culinary bear
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Posts posted by culinary bear
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I read in the Tough Cookies book about the triple cooked chips and you no doubt get the impression in that book that the triple cooking is Heston’s discovery. It is not. It is a very old practice. Heston’s more recent use of modern technology to reduce the humidity in the potatoes may be his contribution though, although the need for it may be superfluous in practice with the selection of the best potato variety and considering the relatively little need for keeping the chips crispy indefinitely.
How old, exactly?
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Guinness Foreign Extra... originally brewed for export to Africa (specifially Nigeria, which still has the world's highest per capita consumption of stout) and the West Indies.
Shockingly hoppy, and a whopping 7.5%ABV. Treacle in a glass, yet with great finesse.
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Victor Lewis-Smith, so what do we make of him?
Rillettes?
Oh, glad tidings...
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Am I being horribly, horribly cynical, or does the cake in that demonstration video appear to be glued to the table...?
...and for that price, I would want it to get up in the morning before I do and make the kippers for breakfast.
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Agreed - very fresh eggs are a pain in the backside to peel.
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I can't add to that splendid advice above, except to emphasise the need for an exceptionally sharp knife... Blunt knives tear cake.
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I haven't, but you'd have to make sure that it had a very sturdy seal. I can't think of an overwhelming reason why it wouldn't work if carefully done.
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Erica - there's no real need to quote the entirity of the message you're replying to, especially if you're posting immediately subsequent to it; people will still know what comment you're referring to :)
I can highly recommend Jane Grigson's book, which has recently (along with a couple of Elizabeth David's books and Simple French Cooking by Richard Olney) been reprinted by Grub Street in rather nice hardback. I paid about £12 for mine via Amazon.
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I think what we've established here is that it's cheaper in relative terms in Australia.
You have more sheep per, ummm, end-user.
:)
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so if i put on my list, like, a little trattoria which no name on an island that you have to row to and wade in the water to get ashore what kind of chance would it have. who else would be going there?
I refer the honourable lady to the Altnaharrie Inn in Ullapool, or more recently, the Three Chimneys on Skye.
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My brain hurts, having had an unlubricated bumming at the stoves for 15 hours today, but cogent thoughts are trying to penetrate the veil of fug, I promise.
You know, I can't quite help finding a parallel between the awards and Classic FM's annual top 300 favourite pieces of classical music, broadcast over Easter weekend - you know roughly what's going to be on there, the only thing that changes is the order, and then not my much.
Perhaps we need something along the lines of Peel's Festive Fifty?
I wouldn't go so far to say that the list is a a triumph of style over substance, but it does rather appear to be puzzling in parts with 'fashion' playing a large role. I realise this is not entirely out of tune with the restaurant world, but the Wolsely in the list of the top 50 restaurants in the world? Come off it.
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5.60 per kilo (that's UK pounds sterling but my keyboard is royally fucked), from the cheery souls at Frosts the Butchers, Chorlton, Manchester.
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We have much the same thing over in the UK, and it's simply down to market forces.
When it comes to trade butchers supplying restaurants, the price can be a lot higher than you think it should, purely because the shank, as a convenient 1-person hunk of meat, has quite a demand going for it. You could bone and roll leg portions to get rough equivalents, but that involves additional time and labour, and as there are only two shanks to the sheep (the foreleg 'shanks' are much smaller and not much use), the price is higher than one might expect.
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Surface-read thermometers tend to be unreliable when attempting to measure boiling liquids.
I'd go with a sturdy brass candy thermometer, with the calibrations etched on to the backing, not just printed on (otherwise they wear off eventually).
Out of interest, how much are you paying for the pot?
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The thing is, Visible Panty-Line is an intelligent chap, educated, and funny. He also has the skill of not being able to write restaurant reviews to save his life, and it in danger of reaching AA Gill-ian levels of superfluous non-food-related hyperbole before you get to anything remotely connected to the restaurant in question.
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Oh, please... Viz is intelligently written. :)
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some from the archives :
Chocolate and rosewater cheesecake, passion fruit marshmallow, passion fruit reduction, passion fruit shooter with chocolate foam, passion fruit sorbet and whole passion fruit syrup (that's a lot of passion fruit, I know) :)
Warm chocolate fondant, five-spice poached pineapple, honey ice cream, pineapple crisp.
Vanilla pannacotta, almond milk, espresso granita.
Tarte tatin, caramel sauce, calvados and sultana ice cream.
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What was the problem? Maybe I need more sugar? Or is this a common problem using a broiler instead of a torch.
Almost certainly. The need here is for heat fierce enough to caramelise the sugar on top without being prolonged enough to scramble and ultimately burn the custard layer beneath. Think of it in the same way as baked alaska, which needs a fierce heat in order to brown the external meringue before the internal ice cream melts.
If you lack a blowtorch or gasgun, I find that the best results can be gained by sacrificing an old kitchen spoon. Heat the bowl of the spoon in a gas jet (even a solid fuel fire if needs be), and using a thick dry cloth to hold the handle of the spoon, touch the bowl of the spoon directly on to the sugared surface of the brulee. Roll the bowl of the spoon about to caramelise the whole surface of the brulee.
The layer of sugar needs to be thick enough to give a good caramel layer (and also to insulate the custard to a certain extent) but not so thick that unmelted sugar remains beneath the caramelised layer. Trying to melt too much sugar usually results in the use of too much prolonged heat and scrambling of the custard as you describe.
Another problem is that it was runny. The instructions say to bake "until the custards are firm at the edges, but still a bit wobbly in the center." I took it out when the wobbly center was nearly half of the surface area of the top. What was the problem? Was it because I took it out of the oven too soon or could it be caused by overbroiling?Unlikely that runniness is caused by overbroiling. If it was, though, you would notice that the runniness was present primarily in the top half of the custard (i.e. the half closest to the broiler). If it was pretty much uniformly runny then you've probably undercooked the custard; try giving it a bit longer.
The recipe differs from the one I use, but still seems sound. Mine is pretty much commis-proof, and I can give you a copy if you'd like.
The dish you are using is quite shallow - you may get a better result in a slightly deeper one.
Hope this helps,
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Oh, so very close, so very close...
Stood outside reading the menu, on the four minutes of today where the sun shone in Cartmel. Rogan walking past in chefs' trousers, kicking loose chippings from the road border. We had neither the time, nor my bank balance the flexibility on the day to be able to pop inside...
Alas, another day.
The sticky toffee pudding is incredible, incidentally. Oh, and the Punch Bowl is a shell at the moment - they seem to be gutting it completely...
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I'd treat it like mutton - which is to say braise, slow-roast (8 hours or so at 80C) or turn into stews or casseroles.
Curried goat is particularly nice.
With respect to Jamie, if I was marinating I'd leave out the red wine; better still, flame to remove the alcohol first. This tends to result in better tenderising action.
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Soup, definitely soup... No need to peel them, just scrub in several changes of cold water to get the dirt out.
Slice, saute with a white mirepoix, bay, thyme, garlic, add vegetable stock, cream, puree, and season. Simple and strong flavours.
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incentivising junior chefs... :)
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Allan - you're mentioned in the literature as one of the impressive regional finalists. Yet there's a scandalous typographical error where they say you're merely a nipperish 29? C'est ne pas possible, maitre!
I'll be hitting 30 in July, and I'm looking forward to it with about as much relish as would a cat beholding an impending neutering appointment with the vet. Did you think their typographical finger had slipped upwards or downwards?
offcentre - please let me know how it goes; I'm doing a week's stage in the kitchen there next month!
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I look forward to it. My mole reports back that the madeleines were truly excellent...
I got a text from one of the Times entourage, a very good friend, thus : "Matt just won!". He has no idea where he's going for his stage yet; indeed, he has no idea what day it is, given his hangover.
Matt was the competitor I talked most to during the regionals - we were drawn in adjoining stations - and he's very definitely the sort of "chef's chef" you'd like to work with.
Triple Cooked Chips
in Cooking
Posted
You will, of course, forgive me for pressing you on this.
Which books?