fauxtarga

Thanks - I 'll take this as a sign of poor QC rather than a deficiency of welded pans.

Not to resurrect a totally dead topic, but I couldn't find anything more recent discussing the Demeyere weld issue. This evening the welds in my Demeyere 24cm Proline frying pan broke while I was washing it in the sink. When I purchased the piece, the welds did not appear to be as strong as the welds on my other Demeyere equipment, and were at a slightly different angle to the pan. Not being a pan engineer I assumed this was by design and that the welds would hold. Unfortunately, now that the pan is broken, I don't have any pictures of what it used to look like. I just wanted to give others a heads up regarding this issue as it could have been a problem if it had broken while in-use. I have had the pan for about a year. This is just one data point, and an outlier it seems, but for safety reasons I'll now look twice at the welds in all new cookware I buy. I use welded Sitram and Demeyere almost exclusively and this is the first time I've had this problem.

This is a pretty interesting post (w example ratios + technique): http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2009/07...-technique-yet/ which was inspired by this post on saturday http://www.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2...rification.html I think this removes a lot of the barriers to this technique - time, equipment, etc.

It is a spectacular piece of work. The "Ingredients" section is probably the best two page summary of the past few years of texture modification technique I've read. I feel much less intimidated by this than a certain other giant black book. And I actually may be able to go to this restaurant one day.

Hey all - I'll be over in the Nagahama area next month, and I'm looking for any recs as far as what the famous kaiseki places are. I'm trying to pack in at least one classic kaiseki meal (attached ryokan optional) in that neighborhood (will probably be doing short trips from Nagahama to Osaka / Kyoto) so suggestions for places relatively accessible by JR in the Lake Biwa area are greatly appreciated. I guess it's a plus if the places are ancient, famous, or particularly beautiful but we are primarily looking for artful cuisine in a relatively standard course progression (we'll be eating mostly contemporary / fish / food with beer when we get back to tokyo). Also if there's anything else that is a can't miss local food or snack in Nagahama I'd love to check it out. Thanks all -

Not sure if this has been linked in this thread or otherwise (and I can't vouch for it) but apparently the latest khymos.org hydrocolloid recipe collection has some techniques for agar clarified broths: http://khymos.org/hydrocolloid-recipe-collection-v2.1.pdf

Not sure if this is helpful news to anyone, but it looks like the Alinea Mosaic website for the book just went live today. Looks great.

Went on the same night as Al. Charentais is a great cocktail but needed to be consumed quickly because it dominates the palate. Had to take a breather before I could really taste the plum + beer foam amuse. Blueberry and black olive cake was actually my favorite dessert on the menu, maybe one of the best desserts I've had this year. I do like sour things, though. Speaking of Ssam Bar, the dish there that Tailor made me think of most was the urchin and tapioca, and makes me wish there were things on the Tailor menu that made use of products like urchin or shrimp brain. Overall, an excellent meal, and we will be back. We were able to eat the entire menu (less 2 from the sweet side), plus cocktail + sake for less than 200 before tip, it seemed like kind of a deal.

Gelatin clarified broths have great appeal to non-pros like me - it kind of reminds me of the no-knead bread from the other NYT article / Sullivan in that it takes out the technique/finesse step (kneading / protein raft). I've been wondering about: A good technique for doing this with traditional consommé materials - is there any difference when you make the precursor broth? Is it better to reduce before or after the gelatin clarification? Techniques for doing this with hard cheeses, e.g. WD50's parmesan broth. Xanthan gum - how to best incorporate / opinions on how much by weight? No heat dashi? How exactly does that work with this, how does the gelatin clarification affect the mouthfeel that you would get from the konbu?

Still, nothing! Anybody else still waiting? Has my email been lost amongst the millions?

Just went last night - had a superb meal, it was best I've eaten in a while (celery root was definitely a highlight). It helps that the menu was full of ingredients and preparations that I'm a big fan of. The service, also - was great - but seeing as the girlfriend and I eat at somewhat strange times we had the dining room to ourselves for most of the meal it may not have been a typical experience. Which kind of brings me to my point, which is, I hope that the restaurant hasn't been too badly maligned by asshat's like this: http://www.nypost.com/seven/12202006/enter...teve_cuozzo.htm I wish these guys all the best. And will definitely be back to eat my way through the dessert menu.

Do you think it's possible that they are going through everyone with preferences first and getting to people with no date preferences last? (still hoping)

Seems there's a new round of rejections going out, this time with some interesting stats: Apreciados Señores, We regret not to have more available options for 2007. Our limited capacity has been again surpassed for the extraordinary demand received at the first moment. We apologize to you. The problem that we are living around reservations is increasing year after year due we must distribute our capacity (50 people each service – 8000 seats each season). We keep our 50 % of capacity for our customers and the other 50 % for people wishing to visit us for the first time. We have tried to solution the most possible of requests but, finally, due our limited capacity, we do not have more options and the demand awaiting a solution surpasses our possibilities and even makes us impossible to have a waiting list as we will need too many years to absorb it. We sincerely thank you very much for all your interest and we remain at your disposal if you wish to revise the situation during the season. E-mail: bulli@elbulli.com

Took a brief survey of applications / responses: Sent 10/13: rejected Sent 10/14: 02:40 rejected Sent 10/14: 04:47 rejected Sent 10/15: 00:00 no response Sent 10/15: 00:04 no response Sent 10/15: 00:06 rejected Sent 10/15: 00:11 rejected Sent 10/17: 00:07 rejected Still hoping, in the no response boat.

I've not gotten dinged just yet, but some have been getting this message: Apreciados Señores, We regret not to be able to full fill your reservation request. Our limited capacity has been surpassed at the first moment due the extraordinary demand. We apologize to you. It is impossible for us to have a waiting list but we will be at your disposal to revise if cancellations are produced when we confirm all the reservations a week in advance E-mail: bulli@elbulli.com Fax: +34 972 15 07 17 Tel. +34 972 15 04 57 – (during the season, after 3.00 p.m.) Atentamente, Luis García