Chris Amirault

I read somewhere that asparagus that has curled at the top has not been adequately hydrated, and that you should never buy them. True? Firmness is tricky with citrus. I buy a lot of lemons and limes, and if they are too firm it can be a sign that the skin is very thick, meaning that you're buying more pith than pulp. As Mitch says, you gotta think about heft, too.

Nathan, can you say a bit about how you and your team developed the recipe flavor profiles, for lack of a better term? For example, in the burger above, there are some standard (cheese, tomato, smoke) and not-so-standard (crimini ketchup with fish sauce and allspice) flavors going on.

I haven't bought a red delicious in a store since I ate one off a tree two years ago. Like strawberries, peas, and other produce, store versions might as well be called something completely different, since they are. Stephanie, I was surprised to see broccoli on your list. I can usually get stuff that's comparable to farmer's market quality, not limp at all. Surely yours isn't as bad as sawdust apples?!?

Thanks, everyone. I'm learning a lot. I'm wondering if it'd be worth visiting my friendly local cheesemonger (Matt Jennings of Farmstead) and seeing if I can grab some high quality pecorino. I have a chunk of supermarket stuff at home now for comparison. One question: are we to understand that Pecorino as a style lacks the famous umami of Parmigiano?

I've got two kids who love their turkey. Can you give the recipe for this?

I started a "produce fail" topic over here where we can rant about lousy industrial fruits and vegetables. That topic -- and some particularly lousy stone fruit and artichokes -- got me thinking about the criteria I use for purchasing such items at the store. There's the basics (appropriate color, texture, smell), but I've got a few more specific approaches than that. In addition, as indicated above, I also need some from you! I'll bet that we could accumulate a great list here of solid indicators to determine produce quality. So if you have tips, or resources, share 'em here. I'll start with a couple: Twist the top of a pineapple. If it turns easily and gives off a sweet, pineapple-y scent, grab it. When you squeeze an onion, squeeze it on the poles. If it's rotting on the interior, it'll be squishy there but not necessarily around the equator.

Agreed, Luke. For some reason, people think that these are better, cleaner...

Ack! Yes Irish whiskey. Me, too, but I appreciate your revisions/additions.

I nominate celery. It's been months since any tasted like celery. Mouthful of salt and iodine, though. What's your nomination for the industrial produce item that's consistently terrible?

I've now done several iterations of this introductory session both at restaurants and at private homes, and I think it's got a pretty solid base structure. I don't follow it page by page; rather, I use the handout as something to fall back onto as needed (and the participants write notes all over it). This is the outline for this Sunday's workshop and Society fundraiser at Cook & Brown Public House here in Providence, the bar at which I now work. (For more information on the event, click here.) It's idiosyncratic, responsive both to my prejudices and to the interests that customers have expressed. I'll report back on it. what makes a cocktail classic? enhance the spirit base balance, layer & direct different flavors technique serves the cocktail treat your ingredients with respect quality, not quantity classics form the basis for innovation recipes are guides: taste & adjust about 2-3 oz booze per drink ~25% dilution beware the sweet ingredients: some base spirits whisk(e)y rye bourbon Scotch Canadian gin/genever brandy/cognac rum cachaça tequila pisco vodka ingredients: other alcohol fruit liqueurs herbal & floral liqueurs absinthe & pastis maraschino velvet falernum pimento dram bitters & tinctures amari dry & sweet vermouth aperitif wines port/madeira sherry non-alcoholic ingredients sugar syrup fruit juice & oil mint & other herbs egg, milk & cream carbonated beverages grenadine orgeat shrubbs and ... ice ice makes & keeps things cold ice provides water for dilution ice generates agitation for mixing & aeration Most bad drinks are caused by bad ice handling & use. basic equipment Boston shaker Hawthorne strainer julep strainer fine strainer barspoon jiggers/measuring cups knife & cutting board juicers ice crusher & pick muddler technique: set up cold glassware room temperature booze (excepting wine-based items) fresh fruits, bitters & alcohol clean equipment lots of very cold ice technique: stirring & shaking stirring: for clear drinks 30-40 seconds with lots of cracked ice shaking: for cloudy (juiced) drinks shake 10-15 seconds with lots of whole ice be strong but not violent when shaking, avoid slush when stirring, avoid bubbles note temperature technique: full prep in order chill glassware & prep garnish (if necessary) build drink in chilled glass or tin add very cold ice shake/stir straw taste & adjust (if necessary) (double) strain garnish (if necessary) technique: miscellany building rocks drinks muddling other garnishes the “dry shake” floats flaming rinds recipe: improved genever cocktail 2 oz genever 1 tsp simple syrup ½ tsp Maraschino 2 dashes bitters 2 dashes absinthe Stir well. Strain into a coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist. martini & manhattan 2 oz spirit (gin or bourbon/rye) ±1 oz vermouth (dry or sweet) bitters (1 orange or 2-3 Angostura/OF) Stir. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish (lemon twist/olive/onion or lemon twist/orange twist/cherry). margarita, daiquiri & sidecar 2 oz spirit (tequila, rum, or brandy) 1 oz sweet (triple sec, simple, or triple sec) ¾ oz fresh lime, lime, or lemon juice Shake well. Fine strain into coupe. resources: books Craft of the Cocktail, Dale DeGroff The Joy of Mixology, Gary Regan Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, Ted Haigh Imbibe! David Wondrich The Art of the Bar, Hollinger & Schwartz resources: internet www.egullet.org Spirits & Cocktails forum www.cocktaildb.com www.cocktailchronicles.com www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com

So where did you end up going?

I made bucatini all'Amatriciana last night, loosely following Paul Bertolli's recipe, and I tried a bit of both Pecorino and Parmigiano before I served it to the family. To me, using Parmigiano on that uber-rich pasta was a big mistake: instead of accenting the homemade pancetta, it muddled it. (I suppose if the tomatoes had been more acidic, Parmigiano might have worked, but it's hard to fathom.) The Pecorino was a perfect, sharp accent. So I chose not to follow the last step of Bertolli's recipe and passed only grated Pecorino at the table, and not Parmigiano as well. That experience and the responses here make me even more confused as to why people would treat these as if they are somehow interchangeable.

When I travel to Arizona, the Mexican mercados there have it both fresh and -- cheaper -- frozen. I guess we know why it's cheaper frozen...

I got some of Barbara Lynch's bucatini at Sportello in Boston this weekend, and I'm going to make Amatriciana sauce tonight for dinner. Reading through the ingredient lists of my cookbooks (thanks, EatYourBooks.com!), I realized I was in a familiar pickle. Some of my books, notably Cooking By Hand by Paul Bertolli, use both pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano. Others, such as Lynne Rossetto Kasper's Italian Country Table, use just pecorino Romano. I don't want to get into a big debate about which recipes is more authentic, whatever that means. Instead, I'd like some guidance on how to use these two Italian cheeses in relationship to one another. Which do you use when? Why use them at the same time, and to what effect?

I'm curious to hear your opinion of how well the Angostura worked in this drink. I've taken to combining Regan's & Peychaud's in my Bobbys, since the latter just seems to play better with Scotch to my palate. Very interesting. Perhaps that's tonight's drink....

So here are the claims, in all their marketing-ese glory: All bold formatting, references to "heat channels," and needless ellipses theirs. Nathan, can you say a bit more about brining? Specifically, do you see a reduction in brining time? Given the ease of overbrining but the temptation of being able to reduce brining times for large hams and so on, it seems another particularly important issue.

Took the plunge and now have a 48 blade Jaccard tenderizer here on the desk. I'm now wondering about specifics regarding practice: When do you Jaccard the meat relative to cooking? What sorts of meat do you and don't you Jaccard? Does the cooking process (grilling, sauteing, SV/LTLT cooking) change whether or not you Jaccard? Do the claims about increased marinade absorption ("up to 600%") and decreased cooking time ("up to 40%") pan out?

It all sounds fantastic. I'm very eager to hear details, especially about the grilled lamb and other parts of the big meal. It'll take the sting off of missing the event (again)....

This planning topic has been closed. Please check out the 2010 Heartland Gathering report topic for reports, photos, and much more!

I'd use the Flor de Caña.

Robert Burns tonight for me and the mother-in-law: 2 oz Jura Superstition 3/4 oz Carpano Antica Formula dash Regan's bitters dash Angostura bitters dash Marteau absinthe

I was just kludging the "4 ounces aged South American or Caribbean white rum, 4 ounces amber rum" ingredients. I have no idea what those things are (rum takes on color as it ages, of course; one might say it turns amber), so I just came up with something that seemed like it would work. What do you have on hand?

Made the Smugglers' Cove Top Notch Volcano from the 12/09 NYT tonight in, yep, a volcano bowl complete with a Lemon Hart 151 flame. I skipped the burning spices and used a dash of pimento dram instead, so it went something like this: 4 oz demerara 4 oz lime 4 oz fresh pineapple juice 1 oz passion fruit purée 1 oz Luxardo maraschino 4 oz Plantation Jamaican rum 2 oz Don Q blanco 2 oz Appleton Reserve 1 ounce maraschino liqueur Shook it all up, poured it over the lagoon of crushed ice, and handed out straws. The MIL liked that plenty.

Correction: they turned out great immediately off the comal. After cooling a bit, it was clear that they were quite brittle. Anyone got thoughts on how to defrost masa more effectively?

Actually, Dakki, I thought of you today when I defrosted the other half of the masa I made in June. It was very crumbly, so I moistened it (a bit too much; had to add a few Ts fine ground corn flour to get the proper dough consistency), kneaded it, and let it rest for about an hour to rehydrate. They turned out great.