Chris Hennes

I am split - if I am making a reservation for a week or more out, I typically use Open Table, and have never had any trouble getting seats at the time I want (of course, I'm not usually looking for the hottest place in town, either). If it's shorter-term I tend to call so I can chat about what might be available. My understanding of OpenTable is that even if you call the restaurant they end up entering you into the OpenTable system (customers are only seeing a small part of what is really a comprehensive front-of-house management system). So I don't really see how it would affect being classified as a "regular." Could be wrong there, though...

Well, flour is the big one that you really need to measure by weight... nearly all other ingredients will be OK by volume. Not great, but OK. I think it's a good compromise, especially if the editor said "No Weights!" and the author was able to squeeze in at least that one. No idea if that's what happened, but maybe...

No, not at all. If you are a person who loves food it can be very difficult to have a satisfying long-term relationship with someone who eats because they have to, and would just as soon eat a Quarter Pounder as a Filet Mignon (for example). Worse still is someone who criticizes you for wanting to eat different food, or someone who constantly tries to get you to eat things you don't like, on the flip side. There is nothing wrong with seeking someone with the same interests/tastes as you.

It depends on the relative attitudes, I think. My wife is a somewhat picky eater, whereas I fit more in the "totalvore" category, and I think it is working out OK . The trick is for me to not constantly try to force new foods upon her, but slowly push the envelope (with her knowledge and permission). This is, of course, a multi-year process, helped out by the fact that both of us love to eat out. This means that I can order crazy foods, and if she is in an adventurous mood that night, maybe have a bite, but still order chicken for dinner . If the totalvore is a constant pain in the *ss about it, it probably isn't going to work. Of course, if the nothingvore is truly unwilling to ever try anything new, it could spell trouble if the totalvore likes to cook... good luck to your friend...

Great page - that is very helpful. I love Charcuterie (the book), but man it could sure stand some pictures. The line drawings don't quite cut it... fortunately, CIA's Garde Manger also has some nice pictures in it, at least for some of the recipes.

OK, another question: my wife was browsing the menu and noticed several categories that don't quite match up with the standard European course layout... neither of us knows anything about Japanese cuisine, so we can't figure out how many courses to order. Any advice on this? The menu lists "cold dishes," "hot dishes," "entrees," "soup/salad," and "noodles." I was thinking something like 1) Either a hot or cold dish (appetizer) 2) Noodles 3) Soup or salad 4) Entree

Yeah, this has occurred to me. It was never a problem before when hot smoking because this being a water smoker it is already pretty humid, and it doesn't really matter. I was thinking of putting a condensation chamber in right after the smoke leaves the main smoker: this would essentially consist of a box that could be filled with ice periodically: the smoke would mostly pass right through, but any water vapor would condense out. The engineering/construction challenge is appealing, here, but I'm not sure how much smoke would condense out with the water. Homemade liquid smoke! Wow, I never thought of that. I guess I was just only thinking of it as one continuous smoke session. Thanks for that tidbit - I'm sure it will come in handy.

Yeah, sorry. I consider Ruhlman's book to be the inspiration manual, but I find myself turning to CIA's book when I'm looking for a bit more depth, or more recipes. I think it has four different bratwurst in it, for example.

That sounds slick. I've actually been experimenting with ways to do long smoke-times in the Brinkman. My current strategy is to put three or four separate containers with wood chips in them, each also filled with a different amount of water. The chips don't start to smolder until the water has evaporated, so they function like time-release capsules. My goal is to be able to do a relatively unattended 24-hour smoke to do things like Andouille sausage (which smokes for a really long time, at least according to the recipe in Garde Manger).

Haha, good point. We are more interested in the food than in Morimoto himself (no offense to Morimoto)... She grew up in Philly but never had the chance to go to any decent restaurants there, so we've started to hit up some of the more popular ones. She was pleased with Susanna Foo, which was pretty exotic by normal standards, so she is trying to branch out more, I think.

Phew... I was starting to get worried that I was the only one. I had never had a muncho until a few minutes ago, and I must admit to being underwhelmed. Maybe it's due to the lavish praise heaped upon them in this thread, but I'd much prefer some Doritos (nacho cheese, of course... the only true Dorito).

Chris, you can find really cheap humidity meters, on eBay even. Usually with a temperature readout and max/min recording too. ← Yeah, you are definitely right - humidity is much more important to this process than I realized. I was thinking that as long as it wasn't too low, I would be OK, but my duck breast prosciutto failed apparently due to a combination of too high humidity and lack of air circulation (at least, that is the current theory). There was green mold forming on the surface after a week and a half, and when I sliced into it the interior was still basically "raw". Looks like an equipment upgrade is in order (gosh, how I hate being forced to buy more toys...).

Thank you all for your advice: my wife is generally a really good sport about trying new and strange foods, but she currently draws the line at raw fish. It sounds like that won't be a problem at Morimoto, however, since she can just order off the menu, and I can still get the Omakase (I nearly always get the tasting menu when I go to a place I haven't been to before: I'm not fixated on sushi, just on variety). Would it still be worthwhile to ask for seats at the sushi bar?

Yeah, it's one of those pine slabs that is intended to be used as a table top. I have been wondering if I need to worry about the oils from the pine introducing off flavors, so I may coat the bottom with the remaining insulating tape I used to assemble the tubing. Any thoughts on this?

While I agree with most of the above, I have to take issue with this - comparing sous vide to braising is just not useful in this context, since you can sous vide a ribeye to excellent effect, following it up with a very high heat sear to get the carmelization. I see no reason why you couldn't use exactly the same technique with the duck breasts: bring them up to temp in the water bath, then sear them off to finish.

I prefer AP flour when I'm making it by hand - the theory says that semolina has more flavorful, but I find it much more difficult to work with by hand. Handmade pasta made with AP flour is still fantastic, and doesn't really require "weekend project" status -- it's pretty easy to make. On second thought, you don't mention how you are rolling it out... are you doing that by hand as well (i.e. with a rolling pin?). That might be some work, I always use a pasta machine to roll it out.

Whilst watching Iron Chef the other night my wife mentioned that she would like to eat at Morimoto. Hey, who am I to argue with that? Why, exactly, she wants to eat there, is beyond me: she is not a sushi eater (yet! she says it will take several more years of marriage before I have convinced her to try it, so there is hope!). I, on the other hand, will eat anything and everything (at least once!). Well, so I made the reservations, but I still question going there. I gather this is not the kind of place where everyone has to get the tasting menu - is that correct? So she could order something "normal" and I can get the Omakase? Or would that be too awkward in terms of serving/coursing? Also, I have read elsewhere on eG that the sushi bar is the place to sit: is that true even if one of you isn't eating sushi? Edited to correct spelling of Omakase...

The interior is just a wire rack that suspends the meat/etc. above the bottom to allow smoke to circulate around it, and to keep it above the bed of ice, when that is present. If the smoke entering turns out to be hotter than I want I am planing on making a collar that I can add ice or water to to keep the temperature at the inlet down. I may go ahead and do it anyway to eliminate the need for adding ice to the smoke chamber itself, which currently requires opening the chamber.

Since the idea is that the interior of the smoke box never exceeds 90 degrees, and the food is never in contact with the plastic itself, it should not be a problem. Especially during the winter, when the smoke will cool substantially before even entering the smoke box. During the warm months the bottom will get filled with ice to keep everything cool. I haven't decided whether to poke drainage holes or not... thoughts? I wish I could claim the idea as my own, but of course I saw this sort of setup elsewhere on the internet, which is what sparked the idea.

Ladies and gentlemen, behold... Ghetto Smoker 4000 ™: Smoke chamber: Complete setup (Brinkman electric model - no charcoal grills allowed in the apartment complex):

I'll snap some tonight and try to remember to post them. It is practically a piece of art . Thanks for all the advice about temperatures: I guess the best way to approach this is with a methodical test. I love smoked salmon, so that shouldn't be a problem .

Thanks. Yeah, I figured if the meat was frozen solid it probably wouldn't work so well: I am thinking that if the temp of the smoke box is lower than 40 or 50 it is too low, but like you said, more heat is easy. I could always wrap the box in insulation, if it came to that. I am more thinking along the lines of, since more heat is easy, is there a "best" temperature to shoot for, on days when I have control.

Do you use anything to monitor humidity, or do you just make sure it is high?

Well, I ordered the box, so we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I have these two duck breasts aging for prosciutto: they've been going for 11 days between 50-60 degrees F and what I am guessing is pretty high humidity (small container of water in the bottom of the cooler). They still feel soft to me, but I don't really know what the target texture is. Any suggestions or advice? I moved them to the refrigerator this morning, since there is no TCM or anything involved and got nervous about the amount of time it was taking.

Well on that note, what about Soy Milk? OK, if you're lactose intolerant.. but for health reasons? Milk should not need an ingredient list. I do not believe for a moment that it is actually any better for you than real milk. There's just no way...