KennethT

If you have the time, how 'bout small, lentil sized spheres of lentil cooking liquid to be mixed in with the lentils?

OK - so, in this case, it makes sense... especially if the finished product worked out well! I didn't realize the tea:vinegar ratio was so low - so I guess it makes to require a real strong tea to come through at all with all that vinegar.

I'd agree with your assumptions, but 15g of dried blossoms is a LOT of blossoms... especially in only 50ml of water... so even though it's not explicit as in the later recipe, I would assume fresh blossoms. If you think of making tea (not necessarily chamomile tea) - for normal brewing, I use about 4.5-5g tea leaves for roughly 250ml water and that makes a pretty potent brew - I wouldn't want it stronger than that...

Really? A vacuum is at most 1atm/14 psi. It's pretty easy to withstand that, especially in compression, isn't it? I'm sure the polycarbonate of a Nalgene bottle could do it. I think the challenge is to create reliable, low-maintenance pumps and seals. The problem gets more difficult/expensive as the size of the chamber increases. This is because the loads increase with the surface area of the chamber. You also lose the help from making the walls curved as the chamber gets bigger, as the curvature of circular walls is inversely proportional to the radius. One more thing is the direction of the loads is such that it wants to buckle the chamber loads - not a problem with a bottle that is pressurized on the inside. For a natural example, check out the thickness of an ostrich egg shell versus a chicken egg. Right... just to illustrate a little more, if you have a chamber that's 11x15x8 inches, then for one wall (say the 15x8) you'd have 120 square inches, so at 14psi, that would equal 1680 pounds of force that the wall would have to resist against. While the material itself will have no problem (like your nalgene bottle), you'd have to have a very strong wall and joints that will resist buckling under that kind of force.

Part of the problem of a chamber vacuum is designing a "box" that will withstand the high pressure of a decently strong vacuum. Materials significantly strong/thick enough to withstand this pressure at a decent size is not that cheap.

I agree with Julian - but getting to Lameloise would be very difficult without a car. While I think Beaune is a cute little town, I don't know what it would be like to live there for a month wihtout a car - as many things in Burgundy are quite a ways outside the city. One thing not to miss - which I odn't even know if it's possible to miss since it takes up the whole central square (right next to the Hospice de Beaune) - is the market that takes place every weekend (can't remember if it was Sat or Sun). Ma Cuisine is excellent - although you'll need reservations - at last check, they're only open 4 days a week and hard to get into as many winemakers enjoy dining there. They don't really have a set menu - just a blackboard where they write what they have that day. They do, however, have a massive wine list - mostly from the surrounding area with many back vintages, but also a full page of Chateau d'Yquem in tons of back vintages. Also, the wine list is very fairly priced for what it is. My wife and I shared an amazing bottle of 1998 Meo Camuzet Clos de Vougeot for less than what we would have paid retail (or even at most auctions) here in NY. I'd like to add, if it suits you, the local specialties of frogs legs, and escargot are fantastic. I still dream about them (with lots of butter, garlic and parsley) and we ahven't been there in a few years. If you like the burgundian style washed rind cheeses, there's a plethora to be found. Sure there's the Epoisses, but keep an eye out for some of the others that are made in the area that don't get exported so much - I don't remember the names off the top of my head, but the people I met were very friendly and very happy to talk about the local specialties - most of which are made around the corner somewhere. Have fun on your trip - you have tons of time to try everything in Beaune several times over.... count me jealous too!

I've never cooked burbot liver, and have never even heard of it, but I commonly do foie gras or chicken livers sous vide at 132F (55.6C) to bring to temp (dependent on thickness). I don't know if the burbot liver is similar at all to either of these.

True - but I thought the service has been excellent each time. The courses were spaced really well, and I've found the staff to be welcoming and knowledgable, despite the "cool" appearance, and I've never felt rushed like they were trying to turn the table like what happens at so many popular places... Definitely have to check out the men's room now though!

Likewise... Actually have a resy for next Sat at 6 - taking some friends who haven't been yet.

damn... and it was getting hard to get into before... now it'll be impossible!

Well, unitasker or not, I'd like to say that that is a pretty piece of wood craftsmanship... I'm sure you had as much fun building it as you'll have using it!

We used to go to Coop's for jambalaya, but I don't have that much experience, so I can't say if there's better out there.

What about doing the creme on the stovetop or sv? Then, pipe the finished creme onto the cakes and refrigerate until service... then add sugar and brulee at service

My memory of CB is that it's cured in a brine using, among other things, Instacure #1, which results in a pink color (like pastrami, but it's not rubbed and smoked), and also "sets" the texture... I don't know what value it would be to cook at 131 for a long time...

ha! Sable MacGuyver!

I find the biggest thing is to keep a clean seal area to start with. Try folding the top of the bag back so it stays clean while filling.

Beautiful job, Chris!

Can't wait for the rest of the week! BTW - another really good lebanese wine is Chateau Mussar - both whites and reds are excellent, but they are especially known for their whites which can age forever... If you can find a 20 year old white, don't pass it up! Some of the older reds have been judged as well as 3rd growth Bordeaux in blind tastings...

Chris - I really enjoyed this past week.. great job!!

I would bring a suitcase of iberico de bellota pork products... Of course the jamon, but also, the bellota chorizo, fresh pork loin (if the trip isn't that long and you can keep it cold), etc. I dont know if they're still open, but Jamonisimo specializes in small production bellota jamon. They have it from 3 different regions. My favorite is from the Extremadura region. They have some that are already sliced and vacuum packed and will withstand quite a while at room temp, although it's best to keep refrigerated.

I haven't made couscous the long way before, but I've tried lots of brands of the instant... the instant ones are pretty good, but I dream about the couscous at Mogador - the Moroccan place on St. Marks in the east village... I gather they make their couscous from scratch.

Another great evening... tried some new things... cured ham x 2... heirloom carrots with lardo... a special not on the menu: langoustine tartare with raw foie gras... unctuous pork cheeks with barely cooked chard spiked with sherry (I think?) vinegar. All awesome... service was great too - knowledgeable about food and cocktails and paced things just right.

well, traditional sables are made by creaming the butter and sugar, so I wonder what would happen if you chilled your onion result and then tried to cream it. I'd imagine it would re-emulsify, especially once you add the egg yolks, right?

I was wondering if the onions would have any flavor left at all... most of the flavor transferred either into the butter or into the air.

how about a curry? Disintegrated onions + curry spices + some yogurt??