Peter the eater
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Posts posted by Peter the eater
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Kouign, the 'lamb fries' you had in New Zealand was probably lamb's fry, which is just liver. Why it's called lamb's fry is obscure - maybe because it comes from a lamb and you fry it. Not one of my favourites, at least prepared like that ... bit rubbery.
Lamb testicles are sold as "lamb fries" here in Eastern Canada. There's no mistaking them fresh-wrapped on a styrene meat tray. They usually come in pairs, for obvious reasons. I've not bought them yet but will do one of these days -- I hear they have a mild nutty taste . . .
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Feeding a hundred people for a hundred bucks is easier than ten for ten.
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None of those pickled mussels failed from a flavor point of view as far as I can tell. The ones I liked best had liquid smoke, sriracha and fish sauce. The unadulterated control was adequate but it lacked pizazz, and the one with with port wine was surprisingly lame.
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Grilled mahi-mahi with pomegranate tartar on a toasted white roll.
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I have nothing to add except spiritual support. My wife makes them the way you describe, they always look and taste good.
I find an entire candy-coated apple with the Popsicle stick intimidating, and for that reason I favour the coated wedges.
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First thing is to place them in minimally salted water, then steam them just open.
Then make a nice aromatic broth.
Then sort out the flavours. They all will spend the night in the fridge with pickling syrup, each with a little extra . . .
no.1 jar gets a shot of cooking Porto,
no.2 gets a shot of Thai fish sauce,
no.3 gets a shot of Sriracha from Malaysia,
no.4 gets a few drops of liquid smoke from Medford, NJ, and
no.5 is a control.
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Pickled Mussels
I've had them baked, boiled, steamed, rolled maki-style and smoked, but never have I had pickled mussels. I don't know where I'd go to buy them, maybe from a Scandinavian fish market? Time to experiment.
Good mussel discussions can be found in the eG forums. Ypants finds good ways to use the broth here, Shel_B gathers recipes here, and there's a general discussion here with suggestions I can vouch for from Jinmyo and bourdain.
Here's my non-scientific method:
- steam local mussels until open, remove, de-shell and cool.
- to mussel broth add celery, onion and garlic. Simmer 15 minutes and strain out the chunks.
- make a simple pickling syrup with the broth using vinegar, salt and sugar.
- place barely cooked mussels into five small jars and almost fill with syrup.
- individually flavour the jars with something special.
- cool overnight, compare next day.
Photos to follow . . .
- steam local mussels until open, remove, de-shell and cool.
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Actual tin foil disappeared from Canadian grocery stores half a century ago, according to Alcan Inc. Apparently it's much stiffer and more dull-looking than the same thickness of aluminum foil.
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Klary, it's traditional to pass the ice cream maker around the table after dinner. Everybody gets a shake or crank, very convivial.
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Good question. I like the day after a big turkey more than the day of, but never plan for it that way.
Hmmm . . .
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Thanks Mitch, I look forward to seeing those specs.
I've been wondering when such a product was going to hit the mainstream. Electric slow cookers are everywhere for cheap, how hard could it be to add a reliable temperature control offering actual degrees instead of low-med-hi? The answer is "not hard" if there's a market.
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Oh boy don’t you people get knotted up in a word. I was given a deconstructed tiramisu the other day - all the parts spread all over the plate. It would have been much better if someone had bothered to construct it - it is amazing just what some chefs get away with these days and it still cost a fortune!
What do you mean you people?
You're right to suggest that there's no point in deconstruction if it's simply a dish pulled apart.
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You are not alone. Several times I've come back from the library excited about a new book only to get that Déjà vu feeling, followed by the actual memories.
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So, regardless of what you think of the trend, who's got the right definition?
Deconstruction is a loaded term, as others above have eloquently explained. During my years in Architecture grad school, Post Modernism was supplanted by Deconstruction with Derrida as the Godfather, and that experience will always influence my opinion of the term. That said, I believe any creative act can be deconstructed. There are important differences among museums, sculptures, ballgowns, poems and meals -- but the essence of deconstruction can be artfully applied to each. Identify the elements, explore the relationships, reunite them in new and meaningful ways.
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For me, these kinds of lists are easy to make and only mildly interesting -- like Cojo discussing dresses at The Oscars. To say Molecular Gastronomy is finished is pretty stupid. I do agree obnoxious fast food should go away for ever.
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I'm slowly working my way through the multitude of weird and wonderfully affordable squashes that are everywhere. I don't know what the green-striped one below is called but it got sliced up along with a small cooking pumpkin then roasted with herbs and olive oil until soft. Served with a smear of maple butter. Leftover chunks got puréed with kale and white beans for soup.
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Earlier this year the BA cover was a shepherd's pie made with lamb and eggplant. Very nice, eight out of ten:
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You could go old school and stomp them with your bare feet.
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I don't think I've ever accomplished more than about a 25% yield by weight from a lobster.
I got 120 grams of edible flesh from a small 325 gram lobster here: Nova Scotia Eats, post #96
I can't speak for the crabs, but with lobsters the molting cycle makes a big difference. Freshly molted soft shell lobsters have a lot of room inside the exoskeleton for future growth. Hard shell lobsters are packed with meat.
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25% is a good yield for cold water snow crab which are leggy and without the big crusher claws you find on other crustaceans. A good lobster gets you 40% because of the claws and tail.
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Before children, I enjoyed many food-related dates. The Friday after work picnic in Stanley Park was the ritual in Vancouver. My wife-to-be picked up great edibles from the Granville Island Market and always a 2L pop bottle of Okanagan cider. Fast forward to 2009 and our preschool twins, the dates are a once or twice a year dinner out.
Snowangel, I've been to MN twice but never to that amazing International Hmong Market. Have you seen Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino? Hmong food and culture figures prominently.
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... Fresh pasta is something I don't make enough of at home, usually it's twice in early summer when the duck eggs are around.
Duck-egg pasta! I never heard of it before, sounds fascinating. Details, please! (Why; how compares to chicken eggs pasta; etc. etc. &c.)
Use duck eggs and yolks just like the chicken kind. They make the noodles a bit more yellow and rich.
The Rooster Brand Instant Noodles that I buy are made with flour and duck eggs.
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Also, it's good in sous vide--real garlic seems to develop an off taste in the bag, as well as overpowering everything.
I found that out the hard way. Raw garlic goes nuts in my stovetop s.v. set-up, whereas other plant stuff like celery and carrots don't do much at all.
Douglas Baldwin, in A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking, says:
raw garlic produces very pronounced and unpleasant results and powdered garlic (in very small quantities) should be substituted.
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MaxH, that's a true testimonial. Fresh pasta is something I don't make enough of at home, usually it's twice in early summer when the duck eggs are around. After that it's from a bag or box for most of the year. It doesn't have to be that way!
The most exotic food you have eaten traveling?
in Food Traditions & Culture
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Exotic food while traveling?
Hmmm, fresh calf brains in rural France was a pleasant surprise.
I had delicious campfire rattlesnake with a bunch of Navajo hunter/cooks near Four Corners.