Chris Amirault

Just a quick note I thought of last week when I was filling bags; it's pretty obvious and I've been doing it for a while but I didn't find it here. I'm clearly a dork because I manage to drip, spill or otherwise dump stuff at the top of the bag even when I'm using my trusty canning funnel. So, I fold over the top 2" of the bag from inside to outside to make a cuff. Then, when I add stuff that smears along the top edge, I'm actually smearing below the top edge of the bag itself. When it's filled, I just fold it back up and seal.

I'm shopping for a gift certificate to an heirloom seed company for a friend. They are more sophisticated than I am at such things, but I believe they'd want the highest quality and widest selection. Assume nothing please -- I'm ignorant. What are my options?

Sam made a statement in the first post that I think is worth discussing: If that's true -- and I agree that it seems true based on the article -- than can one address the warm ice issue that so often plagues us at subpar bars by asking for a lot of that wet ice, not a little? ETA: Answer seems to be "Sort of." From the second piece:

I would feel precisely the same way. That's not what's happening here. I'm documenting one cook's attempt to recreate, modify, and otherwise own recipes that she learned back home and has adapted to life in the states. No one here has made any statements about canons or generalizations regarding any cuisine. Quite the opposite, in fact: Of course cooking ground onion paste and cooking fried onions then grinding them produces different results. But home cooks make adaptations -- you'll see more later on -- according to the conditions and constraints they face. My goal here is to share what I learned, not to stand on a soapbox and claim authenticity, describe a canon, or do anything of the kind. And, to that end, I continue.

Started with Toby Maloney's Southside ratios -- 2 oz gin 3/4 oz simple 3/4 oz lime mint Bitters -- but felt too lazy to get the mint. Saw some cherries on the counter: 2 oz gin (Tanqueray) 3/4 oz simple 3/4 oz lime dash Angostura 3 cherries Muddle cherries in the liquids; shake; strain. Very tasty.

Flo's, and get the fried clams. Trust me.

Planning topic for the series is up. I went with four sessions that, I hope, will attract a wide audience of interested folks; I'm wondering how that gin session will go over. (I figure I have the Magnetic Fields fans locked up.) I also took seriously a lot of the advice here so far, and have four basic points to make in each session. I've got more to share but am heading to NYC for a couple of days of eating and drinking (and, apparently, rain). Upon my return to (surely, rainy) RI, I'll post more about the decisions I've made thus far. Thanks to everyone who's helped!

Adam, why the Pernod? Is it what's on hand, or do you think it works better than absinthe? Had my first stinker tonight, a Slope cocktail using 1/2 t of the Boker's instead of Angostura. Maybe I'm wrong, but I fear that Punt e Mes + Boker's = Mud. I'd be interested to hear what others think, but that one went down the sink. Decided, for obvious reasons, that I needed a Rough and Tumble after that. Sigh. Onward!

Bittered arms: I can do that. Great idea. Daiquiri has been a go-to for me, since, well, most people think they're Slurpees. Still figuring out who's coming and what it means, but I think we're doing a four session series to start, with basics and then three theme-based sessions. If there's interest, we'll do more. Spent the day trying to do the framing, which is proving to be tricky. There are lots of potential structuring elements to use....

Those things are astonishingly good. Recipe in her book?

Getting the planning going in earnest. Alcuin, how'd your session go? What did you end up doing? ETA and thanks, Janet, JK, and Matt!

Seems to me that it's not really about Food TV at all but is rather Pollan's morning-after note to the farm-to-table crowd, locavores, natural/organic foodies, et al, saying, "You're not losing. It was game, set, & match a long time ago."

I wonder if you could tweak Boulud's foie burger using the fatcap off the pork belly and crisping up some quick-cured meat from the belly as bacon....

I agree with that precisely. Grabbed M&R instead of my usual Punt e Mes -- and the M&R was at its end. I'm heading into NYC early next week and have a few eager folks waiting to try them.

Click: Penzey's carries dried jalapenos both crushed and ground.

I've had unfermented dosai before, and they're ok, somewhat blah. Several people suggested skipping the fermentation step but Ami and a few others agreed that you gain some flavor and tenderness by fermenting it. The tenderness is obvious: the fermentation creates gas, which makes for a lighter, more tender cooked dough. If I understand correctly, because the batter has no gluten, it stays tender during the very long grinding period. (Any wheat in there and you'd have, uh, something untender.) And, yes, the flavor is sour, but is also round and rich. It's sort of like a sourdough dosa -- though maybe that's what dosai are all supposed to taste like. After all, in Coimbatore, you don't need an warm oven to ferment a batter overnight; the counter or back porch will suffice, I'm told.

Huh. I guess my hunch that it was actually light brown metal filings isn't going to pan out.

What kind of flour was it?

The night before, Ami had prepared a large batch of Dosa/Idli batter. The recipe is simple but requires some time and equipment. The day before you plan to use the batter, soak rice and urdu dal (3:1 ratio) in water for at least 3-4 hours. Dump the mixture into your wet grinder (Ami uses this Ultra Pride Plus machine, which has massive granite grinders in a rotating base) and grind away for 30-60 minutes. Check to make sure you have enough water to make a thick batter -- thicker than crepe batter, thinner than most pancake batters. Add a little bit of butter (1 T for each 2c of the dry rice/dal mixture), some salt to taste, and put it in a slightly warm oven overnight to ferment, keeping the interior light on. After our second? third? breakfast, I started making dosai for the crowd. Ami did the first few, using a nonstick pan with no fat. (There was much discussion about this with her family members -- out of her earshot of course: benefits of cast iron, stainless, and nonstick; butter/ghee or no; how big....) For the pan Ami uses, we scooped 3/4c batter into the pan and then swirled the batter around to extend it toward the edge of the pan. (I obsessed about the zen of the swirl, trying to spread the batter in just one spiral.) Once spread, sprinkle a 1:1 combination of butter & oil over the top, maybe 1/2 t. When it has started to brown a little bit (not too much), flip and finish on other side., which will cook much faster than the first. Fill with just about anything. We had 'em plain and with chicken curry, chutneys, the eggplant, and at least one peanut butter and banana. ETA that I'll post the photo of the finished dosa when I get home.

That's because the trinity lowers the heat and releases moisture, I think, not because there are compounds in the vegetables that prevent browning. I've gotten called away from the pot at this stage and returned to black roux and burned vegetables.....

Fresh or pickled will give off liquid, I think, in unpredictable ways. What about dried?

Yep. No extra water (that you dumped in to blend), softened onions, bit of grease...

Yes, well, I throw myself on the mercy of the court. After all, I just spent the weekend in the home of a Coimbatore cook.

It's deceptively simple. Instead of treating the dal like a bean that requires hydration, you treat it like a nut. Sauté it in some fat (butter & oil here) until it starts to darken a bit and the air is filled with a toasted, nutty aroma. I think it needs a bit of moisture to soften up, but when it does, it retains its crunch and flavor. The best comparison I can make is to toasted pine nuts, but even they don't quite compare because of their high fat content.

Hoping to, yes. Email is away. It followed the basics of the upma recipe: oil & butter, mustard seeds, dal, onion, etc. I didn't get the recipe but there are other, similar ones on the way. We already have a lot of Indian food here, but the techniques will definitely become part of my repertoire. For example, when I was complaining about having to saute off all the water you need when you blend up onions, Ami said, "Fry them first and then blend them. Why blend them first?" Uh, yeah: that's going to save me 80% of the time it takes to make most dishes. Gonna be doing that from now on.