Sethro

Just goes to show you can't please all the people all the time. That foie prep is literally one of my favorite dishes of all time. I could eat about 6 in a row, easy! The shrimp cannelloni on the other hand I usually don't finish (save for the chorizo emulsion). Its texture is a little rubbery for me. Different strokes for different folks.

I'm not up to speed with who all of the individual pastry chefs are or what they're doing, but I would highly suspect that those who posesses ALL of these skills and can do them extremely well would be very few and far between. Most people do choose to specialize. The top wedding cake designers, for example, are not working pastry chefs, but devote all of their time to this one area of pastry and have their own businesses specifically dedicated to this alone. The same is true of chocolatiers. I'm guessing here, but I think the awards are likely based on innovation and pushing the envelope in pastry and plated desserts, and so chocolatiers and cake designers aren't considered. I hope someone else in the know chimes in because I'm interested in the answer too. Is it true the award is only open to Americans? ← I think you're mostly right, but the guy from Godiva got top 10 two (or three?) years ago, so thats an exception to the norm.

I want to fry some beet greens or thai basil now, and see if it gets purple-er. That would be hot.

Plus it really pops the color if you want bright bright green. I think "deep" frying is misleading verbiage here, as it implies some sort of breading. Actually that could be good, as most breaded and fried things are...hmmm...

So the calcium lactate is for the reverse process caviar? Alginate in the bath and lactate in the base? Is it still about a 5% solution, or are there any noteable changes to the process? Is it detectably different or superior?

Is methyl celulose the generic term for gellan? If not, whats the difference (in application, I mean)? EDIT: Relavence being that I bought some last time I was there, while buzzed, and missed any pertinent info pertaining too it.

Hey! I didn't know anyone noticed I went back to work ... My kids choices: Steak and cheese, on a wedge; American combo with provolone. Spouse likes grilled cheese and tomato. Don't be put off by a long line during rush hours; it moves fast. ← Excuse me but what is a wedge as it relates to this sandwich? Is it merely bread cut in the form of a wedge, I'm confused. Also steak and cheese to a Philly guy sounds like not the real deal. Where I'm from they're cheesesteaks! ← A wedge is a synonym for hero. It just happens to be the operative verbage in Westchester, I guess. The steak and cheese I get at NY delis is usually far superior to the cheez whiz mess I've experienced in Philly. Thats a thread for another day, I'm sure...

There is an edit function too. Just sayin!

Me too, I thought it was basically a cellulose. I'm not against using anything, so long as its undetectable. I can taste dextrose if its anywhere around or above 10% of the sucrose weight and its bitter. Otherwise I can't think of anything that I would intentionally avoid.

OK, you got my attention. What would you order if it was your last time there? ← Chicken cutlet wedge with swiss, letuce, tomayo, mayo. OR Double-egg, bacon and cheddar on a toasted roll. OR Steak and cheese. Its hard to F-up at rockies. Open 24-7 as well. Enjoy your coversation with the village retard behind the counter if you wander in during the graveyard shift.

Rocky's Deli on route 100 in Millwood, right on the border of Briarcliff Manor. Best. Chicken Cutlet Wedge. Ever!

Actually they're open Sundays now. Last call is 11 I think.

Hmm the greasiness never bothered me. Like everyone else noted, they tend to be fine the day after baking. Interesting side note on the pectin; I had a stagier leave it out of the recipe, and they were still useable. The texture was the same, they were just more frail and had to be handled more carefully. So I think the pectin is really only acting as a binder or stabilizer and not impacting the texture or crunch too much. God bless the blowtorch. I blowtorch a whole lot of things to make em look shinier ala minute. Whats your plain tuile recipe, Ted? Is it a glucose and butter based one like the chocolate, or a 10x based one like more traditional tuiles? I have a pretty sucessful recipe for plain glucose/butter tuiles (they wind up more "caramel-y" than "plain") if you want it. 400 g glucose 400 ml cream 200 g butter 400 g sugar 120 g pectin 200 g chopped nuts (optional) The non-chocolate ones require more pectin in my experience because they don't have the cocoa powder providing the dry mass, which also stabilizes the mix. This recipe also works well with the addition of some extracts (nut ones, not fruit or citrus ones), if say, you wanted an almond tuile and just chopped almond just wasn't getting it almond-y enough.

The feeling I got was that they were bursting at the seems with inspiration and wanted to venture out into other arenas besides dessert.

I read something that really struck me on Eater the other day. The cuisine at Jack Lambs new place was described as "A.W. (After Wylie)". To me that is a really crappy spin to put on the movement towards molecular gastronomy blossoming in NY. Nobody is going to open a restaurant tommorow that single-handedly changes the way we eat food. It doesn't happen that way; we build upon those who preceded us and grow with our peers. There is absolutely no shame in using someone else's ideas as a starting point. Furthermore, molecular gastronomy is not a cheap trick or fad, its part of the lexicon, now and forever. To intentionaly avoid using any techniques that became popularized post El Bulli would be plain stubborn. That doesn't mean that every one of your dishes has to contain a foam and a caviar, but if it could benefit from the use of a modern technique then there's a place for it. If you've ever stabilized a whip cream or used atomized glucose in a sorbet, you've already waded deep enough into the molecular pool to get your shorts wet, and if you're determined to stop there it's a decision to handicap yourself. I guess my point is that there are techniques available now that are extremely useful, and by employing them you don't put yourself in a box labled "El Bulli rip" or "A.W.", its all just cooking. As far as creating a personal style, I think to a great deal it depends on an individual's point of reference. Most chefs or artists of any kind value the ability to bring something close to them into the hearts and minds of others. Often th best way to do that is by putting a new face on it, and a good example of that is Wylie's tongue sandwich. Its a dish that's been given new legs, but its heart is in the same place. That's a very cut and dry example, but I think if you look closely its a notion that holds true universely, at one level or another. The first impression of Alex Stupak's work might be that its avante garde to the point of being alien, but to him and those who know him its probably a warm reflection of his person. Furthermore, most of us (in NY) have only looked at Aliena's food and not tasted, so we can't begin to inteligently describe the style. Its the flavors that define your style first, the vison second, and the way you bring it together third. The ingredients and techniques you use, new or old, isn't a reflection on style at all (to me)...maybe a relfection of your budget if anything (heh). When immersion circulators become as common place as whisks, we'll have to find a new way to slap labels onto young chefs.

I actually just forgot his name and was writing in a rush before work, like now. Sorry!

Someone here mentioned to me I should use .25% guar gum as well. I didn't have any so I just used Xantham, and I used closer to .5% so I could see the diference. Basically you wind up with more viscosity in the base that way. Slowly whisking it in with sugar also eliminated the need for any bermixing. The bermixing basically foams it, so then you have to let it rest overnight or more until you can use it. I am basically making it, straining and chilling it, loading it into a chilled canister and its ready imediately. Also noteworthy is that higher acidity provides for a thicker base as well. I'm wondering if I could use a pinch of tartaric acid for a not-so-sour foam like straight-up vanilla or basil or something. Keep in mind a thicker vw base like this is going to result in a whipped-cream look. If you want to more sea-foam look, then lecithin is your guy.

I believe prosorbet is a sorbet stabilizer comprised of mostly dry milks, but thats a strange recipe. You almost never exceed 6% stabilizer in a solution (6g:1000g) because the product gets sticky and gummy.

But-but...they're in a soup! And dumpling shaped! Heh, I guess I am caught red-handed, calling the kettle black. I guess I will have to try watermelon sous vide myself before I'm satisfied. Does anyone here have any hands-on experience "cooking" fruits sous vide? EDIT: I swear I'm not crumudegeonly, I love fun names so long as they aren't misleading.

I did have the lowrise. When I see the words tequilla and basil together in one sentence I'm pretty much in there like swimwear. I have to say for my tatses it was a tad bit sweet, and the basil only a whisper. Cool idea for a drink, but I think I could do with double the tequilla, tripple the basil and no casis. My companions bergamot tea was off the hook though, and little touches like the hourglass timer are genius. I used to do creme brulees in your tea cups, btw!

Oh that actually wasn't directed towards you. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I was adressing the developing gist of the thread which is "so bad its good", which to me never applies to food. Bad for you does not equate to a bad eating experience. American Chinese food is almost never going to be good for you, but it can be executed really well and be quite delicious.

Whoa. ← Actually, I don't believe that the watermelon (or the other fruit) on the plate were actually "cooked", it is however fair to call it sous vide because they are prepared in a vacuum, with a light syrup or other ingredients and left for a little while. The process adds an interesting texture and translucense to the fruit. ← OK, I don't really see how sealing the watermelon in a vacubag is gong to make ANY difference in the resulting texture. I do watermelon dumplings that are marinated for 6 hours in a regular old quart container and they develop the same translusence and textural change. This sounds like a case of just adding fancy terms to the menu for the sake of it.

American Chinese cusine is just food. It can be good or bad. I don't believe the definitive American Chinese experience is something bad. 88 noodle house, ten blocks away, has terrific American Chinese food.

I finally made it in. I loved it. Standouts: -Grapefruit White Beer Sorbet. Extremely airy to the point I actually confused it for a foam. The best beer component I've ever had. -Raspberry Bread. Like gormet Astronaut Ice Cream. -Icee Icee Coffee (missing the mark on the name here): Contained an amazing "coffee puree", a technique that when explained to me set my mind into motion instantaniously. Really the best thing about R4D, the great food aside, is the atmosphere. Everyone there was so damn nice, there were great books to flip through...very welcoming. I will be back often.

Wow there is some GREAT info in that post right there. Are there any disadvantages to the reverse process? Are the proportions still in the range of 1% and 1%? Another thing I've been wondering about, am I crazy or does added sodium (as in a salty flavor solution) increase the gelling property of the alginate? If so, would extra Sodium Citrate balance that out? My fruit caviar is pretty consistent, but I was messing with a salty vanilla caviar and was having a big problem with pre-mature gelling. It made for large, teardrop shaped caviar (looked like sperms, really) which is a pretty neat trick to keep in the back of the book, but not what I was trying for.