vice

I tend to associate pureed onions with pork marinades, off the top of my head the pork vendaloo in Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking and Bittman's take on pernil from a few years back.

Thanks for the tips. I assume a waterstone would qualify as a flat abrasive, no? Never having seen it mentioned elsewhere, I wouldn't have thought to touch up the plate in addition to the blade. Just to make sure I'm understanding, by plate you're referring to the die that determines grind size?

I picked up some frozen passion fruit pulp. Anyone making their own syrup with this stuff? What would be a good ratio of pulp to syrup for standard tiki applications?

I've always known that as the Bonzoni, but henceforth it'll be the Kill or Cure. Great name (and drink).

One change you might consider is switching to a smaller shaker. bostonapothecary mentioned somewhere a while back that he liked the combo of 8 and 16 oz tins from barproducts to deal with bad ice. Having given them a try, I agree. The small size is nice because you can fill up the shaker, restricting ice movement and slushification, without going through tons of ice for a few shaken drinks.

One point always emphasized in charcuterie texts is to take good care of your grinder blades and sharpen them regularly. I'm good on the first point, but pretty clueless on the second. Given the KA attachment blade's small size and awkward shape, I can't figure how I'd put a good edge on it with a stone. What are other people doing to keep your blades sharp (aside from generally ignoring that recommendation)?

The Iwatani butane torch was recently recommended by several in the Sous Vide thread.

Oh, I agree. I'm not doubtful that the method works, just of the explanation that refreezing somehow compacts the ice more than when it was first frozen.

But isn't that precisely what other posters have emphasized? Reviews are valuable once you calibrate your palette against that of a particular reviewer (admittedly, an expensive and potentially disappointing enterprise).

Super knife skills, as always. I guess he deserves the theme music. I can't hang with the Seal though.

I doubt that there's any difference in the volume of the ice between first and second freeze. I'd guess that the fault lines in cloudy ice, presumably caused by trapped air, should weaken it relative to clear, air-free ice. Someone else'll have to take a stab at melting rate. I don't have a clue.

Try giving them a soak in hot water when you get them home. In the link, Harold McGee writes specifically about berries, but I've used the same approach with stone fruits to good effect.

Glad you like it! In observance of National Rum Day earlier this week, I had made a Hemingway daiquiri with the JM 1997 that I squirreled back to the west coast. Oh man, it was everything I had remembered and more. So nice.

I use it for paella when I don't have Valencia around.

For crystal clear (not just clearer) ice in large blocks, simply starting with hot water has been shown to be insufficient.

Two of my favorite uses are the Warning Label from the Rogue Cocktails book and this one I posted in the Drinks! thread:

The tile underneath the dish rack

Thanks, that makes sense. I use an everyday Henckels bread knife at home, but only for sawing through larger blocks. I've never tried the method Andrew was using to break down blocks into cubes, but I don't see a bread knife working that well. Like you say, something substantial is probably best, and sharpened to a not particularly acute angle. I can't imagine an 11 degree edge on hard Japanese steel lasting too long with that treatment.

Awesome post up on Alcademics.com showing Andrew Bohrer breaking down ice from 300 lb blocks to hand-finished spheres. Chainsaws, band saws, hand-carving spheres, cubes for stirring, shaved ice for frappes; it's all there, folks. I'm left wondering what qualities one wants in a knife for that sort of work. Any thoughts? eta: I would be amiss not to give out credit where credit is due: that's actually Erik Ellestad in the videos doing his best George W. Bush impersonation . Heckuva job, Erik!

Interesting topic, Chris. I had a craving for all'Amatriciana recently and followed Hazan (Essentials). As I recall, she also calls for a mix of the two cheeses. That surprised me because I've always associated pecorino with sauces from middle and southern Italy (e.g., gricia, carbonara, all'Amatriciana).

For many folks, I suppose it's because fridge space is too limited to keep a permanent brine crock. Bacon and pancetta lend themselves well to making more than you need at once.

I cure my own, vacuum bag unsliced (sizes vary from 1/2-1 lb), and freeze. It's indistinguishable from never-frozen as far as I can tell. I can't comment on really long-term storage, but I've probably had portions in a chest freezer for around 6 months with no noticeable decline in quality. eta: clarification of portion size

... Better snap it up. Definitely! I was lucky enough two snag a couple bottles each of St James Ambre and Lemon Hart at Beltramos a while back. They're no longer listed on their website, unfortunately. I don't suppose there's really a comparable replacement available for Lemon Hart (I, for one, have never seen the El Dorado overproof that I've heard exists), but Rhum JM gold can be found at roughly the same price point as St James. Neisson is a bit spendier, but you are getting an extra 250 ml.

For those near a Smart & Final, the one by me has stacks of full-size parchment for some ridiculous fraction of the cost of a roll that actually contains less product. I just fold (actually, it's already folded) and cut it all in half to fit my sheet pans.

Does anyone carry Alpenz products in Rhode Island? I've been all over today (Campus, Town Wine & Spirits, Gasbarro, Joyal) looking for Dolin and Cocchi to no avail. Incidentally, I scored a couple bottles of Rhum JM, the VSOP and the 1997 (last one!), at Joyal's for $34 and $30, respectively. Absurdly low prices, especially for the 1997. I had seen Chris recently mention the VSOP elsewhere and figured I knew where he had picked it up. So excited.