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AAQuesada

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Posts posted by AAQuesada

  1. I'm able to distinguish celery salt from fresh celery, as it turns out. My question concerns the difference between celery that has a slightly salty yet fresh taste and celery that is dominantly salty and somewhat bitter.

    LOL I was surprised by my first Farmer's Market celery, It really does have a nicely salty/mineral flavor with a light bitterness. There is more going on than crunch and bitterness apparently! I was pleasantly surprised

  2. because they are fairly easy to do with out having to understand what makes it an effective component of a dish. Why do you add a sauce to a dish? moisture, mouth feel.. ect. Why do you add a foam to a dish? Doing things with out knowing why leads to poor modernist cuisine. At least outside of NYC where there are a lot of great chefs.

    That's my take on it anyway.

  3. Forget Can Roca, go to Can Fabes.

    Unfortunately, Santi Santamaria passed away not long ago. That's another experience I kick myself for missing out on. But this particular itinerary emphasizes modernism, which is not really part of the proffer at Can Fabes.

    I believe the restaurant is still open, but yes I was very sad when I heard the news. I was thinking about the contrast of styles.. both being 3* in the same area Tradition and Modernism. El Raco de Can Fabes (book) was my treasure upon coming home from my stage in San Sebastian. Man can not live on foam alone :wink:

  4. Blether- My point was to give it a good crust using high heat the way you might with a steak in order to give it texture. I didn't mean to start an equipment battle lol, I'm sure what you have is fine. You can cook a sausage through with out crusting it. Another option would be to use caul fat to wrap them, and then you could add additional flavors before wrapping. I think the pork rind crust upthread is a great one and very creative. Btw, a placha is a griddle with usually a thicker metal than a griddle but pretty much the same thing. Think of the Spanish 'Gambas a la plancha'. Just some ideas..

    Re: Wheatgerm, how about making your own Grahm Crackers. This recipe is a good example.

    http://www.marthastewart.com/282131/homemade-graham-crackers

  5. Think of it as the 'yolk' of the wheat, It's got the fat and most of the micro-nutrients. I guess that would make the bran the egg shell and egg white the endosperm (white wheat flour). Yep, analogy holds up.

  6. You don't need to dilute citric acid or make a slurry. Just add it in. My read is he wants you to use citric acid (prob for consistency) and is listing lemon juice as an optional substitution.

    Anytime I read ingredient(XXX) the (XXX) is usually a modifier/substitution. Since its not a modifier ie. Onion (small dice) then it most likely an offered substitution. That's how I read it anyway.

  7. Throwing everything in the pot and reducing is the cheater method. Proportions are a matter of personal taste. I would use verjus and tomato water doing it the traditional way so as not to cook all the aroma out of the tomato water. Make sure to use flavorful overripe tomatoes for the best flavor.

    I do think that a tomato gastrique might get lost paired with a big steak unless you are going to slice it and do a more modern presentation with multiple sauces ect

  8. I have a book I picked up during my time in the area. I believe you can find it online:

    Creative Basque Cuisine - Traditional and Modern

    It is part of a series based on the 'Premios Pil Pil' a kindof Basque food Oscars..

    the Editor is J.L. Barrena

  9. It's hard to know with out seeing it. My guess is that as long as the chef getting the dough is experienced and show through is not too much you'll be okay. Be confident, chefs can smell fear :wink:

    I might go up the the person who worked the dough and ask them so how was it .. followed up with I was worried because.. and .. do you have any advice for the future. Show you are interested in their opinion with out being too scared..

    And take the following advice with a big pinch of salt. But I have found sometimes, when a chef say's to hurry up! (in the nicest possible way of course) you need to say 'Yes Chef!' and completely ignore them and do the job right. Of course you need to read the situation but in the long run if you are doing something the way he/she taught you.. it's better to put your name on a quality product. (after you clock out first of course). You'll end up with more respect than being the person who hurried and did a half ass job.

    As always YMMV

  10. This is my glaze for Island flavored wings

    Island Marinade

    Kecap Manis 100%

    Catsup 100%

    Shao xing 50 %

    Garlic 5 %

    Ginger 5 %

    For use as a glaze: combine ingredients

    For sauce: in a pot over med heat w\ 1T oil add aromatics. Add wet.

    Simmer 5 min.

    NOTE: SUBS.. Sherry wine for Shao xing. Equal parts, Soy and Brown sugar for Kecap Manis. It's worth trying to find the original ingredients though.

    Just prepare wings your favorite way, fry crispy or grill/broil. Then brush or toss in a bowl with the sauce.

    Finish with something crunchy..sesame seeds, bubu arare, toasted rice powder ad infinitum..

  11. Tomatillo-baked Chicken Breasts (p. 85)

    Salsa: Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (p. 28)

    That was certainly easy: add cream to salsa verde, pour over chicken, bake until done. I used crema rather than cream since that's what I had on hand: it worked well. The dish isn't much to look at, but it tasted great. I love salsa verde.

    Tomatillo-baked Chicken Breasts.jpg

    mmmm reminds me of my mom's enchiladas suisas. which she used to bake after rolling with the sauce on top. Rice, beans and a salad (lol we are in L.A.) not fancy but a great dinner

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