Chris Amirault

Any poop on who's next?

Brazil is apparently responding by upping exports, which, according to this article, have typically been quite low, as the country tends to keep most of the crop for national consumption. Click here for a report.

I live in a Latino neighborhood and hit several stores. The Goya products are all mixed with something else, or so it seems. More searching to come!

The syrup has gotten better, a little thicker, a little more flavorful. I whipped up a basic tiki drink using it tonight to see what it was like in a beverage, and it turned out pretty good: 2 oz white rum 1/2 oz 151 demerara rum 3/4 oz lime 3/4 oz lemon 1 oz papaya syrup scant 1/2 oz demerara syrup (careful: you may need only 1/4) 2 dashes Angostura Meanwhile, I spent a good hour trying to find passion fruit in any form. Even the nectars had been cut with pear or orange. I'll keep trying, but, damn. edited to add the info about passion fruit. -- ca

Got this from a member who'd prefer to remain anonymous due to a constrained living situation:

For me and a lot of members, The Kitchen Scale Manifesto is the word of law in the kitchen. So it warms my heart to read chef (and Society member) Achatz say, For those buying one of these books and without a scale, click for a topic on the subject. edited to clarify -- ca

When I was a kid I worked in a few different restaurant settings, including a kitchen, and got into the habit of "behind you." Now with three or four people usually in the small kitchen while I'm cooking, I say it all the time, but the rest of the clan isn't picking up on it. However, I don't think that an intentional "lesson burn" would work as well with my kids as it did with careless wait staff at the Indian place I worked at in the 1980s.

Any chance of an 'executive summary' as to why? And whether "a good fry" means more than a tasty one? ← It's about more than taste. From the book, p 13-4: Later, Parsons suggests about 1 T old oil per cup of fresh oil. I just dump a glug of old oil into the fryer/dutch oven before adding the new stuff. It really works: the difference in crispness in particular is remarkable.

So true here: a KK shop opened in Cranston RI a while back to great fanfare, and after the big opening, everyone went back to DD (more important than government and religion in RI) for everything, not just bc KK coffee is not as good as DD but because, well, there was only one shop in the state, whereas there's a DD every six blocks in RI. And I fall into the same category as most: KK for donuts, DD for coffee. Though, if you want the best, Allie's donuts are best. Just sayin'.

Given what you've said, I wonder if you need a new wok, something with a handle that enables you to control it, for example....

Where are the casings from?

Tried a Boubon Crusta-esque drink using limoncello and ginger syrup. Gack. Down the drain it went.

Found the Yellow Mist on cocktaildb.com: 1 1/2 gin 1/2 Apry 1/2 orgeat 1/2 lemon Not the most complex thing in the world, but it showcases the orgeat, particularly for those who "don't like cocktails," I'd think. ETA: A bit too strong on the Apry; I'd cut back to 1/4 or less next time.

Erik, how long does that pineapple liqueur last?

Found some ripe papayas, so I made some papaya "syrup": -- not exactly nectar: 1:1 fruit pulp:simple syrup, strained, a bit of overproof rum. It's not the most flavorful syrup I've ever tasted, but the texture is very interesting.

What casings are you using?

I've been using a brine technique for a while that I think greatly speeds up the time between starting a brine and brining the meat. Well, to be honest, it's a cocktail technique. [ETA: it's also mentioned in the brining course -- should have read that more carefully before posting! -- CA] 1. Measure out your salt, sugar, and any other components you want to have in the brine, and note how much water you'll need. 2. Heat about 10-20% of the water (a quart or so for me usually) of water -- I usually just use the hottest water I can get out of the tap -- and add the brine ingredients to the water. Stir until they've dissolved. 3. The cocktail step: add a bunch of ice to the concentrated brine and stir it to cool it immediately. Measure to see how much water you've now got (some of it frozen, all of it cold). 4. Add whatever additional cold water has to go into the brine for the proper ratios (along with more ice if you want).

A quick update on the Bradley, two years down the road. I've been very happy with it. The good: in addition to my overall happiness with it, I can confirm that it's absolutely easy to do cold smoking, at least in New England. Most of the year, an additional tray with ice in it is enough to keep the temperature pretty cool inside the box, and in fall, winter, and spring it's a cinch to keep it cool. The bad: the racks that come with the Bradley are (1) notoriously hard to clean and (2) very prone to rust. I learned this the hard way after leaving a few in the box over the course of several weeks without having cleaned them. (I know.) I've just ordered a new set of non-stick racks (the jerky ones, in fact) in the hopes that those won't be as big of a problem. Does anyone have any other ideas? The ugly: I also found that the water pan was too small, which has a major implication if you're looking for a Bradley to set and forget: the pucks stack in the water pan and create a back up onto the heating tray. The result is overburned pucks and a bunch of crushed puck in the feeder mechanism (which is a pain to clean). I got a hotel pan that is as big as the bottom will hold and fill it with as much water as I can, which seems to do the trick for long smokes like the butt I'm doing next week. Again, I'm very happy with it, but it's worth knowing about those two issues if you're considering using one.

Looks like limoncello passes muster. I've got a bottle stuck in the back of the liquor cabinet....

Independent of the off-flavor issue, several authors (including Russ Parsons in How to Read a French Fry) explain that including some old oil is crucial to a good fry.

After ten years of LeCreuset dutch ovens, I have to tell you that the recovery time on the Waring is much, much faster than before. Didn't get to 375F exactly, but if it recovers within a few minutes (instead of 15), then I can live with 368F.

Dude, I got three letters for you: MSG.

Of course, as I'm sure everyone knows, here in RI coffee milk is the state beverage. There's no alcoholic drink vying for contention, and a visit through the cocktail menus of area restaurants would suggest no real Rhode Island-y options. Must do more research, clearly.

I didn't see it mentioned here, so I wanted to put in a word for Barsol. We've had greater access to it lately, and we've kept it on hand consistently. Wine Enthusiast had a lot of good things to say about it in 2005, as did Wine & Spirits in 2007 (so says this Spirit World entry). It works nicely in Pisco Sours, of course, but I've also enjoyed it in this Velvet Pisco: 2 oz pisco 1/2 oz falernum 1/2 oz lime dash Angostura bitters Shake, strain, lime twist.

Another glassware fan here, though I favor vintage, not new. This seems particularly true if you start with the glass, e.g., "I haven't used those Lake George Tiki Motel hurricane glasses in a while...."