Chris Hennes

I'll admit to being easily seduced by new flavors (I've never had chartreuse), but The Last Word is definitely on my "standards list" now. I particularly like the way the flavor seems to change as you work through the glass. I don't know if this is a temperature effect or just tastebuds getting used to the drink, but it makes for a drink that is intriguing to the last sip. Excellent.

Plus, as we've discussed in the past, even if that is what the producers and Bravo are thinking, and despite the legalese at the end of each episode, it definitely seems like the judges are not influenced by it. The most the producers could do is "stack the deck" in their favor, ultimately the "best" chef (in some sense) is going to come out on top.

This is sort of what I am getting at: through what physical mechanism is the smoke "penetrating deeper into the meat"? Some particles of smoke are bonding to some particles of sausage, which are then moving through the meat towards the center. Is the purpose of the pellicle to facilitate this penetration? If so, how does it function? The smoke residue cakes on everything, pellicle or no, but how does it work its way inside?

What is the mechanism for smoke absorption? That is to say, as the particles of soot that make up the smoke drift past the sausage, what do they adhere to? Proteins? Water molecules? Fats? Any or all of the above? If they bond to water molecules, is it possible for a surface layer of bonded molecules to effectively form a barrier to further absorption?

We have a multi-page topic on Peanut Butter, and even a topic on Almond Butter, but apparently the other nut butters get no love. Except from me! When I visited the Central Market in Dallas last weekend I picked up a jar of cashew butter which I have been enjoying quite a bit this last week. Its major failing is that in their overzealous attempts to be "100% pure," the only ingredient is cashews. Wait, no salt? Not even a tiny little bit?!? And sure enough, straight out of the jar it is a little bland: not terrible, but a little salt sure would help. Well, that is easy enough to arrange, I just added a half teaspoon to the jar and gave it a good stir. Voila! Much better. Anyone else a big fan of other nut butters? Do anything interesting/weird/etc. with them?

One of the things that startled me most moving to Norman, OK this summer was the large variety of fast food chicken places. At last count I have seen: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Chick-Fil-A, Chicken Express, Church's Chicken, and Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits. I have not gone to any of them (locally, anyway), but this seems like a lot of damned fast food chicken for a little Oklahoma City suburb! Maybe my memory is failing, but I don't remember seeing this many in Pennsylvania.

Agreed - I would not have been sorry to see any of the losers yesterday go home. I don't have a good feel for the top yet, but the bottom is clarifying, IMO. In a few weeks we should be down to a pretty good crew: hopefully it will make for some good battles.

Right, and this is the key thing to remember when cooking sausage. Sure, you wouldn't want to poach a pork chop or a steak (ok, sometimes you do, but for the sake of argument...), but a sausage has this great protective casing that prevents almost any kind of transfer across it. That's why I imagine it as cooking a sausage "sous vide" -- the casing is providing an impermeable layer that prevents the flavor from the sausage from being lost into the water. Couple that with the ability to precisely nail the correct internal temperature, in all parts of the sausage, and I am still convinced that poaching in water, or oil, or whatever, is the best way. If I want fried onions on the side, I fry up onions on the side. I spent too much time crafting the perfect sausage to risk overcooking it when pan-frying: you don't gain any flavor by frying, and if you want that texture to the casing, give it a quick torch when it's done.

Last night's episode seemed a little silly on a couple fronts: first, calling the quickfire a "hot dog challenge" seemed stupid. I could not figure out from the comments, etc. whether the contestants were actually expected to make hot dogs, or just do something unique with store-bought. Of course, making a bona fide hot dog in 45 minutes is ridiculous, not to mention nigh on impossible with the equipment they had on hand (hot dogs are notoriously difficult to get right using normal kitchen equipment). Most of the contestants ended up making some kind of sausage, which is fine, except it was called a hot dog challenge. Yes, I'm being pedantic. Still... The main challenge wasn't bad in and of itself, but the filming to include the rejected potential contestants was obnoxious. By and large they all managed to come across as complete douchebags, which added nothing to the show and was just an annoying waste of screen time. I agreed with the decision to eliminate whats-her-face (how am I supposed to remember any names this early in the season?) -- she thought that just picking an unusual ingredient (THAT SHE HAD NEVER WORKED WITH!!) automatically made her "creative" or "unique" or something other that "completely ridiculous," which was the truth of it. Just picking weird ingredients does not make you creative or interesting, and it certainly will fail if said ingredients don't taste good. Have these contestants never watched the show in the past? This theme keeps repeating itself. Hell, it repeated last week with the black noodles! Edited for grammar. Since I'm being pedantic and all...

I find that so disheartening... I had intended to seek out real fresh masa here in Oklahoma, but from what I hear there is basically no such thing anymore. Tortillas made from masa harina are better than nothing, but I hear that tamales are much better made with fresh masa.

Those numbers are only really meaningful for things like steaks, chops, and pot-roast-like things. A pork shoulder is a whole different kind of beast: when we're talking about pulled pork, even "Well Done" by the USDA's standards is nowhere near "properly cooked" -- you have to get the thing hot enough to melt out the connective tissue. I don't have McGee handly right now, but we're definitely talking about temperatures in the 180+ deg F range for the cooking times we're talking about here. I think it is possible to go the Sous Vide route and do more like 160 deg F for 48 hours, but even that is well above "well done."

Here are a few more I've tried in recent weeks: Flip's Wine Bar and Trattoria (one-off, www.flipswinebar.com, 5801 N Western Ave, Oklahoma City, OK) We heard about this place at my local liquor store when I was looking for weird liqueurs, so were hoping to discover a cocktail scene like Chick's in Philly. Well, we struck out there, although the place did have a nice selection of wines by the glass, and an extensive beer list (though that is pretty common in these parts, it seems). The food is your standard Red Sauce Italian fare: uninspired and unimaginative, but also inexpensive and not poorly prepared. I had the Spaghetti with Meatballs (my litmus test for this type of place) and it was competent, though the pasta was just slightly past al dente. The sauce tasted overly of tomato paste, to the point that I think it was probably a mistake and was in fact accidentally overcooked. We also had a completely worthless cheese and fruit plate as an appetizer. I should have known better based on the poor cheese selection: stay away from this option. This may all sound negative, but nevertheless, I am inclined to give them another shot, maybe on a slower night when we can sit at the bar and I can chat about cocktail options. Van's Pig Stand Route 77 BBQ (local chain, www.pigstands.com, 320 N Porter Ave, Norman, OK‎) Van's is a small local chain---I ate at the original location here in Norman. Let me preface this review by stating my BBQ preference: smoke, and lots of it. Van's BBQ is competent, but nothing really special. In particular, it just does not have enough smokiness to satisfy my craving. The meat was good, it was properly cooked, and it was basically well-seasoned, but it did not have a lot of smoke flavor evident. I'm sure its heresy in these parts, but I much prefer the BBQ at Rudy's, a larger regional chain. I'm not saying Van's is bad by any means, and if you prefer a lighter smoke flavor you will do well here, but if you're like me and you like it to taste like a bite out of a smoldering hickory tree, this ain't it. Pho Lan Vietnamese Noodle Cafe (one-off, 1615 S Service Rd, Moore, OK) Pho Lan is a new (as of November 2008) Pho restaurant in a small shopping strip near the Lowe's in Moore. I like Pho, but I am by no means an expert in its subtleties, nor have I eaten it at too many places, so take this review with a grain of salt if you are an aficionado. We started out with a sampler platter of their various rolls (spring roll, shrimp summer roll, grilled pork roll and BBQ pork summer roll). These were your standard strip-mall-Vietnamese fare: tasty, inexpensive, inoffensive. I'm a sucker for things deep-fried, so my preference was for the BBQ Pork Crispy Summer Roll, though as far as I am concerned, anything dipped in that peanut sauce would taste good. For Pho I had noodles with Eye of Round and Brisket. The thing that struck me the most about this Pho was how tasty the broth was: it was really good. The meat was mostly flavorless, unfortunately: next time I may just get the vegetarian version and skip the meat, which seemed unnecessary. I like to add a lot of bean sprouts and Thai basil to mine, and a generous amount of lime juice, all of which were of course provided. This place is a keeper for a good, quick, and cheap lunch in the Moore area. Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine (one-off, 211 W Main St, Norman, OK‎) I'm told this is the best Thai food in Norman: not that I can find any other Thai in Norman, mind you... When I first entered Sweet Basil I was a little surprised by the atmosphere: it was very clean, and very quiet. The tables are spaced far apart, the booths have high backs, and the place is tastefully decorated and overall quite nice. Not a bad place for a date, especially since it's also relatively inexpensive. I have tried the Larb and a couple of the curries, and would recommend both (provided you like Larb and Thai curry...). The curries tend to all taste about the same, with a pretty heavy note of coconut milk, followed by curry spices, followed by whatever else is in the one you selected: sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and very thin, almost soup-like. I've also tried a few of their appetizers, but nothing jumps out at me as a "must try" there. It is a pretty extensive menu, and you can order various spice levels in most of the dishes. I like spicy food but not to the point of excruciating pain, so I tend to get "level 4" (of 5). I have not braved level 5 yet, so I don't know how spicy it really gets. All told, this is a nice place to have a tasty meal and conversation. They have no liquor license, though, so keep that in mind. It keeps the bill from getting too high, but I would have loved a beer to wash down that curry. Oh well. I gotta tell you, though, the Frank Sinatra in the background is a little disconcerting in a Thai restaurant... Patsy's Fine Italian Dining (one-off, 1424 W Lindsey St, Norman, OK‎) This place is a little hard to find because the sign at the street says "Patsy's" in huge but thin letters, and "Italian Dining" in legalese-sized font at the bottom. To top it off, the building itself has no signs at all, and is adjacent to a club, which does, so it can be hard to tell if you are going in the right place. Once you make it in, the place is pretty small: they have a board with the day's specials on it just inside, and you seat yourself. The main menu is a vast listing of standard red-sauce Italian joint fare, but is accompanied by an impressive seafood list. I have not dug into that yet, but will report back. On our waitress's recommendation I ordered the spaghetti with red clam sauce, which was indeed quite tasty, and the pasta was actually cooked properly al dente, which was a bit surprising considering the bad luck I've had in OK in this regard. The garlic bread, and indeed the bread in general, was awful: just ignore it, you'll regret trying it. I also tried the fried olives, which were actually more like cheese curds with canned black olives embedded. Canned black olives have no flavor. What is the point? So, they were cheese curds: there are worse foods in the world. I will definitely give this place another shot, and might even brave the seafood menu next time. And a couple updates on ones I've already posted about above: Tarahumara's This place gets very busy when the students are in town: the food is good, but not really worth the wait. Go in the off-season: when students are around, go to Ted's instead. Rudy's BBQ I'm sure there is some kind of law that you're not allowed to like chain BBQ, but I really like Rudy's. There are several around: if you haven't tried one and like BBQ, give it a shot. I have not had a bad meal there yet (though the sausage is only OK, IMO). Ted's Café Escondido We gave them a second chance. And a third. And a fourth. And a... you get the idea. Ted's grew on me. One key is to ask for the green salsa (mega-hot) and mix a little into the cheese sauce: it's a huge improvement. Second: get the cheap margarita, it tastes better than the "top shelf" models. The Wedge This place is just great. The pizza toppings are a bit off the normal Midwest-USA beaten-path, and are all high quality and very tasty. And for the love of god get the Wedge Trio appetizer. Their tapenade is excellent, and the hummus is quite good as well, all served with a flatbread fresh out of the pizza oven.

I think that the fact that it was in a metallic container (which is reactive) as opposed to a glass or ceramic jug (which is not) is the critical point here. I'd be much more inclined to keep it around if it wasn't stored in the can.

We sure do love our pork roasts here at eGullet... there are approximately 243,863,347 ways to cook one, but the key to getting the texture you are looking for is getting the collagen to break down. As mentioned above, this is a combination of time and temperature. How much time depends on the temperature you are at, and you can spend a lifetime experimenting with different means to achieve that end. As far as I am concerned, the simplest way is a probe thermometer with a temperature alarm. I generally set the alarm to 200 degrees F: overkill, but there are not really any ill effects, and you are guaranteed melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy, well-rendered pork. You can use nearly any oven temperature you like as long as you have the butt in a dutch oven or wrapped in foil: they all work great. This is one instance where it really is tough to screw it up as long as you get that collagen rendered, and the surest way to guarantee that is to get that internal temp up HIGH. And to taste it...

I like to make big batches of meatballs and freeze them in meal-sized portions in foodsaver bags. To reheat, toss the entire bag into the boiling water with the pasta: they will be done at the same time. No mess, no extra dishes, perfection. A simple bolognese can be frozen as well and reheated in the microwave, or just use pureed canned whole tomatoes and some olive oil. Beats Prego anyday...

I have done this a number of times and never had any trouble with the texture of the Genoise: the Bavarian is quite well-bound and does not give up its moisture so easily, and genoise does not seem to have a strong tendency to wick moisture out due to its crumb structure. I also typically give the genoise layers a good brush with syrup, which helps to saturate it and prevent it from wanting to pick up any more moisture.

Well, the USDA would say "no" -- even low-acid foods like maple syrup should theoretically only be kept for 2-5 years (depending on the specific product). That said, if the can was intact, with no signs of bulging, rust, etc. you are probably safe. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but I agree it would be a shame to just toss that much of the Real Deal. Of course, it may be a moot point if it doesn't taste good anymore, which is a separate issue. I personally would probably toss it out of paranoia, but it's probably just that: paranoia.

I was under the impression that in recent years, even this "fresh" masa from the tortillerías was actually frequently made from reconstituted masa harina. rancho_gordo posted a link to this article some time ago, and I think that Diana Kennedy has mentioned something along these lines in her books. Do you know if this is the case?

In these parts the "backyard" technique seems to be a bullet to the head. Not sure about the bigger operations, though.

So you are thinking of using this for situations where you bring something to temperature (which you would do in a conventional stovetop water bath) and hold it there for a long time (which you would do in the hot box)? Seems like taking the long way around to get there... for the around the same money you could get a cheap hotplate and a PID controller and achieve the same thing. Still not exactly a recirculating water bath, which may be an issue for long-term cooking. I'd stick with keeping my eyes on eBay - I got a lab-style circulating heater for $20 US plus another $50 in parts.

I personally find it far easier to "cheat" -- instead of trying to get the cake perfectly cylindrical I work on ways to make the frosting or coating cylindrical instead. I personally prefer a pourable frosting or mousse that sets up firm so it can be poured into a mold, sometimes used as a thin layer underneath a sheet of marzipan, etc.

It appears to be designed to be filled with mostly air, unless I am missing something. You would be missing out on the heat transfer benefits that the water in a water bath provides, giving what would be in effect just an oven with good temperature control.

In weak defense of her... she was asked what would she do if someone wanted an ethnic meal cooked. I think we'd all turn to books for that task. ← If I recall the conversation, it was something like -- "What are you going to do if a customer comes in and want middle eastern?" and she responded with the "I have books" response. I'm sure edited to make her look as lame as possible, but not really much of a crime. The undercooked "risotto" was a bigger mistake by far, the editors just needed to make it seem closer than it really was.

I don't think I would say that is "surprising." Disappointing, perhaps, but not surprising. I have no idea how Bravo's casting process works, but over the years there has definitely been a broad spectrum of experience and personality. They only need to hold their own long enough to make for some interesting personality conflicts...

I just keep tasting it: after a while the flavor seems to "level off" and I call it done.