vice
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Posts posted by vice
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I went with the recession plan and grabbed these "Perfect Cube" silicone trays from Sur Le Table.
I'm already in love. For about $20 (shipping included) I have big cubic cubes that are perfect for rocks drinks, perfect for high balls, and really great for cracking into chunks. Best of all, they are taking my shaken drinks, which are now missing the shards I'd grown to hate, to another level.
For those still in the market (like me), these look to be the tovolo trays mentioned upthread.
Now, like Chris, I struggle with shattering with my shaken drinks and get too much dilution even with a ~10-15 sec shake. I currently get my ice from your everyday generic tray (so generic I can't find a link). For those that have experimented with different ice options, what's the most likely culprit: cube size, cube density, or shaking method?
Yeah, all three are important, but a guy has to start somewhere.
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I, too, feel the pain of a lover deceived. When I was a teenager working in one shitty kitchen or another, a cook friend of mine and I used to lavish plenty of our hard-earned dough on Al. On so many nights, perfection came in one form: pizza and a tart for two (scratch that, for one). Yeah, there was always something in between the two, but do I remember those dishes some ten years later? Nope.
Time has passed and I haven't seen Al in 6 years or so. One would think I'd have gotten over it by now, but no. The last time we were together - it had been a while - I was hoping nostalgia would be enough to carry me back to those good times. Well, I could blame that night on expectations inflated by memory. Nostalgia has a way of kicking you in the ass. Yet thinking back I'm pretty sure it was Al's fault. Now I'm sitting on the opposite coast imagining my trip home come September, and one question lingers: will I be weak and go back one more time? Maybe. Probably. Will Al make me sorry? That question will have to wait.
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Chris, I think I've finally hit upon one thing that could cure us of this affliction. Those pizzas are dead simple to make, and oh so more satisfying when you do it yourself than pay $18 (or whatever they're charging now) for a pre-fired crust. It's all in Cucina Simpatica, or online many places these days. I whipped one up tonight with grilled ramps standing in for those "fucking scallions". But hey, you know what, I fucking like those scallions - they were what was on top two nights ago. Now I just have to perfect the tart, and I'll be over Al for good...
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It's been a while since I've made one, but I'd been meaning to after thirtyoneknots and bostonapothecary's posts in the Drinks! thread. I'll give this a whirl too and report back. I do recall that the Savoy proportions ended up too sweet for my taste, as many report, and that I favored something more along the lines of Splificator's ratio
eta: links
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yeah, i was planning on monitoring it empty for a little while to get an idea of the baseline humidity. i guess i should have said (de)humidifier as small models of either sort could easily fit in the door.
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i just picked up a sanyo counterhigh fridge (click) off my local craigslist for $75. i've seen half a dozen of these on there in the last few weeks. they come in sizes from 3.7-4.9 cuft and seem like a nice compromise between a regular minifridge and a full size unit. also, the door can hold two gallon jugs of milk, more than enough room for a smaller humidifier like this one. of course, with a size this small, other humidity control options might be more than sufficient.
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Katie, what tequila do you use for your lover's infusion? I'm eager to get more of my own put up as soon as I can get a non-styrofoam strawberry.
I just put up some TPMA today in Cazadores Reposado (as with Paul Clarke, just what I had on hand). Chris, pick-your-own at Schartner's and other places should start imminently. Time to dust off your handle basket.
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dirt cheap individually, but i doubt one could find a place that sells them without a minimum order that is much larger. if anyone knows otherwise...
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that's funny, i use a 32 oz rubber mallet and can get pretty close to snow with no problem. was yours smaller? also, i've found that i can be a little hesitant about pounding away on the kitchen counter, so sometimes i'll take the bag outside on the patio where i guess i'm less inhibited.
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re: ice crushing, the suggestions up thread for a canvas bag and a big mallet are pretty much state of the art as far as i've found. just take care with the whacking after a couple rounds. it's painfully easy to end up with a sore finger the next morning. i know i'll be nursing mine.
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After grinding, I'd bet that the butter would be so malleable that overworking would still produce a dense texture. Added moisture could be a benefit, depending on the temperature to which you cook your burgers (if it were me, the butter would still be frozen in the middle). I agree with others that this sounds like an issue of overworking rather than home- vs store-ground meat.
If you do get store-ground meat, try to lighten the texture by carefully separating the strands from the package into a bowl before forming patties. It's especially easy with the kind of grind that BRM recommends. After that, gentleness is key, as Alton Brown reiterates over and over in a Good Eats hamburger episode. There isn't much I've seen on that show that I haven't eventually been able to improve upon, but Brown's method of forming patties - taking a quantity of ground beef and basically tossing it back and forth between your hands, letting the patty more or less form itself - consistently yields a nice texture.
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The thing for me is, flor de cana silver costs about the same as the cruzan* but is in a different league quality-wise. To my palate, bitters or no, there's no reason not to expend the extra effort to source the fdc at a more reasonable price. Then at least one can enjoy a daiquiri when so desired.
*in some stores, and providing you can even find it. in my area it's either unavailable or priced at $16-21 to cruzan's $10.
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Use it as an opportunity to experiment with infusions, perhaps? Since it didn't come with flavor, add your own.
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My liquor store had 10% off any 1.75's so, being out of rum (and not really a rum drinker), I grabbed some cruzan aged light rum. Is this supposed to be a decent rum? I understand its not a high end spirit, but it really comes off like nail polish remover to me.
Do I just not get it? Or is this pretty bad booze.
I picked up a bottle in a pinch one day, but might as well not have. Agreed, it's not up to snuff, even as a budget item. There's no appreciable rum flavor.
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Not too long ago I tried whipping up a batch of brandied cherries. Got a bunch of fresh cherries, pitted them, and put them in a jar with Brandy (mostly), simple and Maraschino (just a little). I have to say, I was pretty disappointed. The cherries just kind of got bleached out -- in color and in flavor. I don't think the Maraschino helped them any either. Recently I was able to pick up a couple jars of the Luxardo cherries in New York and -- WOW! They truly are sublime. They are deeply and intensely red (think black) and very, very sweet. Now I see where those radioactive supermarket cherries got their ideas from. As far as I can tell they use no Brandy or Maraschino, or anything. Just a very heavy syrup that gets its color and flavor from -- cherries! So my plan now is to get some of those frozen Cascadian cherries that people have said good things about, turn half of them into juice, then turn the juice into as saturated a syrup as I can, throw the cherries into that and see if I end up with something reminiscent of the Luxardos.
well, cherry season is just starting up, so people's minds might naturally turn to preserving some for their various devices. david, did you ever get around to trying your saturated cherry syrup method?
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the oven would be for the fermentaion only i assume, which is 12-72 hrs.
that's what i thought at first, too, but read again below:
I have discovered the perfect chamber for fermenting and curing- my oven. It is sterile- just heat it to 300 the night before production, it will stay at 80F for fermentation by simply propping the door open w/ a thermometer and just shut the door and it stays at 65F. I have a convection, so once a day I turn it on for about 20 sec's and then open and shut the door a couple of times. It circulates the air over the sausage! Must admit that this is the first time doing it this way, but all is going very well 3 weeks into the Spanish Chorizo and 1 week into the Soppressata.To maintain humidity I use the utilitarian water in a pan w/ a pile of salt above the level of water.
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am i the only one thinking i probably wouldn't sleep very well at your house?
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fyi, tomorrow's times dining section features a nice short piece on mezcal, throwing in a nod to eG's own phil ward and his new venture, mayahuel
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Could you simply add the cheese after heating the liquid to 160?
that would be my first shot. think bechamel or other sauces with cheese as an ingredient. it's often added at the very end, after the product has seen all the heat.
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I have discovered the perfect chamber for fermenting and curing- my oven. It is sterile- just heat it to 300 the night before production, it will stay at 80F for fermentation by simply propping the door open w/ a thermometer and just shut the door and it stays at 65F. I have a convection, so once a day I turn it on for about 20 sec's and then open and shut the door a couple of times. It circulates the air over the sausage! Must admit that this is the first time doing it this way, but all is going very well 3 weeks into the Spanish Chorizo and 1 week into the Soppressata.
To maintain humidity I use the utilitarian water in a pan w/ a pile of salt above the level of water.
but what if you need to use the oven? 3-4 weeks is a long time.
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given its high proof and strong botanicals, it can balance out the vermouth in wetter martinis. i've enjoyed it either 2:1 or 1:1. if your layover is long enough, try both and then go to reverse proportions. then take a nap on the flight.
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Sous vide is covered pretty extensively in the thread linked above. I don't recall if people played around much with time. The main benefit, of course, was that much less fat was required.
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hey, when i said quick and dirty, i meant it! a friend asked for one last taste following a sunday afternoon supper, something with fernet and whiskey. bitters weren't close at hand and i wanted my house back
.no, actually, the fernet is prominent enough to hold your interest, both in taste and in aroma as you dip your nose to the glass. i'm sure some aromatic bitters would be a fine addition to the meringue. i'll give that a whirl next time. or if one concocted some burnt orange bitters...
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toronto sour
1.5 oz rittenhouse bonded
0.75 oz lemon juice
0.75 oz demerara syrup
0.25 oz fernet
0.5 oz egg white
a quick and dirty adaptation of the toronto to make use of some surplus egg whites. very nice.
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Vice, excellent idea I hope you don't mind if I try and run with the idea, that's brilliant. Maybe some Cherry Heering and a Pine infusion with some espresso is in order.
Oh, I definitely don't mind. Maybe zirbenz stone pine for something a little less spendy than the clear creek. Cooper hopefully will forgive us for swapping conifers. If I could throw a cocktail party with a drink inspired by each major character, I know several people whose heads would explode. Twin Peaks is like that.
St. Germain
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
Up in Santa Barbara, I stock up on Harry's Berries twice a week. Yes, they're expensive, but everyone I've convinced to give them a shot has made the switch. They are hands down the best strawberries around (these parts, anyways). And I used to work on a farm where I could guarantee the time off the vine was only as long as it took for me to reach my mouth. There's a mason jar with Seascapes (Gaviotas just showed up this week) and Cazadores reposado in my cabinet right now. I tasted it over the weekend and it was phenomenonally good already - hard to wait another week...