jfrater

It depends what you want out of a book, but if it's simply recipes and you're on a limited budget then you could be better. I have both 'perfection' books and also his 'feasts' books. They're a good read and I'm glad I have them, but they're not recipe books like HB at Home. I think there's only 8 recipes in each book, and in some cases they use such specialised ingredients and techniques that it's unlike you'd ever make them. It's a shame that the perfection series isn't available on DVD, but you can watch lots of bits on youtube, if you have the patience to piece the sections together in order. I'd suggest that you put the funds towards a different book and watch the show online. If you like HB at Home, then maybe something like the Family Meals book from Ferran Adria... I am not sure if you are so inclined, but I believe that torrents are available for all of Heston's shows which is a lifesaver for those of us who don't live in the UK and don't have them broadcast in our own countries. Also, another book which is worth considering by Heston is "Family Food" - it covers lots of traditional home cooked meals that are easily done by most home cooks - the difference being the little additions he makes to the food to improve it - such as cooking onions with anise first to get a richer meat flavor when combined with beef. It is here: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Family-Food-Heston-Blumenthal/9780140295399 I am lucky enough to have a signed copy which I got at the Fat Duck.

Merkinz: In Search of Total Perfection is the best one to get as it combines recipes from the other "perfection" books. Here is a link to it on Bookdepository - it is $10 cheaper (NZ) to buy it from there with free shipping than Amazon: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Total-Perfection-Heston-Blumenthal/9781408802441 I just started cooking my first sous vide ever with my new Sous Vide machine (I got it for my birthday) - I am cooking the sous vide pork belly from Heston Blumenthal at Home. It has been in the water bath for 12 hours now. I am very excited - it is such a simple recipe too. I will post some details when it is done

I have a bottle of it tinctured which I bought from a European perfumer. The smell is quite nice actually. I would consider eating it just to try it but I am not keen to put my tincture in scrambled eggs because it cost so much and includes alcohol for dissolving the vomit.

Panaderia - I opted to slowly stew it for 3 hours in the tikka masala sauce - it was meltingly tender

Hey - are you aware of Souschef.co.nz? They have a lot of texturas stuff: http://www.souschef.co.nz/index.php?route=product/category&path=159_70

Here is how! In fact, this video is of me and Maangchi (the famous youtube Korean cook) making it in my own home! I still have some in my traditional pot The recipe is there and a video too. http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gochujang

Thanks Broken English I opted for slowly cooking them in the curry sauce - they have two more hours to go (which is good because I have tested a piece and it is tough as old boots!)

Chris I am not sure to be honest - I bought it about a month ago and didn't check the label when I took it out to marinate it - it is cubed so I am guessing it is meant for stewing purposes.

Some tips from my experience - my Vietnamese boyfriend has told me that my Pho is the best he has eaten - and he only moved here from Vietnam 6 years ago! His mother has also said mine is vastly better than hers. The way I learnt was originally from a few recipe books and online resources and then I used my boyfriend as a taste tester for things like saltiness, sweetness, etc. 1. Burn the onions, ginger, and garlic on a gas hob - and I mean really burn them - until the skins are black. Remove the blackened skins when using 2. Use black cardamom (green cardamom is not a passable substitute) 3. Use cassia bark (not cinnamon - there is a difference in flavor). 4. Don't let it boil vigorously (your soup will go murky) 5. Use 100% oxtail for the bones (use the meat in the dish) and large chunks of gravy beef for the broth meat (slice it thinly in the final dish) 6. Use rock sugar if you can - it is better than palm sugar or normal sugar in pho 7. Add some daikon for natural sweetness. Be sure to cook your noodles right - soak them in hot tap water for about half an hour - drain then drop in boiling water until done - usually less than a minute. Some Vietnamese people add hoisin sauce to their broth (their own bowl only) and others use it to dip the meat from the broth. Maybe your restaurant is adding the hoisin in the kitchen. Also, a squeeze of lime or lemon juice can really lift the broth to new heights. Here is my most recent pho:

ChrisTaylor: this was goat from a wild game company - their products are usually amazing - unfortunately I didn't pay attention to whether it was kid or not. I guess we will find out tonight when I try to eat it. Maybe I ought to add the goat to the curry sauce much earlier while it simmers - rather than adding it at the end after a blast of heat.

Panderia I was considering doing that with the yoghurt mix but I can't find a temperature for sous vide goat and if it is anything like beef it would need to bathe for 24 hours to be perfectly tender by the looks of things (based on chuck steak). I am just going to leave it marinating as long as I can and hope for the best!

Toufas: I know it isn't sous vide or even highly technical cooking - but if you want to eat the most tender pork belly you have ever had (including melt in the mouth skin!) try making vietnamese thit kho heo trung. Here is the recipe I use (with a few mods from my Vietnamese boyfriend's mother) with a video to show you how to make it. It is probably the first food I have ever cooked that I have craved for regularly after one taste. It is astounding. http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/28/Braised-pork-with-egg-and-coconut-juice-(thit-heo-kho)/ Here is one I cooked.

Panderia I was considering doing that with the yoghurt mix but I can't find a temperature for sous vide goat and if it is anything like beef it would need to bathe for 24 hours to be perfectly tender by the looks of things (based on chuck steak). I am just going to leave it marinating as long as I can and hope for the best!

Thanks Panaderia - what do you think about sous viding it for a while? I am not sure what temperature would be best but is that an option do you think? And then just a very quick grill to blacken some of the marinade...

Hi everyone, I recently bought some goat and I am wanting to use it in place of Chicken in Heston Blumenthal's Chicken Tikka Masala recipe. I am essentially following along with what he does for the chicken - marinating it in a marinade of Greek yoghurt and garam masala. Does anyone know if this will make the meat tender? I am using diced cubes of goat and I will grill them along the same lines as the chicken in Heston's recipe - which is here: http://www.dominicsayers.com/documents/ChickenTikkaMasala.pdf

He is definitely restraining himself. He is a very good cook when he makes Vietnamese style food but he is equally good with European style - keeping them both completely separate. He has excellent taste buds so his seasoning is spot on every time too.

My boyfriend is Vietnamese and is learning to cook European food by going step by step through the Cordon Bleu at Home book. Last night he cooked lesson six. It was all truly yummy! Starter: Tarte a l'Oignon (onion tart) Main: Mouclade (mussels in wine and cream sauce) Pudding: Bavarois a la Vanille, Coulis de Framboise (vanilla Bavarian cream with raspberry sauce).

Merkinz: my mistake! The tikka masala is from "In Search of Perfection" - not At Home. I should note that I didn't make the tandoor - I grilled the chicken on a cake rack in a very hot (closed) oven on grill until it was beginning to char. It was absolutely amazing. Tomorrow I will be making it again (because the recipe makes so much leftover garam masala) but this time I am substituting goat for chicken as I have some I need to use up. Where in NZ are you? It is always nice seeing other kiwis who share similar interests. I just bought a really awesome sous vide gadget so I can attempt all of the sous vide recipes in the book too. ChrisZ: you will love the curry - definitely do it! Show us pics when you are done. LT Wong: great news! I hope you post some pictures after you do it I made the lasagne last night - big disappointment - the first in the book. I won't repeat it. It was a little bland and the quantities seemed to be a little off - not quite enough of the fondue or sauce and much more fish meat than needed. I used the exact sized dish too.

I have made a few other Heston dishes from this book - rather than posting one post per recipe I will just put them together in one. Here is his steak and kidney pudding - it was incredible. I would definitely go to the trouble of getting a syringe to inject a little more sauce though next time. The suet pastry was the best suet pastry I have ever eaten. It was truly stunning. I used the leftover (of which there was a LOT) to make apple dumplings the next day. The pastry was equally divine used as a pudding pastry. Chicken with cream and sherry casserole. Oh my God. It was stunning. One of the best chicken dishes I have ever eaten. The chicken was incredibly tender and the sauce was almost worthy of tears! I will make this one again and again. Chicken and Ham Pie. Despite following the recipe exactly and buying 10cm pie dishes (mini casseroles actually) this only made enough for five pies - not six. It was amazing. The gammon was delicious and the chicken was incredibly moist. The sauce is surprisingly flavorsome and rich despite only having a little cream and no butter. It is another I will make again and again (not just because the pie dishes were $70 each!!!) And tonight I will be making the crab lasagne. Wish me luck!

It took ages but I recently made Heston's Chicken Tikka Masala. It was truly the best curry I have ever eaten. The garam masala mix makes enough for about 20 more recipes though! Here is a picture of mine - I served it with a small bowl of jasmine rice (I had no basmati). It went down very well.

Zachary yes please - I would love the rest of the recipe - even if I don't end up using it for this date I really want to make it! It sounds so delicious!

Zachary: That sounds truly amazing! I have never heard of making ragu with braised short rib! Would the recipe (with the ragu you suggested) hold together sufficiently to give it a nice presentation on the plate? Ie, it won't fall apart?

Hi everyone! I have a first date next weekend with a really amazing guy and he loves Italian food. Instead of going to an expensive restaurant he has asked me to cook for him instead - he is bringing pudding. So what I want to know is - what is an excellent Italian meal I can cook for him? I want something quite traditional and would like to offer at least two courses - maybe a meat course and a pasta course - I think that is normally how Italian meals go right? Ideally it should be impressive and easy to finish off at the last minute - I can spend all day (and preceeding days) in preparation but it needs to be something I can serve up quite quickly and cleanly at the last minute. I should add that I am a very proficient cook so it doesn't necessarily have to be basic. Thanks for any suggestions (and recipe links if possible!)

Old post I know but I thought I would throw in my two cents. I recently made gochujang with Maangchi from Maangchi.com - it is outside in an eight litre onngi fermenting at the moment. It will be ready to eat in about 3 months. The initial taste is very much like hot pepper flakes (gochugaru) but in time it should settle down to a smoother flavor. I also added some Maeshil (매실) to mine which is green plum syrup - it adds a slightly richer flavor and sweetens it a little. When I was last in Korea I bought hand made gochujang from Seoil farms (just outside of Seoul in Anseong) - it is the most incredible thing I have ever eaten and shows just how appalling the store bought stuff is. It is much darker in color and has so many layers of flavor it is incredible. If you speak Korean you might be able to buy some online on their website - I strongly recommend it. http://kgfarm.gg.go.kr/farm/00059/ Oh - and to answer an earlier question - gochujang can be kept in an earthenware pot outside indefinitely. If made correctly (with sufficient salt) it shouldn't go off at all.

I have seen it on Korean dramas I cook Korean food a lot and this is one dish I can't find a recipe for. The fish is medium sized - small enough to fit on a dish to be shared by four people at the table - about the size of a mackerel I guess (which is the fish I am using).