Dante

Hm. I know I'd like to see that... Sincerely, Dante

Friend of mine recently asked me how to rescue pea soup that has become oversalted by the ham she put in it. Due to housemate allergy issues, I don't cook with ham much and I don't use salt in my cooking except when chemically necessary, so I'm very out of practice here. Can anyone out there help me here? I'd like to find a way to do this that doesn't dilute the flavour of the soup too much. Sincerely, Dante

Hm. Interesting...not sure of the use of the term "amatuer", tho. never seen that mentioned. People refer to me as a foodie (but I only accept use of that label for ease of communication, I don't self-identify with the term). Amateur, eh? I'm an ex-professional, with professional education too, so now I wonder what I am... Sincerely, Dante

South Park, actually...

OK- tried several techniques, including the reverse spherification (what I got from that reminded me of the H.P. Lovecraft line about "Ye liveliest awfulness". It was so hideous I threw it out in to my back yard rather then in to my trash can- I'm sure some day its children will come crawling out of the woods seeking revenge on me ) I even tried diluting the Chartreuse, using it as just a flavouring, but even the smallest amounts still interfered with the process, so I guess it's just chemically impossible. Oh well, it was a good idea, just not a viable one... Sincerely, Dante

the former. I'd got that impression. Hmmm...I hadn't thought of that...interesting... (see this post, for example). OK- I'll check that out. Thanx! Sincerely, Dante

So I've got it in my head that I'd like to try a spherification of Green Chartreuse for my impending trip to New Orleans (I'm a member of the Completely Mystical Order of the Krewe of Chartreuse), but I'm wondering about the viability of doing this with an alcoholic substance. Would I go about it in the standard manner, is there some added factor I should account for or is it chemically impossible? I've only done this with fruit juice so far. I'd really love to present the Krewe founder I'm staying with down there with a container of Chartreuse "Caviar". Sincerely, Dante

In 2008, I will eat at Au Pied de Cochon (OK, that may have to wait at least another year...) I will make the squid-ink pasta and lobster ravioli dinner my wife and I had at Red Tomato in Bethesda, MD several years ago (I will also strive to make everything on my projects and experiments list) I will find the aforementioned squid-ink pasta I will learn more molecular gastronomy-based tricks I will teach as much as I know I will read Omnivore's Dilemma (I've got it, just haven't started it yet) Sincerely, Dante

Gotcha. Well, I'm the former who has since become the latter . This thread has convinced me to not bother with the LCB book. Not that I have any sort of negative opinion of it, mind you, I'm certain it's wonderful, but just not what I feel is a necessary addition to my culinary library. Sincerely, Dante

Food-wise? Not really. Having done three huge event-level meals in the past week, I was all-too happy to leave New Year's Eve to the pretzels-crudites-and-nachos crowd. Sincerely, Dante

Yep. Provisions International. They also supply the Lebanon and Hanover Co-ops, where I do almost all of my grocery shopping. Elixir always has a great selection, but VT has an amazing array of cheesemakers. That's the one most often recommended so far. yeah- the Co-op carries those, as well as a couple of others (including Henry Tewksbury's "The Cheeses of Vermont" ). Published by Chelsea Green, also out of White River Jct. A friend just gifted me with a copy last night, oddly enough. I'll have to see- leaning most towards "Cheese Primer" for best all-around for one with limited cookbook shelf space. Sincerely, Dante

So, my housemate's 20+-year-old waffle maker is finally reaching the end of its life. She'd like to find a Belgian Waffle maker that ideally makes four or so waffles at a time. Any suggestions/recommendations? Sincerely, Dante

I've never gotten that either. Me, I have some blood sugar issues, which result in my being almost constantly thirsty, So I love having big glasses around. I've resorted to using a milk-shake tin as a glass (the metal helps keep the drink colder too) and I also have one of the plastic mugs that Surf Side Spuds served their fries in, which is about the same size as the tin. As to reasons why large glasses are hard to find, I haven't the foggiest. Sincerely, Dante

Hello there! I had plans to try the steak recipe from Heston Blumenthal's "In Search of Perfection" this coming week but someone has borrowed my copy of the book and I just found out that I won't see said person for a few days. Can anyone out there possibly share the method for preparingthe steak itself (that is to say, not the accompaniments, just the method for the steak)? Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Dante

Peet's is nice. My wife the Coffee Fiens is quite fond of Orleans Coffee as well. sincerely, Dante

This past Friday (December 7th), I had the pleasure of dining at Elixir, a fairly new small-plates restaurant in White River Junction with my wife, our housemates and a friend of ours for my Housemate Claudia’s birthday dinner. I do believe we’ve found a new preferred restaurant. The atmosphere maintains a casual, fun-loving-but-still-serious air about it. A converted warehouse building remade in to a restaurant while still leaving enough to make it obvious what the building started out as. Enough neon to give it what my wife refers to as “swank” but not so much that it becomes overdone (difficult to do with neon), a wooden pillar behind the bar with home drilled in to it to hold wine bottles- touches like these give it a special character not normally found in this area but which, to judge by the business they’re doing, has found acceptance by the local populace. The service staff were quite professional and helpful, starting when my wife and I arrived much earlier than we’d intended to (before the time our reservations were for) – they had available table space and set it up right for us even after we said it was OK for us to wait at the bar until everyone else arrived. We started the evening with a couple of drinks and a serving of their “Nuts Over You” spiced nuts- very tasty- spicy enough to be enjoyable but not so much that the spice overwhelmed the natural flavour of the nuts themselves. I had the “Coolidge” martini (Stoli raspberry, blackberry liqueur, sour mix, cranberry juice, whimsically garnished with a Swedish fish candy) while my wife had the “494”- Absolut, cointreau, lime juice, cranberry juice, garnished with a lime wedge)- both quite lovely – well-made and tasty. We’d started on a couple of the local beers they serve when the rest of our party arrived. Pouring over the menus we all had difficulty deciding what to pick- everything looked so inviting. I decided on the “Fish’n’ Chips”(Barramundi with hand-made chips and spicy sauce) and the “Say Cheese” cheese plate -this time including Blue Ledge Farm’s “Lake’s Edge” {a sort of local Humboldt Fog}, another Blue Ledge Farms chevre, Abbe de Belloc and Fourme d'Ambert, accompanied by fig paste, olive tapenade a tomato-basil relish and toasted bread. My wife ordered the “Autumn Biiss Soup” (carrot puree with star anise foam) “Easy sliders” (mini kobe beef burgers with carmelized onions, tomato and local cheddar) with a side of their sweet potato fries with spicy aioli. Our housemate Rick ordered the “Buck Stops Here” (Seared venison with swiss chard and black pepper gastrique) and the “Down East Divers (scallops with black truffle and celeriac puree) Claudia had the Olive Miso, the Easy Sliders and the “Jack-o-Sotto” (roasted pumpkin risotto with wild mushrooms served in a small pumpkin). She also had the “Tip Top Tini” martini (Grey Goose vodka, Chambord, Pineapple Juice and twist of lemon garnish) Our friend Angelica had the “Mary’s Little Lamb” satay (with basmati rice and spinach) the “Down East Divers” and the “Say Cheese” plate. For an accompanying wine we selected a very nice Tempranillo Rioja which proved versatile enough to work for all of us. Naturally, we shared everything we got, and I made a point to taste everything… The fish and chips was positively divine- both my wife and I , completely independently of each other, commented that it “tasted of the sea”. Tender to the point of almost falling apart, light, flakey batter crust, nice, slightly spicy sauce on the side. One of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever had anywhere. The cheese plate, as one would expect from the quality of cheese involved, was exquisite. I’ll admit that I confined the accompaniments to the bread, not wanting to mix the flavours of the cheeses themselves with anything else, so good were they. The Autumn Bliss Soup was quite good, subtle yet flavourful, the anise foam on top (v. nice presentation) accompanying yet not intruding. The Easy Sliders were amazing- nicely tender, the flavour of the beef standing out amongst the accompaniments, each ingredient’s flavour palpably present without impinging on any of the others. As much as I enjoyed my Fish and Chips, I almost regretted not getting the burgers. The fries were a very nice accompaniment- I had to stop myself from snitching too many from my wife’s serving. The venison was tender, and juicy, the gastrique going well with it- strong enough to stand up to the meat without overwhelming or being overwhelmed. The scallops, like the fish, were fresh and tender, just seared enough to qualify as cooked while still retaining their natural texture- the puree going quite well with them. The olive plate was delightful- I noticed less of a citrus flavour in the marinade than there was when we had come there last month- not a complaint against either experience, mind you- just a noticeable difference. The Jack-o-Sotto was delicious- properly sticky, nicely flavoured and I loved the idea of serving it inside a miniature pumpkin. The lamb was good- again- fresh local ingredients prepared in a way as to taste of what they are while still having proper accompaniments. Simple yet elegant. Desserts came next, with my wife ordering the Chocolate soufflé, which she shared with Claudia, Rick had the Espresso custard and Angelica had the cheese plate and me ordering the “Inverted Martini”.. The Inverted Martini seemed a nod towards the area of Molecular Gastronomy pioneered by Ferran Adria and his adherents- cutting-edge cookery not to be found elsewhere in this region, to my knowledge. Dry vermouth with small vodka gelee cubes and a sprinkle of chives, topped with a scoop of house-made banana ice cream surrounded by banana chips. Unique and utterly enjoyable. The soufflé was quite good- chocolatey flavour, good light-but-firm consistency. It was accompanied with a small scoop of ice cream in a lemony-flavoured shell. The espresso custard was tasty, and had a good texture, with an interesting hint of sour cream in the taste and finish. After dessert I got a pleasant surprise the manager came out to say hello and shared with me a bit about the restaurant- it’s philosophy, what they’re doing and what they’re planning to do. A very interesting moment made perfect when we got a scoop of Buddha’s Hand ice cream to sample (he even brought out a Buddha’s Hand to show my dining companions as I was the only one at the table who had seen one before). The service was excellent- our waiter was very attentive and efficient and also displayed a very thorough knowledge of the menu and the ingredients, answering all of our questions in detail, Throughout the meal we had the pleasure of listening to a very good fiddle-and-hammered-dulcimer duet. My wife almost teared up when they started playing “Ashokan Farewell”- an unexpected pleasure dining to one of her favourite songs. So there we have it, Elixir, a focus on fresh, local ingredients, allowed to speak for themselves and a surprising touch of the cutting edge, yet still keeping an eye towards making the food accessible and towards providing a unique, enjoyable dining experience. I can’t recommend it highly enough for the food, the experience and the overall fun factor.

Anyone else feel this way? For most fresh herbs that the food co-op I shop at sells, they have them in bulk, so I just grab as much as I want. But not so with parsley and cilantro, which they seem insistant on bundling up by the metric crapload. Luckily, a few kind words can usually get me a partial bunch, as most of the staff there are quite accomodating. But, yeah, in those cases, I know exactly what you mean. I usually end up contributing at least some rotting cilantro to the compost pile. Sincerely, Dante

Gotcha. Sorry- can't help you, then. If you lived in NH, I could point you in the right direction... Sincerely, Dante

I've tinkered with the ideas of binders with dividers, file cabinets, a journal, and saving them onto the computer. I feel recipe cards, while visually more appealing, don't always give me the space I need to write out long recipes. I keep mine in an accordion folder. entree, salad, side, dessert and beverage first, then subcategories of meat, seafood, grain, fruit/veg, etc. I also keep an accordion folder of information on local food resources and restaurant menus I have a seperate 3-ring-binder notebook where I keep info on past and future events (menus and such), results, favourites and other things (records of the local food co-op's available products in certain departments, data on different topics (stock-making, infused oils, different food traditions tech, meat, cheese, wine, produce, etc), dietary and menu creation guidelines, pantry inventory (what I try to keep stocked at all times, shopping list templates, idea to try out later, reminders of area I tend to neglect, etc), quickie meal ideas that I can make with what I always have on hand (in event of an emergency) and similar related topics. that help any? Sincerely, Dante

So... it's occurred to me that while I like to think that I have a good knowledge of cheeses in general, but it's limited by my personal experience. I only know what I've perconally encountered and/or heard about by other afficionados. so I feel I may need to branch out a bit... if I were to only buy one book on cheese, what would it be? What would my fellow conoisseurs here recommend? Sincerely, Dante

Hmm... Cheese plate at Elixir in White River Junction, Vt- Monte Enebro La Tur triple cream (sheep, cow, goat) Abbe de Belloc and one more that I can't recall off the top of my head. I plan to do a full review of Elixir for the New England forum soon- they had a limited menu when we went and felt it wouldn't be fair to them to do a review under those circumstances. We'll be going there again in Friday. All quite exquisite, which makes sense4 as the chef for Elixir used to be chef for the Canoe Club in Hanover, Nh, which also has an excellent cheese plate. Few evenings ago at home we had some of Lazy Lady Farm's Figaro (goat's milk with fig paste) and Cranberries and Cream (also goat's milk, with additions as the name implies), Blue Ledge Farm's Crottina (an American Cheese Society winner), a lovely, subtle little cheese called Rosemary's Waltz from Quebec, and some unpasteurized Stilton smuggled to me by a friend from England. All quite delightful, expecially the last of those, which was an absolute epiphany. Sincerely, Dante

So I've got a Red Kuri squash sitting on my table, plus a Blue Hubbard and a couple of Delicatas, handed off to me by a co-worker who got them from one of her patients. My squash knowledge lacks somewhat in some areas- anyone got any suggestions onwhat to do with them besides use them as an attractive seasonal centerpiece for the dining room table? Sincerely, Dante

ever considered making your own? Maybe then putting it in a decorative container? Sincerely, Dante

P.S. as to the original question, unless there's a new edition of the LCB book that I haven't seen, I think there's really no comparison between the CIA and LCB books. The CIA book is something like three times as extensive as the LCB book. While the LCB book has nice pictures, it's just not the same category of reference. Gotcha. Given the dwindling space I've got left on the cookbook shelves, I'll give the LCB book a miss. Sincerely, Dante

So, I can do Asian cooking so long as I avoid the noodles- meat, vegetables, nuts, spices- I'm there. But every time I try to cook somen, it comes out as a gelatinous mass. Last night I tried cooking my noodles for half the 3-minute recommended cooking time and still ended up with noodle jello (granted, my wife didn't mind, but still- I find a weak area in my cooking, I need to fix it). Anyone got any good tips for the somen-challenged? Sincerely, Dante