Dave the Cook

Very cool (pun intended, of course). Any chance of getting a real recipe for those of us too dense to suss it out on our own? I found some really nice anchos, guajillos (and chipotles -- hmm) this weekend.

Welcome, FatTony. There are a lot of smoking/grilling threads on the boards. Try using the advanced search, "smoking" or "grilling" as terms (separate searches); any date and clicking on the "search titles only" button. Also check out Col Klink's Home Smoking Course in the Culinary Institute. I'm pretty sure he talks about using Webers, as well as other types of grills. But to cut to the chase, here's the grill many of us (including the Colonel) recommend: Char-Griller.

Ted, in a SSB mood, contemplating ancho puree, chocolate bread,toasted pinons http://www.pbmanagement.co.uk/images/tednicely.jpg and his (former) production career? Smoker, glasses, bald. You show great promise.

Could you use a dead crockpot as a container for an indoor herb garden?

I don't think you've done anything wrong, if that's what you're afraid of. If the pot's not bubbling at all even on high, the thermostat on your crockpot has probably gone bye-bye. They're not worth fixing, so you're due for a new one. But even on high with the lid off, onions often shed liquid faster than it can evaporate, and this is exacerbated by adding flavoring (salt, plus liquids like wine, vinegar, demiglace, etc.) at the beginning. It just takes a while, and that's why it's too wet. Your faulty pot is extending the process. You've got three choices: 1) strain the onions and discard the liquid; 2) strain the onions and reduce the liquid, then add it back to the onions; 3) dump the whole mess into a pot and reduce the liquid with the onions still in it. Which one you should do depends on the texture of the onions. If they're done, choose (1) or (2), depending on whether you want the liquid as part of the finsished product. If they're not, go for (3).

See? SEE? Someone around here know how to make tuna salad. Well, except for the white albacore thing, but I can let that pass.

'zactly. Though I've learned a lot from Ted and Steve and Michael and their peers. Pastry folks are the ones who most consistently push the envelope, in my experience.

fifi, do you, as I, ever wonder why SSBs spend a lot of time on the pastry threads? This is part of the reason.

Have you tried the dog crap thing? We've got this puppy, and . . . well, thanks for the book recommendation. Cinnamon, ginger, and especially allspice are great ideas. I'm not sure about pepper pectin, but it's worth some trial and error.

Thanks, Ted. I'm just guessing here, to be honest. I had the same question about the ingedients, hence my suggestions. I have no qualms about supporting a main ingredient with other items that might not be mentioned in the name of the dish. The trick, especially with something as seemingly unequivocal as sorbet -- it's hard to hide supporting ingredients -- is to retain the appearance of purity, while still doing everything you can to boost flavor. I've pureed anchos, but just for savory stuff, and when I found out about the toasting thing, I kind of forgot. I'm going to try a post-toast puree -- not in sorbet, but as an addition to chili, mole and an egg dish I keep fooling around with. Thanks.

Bastard.

Good job. Not a pickle in sight.

I'd try three things: rather than rehydrate them, I'd toast them for a few minutes, then grind. The toasting does a good job of bringing out the fruit. Second, If you were using any fat, I'd recommend steeping in that, as the chili oils are fat-soluble, not water-soluble. (Maybe you'd consider ancho ice cream?) Instead, try steeping some toasted ground powder in a liqueur (see suggestions below), then filtering to remove the particles. Next to fat and water, alcohol is the best flavor vector there is. Third, I'd look at adding other flavor components that match ancho, and might help to boost it: coffee, chocolate and raisin come to mind. Some of these are available as concentrates or cordials, so you could get by with small amounts.

John Kessler has weighed in: three stars (out of four). and Full review here.

Funny. The pickles I usually use in tona salad are cornichons (tiny little sweet gherkins). When I went over to the thread there were lots of folks agreeing with Dave that pickles do not belong...then moving on to claim that cornichons are fine. Though for Dave it is black and white, for some it appears Say yes to teeny tiny diced cornichons. No.

No pickles in tuna salad.

Guess who's been named as one of the hosts? AJC Peach Buzz

I had an extraordinary dinner at Blais last night. Since some of my comments would be superfluous, I'll only note where I have something to add. It's interesting that Blais continues to tinker with both the dishes and the menu. Some of this, no doubt is due to sourcing, but much of it also has to be the application of a philosophy of continuous refinement. ***** Piper Sonoma sparkling brut NV Chicken skin, country gravy, pickled collards Iced tea three ways At first I was not impressed. The solid stuff (Meyer lemon gel and a capsule of honey) stuck at the bottom, ruining the effect. Perhaps I didn't drink it as quickly as I should have. On the other hand, when it was done, I wanted more. Asparagus in parmesan mousse with caramel topping Fried calamari with whipped harissa and paprika I'm not a fan of calamari, but I could have eaten a dozen of these. The harissa was excellent. Sangria three ways with apple chip: foam/reduced/gel with fruit cubes A perfect follow-up to the calamari. According to the staff, Blais is an insomniac, and one of the things he does when he's up all night is play random games with a dehydrator. The amazingly thin but flavorful apple chip is one of the pleasant results, as are the dried capers that appear in a couple of other dishes. Oyster with cocktail sorbet For me, the most dissapointing dish of the evening. Not that it wasn't good -- it was. This was the tiniest oyster I'd ever seen, with a spot of vermillion sorbet. It was over before I knew it. I don't want to overstate my disappointment -- this was a gift from the kitchen, and what was there was tasty. But perhaps the tasting menu is not the best way to "get" this dish -- you probably need three to five of these things. Barely-smoked hamachi (carpaccio), cucumber/radish brunoise, yuzu mayonnaise Muscadet Sevre et Main sur Lie - Chateau de Chasselour ‘01, "Cuvee des Ceps Centenaires" I'm not overly fond of raw or underdone fish, but this one grew on me. Very subtle. I thought that this was the one mismatched wine of the evening; unfortunately, I didn't write down why in my notes. Vitello Tonnato: braised pulled veal salad in sushi-style roulade of sashimi tuna, four sauces Vermentino di Sardegna “Aragosta” ‘02 More raw fish, so it was a surprise for me to realize that I had forgotten to try the wine in my haste to scarf this down. Too bad: based on the one bite I had left, it was an excellent pairing. This is where I discovered the dried capers. Chef Blais should bottle these things and sell them on the way out the door. Japanese Fluke, almond gnocchi, haricot verts, orange rind, dried capers Chappelet Old Vine Cuvee Chenin Blanc ‘00 The staff told me that this was one of the most popular dishes on the menu, and I can see why. It struck me as a revision of good old Meuniere, with a nod towards that other standby, Trout Amandine. I lost my taste for crunchy, undone green beans a few years ago, but the way these were done reminded me of why, for some veggies, it's still a good idea, and they were a good textural contrast with the softness of the rest of the dish. Black Sea Bass, cauliflower two ways, smoked apple, "burnt" foie gras Gewurztraminer d’Alsace, Domaines Schlumberger “fleur” ‘02 Frankly, it seemed like a random act of plating. But the flavors came together as the consumption progessed, a high tangy note of pickled cauliflower corresponding almost perfectly to the baritone of the foie and accompanying wine reduction, and the salty fish with its crisp skin making a surprise of the sweet, musky apple. How do they do that foie -- on the grill pan that comes with Kitchen Barbie? The tiniest quadrillage you can imagine. The soft pillow was a 1/8 scale repoduction of a half lobe. Very clever. Pink Duck Breast, Vanilla Reduction, Turnip Puree, with orange-anise-espresso vapor Pinot Noir, Ninth Island, Tasmania '03 Because I'd been wanting to try this wine, I snuck a taste of it as soon as it was poured. I wasn't impressed, and I was glad that I hadn't spring for a full bottle at the package store. Then the food came, introduced as an homage to Chef Achatz's rosemary vapor. I was dubious. I also think the now-conventional wisdom of cooking duck breast rare is wrong. So this dish came to the table down three strikes already. Now, I still think underdone duck is overrated -- unless it's cooked by Chef Blais, and maybe then only in this dish. But it certainly worked here, and the whole contraption: the awkward plating to accomodate the vapor generation; the at-first odd selection of aroma components (note that they are not expressly duplicative of what's in the food); and the wine selection, were amazing. Each component reinforced the next -- the vanilla reduction, combined with the orange and anise in the vapor, brought out the previously muted overtones of the wine, which helped you catch the espresso, which underscored the bit of gaminess in the duck, which supported the earthiness of the turnips. A triumph. Dynamic Beef Duo, salsify-bacon puree, porcini, horseradish foam Madiran, Chateau de Perron '00 Many of my favorite things, all on one plate. The duo was a thickish slice of beef filet roasted perfectly rare, adorned with horseradish; and a chunk of braised short rib in a puddle of demiglace/wine reduction. If you never understood the attraction of one cut of meat over the other, you will after you try this dish, with its swapped garnishes. I appreciated the sides as commentary, but the porcini, while perfectly cooked, lacked the 'shroomy depth that I wanted, and the puree was overpowered by the beef, particularly the short rib. Perhaps my tastebuds had become fatigued. Still, this dish is astounding for the beef and its accoutrements alone. (The Lagouile knife, after the succession of demitasse spoons that mark the early part of the dinner, was a welcome sight, though not really necessary.) Porto/Tawny, Dow's 10-year Parsnip Cake with cream cheeses ice cream and pear compote Oozing chocolate, black olive ice cream, red wine jelly I don't care for olives, unless they've been pressed into service as oil, but I liked this ice cream. And like several of the savory dishes, the juxtaposition of flavors and textures is intelligent, informative and entertaining. White chocolate/white truffle milkshake Yum. Fudgesicle lollipop A room-temperature version of the childhood favorite, and dead-on as to flavor and texture. It fell apart. Tang This is served in the same deep, elongated dish as the oozing chocolate trio, but a piece of plastic film has been stretched across the rim, then trimmed very carefully, so that the cube of jellied Tang seems to float above the center of the dish, a witty salute to the space program that's typical of Blais' approach. And it's just perfect: that nostalgic acid punch, that slight undissolved grit, the tease of citrus that kept you drinking Tang -- because you always expected that he next glass would really taste orange. Even though I was expecting all of this, it was hard not to smile. ***** Here's the kicker: including the wine flight and tax, the bill was $107, an incredible bargain. I've paid a lot more for food that wasn't nearly this good -- this is serious, three-star NYC stuff, at one-and-a-half star prices. Go now, before Chef Blais comes to his senses.

From this month's Nature: Article here.

Welcome to eGullet, Star-Anise. We've discussed stand mixers a bit. Here is a recent thread that includes some information, plus links to other threads. KitchenAid mixer recommendation Physical appearance and mechanical robustness aside, what will you be doing with it?

I'll not enter this fray, since I haven't been to Carson's in a good ten years, and I don't remember what I ate. I will, however, back up Ronnie in his assertion that FOB is not necessarily the product of boiling or steaming. FOB is the result of the connective tissue having reached the point of collagen-gelatin conversion, whereupon the meat is released from the bone. This can be done a number of ways, including boiling, steaming -- and long, low exposure to a hardwood fire.

For the sake of convenience, here are Katherine's data and notes: Edit: this data was posted with Katherine's permission.

Many thanks, Katherine. This is a great contribution. I'm thinking that I will test your oven method against the results I reported here.

Anything that could contaminate stock will die when boiled. In fact, the vast majority of them die long before the temperature reaches the boling point. So the issue is not one of food safety, it is one of taste. A batch of stock that has been invaded by bacteria can be made safe to consume -- but the stock is now full of dead bacteria, not to mention the er, end product of their consumption of the growth medium you've so thoughtfully provided. Now, some bugs (yeast, for instance) excrete downright tasty things, but it's unlikely to be true of all spores, molds and bacteria. I don't know the flavor profile of staph or salmonella (or staph or salmonella poop), but I suspect it's not better than chicken, and probably not as good as yeast. In any case, the flavor of your contaminated stock is likely to be changed, one way or another. That's why you throw out stock that's been seriously invaded. As for the three-day rule, it seems like a reasonable compromise between convenience and the chance of contamination.

sigh My work here is done.