Tri2Cook

Yeah, that would be nice. I've managed to get them to bring things in for me but it always seems like they're not real happy about it and it takes them a long time to get around to it. By the way, what do most Ontario residents do about maraschino? I'm guessing the answer is "without".

The closest store that carries the Bulleit is about 5 hours away. Locally, I can get Jim Beam White and Jack Daniels No. 7. I can get Knob Creek semi-locally (about an hour away). I had someone pick up the Maker's for me when they were on a trip. I know the serious bourbon folks look down their nose at it but I like it. I'm willing to have another on hand if I can get them to bring it in though. Mainly mixing. I'm not a fan of scotch straight. I wasn't the last time I tried it anyway, which was a long time ago. I may be tempted to sip a little just to see if that's changed but the main purpose will be for mixing. I'd like to go for a scotch that will be good for mixing but won't be too disappointing if somebody wants it for sipping. It doesn't need to be geared towards the serious scotch person. The El Jimador isn't available where I live. They literally have what I listed above and nothing else. I can get it semi-locally about an hour away though so it's an option. The same problem with the Armagnac de Montal... it's a Vintages item and not carried locally. Not even the store an hour away has it.

So I was discussing this with a bartender friend and he says that Alberta Premium, while still a Canadian blended whiskey, is in fact 100% rye. Anybody know anything about it? Good choice? Bad choice? Close enough? He also suggested Glenfiddich 12 as a decent Scotch choice for my purposes. What sayeth the Gullet?

I'm about as far from being a cocktail expert as it's possible to get and still know of their existence. I have a very narrow range I generally go for on the occasions when I drink one. However, I get in the mood to play around now and then when I come across a cool/tasty sounding cocktail here on eGullet and I have several friends who are much more into cocktails than I am so I've been putting together a basic bar. I haven't been (and don't intend to) shooting for a high budget setup, I'm calling it middle-shelf. So far the cabinet contains... Bourbon - Maker's Mark Gin - Beefeater Gin - Tanqueray 10 Rum - Appleton Estate Reserve Rum - Appleton White Vodka - Grey Goose Vermouth - both dry and sweet I also already have Cointreau, Kirsch, Calvados, Creme de Cocoa, Frangelico and several more along that line because I use them in desserts and chocolates. Things I don't have yet... Tequila - locally, they have Sauza Silver and Patron Silver (and Patron Anejo... which isn't going to happen). I'm not a tequila fan so the more than 2x price for the Patron Silver really needs to be worth it in a cocktail if I'm going to keep that on hand mainly for friends instead of the Sauza. I'm hoping the tequila fans are going to tell me the Sauza will be fine. I don't drink it so, if they want a really good sipping tequila they can bring their own bottle. Rye - don't know much about it. Keep in mind with the suggestions that I'm in Canada. Scotch - again, not a fan but I want to have something on hand. Anything in the same general range as the other stuff I have that's worth bothering with? Cognaq - I can take care of this one myself but if you want to throw a suggestion in that's fine. In addition to the above suggestions, throw in anything else that I haven't thought of that's a good idea to have around. I'm not trying to keep the overall expense particularly cheap, just not going to extremes on the individual bottles because I don't want to cringe in fear every time I see a bottle close to needing replacing.

Exact sameness can be difficult with a dish like your noodle example but "some semblance of evenness" shouldn't be that hard. Toss it all together, divide it among the plates take a quick look for any obvious imbalance, redistribute a few things as needed and call it close enough. I don't think anybody at the table is going to know they got 2 less chunks of chicken or 3 more peas than someone else. And yes I do understand that even if they don't notice, you will. I'm the same way... but I've slowly accepted that in some cases it's ok to relax and call it close enough (as long as it's not a quality or taste issue of course). With casseroles and stews and things like that, if they look the same then they are the same. Nobody will count.

The average sheet of gold strength gelatin is 2g. Using that with the 200g of mousse (100g base + 100g cream) puts you at that 1% I mentioned above. An average envelope of the powder is 7g and measures about 2 1/2 teaspoons. If you were going to sub by weight at 1:1 (which isn't exactly accurate but will be close enough for this purpose since you're dealing with small amounts either way, I think the actual conversion works out to about 1.9g of the powder) then you would need 2g from that envelope. A teaspoon from that envelope should weigh around 2.8g which is to the high side but probably not enough to be spongy. Cut it back to 3/4 teaspoon and you will be very close. Weigh out 1.9g and you will be spot on. If you want to play a little, try cutting it to about 1/2 that amount or a little more and you'll probably find that the stability is still fine with a chocolate based mousse but that 1% is a safe and widely used number.

Pretty much the same thing that's on the menu every day... I'm working new year's eve.

I didn't try a lot of new things. I'm not particularly proud of that but it's the way things went this year. One new taste sensation for me (but apparently street vendors have been doing it forever in Mexico so I guess I'm just behind the curve) that stood out was the burnt milk gelato from Francisco Migoya's Frozen Desserts. Burnt milk sounds just about as unappealing as something could sound to me but it's an incredible and complex flavor if you take the time to really taste it and I've been playing with other ways to use it since.

The dividing line for me is what I plan to do with it. If I'm going to remove it from whatever I set it in and have it freestanding or use it as a layer or cover for a cake, I use gelatin. If I'm going to let it set in whatever I plan to serve it in, I don't use gelatin. The stability I'm after isn't about keeping it from seperating, it's about strength. But you want the minimum needed to give you the strength you want because mousse is not spongy or gelled. If you're serving your mousse from the container it sets in, there's no reason to work gelatin into a recipe that already works great for you.

That would put the gelatin at about 1% by weight of the total recipe. I generally shoot for the .5% or so range for chocolate based mousses that will be unmolded or used in cakes. 1% is a safe number to go with though, it's what I use as a starting point for non-chocolate based mousses (and then work down). It may not put you at the minimum needed to do the job but it shouldn't cross the line into spongy. And of course that's just my way, definitely not the way.

Whether you choose to use gelatin or not is your call. It makes a great stabilizer for mousse and melts at mouth temp along with the chocolate. Regardless, 1/4 cup of gelatin powder is WAY too much for that recipe. I'm thinking more like a teaspoon at most for that amount of mousse... probably less. I don't generally work with the powder but I think an envelope is about 2 1/2 teaspoons and will set 2 cups of liquid to a "jello" texture. You don't want a "jello" mousse. Somebody either made up that recipe without testing it or likes their mousse on the gummy side.

I've had custards of varying degrees of richness and thickness and in all sorts of flavors from assorted places under each name with the only consistent dividing factor being the sugar on top (or not). That may not be the defining difference to a food historian or pastry instructor but it's the only reliable dividing point I've found in the real world. For me personally, when I'm doing the cooking, the pots de creme will be slightly less firm. A spoonful of my creme brulee can be "cut" away from the rest leaving a clean dividing point. My pots de creme will tend to grab the spoon a bit kinda like pudding. But I'm sure someone else out there defines theirs in exactly the opposite way so add a sugar crust or don't and call it whatever makes you happy.

Due to a short and unreliable growing season, there is really no such thing as local produce where I live. Definitely not at a commercial level. I grow a few things in the garden and there is a farmer's market once a week where produce is brought in from a few hours south during late summer/early fall but in general produce here is never anywhere close to local at any time of year. Either the stuff being shipped in is actually getting better or my standards are dropping in response to lack of choice. The stuff I get at the farmer's market is better than the store stuff and the stuff from the garden is even better than that in most cases but neither makes eating some of the stuff I can get at the store unbearable and I can remember a time (not long ago) when that was the case.

Yeah, I know Crown Royal is a blended whiskey. That part doesn't matter to me. I don't drink enough liquor, straight or in cocktails, to be a booze snob (snob being meant in a completely positive manner). I just don't particularly care for CR. I'm mainly a beer and low-level wine guy (low-level meaning I know what I like and don't like, not what I'm supposed to like and not like... I don't have much formal wine knowledge). Most of the liquor I keep around is for use in cooking, experimenting and having on hand for friends. I like an occasional Maker's Mark... on it's own, with coke (yes, I do that to my bourbon sometimes but not in the usual bury the bourbon in coke proportions) or in a julep on a hot summer day... or gin and tonic, but don't venture beyond that often.

I'm not sure. I really want to do some tequila with strawberries but it's the wrong time of year for the berries so no point in that right now... unless I use some good frozen (I know, I know). Maybe I'll just go for something bubbly to pop open on new year's eve or a selection of beers.

Yeah, I've pretty much decided that's the way to go. I'll just pop in on monday and swap it for something else. Kerry, those are good suggestions but if I'm going to exchange it, it doesn't have to be something for playing with. I was just on the infusion theme with the CR because I don't like drinking it as is.

So I received a 750ml of Crown Royal as a well-intentioned gift. The problem is, I'm not a fan of the stuff. My first thought was to simply exchange it. Then the fun side of my brain interrupted the sensible side and said "we have no cash investment in this, maybe we can play with this stuff". So are there any fruit, nut, spice, etc. infusions, fat washes, punches, flavor bases, etc. that this stuff would be a good candidate for or would I be better off just exchanging it for something I like?

I was discussing (via email) this very subject with Chad Galiano from the Chadzilla blog back in June. I knew they were using a lot more of it than I do so I asked him what they were seeing for shelf life and what tricks they were using to maximize it (if any). This was his reply... My best answer is about 2 months if all conditions are ideal. When we open a bag, I plan ahead to have all of my plastic bags lined up and labelled. I cut the bag, weigh out 50g amounts to go into each bag, vacuum seal all of them, and go straight to the freezer. Honestly, I have never gone through an entire 1Kg without throwing some out. I've been doing it that way since and I've found it to be a pretty accurate timeframe with both GS and RM. It sucks having to throw it away since it's not particularly cheap but, unless you have a lot of projects in mind, you just have to expect it and try not to worry over it.

Because the companies don't care if canned foods are optimally salted. Their sales angle is convenience and enough people want that convenience that they'll accept and eventually learn to like whatever's in the package. Once you're eating it enough to actually like it, it's no longer oversalted for you. It moves up the chart to "supposed to taste like that". The same learned behavior applies to all kinds of convenience items. Many, many people prefer cake mix cakes over made-from-scratch because it tastes like what they're used to. I hated diet drinks but I started drinking them anyway in an attempt to get my weight down a few more pounds for some bike races I was doing a few summers back. I kept drinking them until I eventually actually liked them. Now the regular stuff tastes too syrupy to me and I still drink the diet stuff even though I'm no longer racing. You can get used to almost anything.

When we were kids, my younger brother was once asked at a retaurant if he wanted soup or salad... to which he responded "Yeah, I'll have the super salad". It's been super salad since. I frequently refer to mustard as mousse-turd. Kids find that funny but with that "Is he serious?" look on their face. I use "sammich" but it's entirely intentional and sort of an inside joke. A friend of mine was disgruntledly working at a sub place between jobs so I made a point of visiting occasionally just so I could walk up to the counter while it was busy and say (loudly) "make me a sammich b!tch". I'm a guy that knows how to treat his friends right.

Done...

Yeah, I should have worded that better. I don't really mean a literal middle finger as in being intentionally rude. What I'm picturing is more of a "this is what I'm doing and you don't have to like it but I'm still going to do it" type of thing. I'm also not thinking of the media in general or those who have questions or even skepticism, I'm thinking more of those who are instantly negative and attacking just to avoid being positive. I realize with the project you are working on a little more diplomacy is required... but we all know it's very possible to politely tell someone to kiss your arse. Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of what you're up to.

If I were to post "so I made up a batch of Mike's chocolate ice cream last night" would you have any clue that I was referring to Michael Laiskonis? Even using "Michael" wouldn't make that distinction. If I were referring to Grant Achatz or Wylie Dufresne or Homaro Cantu or Thomas Keller or a few other celebrity-status names, most may assume they were who I was talking about based simply on the given name but I'm not sure that's the case for every chef I may decide to talk about. Also, for me, it is a respect thing. I don't have to be in their kitchen or on their payroll to respect what they do.

I just toast gingerbread and infuse that along with some toasted whole spices and some fresh ginger but I've never used it for creme brulee, just ice cream.

These days I usually do whatever you would call the opposite of procrastibaking when I'm at home. I go out of my way to find things to do to put off baking.