Jump to content

danf

participating member
  • Posts

    44
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://

Profile Information

  • Location
    CLE->CHI
  1. Critiques of elitism in a design magazine? I know the guy's got to get his work out somewhere and he probably has a relationship with this publication but come on. Does this antagonism really do anyone all that much good in the long run? How many people fit squarely into one side of this argument? How many are 100% invested in either Slow Foods or the world that could be imagined from Mr. Sterling's critique? I would think that of those reading this site, it is a minority that maintain strict allegiance at all times. The future of food on this planet is not something to take lightly but a lot of these arguments seem about as enlightening as the exchange between two tables in a high school lunch room. There is a lot to caricature about Slow Foods-ish people (capitalized as representatives of the formalized organization) and it seems to me like they can be particularly easy to wind up. But Slow Foods as an organization has a right to defend itself against pompous attacks like this one, and the original poster has done a great job as an emissary of his group. But whenever an organization or a person sets themselves as an authority (let alone a global authority) it (and its adherents) should be ready to take some serious shots. I think it would also do Slow Foods well to try to disassociate itself from the overall foodie/foodblog population that sort of provide most of the ammunition for people to attack its good ideas. Overwrought descriptions of super-expensive butter or salt don't really have anything to do with SF, but in my mind and probably in the minds of a lot of other people they are easily conflated. Too bad those are probably your biggest fans and supporters. anyways...
  2. danf

    Turducken

    Damn, that's awesome.
  3. danf

    Turducken

    I was thinking of some kind of layered bird thing after I had them all deboned and flat on the table, it would have definitely done away with some of the more annoying parts of this thing, namely putting it back together and keeping it in one piece. I like the idea of this being "so last millennium." I wonder who decided that the turducken was no longer to be "done" after 2000. I can see how it doesn't really have that much glamour appeal but come on, look at it, its not supposed to be serious. Maybe if I had made with local birds, heirloom cornbread stuffing and cooked it sous vide? or some "molecular" turducken - chicken, duck and stuffing caviar surrounded by laser fried turkey skin? Anyways, I'm sure there will always be someone willing to stuff/stack any food with any other food and cook it.
  4. danf

    Turducken

    Wrigleyville Turducken Project Result: So it's done and eaten, it was tasty, but it was a lot of work that might have been better spent just roasting the birds individually and enjoying them that way. As a brag-y cooking project it was worth it, but probably only once. All of the flavors kind of blend together, all of the birds and stuffing and skin and it makes some kind of super bird, that while tasty might not equal to the sum of its parts. I saw the pre-cooked chicken in a youtube video of someone's turducken, it seemed like a good idea. With so much meat mass I liked the idea of giving the inside of the bird a head start. I did not chill it, it sat on top of the stove in its pan until being placed on the construction. I must confess I probably violated lots of food safety rules on this one, but so far everyone is ok. It was really hard to get everything all lined up an done at the same time so there was probably too much sitting. Definitely this is an occasion food. It was a two day project, I did do most of it myself (except for the sewing and trussing when I had an assistant) so maybe if everyone took their own bird it would be done faster. It is also crazy heavy, physical weight wise and in your stomach. That might have been the butter and duck fat and gravy, but even without that you are going to get really full really fast.
  5. Wrigleyville Turducken Project Results: It actually worked, all the meat was cooked and was quite tasty. Drippings made some really great gravy as well. Would I do it again...eh, probably not, better to have all of the birds have their own tastes rather than all muddled together but as a technical project it was pretty fun. Hope everyone else enjoyed their evening, I could have cared less about the game even with the shocker finish, but at least the food was good. Thanks Shelby, my "trussing" used the same technique I use to wrap bundles of tree prunings and lawn garbage, apparently these landscape skills can work in the kitchen to.
  6. danf

    Turducken

    Wrigleyville Turducken Project Report Part 1: PREP: Tools: Where it all went down: Bird 1 - Chicken (note unfollowed instructions in upper left): Bird 2 - Duck - no picture, not really worth taking one, I wanted to take the skin off and in doing so I was left pretty much with a random pile of meat and two breast, even less photogenic than the other ones. Bird 3 - Turkey (post brining - forgot to take the picture the night before): The aftermath (not shown - totally stuffed fridge or gross floor): Duck Fat and Skin Rendering: ASSEMBLY Chicken (stuffed and tied for pre-cooking) Duck on Stuffing on Turkey: Chicken on Stuffing on Duck on Stuffing on Turkey: Sewn Up (yes the other side is done to, it just looked really bad): Trussed Up (first try ever at this, did not go awesome): Buttered Up - Ready for the oven (and only an hour late):
  7. Wrigleyville Turducken Project Live: So liveblogging the turducken wouldnt work, too much poultry in the keyboard. This is a midway updated. It's in the oven as we speak, hopefully it will be ready to eat around game time. I'll post the rest of the gory bird shots over in a turducken thread. This is what is looked like ready for roasting. Yeah that's butter on top, and fatty (18lbs with bones) down there barely fit into a roasting pan. I know the trussing is probably wrong, this was the first time I've had to do it, but its the best we could do with a bird stuffed with two birds and no bones.
  8. I suppose the internet should know that in a drink-addled fit of culinary bravado I told various friends and relatives that I would cook anything they could come up with for the superbowl. Turns out that means I am making a turducken. I'm not quite sure how this happened, every large meal I've ever made for these folks has been Thai, Vietnamese, or some combination of S and SE Asian food, and this is what they come up with. At least I'm not paying for the materials and I'll get bones for stock. Preparations start tonight after work...
  9. danf

    Dinner! 2008

    OK, second post to Dinner, the one before probably shouldn't count as this one kind of blows it out of the water. This is the Cooks Illustrated butterflied roasted chicken, made with russets and sweet potatoes under the roasting rack. Served with Molly Stevens's braised green cabbage and a bottle of Two Brothers Prairie Path beer. I abandoned my fork about a minute into dinner and was just tearing at this with my hands. The skin was super crispy on top, I think that next time I'll flip the bird for part of the time to get the bottom as well. For anyone that hasn't tried this, the whole segment for the preparation is on youtube in three parts, just search high roast chicken.
  10. proteins (tuna, chicken), canned fruit and vegetables and stuff thats pretty much a meal-in-the-can - soups, chili, pastas, etc. I definitely make sure to get cans with the easy open tops, I think my local pantry actually requires this. Also: shaving supplies, toothpaste, soap and other toiletries.
  11. Putting everything in a McDonald's wrapper.
  12. These are also called tuna, right? I just got some red ones from the market near me and, not really knowing any better, I've been peeling and eating them plain. I've found that they have tons of seeds though, I end up spitting a lot of pulp and large seeds into the sink. I've tried to cut them up to get around the seeds but it seems like they are everywhere in my fruit. Are these usually used more for juicing or preserves, which would deal with the seeds, or did I pick up a bad lot to eat?
  13. Oh man, I love their veggie pizza. I don't think I've ever eaten in the restaurant itself but their pizzas were awesome at home to. peace
  14. My first grocery shopping experience when I was studying in London was to a tiny Sainsbury down the street from my dorm. I bought regular groceries and was so intrigued by the brightly colored squashes and cordials that I couldn't help buying one (lemon I think). After getting back the dorm I unloaded my groceries put the squash in the fridge and a little bit later started drinking it straight out of the bottle. It was so awful that I spit it into the sink. Luckily no Britishers saw me. It wasn't until later that I saw the directions on the bottle to add water.
  15. True srhcb, but dropping a grand on salumi for a one-year-old's birthday party or worrying so much about what particular guests will think of your food that you stop cooking for them seems pretty ridiculous. I totally like to impress people with my culinary ability (erm...such as it is) and ingredient selection (same) but I appreciate this article more on the satiric side. I really like the New York Times but in anything other than the news like the food or society section I read most of the stories as "LOL, rich new yorkers doing crazy things."
×
×
  • Create New...