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My attempt The original: Drop me an email: Lennard2305@gmail.com The recipe is in french though

Just to clarify, when you cook onions low and slow to 'caramelize' them, are we talking mainly about the sugars caramelizing, and less of maillard reactions? I was under the impression that maillard reactions took place at a lower temperature than caramelization does (Ive read books that indicate caramelization occurs at 160-180C and Maillard occurs strongest at 149-154C. So Im a little confused about how it would be possible to trigger caramelization in onions without going through significant maillard reactions(a lot of browning)

Mmm. I stand corrected then, Ive seen pictures of the FMM but I never realised it was a heater, I always assumed it was a giant, cool-looking circulator. I have an older version of the SWM controller and I agree that their customer service is top notch

The unit in that video is definitely a defective unit, I have never had such issues with my Swid. I agree that not having a telephone number is a little scary, and the Addelice website isnt very updated or well made either. I was starting to get pretty worried, but eventually they took slightly over a day to reply my email. I think the problem is that if you want to go to the immersion circulator route, you dont really have many other options in the low-mid price bracket. Its closest competitor is the Polyscience Sous Vide Professional, which costs a good amount of money more than the Swid

Pulled Pork sandwich with melted gouda cheese, sunny side egg and caviar

Thanks to all who replied regarding my faulty Swid. I tested the fuse and it was working, but Addelice sent me this email: "please send the unit back to our HK warehouse (address below). We will fix your machine immediately and send it back to you from HK" Looks like Im good to go, no mention about the cost of fixing it, so fingers crossed? If anyone is interested to read about my (few) experiences with SV, feel free to check out my blog: http://wishihadafoodpun.wordpress.com/home-cooked/

Hey guys, Today, I placed my SWID immersion circulator in a water bath and set it to the temperature I desired. It started heating up for about 2-3 minutes before I heard it shut down (the noise the pump was making just went silent), I checked on it, and the SWID was turned off. I tried switching it off and on again, to no avail. I topped up the level of water and tried switching power cables, power outlets, nothing seemed to work. (Additional info: The temperature set was 57.5C, so the water bath was not overheating the SWID) Does anyone know what the problem might be? I tried emailing Addelice but they havent responded yet. Starting to freak out a little

I have a dinner in London(Party of 4) and I want to go to St John, the question is, should I go to Bar&Restaurant or Bread&Wine? Bread and wine looks more Tapas style and the menu looks more interesting, but Bar&Restaurant has the infamous Bone marrow dish. Anyone have opinions? Any advice on the 'must order' dishes would be greatly appreciated as well

Hi, Could anyone with experience with this help me out. I want to make a reservation for the FD on two possible dates, but the two month mark prior to those dates happen to fall on a Saturday and Sunday, and I understand that they do not take calls over the weekend. Should I call on the Friday before? Or the monday after? Appreciate any help!

I ended up cooking the other brisket that I saved at 57.5C for another 18-19 hours(this means 55C for 48 hours, chilled, then 57.5C for 19 hours). It didnt seem to have any effect whatsoever on the connective tissue. Elastin, and not collagen at fault? Im not sure, I guess if I ever get round to it, I'll pay for a better cut of brisket. Anyway, I did Baby back pork ribs, 57.3C for 72 hours. Absolutely delicious

Thanks for the information, the knowledge in this forum is astounding. I actually cooked two briskets and I froze the other. I think I will try to thaw and cook the other one at 57C for another 24 hours soon, the meat will probably be pretty dry but it'd be interesting to see if the extra 24h at a higher temp has a significant effect on the collagen. Will post my findings when I get round to doing it.

I just cooked a slab of beef brisket at 55C for 48h, I did a lot of prior research to this because brisket is one of those meats where there seem to be a lot of differing views on what temperature it should be cooked at. I ended up going for the lowest temperature I could find. I didn't find the results very satisfactory, the meat was nicely cooked, it could have been a little bit rarer, but that isnt the main issue, the meat was very tough, in the sense that was a lot of elastic tissue holding the meat together. Im not sure what I did wrong, reading up on past user experiences, especially this blog, who had a very similar outcome to mind, despite him cooking at 64C. I think its most likely that I got sold a cheap brisket (with more elastin than normal?), but I'd love to hear any other views. I'd also like to clear up some confusion that I've been having. Most sites I've read state that collagen dissolves at 60C, but the Baldwin tables indicate collagen begins dissolving at 55C, which is correct? Important info: Meat was brined in 4% salt, 3% sugar, dash of liquid smoke soln for 2.5 hours The entire slab of meat(see picture), cost US$16 Meat was cooked with the fat cap on, but it was lightly seared before vacuum packing I felt that the meat was a little dry, but looking at the cross section of the uncooked meat, there was very little marbling on the meat

Pictures going up slowly but surely on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lennardy/

Thanks for the reply. How did you cut slits at the bottom of the cup and did it warp in the microwave? Also, did you find the that cakes hardened fairly quickly when left out?

Hi all, For those of you who have watched Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations episode on spain, or for those of you who have eaten/read up on the menu at El bulli, you probably know what I'm talking about. I was at El bulli a month ago and I had the black sesame spongecake with miso on top. Frankly speaking, it was one of the most amazing things Ive ever eaten. To sum it up, it was very intensely flavored, and one of the fluffiest things Ive eaten, hence, Ive spent the last month trying to replicate the same cake at El Bulli, here are my reports. Recipe 1: Playing with fire and water instant chocolate cake This was the first recipe I tried. I got very inconsistent results, probably because it was the first time I made the cake, and I was trying to figure out optimal settings for my microwave. I did manage to get some very good results, texture wise(fluffy), but I found that the condition of the cakes deteriorated very quickly over time, as the cakes began to harden very quickly. I think part of the reason is due to the microwaving of egg yolks in the recipe. Recipe 2: Recipe taken from 'the Cooks book' by user on L2O blog "This is the one I use from the Cooks Book ( it's Adria's recipe) 75g shelled green Pistachio 75g Granulated sugar 20g plain flour 4egg whites. Process the above then strain. Fill siphon then charge and chill for 2 hours. cut slats in plastic cups, half fill and cook for 45 seconds in the microwave." I got much more consistent results with this recipe, I cant remember much about it, the amount of cakes you can make according to the recipe is very little. I dont think it was as fluffy as the first recipe, but it held up alot better after resting. Recipe 3: Recipe from onespoonquenelle "300g egg whites, 6og, almond flour, 60g yogurt powder, 70g sugar, 20g flour. blend everything, strain, fill canister, add 2 cartridges, fill cups just under half, cook for 30-40 seconds depending on size of cup." This was the latest recipe I tried, and I think it should, in theory, be the closest to the recipe Albert Adria uses in the no reservations episode, because he mentions "almond flour"(basically ground almonds) in the video. I found the cake to be fluffy at the edges, but still fairly dense in the center, and very moist(bad). I did, however, use 60g of Green tea powder instead of yoghurt,and I passed it through a very fine sieve before charging it in a siphon, Im not sure if I removed much almond from the mix by doing this. That being said, here are my overall observations: First off, I do not have the specifications of my microwave, it is pretty old, but I found that using it on Medium-high setting for 30-40 seconds seem to yield the best result 2nd, The plastic cup warped every single time, I'm not entirely sure if this is safe for consumption. 3rd, the top of the spongecake(the exposed side of the cup), was usually slightly wet when I removed it from the oven, but the rest of the cake was cooked. 4th, cutting slits at the bottom of the cup before filling it with batter makes sure that the cake does not steam and get too moist 5th, none of the cakes had the fluffy-ness of the one I had at El Bulli, I know it is unreasonable to expect the same kind of texture, but I can tell that there is a very definitive difference in the consistency of the cake, for all recipes. Its alot denser. Has anyone experimented with any of the above recipes, or tried aerating cake batter by charging it in a siphon?

I just had dinner at el bulli a few days ago and I have to say that i agree with some of the comments above with some pretty heavy misses. Off the top of my head Hits: Corn paper, Gin fizz, crispy chicken skin, Black sesame spongecake, tempura/sashimi prawn with prawn essence, rabbit offal, lychee jelly in mussel at the end Misses: Artichoke heart, Lamb kidney, Chervil tea, Anemone(Inedible), truffle was also very mediocre. Believe it or not, my best meal in spain among mugaritz, arzak and el bulli was mugaritz. more info soon

Thanks for posting this. I noticed you got the Kidney of lamb with Jerez consommé, yoghurt and fennel. I hope when I'm there over the next few weeks, I'll get the iberian pig tails. Does anyone know if the dishes served are completely random?

Hey guys, I was recently in Per Se where I had a dinner roll that I just cannot get off my mind Does anyone know if this is in the french laundry cookbook, or if theres an online source where i can get a recipe?

Thanks, I think I'll be skipping cafe viena. How much is the standard jamon tasting? I cant find any price info on the place

To those who have been recently: How much was the cost of the meal alone(w/o tax and tips/drinks) Ive been reading some places where the meal alone costs $300, with tax and tips it should come out to around $375. Other sources claim that the meal alone is $350. Anyone?

Did any of you eat at Rafa's while you were in Roses? How do reservations work? From what I read you call a week in advance, and then on the day itself to see if the catch is good, and the restaurant is actually open

I dont mean to be lazy, but i promise i have done some research Basically, I'll be embarking on a journey to spain, starting in SS(Arzak, mugaritz), on to Roses(bulli), and back to Barcelona I have one evening and one full day in barcelona, and Ive been checking up on what places are worth visiting. I basically want somewhere somewhat casual and fairly inexpensive after 3 really heavy meals(wallet-wise), something in the 60-ish euro range. restaurants like abac are out of the question Right now Im leaning towards Comerç 24, or Cinc Sentits. More towards Cinc Sentits because Im not sure if we can stomach more chemicals after el bulli. Are there any other restaurants I should be looking at? Also, is the sandwich at cafe vienna worth the trip? Or should I just head straight to jamonisimo.

I was in new york and I ate at both restaurants on 2 back to back days. I had the chefs tasting menu at Per se, and The 3 course prix fixe at Le Bernardin. You cant go wrong with either restaurant, but I have to say, Le Bernardins service was excellent, but Per Se's was exceptional. My only (minor) complaint is that its worth doing some prior research before going to either restaurant because there are some excellent off the menu items at both restaurants(I had to ask for coffee and doughnuts at per se, and the infamous "egg" dessert at le bernardin, both were worth it though)

Mugaritz, Arzak, then el bulli in August. Cant wait

I have a reservation for per se in july! Im so excited, first time Im going to be in NY too. Quick question: Is photography allowed in the general dining rooms? I have an SLR but I never use flash