vice

I think this is probably a good idea. Bone-in sliced pork shoulder (aka country-style ribs) would work, too, and it's a little easier to come by. Good thinking. On that note, hocks might work, too: higher meat-and-bone to cartilage ratio than feet. For folks with access to Asian or Hispanic markets, they're a sure bet for neck bones.

Like Chris H, I recently started playing around with the Marianski book. I totally dig the in-depth technical explanations of all aspects of the process. The one thing thing that gives me pause, however, is their frequent recommendation of a higher relative humidity during drying (80-85%) than I've seen anywhere else (70-75% being the standard). In fact, they actually detail a gradual step-down process (p. 163 for those playing along at home), ramping down from 90% to 75-80% over the course of a two-week period, then holding steady at that lower bound. So what gives? It is as simple as a difference between Polish tradition (the Marianskis) vs. those from France and Italy (the bulk of the resources we're likely to encounter)? Do different starter cultures benefit from different drying regimes? How about different size salumi? For larger-diameter ones, it seems intuitive that a gradual drying might help achieve a much more consistent moisture content throughout the product, as long as excessive surface mold growth can be avoided. I have a few kilos stuffed into beef middles heading starting to dry tonight. I'll follow the conditions set down in the book and report back. In the meantime, any other insight would be much appreciated.

Call me crazy, but I find Famous Grouse pretty briny, especially for a blend. In other news, all you whisk(e)y nuts should definitely be keeping an eye on the K&L Spirits Journal. I've found their spirits buyers to be spot on in recommendations across the whole spectrum of spirits classes. Thanks to them, Springbank is a new obsession of mine.

The feet and tails are surely going to give you a ton of gelatinous goodness, but my instinct tells me to grab some pork neck bones to balance out the flavor and richness. That said, I don't have a ton of experience with pork stocks. People in the know, is that a good idea?

I don't have any figures, but judging by their share of shelf-space, the vast majority of eggs sold in the US are unpasteurized.

That looks awesome. Must go get suet tomorrow.

A couple thoughts: 1. Your chamber is on the small side, so the humidity swings are likely to be greater than with a full size fridge. Nothing you can really do about this one, short of finding a controller with a really tight tolerance. 2. The dehumidifier controller might be located in a high-humidity spot. Does your other hygrometer read high if it's placed right next to the controller? If so, either try to relocate the controller to a more representative location or add a small fan to even out the moisture.

Celery root and leek gratin tonight, more or less following the Les Halles recipe linked above. Bay leaf in place of rosemary and thyme. No cheese. Really good.

You want a Benriner.

If you go through K&L, take a look at Embajador. From their site: I took a gamble on the blanco and it's terrific. I've found the K&L spirits buyers to give pretty solid recommendations.

Welcome, AngerBoy. That's not a dumb question, at all. I'd transfer the kraut to jars, brine and all. It's not strictly necessary to keep it submerged like you were during fermentation--the temp in the fridge should be cool enough to prevent surface mold from developing--but there's good flavor in the brine and it will keep the cabbage from drying out.

Last winter, I grew quite fond of this mixed citrus salad that includes white grapefruit: Peel an assortment of citrus--grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime, etc--leaving no pith behind and slice into thin wheels. Arrange in 1 layer on a platter. Remove the pits from a handful of oil-cured black olives, roughly chop them, and sprinkle over the citrus. Season all with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of good quality olive oil. Optional: add very-thinly sliced radish or fennel along with the olives.

Interesting, I've never seen that before. Another uncommon approach to achieving a golden crust might be to start the oven at a low temp and finish high (see fxcuisine, for example). Most recipes I've come across start high and then lower the temp to cook through. Probably worth a shot to try it the other way.

I've had great success with this recipe, too. For my first trial, I was using a stove that I wasn't familiar with, so that 6 minutes of dough cooking was more like 3 before it started sticking to the pan. I would be happier to time that step when I can accurately gauge the heat, but his indicator seems a good fallback. My one gripe, and something that I also mentioned on your blog: what gives with letting them cool before serving? I don't think I'm alone in believing that a cold gougere is a sad gougere. Is it possible the recipe intends pan cooling to dry them out that last little bit to avoid deflation?

Reading The Cocktail Chronicles, eh? That Honey Fitz looks real good.

The going rate of a Maine lobster on the west coast is downright comical (good thing, you either laugh or you cry, right?).

I've almost always seem cotechini stuffed in natural casings which will allow some fat to escape, and people generally poach those for a pretty long time (~2 hrs). If they're particularly thin, I guess I might be concerned about excess fat leakage.

It's listed as in stock at Joyal's, though their website doesn't strike me as the real-time inventory sort. I was there yesterday and meant to look for the McCarthy, but of course forgot.

Lot's of great info here: Knife Maintenance and Sharpening (plus the Q&A) Sharpening Systems

I did have a stand mixer here, but I just beat it by hand with a stiff spatula as I was only doing a half recipe (we were a small group with big ambitions). In the future, I'll definitely go with the mixer for the full amount.

Late to the party, but better late than never. Here's what we had today: Breakfast: Christmas 'omelet' (basically a crustless quiche with a mix of diced cured meats and Italian cheeses) a simple yellow bundt cake with chocolate swirl and crumb topping Lunch: Pichet Ong's gougeres (you've been over to Chris A's foodblog, right?) crab-stuffed mushrooms Malghetta di Capra, Twig Farm washed rind, Lincolnshire Poacher, Stichelton jamon serrano, Calabria Pork Store's sweet and hot soppressata, spicy soppressata and salame Toscana (from Cooking by Hand), Spanish chorizo fig and almond cake, olives, cornichons, rye crostini Dinner: pork shoulder roast braised in milk, with white wine, sage, and thyme puree of root vegetables: turnip, parsnip, and celery root roasted with butter, passed through a sieve, and folded with mascarpone glazed carrots and shallots with parsley watercress salad Dessert: cheesecake with raspberry coulis Oddly enough, the only dishes that remain constant through the years are those that bookend the day. Everything else changes according to our whim. Perhaps not coincidentally, my mother prepares the standards and I'm responsible for the rest.

That's a beautiful pic. Agree completely about Pichet Ong's gougeres recipe. It totally outshone my old go-to. Merry Christmas all, Dave

Pichet's recipe seems right on. I'll give it a spin tomorrow, except for the last part: "cool completely on the pan"??? What joy is there in gougeres if they're not warm right out of the oven? (Alright, there's still some, but they're just not the same after they cool). Bummer about the ice cream. I don't have a sous vide setup (yet) so I'm speculating, but the advantage of cooking a custard base that way seems to be that you can bag everything up cold as mkayahara suggests and thus completely avoid the danger of curdled eggs that comes with stove top heating. Worth another shot when the stakes aren't so high?

You can with mine -- similar gun but it accepts K-type thermocouple probes (i.e., the same fast response type used in the Thermapen). While I like the multitasking, it is a bit clunky to use. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably get this meter and a separate IR gun.

I've switched over from Thomas's too, but to the Whole Foods' store brand ones. I'm sure I've given TJ's a try some time in the past few years, but I'll have to refresh my memory.