Chris Hennes

Rumor has it you can get some pretty fine coffee at LaGuardia... the Memphis airport, on the other hand, not so much.

I want to see footage of the rules-reading from last night's episode: two of the pastry chefs in a dessert competition decided to make dresses out of vegetables? What the hell? It looks like Heather went home at the right time, the first time... she sure didn't do much with her second chance. And I was glad they didn't send Eric packing: I think he's out of his league (or more like, out of his area) on this show, but he comes across as a nice guy on TV. I know a lot of people don't like Morgan, but he definitely seems like a good (and smart) competitor. Morgan and Yigit to the finale? Who else?

Amen.

eGullet Technology Update Tweet This! Take a look at the upper right hand corner of this post (or any other post, for that matter): up next to the number you click on to get a link to the post. See the little "t" icon? If you mouse over it it should say "Share this post on Twitter", and that's exactly what clicking on it does. If you have a Twitter account, go ahead and click on it (don't worry, it doesn't automatically update your status, it just fills in the field for you). This button now shows up for any topic, and will create a link directly to the post that you clicked on. It's a quick way to Tweet about an eG topic, and will be a supplement to some other sharing features we hope to have implemented in the near future.

Is there some problem with stating that you don't know their origin? We see it all the time in other works: Reading the code to require anything beyond that reasonable effort seems to me to be overly legalistic: it's a code of ethics you agree to abide by, not a legal contract. The whole point of stating that you follow such-and-such code is to tell your readers what they can expect from you. Obviously, if you think this code requires you to track down original sources for every recipe under the sun, it's not the code for you. But to my reading the clause is about making it clear what you wrote and what you didn't, not about tracking down the final authoritative source for every quote.

I've done both, but there were too many variables at work for me to accurately assess the differences. I found that wiping it down seemed to encourage the growth of the white powdering molds, so from a visual standpoint it's nicer that way. ETA: That is, wiping it down with a vinegar/water solution (I probably diluted the vinegar to half its original strength).

But ... but ... but a recipe's list of ingredients is not subject to copyright and, even after some research, may be of unknown attribution. Of course I don't think it's talking about copyright at all here in the eG ethics code: there are many things that are legal, but still unacceptable to various codes of ethics (and as prasantrin points out, there are many). This clause seems pretty clear to me: if the recipe isn't yours, make that clear. It doesn't say you have to track down the original source, or anything like that. It is effectively an anti-plagiarism clause: if the recipe is not yours, it should be clear from its context in your post, "such as by quotation marks, citations and credits." I doubt in context anyone would believe you were claiming any classic cocktail as your own creation. And in the case of a non-classic, the code requires you to make it clear you didn't invent it, but rather found it someplace else. The code does not seem to say, at least to my reading, that that "someplace else" has to be the original source: if you know the original source that's great, but as long as it's clear that you are not claiming it as your "original material," then at least to my reading, you are fine.

You may well be right about Malika: and regardless of why she left, you're completely right about the producers. It's their job to get a field of contestants who will actually compete. Their desire for drama bit them in the ass here, their casting decisions definitely strayed too far from competency as a pastry chef.

I'd argue that it is in fact the most professional behavior possible. She didn't throw a tantrum. She didn't even decide she didn't care and just make awful food. She looked at the situation and said "This sucks much worse than I thought it was going to. Not only is it destroying something I loved doing, but I just watched another contestant completely lose it to the point they had to call an ambulance. I don't want that to be me, this is not what I thought it would be, I'm outta here." As a pastry chef, if your client asks you to do something you think is dumb, I think you are well within your rights to tell the client to find another pastry chef. You don't have to compromise your craft just because you agreed to work with them back when it wasn't clear exactly what it was they wanted. I understand the cultural resistance we all have to "quitting," but sometimes cutting your losses is the right call.

I didn't have a problem with this: she didn't know going in that she wasn't going to like the competition aspect. If she genuinely felt she was ruining something she loved by participating, more power to her for stepping down gracefully. It's annoying to viewers and I'm sure to the producers as well, but there is no reason she should worry about us.

One thing I have really liked this season (and last, if I recall) were the "high-stakes" quickfires: it gives a very strong monetary incentive to compete to WIN, not just to not lose. I'd love to see even more emphasis on the winners getting awesome prizes throughout the competition.

An excellent point from Tri2Cook: fortunately, the same aeration that lightens the color lightens the flavor, so if you're happy with a spinach-flavored foam on a carrot soup (sounds like it would be good to me, but I love spinach), I'd say give that a try and see how it is. I'd be a bit leery of the basil flavor in that application, actually. I wonder if you won't have to concentrate the chlorophyl that you extract from the spinach though, to get it bright enough in a foam application.

I suggest you spoiled your friends in NYC! You'll have a hard time matching that lineup in any other city in the world. Are you basically just looking for one good place? Or do you need a whole lineup?

Christina, personally, I would not try to drop the humidity: 80-90% is high, but not so high that the salami won't cure right. You'll probably get some fun mold colors, but that should not pose any real problems (conventional wisdom notwithstanding). The humidity should slowly start to drop as the meat dries out.

Boeuf à la mode (a.k.a. Great Pot Roast) (p. 252–253) The trick to this pot roast is that you start the day before and marinate the beef in wine and aromatics overnight. It doesn't really add any work, but requires that you plan ahead a bit (not usually my forte). I mostly followed the instructions on this recipe, up until serving: I personally prefer a thicker gravy with my pot roast, so I took some of the sauce and thickened it with a roux. It probably pulls it away from the French and solidly into American Pot Roast territory: oh well! Served with buttered and peppered egg noodles and peas, this would definitely not be out of place on any typical US table.

Hideaway has a strong local following here in the OKC area as well: I had their pizza once and was not impressed, but that was takeout, and was a couple years ago. Fifteen minutes in a cardboard box doesn't do anything good for anyone's pizza, so I can't really judge fairly!

Upper Crust (website, 5860 N. Classen Blvd, Oklahoma City) I previewed Upper Crust here, and ate there again last night. They've now been open for a few weeks and I think are fair game for a review. First off, here's what they say on their website: While the pizza is arguably more California-style than New York-style, that doesn't really detract from it. In terms of pizza taxonomy, it has a medium-thick leavened crust with no corniccione and little flavor. In this case the crust serves almost entirely as a vehicle for topping delivery: the very definition of a California-style pie, no? To a certain extent this is disappointing due to the use of wood-fired ovens. Honestly I had been hoping a Neopolitan-style pizza place would open up (very high heat, very thin crust, corniccione), but I can't hold it against Upper Crust that their goals lie elsewhere: only that it seems silly to use a wood-fired oven when a standard steel deck will give you the same results. So there you have my built-in bias: the "wood fired oven" schtick is just that: a schtick. But is the pizza any good? Well... before I get to the pizza a few words about the appetizers and salads. As I mentioned in my original post, I thought the cheese bread was fine but nothing special, and the "anti-pizza" antipasto platter completely superfluous. The focus appeared to be on a price point, rather than a quality point. In the battle of the OKC pizzerias, The Wedge's "Wedge Trio" is so far superior to any appetizers on the menu here that there isn't really a contest. However, the saving grace at Upper Crust, somewhat perversely, is their salad. I'm not really a salad connoisseur, but both the salads I have tried were really very good, in particular the Caesar. Normally I'd expect a place like this to have a gloppy overapplied dressing on a soggy romaine/iceberg blend, but that was not the case here. The dressing was pleasantly acidic, judiciously applied, and the lettuce was a nice fresh romaine with a good balance of the thicker central portions and the leafy green portions. I definitely recommend getting a salad over any of the other appetizer options. Finally, on to the pizza. This is a place whose (somewhat presumptuous!) domain name is "www.okcbestpizza.com", and their Twitter handle is @okcbestpizza. So it's clear that they are not aiming for the middle of the pack. Alas, I think that's where they land. There isn't anything wrong with the pies here, grand theoretical pizza taxonomy aside: they are focused on the toppings, and the toppings are good. Not stellar, or great, but good. All told, very comparable to The Wedge. Except that I think The Wedge's crust is better. Then again, the wine list at Upper Crust is nice, and very affordable: good pizza-pairing wines. And the salad was very good. But the apps... ah, decisions, decisions. Really, you'll get a meal to be happy with at either place, and the price is right at both of them. But if you are pizza connoisseur from out of town... go find a steak place.

I'm not sure the salt is really penetrating the skin, so much as just making it all the way through the flesh. How long are you curing for? I usually cure salmon for between 36 and 48 hours, but I'm doing it in a vacuum bag to ensure that the brine that forms stays in contact with the fish.

I've had good luck leaving the skin on when curing: how long are you curing for? Are you curing in an large container, or vacuum-sealed?

Pumpkin Gorgonzola Flan (p. 146) This is the same pumpkin tart first posted about by eldereno here. To be honest, I didn't care for this one. I found the filling somewhat bland, especially in comparison to the cheese, and I didn't like the taste/texture/temperature combination (I served it lukewarm, as suggested in the recipe). I think I definitely would have liked it better served warmer. I replaced the walnuts with pecans since that is what I had on hand: that worked fine. Since eldereno liked it, I can only chalk this up to personal taste. Fresh out of the oven:

Here is the Heinz press image of the thing (image used with permission):

I'd buy that if Dave Arnold hadn't also participated. His palate is pretty good, and certainly he is used to using absolutely fresh juice.

My Go-To Beef Daube (pp. 244–245) So far, my biggest problem with this book is that I'm running out of synonyms for "delicious": Dorie has another winner here. I added the optional parsnips because I love parsnips (why don't they get the love they deserve, I wonder?), and for the wine I used a bottle of Big Dog Petite Syrah (a few ounces may have accidentally splashed into a glass next to the stove and not made it into the pot, however). I left the chunks of beef quite large, and made sure to very thoroughly brown them on all sides: this really amps up the flavors, which I thought were really nice. The texture of the beef is lovely, and the carrots retained just enough texture to not be mush. I served it with a side of mashed potatoes into which I mixed the garlic that cooked in the daube, mashed along with the potatoes. Overall, it was wonderful.

Frankly, I'd cook it exactly the same way: I think that combined with brining, and the meat being fresher, your original plan should work just fine. The only thing you might consider is a shorter time: I don't recall how long you need to go to get the temp to 137, but there is probably no real advantage to going longer than that.

This just in from Cooking Issues: according to a blind test done by Dave Arnold and the lastest graduates of the BAR program, slightly-aged lime juice was overwhelmingly judged superior to fresh. From the article: What are your thoughts on this? If you work at a bar that juices all your citrus ahead, do you find that the drinks at the end of the night taste better than those at the beginning? Any guesses as to what is going on here?