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DanM

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    Silver Tip Roast

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Fairway was running a special on silver tip roasts, so I want to make one for the better half for dinner. it is about 2 lbs. What is the best way to cook this piece of meat? Should I make roast beef?

    Thanks!!

    Dan

    Store vs Brand Name Milk

    in Ready to Eat

    Posted

    There is a myriad of choices at the grocery store for milk ranging from store, retail and supposedly premium brand milks. The prices can range from $2.50-$6 per gallon. Is there any real difference in quality, price, flavor, etc between the different brands?

    Dallas Coffee Roasters

    in Texas: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    I stopped by Addison yesterday and picked up some mild roast espresso and some Bali sourced coffee. Very friendly people and great quality coffee. I am well at work annoying my FIL by using the "countertop art" espresso machine. It is there to look nice, not be used... spucatum! This is not a cafe though... it is a small office with a roast house in the back. I did not make it to Dunn Bros due to a sleeping kiddo.

    Reboiling water

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    I use a reverse osmosis water filter and never notice a difference between boils.

    I guess we can make an experiment out of this. If someone wants, you can fill a kittle with 1 litre of water, bring it to a boil and pour off 100ml. Return the water to room temp and repeat. Once you have enough samples, taste the water to see if you notice any difference.

    Dan

    Experiments in tarts....

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I think RLB's Pie and Pastry Bible is a great resource for most beginners, but it is mostly sweet tarts.

    One of the big faults I see in tarts made by friends comes from a lack of patience. Crusts that are not flaky (when you expect one) and low sides are typically due to a lack of patience.

    1. When mixing the crust, especially for flaky crusts, do it by hand. I have never had success making a very flaky crust in a mixer.

    2. When you are done mixing, stick the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but I usually wait an hour,

    3. When you roll out the dough, do not trim the edges and bake, or fill and bake. The gluten will want to contract. Stick the crust in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, again, I go an hour, to let the crust settle. Then trim the edges and continue.

    To keep things simple, mix the dough the night before and let it chill in the fridge overnight. In the morning, roll it out, place it in the pan, and stick it back in the fridge until you get home from work. Par bake if necessary while you get the filling prepared.

    One more tip... After you remove the pie weights during a park baking, brush the the crust with a beaten egg. It will glaze the crust and slightly water proof it. This will help prevent the crust from getting soggy.

    Dan

    "Heston Blumenthal at Home"

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    Now that I have spent a few days and several hours digging deep into this book, I must say that my initial impression was wrong. This is an intimidating looking book at the surface, but is a bit more forgiving when you dive in. Chef Blumenthal does a great job in each chapter explaining how to cook the various dishes. More importantly, he explains why things happen when you cook. He goes into detail of what emulsions and foams are, how to create them, and how to use them. He also pushes the envelope a bit by challenging home cooks to try new techniques that they may not be comfortable with, like smoking, sous vide (this is a stretch, who has $500-700 laying around for a sous vide setup?), and making ice cream with dried ice (safer than liquid nitro I guess).

    But as I said before, there are a ton of recipes that are not feasible for everyday cooking, like the crab lasagna and the fish pie. But there are enough simpler recipes to make the book useful on a regular basis. That being said, I will probably get more use out of Ferran Adria's Family Meal than this book.

    A couple of nitpicks... Chef Blumenthal... learn to smile a bit. You look too serious in every picture in this book. It gives the impression that you cannot have fun while cooking your food. I would like to have seen vegetarian mains, not just sides in this book. But even he admits that veg are far too often overlooked in British cuisine.

    One last thing, if you have an issue with alcohol, this may not be the book for you. He uses a fair amount of sherry, vermouth, wine, etc, in this book. This will cause problems at my side with a pregnant wife.

    Good book, with a few issues.

    "Heston Blumenthal at Home"

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    I received the book today by airmail from the UK. Here are my thoughts based on my initial flip through...

    It is a very cook book, but I think it hits the mark. Most of the books that I have that are for "home cooking" have simpler dishes that can be made with relative ease on a weekday with readily available ingredients. Unfortunately, Chef Blumenthal's book has a ton of challenging recipes using uncommon ingredients and advanced techniques using equipment not found in many homes. The book is better suited for special occasions, influence, and ideas. If you cook from this book every day, you will probably be broke, fat, and possibly divorced due to the time away from the better half spent on this book.

    I think this book will sit next to Morimoto as a another beautiful book that is impractical for regular use.

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