Chris Amirault

The PC is putting in a few hours at work, so I'll have to get back to you on that. Perhaps someone else around here knows....

In ten of these ziplok bags: Only one burst, and the family got over their back aches pretty quickly.

Hey, I get in fights with baggers over my potato chips. I've got no problem breaking off a few artichoke leaves in the name of TQM. A few shots from last night. A few months ago, I had a big score in Tucson: First crack at that corn this week. I got it slaking last night for an overnight soak, following Diana Kennedy's advice and a few tips I've gathered on my own: Meanwhile, Andrea was thinking about breakfast on Christmas morning: I'm a baking dumbass, so she handles the breads, cookies, cakes and pies for all our big meals. She also humors then ignores my "advice" when I feel the need to point out some half-baked baking theory. Invariably, I appreciate her polite refusal to engage with me, given the outcome: That makes three sets of fruit soaking in booze: the smoked pineapple syrup, the prunes in armagnac, and the rummy raisins for the cinnamon rolls:

Dude, I follow your and Russ's advice religiously. I have it written on a laminated card. But I don't get consistently good artichokes by following it -- and based on Dave's comment, I'm not alone.

On artichokes: Never buy one if the leaves are curling in on themself, the edges are browning or it feels "dry." Look for tight/compact construction, a good solid feel and a sense of plenty of moisture. Artichokes, if kept at the right temp, have a fairly long shelf life. Also, size matters - small and scrawny are no good. Then again, they don't have to be giant and I have had more misses with these than with the reasonable sized ones. Yep, all that makes sense to me -- but I've bought ones that met every standard at the store and weren't as good as these were. Seems a crap shoot.... Agreed! I also think that, like a grilled or roasted piece of meat, it's good to pull these from the heat with them a bit underdone, to avoid them getting mushy. Soon, breakfast for the biggest day of cooking so far.

So far so good. We had big pantry moth problems at the other house and haven't so far here -- knock wood. Some online (eBay mainly) but most were either yard sale/thift store finds or gifts. The dominant pattern is Blue Heaven.

Morning! That chartreuse is green, I assume? Yep.

Tonight's drink is pretty straightforward, though no less meaningful for that. The book that first taught me about cocktails was Gary Regan's Joy of Mixology. I read it cover to cover twice, took notes all over it, and learned most of the basics there. There are other books that I find have more compelling narratives or recipes, but, as a primer, I can't imagine anything to match it. In that book is a recipe for a Bennett Cocktail, a bumped-up version of a gin sour that goes way back: gin, lime, sugar, bitters. Regan's addition of a dash of Chartreuse was a revelation for me, taking a simple sour and transforming it into something magical. In early 2010, I got asked to be on the opening team at Cook & Brown Public House. Grateful to be part of such an exciting endeavor, I dove in: I Scotch-guarded chairs; I tore down the bar; I did whatever I could to get a ramshackle neighborhood joint up to a very high standard. When we were getting ready for the soft opening, we realized that we didn't have a fizzy gateway drink that would appeal both to cocktail nuts and people new to quality mixed drinks. Frankly, I felt outclassed, an amateur "mixologist" who was little more than a dilettante. But then I remembered Gary Regan's Bennett Cocktail, and started fiddling: added some soda, bumped the Chartreuse, and "created" -- the word is overweening, to say the least -- the Bennett Fizz. 2 oz gin (London dry -- Beefeater, Tanqueray, etc. -- if you have it) 1 oz lime 1/2 oz simple syrup 1/4 oz Chartreuse dash Angostura soda Shake all but soda; strain into highball glass while pouring soda over big rocks. That drink was on the cocktail menu for months, the biggest seller for much of the opening quarter. We still get asked for it even though that it's slipped off the menu, because it does what it's supposed to do and tastes great. As the first drink I ever designed for a restaurant cocktail menu, well, I think that's pretty damned cool.

Artichoke logistics. I make the salted steaming liquid somewhat aromatic, with peppercorns, bay leaves, and a strip of lemon peel. An OXO bread knife and Chicago Cutlery shears take care of the prep: And in they go: I also steamed some broccoli that we got today: Meanwhile, the cooking brine for the shrimp is somewhat similar, with the lemon peel, some peppercorns, but also some onion and garlic. The Old Bay got dumped in after it simmered for a while: Dinner is served. One special treat: because the daube requires some marrow, I bought enough for Bebe, who fiends for the stuff. (Nick Lowe once said that he was pretty suspicious of parents who talked about their preschoolers listening to nothing but the Clash's London Calling; I realize that roasted marrow is the food enthusiast equivalent of that boast, though, I swear, I speak the truth.) At the table, the shrimp, bread, broccoli, artichokes, and marrow: Two observations on a nice, easy dinner. 1. I have no idea whether I'm buying killer or crappy artichokes. These were killer: meaty, beaty, big and bouncy. But my selection process was the same as it has been for slim, bland, lousy ones. Thoughts? 2. Shrimp + beef bone marrow = some crazy good food. Not that I stole bone marrow of a child's plate to slather it all over my shrimp.

They were on sale -- and they are a crucial component of one of the family's most treasured meals. More on that tomorrow. Really? Most of what you see in there is meat, stock, and other heavy stuff.

Found some in the freezer. Had to dig around: It's like Fibber McGee's closet in there these days....

Wild gulf shrimp were on sale, and the artichokes looked good, so we're having a family favorite: Old Bay shrimp boil, artichokes, and an olive baguette from Seven Stars Bakery, still a favorite around here after many years. (Click here to see their shop, from my first foodblog; that magnificent oven was insufficient for production baking, sadly, and was dismantled.) Dinner pix to follow. Playing a bit of catch up on the meal prep. I've decided to make fresh tortillas with Rick Bayless's carnitas following this recipe. Corn prep later tonight; last night, got the pork going. Here's the meat from the Chinese market: Made a spice rub with the following ingredients, including some very good dried epazote -- usually a contradiction in terms -- from a local Mexican market and some great stuff from Steve Sandos's outstanding Rancho Gordo online store (here, he's rancho_gordo, natch). Then, into a bag with... ACK! I'm out of lard! Good thing I have some beef fat laying around, so that's what went in: It's in the SVS at 62C for another day, then I'll pull and crisp it up before service.

Back with a bottle of Perrin & Fils Vinsobres Les Cornuds 2007, which Dennis Joyal recommended (as did Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate, the internet tells me). Dennis runs Joyals, one of the best liquor stores I've ever been to in the US. Couldn't tell from the sign: But that wall right there? That's the biggest selection of aged spirits -- rums, scotches, bourbons, ryes -- that I've ever seen. One perk of moving is that this remarkable store is now four minutes from my doorstep. A couple more drink notes. This is my tea selection, usually sitting in a box at my office. The set up is simple, bought on sale at Isetan in Tokyo last July: Most of my teas are black teas, with an oolong, hojicha and a puerh thrown in for a bit of variety. I have just been following my palate through a variety of earthy, toasty options thanks to the tea nuts over in the Coffee & Tea forum. Special thanks to Richard Kilgore, who has made a lot of great suggestions. Getting dinner prepped, as well as a few other things. More in a bit.

Boy, was that stupid to say. Headed out for one more bottle of wine and a drop-off for a movie.

True blue, eh? He said he'd send it via email later today.

Browned in butter sounds tasty.... Some shopping pix, banal for the east coasters, I'm sure. Here's one of the two big local grocery stores, Shaw's: My battle plan attached to the advertising frame, and the reusable bags that I often forget in the car. (Did you know that Whole Foods replaces those for free when they break or are too disgusting to hold food any more?) The big chains support a lot of local products now, including: Making headway before crossing the street to Whole Foods: I have several shopping tics. Perhaps you have your own. Mine include always, and I mean always, bagging my own groceries. It's clearly a lost art that no store employees bother to teach or learn. I have repeatedly embarrassed the family by leaping down the cashier aisle to wrest an item from an unwitting bagger. So, with absurd pride, I present: Another is parking near the shopping cart collection point: less chance of a ding from another car or cart: Then off to the big Whole Foods: Not much to show there besides massive crowds bossing around miserable, tattooed alt/DIY/off-the-grid WF employees shaking their heads at the ruling class's consumerism. That pays their paychecks.

Sorry for the double post. (Hennes and I are the same person.)

Back from shopping, and hoping that I've reached that most special of holiday moments for the home cook: realizing you don't have to leave the house again until after service.

I think that andisenji wins that title, hands down. I wonder, though, if I have so many more as others around here or elsewhere. I am a pretty careful researcher before I buy something, and with few exceptions, I use the stuff regularly. When I snoop through friends' houses, digging through their closets and so on (always with permission, of course), I see a lot of stuff that doesn't get much use. The equipment you'll see in this foodblog ain't buried under bean bag chairs and unregifted Foreman grills.

Off to do some shopping at the local grocery megamart and Whole Foods. Now that I have TapaTalk I will give you updates as needed! Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Giving this a bump as my scale is a featured player in this month's eG Foodblog.

Now that the mill is done: breakfast! Here's the family recipe book: I long ago pledged my allegiance to the eGullet Kitchen Scale Manifesto, and have learned that using the scale is not only more accurate but, given the tare function, much easier. The flour is stored in built-in containers that have a sifter attached to the bottom: I was able to hoosegow the little kiddo into sous chef duty this morning: Here's the Therador rangetop ready and waiting (and dirty -- getting cleaned today): That Lodge cast iron grill/griddle is a relatively new member of the family that has taken some getting used to, but I now use it regularly for pancakes and tortillas, as well as finishing off steaks and chops with the grill side: Bacon into the Thermador at 375F: And out. You can see the uneven temp in the oven -- the dark pieces were near the back and front walls -- despite turning and moving slices. I didn't let it warm up with a pizza stone in it, and it shows: Finally, the morning beverage was a surprise early Xmas gift from my wife Andrea! My first homemade cup of French press coffee in years and years. Didn't botch it too badly. Breakfast at the counter, surveying the day ahead.

Given my inability to find the right cornmeal at the store, I decided to see if my Ultra Pride wet/dry grinder was up to the task of milling corn. Here's what the coarse grind corn meal looked like at the start: Into the UP: 30 minutes later: I stopped there -- fine enough for pancakes, surely. And it gives you a sense of what this awesome machine can do.

Given that it will be served as the starch with the daube, how do you think it should be prepared?

Glad to hear you liked the posole, kayb! Corn is about to make a prominent entrance.... Thanks for the propers, Merridith and C. sapidus. I've learned quite a bit from both of you -- in the Sous Vide Supreme and the Cooking with Cradle of Flavor topics. Hope I can give something back. Ojisan mentioned that over in the poultry breakdown topic. Perhaps an up-and-coming addition to my small Japanese knife collection on this wooden block (Wusthof cleaver is hanging)? Glad you like the cocktails, Pierogi -- and, Anna, I'll be interested to see what you think. Gotta get that angle just right.... Finally: Mjx, from one equipment hunter to another, I wish you good luck and every success. Breakfast up next.