jsmeeker

A Vita-Mix blender. More realisticly, the meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer would be nice. So would a food mill.

as far as the foam goes, I wonder if it's something in the air that I have in my apartment in dallas, but isn't in the air in SoCal? I appreciate the help and diagnosis on this.

If I knew that, I wouldn't eat it!! Pickles on barbecue sandwhiches is pretty common. At least it is in Texas with brisket. It's normal to have it served that way or at least available at a condiment bar.

I know I have not had a truly successful batch yet, but if it's as dark as what is pictured a few posts above and it's thick like honey, I think you have it where it needs to be. question for you. did you start with room temperature milk? Mine was straight from the fridge.

It's back! Within the past week or two, the beloved pop culture icon, the McRib, is back in many McDonald's restaurants throughout the land. Do you secretly like the McRib? Will you go out and get one, even if you know how horrifying they are? I must admit I, like many others, share a strange fascination with this pork product sandwhich. I remember when it was a regular menu item on the menu. Then it went away. But it kept coming back for limited runs, over and over. Then the Simpsons did an episode on it. (the Ribwhich at Krusty Burger). McDonalds even capitalized on this recently and had a "farewell tour" for it. But like the Rolling Stones, it's back. Again. I can't resist. I want one. Who is with me??

I don't know how fresh my goat's milk was, but it came from the dairy case, right next to the regular milk, at my local Super Target. Did you bring it to a boil in the crock pot? Since it took so long for mine to come up to temp, I thought that maybe next time I would pre-heat the milk and sugar to abut 140 on the stove top, then dump it into a pre-heated crock pot. Maybe that will help speed things along. I do get the impression that slow is good, but if it *should* take hours in a crock pot alone, then helping it out with a stove instead of going 12 hours should be OK. (12 hours is really a long, long time to cook something at home)

I checked the conistency last night, after it had been chilling for about 24 hours in the fridge. Thicker.. A little thicker than heavy cream. But not like honey at room temp. Still, it's tastes fantastic!!!!

LOL The TV Demo DOES play like an SNL spoof commerical. Pretty funny. This product is, I dunno... Intresting to say the list. More instant than an instant "just add water" mix. But less that frozen pancakes that go in the microwave.. No mess? Well there still is the matter of the pan or griddle you cook them on. And I always love how TV commericals say stuff is messy and show a grown adult making something like a careless 6 year old.

same thing happened to me. I bought two of them about a week ago. I had one, and it was "ehh..." The second one? Much better. really weird. Both bought from the same very large display on the same day. Do these apples continue to ripen after I take them home and pur them in the fridge??

It's possible your Crock-Pot doesn't get as hot as mine does. Also, how humid is your weather? Mine takes longer in the rainy season - we have had so little in the past couple of years I have forgotten to mention it. Just keep it going until it has the consistency of thin gravy - that is, it will coat the back of a spoon and is slow to fill in the gap if you run a finger across it. It will thicken as it cools, just as with many puddings. It should be the color of dark caramel. ← The temp was one of the first things I thought of. There was no guidance on temp other than the one that said to add the baking soda/water mixture at about 140 degrees. It took a long time to get to 140. I actually added it at about 138. It eventually crept up to 140. then stayed there for a very long time. But eventually, after 3 or 4 hours, it started to climb. 160, 170, 180. I think by the 8th hour, it was push 200. I guess I should have logged this effort. By that 8th hour, it was looking good color wise, and starting to foam. So, I put it to low, and scraped best I could, the sides of it down. Then, it started to foam more. And more. The foam never really went away. I kept trying to mix it out, but I think that actually made it worse. After 2 hours on low, I had light and foamy on the top, with a bit of "pure" stuff on the bottom. And it was thickening up. Definitely coat the back of a spoon. ( I actually did that test) I was going to hold off on adding in the reserved cup of milk, but decided to do it any way. This helped with the foam some, but it really thinned it out. I decided to call it quits and poured it out into a container. When I did that, I could clearly see the foamy part and the part that wasn't. It was like a beer with a big head on it. But after just a few minutes, the foam started to subside as all the air bubbles came out. but it's still thin. All that said, it tastes freaking GREAT!! Smooth as silk. Really sweet. caramel like, but not exactly. No slightly "burned" notes to it. It's really nice. is there anything I can do to thicken it up? What would happen if I put some it into a double boiler for a while? Would it thicken up? I want it to be somewhat thick when it's warm. (although it will be interesting to see how it is at room temp)

Well, I am making my own right now. It's been going all freaking day. I'm not totally sure what colors to look for to know when the first stage of cooking is done, but I am coming up on the 8 hour mark and it is a light caramel color. Foamy on top. Crusty on t he sides of the crock pot. So, it looks ok. Smells great. Tastes good. But isn't really thick. Not sure how it's gonna thicken up during the last two hours, and I think if I add in the reserved milk, it will be almost as thin as when I started. Commercial stuff was a no go. Couldn't find it anywhere. No local mega mart chain. Not Central Market. Not Fiesta Mart. If this attempt is a bust, I'll try Rick Bayless's stove top version next..

I still continue to play with this drink. Am drinking one now. 4:2:1 (gin:cointreau:lime juice). Gin is Bombay (regular Bombay) and for the first time, the orange bitters is Regan's Number 6. It's different than the first ones I made with Tanqueray and Fee's Orange Bitters. So far, I think that was my favorite. Not sure why I am not liking this one. Is it the regan's bitters? It's the first time I have ever used it in anything. Just bought last weekend.

The first time I got one of those paper Central Market bags pictured in the original post, I got a pretty good chuckle out of it.

what if one were to switch around between doing it on line and via the phone? As far as availability is concerned, I was in Las Vegas earlier this year. My friends and I were trying to think of where to eat one night. We finally settled on a place (Delmonico Steak House at the Venetian). One of the guys volunteered to make the reservation. He had his laptop with him, so he hopped onto Open Table. Nothing available at the time we wanted (we were going to a show afterwards, so we weren't super flexible, either). So, he picked up the phone and called. And got a table for the exact time we had originally wanted.

yup. spatchcocking is the name of the term. I too use good kitchen shears. Just cut it out!

tostadas. had some corn tortillas left over. I fried them up to make the actual tostadas. then made some [re]fried beans with a can of pinto beans, a bit of garlic, and some bacon fat. topped tostadas with beans and some left over steak and chicken I had made previously for tacos, some roasted poblanos and onions, and some salsa that I still had left over from the tacos. Freaking good. Frying up some corn tortillas just before you top them makes a huge difference, even when using common supermarket corn tortillas.

I've done it a few times. Although I will say, that I sometimes think doing via the phone is a better move for a few reasons. I get the impression that restaurants don't make all of their "inventory" available to places like OpenTable.com I've seen cases where it shows "no availability" for your desired time, but if you call, you can get it. Also, from reading Fat Guy's book, I got the impression that to be known as a regular, it helps if the restaurant knows you when you make the reso. Doing so on-line seems like it could be more "anonymous".

What, no Skyline Chili for you? ← Nope. Just Lola and hopefully Velvet Tango Room

I do the same thing. Brine. then remove the backbone. Flaten it out. Onto the broiler pan that came with the oven, into the fridge uncovered. Let it chill out over night until the next evening. get home, slice some potatoes. But them in the bottom of the pan with some S&P. Season the bird. Into a HOT oven. It cooks pretty fast. Much faster than if it were whole. It's good stuff. And the potatoes are to die for,

I noticed the same thing when watching the show. It immediately made me question the whole Zagat thing.

My TiVo picked up the re-run of the Cleveland epsiode. So, I watched it again. The Skyline Chilli scene was even more hysterical the second time around. Tony really stuck it to Ruhlman there. I wonder how much footage was shot in ruhlaman's kitchen (and back at the market) where they prepared the dinner? I know it would never fly, but I would love, love, love to see a one of special of that meal being prepared in detail. From the buthering of the pig, to Ruhlman making the pate to Bourdain making the cassoulet. I want to see all the steps. Cooking the beans, making the duck leg confit. Everything. It would be very educational. And vastly entertaining to those of us who really like Tony and Michael. The two of them together is great TV. (oh yeah... I'm going to Cleveland next Friday. Already have a reso for dinner at Lola )

Talked to my mom last night. I'm going to borrow the crockpot. I'll make it this weekend! But I'm going to also track down the commerical stuff picutred above to try it and see how it compares. (and also, I think my plantains will be nice and black before I will actually make my own)

heck, it doesn't even have to be a dating scenario. It can just be friends going out. There have been many cases when I have been out with a friend (or a group of friends) and wanted to order something off the menu that would be shared with the table (like maybe a terrine of foie gras), and can't find any takers. Or, half the table ordes the exact same thing. Where is the fun in that? How can I try a bunch of different things if they all do that?

"For the love of God" is exactly the reason, at least if you keep kosher... ← I'm not Jewish, but I thought butter/dairy was OK. It was just mixing it with the wrong stuff (meat) was bad. Is butter really not Kosher?

I dunno if what he made is too concenrated now, but you could make a Gingered Vodka Gimlet with it. 2 ounce Vodka 1 ounce lime juice giner syrup. (yours may be super concentrated, so you may not need much, less the drink become super sweet) shake on ice. strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish wth thin lime wheel or wedge and a piece of candied ginger.