jfrater

So - the BBQ preparations are going well - three sauces made, four meats ready to reheat in sous vide and baste and the corn bread done. All that is left is the potato salad and coleslaw and biscuits. Here is my corn bread - it is absolutely stunning and intensely corn flavored. I am not sure what real corn bread tastes like because I have never eaten it before but it is quite sweet and not salty at all. Is there a reason for that? I wouldn't mind it having a little salt in the mix - I might add some next time. This bread would be a perfect addition to a cheeseboard - much more than gingerbread which seems so often to appear on them these days. I have one question about the recipe - what is the purpose of the isomalt? I added it as directed but don't know much about it or what it does. Tonight's dinner is going to be one of those corn breads with the modernist colonel's fried chicken and chips from the local fish and chip shop.

Hi everyone - I have a whole poached chicken that I need to use up - normally I would make chicken pie but I want to do something more interesting with it. Any ideas? I like modernist stuff or classical French mostly

I am struggling to find an alternative to be honest. There is very little on the net - does anyone know what the microcrystalline cellulose is meant to do?

How about kappa? It is used as a substitute in medicine

Hi all - I have a question. Can I substitute Texturas "Metil" for Microcrystalline cellulose when making the home BBQ sauce for the pulled pork? If not, what other options do I have? Unfortunately I left it so late that I don't have time to order the microcrystaline cellulose from the US.

Wow those meat dishes look so amazing! I made my mac n cheese and, like most people here, had the same issue with the cheese block being too soft for grating. It mixed down into the water/pasta mix perfectly and the end result was incredibly smooth and rich. The only problem - WAY too salty. I used exactly the amount of salt in the water as suggested and added none to the two cheese mix (aged gouda and cheddar). It was so salty I think I need to omit salt entirely from the pasta stage. Tasting the cheese on its own is definitely not too salty. On another note - I have smoked all four cuts of meat in the American BBQ chapter and have two in the sous vide. The remaining two need to be cooked at 63 and 65 respectively and both for 72 hours. I want to use all four next weekend for a big BBQ entirely from the book. I need some advice, however. The last two (brisket and shoulder) have been in the fridge double bagged since I smoked them (48 hours ago). Should I freeze them while I wait for the sous vide to be free in another day (bearing in mind that one cut will need to wait another 3 days) or should I just leave them in the fridge? Also, once the first lot is cooked should I freeze them until the day I am using them all and reheat everything together? I really need to get another 2 water baths!!!

I am using a bradley electronic - I also bought the cold smoking attachment so I can do stuff like smoked salmon. The meat is now out, vacuum packed, and the first two cuts are in the sous vide:

Top left: pork shoulder Top right: Beef spare ribs Bottom left: pork ribs Bottom right: beef brisket They are all smoking along nicely right now - I will add another photo when I remove them from the smoker tonight.

Thanks ChrisZ - I definitely will check it out. In addition to the Mac n Cheese which I am making today, I am also going to be smoking four types of meat as per the instructions in MC. Here is a picture of the meat freshly arrived from the butcher. After tidying it up I will be preparing for a big American BBQ (something I have never tried). I am really excited about it!

Thanks I also read that the carragenan is not essential but I will add it so I can freeze the extra cheese so I can give my parents vacuum bags of pasta and salt to add to water so they get an easy MC macaroni cheese The penne I have takes about 12 minutes to cook (I have used it before) so my biggest concern will be excess water absorption making the sauce a little too thick. I will keep my eye on that.

Okay I now have my books and ingredients. I also bought a smoker so I can try out the BBQ recipes in the book. My first task will be to make the mac and cheese. Here are my ingredients (I will be doing the cooking tomorrow). Once I am done I will post comments and a photo. I have chosen the best cheese I can and have replaced macaroni with fussili as it is the best pasta I could find (plus they had no macaroni!)

I am planning to go next year full time. I can't decide what course to do though. I want the qualification for my own cooking and entertainment at home - not a career. Is it true the fees will be around 30k?

Lesliec luckily I live on the flat but mine is being couriered - only $570 with free delivery from bookdepository.co.uk. I preordered MC At Home from them too. I can tell from comments on the macaroni that I will soon have a freezer full of modernist cheese blocks has anyone tried adding Parmesan to theirs?

I like the idea of simmering the pork in coconut water. Do you have a recipe for us? I use a recipe by Luke Nguyen - he calls it "thit ba roi" but that is just Vietnamese for belly meat. Here is the recipe - it is amazing and the smell when cooking is out of this world. 1/2 tsp red food coloring (I use extra and I put it in with the coconut juice otherwise the meat doesn't get red enough) 2 1/4 pound pork belly 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp five spice 4 cloves garlic - finely chopped 1 Tbsp salt 4 cups coconut juice (I find that two young fresh coconuts provide enough water - the ones with the white rind) Mix the food coloring with 1 Tbsp of cold water. Brush onto the pork belly until well colored. Combine soy, five spice, garlic, and salt. Massage it into the pork belly and let marinate for an hour. Bring the coconut water to a boil in a large plan. Meanwhile roll the belly (skin side out) tightly and tie. Add to boiling coconut water (this is when I add extra red food coloring to the water). Return to boil then lower heat to simmer. Simmer belly for one hour turning often. Allow to cool in the juice then slice as needed. Keeps four days in the fridge but also freezes ok. This produces pork belly that tastes identical to the red skinned pork belly you get in the best Banh Mi shop in Cabramatta Sydney (Vietnam town). You can also chop it and serve with rice or rice noodles with fish sauce dipping sauce. Yum!

I thought it was ME keeping MW's booze department in business Especially after the $90 bottle of sherry to make Heston's sherry chicken casserole. How did the truffle taste go in the MC cheese? It sounds interesting. I have heaps of raw gruyere left over from today's afternoon tea so I will use that I think. I hope my books arrive tomorrow so I can get started!

My boyfriend (who knows I am posting this) has given me these annoyances: 1. Won't eat sweet things - he can't stand sweet things; unless it is a gigantic sippy cup of pure sugarcane juice with a slight hint of orange. I adore sweet things but it's like drinking sugar syrup with a smidgen of water. I gag after three sips; he goes back for seconds. 2. Can't stand paninis or bread in general - "God! Too dry" but will scoff down two banh mi (Vietnamese bread rolls) in seconds. 3. Can't eat anything spicy - nothing at all. Any Korean hot pepper paste or flakes present -- can't do; but cuts so many Thai chilis into his hoisin sauce that it makes my eyes bleed. Incidentally - I can eat Korean hot pepper paste straight from the container. 4. Can't eat Korean BBQ because it has too much sugar; but adores thit kho (Vietnamese braised pork) which I make with two whole disks of palm sugar. He is, needless to say, Vietnamese. And extremely picky.

Kate - that was nine years ago. Please tell me it's over - or at least that you converted him!

Hey Leslie I love Ontrays though I get most of my cheese and other nice things from More Wilsons. Do you go there as well?

Here is a photo of my lamb rack - I put a little too much tapenade on the rack and I feel it really overpowered the meat. The lamb itself was incredibly tender and a very nice way to cook lamb chops. I took the step suggested in the book of refrigerating the lamb until it was needed and then frying it - I think it needs some time in the sous vide to bring it back to 60c before frying because I felt it was too cold after fridge to frying pan. The salad was okay but nothing very special. I probably wouldn't make this combination again - but I would consider doing lamb rack this way in future - just without tapenade. My presentation is a little lacking I am afraid! And I spent hours on the bones cleaning them up.

Thanks for the beer tips Merkinz Hopefully my books will arrive today so I can get cooking!

I make banh mi for my boyfriend's Vietnamese family occasionally because you can get it here otherwise. Mine is completely traditional with red pork belly (simmered in coconut water) pickled carrot and daikon, erc. The only herb I use is cilantro and I use soy sauce not maggi.

Tonight I am making the sous vide lamb rack with tapenade and bean and radish salad. The lamb is vacuum packed and ready to cook at 60c for one hour in my sous vide machine. This is one of the simplest meals in the book so far. I will add a photo of the finished dish.

Merkinz - your macaroni cheese looks awesome! I have ordered all the ingredients I need for it and my MC arrives tomorrow! I will be using unpasteurised Swiss gruyere and 3-5 year aged cheddar from a local supplier. I will post a pic when it is done. I might put some crumbs on mine and grill it first though. Is hoegarden the right sort of beer? I only ever drink tiger beer and I have no idea at all what beer is wheat derived.

I love 20th century and contemporary classical music but I am traditional in every other sense of the word - my favorite period is the 18th century and my house is decorated in a very traditional "classical" way. I love antiques and collect rare or very old perfumes. Basically if it pre-dates the 19th century I love it. I do also love historical cooking - so I am not just into modernist cuisine.

I have done this - it worked perfectly first time. The potatoes were the most potatoey mashed potatoes I have ever eaten - truly amazing. I was surprised to find that the flakes basically dissolved into the mash so you didn't see any flecks of color. Well worth the effort. I just fried mine in butter to get the desired effect.