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thampik

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Everything posted by thampik

  1. mkayahara - the Corpse Reviver #2 does indeed taste a lot better with Cointreau and Absinthe; I particularly liked the aniseedy note. However I am finding the drink difficult to love - mainly I think because the lemon (freshly squeezed) seems to really take over the drink (I am using equal quantities of Gin, Cointreau, Lilet blanc and lemon juice).
  2. As I had no lemon juice, I ended making a Vesper with Cocchi. Really enjoyable.
  3. Just had the Suze and Absinthe delivered and tried out the "real" White Negroni using EvergreenDan's ratios - I can see the difference the Suze makes to the drink. I aim to try out the Corpse Reviver #2 tomorrow with Absinthe - might have to use the "low-tech" rinse approach in the absence of a spray bottle.
  4. Suze and Absinthe are on order - will report back with results.
  5. thanks, campus five. and also for the spray tip - I was about to ask how one goes about "rinsing" the glass!
  6. Thanks, EvergreenDan for the info - I have also bookmarked the site.
  7. bmdaniel and FrogPrincesse, thanks for the correction (I did get the recipe from Serious Eats). mkayahara - I'll definitely try the Corpse Reviver #2 again as I had such high hopes for it. I have since bought some Cointreau, but it would appear that I need to buy Suze and Absinthe. Could you recommend what absinthe to buy (seems pretty expensive) : if it is from this list (http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/C-358.aspx), that would be grand! I would really appreciate some ratios for both drinks as well - I can see that looking up the web may be a little misleading.
  8. And BTW, thanks to all the regular posters for what is a veritable education on cocktails!
  9. The Lillet and the Cocchi have arrived! I have wasted little time in trying a Corpse Reviver #2 and a White Negroni. The Negroni (1:1:1/2 of Gordon's London Dry, Cocchi Americano, Noilly Prat) was immense. I was not as keen on the Corpse Reviver - though I had to sub Grand Marnier for Cointreau and had no absinthe. Next up - Vesper.
  10. thanks, tony h - I did not know that a "Essence II" was coming out, but will certainly be buying it. I own and frequently cook from David's earlier two books which are both quite fantastic. and highly original.
  11. These posts are doing my head in so much so that I have just ordered some Lillet Blanc and Cocchi to see what the fuss is about!
  12. In the spirit of GBM, some tongue-in-cheek judging scores Overall Heats 5/10 - some downright boring weeks. Need to re-think the regional concept if it does not result in an even distribution of talent. Availability of a PVR is crucial to surviving this period Finals 8/10 - some really interesting television and cooking Judging 6/10 Do not agree with choice of two of the guest judges : I like Angela (or her TV persona), but can she judge 2* chefs. I dislike Richard Corrigan (or his TV persona), but can he judge 2* chefs. All-round tedious emphasis on whizzbangery Chefs Simon Rogan 9/10 Consistently interesting food - if Cartmel were nearer to Hampshire I would go now Phil Howard 8/10 Made me want to taste the food and seems to have had his awareness of new techniques enhanced. The Square is on my list Daniel Clifford 7/10 For the food, but also being desperate to win for his (5!) kids. Awwww Nathan Outlaw 7/10 Wrong edition of GBM for him, but seemed cosnsistenly good. Kudos for sticking by his cooking. Colin McGurran 6/10 Promising chef clearly, but style is not to my taste. A large mossy log on which is perched a quail leg/breast? Steven Terry 6/10 Mismatch between brief and his style - the Olympic rings seemed a particularly tacky concept. But will definitely try the Hardwick next time I am near Abergavenny. Alan Murchison 5/10 As per my experience (a few years ago now) at L'Ortolan, technique over taste in the main Chris Fearon 4/10 Good effort, but again wrong series of GBM for him.
  13. Probably a naive question...but is that the real motivation behind appearing on GBM? If so, I do wonder what the likes of Phil Howard and Simon Rogan standd to gain from appearing on the show. The Square and L'Enclume presumably are not lacking custom... And conversely, is there price to pay if you do not come across well...
  14. this week has been fun. It must take some courage to put yourself up for the (public) criticism from the judges - not something a Michelin-star chef gets too much of, I would imagine. To get a 3/10....
  15. I was intrigued by the asparagus dish...sorry RedRum :-) Having said that, Marcus (and the other chefs) seemed to think serving asparagus for dessert was radical - if I am not mistaken, David Everitt-Mathias had an Asparagus-based dessert in his book.
  16. OK, thanks - will look out for them next year.
  17. Not really - are there any other varieties available in the UK that compare favourably with Alphonso?
  18. I agree - of all the chefs, Simon's dishes seemed the most interesting and complete. I remember thinking that perhaps he had been through the whole "moelcular" journey and emerged with a fully digested and adapted individual style. Some of the others clearly are very much on the discovery trail
  19. Beautiful looking dish, Prawncrackers. I have just taken delivery of two boxes of Alphonso mangoes - a box that is ready to eat now (£11 for a dozen) and second that will be ready in a week or so (£9 for a dozen). I am eating Alphonso after several years now and these do not taste as sweet as my memory would have it....slightly underwhelmed.
  20. Some of this stuff is embarrassingly ill thought out....not least the "onion pearls".
  21. Best week so far - distinctive styles and all clearly very good chefs
  22. IMHO the Olympics is about excellence, not innovation. I think there has been a misguided reading of the Olympic theme to mean that the dishes must be ground breaking (usually taken to mean as using "molecular" techniques).
  23. If it is really about it being too long in the bath - I can't find anything that tells me that 57.2C for two hours is too long. Plus duck breast is one 'muscle' - right?
  24. From the responses so far it does not appear as if temperature is the chief suspect. Has anyone experienced 'mealiness' whilst cooking sous-vide?
  25. I am sure I have seen references to a 'mealy' taste mentioned in the context of sous-vide and now I have first hand experience of it. The (Gressingham) duck breast was vacuum sealed and cooked at 57.2C for two hours followed by rapid chilling. The fat was then rendered and the skin crisped up on a pan at the time of serving. The meat looked perfect in terms of color but there was a distinct (and off-putting) 'mealy' taste. Is there a way to avoid this - timing, temperature? Is it specific to duck, or even to this specific type of duck - I have not experienced this with chicken breast certainly. I was trying to recreate a sublime duck dish that I ate at The Hand and Flowers - from the recipe (http://www.bbc.co.uk...duck_with_87650) it appears that it is cooked as a crown at 62C for 1.5 hrs.
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