thayes1c

I have to note my favorite picture so far: the vacuum packed sardines swimming on page 2:243 (I think that's the page). I had to stop reading for a minute because I was laughing so hard. What is it Ferran Adria says? "A funny picture of a sardine is always better than an exoskeleton free lobster portrait?" Something like that, I think. (Not to knock the lobster photo, which is also awesome. I just like the humor of the sardine picture)

I recall reading an article about changing the name of Asian carp to increase the appeal. It makes sense to me, considering what happened to the poor Patagonian toothfish after it was rechristened "Chilean sea bass". I believe the suggestion was "Kentucky Tuna". Maybe some crafty eGulleteer can come up with a better name. I do hope we can lick this carp problem. I have a firm belief in the ability of human beings to drive a species extinct, so I think we can do this. Heck, if we can do it accidentally to just about anything, imagine what we can do if we really dedicate ourselves to it!

Pimm's Cup! Got your alcohol and your cucumber. The hottest day of the year a while back I decided I needed a Pimm's, went to the liquor store and they were all sold out. The girls working there said somebody had just come in and bought the last six bottles. They were mystified as to what it even was, I just wanted an invite to the party!

Oh man, you've been missing out on the true champagne of beers. Lindeman's is probably the most widely available brand. The raspberry, cassis, apple and peach lambics they make are available in most grocery stores, but they tend to be fairly sweet and not incredibly complex. If you can find Lindeman's Gueuze Cuvee Rene pick up a bottle. It's the beer that proves Lindeman's can keep it real. Cantillon lambics are also excellent, though very sour. The first time you try one it might be a little much, but persistence pays off. (Gueuze, the blend of one, two and three year old lambic is my personal favorite as far as lambics go. Probably my favorite as far as beer goes, actually. The complexity and funk and sourness makes me happy) For other sour beers, like Oude Bruin or Flemish red you can't go wrong with Rodenbach or the Duchess de Bourgougne. Rodenbach has two main beers they sell with different proportions of older and younger beer, both of which are excellent. They also have a single barrel vintage bottling that is worth picking up if you can find it. Rodenbach also has a cherry flavored beer that's actually quite good and not overly sweet, called Redbach. And finally, the American sour beer explosion in recent years has produced many excellent brews. New Belgium hired a former brewmaster from Rodenbach and they now have a line of sours that stand up to any European beer. The first time I drank La Folie it was hard to believe that it was made on this side of the Atlantic. Highly recommended. Jolly Pumpkin makes barrel aged sour beers, not as sour as the your typical European styles delicious nonetheless. La Roja is probably my favorite from them. There are more and more breweries producing sours in America, but they tend to be in such small batches that it's hard to get a hold of them reliably. Not all of them are excellent, and some might leave you disappointed, especially for the price. But it's definitely worth tracking them down and trying them when you have a chance. An excellent resource for understanding the different traditional styles is the book Wild Brews by Jeff Sparrow. BeerAdvocate is also a great place to look up reviews and info on beers you might want to try. If you get to liking sour beers, remember that they can be layed down, sometime for decades. Ive aged a couple for a few years and time seems to mellow the sour edge and let more of the subtle funk come through. Mmmmm....Subtle funk.

Just got my copy from Barnes and Noble! Ordered on Friday, didn't think I'd get to see one until the second edition. I live in Eugene, Oregon and am an ambitious home cook. A little overwhelmed by the enormity of this thing right now...

I checked out B&N after reading HiRoller's post and snagged myself a copy (With a 20% off coupon to boot!). UPS let me know that they've created a shipping label for a 46.6 lb package today. I am a little bummed that I won't be getting the prints that will come with the second edition, and that I'll have to be more vigilant about errata, but it's awful hard to wait for something this awesome.

I've thrown a pound of piloncillo into a batch of homebrewed porter before. It added a subtle gingerbread note and a little kick of alcohol.

They're good in a risotto. I like the fact they are also called "trumpets of death". Clearly the most metal of the mushrooms. Nobody seems to call them that here though. I guess people get nervous when you combine mushrooms with the word death.

I thought you were going to ask something more like this: What is your address, do you have a dog or alarm, when do you get home from work and are you going out of town any time soon?

In Wylie Dufresne's Harvard lecture he mentions using gelatin and meat glue to make a barley cake that can be broiled. Not sure of the details, but maybe something along those lines?

Godwin's law strikes eGullet. Are there any other foods or preparations as contentious as foam? Miracle Whip, perhaps?

The salt air on Jose Andres' margaritas is delicious. I usually get mine without salt but I would gladly order them with this foam. If there was any kind of dish that might turn a foam hater around, that might be it.

I believe that the lecithin based foams are called "airs", a term that is even easier for people to misunderstand and ridicule. A 30 Rock episode with boxes full of flavored airs comes immediately to mind.

I know the price is different because of the labor involved, but I can buy a whole free-range chicken for the price of two boneless skinless breasts. Five minutes with a knife around and I've got a whole chicken in parts, not to mention the carcass and the gibs. The cat, for one, is always grateful for a liver.

I just did a search for the book on Google shopping and learned you can buy it at WalMart. Somebody tell Alice Waters. Seriously though, my birthdays in a week if you guys all want to pitch in and buy it for me.

Not exactly what you are looking for, but in A Day at elBulli there is a recipe for pumpkin seed oil encapsulated in a thin layer of isomalt caramel. Might be an avenue worth exploring.

I had some Solera 77 vinegar that was quite good. It came with a pour spout that I do not recommend leaving on the bottle. One day when I poured out some vinegar and noticed little brown lumps. I thought maybe it was dried up bits of vinegar or something, but closer inspection revealed scores of dead fruit flies on my risotto. I guess you can catch more flies with vinegar sometimes.

Oops. Didn't see the "UK" in the title. Aidell's are American indeed. If you had just titled it "Best Bangers in Britain"...

Aidell's sausages are usually a good bet. I'm not too fond of the sweeter ones, like chicken and apple, but the others are pretty good. The chicken chorizo sausage is great with rice and beans.

I cribbed the pasta recipe from Chris's post for my Valentines day feast and it was awesome. I took the advice on cooking time and only boiled for two minutes. The noodles are amazing. They don't stick together at all and have a wonderful bite. And thats making them with bread flour instead of 00 semolina, too. I did have a little trouble with the first roll out, though. I used the instructions from Marcella and rolled, folded into thirds and rolled again, but when I tried to roll after the second folding, the dough wouldn't go through. In fact, it tore as I pushed it into the rollers. I learned my lesson after this happened on two of the six balls of dough, and I was able to salvage the two folded ones, but it was a curious incident. Do the instructions for rolling pasta in MC differ from typical recipes much? Also, are there any tips on making pesto? I find that pesto made in the mortar has a much more satisfying flavor (delicious herb paste) than the food processor (chopped up bits of leaf), but I don't always want the arm workout that pounding basil provides. Is there a new, whiz-bang way of making pesto in the book?

I started buying conventional vegetables instead of organic. My breaking point was a six dollar head of organic cauliflower from the local hippie market I usually shop at. When the checker rang it up I muttered something about buying a steak instead, and he seemed genuinely appalled. When the farmers market opens back up I promise to go back to my old ways. Maybe.

What if you finished it with a bit of smoked salt?

I had a bottle a while back and used it to make Campari Wallbangers. Campari, OJ and a float of Galliano. I didn't seem to have a problem making the galliano disappear.

Second on the Fat Duck. But I have to say, Morimoto's Ma Po Dofu recipe is easy and delicious. It's probably one of the few recipes I make on a fairly regular basis.

Fake maple syrup. I don't think my Krusteaz pancakes deserve anything more.