Chris Hennes

Don't count on it. They bought a scanning electron microscope! I have no doubt that the Modernist team can fill five full volumes.

From the linked site:

Yeah, I wonder if any supermarkets offer that service. Has anyone ever seen it? I'm still not convinced there is any gouging going on here--they have to cover their costs.

That lack of freshness is part of the reason it's expensive. Squash keeps relatively well when left whole, but the moment you chop it up its shelf-life goes from a week to a day. So I bet they have to discard a lot of it. It's the reason herbs are so expensive to buy, even though they grow like weeds.

Honestly, although I don't personally buy pre-sliced vegetables, some part of me thinks it's great: if it gives someone busy or handicapped the opportunity to actually cook dinner instead of having frozen pizza, Mickey D's, or a TV dinner it's a net win. It's more the packaging waste that concerns me most of the time. You can't win them all, I guess...

On their site they have indicated that it will most likely be available for pre-order fall or winter 2016. My money is on the price being comparable to the original, so something in the neighborhood of $600-$650 MSRP.

Puy lentil galettes (p. 208) This dish was the real reason I made homemade puff pastry yesterday -- the recipe calls for "best-quality puff pastry," which I definitely figure means homemade. I used the original recipe from the Guardian for the ingredient proportions here to avoid any other unexpected mishaps with the metric conversion (in particular, I had read somewhere that the US edition has too much yogurt in it). I also added a bit of extra lemon juice. The recipe calls for "juice of one lemon" so I figured that maybe my lemon was below average. Or maybe I just like things with a bit more acidity that he does. Overall I liked the effect of the dish. I'd be inclined to give the spinach a bit of a chop next time, and I think you could halve the quantity of the entire salad if you only want four galettes worth. I have a lot of salad leftover right now. I intended to serve this with his Char-grilled asparagus (p. 182) but I forgot to buy feta this weekend, so I made that recipe but then shredded some Pecorino on top instead. Not a great sub, actually, next week if the asparagus looks as good as it did this week I'll give this another shot.

With the caveat that I am not a professional in such matters... yes, I'd think so -- both the alcohol and the sugar will have acted as preservatives. I personally would make myself a drink a day or two before serving guests, but I'm paranoid about such things.

The folks behind Modernist Cuisine have announced a projected publication date of March 2017 for their new five-volume set on bread (previously discussed here). Start saving up now!

...and, I'm going to answer my own question. Whoever translated this from metric to imperial misread the original recipe, presumably thinking that the 3mm called for was really 3cm!! 3mm, or about an eighth of an inch, is a far more reasonable thickness. There is a lot of this going on in the US edition of this book. I wish they had at least left the metric measurements in for reference so we could more easily catch these errors. It reminds me of Peterson's Sauces, in which every single tablespoon of everything is automatically 15g, no matter what the substance. Heaven help anyone trying to use the metric version of his recipes.

I was just reviewing the recipe I am using for dinner tomorrow night, the Puy lentil galettes (p. 208), and he calls for 1 1/4" thick puff pastry cut into 3" circles. That strikes me as insanely thick! Has anyone tried that recipe? Is that thickness really correct?

And a final update: when used as a crust, 0.02% is a great amount because it makes the finished dough very supple and easy to work with. If you are going to try to form it into anything non-flat, however, it does tend to be a bit too relaxed, and it sags. I'd say 0.01% would probably be a better target for those applications.

Surprise tatin (p. 22) Asparagus mimosa (p. 182) The tatin is pretty involved, requiring separate cooking of tomatoes (slow-roasted in the oven), potatoes (boiled), onions (sauteed), and a quick caramel prepared. Not to mention that the recipe calls for puff pastry. I suppose store-bought is what he meant, but I am not really a fan, so I made my own. The tomatoes are roasted for 45 minutes, and the potatoes boiled and onions sauteed in that time: You then make a dark caramel and spread it in the bottom of a pan (it doesn't spread very evenly but it doesn't actually matter: Sprinkled with oregano, topped with potatoes, then tomatoes: Onions, then an aged goat cheese: Puff pastry, then bake: It comes out of the pan looking great: Served with asparagus mimosa: These were both delicious. My wife commented that the tatin was good, but might not be worth the effort, but I enjoy making puff pastry so I think it evened out. This wasn't the best dish in the book just in terms of pure interest, but it was quite good, and it looks very impressive when whole. I'd like to use a stronger cheese next time, and maybe sub out half the potatoes with parsnips. The asparagus is classic, of course, and pretty hard to go wrong. If you can get nice fat spears, this is a great way to serve them.

Well, I'm six turns in and so far 0.02% L-Cysteine has done its job perfectly, giving a relaxed dough that rolls out very easily and doesn't fight with the butter. Next time I might actually drop to 0.01%, the dough might actually be a bit too slack. We'll see later when I bake it if any problems appear.

Here we go again! Today's project is puff pastry -- many recipes call for the addition of lemon juice, said to relax the dough. I thought I'd have a go at using the L-Cysteine again in this application instead, and wondered if anyone else has give that a shot? I've had very good results with it in later iterations of the Modernist Cuisine hamburger buns, and since I have a lifetime supply I figure, why not?

Itamar's bulgur pilaf (p. 242) In the description of this dish, Ottolenghi calls this "full of little surprises." Emphasis on full. There are 2 tablespoons of whole coriander to 2 cups of bulgur. In every bite you are hit with coriander, with the occasional respite of the 2 teaspoons of pink peppercorns. I like coriander and all, but this was a bit much for me. I'd be inclined to even things out and go with two teaspoons each of pink peppercorns and coriander. In its current incarnation basically none of the other flavors mattered, because the coriander was so dominant. If his other recipes were studies in carefully-achieved balance, this was a study in why balance matters, and what happens when it goes wrong.

Saffron cauliflower (p. 106) Green lentils, asparagus and watercress (p. 220) For some inexplicable reason the photo of the cauliflower dish in the book is of the raw ingredients rather than the finished dish, which I think makes it look sort of boring and insipid. Well, it's neither! It's a fairly classic flavor profile, with green olives and golden raisins providing sharp flavor bursts to a deliciously saffron-infused roasted cauliflower. It's also one of the easier dishes in the book to make, and really only requires one dish (though he calls for two, one to toss the ingredients together and one to bake them in). I served it alongside this warm lentil and asparagus salad. The dressing is a simple but delicious blend of watercress, parsley, olive oil, and red wine vinegar, and he has you serve it with bits of pecorino romano cheese. I went with slices, though he calls for chunks. Probably either would work. It actually calls for plain green lentils, rather than Puy or Castelluccio, so it cooks quickly as well.

The ultimate winter couscous (p. 262) First suggested by @rarerollingobject in this post, I made this for dinner on this decidedly not winter day, and it was still delicious. I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for roasted parsnips, so it was probably a forgone conclusion that I was going to like this dish, but I thought that all the flavors and textures came together nicely. It would be a great dish to serve guests -- the flavors were complex enough to satisfy food-lovers, but not so exotic that your less-adventurous friends will be freaked out.

I tried capers in the leftovers for lunch today since they were an easy option, but I think I need something more distinct. The capers sort of got lost. I might try pomegranate seeds next time.

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Spring is springing here, but to my dismay my mint has been overrun by aphids... but the war is on now! Those are about to be some very well-fed ladybugs.

Green couscous (p. 255) This was a very good salad that was prevented from being great by a single missing ingredient. I don't know what it is, but it's missing! The flavors worked well together, and it was an interesting combination of tastes and textures, but it needed one more. Something to pop -- probably an acid, but maybe a dried fruit. Maybe adding more feta would have done the trick, or something like pomegranate seeds or tiny tomatoes. I'm not sure, to be honest. It was certainly easy to make, so I'll probably play around with it a bit and post again.

...and then you bake it. The butter has far more water in it than any amount that butter-coated flour is going to absorb in the fridge. I bet in a side-by-side test the two are indistinguishable. Anyone want to have a go?

Pasta and fried zucchini salad (p. 254) This was the best thing I've made from the book so far (and I've really enjoyed several things). I know from the title of the recipe it doesn't sound that exciting, but it's the little details that took this dish to the next level. Three critical things made this dish the success it was: tossing the fried zucchini in red wine vinegar, the addition of capers, and the huge range of textures it includes. Not only is the recipe as written fantastic, but you can easily imagine a huge set of modifications on the basic theme that would work, from changing up the cheese to omitting the pasta altogether. The flavor combinations are truly superb here.

Are you kneading it, or turning it? If kneading, it's possible that the layers of fat are being blended too much.