Chris Hennes
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One of my students gave me a box of Demel Vienne Les Langues Dorees (with an accent aigu on the first e in "Dorees"). It seems to be plain milk chocolate (though it looks more like dark chocolate).
Is this the kind of thing I can use to make hot chocolate? I usually shave part of a bar of Valrhona, but I only have a bit left, and I'm dying for some hot chocolate. Can I just melt some of this stuff in milk? Actually, I don't have any milk, either, but I do have some heavy cream (which I'll probably water down a bit)!
I don't see why not: I make hot chocolate by making a simple ganache first, just the chocolate and cream and a pinch of salt, then once that is emulsified, slowly add milk, stirring vigorously. Made entirely with cream sounds a bit too rich for my tastes... I have a huge box of E. Guittard milk chocolate tablets, so this concoction has proven hard to resist recently.
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Presence of cheese is slightly controversial, or individual (like lemon peel vs. olives in a Martini). And don't forget, "Thousand Island" dressing traditionally is a Russian diluted with more mayonnaise, and in early recipes, also unsweetened whipped cream (to kill off any surviving savory flavor). I dug up the history a few years ago and posted it.That reminds me: the Reuben! I am definitely a Reuben purist. Corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and either Russian or Thousand Island, on rye, grilled. Many other good sandwiches [exist]: this is the only that may be called a Reuben.
If there was no controversy this would be a really boring thread... Naturally, I didn't realize it was controversial at all. Neither did I realize the history of thousand island and Russian dressing---is this the post you are referring to? So, apparently, to truly be a purist I ought to insist on Russian dressing, none of this Thousand Island crap. I will begin immediately...ETA: Incidentally, in yesterday's New York Times Bruni reviews the Second Avenue Deli, bringing along several compatriots who spend the meal "kibitzing" about the purity of the selections.
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Hi,
I feel silly for asking this but how do I make strawberry puree? I am looking at Nightscotsman recipe and it simple says strawberry puree. I cannot find any locally and buying it online would be very expensive. Strawberries are showing up in the markets now and while they are expensive, I can still get them. How can I make it from scratch? I am surprised this has not been elaborated in the recipe since I'd imagine different purees would have different ratios of water, sugar, etc.
When I make fruit purees with something with plenty of liquid, like strawberries, I don't generally add any water. And I only add sugar if the fruit is really tart---I doubt it would be necessary for marshmallows. I would just toss a bunch of strawberries in the food processor and let it rip. Bags of frozen ones with no added sugar work well once thawed, too. Then strain out the seeds and voila! strawberry puree.
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Kerry, thanks for sharing... I'm especially appreciative of the tip about the glucose, which I am still struggling with. I'm looking forward to trying out the wet hands trick.
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the classic thing you get at the movies. the gooey cheese
this is what you really want??
In the states, it's not hard to find. Especially if you go to the warehouse club type places. These stores sell a lot of stuff to vendors that sell them at carnivals and what not.
Really, you don't make it. You just buy it in a can and dump it out into something that can heat and dispense it.
Well, are you really looking to replicate the neon orange ballpark nacho cheese, or do you just want a good cheese dip? There are many excellent recipes for cheese dip that actually use real cheese (imagine that!).
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Sorry if this topic has been covered, I did some searches and read some threads but did not find what I was looking for.
How can I - a home cook - find sources for meat that is not necessarily organic but at least humanely slaughtered? Is there some kind of association, group, or web sites that help?
I have been horrified lately by all the discussion online of a particularly cruel incident at a meat-packing place (Ruhlman's blog has a link to it) - I will never watch it but I do want very much to do what I can as a consumer to support humane practices.
Thanks for any pointers.
Both Niman Ranch and Heritage Foods USA practice humane treatment of their animals, from husbandry to slaughter (according to the literature... I haven't exactly visited the abattoir's to check out the claim...). You will obviously pay a premium for this, but in my opinion it is well worth it.
ETA: In my guide to online meat sources I have a field called "humane" for pork, but not for any others. This does not imply that the other meats aren't available, just that I didn't think of it except for pork, the factory farms for which seem to be worse than those for beef, for example. I could be totally off base about this: I should probably add that field for all the proteins.
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"North Atlantic Whitefish" sounds dubious and actually less appetizing than cod which I recognize and love.
I was thinking the same thing, especially since that ambiguity is being used against them right now by another fast food chain, who is actively advertising that their fish sandwich is not "mystery fish." The commercial confused me at first, because I thought, "hey, isn't McDonald's just cod? That's not 'mystery fish'..."
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Barbecue is an interesting one, with many people insisting that it properly consists of x, y and z and can't be a, b or c.
Interestingly, "barbecue" has been used to describe an open-air gathering where one enjoys grilled (note: not long-smoked, sauced, etc.) meats since the early years of the 18th century.
That's very interesting. Does that pre-date its use meaning "to smoke" foods?
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Pastrami- rye bread and mustard
That reminds me: the Reuben! I am definitely a Reuben purist. Corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and either Russian or Thousand Island, on rye, grilled. Many other good sandwiches exit: this is the only that may be called a Reuben. And I love it. So very much.
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how can i make nacho cheese like the one in the packet? i live in the uk, so consider my options in your reply please.
Could you describe it? Is this the "nacho cheese gel" or the "nacho cheese powder" that you are looking for?
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I think there is always room for improvement in any food [...]
Now see, that's where we disagree: I maintain that perfection is attainable. I'm not saying that we should stop trying to come up with new dishes, but I think that one can come up with a "definitive" example of some dishes, at least to ones own taste.
For example, my Fettucini alla panna obsession: I have tried dozens if not hundreds of modifications to the basic recipe. These are small modifications (herbs, garlic, basic quantities, etc.): large changes would result in a different food entirely that I would not call "alla panna." I really think that the recipe I use is perfect. I keep trying things, sure: I might be wrong, and I wouldn't want to miss out on an even better version. But I haven't found one yet.
I'm not convinced this makes me a purist, though---just a perfectionist. ETA: and maybe a pompous, arrogant jerk
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Until a couple years ago the chore split was that I cook, and my wife did the dishes. Well, this typically meant that she was in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast while I was cooking dinner. I have a huge kitchen, it's the whole reason I rent the apartment I do. But I couldn't stand it! When I am cooking, I want the kitchen to myself. I'm not sure in quite the way Steven does, since most days making dinner is not really that therapeutic, but for whatever reason I get pretty grumpy when I have to share my kitchen space. So a couple years ago I took over the dishes chore: now, the kitchen is basically mine. I still hate doing the dishes, but it's better than sharing the kitchen!
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Gary Regan's Joy of Mixology cites a railroad term as the source of the name:Highball is a railroad term formerly used to indicate to the conductor on a steam train that there was enough water in the tank, and thus the train could go full steam ahead. The water level was indicated by a ball connected to a float inside the tank, so when the ball was high, the tank was full.
In The Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide Herbst & Herbst mention the railroad story, but seem to express some skepticism as to how accurate it is. Not that they offer a better explanation...
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Three pages and no one has mentioned barbecue? Ok, I'll have at it.
Barbecue does not come out of a microwave, stock pot, oven, or crock pot. It especially doesn't come out of a plastic tub in your grocer's meat case. It comes out of a smoker after a long time over coals and or wood. One does not barbecue hamburgers or steaks or potato chips. Barbecue is spelled barbecue.
I feel better now.
Good call, Mike. I love barbecue, but questions remain... does it have sauce??? And what, exactly, is barbecue sauce? Pork or beef? What kind of wood? Is there "one true barbecue" to rule them all?
One thing is for sure though---you are right about that, Mike---barbecue means smoke. I could definitely be a barbecue purist. Yum.
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I also grew up on the ricotta version of lasagne, but most of my Italian colleagues had never heard of that until coming to the US. For them, the bechamel version was the definitive one. Though I'm sure there are regional differences, within the US Italian-American cuisine was defined by mostly poor immigrants from the South.
My Italian grandmother only made the red-sauce, southern-Italy version of lasagna that I can recall, but a few years ago she sent me her favorite cookbook: it was Bugialli's "The Fine Art of Italian Cooking," which contains the recipe for the northern-Italy version. This was the first time I had ever seen the northern version of lasagna, made with no ricotta and no tomato sauce, but rather a meat sauce (with only a little tomato paste in it) and bechamel (balsalmella). It is a completely different dish, but also wonderful in its own right (I have come to actually prefer it). So, we have two dishes called "lasagna," both completely "authentic."
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I guess I'm not a food purist at all: more like a linguistic purist. I'm not sure I go so far as to not order something whose name I disagree with, but as my wife can attest, I will complain about it all night
. For example, my "martini" objection is not an intrinsic objection to the vodka martini... I happen to like them. But I always order it as a "vodka martini" because as far as I am concerned, a simple "martini" is, by definition, made with gin. Similarly, I have no objection to waffle-cut fries, but if I order "french fries" I expect long sticks of potato, not waffle-cut. Apparently, guacamole would get us into trouble, since as far as I am concerned, a mashed-up avocado with a little lime is not guacamole: it's just an avocado. Tasty to be sure, but if I ordered guac and got that, I would be... perturbed.
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perfectly ripe (not over ripe or under ripe) avocados
1-2 cloves of fresh fat juicy garlic
a squeeze of Mexican lime just a hint
salt and fresh cracked pepper anything else makes it "dip" to me...
Can you describe how a Mexican lime differs from a Persian (or even Key) lime? I've never had one, nor seen them in stores, but I'm a hug fan of guacamole. Of course, I like mine a bit different
: I like to add red onions, jalapeño and a little cilantro to the mix. Do you crush it all up, or try to leave some of the avocado pieces large? I like mine more "chuunky-style". I am really hungry for guac now... -
I may be opening Pandora's Box, and this might not be the right place to ask this question. It may deserve a thread all its own, but what is everyone's take on burgers, patty melts, any ground beef being cooked less than well done?
When I made my patty melt it was probably medium, which I would consider moderately overcooked. It was thinner than I make burgers, which I think was in line with Janet's instructions. Over on the "How to cook a burger" thread I don't see anyone advocating well done, nor over on the "THE BEST: Burger" thread. Grind it yourself, and don't stress out, IMHO.
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French fries should never be seasoned with anything but salt, and never cut in waffle or any other shape but a stick- thick or thin, yes, geometric, never. No gravy or cheese, either.
Do you mean that calling a waffle fry a french fry is a problem, or that the mere existence of the waffle fry is a problem? Are you a linguistics purist or a potato purist?
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I wanted to bump this thread back up in the hopes that dining in the region has continued its upswing, and that perhaps there are some eGullet forum denizens with updated recommendations. My wife is interviewing for a job at Purdue and my usual habit is to check out the "food scene" in the area. My post about Oklahoma City was met with the lonely sound of crickets chirping...surely there are places worth eating in W. Lafayette! We've even got a couple here in State College! Do you all just take day trips to Chicago?
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[...] in my experience in this country, pesto is pesto is pesto.
I agree that if I saw a dish advertised as just "pesto" I would expect basil, i.e. pesta alla genovese, but I see no problems with "cilantro pesto" etc. not containing basil. The fact that such things appear all over the place in the U.S. (heck the fast-food burrito place across the street from my office has a "poblano pesto") seems to indicate that in the US, pesto+modifier does not in any way indicate the inclusion of basil, which seems to be appropriate, in my opinion.
Or, I may just like arguing about food and terminology...
that was the point of this thread, wasn't it? -
If I was to give a generic definition I would say as has been said it comes in a highball glass
Until this thread appeared I had no idea that "highball" might have any other definition!
Shows you what I know about cocktails... must be time to re-read Regan and DeGroff. -
It worked. No exploding glass. Creme Brulee was tasty, too.
Good the hear---I'd have felt really bad if you hurt yourself!
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Thank you everyone for your wonderful replies. I guess I have some shopping to do before I can begin! I am very excited to have the book and cannot wait to get started!
Do you think 5 or 10 lbs is about right to get started? I am still learning so I imagine alot will be thrown away. I hope not, but you know how that goes!
I am just beginning and I went ahead and bought the 5kg (11lb) boxes of dark, milk and white. Part of the rationale behind this was playing mental tricks on myself. I did not want to run into situations where I was concerned about "running out" of chocolate and so didn't want to try a risky recipe, etc. Now, the chocolate is a sunk cost and I may as well use it all up before I have to move this summer
. And as Rob mentioned, you won't throw much away... in fact, if you are only making 1/2 batches (that's what I do) you don't actually use that much chocolate per batch.
Feijoada: Cook-Off 38
in Cooking
Posted
lol, I think this may turn into another "food purity" thread where everyone disagrees on the "one true version" of the dish
. Not that Wikipedia is exactly known for its reliability, but it definitely lists versions from both Brazil and Portugal. I notice that there are no recipes for it in RecipeGullet: someone care to put theirs up there so I can play along? I've never even heard of the stuff, but if it contains black beans and pork products, I want in!