (ie lower temp and longer time) it would be quite tasty... BE SURE TO WASH IT WELL!!! Then I say cover it in a mix of beef stock (homemade if you got it), tomatoes, whole, halved lemon, garlic and maybe parsely...cook at like 325 or even lower for a few hours and see what comes out...this is not something I can actually vouch for, it is just an idea. Tripe may very well be like escargot...the more it cooks the tougher it gets...I dunno... Good luck

you know, it's funny...when just the description of the kitchen can make someone begin to salivate, you've got a great idea on your hands. It sounds amazing, chef... I cannot wait to experience it. I'm also very intrigued by "self encapsulated sauces"....could you give an explanation?

what will the website address be for Alinea?

beans, rice, greens (collards, kale, chard) Two nights worth of greens (for one) is 1.50, dried beans are so cheap, they might as well be free, and rice...well...yeah... Plus what I like to do is buy a chicken a week...freeze the carcasses and when you have like 5 or 6 of them, make some good stock and flavor rice, greens and beans with it... eh?

MULTI-TASKING!

I find that if the fig is to be accentuated, a goat cheese or blue is a little too overpowering...and that mascarpone is a little weak. If I were you, I would use Quark ( a German-style soft cheese). It is milder than goat, slightly tangier than mascarpone (although they are nearly the same consistency) and it has a gentle sweetness that would surely compliment the fig and not mask it completely. The brand of Quark I have found around here is of the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company. Hope this helps.

well, I will be sure to check the site and perhaps send you a resume when that time comes.

I too will most likely miss your work at Trio, which I have heard from firsthand witnesses was "transcendent". However, I will no doubt be coming to Alinea at some point.... Also.....are you hiring for any kitchen positions still?

Alright...after many experiments, I have found that literally no one has a reliable idea of how much agar gels how much liquid. One person said one tablespoon per 2 cups...not even close...So does ANYone have an idea of how much agar it takes to gel a liquid? I'm talking a firm, yet not too firm gel... Also, does ANYone know the conversions from gelatin sheets to agar powder? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

There's a lot of big happenings in the heavens in 2012...I'm glad to hear of another. Good blog, looking forward to the rest.

chilled asparagus soup is awesome. It is one of duties at one of the restaurants I work at... so here is what I do. Sweat some shallots. chop asparagus into pieces that are a couple of inches long. put together with shallots in a big pot. cover 2/3rds with cream and finish covering them with water. cook til simmering, but do not boil...you want tender asparagus. remove the cream and reserve. puree the asparagus by adding cream until it reaches your desired consistency. season to taste and chill, but keep the left over cream because it may get thicker than you want while cooling. enjoy.... you can garnish it with mint chiffonade and pistachio oil, that's nice.

where are you guys that you can get whole rabbits? I want some...preferably with some of their blood too.

irish cream french toast is nice Crabcakes eggs benedict is good too... SOS is my personal favorite, though.

That's actually not true (assuming Bicycle Lee is speaking of the U.S), although it is low compared to most of Europe. touche... isn't dairy price affected by season too? I've heard that cows produce less milk in the hotter months.

it doesn't matter how you do it, just DO NOT use a recipe that calls for freeze dried coffee... I like to steep and french press the cream and coffee grounds...but that's just me.

me too... no, but really...My mother has been complaining fiercely that her groceries which used to cost 100 bucks a week are now doubled...for the SAME stuff...not to mention the gas it takes to get anywhere costing a ridiculous amount. But...it's hard to complain when you see it like this: we still have the lowest gas prices of any nation in the world. But whatever...we should start complaining when the prices reach their peak, not when they are steadily and surely rising.

Thes comment might resonate with me if you can actually demonstrate to us that you can tell the difference. As others have noted here, even when the chef is physically present, he does not personally execute each and every dish, for each and every customer. Any chef who does must be operating on an extremely small scale, because there's only so much that a single human being can do. In my experience with just local chefs I could tell when they were not in the kitchen, which leads me to believe that if I had sampled Keller's cooking several times (how would THAT be?) then I would be able to tell when it wasn't him...

I think that if you want your reputation to be reflected in food, you have to cook it. It cannot just be YOUR guidelines that someone else (no matter how competent) is following IMO.