KennethT

Strange question: I have potatoes, I have onion. I have no eggs. We don't keep eggs in the house. Around me, the cost of eggs is seemingly ridiculous compared to what I remember in the supermarkets as a child. Any thoughts on what I can use as a binder to replace the eggs? I have an old packet of methylcellulose F50 (or something like that - it hasn't been used in forever so it is buried somewhere) that I once used as a binder for some kind of fried meatball thing that worked pretty well. Any other thoughts?

Yeah - amybe like a gastrique - the slightly sweet and sour. I've made a brown duck sauce, added some raspberries, and some raspberry vinegar. Was very good, but the OP wanted to stay away from fruit.

Don't get saucy with me, Bernaise!!!!! Sorry... someone had to say it....

I like mushrooms with duck - so a wild mushroom sauce?

I believe this was something postulated by either Modernist Cuisine or Dave Arnold (I don't remember who) - the theory is that when you cook dried pasta, the vast majority of the time in the boiling water is not cooking the pasta, but just rehydrating it. The cooking is done in the last couple of minutes (as if you were cooking fresh pasta). So, by soaking overnight, you take care of the rehydrating step in advance. One of the things that they did at the time was using different soaking liquids in order to flavor the pasta. Other than that (and I don't really see the need for that either), I don't really understand why someone would bother with this. It requires you to decide to make pasta the day before. And how much time are you saving? In the end, getting the pot of water to boil takes a lot longer than cooking the pasta itself. So unless you're a restaurant where you always have water boiling for pasta, so it reduces the cook time from fire to plate, I don't see the need.

most red wine (or wine in general) has quite a bit of acidity, so I wonder if taht's what's cooking the exterior of the meat, rather than the alcohol? I've made gravlax before that has vodka or gin as part of the cure and it doesn't cook the fish.

No reason not to, I had just never heard of it before. Interesting!

three cup vegetables?

I've been pinching the basil flowers for over a month!

hyper-local! I wish you could have had some of the basil when the plant was in its prime - leaves the size of your fist... I think it's time to either plant another or clone the one I've got going and start over... this plant is just way too big, flowers too frequently and the leaves aren't as big and beautiful as they used to be...

I've never done so. My wife is not a huge tabbouleh fan, and the type I usually like is more parsley heavy than mint. I do make a lot of Vietnamese dishes, which is why I decided to grow it.

I currently have the best smelling garbage can around....

After some, ahem, aggressive pruning.

What happens when you don't trim your mint plant as often as you should...

You can grow them....

Viet lemongrass chicken

Some of those dishes (like pork with chili) look similar to what I get at Hunan places here. Are they as spicy as they look? Looks more like chili with pork than vice versa.

My parents always served with applesauce, but just the thought of it turns my stomach. Bad association from taking medicine as a kid - crushed up in applesauce.... ugghh..

You're right - there's nothing to say about the mealy texture the meat gets. I just made chicken stock last weekend (I do it in the pressure cooker) and the meat is just awful. I chucked it all.

I used to make a celery root puree all the time. It's really easy, and gives a flavorful version of a fine mashed potato. Just peel and cut into chunks. Boil in salted water until tender, then put in the blender with a bit of the cooking water and a small amount (maybe a 1/2 teaspoon) of Vitamin C powder which keeps it from browning. Once done, taste for seasoning, and add maybe a tablespoon or two of creme fraiche or sour cream. You can also add a bit of olive oil while it's blending which will give it a nice sheen.

@mgaretzare there any brands of frozen hash browns taht don't have tons of additives (dextrose, sorbitol, et al)?

When I made stock, I let it go a long time to extract as much flavor and gelatin as possible. By that time, the meat has lost any and all flavor to the soup, so it's either discarded, or sometimes I'll save it for when I made Thai chicken soup, and then I'll give the meat a splash of soy or fish sauce to flavor it before adding to the soup.

I never thought of using frozen hash browns as a base... hmmmm....

When I do Brussels sprouts, I separate them into their leaves (getting rid of the core). I saute in a little grapeseed oil/s/p until decently browned and they get really sweet. That's my favorite prep for them.

I use feet when I made chicken stock and I don't have access to old hens... When I don't have access to a lot of bones but I'm out of stock, I'll use a combo of cut up legs, some wings (dependign on price) and feet.