fiftydollars

The only four matching vessels suitable for braising that I had were 1qt all-clad saucepans, which I used tightly covered in a double layer of aluminum foil. I began the experiment with 4 bone-in short ribs of the following weights: Red Wine 5oz Stock 6oz Water 5oz Submerge 6oz I browned all of the ribs at the same time in a large cast iron skillet and then took the following temperatures: Red Wine 71 Stock 66 Water 68 Sub 70 I had a mishap when I went back into the kitchen to check my temperatures 15 minutes later and the quality of my scientific data is extremely questionable from this point on. I had been a little messy when trying to get it all in the oven in a hurry and I unknowingly got some of the stock from the submerged sample on the kitchen floor. When I came back into the kitchen 15 minutes later I managed to perform a spectacular slip and fall. It was a real beauty. My foot actually kicked my knife block off the counter and as I fell I reached out and grabbed a 12 qt plastic container that had 6 or so quarts of cold veal stock that I had planned to use the rest of the week. I dumped the gelatinous goo all over me and the floor, but all I could think about was whether I might have damaged one of my knives. Luckily I didn’t. But the debacle substantially altered the tone of my evening. After clean up, a shower, and change of wardrobe I proceeded to my couch where I planned to conduct careful science. I decided to monitor the progress of braising with my remote barbecue thermometer while nursing myself back to health with a Guinness. Instead, I fell asleep. The samples had gone into the oven at 8:58 pm. I awoke at 1:40 am to the delicious smells of braising meat and the sound of one of my thermometers going off. I was very surprised to find that none of the samples had burned. In the water/mirepoix sample, all of the moisture had been absorbed by the vegetables (or evaporated) and the meat was darkly caramelized on all sides. The wine sample and pan were entirely glazed over with the wine and the meat was also darkly caramelized. The stock sample was sitting in a pool of very reduced, thick stock. The submerged sample still had more than half the liquid and had not changed appreciably in color. The submerged sample read 206 degrees. The wine sample was at 210. I completely forgot to weigh anything. All of the meat was overcooked, but none of it was inedible. Some pieces were very caramelized and looked completely dried out, but they still had enough moisture that I could have eaten them without a sauce. The submerged sample actually turned out pretty well this way. It was completely plump and stood in stark contrast to the other ribs, which all looked quite desiccated by comparison. It had not picked up any additional color through the braising, unfortunately, and had a grey boiled look accented by what remained of my browning. The wine sample was very good and the best of the lot. It had the most flavor among the samples and the glazing seemed to protect the meat from my overcooking to some extent. The stock sample was good, but it didn’t have the flavor offered by the wine sample and I couldn’t say whether one was better than the other in terms of meat quality. The meat in the water sample had considerably less flavor than the stock or wine, but if I had served it with a different liquid it would be hard to tell apart. The stock sample had a bit more moisture than the water sample and I think this is mostly because the stock I used was very rich, which helped compensate for the gross overcooking. As I said, the submerged sample was actually good. But since I don’t plan to ever braise a rib for five hours again I don’t think it will ever turn out that good again with this method. From the results I don’t see how this would have turned out differently if I had simply boiled a browned short rib for 5 hours. I didn’t have a chance to reheat my samples from Lab #1, but I plan to do so this evening.

I began with 8 pieces of boneless beef short ribs and four different cooking vessels. My meat pieces varied in size substantially. I used a Corning ware dish, an all clad pan, a Le Creuset French oven, and an aluminum foil pan. Clad stainless 04 oz and 04 oz Aluminum Foil 05 oz and 06 oz Corning Ware 11 oz and 11 oz Le Creuset 06 oz and 09 oz I browned all of the pieces of meat on a cast iron pan at the same time for the same amount of time. I preheated the oven to 325 degrees. I did not preheat my stock, which I would have done had I thought of it in time, but I didn’t. I placed the meat in the oven at 7:02 pm. I wanted to achieve a nice simmer on all of the pans, but they did not cooperate. I did not begin taking temperatures until I had gotten the simmering under control, which was at 8:30 pm. Clad stainless 163 Aluminum Foil 170 Corning Ware 186 Le Creuset 206 I kept a probe thermometer in the Le Creuset and the Stainless Steel. This is because the stainless steel was at the back of the oven and the Le Creuset in the front. I monitored the temperatures of these two pans primarily from this point on… 9:07 pm Clad stainless 170 Le Creuset 208 9:25 pm Clad stainless 181 Le Creuset 212 9:38pm Clad stainless 190 Le Creuset 212 The finished weights were as follows: Clad stainless 02 oz and 03 oz Aluminum foil 03 oz and 04 oz Corning Ware 06 oz and 07 oz Le Creuset 03 oz and 05 oz The temperatures remained the same until I took the meat out of the oven at 9:52 pm. The braised product from the aluminum foil was a little under/over cooked; I really don’t know which. It is kind of dry looking and tasting and too firm, but there are visible amounts of undisolved fat and a tendony chewiness that could go away with further braising. The meat from clad stainless steel also appeared kind of dry and over cooked. It was firm, but with good moisture. The Corning ware meat was very moist and still retained a bit of bite. The meat was noticeably more tender than the meat from the aluminum foil and clad stainless, but had a lot more integrity left than the meat from the Le Creuset. The corning ware had a difficult time getting up to a simmer and at no point did much more than occasionally bubble. I hesitated to increase the heat high enough to get the corning ware simmering regularly because the rest of the pans seemed to be doing fine and the Le Creuset was pretty much already at a full boil. I think I might have had better results with each pan had I used them individually. I probably would have increased the temperature for some pans and decreased it for others. The meat from the Le Creuset was the slight favorite among our two-taster panel. The 2-quart dutch oven had cooked at a significantly higher temperature throughout. It took about 45 minutes to get simmering, but once it did it got the meat to a high temperature very quickly and kept it there pretty easily. By contrast the stainless steel and aluminum foil did not maintain a simmer easily and were noticeably affected as the electric oven cycled on and off and as I poked and prodded the meat. The meat from the Le Creuset was a lot more tender than the other samples, but it is arguable whether it had the best tenderness/flavor/moisture balance of the samples. It was decided that somewhere between the Corning ware and the Le Creuset would have been best.

Speaking of pibil... I need achiote to make a cochinita pibil. I haven't been able to find any good achiote in my area, but I can get annato seeds. So I have been thinking it would be a good idea to learn to make an achiote paste. Any recipes or tips?

I once read a review that described a wine as "redolent of chicken droppings." I can't remember if that was a good thing...

How much stock will I need to complete the whole seminar?

The chitarra is a very different device although it operates on the same, cutting with wires, principle. The guitar cutter is a much more sophisticated device used in pastry. The chitarra is for cutting pasta into noodles. Coincidentally (and somewhat OT), Sur La Table recently started selling a pretty nice Italian chitarra for $22. I picked one up last weekend on impulse while I was looking for a crepe spreader and I've been having some very good fun with it.

Since you seem to have an interest in Mexican food, you should go to the grand daddy of all Mission district taquerias: La Taqueria at 25th and Mission. It's not fancy, it's a taqueria, and it's damn good.

Michael Mina.

Why shouldn't you put hot things in the refrigerator? I have always been told this, but I am not entirely sure what the harm would be to the product. Assuming it isn't something hot enough to damage the refrigerator, why not? Is it because it warms up everything else in the refrigerator? What if that wasn't a problem, is is still a bad idea? Is it because it wastes energy? I have heard that it is also because due to some strange thermic effect the inside, of a roast for example, will never quite cool down fast enough to avoid some amount of spoil and/or degradation of quality. Is this true? Does this damage quality? Exactly why is it a bad idea for me to just put a pot full of warm/hot stock straight from the stove and into the refrigerator?

I like CI and have subscribed for several years. But I don’t cook their recipes very much anymore. They have great ideas on technique, but overall I am bored with most of their recipes. The food is just too plain vanilla... too… yankee. Their “Best Ever” approach to recipe writing is interesting. While I find that the recipes always yield a good version of the dish, it is not often the most interesting. Some would also question the authenticity, etc… but that’s not my biggest concern with any food or recipe. There was a time, however, when I used to cook a lot of their stuff and I was always happy with the result. I have a great deal of respect for the effort they put in to make sure they get it right. Even now, although I favor many other recipe sources, if I need to make a dish I’ve never made before and I only have one crack at it, I often reach for their version. Why? Because, with very rare exception, their recipes work.

"Can you believe that lady put Cool Whip all over her brownies?"

Can't say I've tried that particular combination...

I'd say Italy and only because the Parmigiano-Reggiano I get at Molinari's is the best cheese there is... hands down. But a lot of cheese out of France could qualify for second place...

Linda Moreno at Spun Sugar in Berkeley does some great classes on cake decorating, if you are into that sort of thing... She is a great teacher and has classes ranging from cookie decorating for children to rolled fondant and gum paste.

I have a strange interest in photographing the food I order at restaurants. I have taken quite a few shots in the past months and even took some shots at Gramercy. The shots look interesting enough to me, but I don’t see that they hold interest for other viewers. I am looking for ideas on making the shots look a bit more interesting. I can operate a camera well enough, but I really don’t know a whole lot about composition and my photos always have a distinctly amateur, snap-shot, look to them. Of course this is exactly what they are, but I would like to get something I can put on my wall. On a similar note, what does everyone think of the practice of photographing food inside restaurants? Does this strike anyone as rude and inappropriate? It does to me, actually… although most restaurants are quite gracious about it (the great folks Gramercy Tavern were almost ridiculously nice about it. After the fourth wine-paired course I was getting a little sloppy and as the server watched me drunkenly approach the fifth course with a fork she kindly reminded me that I probably wanted to take my picture first). I generally try to use ambient lighting with a fast lens (1.8), but sometimes I forget or it's too dark and the flash has to come out, as it did at the GT. Here are a couple of the shots (I use film):

Do any of the ingredients, when tasted individually, taste bitter? Give your olive oil a taste... that could be your culprit. Also taste that lettuce. Greens, Romaine especially, can be a tad bitter and there is always the possibility that a bitter-tasting residue could be on your greens.

I really don't know why, considering I under-use the mixer I have, but I really want a Hobart... a big one... something I can use to crank out 100lbs+ of dough at a time. I often have vivid dreams wherein I wake up Christmas morning and a brand-new Hobart is sitting under the tree. Then Jacques Pepin and Jacques Torres walk in, alongside a troupe of midgets doing cartwheels, and we all proceed to make cakes and dance.

I was told that at the FL the tips are pooled and are used to provide and supplement benefits for all the employees. Although I generally don’t like pooling, I believe this is more than appropriate given the type of service provided at the FL. It is definitely a team effort. I am also glad that some of the tip money is making it to the BOH where the real work and service actually takes place.

When I read that the gratuity was included, I took them at their word and didn't feel that I had to tip on top of it. However, this is the French Laundry. The level of service you are about to endure, is so incredible, I think you'll still want to give them more money. As expensive as it is, it feels like you are getting a deal... seriously. As I was leaving I felt like giving them something... like my first new-born or a molar... just because the service was so absolutely impeccable. A lot has been said about Thomas Keller’s food, and rightly so the man is a genius, but what I found most striking as a diner at the French Laundry was the service. I really lack the vocabulary to describe the way Laura Cunningham’s staff moves around that restaurant. But I am pretty sure you'll be impressed. While I don’t think you should feel obligated to tip on top of the 19% already added to your tip, I wouldn’t be surprised if you do it anyway.

Is this kind of like the starchy Mexican corn used for tamales?

Please, go right ahead. What did you have and what did you like best? ← I tried the gelato, carrot, intense, and some of the nicely wrapped truffles. Everything was excellent. The dark chocolate mousse, chocolate cremeux, chocolate macaroon, and chocolate glaze definitely made for an intense chocolate pastry that was just ridiculously good.

Actually Juan wants to do Iron Chef, he said he would be throwing the healthy cooking out the window and go full on butter and fat.... ← Man, I can just imagine what he can do with a sugar and lard buzz going. When you get as excited as it seems he is about low-cal/healthy, I would like to see him 'gloves off'. ← I think it would be much more interesting to watch him compete in the style that he is known for. I think that would be a definite first. No one has ever tried going healthy like that before... Although there was that one guy that competed on the original series who was known for cooking medicinal chinese food. I seem to recall that one of his medicinal ingredients was a black chicken. But no one has "gone Juan" before... that would be cool to watch. If he cooks just like everybody else, he misses out on a good opportunity to share his noble, albeit annoying, food philosophies (cardio-friendly yet just like the "real deal").

Yes, the infamous Valentine's Day strawberry battle wherein Sakai lost to a rare female competitor.

I just went to Jean Phillippe's a couple of weekends ago and I was absolutely astonished by the work. Too bad I missed the chocolate fountain... I managed to take some photos of JP's cakes. They are not that good (my photos, the cakes are great), but do you mind if I post them, Neil?