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edsel

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Posts posted by edsel

    PLAN: 2011 Heartland Gathering

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    If we are soliciting suggestions for work shops or demos or whatever, I would really like to see some sort of Sous Vide one. It doesn't even have to be a work shop, per se. It could just be someone preparing a course/dish for the grand feast. But it would be cool to do some sort of "side by side" testing between sous vide and conventional cooking of the same item.

    I have a small chamber vacuum (a VacMaster) that I can bring. My immersion heater is kind of old and cranky, but I can bring that too. :biggrin:

    PLAN: 2011 Heartland Gathering

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    Would folks be interested in visiting an old world sausage/charcuterie shop? We have several that are EG worthy and I'm sure that could be arranged. Perhaps the one Tony Bourdain visited when he was here - when the owners retire or pass, it will be gone, as it has been out-zoned with no grandfathering possible.

    This place is a treasure. It's just a few miles from the West Side Market, so it would make for an excellent side trip during the Saturday morning shopping. The Sausage Shoppe

    I'm leaning towards Greenhouse Tavern for Friday dinner -I can talk to Chef Sawyer about doing a tasting dinner for us featuring his most food forward dishes such as the pig's face and beef tartar. Happy Hour at VTR before dinner.

    Before the non-red-meat eaters panic, we should note that they are very accommodating of vegetarians and vegans. Jonathon Sawyer is young, but he's got quite a resumé. GHT is Cleveland's first LEED certified restaurant, and Chef Sawyer has gotten a lot of press since being named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine.

    So yeah: good Chinese or Asian would be fantastic, and other than that, I just don't want to go to "Bob's Cheese Wheel" or something like that. I still almost universally hate cheese. Being that Cleveland is basically directly on Lake Erie, what's the local fresh seafood selection like? It's probably akin to Detroit's, but to me, that ain't half bad!

    Unfortunately, fresh fish and seafood are hard to come by in Cleveland.

    There's a vendor at the West Side Market that has quite a nice selection of fresh seafood. There's a second that looks pretty decent (but I'm not as familiar with), and a third that is best avoided. That last one is pretty easy to detect. :wink:

    There is some "local" fish - mainly Walleye Perch. I used quotes because I'm told that the commercial Walleye fisheries are in Canadian waters on the opposite shore of Lake Erie.

    All about "sous vide" eggs

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Coz, glad to hear that the SB egg technique was successful. My main problem has been peeling the eggs once they're done. The whites are very tender and have a tendency to shred when the shell is removed.

    Percyn, interesting thought about using acid to make the eggs fluffy. I'm assuming one would use a very tiny amount so as not to screw up the flavor. Your results look very good as-is, though. Thanks for posting your results.

    All about "sous vide" eggs

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I was fascinated by the concept of sous vide eggs. My first attempt was interesting but unappetizing - a partially cooked white around a gelled yolk.

    I don't like the onsen tamago (LTLT) eggs for the reasons you cite. What I'm looking for is a set (yet tender) white with a liquid yolk.

    I found a possible solution in the post Towards the perfect soft boiled egg on Khymos.org. The post itself is interesting, but the technique I was looking for is actually in the comments. Scroll down to the pair of comments by Olly Rouse of Souse Vide Solutions. He describes a method of starting the eggs at a high temperature to set the whites, followed by immersion in a moderate temperature to allow the heat to travel to the center of the egg. The white is completely set and the yolk remains liquid.

    This is the sort of result I'm aiming for:

    3434681082_b8836a946d.jpg

    (This egg was at Restaurant Drouant. I have no idea how they prepared it. It was absolutely glorious.)

    Ultra Pride Wet/Dry Grinder

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I wound up buying the Premier grinder mentioned above. So far I've only had time to play with it a bit. I ground a masala for biryani following Niloufer Ichaporia King's method. Also made idli batter - the texture was amazing.

    I'm cooking dinner with friends on Christmas Eve, and the idea has been floated that we should do a proper mole. I'd also like to make tamales with freshly made masa. Sourcing the right kind of corn for that will be interesting...

    EatYourBooks.com: search your own cookbooks for recipes online

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    Thanks to whoever suggested the zbar app, I'm loving it!

    I downloaded the zbar app, but decided to get a cheap barcode scanner instead. I bought a "de-clawed" CueCat off of eBay. Works like a charm.

    If they ever decide to do an iPhone app for Eat Your Books, the barcode-scanning library used in the zbar app is open-source and freely available. Could be cool to have an option to upload books to your library...

    Plan: 2010 Heartland Gathering

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    Catching up here...

    Re Grange, I'll go as high as need be, but $75-80, including tax and tip, seems appropriate for a six-course tasting menu, as does $40-45 for 2½-3-oz. mid-level wine pairings. I won't be there Thursday, but if I were, I'd prefer something local (and specially prepared) like the Szechuan meal over the schlep to Detroit, as good as Roast may be.

    Alex has the price range about right for Grange. I love Roast (and love the idea of supporting a downtown Detroit business), but Szechuan would be great too.

    Question for those coming in for Thursday night - Hong Kong Chinese banquet (lots of seafood) or Szechuan?

    And for those who'd be interested in a Friday foodie field trip - Mexicantown in Detroit, or Dearborn, which is home to one of the largest concentrations of Arab Americans outside the middle east?

    http://www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2010/03/dearborn_discover_a_muslim_wel.html

    Szechuan preferred. We have some great Hong Kong food here in Cleveland. :smile:

    I'd like to do the field trip if it doesn't conflict with Kerry's workshop (I suspect it would...). I would vote for Dearborn. We have some small Halal grocers here in Cleveland. Dearborn is a whole other story.

    I know that I've not yet gotten the final details to people, but I should have a few things finalized soon. So might as well start attaching some names to actual activities. Who's in for what?

    Thursday night Szechuan Banquet at Chia Shiang ($25-$30 inclusive)

    tammylc

    Friday breakfast at SELMA (eating, not cooking - anytime between 6:30 and 9:30, $12-$15 donation)

    tammylc

    Friday morning bread workshop ($5)

    tino27

    Darienne

    LuckyGirl

    Kerry Beal

    Edsel

    Chris A2

    Alex

    Bob (NancyH's +1)

    Torakris

    Prasantrin

    Friday afternoon Thermomix workshop (cost TBA)

    Kerry Beal

    Friday afternoon Foodie Field trip... somewhere (including stop at restaurant supply shop). (free)

    tammylc

    Friday night dinner at Grange (price TBD, probably $50-$75 inclusive)

    tammylc

    Saturday Afternoon Session on Organic/Locavore/Personal Food choices ($3-$5)

    tammylc

    Saturday Evening Feast ($20-$25?)

    tammylc

    Sam Iam & Joyce (bringing a Vita-Mix)

    tino27 (doing a bread workshop)

    Kerry Beal (doing a Thermomix workshop)

    Torakris

    Alex

    White Lotus & Dance

    Chris Hennes +1 (shipping charcuterie, dish masters!)

    Darienne +1

    CaliPoutine +1

    Edsel

    ronnie_suburban +2

    Chris a2

    Boagman (dishes)

    Luckygirl +1

    Malawry

    NancyH & Bob

    Sunday Bacon Tasting & Brunch (still being finalized, but I'm working on it right now... $20-$25, probably?)

    tammylc

    To make things simple, count me as a "yes" for everything except the Friday field trip (assuming it conflicts with Kerry's workshop - if not I'll do that too! :laugh: )

    Plan: 2010 Heartland Gathering

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    I'd like to do both Kerry's ThermoMix workshop and Tino's bread workshop if they don't conflict.

    Grange sounds like a winner. Roast is also fun (I've been there once). They have a private room we might be able to reserve with enough advance planning.

    Since I'll be driving to AA I'll be able to bring various tools/gadgets if needed. Closer to the actual date we should coordinate who's bringing what so that we have everything covered.

    Plan: 2010 Heartland Gathering

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    Wow, lots of activity since I last looked in on this thread! I'll block out that weekend in my calendar now. :smile:

    Is there a description of what goes on at these gatherings that I could look up? I might be able to make it to Ann Arbor in August. That would be incredible to take part in an 'eGullet' event at last.

    Here's the topic discussing the most recent Ann Arbor event:

    Member-organized Event - 2006 Heartland Gathering

    ... and I will be bringing along a rather large selection of homemade charcuterie if I can work out the logistics of getting it there. ...

    :wub: :wub: :wub:

    :biggrin:

    Since AA is within driving distance of home I'll be able to bring appliances, etc. (Sounds like Sam already has the Vita-Mix covered). We can work out what's needed as we get closer to event time. Really looking forward to it!

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