jsmeeker

What makes me want a Vita-Mix/Vita-Prep is watching Rick Bayless's show on PBS. He uses it a lot there. A lot of the stuff he makes involves sauces made from dried chillis. Using a standard blender at home, it works, but there are always bits left that need to be strainder. The Vita-Mix will make it super smooth. And will do it more quickly than the blender I have. They are super sweet. I want one. But boy, are they spendy.

I just whipped this up. Interesting, though I think I may have over diluted with my shaking to emulsify the cream. guess I need bigger ice cubes.

I think that's a pretty strongly flavored tea, isn't it Richard? Did you get it at CC? I'm running out of what I bought there on my first trip and need more. Anyway, I just made a pot of Ceylon Sultane.

For drinks that have fresh citrus (Sidecar, Margarita) etc., how far in advance is it OK to "bottle" the drink? Does the juice degrade in 15 minutes? 2 hours? 6?

I too create my stir drinks in a pint glass. And it's always at room temperature. I've never even considered using a chilled pint glass. Which is kind of funny, since I keep a couple in my freezer all the time. I guess I should try this out. FWIW, I also build my shaken drinks in room temp pint glass. Then, I add the ice, slap on the tin, then shake.

Robert, Thanks for giving us a lot of insight into the issues of getting a good cocktail away from the home. But what about getting one IN the home? If someone was just starting out wanting to make quality cocktails at home and move away from mixing a Jack and Coke and a margarita using a bottled mix, how do you suggest they start? I think in your Cocktail Spirit, you have suggested people buy something to make one drink that you may like (say, a margarita). What else can you do? For me, I have found exploring cocktails as one of the easiest ways to expand one's culinary horizons. You don't need much equipment at all. Most of the ingredients are shelf stable for a long period of time. And the ones that aren't can be purchased in small quantities for not much money (thing like lemons and limes). Also, the cocktail is quickly assembled and served. One last thing that makes this exploration easier compared to cooking or baking.. Recipes you find in books, magazines, on-line are almost always designed to make ONE serving. Really, it's a lot of fun. One can learn about other beverages like beer and wine. But when you want that, you're probably going to simply open a bottle an pour. But making a cocktail for your self lets you develop a true craft.

I always have a hard time deciding.. So many places to pick from. Only 3 or 4 nights to eat dinner. Plus, you have to work around friends and what they like. I'm not always going out there with people who would be up for a place like Alex or Picasso something like that. (though in the past, I have, and have been to Picasso and some other really great places) I do try to take charge and pick places and throw out a lot of suggestions but I don't want to totally dominate and pick ALL of the places. It's a fine balance. I never charge to the room. It's always a large pile of cash on the table. Though I do stay at MGM properties, so I can charge not just where I stay (if I actually eat there), but in many other places in town. (but not Wynn or Palazzo/Venetian) The idea of supporting a specific chef is cool. I know lots of "celeb" chefs are there, but the idea of supporting a true local las vegas chef is a nice idea. like Alex Stratta. While his signature place may be out, I have suggested Stratta. I think the gang I am out there with would like that type of Italian place.

I've read into this a bit more and it seems that they were essentially forced to shutdown due to a Plano city ordinance that states a place can't derive more than 50% of it's revenue from alcohol sales. I also read that there is a movement to change said ordinance to allow places that derive the bulk, if not all, of their revenue from alcohol sales.

Thanks for the feedback. Morel's is actually the place my friends had suggested. I was actually interested in the cheese at Morel's (plus, I like French themed food things). Throwing in a cheese course prior to a dessert course sounds like it could be interesting. The website also mentions a charcuterie bar as well. (love the sound of that). To continue with the choosing a steak house in Las Vegas theme (though this can apply to choosing many types of restaurants in Las Vegas), I have some thoughts/ideas based on past experiences and some recent research. Food. It's been my general impression that lots of nice steak joints in Las Vegas do a nice job of cooking a steak. For me, I haven't found really remarkable differences between the places I have been too when comparing normal, standard cuts (not talking places that have kobe or something like that) Cost. Yesterday, I reviewed the menus of 3 places. Morels at Palazzo and SW and Country Club across the street at Wynn. Pretty much priced the same. Apps about the same. Similar cuts of steak about the same. Maybe a few bucks more or less, but overall, well within the same ball park. If you can afford one, you can afford the others. So, if they are all going to deliver pretty good food that everyone in the party will enjoy overall (with the steak being most important), what's left to consider? Atmosphere: Do you want a place with a white table cloth or do you like the more modern/trendy attractive on it's own table with no cloth approach? Do you want it hyper modern or a more traditional "clubby" view. Does the place come with a view? Golf course or some water with some cool special effects? Location: Which strip casino do you want to be in? (or do you want to get OFF the strip). Are you going to see a show? Is there something else at a casino you want to see or do? A paticular bar or club? Some sort of attraction? Do you want some place close to where you are staying to avoid a cab ride? Do you just prefer the vibe and crowd of one join over another? Do you like Steve? Can you not stand Sheldon? ( ) Lots of variables here. Additional food: I've made it a given that a lot of places can cook a nice steak. But what else is there? Does a cheese selection sound good? Maybe you are dying to try house made tuffled potato chips. Maybe one place "specializes" in a wine you like? Anyway, I guess my point is that with so many good choices, it gets complicated. Lots of variables come into play. But there are only so many nights in a trip. And you don't want to go to a steak joint every night. What other criteria do people use for picking a steak joint?

Thanks.. I was coming to ask a questions about re-steeping. Let me review what is here already to see if it asnwers the questions that I have.

The only one of these questions that I can definitively answer at the moment is the first. There is no construction going on to physically transform the restaurant nor do I think there will be. The space is already quite nice. As for the online menu, I believe that it is for the previous version of Tableau, although many of those items still remain for now. Forgione's menu is slowly taking shape. ← Thanks. I went to Tableau for breakfast back in June. It is a very nice space. So, really, the change is in the name and in the menu. (and the chef running the place). Since we are speaking about Wynn here, let me ask you something else (or anyone else that knows). I'll be there in two weeks. My friends usually like going to a "steak place". There is SW Steakhouse there, but what about the Country Club? I recall hearing some decent things about it as an alternative to SW. Did I hear right, or did I hear wrong? One of the places we were considering to fill that role was Morel's across the street in Plazzo.

in addition to the blog, Scheib (along with Andrew Friedman) wrote White House Chef, a very, very interesting book about his time working for the Clinton and Bush families. ← i was just about to mention that book! it was really interesting. i wonder why they are getting rid of cristeta? ← so far, there is no evidence that they are. In fact, Chef Scheib suggests that the most likely thing is that she will stay on. It seems like most of the talk about the change comes from people who assume that new administrations change White House staff like the way they change cabinet members and what not. It really doesn't have to be that way.

are they making renovations/changes to the dining room itself at Tableau to transform it to An American Place? If I go to the Wynn website, can I see the menu for An American Place or will it still be the old Tableau menu? What makes Botero Steak in Encore different from SW Steakhouse in the adjacent Wynn property?

was this book just released? I must pickup a copy of it. The only other cocktail book I have is "Joy of Mixology". I love watching "Cocktail Spirit". It's great. I'm sure this book will be as well. As far as there not being the cocktail equivalent of a sommelier is concerned. I agree with Chris that you can get this is you sit at the actual bar and it's manned by a good bartender, you can get this experience. But a lot of are drinking cocktails at our tables in the dining room. The bartender can be the best, but if the server taking your drink order isn't knowledgeable, than you may not have as good of a cocktail experience as you could.

right now, measuring tea by volume. But I can certainly see how measuring by weight would be more ideal. The size and shape of tea leaves can vary quite a bit from type to type. But I am not sure I want to go out and get a small scale that can weigh to a 1/10th of a gram! For water, I tend to measure the brewing vessel first, then remember what it holds. I then scale the volume of tea to that measure. Of course, this may not always be precise either because I may misremember what the vessel held, or "full" isn't always the same. Overall though, I am basically working on a way to "wing it" with teas that will be part of my regular rotation. That doesn't mean I'll be totally sloppy and random, rather I may not always be using precise measuring devices for the various components and factors in making tea. I mean, it's tea. It shouldn't be *too* complex, right? It's not like baking. Or doing "molecular gastronomy"

So, it looks like Encore opens on December 22nd. I'll miss it by a few days. I don't know much about the restaurants over there except for here some limited details about two of them. Sinatra -- Seems like Steve got rights to the name from the family to create a restaurant. Sounds like it will be Italian. He makes claims about it being the most incredible restaurant in the country. Or something like that. Switched -- Steve says this restaurant physically changes three times during the course of a meal. Dunno what the heck that is all about. Seems weird. I really want to find out more about this place.

I don't really know what makes a restaurant "avant garde" in your book, so it's tough to say if any restaurants in Dallas would qualify.

oopss.. Sorry. I guess I should have included all the details in my previous post. I have been including some details in other posts, but not in a neat and organized manner like you have detailed above. I'm away from home at the moment, so I don't have access to the bags of tea, but from the top of my head, let's go with one I did this morning. Ceylon Sultane First Infusion Amount of tea: by weight or by volume: 2 measuring teaspoons * Infuser?: No. Brewed loose in pot. Volume of water: 16 fl. ounces ** Water type: City of Dallas, straight from the tap. Pre heat brewing vessel and cups? YES Brewing Temp: Full boil when poured. (212 F) But I didn't actually temp it. *** Length of brew: four minutes. * I used plastic measuring spoon. My more preferred stainless measuring spoons were in the dishwasher ** I didn't actually pour from the kettle, into a measure than into the pot. I measured the volme of the pot in advance and got a reference of where 16 ounces would be. *** I didn't temp it throughout the brew process either. No real convenient way for me to do that with the equipment I have. This turned out well, I think. Better than when I first tried before. I think maybe I measured a little better this time, getting the ratio of tea/water more correct. --------- I AM doing multiple infusions, but so far all of my comments have been about the initial infusion. I don't want to skew anything in case I am doing multiple (second) infusion with teas that aren't suitable for it. I think I will hold off on commenting about that until I get a better feel for the initial infusion. (that, and it may warrant it's own dedicated topic) I'll say that I am still refining my brewing process based on the equipment I currently have on hand in the kitchen. I'll also say that my measuring may not always be super precise, especially the water part. Maybe the containers I brew in aren't exactly holding the amount I think they are. I measured them in advance and noted what they held or where 8 ounces or 16 ounces would be. In other cases, I've filled the container up, dumped it into a measure and then calculated the number of 8 ounce servings I can get. (for example, 3.5 servings) Then, from there, I can get a decent approximation of how much tea I need. So, if the tea were to say 1 tsp. per 8 ounce cup, I would use 3.5 tsp. for the pot. Really, I am trying to make this pretty simple without getting *too* anal about all the measures. I'd like to think that by some point, I could say "to make a full pot of this tea in this pot, put in x amount of tea and fill with water" When you heat your water, do you carefully measuring out the amount of water you need, then heat it, then use it all? I don't do that. I just put some fresh tap water into the kettle, put it on the stove, let it boil, then pour.

For brewing, I am starting with the guidelines suggested on the bag the tea came in (TCC prints up labels for each). I measure as carefully as I can by volume. All the teas I have save one say 212 degrees for a temp. That's easy. I just bring it up to a full boil. I live close enough to sea level to make that essentially 212. The water is right out of the tap. I DO let it run for several seconds to ensure it's fresh. I think maybe you are right that I slow down a bit and try to explore what I have and experiment more with brewing the teas I DO have. I still have plenty of each to do so.

Yes.. I am mostly looking for non flavored/scented teas for drinking hot. Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm having a hard time really evaluating the teas I bought last weekend. I am trying my best to follow the brewing recommendations. Amount of tea, water temp, and time. I have been brewing in coffee mug with no infuser or anything. When it's done, I pour it into another mug (warmed) with a infuser basket in it to catch any leaves. I am not sure what it is exactly, but I think I am hung up on thinking tea needs to be "strongly flavored" to be good. Now, of course, there is nothing wrong with liking or preferring a strongly flavored tea. But I think that I am unable to appreciate something more subtle. I just made a cup of the Darjeeling I bought. It's nice, but it's not what I would call a strongly flavored tea. Last night, I brewed up some of the Blue Spring Oolong. That had an interesting sweetness to it. There were also some other things going on in there too. While not a "strong" tea, I think the Oolong is something I need to look into some more. Still unsure if any of the ones I have from there now will be in my regular rotation. The Ceylon Sultane was nice. The French Breakfast seems like it would be great if I were having a plate of cookies or something like that. But back to strong teas. Can anyone recommend some strongly flavored black teas? Next time I get down to TCC, I think I will be more specific in what I ask for.

Here is a tray of my crescent rolls, right out of the oven.

I was in the local grocery store in the Dallas, TX area last night. In previous years, they had a large display of the wine. This year, much smaller. They had the Georges DeBoeuf. I had intended to actually buy a bottle on the release day (I love a good drinking holiday), but it slipped my mind. Price for a bottle of this years realease? $14 USD. Forget that. I'm all for celebrating the harvest and putting up with marginal wine or some other beverage. But at that price? No thanks. I took a pass.

Tea (with lots of milk) and popcorn are the perfect combination. Should fit in nicely with your new tea jones. ← Do you recommend a specific type of tea?

I used to do this all the time when many I was watching a lot of movies on my new DVD player and had a Netflix subscription. I used "stole" the beat up popcorn popper from my mom and dad. It was terribly thin and had one of those lids with the crank handle that turned the a stirrer. The thing actually worked really well. I eventually tossed it in the trash when I started buying more pots and stuff an ran out of space. Then, I started to use my stainless steel Revere Wear dutch oven. That worked well too, but was a pain to shake due to the short stubby handles. I used Orville's pop corn. and copious amounts of butter. And pop corn salt. I haven't made popcorn in several years. I just don't watch movies at home like I used to. But with this thread, and something I saw at World Market the other weekend, maybe I should change that.