edsel

I prepared a pork loin confit (sort of) from the recipe in Charcuterie. I say "sort of" because my work schedule didn't allow me to follow the recipe timing as published. Since I was going to be traveling during the week, I covered the loin in the dry marinade, vacuum sealed it, and stashed it in the coldest part of the fridge. Last night I unpacked the pork, rinsed it really well, repacked it with duck fat, and cooked it sous vide.. (Another departure from the recipe ). I was worried that the confit would come out too salty, but it turned out great. Photo album in ImageGullet if you're interested. It looks dry in the photo, but is actually very moist and succulent. The texture and flavor are reminiscent of corned beef, only much richer and more aromatic. I can't say how much this differs from the book recipe, but I'm pleased with the result. I separated the fat from the juices and repackaged the pork yet again for further aging. It's great as-is, but more time in the fat may mellow it further - we'll see.

Yeah, but it looks like a mutant alien from outer space in one of those 1960s or 1970s sci-fi thrillers (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, anyone?). ← I was thinking something more down-to-earth: mutant chicken feet!

Late dinner tonight. I baked (in a pullman pan) sourdough bread , which took it's sweet time rising: put a pork loin in the smoker: Bought some greens at the Asian market this morning. Baby bok choy? I don't read Chinese, so I just buy whatever looks good. Pork loin comes out of the smoker: Hope these pictures aren't too big (new camera).

I've been to MSP on business several times over the past year, so I've dined out solo there many times. Not sure how it might be different for a woman dining alone. I've always been treated well by the staff of any restaurant where I've been on my own. Sometimes I sit at the bar if I can get full service there. I did that at 112 Eatery and had a terrific meal. Also got to chat with some other patrons who were apparently regulars (I gather that the restaurant has a loyal following). Someone from the area will have to tell you whether that's close to your hotel. Lucia's also has a more casual section (wine bar?) that might be less imposing than a more formal restaurant, though I have to say that I've never felt embarrassed dining at a "table for one" in more formal settings. I had a nice dinner at Vincent and didn't feel silly dining by myself.

Sorry - coming back late to this (very late!)This year I have translated the 94-97 and 83-93 volumes into English, and am currently working on the 2003-2004 volume, which I hope to have finished by the end of October. Will try and keep you posted. Best wishes Martin ← from the el bulli 2006 reservations thread: Martin, saulbass' comment seems to indicate that you completed the 2003-2004 translation. Could you let us know when the books are published? Thanks!

I've never found store-bought dried dill to be worth using. When I dry my own and store it properly it's OK, though not as good as fresh.

Some herbs work well dried, as long as they're of high quality and stored properly: oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, dill, sage, bay. I think that oregano, marjoram, and sage may actually be better (properly) dried than fresh. But there are others that I would never use if I can't get them fresh: parsley, chive, chervil, cilantro, lemon grass, basil. The dried form is a pale imitation of the fresh - I'd rather substitute something entirely different, or forgo the flavor altogether. Tarragon and mint are sort of an in-between case. The dried form is useful, but not necessarily a great substitute for fresh.

There are two types of vacuum machines. The clamp machines (like FoodSaver) leave the bag exposed to the surrounding air, so the bag collapses as the air is withdrawn. Chamber machines enclose the entire bag. The air is sucked out of the chamber, the heat sealer clamps down on the bag opening to seal it, and then the vacuum is released. The bag doesn't collapse until the air rushes back into the chamber - kind of fun to watch.

I brew a small vacuum pot and dump some heated milk into a couple of travel mugs (long commute!) I roast several batches of beans over the weekend, enough to (hopefully) make it through the week. Last week I accidentally did a "same-varietal blend". I put too big a dose of Harar beans into the iRoast. Some of the beans were well into second crack by the time the stragglers were reaching an acceptable roast. The most-done beans were oily and dark, while the less-done ones were just light brown. The result was a great balance of the floral / herbaceous quality of the less-roasted beans, combined with the chocolate / caramel of the over-roasted ones. Not sure I could repeat the process if I tried. I think it's a La Marzocco. See the my new baby topic.

I think I cooked the pork tenderloin at 62°C for maybe forty minutes (not sure about the time). The medallions were fairly thin, so the time may have been excessive.

John, I've done pork tenderloin medallions sous-vide. They turn out pinkish but not bloody (unless you use a super-low temperature or short time). Treat them pretty much the way you would do chicken breast. The texture is very soft and succulent.

How do you vacuum-seal a raw egg? Did you wrap it in plastic film first?

Right on both counts! Getting the excess fat out is crucial. People who claim that duck is "greasy" have probably been subjected to gross quantities of subcutaneous fat that didn't get properly rendered. Steaming does help with the skin crisping thing as well. One of my favorite duck recipes is Paul Bertolli's "Steamed and Roasted Duck" from Chez Pannisse Cooking. One crucial step is pricking the skin wherever the fat layer is thick. Just take a fork and gently poke through the skin. Don't stab violently! The idea is to perforate the skin so that the fat renders out more easily. Steam the duck in a big roasting pan or wok. Place it on a platter that's deep enough to catch the juices and fat as the duck steams. It takes about 1 hour to steam a ~ 5 pound duck. That sounds like a lot, but the steaming temperature needs to be slow and gentle. When you're done there will be a huge amount of fat in the platter. Save it to do wonderful duck-fatty things. You'll also get some highly concentrated duck jus - excellent! Bertolli's recipe calls for crisping the skin in a high oven. Your deep-frying should accomplish much the same. I think the traditional asian technique is actually to suspend the duck over the oil, basting it continuously with the hot oil. Deep frying sounds easier.

Nathan, what's your reasoning for having two grinders rather than just switching the beans as needed? Some of the better grinders have a "gate" at the bottom of the bean hopper so you can remove it without spilling the beans, so to speak. I'm guessing that you are picturing a scenario where some people want caffeinated while others want decaff and you don't want to mess with swapping the beans in one grinder. Come to think of it, there's also the issue of adjusting the grind. Maybe your two coffees have the same optimal grind setting, but then again, maybe not. The Macap M4 and M5 are serious grinders that will fit beneath a standard cabinet height. I've heard of people cutting down the hoppers on other grinders to make them fit...Like you, I've been researching. I can't relate any direct experience since I still haven't made up my mind about a better grinder. I bet Owen will have something to say about this. p.s. The Synesso machines look awesome. A machine of that quality calls for a top-notch grinder (or two).

I downloaded that book and printed it. Mostly to read, though I will cook from it as well if I can track down the ingredients for any of those dishes. You'll burn through a lot of paper and toner / ink printing that one, but I think it's worth it. There's a discussion of that book here ← . My computer is just a few paces away from the kitchen, so I sometimes leave a recipe (or ecgi course) on the screen for reference. If I need the step-by-step instructions or ingredient list in the kitchen, I print it. I'm not ready to buy a computer for the kitchen just yet!

You're right, Bainesy, they don't specifically say that it's a PID controller, just "digital". Given how slowly temperatures change inside the boiler, a simple on/off control should be fine. A true PID would be overkill. There's a slightly more detailed look at the Brewtus on the Wholelattelove site. There are two reviews of the Brewtus on Coffeegeek. One reviewer says she bought it a year ago, so it's been around longer than I thought.

Nice post, molto e. I can see from your vantage point that you were at the counter. I dined there last May when I was in the area on business. Since I was dining solo the hostess who took my reservation suggested that I sit at the counter. It's much more entertaining than sitting at a table. Chef Nobuo was not in the house, so I can't speak to the experience of having him cook for me. I can vouch for the professionalism of his staff. When Chef is away, his cooks do a terrific job. The guy with the blond streaks in his hair (sorry, I don't remember his name) was working directly in front of me. It was fun watching him pull a gorgeous slab of o-toro out of the under-counter refrigerator, reverently carving lovely slices while simultaneously carrying on a polite conversation with me and the couple seated to my right. The cooks do a great job of "explaining" the dishes (which aren't exactly traditional) without being preachy or insulting. They offer suggestions on how best to approach each dish, but without being overbearing. I didn't do the full omakase. I started out with a couple of dishes plus a flight of sake, then ordered a few more dishes, a different flight, and dessert. There was never any pressure on me to "make up my mind" about what to order. At one point I wondered aloud if doing the foie gras and o-toro would be "richness overkill". Some lighter dishes, including an amazing hamachi and grapefruit (I think) were suggested as foils to the richer dishes. Dessert was quite impressive. The pc also does the desserts at the other restaurants from the same owners (Cowboy Chow?). The one I chose was a pana cotta with Asian overtones. I'll have to dig out my notes to see what exactly it was, but I do remember being impressed. I can just picture the folks from the Pastry & Baking forum wagging their fingers at me. You don't recall the most important dish of the evening?!!

I hadn't looked at the Excobar stuff lately - didn't know they were doing a model with built-in PID. I'm surprised it took this long for these models to show up, considering the amount of buzz the DIY-PID mods have received. Temperature controllers are pretty much a commodity item in the process control business. The Brewtus looks really nice. Double boilers, E61 group head, built in PID....

Does anyone have a source for the heat-shrink bags? I've been looking for them since I got the Joan Roca book. Google searches return mostly the type intended for packaging, not cooking. The few I've found that look appropriate are only sold in huge quantities ("write for quote").

I haven't tried cooking venison sous vide yet, but since yours is farm-raised it can probably be treated similar to lamb. Cutting into chops will allow it to cook faster. If you're aiming for medium-rare (low temperature) it should work with the whole rack, but will take considerably longer. Maybe nathanm can provide some guidance here. I've done baby lamb racks whole and cut into chops, and prefer the latter. Sam's right about the flavor amplification. If you include anything like wine or calvados, be sure to boil off the alcohol first. Sam, do you torch the chops before or after sous vide? Welcome to eGullet, Ted!

Great J&W tour! Those canvas bread-loading things are so cool. A bunch of us got to see a commercial bakery in action last July at the eG Heartland Gathering. The canvas transfers the bread much more gently than a wooden peel. I dined at Al Forno last November. I was in town on business and decided to give it a try, despite some people on this forum calling it "overrated". I had a terrific meal, accompanied by free entertainment. There was a hapless guy there with his young wife (girlfriend?) and her mother. The mother gave him the third degree throughout the entire meal. He had to explain everything about every course, and why it was worth the bother to , for instance, bake the pizza in a super-hot wood fired oven. He was admirably patient and did a yeoman's job defending the cause of fine dining. He finally won the mom over - at least concerning the food.

If you've got some spare cotton dish towels, drape them over the chair backs and lay the pasta over them. Or you can try the broom-handle spanning two chair backs. Though that can be kind of precarious.

A search on localharvest.org turned up Kathy Breychak's farm in Columbia Station as the first hit centered on Toledo. I actually would have recommended her anyways (I buy eggs and chickens from her), but this year's turkey reservations are already closed. The Michigan search turns up lots of hits, but I don't know where most of those towns are in relation to Toledo.

Don't count on it! When I was his age I had the clever idea of seeing if I could fit a peanut up my nose. We were on the beach in Bali. My parents and sister were most alarmed when I started wailing and thrashing about. They thought I'd been stung by something. We eventually managed to retrieve the "experiment" without a trip to the doctor. I think my sister still hasn't forgiven me for that little episode. Rest assured, I haven't tried to poke a peanut up my nose in the intervening years, but I can recall vividly the panic that ensued all those many years ago... p.s. to both Kris and Susan: this blog just keeps getting better. Can't wait to see the pasta showdown!

I finally got to watch the Symon vs Morimoto battle. Very entertaining, and I thought both sides did a great job with the "secret" ingredient. Symon was gracious in defeat (from a local Cleveland forum): I'm not surprised that Morimoto won, but the scores seemed a bit lopsided to me. I agree that the "stained glass" maki was gorgeous, but I thought Symon's presentation of the oyster with avgolemono was pretty cool looking.