BryanZ

I filled my mille crepe with a triple sec infused pastry cream. Since my sister was making it she freaked out when she the whole thing seized up after adding the corn starch. We thought it had curdled for a second, then it suddenly dawned on us. It's a pretty time consuming recipe, I had her wake up early to assemble it but very, very tasty. And I usually don't even like cake.

So we made the mille crepe today that's been all the rage. Actually my sister made it and I kind of watched. We got like 30+ layers in this thing. It was really good.

Indeed it would have. I more or less went straight home and cooked it so the time differential was really not that significant. Again, I could have done it myself, and, yes, I should have. It's just easier to have someone do it, kind of like outsourcing basic assembly to China, but if you want it done right, do it yourself.

Not a professional by any means but here's what I've found. 1)Viscocity can effect how the orbs gel but I've found this be more of an issue on the "inverse." This is because when you add alginate to just about anything it thickens it. When you're putting items with CaCl into a alginate bath, sometimes they're not viscous enough to form balls in the alginated water. 2) I believe that is correct. But, like most things, I'm sure there's some sort of rule toward diminishing returns. 3) I believe adding sodium citrate or calcium citrate helps to raise the pH of the system, kind of like a buffer. I, however, have found that my source for calcic (from inside dietary supplement capsules) isn't quite water soluble. I'm still working on/thinking about this. 4) No idea. I'll probably check it out. 5) In my experiments with the melon caviar I found that it tastes best right out of the bath (ie eaten within a few minutes). Otherwise it gels too much and doesn't taste like much. Of course, raviolis, with more of the juice within the shell, will taste more strongly of the liquid.

Is using an electric griddle cheating? I hope not.

Buy online. Williams Sonoma is terribly overpriced. I also bet if you're not in NYC you won't find them in your local grocery. Might I ask what the soda chargers are filled with? CO2?

Funny story. Picked up a 5 lb. lobster at Stop and Shop. All fine and dandy. The man working the seafood counter, however, could not understand how to kill the thing. First I explained where to plunge the knife in on the back plate at least three times. He still wanted to cut across the beast. Then I took the live lobster in my hands and literally drew with my finger where the cut should be. He then takes it back to cutting board and tries to cut across the thing. I tell him to go the other way. He does. He the proceeds to try to saw through the shell, even after I had told him to plunge it down. This continues even after he stops and I reexplain the process several times. I offered to go back and do it myself. He declines. Macho egos seem to be suffering at this point. Random poultry stocking clerk comes back and watches. Finally after explaining about five more times he plunges the knife in but doesnt' finish the cut. After I explain it again, he finally finishes the job. I hate incompetence.

What's the best/standard filling for the mille crepe?

I'm pretty sure I was using pure half-and-half. When I would put a drop in the alginate bath it would kind of drop down, creating a small tail of milk in the bath. After settling on the bottom they wouldn't really set up and weren't even round. Should I just let them sit for longer? Also, how do I do butter a la Chef Stupak at Alinea? I didn't mention this in my last post but I was messing around with butter, and all I got was a big greasy oil slick on top of the alginate.

Now that sounds like fun, both the NYC eGullet young guns extravaganza and the tag team blog. I like the way you think. So it would, but I think when tupac is in the city I'm at school and vice-versa. I guess it'll have to be just you and Daniel.

Oh man.

If this is seriously Jose Andres, that's so awesome. As an aside I tried to make milk/cream caviar. It was a horrible, horrible failure. I couldn't get the milk to spherize on it's own in the alginate so I dumped a bunch of CaCl into the milk and tried that with the alginate bath. Bad idea. They formed up beautifully, but I think I nearly poisoned myself with a CaCl overdose. They tasted sooooooo bad. I got close by adding just a bit of CaCl then alginating, but to get it to gel properly (granted, I was still using the short bathing time) just required too much CaCl and thus made them caviars taste bad. I suppose next time I need to create a stronger alginate bath. Alas, I will soldier on, sacrificing health and tastebuds.

I LOVE crepes. This is kind of a lame repost from a meal a couple weeks ago, but if it gives someone an idea, then it'll be worth it. Thomas Keller's chive crepes stuffed with lobster, ginger-carrot emulsion, carrot powder

Nice kitchen, great meal, very Texas. But, of course, you gotta love the Blue Ribbon shoutout. Where did you get that kitchen trolley thing you have all those appliances on? I need something like it.

This may not be the right place to ask, but how did you get a foodblog? I want to do one but have never been invited. Hook me up with info, tupac. With that said, I look foward to your work. We need to cross paths in NYC somehow, sometime.

It's tough in here. It's not all lovey-dovey like that damned Dinner thread, no, no.

Current hours? Anyone?

Obviously, this is not the best they could do in terms of culinary talent, but perhaps the best in terms of reality TV. This is FOX afer all. Still, I <3 GR. I recall him saying something about how women can't cook. Interesting... Seriously, Heather actually impressed me. Her movements are very precise and appealing from a efficiency perspective. Stupid move on trying to grab the hot pan without the side towel, but I'm naturally gravitating toward her. Everyone else is a total disaster. Pretty much all of the food looked terrible; the Dinner thread puts that to shame. I miss Stephen. I would love to see him try to tell GR that his dish was "flawlessly executed" and "completely innovative." Good times.

Boooo. If it tasted and looked good, pshaw. We don't know that it was meant for something else.

Cool experiment.

So what are the hours now? 8am-1pm, 6pm-12am and 1am on Saturdays?

I think I fall into the gray area camp. Ultimately, a restaurant's job is to put out the best-tasting food. Fundamentally, if a new process can produce better results, why not use it? This case, however, suggests a deliberate deception aimed toward customers. I don't believe that restaurants have to disclose every method or ingredient they use but do have a responsibility to be truthful and to be aware of their customers' general well-being. As others have said, it seems to fall on the "type" of restaurant. In some instances I suppose that it's "cheating" but in others it's "progress" and "creativity."

Dined at Urena tonight and, as usual, ordered the chef's tasting menu. It was very good, but perhaps this is not the restaurant for a tasting menu, more on that later. I was served: Plato de pequenas locuras - daily selection of chef's tapas. Today it included chilled beet soup with yogurt sorbet, tuna tartare in phyllo cones (a Keller salute to be sure), deconstructed bruschetta, beer and cheese croquette, and smoked wild bass with paprika oil Cannelloni de cangrejo y piquillo - Crab cannelloni wrapped in piquillo peppers, Cava tomato water gelee, micro herb salad Ravioli de cepia y crema de cabra - Goat cheese and cuttlefish ravioli, spring garlic sauce Salmon pochado - Poached salmon, Englise pea puree, Grapefruit elderflower sauce Degustacion de bogavante - Lobster broth, lobster salad with avocado and caviar, poached lobster with sorrel and blood orange Texturas de foie gras - Bunelo with candied kumquats, terrine with cocoa nib ganache and choclate tuile, yogurt with tellow currants Lomo de cordero - Roasted lamb loin, shelled-wheat risotto, black olive sauce (One of my party also subbed out the lamb for pork belly with granny smith apple puree, rich and sweet and just a bit sour) Sorbete de Eneldo- Dill yogurt sorbet, lemon curd Chocolate y sal - Sweet soy panna cotta, salty chocolate sorbet, sour cream sauce To be sure, this place serves unique food, and that is why I chose to dine here as opposed to Eleven Madison Park or Le Cirque, two other restaurant I had previously held reservations at for this evening. There were lots of foams, interesting uses of yogurt and other "pantry staples," and some novel flavor combinations. Highlights included the texturas de foie gras and the squid ravioli. The cuttlefish ravioli was especially creative in that the cuttlefish acted as the "skin" which held the creamy goat cheese. The spring garlic foam was great, too. I'm also really into foie gras paired with citrus of late and the candied kumquats worked great with the oozing foie gras croquette. The one item that fell short was the tuna tartare; it was noticeably fishy. An homage to Keller in this regard should have been treated with more respect. Also, there was supposed to be caviar on one of the lobster preparations, but I specifically remember not seeing any on all three of dishes at my table. It doesn't really bother me, as I don't feel it would add significantly to the dish (caviar garnishes rarely do) but some might feel "cheated" out of a luxury ingredient. The chef's tasting menu is now $125, up from the $115 on the menu I was faxed two days ago. The difference of $10 isn't all that significant, but I would've preferred receiving an up-to-date menu. With that said, I'm glad to have ordered it, as I learned a lot even from the courses I wasn't in love with. Intervals between courses were somewhat long and the space and service, while not at all objectionable, do not create an atmosphere suited for luxurious lounging or high-energy dining. Three hours seems to fly by at places like per se or wd-50, restaurants with unique personalities, but 2:45 seemed to drag at times here. All in a very good restaurant, but I would probably go back to dine a la carte and pick from the most cutting-edge dishes on the menu. The chef here is doing a lot of cool things but the overall atmosphere isn't one of luxury or passionate foodie-dom.

I want to make some milk caviar for a soup I'm working on. I think I've heard (and it's been alluded to in this thread), that ingredients heavy in calcium need to be mixed with CaCl then dropped in an alginate bath. Is this true? How do the proportions work? The same as if I was mixing the alginate with the milk for a CaCl bath, or do I invert them, ie pretend the CaCl is alginate in terms of proportions and vice-versa? Please help, I have to cook for a friend I haven't seen in a year tomorrow evening.

A possible theory on some of the perceived fishiness, especially with the mussel dish. I have found that some dishes made with sodium alginate, a seaweed derivative, do impart a noticeable ocean-y flavor, especially with lightly flavored ingredients. Some individuals pick up this nuance better than others and find it objectionable. Also the calcium chloride bath can turn the spheres bitter, if not properly rinsed afterward. This probably wasn't the case, but it's a thought.