gfweb

Ruhlman and I had a little argument on his website after he published that piece on leaving stock on the stovetop for prolonged periods (that DDF cites above indirectly). His premise was that he hasn't died yet and all that science stuff is just being a worrywart. I guess his transformative experience at CIA didn't include food safety.

The problem with putting it in the fridge is that it will warm up the whole refrigerator. A lot. The refrigeration units aren't made to handle this kind of load. When a refrigerator is at room temp it takes a couple of days sometimes to get back down to temp.

They are pretty, but eat badly. Little pieces cool quickly.

Here are some photos from Lacroix, which charges big bucks for cold half plates. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phillymag.com%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fgalleries%2F1296_gallery_image.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phillymag.com%2Frestaurants%2Fdisplay%2Fthe_philly_mag_50_restaurants_1_to_20%2F%3Fgallery_idx%3D65%26row_position%3D0%26photo_idx%3D1296%26thumbnail_num%3D2&h=406&w=315&tbnid=694NcO9zvUm1lM%3A&zoom=1&docid=A4IoYiWb_SLyWM&ei=RlUTVNKYBs-YyASem4KYAQ&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CCcQMygJMAk&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=413&page=1&start=0&ndsp=21 http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.anidori.com%2Fxx%2F892_1005.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fphiladelphiarestaurants.com%2Fphotogallery.cfm%2Frestaurant%2F892%2Flacroixattherittenhouse&h=400&w=600&tbnid=BtSrGMlXMbhUIM%3A&zoom=1&docid=oAGFLNIRlqdgmM&ei=RlUTVNKYBs-YyASem4KYAQ&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CCQQMygGMAY&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=459&page=1&start=0&ndsp=21 http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia-cdn.tripadvisor.com%2Fmedia%2Fphoto-s%2F02%2F65%2Fbf%2Fb0%2Flacroix-at-the-rittenhouse.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripadvisor.com%2FLocationPhotoDirectLink-g60795-d433446-i40222640-Lacroix_at_The_Rittenhouse-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html&h=450&w=252&tbnid=PSy4690Knx_G0M%3A&zoom=1&docid=dZF0bZ_kxcZa3M&itg=1&ei=z1UTVKDJLtS3yATYioLYAQ&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CBkQMygRMBE4ZA&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=631&page=5&start=100&ndsp=28 http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fassets3.thrillist.com%2Fv1%2Fimage%2F674032%2Fsize%2Ftl-horizontal_main%2Frittenhouse-tavern-fond-and-lacroix-team-up-on-epass&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thrillist.com%2Feat%2Fphiladelphia%2F19148%2Fwill-byobs-collab-dinner&h=434&w=640&tbnid=aOnPpeJXxVCBSM%3A&zoom=1&docid=RqGOI9DSoBa5RM&ei=91UTVKqwOM6iyAToqYCIAg&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CCAQMygYMBg4yAE&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=3311&page=9&start=213&ndsp=28

High heat will tend to overcook the outside, so I sear in a pan and then oven roast at 300 to 350 depending on the meat. Tough cuts I braise or SV cook.

Its on a vacuum flask, right?

The empty spot is properly used to hold potatoes. Lots of them. The plating I hate is the tweezer jobs with little bits of food and technicolor schmears. Cools off quickly and looks like dessert. No entree should have a blue sauce. Lacroix in Philly does this and charges a mint for it. It is an intelligence test.

I'm on the board of a big Retirement/Assisted Living/ Nursing Home. We have a first class chef who worked at the best local restaurants...had had it with the life...and now works at the NH. Everyday food is great (within the taste limitations of the age group) and the food he serves in the "restaurant" dining room is better than anything available for many miles in real restaurants.

Looking from the outside, it seems to me that there are two approaches to new techniques. Either a restaurant uses them quietly alongside classic methods to make a better product, or they get all wrapped up in the new thing and make a big deal of it to the point where the method gets more attention than the food.

Agreed. Pregrated cheese is never as sharp as the best crumbly stuff sold in blocks.

cole slaw goes well with pulled pork

Freezing point of EtOH is about -115C. LN2 could freeze it, but the Freeze Girl couldn't hold it there. I believe it would boil off rather than sublimate. The volatiles in wine that contribute to what you smell would have to be lost by the process I think.

Re FD wine...I bet a lot of volatile flavor would go off too. When I lyophilized stuff in the lab (decades ago) , I would always freeze it first with LN2 or dry ice/acetone. This Freeze-Girl (relative of Steam Boy) seems like it takes a long time to get to frozen; why not pre-freeze?

Big question is do you mix it with a fork or with a food processor? Chunky or creamy? I lean toward a finely mashed but slightly chunky, forked product. Sharp white cheddar, chopped roasted red peppers, mayo, Worcestershire, horseradish (a little), Tabasco, s&p

I have a big old Vulcan with about 8 pilot lights (I turned a few off) and gas hot water too. I think the propane guy comes two or three times a year. A modern stove without pilots would use much less.

I've done a quick corned beef with thin meat eg bavette. Usual spiced nitrate rub but put overnight into SV bath immediately. In the morning it looks and tastes like traditional corned beef. Chicken breast would probably lend itself nicely to this method.

I was fed tea when I was a sickly child. Can't stand the stuff.

There are foam tapes available that are self-sealing if you insert the probe through the tape. They look like the insulating weather-stripping that you can buy at the hardware store and may well be just that, but re-labelled

You get up to Park City? Some nice ones there

The thing on my unit has come out a couple times. I don't quite trust it.

So much cooler than Anova 1.0.

A marinade or brine will flavor but probably not tenderize cooked meat very well as the fibers are already contracted by cooking and can't absorb as much.

This almost sounds like a B-school project brought to life.

Interesting piece. The concept isn't even a little bit attractive to me. Pay upfront for membership in a focus group that dines sporadically in places ill-suited for eating a meal (a parking garage, really?). They are going to monetize this by starting restaurants that exploit the recipe data generated from the labs. Doesn't sound promising. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/business/dinner-lab-brings-the-wisdom-of-crowds-to-haute-cuisine.html

The hacker special never made sense to me in terms of potential PITA to Anova. Perhaps they are looking for crowdsourcing design of the next version?