mtigges
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Posts posted by mtigges
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I agree that the recipes are bland & sometimes downright bizarre. Making a "Bolognese" sauce with crumbled Wonder bread so you can do it in 30 minutes? Puh-leeze! Why bother?
Because that's what you have time for. If you have more time, you go to the "classic Bolognese" recipe from January 1999, which doesn't contain anything "unorthodox." They have been publishing for over a decade and trying to stay within their audience's food comfort zone (i.e. limited Asian cuisine), so it does seem that they are running short on ideas sometimes. I agree that I wish they would branch out more, but trying to make a tasty pseudo-bolognese in 30 minutes doesn't seem that far-fetched to me.
I would either have to bake the plain crappy bread-like substance myself or check myself into a sanitorium after I realized what I'd just spent money on were I to actually buy wonder bread to make their sauce.
Either way a more traditional is much more attainable.
Who in their subscriber base has wonder bread (or another similar noxious substance) on hand?
I like CI. I didn't see that recipe, but I often skip right over some of the articles that I have no interest in. You can't fault them for trying to appeal to the demographics of their subscribers but Wonder Bread? Was it a special April 1st issue?
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Also, I would like to know what other herbs you have grown that are low maintenance and delicious.
Your advice and suggestions are much appreciated
Basil, tarragon and parsley can all be added to your list. Basil should wait a month to a month and a half, the others can go in now (or after the weekend - what a crappy spring).
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I can't believe this, I'm utterly speechless. This must be a joke.
http://www.playhk.com/hk_video.php
I make my living from video games and I can't fathom this.
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I think it's more to do with Susur being Canadian and not a rockstar on par with Oliver & Ramsey. I don't think anyone actively dislikes Rob, just that we've seen his food, so it's a matter of preferring Susur if we had to choose just one.
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My guess is that your cabbage had been sprayed and the naturally occuring bacteria are kaput.
Here's what I do. First, buy cabbage from a good local grower. That's key!
Second, I made myself a big crock that can hold about 20 litres. (I'm a potter.)
Third, I fill it up with layers of cabbage and salt (around 5% in solution I would guess).
Fourth, I get a food grade plastic bag, fill it with water, and put it in the crock on top of the cabbage and let the bag hang over the edge of the crock.
Fully anaerobic (after the o2 gets used up) and I get sauerkraut. Good sauerkraut too. If you are too aerobic you'll get a lot of mold on the surface which you'll have to skin. I don't get any with my bag sealing method.
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I don't think I've ever received plum sauce with roast duck at a good Chinese restaurant. I wonder if it's because they think I'm Chinese. Do they give plum sauce to the Chinese folks, too?
Yes they do. I am married into an otherwise Chinese family, and I've observed that the little dish of plum sauce is not just for my "benefit". Though I should point out that this is concerning Hong Kong/Cantonese food. And to be clear, they don't give out packets, they have a small dish filled with the stuff intended for use by the entire table. It's largely ignored except by those curious enough to sully their fatty goodness with it.
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Oh, we have the packets. Millions of them. They exist in every kitchen drawer throughout the land. (Except those that refuse to eat from Canadian (or American) "Chinese" restaurants.) It's just that it is called plum sauce. So, even though it tastes nothing like plums, that's what I presumed that it (nominally) was.
In fact it's so prevalent that if you order a roast duck at even a good Chinese restaurant you get it. But it's usually much better than the packets. Still doesn't make duck taste better though (IMO).
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Round these parts (Vancouver, BC - pretty serious chinese food scene) it's called plum sauce. I've never heard the term "duck sauce".
And as an aside, due to my ignorance, I'm very underwhelmed by this thread. I was hoping for details on some fantastic demi-glace you made with a duck carcass or something. Oh well.
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I did this some time ago and have been meaning to post it for some time... Strike it up to the "yeah, this is going to be weird, but what-the-hell" page of my culinary adventures, but I gotta tell you, damn it works and tastes mighty fine!
I think that's fantastic. I will have to try that.
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Actually, I thought the whole point of making a yeast starter was to reduce the chances of infection, not increase it. If you just pitch inactive dry yeast, it takes a while to get going, and there is plenty of time for bacteria and other ugly critters to get going in your mash before the yeast kicks in. Once the yeast is going your mash is safe, but before that the sweet liquid is great food for anything that drops out of the air. I switched to yeast starters when I first started brewing because my beer was getting infected before the yeast took over.
First of all you don't pitch in to your mash. Second, dry yeast does not appreciably increase the time to "get going". If you're worried about the lag time then it's possible to rehydrate the yeast. This is best done in water not wort. There are some details about Ph or Ion content or something that I can't quite remember to get the best results. Something about how various constituents of the solution crossing the cell boundary causes damage or something - look it up if you care. Regardless rehydrating dried yeast takes about 15 minutes. Not a concern when you're talking about lag times around 8 - 12 hours.
But not many people bother because the pitching rate from dried yeast is vastly higher than from starters made from a wyeast activator or a starter from a regular pack or a white labs vial.
I notice that no one has mentioned liquid yeast. It's a little more expensive, but if you've tried it you know it is much quicker to become active in your mash and results in a cleaner beer. After a year of using dry yeasts and starters, I moved on to liquid yeasts and never looked back.Not in my experience. I've found there isn't an appreciable difference between the two at all. Making a starter from a pack causes just one more step where you have to ensure cleanliness. But, I would suggest you stop pitching into your mash. It's not a good idea to boil yeast.
That being said, I am not a kit brewer. We buy the malted grain ourselves, crack it, mash it, boil it, force cool it, and have active yeast pitched immediately after the force cool. The beer literally has no time to sit around before the yeast takes over. I have never had a bad incident with yeast starters and liquid yeasts.So, to be clear, after the mashing is finished and you've lautered, the mash is finished. No more mash. Glad you're not pitching in to your mash.
The only good reason to use liquid yeast over dry yeast is the strain of the yeast, and the affect it will impart on your beer. That's it. There is no other reason.
It's not well known, but most brew pubs use dried yeast (at least for ales). That is when they're not re-pitching their own yeast from previous batches.
Mark.
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Or if you follow Alton Brown you can do a med sized one under the broiler in around 25 minutes. And it's delicious.
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I guess I'll have to visit. But, uh, how is the bhan mi at Kim Phung?
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I scanned up - thread but didn't notice if your experience includes Au Petit Cafe. Is Kim Phung better? Admittedly the REAL reason I go to Au Petit is for the bhan mi, but the pho isn't bad either.
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If he's a first time brewer, I wouldn't advocate making a starter. Just increases the chances of infection. Dried yeast is very inexpensive. If you have any doubts then just buy a new one. Those kits all use generic ale yeast anyways. Even if the kit says it's a lager I guarantee you it isn't a lager yeast. Just go to your local shop and ask for a pack of neutral ale yeast. Better yet two.
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Chef Rob Feenie to head Cactus Club kitchens
Chef Rob Feenie has ended his brief sojourn in the restaurant desert and signed up with the Cactus Club Café chain. -
I would much rather add 45 minutes and put it in a water bath.
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This is what I was getting at up thread. If you're using a well insulating vessel, like a rice cooker or crockpot then the element is underneath and the heating is pretty homogeneous across the area of the bottom of the vessel. This means convection happens. It's very efficient. Lab systems operate as you mention above with the element dipped in the water off in the corner. Without circulation they rely on conduction which with water is VERY inefficient.
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I'm pretty sure that this is the same place that was shut down on health concerns for a time too. About 2 years ago. If I'm remembering a different place my whole hearted apologies. Regardless though any reasonable person should boycot his store.
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You absolutely do NOT need a circulator. The reason circulators are used in labs is because they're putting a couple dozen vials in what amounts to a hotel pan and the heater is a coil off in the corner. Since the surface area of the water is so great making it easy for it to cool. Since the heat is not being applied homogenously underneath the pan it means without circulation you have to rely on conduction to transfer the heat. Not good enough when you need 0.5F temp differential throughout the water.
In home situations where you are using a crock pot, or a kettle, or a homemade bucket with an element installed near the bottom you have two things going for you. A high insulating vessel and convection to transfer the heat.
You do not need a circulator. You don't even need a PID. A thermostat will do as long as you can program it to within a degree or two.
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I'm curious if it's inspired anyone to start a garden? We've been growing as much as we can for 4 years and LOVE it. I love JaH and kind of hope it inspires others to dig up their grass.
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EA's gym and squash courts are cool, but...
Squash courts? We don't have squash courts ... unfortunately.
Eatrustic and Xando Head, I think the Chinatown thing works like this; most major cities have a Chinatown that are probably dynamic in their own little way. I'm sure Bourdain could do a show that simply focuses on the Chinatown of the city he's currently in. That could get redundant, and he's more into the indigineous thing anyway. Many cities have a Chinatown, but not a Sooke Harbour House or that ziptrek thing, which looked awesome by the way. Just my two cents.I don't think our china town should have been covered. It's quite pitiful compared to others around NA. Unfortunately. The issue with our Chinese food scene is that there is great and authentic Chinese all over the city. It has become endemic to our city. My in-laws from HK consider Vancouver to be better than HK, as an example for what it's worth.
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I always braised or stewed the end pieces and used the rest for steaks. But my supply stopped selling to the public
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Asparagus is a perennial. That part of your garden will be asparagus until it fails or you decide to dig it up. If grown from seed you will not see a yield the first year, and the second year you won't get much. You can purchase crowns, they're generally better but obviously more expensive. It's best not to harvest the first year regardless.
This seems like a good resource, I didn't read it all, and I think they're overly conservative to say 3 years from crowns for full production. It will increase each year until it is fully settled in, but you should have good harvest the second year.
It sounds though like you may be too warm there where you are.
Mark.
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Seeing asparagus can take as much as 3 years to produce I wouldn't be too gung ho on that idea. Crowns are an option but they're obviously more expensive.
Cooking with "Cook's Illustrated"
in Cooking
Posted
I remember the porcini! I thought it was a fantastic idea. My post was in reply to some else mentioning Wonder Bread in it. I too don't ever remember seeing wonder bread mentioned in their pages, perhaps only as a "not recommended" variety.