Jump to content

TheSwede

participating member
  • Posts

    417
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by TheSwede

  1. You definitely want to add the corn starch at the end, but it won't lose it's thickening effect in any dramatic way if you boil it for a while. Also you want to boil it for at least a little while to get it smoth and glossy. Cornstarch doesn't have the raw starch taste of of ordinary flour but it still needs to be coked a little bit.

  2. Now don't go thinking I let the skin go to waste... :biggrin: ...I cut it off and fried it by itself.  I mean I grew up in the South-ish (Texas), where cracklins are still a wonderful and sacred thing.  I guess I shoulda been clearer to avoid being crucified. lol.

    You had me worried for a while... :wink:

    It is amazing how easy it is to get a nice browning on confited pork. Just a couple of minutes in a frying pan for crisp golden exterior and molten hot interior...

  3. ...

    My belly came with the skin on, and I opted to cut the skin off after it had been cooked.  It was MUCH easier then.

    Don't you eat the wonderful crispy skin? When I'm about to eat my confited (or braised) pork belly, I fry it in a pan starting with the skin side down. Crisps up really easy.

  4. Another tip (from Peterson I belive) is to "freshen up" the stock before serving (in whatever form you are going to serve it) with a handful of mirepoix and some fresh herbs which gets to simmer for a couple of minutes.

  5. Amigos, por favor ...

    Try this link: http://www.sosa.cat

    The website is in three languages. I'm guessing,  "gelificante vegetal sosa" may mean vegetable gelling agent, made by Sosa??

    Since Sosa is a spanish firm specializing in hydrocolloids for making pastries/desserts I think you have have the answer there.

    I got their catalogue by mailing and asking nicely. Glossy paper, four color and lots of recipes.

  6. Wegmans bills that their truffles are from Burgundy....

    Then they are Burgundy truffles (!), which is a variety that has less developed aroma and taste than black Perigord truffles but still has culinary use.

    I bough fresh locally (swedish) grown burgundy truffles a couple of months ago. They were very good shaved over a risotto. Price was actually a little bit less than what Wegman charged.

    Stockholm's most prestigeous resturant at the moment, Mathias Dahlgren at Grand Hotel, serves the local burgundy truffles when they are in season. Part of the "locally grown, seasonal" movement of course.

  7. In general, my doughs are wet enough to basically stick to anything like crazy. That makes them quite hard to work with (a pain really), but I'm somehow gotten the impression that wetter equals better when it comes to doughs.

    ...

    When I first made lean artisanal breads, my doughs were very sticky, really unhandleable. Over the years I've learned to sacrifice some wetness for a dough that's easier to handle and shape. The breads still turn out well.

    Thanks for the advice. I don't bake that often, but when I do I usually aim for (but never reach..) that perfect artisanal sourdough bread.

    I actually did my fist sourdough-only bread the other week following jackals excellent tutorial here on eGullet. Turned out pretty well, but not perfect. A slightly sour/off smell when baking, a little bit too flat and not enough large holes in the crumb. Taste and texture was good though.

  8. I will just point out that there are a couple non-alcoholic swedish punch type things on the market.

    The idea being, of course, that you add the alcohol and make the punch when you get it home.

    I hate to be too much of a food snob, but the content declaration of the Saturnus Arrack Punch doesn't make it sound particularly appealing:

    Water, sugar, invert sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, aromas, lemon juice, food colouring (E150a), preserving agents (E202, E211), antioxidation agent (ascorbic acid), acid (citric acid)

    These types extracts are (or used to be) quite popular here in Sweden, although not necessarily because of their great taste. Rather because high alcohol taxes made home distilling something of an (illegal) national sport.

    Our membership in the European Union has made the import of alcohol significantly easier and thus lowered prices, so it is less of an issue nowadays.

    I think my mother sometimes made punsch from that particular extract. It was not that bad, but not nearly as good as the real stuff made from arrak.

  9. Jackal, I noticed in your very instructive video that the dough didn't stick to your fingers, work surface, arms, elbows etc etc like mine always does. Is that because you work with a dough that is less wet than mine or because you cover each piece of dough with enough flour to make it non sticky on the surface?

    In general, my doughs are wet enough to basically stick to anything like crazy. That makes them quite hard to work with (a pain really), but I'm somehow gotten the impression that wetter equals better when it comes to doughs.

  10. I'm going to spend six weeks in London starting mid March and hopefully I will have the opportunity to visit a lot of interesting resturants. But I really need the inputs from the members of this forum: Where would you take a food interested friend who came to visit London for a couple of weeks? Where would you take him if he was paying? :wink:

    I'm open to all suggestions, both the high and low!

    /Chris

  11. If you are using red wine or red port, I would suggest you stay away from the cream or variations thereof, since it is very easy to create strange colours (like pink...). Taste will be fine with cream, but stock, butter and perhaps a little starch (if needed) will create a much more estethic sauce.

  12. the fat goes in raw? does it melt from the heat of the meat and makes it like pate?

    help!

    Yep, it melts in the hot water, water evaporates, meat starts to carmelize. Brown to taste, pot.

    I don't think you have to be that particular what cuts of pork you use as long as you have anough fat. I used "thick cut" ribs (no idea what the US name is) and pulled out the bones once it was time to shred.

  13. Xantan is on my "must buy" list, especially since it works equally well on hot and cold liquids.

    I bet it is cheaper in the local health shop than from the El Bulli Texturas brand... Any online sources (especially in Europe)?

  14. have you got any photos of the meal, Mr Swede?

    Sorry, no. But as Docsconz says, some of the courses were shown at the Madrid Fusion conference. You will find some photos there.

    I do have this debate with myself every time I'm to parttake in a better meal: Should I review or should I indulge? For me, they are somewhat mutually exclusive. Indulge wins every time... ;)

    Friday in two weeks I will hopefully dine at new hotshot restaurant Franzen-Lindeberg. They serve a 20 course tasting menu definitely inspired by Alinea/WD-50/El Bulli. I can't promise any photos, but I will do my best to post some impressions.

×
×
  • Create New...