Chris Hennes
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Posts posted by Chris Hennes
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I have a bunch of those small clear plastic containers with the lids that lock on (I have a strong tendency to drop things, and an exploded rice container is no fun to clean up after!). I either put stickers on them with the variety, or clip the label off the bag and put it in the container.
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Chris, it looks great! Near perfection I might say. Not only the bread is gorgeous, but your photographs are lovely.
Thanks: I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I'm pretty happy with it. I'm looking forward to seeing how the flavor develops over the next few days. Thanks for the book!
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This looks yummy! I've never heard of yellowfoot mushrooms. What are they like?
I had never heard of them either, but I figured while I still live in Pennsylvania I should eat all the mushrooms I can get my hands on! These were quite mild, actually. I was a little disappointed... I was hoping for a bolder mushroom flavor to hold its own against the shallots and thyme, but I think these were outmatched and just contributed to the umami of the dish. It was good, but I think several other mushroom varieties would be better (like morels!
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Take two: the dough is now 48 hours old, I used scissors to cut it out (works great!!), the oven was set to 500F, and it was baked without steam addition in a Dutch oven:
This was a clear improvement over my first attempt: the flavor was better due to the increased age, the crust was better due to the higher heat, and the crumb was better due to some combination of that and the gentler handling. Thanks for the advice!
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Yellowfoot mushroom omellete, or perhaps more appropriately, sauteed yellowfoot mushrooms with shallots and thyme, wrapped in thin layer of egg:
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In a commercial setting my slow-proof technique is probably not efficient enough, but I definitely wouldn't use a proof box like you would for bread, it will be much too warm for the puff pastry. The key for efficient commercial production will be to rise them in an environment that is humid and as warm as possible before melting the butter. The precise melting point will depend very much on your specific butter, but will probably be between 85F and 90F for a typical U.S. mass-produced butter.
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I hope his Dinner Impossible remains cancelled after this season.
I wonder if its ratings during re-runs will improve post-scandal as more people watch it to see what the fuss was about. "All press is good press..." etc.
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When I make them at home I do not use one, and in fact tend to let them rise at a quite low temperature to ensure that the butter does not melt before hitting the hot oven. No proof that this matters, of course, it's just the way I do it
.Edited to add: and welcome to the eGullet Forums!
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Must be getting on spring around here: this week HF is advertising Boer goat from five farms in Maine that are part of the "Thyme for Goat Consortium", fresh Tunis Lamb from Sandstone Ridge Farm in La Farge, Wisconsin, and fresh and frozen Romney Lamb from Cattail Creek Farm in Junction City, Oregon. They advertise it as a "half lamb" or "half goat," by which they mean one rib roast, one shoulder, one leg, plus some additional meat (no offal that I can see).
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And since I am loving a thread devoted to stupid questions, here's another: if I buy a cooked ham, I just need to add a glaze of some sort and heat it through, yes? When one buys a ham, does it usually have the bone in? What different kinds of hams and flavour profiles are there? I've never bought or served one before, but love a 'real' Easter ham.
Yes, that's right: a cooked ham is, by definition, fully cooked, so just heat and serve. You can get them bone-in or bone-out. I prefer to buy them bone in, spiral sliced. The bone can be used to flavor soups, etc. and is really tasty. The flavor profile of this type of ham varies significantly from producer to producer, but in general the main flavor is of the curing salts (nitrate/nitrite) and smoke (depends on the wood type used). Depending on the pig and curing procedure, you may also get a nice pork flavor, brown sugar or maple syrup flavor, etc. Then, there are country hams... takes ham to a whole 'nother level.
Re: asparagus. I do it just the way you described doing it, a simple saute in butter or olive oil, sprinkling of salt and black pepper, and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Also makes a delightful omelette filling when coarsely chopped.
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Your bread looks great. If your dough is very fresh then that might be why your crumb is a bit dense. Just remember to handle it as little as possible when shaping. It should take no more than 30 seconds to form the boule.
Zoë, thanks for the advice, and the measurements. I only took 10-15 seconds to shape the boule, but I feel like I lost most of the volume when trying to pull a piece of the dough out of the container. I tried to do it like the photo in the book, and maybe it was OK, but it felt like I lost a lost of volume when I was pulling it out to get the knife in there.
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Pretty sloppy plating here, but quite tasty if I do say so myself...
red wine-marinated squid stuffed with sunchoke puree, lardons, and thyme; butternut squash puree and 30-year old balsamic vinegar
That looks really cool: I've never had stuffed squid. Labor intensive?
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Those lemon logs look nice. I've been meaning to make them, but with my wife out of town I have no one to make them for! Maybe in April...
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Wow, that is some tremendous oven spring you've got there!
How did you bake it?
I used the Dutch oven technique, at 450F. No additional moisture (I don't generally think it is necessary for this method, but I could be convinced otherwise...).
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Woohoo! I finally get to play along! I made the dough yesterday and baked off a small boule today:
The crumb was a little tight, I think due to not mixing the yeast into the water well enough, and despite baking for far longer than the recipe called for I think the crust was still too pale, but the flavor was pretty good and should only get better as the week wears on.
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Another product that got downsized...Lipton Onion Soup mix. They used to come four in a box. Now there's only three packages in a box. I've seen them sold in individual packets, too, so maybe they're trying to skip offering two in a box and just sell them one packet at a time.
Yes, but at least they didn't change how much was in a packet. Can you imagine how many church-picnic recipes could be ruined forever if they did?
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Thank you for providing this info. Our next book will include weights and a primer on baking percentages! We have been pleasantly surprised at the number of people who do scale their recipes. Now we can go to the publisher and tell them people are asking for it. As you said, it is the only true way to get a consistent product.
Thanks! Zoë
Can I assume from this that you typically use weight measurements? Would you mind posting the exact measurements you use for the master recipe (incl. the salt and yeast)? It's too late for my first batch (already in the fridge, and I just got the book yesterday!), but it would be handy for future reference.
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I see. I enjoy mixed herb dishes, but for some reason it's been drilled into my head that eggs can only "handle" certain herbs. (primarily dill, parsley, chives.)
I suppose if the rosemary was muted by the inclusion of ther herbs and was used sparingly it would be ok. I'll try it out sometime this week.
Rather than using rosemary itself, try frying an omelet or eggs in a mixture of butter and an herbed rosemary olive oil. It's lovely.
I also think thyme is wonderful with eggs, particularly in the egg and breadcrumb recipe from The Zuni Cafe cookbook. That is hands-down my favorite egg-for-breakfast recipe.
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Dallas is a big driving town. No matter where you live, you'll still wind up needing to drive places. That said, I agree the Knox-Henderson area down to Uptown gives you easy access to a lot of great restaurants. And you'll still drive. Walking a few blocks in Dallas isn't like walking a few blocks in another city. It's just really not usually that pedestrian friendly.
I will try to keep that in mind... it is strange to me, though, the idea of driving when you only need to go a few blocks. Even growing up in Minneapolis, which I would consider a "driving town," I still frequently walked three blocks to the nearest bakery on Saturday mornings, etc. The thought of driving such a distance would never occur to me. When I have visited Dallas I never ventured far from downtown, but I take it parking is not a problem? I could hardly believe the plethora of spaces available downtown, but there wasn't a whole lot to eat there!
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Wow, the color in that food is amazing! Maybe it's because it is still very much winter here (we got six inches of snow yesterday), but I find it very cheerful. I can't ever recall eating anything that had quite that kind of neon glow to it.
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Thanks Chris. And here's another dumb question: other than making bread crumbs or croutons, what the heck else can I do with frozen leftover bread? We never eat a whole baguette between the two of us, and I usually end up composting the stale leftovers - whatever they say, bread bags suck! - or throwing it in the freezer waiting for a good idea about what to do with it. And its usually making more dang croutons.
I don't understand, what is this "leftover bread" phenomenon you refer to?
Isn't that what cheese is for? 
Can't really help with this one... bread pudding? Poultry stuffing? -
sausage... i want sausage!!
For whatever reason this made me think of that beer commercial that is on TV right now... with the dog saying "Sausages! Sausages! Please, Sausages!" ... Announcer: "Ability to speak to animals no longer included."
Totally off topic, I know. Made me laugh, though. -
Fruit salad with strawberry, apple, banana and kiwi; homemade yogurt. Eaten in front of the computer, this was my pre-breakfast-- I'll have oatmeal later. I sometimes eat in stages like that because I don't have much of an appetite in the mornings.
I like the way you think. I am pretty sure I need a pre-breakfast as well. Reminds me of that quote from Lord of the Rings: "I don't think he's heard of second breakfast, Pip."
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Ummm, can I use frozen bread to make 'fresh' bread crumbs?
I have no idea why I'm lurking in this thread today... I'm sure I should be writing my dissertation or some nonsense...
Yes, definitely. The difference between "fresh" and "not-fresh" when it comes to breadcrumbs is whether the bread has been dried or not. Fresh breadcrumbs have a much higher moisture content, so absorb less oil, etc. Frozen bread should work fine, though for whatever reason I generally thaw it first. Probably not actually necessary...
Where and how do you store your rice?
in Kitchen Consumer
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I didn't get mine anyplace special: even my local grocery store carries a small selection. I have both large and small varieties, both of which work equally well, and they all stack together neatly and are rectangular, maximizing storage space.