Dave the Cook

The recipe does look good, and since it's based on a Thomas Keller dish, I'm not surprised it's socks-knocking. But this idea of flaming off the alcohol because it "cooks" the proteins is kind of BS. I assume this is based on the recipe in ad hoc at home. In that version, there's no mention burning off the alcohol at all. It's probably a refinement (?) introduced between book publication and the creation of the Keller Masterclass featuring the dish. It is true that alcohol can "cook" (which is another way of saying that it denatures) proteins. For this to happen, you need alcohol in a concentration of 20% to 50%. In the video, the cook uses a 50/50 combination of red wine and port. Most red wine is 12 - 15% alcohol; port is 18 - 20%. That combination (which is not in the Keller recipe; that calls for just red wine) is not going to get you to 20% alcohol. Anyway, guess what else denatures proteins. Cooking. So it's going to happen anyway. But now I want short ribs. Headed to the bank to take out a loan.

Large flour tortillas (corn won't work -- too stiff). Brush with oil. Sprinkle of salt. Bake.

Where's @Kerry Beal when you need her?

We made this cake for St. Patrick's Day. It's really good. A few notes: The nitrogen doesn't matter. I guess most of it fizzes off in the pour; what's left is claimed to contribute to a creamier texture. I don't drink beer, so can't really evaluate those claims. In any case it doesn't affect leavening, if that's a concern. Leavening comes from baking soda. There's another recipe for Guinness cake on Leite's Culinaria. It doesn't use eggs, if that matters. Or sour cream. It's still quite rich. Both cakes are good, but the Leite cake has an edge in its frosting, which is made with browned cultured butter. We made Nigella's cake, but Leite's frosting. The cake will probably sag a bit in the middle. I assumed we'd screwed up when this happened, but one of the photos on the Leite site show a bit of a sunken center. I don't know where this fashion of only frosting the top of a cake came from, but I think it's stupid. The New York Times says it "resembles a frothy pint of Guinness." I call BS. We just made 1-1/2 recipes of frosting, let us frost the sides of the cake, as it should be.

I agree. To hew as closely as possible to the flavors outlined in the recipe (which sounds very tasty, btw), I'd defat the bag juice (what you call "fluid) and measure out 3 - 4 tablespoons. Mix this with OJ, zest, some 5-spice (start with a little; you can always add more, but you can't take it out) and a pinch of salt. Heat to a simmer in a small saucepan, and adjust the spice and salt to suit. If you want to use this as a glaze, add maybe 1 tsp. sugar and dissolve. Brush this on the duck and run it under the broiler.

"Waffle House announced it will be adding a 50-cent surcharge to all egg items sold at its more than 2,000 locations because of soaring egg prices caused by the bird flu." Story here.

I don't remember in detail how the installation went, but I did it myself, which means it couldn't have been difficult. They've held up quite well. The racks in the photo have endured 7-1/2 years of two cooks' depredations, including recipe development and testing for three cookbooks and countless cooking classes. They still have all their original parts, and still work as if they were new. I am fairly certain that the roll-in/roll-out trays rest on ball bearings, which would contribute to their continued utility (and their expense, I imagine).

These are on the expensive side, but they come in a few sizes and several configurations. We have two of the 222x2x11 racks which we use for spices, but some of the larger ones might also work for organizing/storing bigger items. https://verticalspice.com/ There's a photo of ours here.

If memory serves, Alton no-unitaskers-in-my-kitchen Brown used one of those particular unitaskers on Good Eats.

To quote* the late, great Paul Prudhomme: * Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, p 22

Rubs are typically used on proteins that are headed for a smoker, where they will cook for a long time at a low temperature. In my experience, there are two reasons a heavy hand is used when applying them: Many people, including some professional pitmasters, believe that a thick layer of rub will promote the formation of bark, the dark, often rough surface that develops on long-cooked proteins. These people are wrong. Bark will form with simply smoke, heat and time. At best, rubs flavor the bark. That makes it sound like rub makes a negligible contribution, but this is a misapprehension. A good rub is like a signature, although many competition judges ignore bark. Smoke, heat and time tend to diminish many of the flavors that are often found in rubs. In other words, if you want some, you have to start with a lot. In addition, a great proportion of many rub recipes are mild, even neutral flavors like the plain (not smoke, not hot, not even really sweet) paprika your nonna used to decorate deviled eggs, which are used mostly as fillers. This makes them sound useless, but they serve the important purpose of more evenly distributing flavorful components throughout the application.

Luckily, my daughter was taking photos. Here's a gratuitous shot of my grandson, snarfing his first-ever deviled egg: In addition to the fried caper/deviled egg app, we had what were quickly dubbed "alligator balls," but were actually a version of chicken nuggets sold under the TGIFriday name. (How they came to be in our freezer is another story.) They came with some sort of hideous BBQ sauce. We subbed our Valentina-Honey-chipotle dipping sauce: In the background, a depleted cocktail glass. During the appetizer round, Pegu Clubs and Martinis were shaken or stirred upon request. Also on the table were (not a great shot, but it's what we've got; clockwise from top): sausage stuffing, creamed spinach with parmesan topping, country ham, smoked duck, roast potatoes. Oregon pinot noir and Australian rosé at top. Not pictured: Biscuits and brioche slider rolls, Gruyere, hot-honey mustard and apple-cranberry chutney, all so peeps could make little sandwiches from the ham and duck. For dessert, coffee and pumpkin-swirl cheesecake with gingersnap crust: and (not pictured) apple crumble.

I don't think it's really a cookbook, any more than On Food and Cooking is a cookbook, no matter how influential it might be.

So it seems that you approve of the TJ offering, @Shel_B.The price is reasonable: $5 /lb. It easily meets our 80/20 rule: >80% of the desired outcome for <20% of the effort. What more can you ask of a ball?

Also excellent in meatball sandwiches, dressed with Marcella's simple tomato sauce and a sprinkling of shredded provolone.