mkayahara

Guild the lily a bit and wrap it around some hot dogs or sausages. A little mustard inside is a nice addition. Ooh, sausage rolls! That's a great idea! I'm sure there's a thread on them somewhere around here...

Little help? I've got three 8 x 8 sheets of store-bought puff pastry in my freezer, and no upcoming parties that require hors d'oeuvres. Any suggestions, aside from pot pie?

Interesting that the question of architecture is simply ignored.

Thanks for this. This is very handy information to have.

Like what? I'd be surprised if they didn't. Isn't that part of the usual Top Chef schtick? In fact, I was pretty surprised to see Toronto featured as the first city, since my gut instinct is that Toronto is the worst food city of Canada's three biggest cities. On the other hand, it's probably Canada's best city for television production, so...

I once smoked some apricots, just because I had them on hand and already had the smoking setup going. I never did figure out what to do with them, though.

Just wanted to thank everyone for their input in this thread. My partner ended up making the yuzu truffles a couple of weeks ago, by simply modifying the lemon logs from Greweling's pro book. It's a white chocolate ganache with both yuzu juice and zest, piped out, cut, and enrobed in dark chocolate. He felt they were the best truffles he's made yet! There are still a couple left, so I'll try to take a photo of them to share.

I've really been enjoying the season so far. I've been pleased to see that they didn't cheap out on the production values; it feels like every other Top Chef series I've ever watched. The talent in the room looks great, and the personalities are just starting to clash, producing great TV entertainment. I especially enjoyed watching Chris and Dale clash last night. (I generally assume that none of these people are as bad or as good in real life as they appear on television!) I liked the fact that they had Crystal Head vodka as a featured product last night, given that the LCBO explicitly refuses to carry it at retail. That said, I didn't find Aykroyd's judging to be especially insightful. So far, after the first three episodes, I haven't felt that anyone went home who didn't deserve to, but I'm sure that will change. Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention. I totally agree on the weird "passing the plates" thing in the first episode, so it's nice to see that they've moved on from that. I assume it was largely a portion size issue - who would be able to judge appropriately after eating 16 main course-sized dishes? - but it was discomfiting to watch.

Do they not sell bottled water (or decent water filters) where you live? I don't think the mineral content of your local water is the main limiting factor. Not only do they sell bottled water where I live, Nestle bottles my local tap water, because all those dissolved minerals taste so good. They also react with all sorts of things. I can and do buy bottled water for some preparations (especially modernist preparations where ion concentration is a really big deal, like sodium alginate or gellan), but I feel guilty for the energy consumption and waste factor every time I use it. A filter doesn't help with dissolved minerals, unfortunately. A water softener would, and that's on the list of things to look into. It's right up there next to "kitchen renovation."

Not really, no. Gee, I don't really like this, but I'll keep eating it anyway until I can convince myself I actually do like it. Sorry, no motivation for that. Also, not really into appreciating food, more into enjoying it. I understand that perspective, although it is how I learned to like blue cheese. At first I couldn't stand it, but knowing that many people in many places found something to like about it, I figured the problem was me, not the cheese. So I began to seek out examples that I sort-of enjoyed, and gradually developed a taste for it over time. But it certainly can be a lot of work. In any case, I think we're talking about a different process here, because I assume Steven does not dislike tea to begin with; he's simply seeking to learn more about it, about the various styles, processes and variables that give it variety and nuance, to the extent that some people can immerse themselves in it full time. The same thing can apply to coffee, or wine, or beer, or spirits. (I imagine there are foods it can apply to as well, but it seems to be more prevalent with beverages.) This, too, is a lot of work, but it's more about deepening your knowledge than learning to like something at a basic level. It certainly is a case of appreciating food, rather than just enjoying it, though. I can relate to Steven's view on this, because I know that my own appreciation for tea, such as it is, is abysmal. I know that there are myriad more facets to understand about tea, both intellectually and in terms of educating my palate. But I just haven't been able to make the commitment to do anything about it. (Yet?)

Geez, don't any of you believe in the concept of acquired tastes? If I hadn't deliberately set out to learn how to make and appreciate good cocktails, I wouldn't be the person I am today. That said, I'm not a tea person (and frankly, the mineral content of my local water prevents me from becoming one), so I can't really help Fat Guy with his original post.

The recipe calls for them to be boiled, but I think it'd be fun to turn it into a puffed snack! (Boil/dehydrate/deep fry.)

Can I get a craft/not craft ruling on this cocktail? 2 oz. Skyy vodka 1/2 oz. Vice icewine vodka 1/2 oz. Cointreau 1 oz. grapefruit juice 3 oz. homemade lime cordial (2 cups lime juice + 1 cup honey + 1 kaffir lime leaf) 1/2 oz. grapefruit bitters 1 oz. jalapeno-black pepper syrup Shake, strain, up. (Background here.)

http://www.alineaphile.com/archives/10-Errata,-Alinea-cook-book,-first-edition.html Wonderful, thank you! *clicks on "Print"*

The recent announcement of the first list of errata for Modernist Cuisine reminded me that I don't have a copy of the errata for the Alinea cookbook anywhere, and now that the Mosaic is apparently defunct, I no longer have online access either. Does anyone have a copy of the official errata that they'd be willing to share, or know of somewhere else it's available online? Thanks!

Will these errors be corrected in the second printing? From the blog post, it sounds like it. As much as I understand that they couldn't possibly root out every error in the books, I'm taking this as further proof of my usual philosophy that it never pays to be an early adopter.

So there is no mention by you or in the book about putting water in the pressure cooker or using a rack. Did you put the jars in the pressure cooker dry and without a rack? No; I followed the instructions that came with the pressure cooker, and put the jars on a rack and added a cup or so of water underneath. I'm still getting the hang of pressure-cooking, but I'm under the impression that, without some form of liquid in the cooker, there wouldn't be anything to pressurize it!

I've been enjoying reading along, Pam, though I've been quiet so far. But I'm curious about your tart crusts: are they butter-free, or just not eaten at meat meals?

Good point: It does say "thinly spread" on p. 95, and then on p. 223, it says that the "thick cheese sauce/spread" is the "best choice for use in ... cheese omelet." A rather minor inconsistency, as such things go. And I'm totally jealous of your centrifuge, but more so of your combi oven!

The omelet looks cool, Jethro, although I'm not sure "spongy" is a word I'd want associated with my eggs. Have you tried remelting the cheese spread since chilling it? (Or did you do that for the omelet anyway?) Also, looking at the book (volume 4, p. 223, right?), it appears you went with the "thin cheese spread," whereas it says the "thick cheese spread" is the one they recommend for the cheese omelet. I get that the point isn't to slavishly follow the book, but I'm curious why you went with one over the other? Thanks! Edit: Add page reference. And then again for clarity.

How antique are we talking? I'd be curious to know how long Irish Moss has been used in cooking. I knew Fergus Henderson has a recipe calling for it in The Whole Beast, but I wasn't sure how long this tradition had been around.

I believe it was Chris Hennes who pointed out in another thread that this is one place where domestic-grade gas ranges really shine. On mine, for example (a $400 Kenmore), if you kill the heat on a burner, it completely kills the heat; my braises do not return to a lively simmer, because there's simply not enough cast iron there to retain any of the heat. Which suggests that there's the domestic/professional axis to consider along with the gas/electric axis. I don't care so much about the hang time between "blazing" and "off," since you can remove a pan from an electric coil just as easily as from a gas burner, but I've always found there to be more lag between "sear" and "simmer" on the electric coil stoves I've cooked on than the gas ones. Of course, I'm open to the idea that this is all just confirmation bias on my part.

You could roast it whole, but if you'd prefer to cut it into parts - I know I would, if I were eating it by myself - then yes, sear the breasts, skin on. Start by scoring the skin, and rendering out as much of the fat as possible over low heat, then raise the heat to crisp the skin and finish the cooking. As for the legs, they braise very nicely, and are quite good with root vegetables.

As opposed to the "ring of fire" model that I have, that produces a mirroring "ring of carbon" in anything I try to cook over it?

On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog. Which is to say, it can be so hard to tell who's male and who's female based solely on the usernames (and occasional avatar) on these forums that I think it's hard to come to any strict conclusions. Not that it's not an interesting question, as the replies in this thread have shown. I agree with Florida that the question of socio-economic division is the more interesting one: this is a really expensive book, and for every one of us who is dedicated enough to give up all gifts from family for a year, or who has a wealthy benefactor, there are probably several working cooks or other food enthusiasts who would greatly enjoy and benefit from the contents but simply cannot afford access. Which is not to say that their price is in any way inappropriate, or that they're not worth the money, but I think it's important for us to remember how lucky we are to be able to devote the resources to them. On the other hand, I think it's also quite likely that the much of the information in them will diffuse throughout the cooking community over time, even among those who don't have direct access to the books. That's one reason why forums like eGullet are so great! And hey, I'm happy to share the information in my copy with anyone who's curious.