vice

From the Haus Alpenz site:

A batch of soppressata today marked my first experience with Bactoferm Mold 600 (previously M-EK-4). What's the recommended protocol for use of this product? I confess right off the bat that I haven't had time yet to read through both Charcuterie topics for pertinent postings. Since instructions on the packaging or on Butcher Packer's site were elusive, I turned to jmolinari's blog. Based on his experience, I went with 1.5 g dissolved in 30 ml distilled water for a few hours, then diluted with an additional 200 ml water prior to use and applied with an atomizer. For a 5 lb batch of sausage, this final volume was rather excessive; I probably used less than a quarter of the total volume. I'll know in a day or so how the mold goes. Is anyone aware of trials with a) initial starting amounts of culture or b) dilution rates with regards to efficacy?

How long did you let it hang out with the pineapple, Chris?

I'm curious how this has worked out for you. Survived the year? Thermoworks has an IR gun with K-type thermocouple probe on special right now for only a bit more. I suspect the quality is better than the Taylor product, but probably clunkier to use. Does anyone have any experience with similar setups?

I know I'm not the only one here who feels this way, but I like having a couple scotches on hand to suit various needs. For everyday use or when experimenting with new cocktails, I'll go with a less spendy blended offering. But then there are the days when you want to spoil yourself. On such days, a Rob Roy with Macallan cask strength, for example, just sits you down in your seat and makes you forget everything else. The option for occasional luxury is a damn good thing.

I don't mix with single malts often, but do like the Balvenie 12 (Doublewood) in Rob Roy-ish drinks, which I'd say includes the Bobbie Burns. It should run you around $40 in most places. Or for a blended whisky, you'll find a lot of support around here for Famous Grouse .

What's your tolerance to decide what is or is not uniform? What sort of breads are you slicing? How many loaves at a time? I can freehand 1/4-3/8" slices of a pretty crusty loaf (your basic Fahey no-knead) that are damn near what you'd get out of a machine. I probably wouldn't want to do that on a commercial scale.

There've been murmurs from Shola at Studiokitchen about mozzarella ice cream. David Lebovitz had this post today about Humphrey Slocombe in SF and mentions a slew of intriguing flavors: Fumé (smoked) Chocolate passion fruit cinnamon brittle Boccalone proscuitto Ancho coffee Jesus juice sorbet Balsamic caramel Secret breakfast

ice wine grenadine via bostonapothecary. along the same idea, but i don't think the fridge will get you anywhere close to concentrated enough.

An optional finishing touch for rich meat braises like this is a gremolata to provide a bit more contrast. Especially for guests who don't often cook themselves, they'll be surprised by how a few everyday ingredients pack a ton of flavor and can serve as such a counterweight to big meat flavors. Or maybe they'll just think it tastes good...

I wash mine right in the sheet pan in which they were used. Obviates the need to lie anything down flat in the sink.

crostata. sorbet or ice cream. did i mention crostata?

Libbey's Embassy coupe comes in a variety of sizes. I know they make a 4.5 oz, and I think a smaller one as well. Judging by your metric measurements, I'm guessing you're not in the US, and I'm not sure of their international availability.

David Santucci recommends 2:1 blanco tequila to blanc vermouth here. Then there's eje's version which adds a touch of yellow chartreuse and bitters.

Alex and Aki paired theirs with tuna, tomato, and melon (although it was just caramelized, not smoked - here). When I hear smoke and coconut, I think my brain shouts shrimp ever so softly (along with 'beach' and 'beer'). eta: I see they do have a bunch of smoked coconut ideas on their twitter, just haven't posted them to the blog yet. Fingers crossed...

while avoiding a classic martini, you could still hew fairly close to the Wondrich approach, i.e., the lion's share given to a white spirit of your choice, cut with a light aperitif wine (noilly dry and lillet will both give a nice golden cast akin to yellow diamonds), and a splash of liquer to jazz it up. citrus bitters of some sort as aromatics tend to add too much color.

I can't recall having seen any extensive testing, but I've found 2:1 syrups to be quite stable at room temperature.

Could you give an example of what you consider medium or fine mesh? I use a small OXO tea strainer and it does OK with egg white drinks. It does have the characteristic black rubber handle, but the rest is stainless.

On a related note, there is this quote from a recent Salon article:

Chris Amirault suggested this elsewhere (Perfect Scoop topic, maybe) and I tried it with success: take your whole mint leaves (2C sounds about right for a quart). Muddle lightly a handful at a time and add to dairy mixture before infusion.

... jealous, the Norwegian Wood is such a great drink. In the passage of time, it's one of the few new creations that I think could (and should) easily rise to the stature of the Martini.

My thoughts, precisely. Any unwanted slabs of bacon or gold ingots can be sent my way. PM for address.

Keller has a couple trotter recipes in TFL. I recall one where they're poached, then breaded and fried, served with sauce gribiche I think?

an alchemist-inspired night. first a prince parker swizzle. then, because it's finally hot here, quite hot, a bastardization of the juliet and romeo: 2 oz hendricks 0.75 oz mixed lime and lemon juice 0.75 oz 1:1 simple 12 drops rosewater 2" cucumber 9 basil leaves peel and muddle cucumber to pulp, then lightly muddle basil. add liquids, shake and strain over ice into a tall glass. top up with soda and garnish with a basil sprig. hit the spot while standing by the grill.

Whenever one considers the effects of more than one factor, there is the potential for interactions between them. Off the top of my head, I can think of four factors that are addressed by the Cooking Issues experiments and Sam's discussion: - ice type - ice quantity - shaking style - shaking duration If all these factors had only two 'levels' (which they don't; shaking duration, for example, is a continuous variable), there would be a total of 16 unique combinations to test. So, you can see how quickly such experiments can grow in size and complexity. When you consider that there are multiple response variables of interest as well (temperature, dilution, texture, etc), and that the treatment combination yielding the optimum for one may not do so for others, it can get still more complex. Indeed, it's enough to make one want a drink...