Dave the Cook

Read this: Things you can do with your microwave. Sincerely, Department of Shameless Self-promotion P.S. I have to try chestnuts. Thanks for the tip.

There's a fair amount of fat (lighter than water) in the yolk, and some protein (heavier) in the white and a little in the yolk. Most of the rest of an egg is water. The protein and fat balance each other pretty closely. Eggs with proportionately large yolks will hover (as will untethered yolks, as chickenlady discovered); small yolkers sink.

Sam and Brooks, since you like it spicy, try this: Brine your chicken, of course, adding the juice of one lime or lemon and a teaspoon of red pepper sauce to the salt (assuming two quarts of brine). While it's soaking, puree a can of Chipotles in Adobo, sauce and all. Add the juice of one lime or one lemon and let it meld until the chicken is ready. Smear the sauce all over the skin. Roast per your favorite method. I grill it over indirect coals -- you can spatchcock it, but you want it to take a while to cook, so go easy on the heat.

That's a good start, Cory. More specifically, four things characterize Cincinnati chili: 1) Texture: it's nearly uniform, with every bit of stuff ending up about the size of a BB, enrobed in an orange-red sauce. 2) History: it was concocted by Greek immigrants. Both Skyline and Empire, Skyline's main competitor, have been dominated by Greek families, though I don't know if that's still the case. 3) Seasoning: the sweetness to which Cory refers is due mainly to cinnamon. 4) Application: there is an ordering ritual associated with Cincinnati chili parlors. It has to do with what the chili goes on (usually some form of pasta), and what goes on the chili (beans, cheese, onions, etc.) This array has been distilled into a verbal shorthand. I don't recall the exact arrangement, but it results in an order that sounds like a precis for a porn film: "Gimme Chili-Mac, three-way!"

Or the cooking medium. Could hard (i.e. alkaline) water account for what sounds like failure of the white to coagulate properly?

What's your point?

This is what it's going to take. All this talk about theory can only be settled by real-life testing. My pressure cooker is only 4 quarts in size, so it's going to have to be someone else. That and the fact that I'm not a stock person. Right. From a practical standpoint, you need one of these, and unless you do a lot of canning, you probably don't have one. I can't imagine what kind of cooker you'd need for restaurant-sized volumes of stock. But the idea could be tested in a smaller vessel. Are you sure we can't turn you into a temporary stock person?

I have the geese, but it was a present. I also picked up two smaller ones by accident a couple of summers ago when we were in charge of the food concession at the neighborhood pool, and no one claimed them. Richard's on to something, since Rival invented the category. Of my three, two are Rivals, and they've performed flawlessly. I do think the "warm" setting would be helpful, not just for holding food at the end of the cooking time, but as serving pots for stews and such. But just to get a full survey, this appears to be the low end, with this and this representing two different branches of the evolutionary tree. In between, there are crockpots with matching insulated carriers, and aluminum "crock" pots that you can take off the base unit and sitck in the oven so you can, um, slow cook, with them?

I haven't looked real closely, but I think that not all of them are necessarily crockery. In at least one model, you can use the "pot" to start on the stovetop for browning, then move to the basin for slow cooking. I suppose there are also differences in how the heat is applied, and I'd be surprised of there isn't some sort of programmability built in to some of them. But I think you're saying that there's not a lot of difference in how they apply heat, and their intended purpose. in that, you're probably right. OTOH, I don't see why we can't peddle a few insignificant differences into a rousing debate. We've made more of less, I think.

Well, do you want to be able to put a big butt in it? Four to six lamb shanks? Five pounds of onions?

How big?

yes, he's after intensity, which normally you would get through reduction. I admit to being intrigued by this: I've never heard this before, and I wonder what it means, exactly. The problem with gelatin is that collagen doesn't convert instantly, it takes a while for complete rendering. I know that the few pressure-cooked pot roasts I've had lacked the succulent mouthfeel of a two- or three-hour braise for just this reason. Maybe under more liquid conditions, the pressure speeds up conversion -- or maybe what Blumenthal is calling stock is not what I would call stock. Having said all that, if I had a pressure cooker, I'd try it for sure.

If you're going to be up anyway, I'd definitely keep everything together. It sounds great. I love the demi-glace idea. I don't recall precisely, but I seem to remember that even on high, most crockpots hover around 210, with low being about 180.

I'm sure this will make a very decent broth -- the little booklet that comes with your pressure cooker tells you how to do it. As for stock, maybe. Some things that happen while the stock simmers are at least as time-dependent as they are temperature dependent -- the conversion of collagen to gelatin being the first that comes to mind. This is not to say that pressure won't enhance or accelerate the conversion, but Blumenthal doesn't say anything about it, and that makes me wonder. Bruce makes a good point, but if speed is what you're after, Kafka's microwave technique does a decent job in just five to ten minutes.

I'm not sure. I'd be afraid that leaving the lid off overnight might let the stuff dry out too much, unless you're the type that can get up every couple of hours to check it. Maybe let them cook fully, then strain the liquid, reduce it, and add it back?

So?

Gosh, fifi, I'm sorry I didn't see this until now, or I'd have warned you. This is an all-night thing, on low. As in, set it up after the dinner dishes are done, and it will be ready for breakfast.

Check out Calvin Trillin's Tummy Trilogy. His love for the food of this region is great and apparent; you'll find a number of recommendations.

St. Julia recommends a Crock-Pot. (Actually, so do I, but her advice probably carries a little more weight.)

Such as it is: http://www.mixny.com The Alain Ducasse site doesn't even mention Mix, and barely notes the existence of Spoon.

What have you got to lose? Before throwing it out, try slowly browning two tablespoons tomato paste with one packed tablespoon dark brown sugar (non-stick pan highly recommended). Add the mixture to the stock, starting with a half-teaspoon per quart. After each addition, let it simmer for five or ten minutes to make sure it's thoroughly blended, then taste to see if it's worth proceeding.

Congratulations, Fay Jai. Despite our efforts to confuse you thoroughly, you managed to make something delicious. A couple of clarifications: - I think that Tommy meant for you to roast the shoulder after stuffing. Doesn't really matter, since you were happy with the results. We missed the "rolled" part of your description. If you've got a rolled roast, you can just unroll it (like you did), spread the stuffing on the inside, then roll back up and re-tie. (By all means, get some kitchen twine, or even plain old cotton string.) - There's no need to brine if you're using moist heat; in fact, the brine is one of the reasons you ended up with so much liquid. - Brown the meat for flavor, not for hygiene (I don't know what CI was talking about). Any nasties that might be present will die after a few minutes at 160 F. Whether you use dry or moist heat, the surface of the meat (and that's the part you're worried about, since the interior of muscle meat is virtually sterile) will reach that within a few minutes of cooking. But browning invokes Maillard reactions -- the source of lots of yummy things. - I always wash veggies, and that includes fresh herbs. You might not use pesticides on your plants, but they still pick up dust and even little tiny bugs. Sage, with its fuzzy leaves, must be particularly susceptible, IMO. If you dry them thoroughly, they won't stick to your knife when you chop them. Again, congratulations -- and I hope you don't find all this condescending. Maybe you know most of it already, and if you do, my apologies. If you don't, you'll find no shortage of folks around here willing to offer advice, whether you ask for it or not!

Is there a middle way? Could you brine your beans instead of soaking in plain water?

Mine haven't, though I keep expecting them to. Maybe you just need to stay away from LC, fifi.

I love those things, especially the garlic one and the bell pepper (in green or red!) And for looks, if not utility, I think this is the coolest-looking grill pan on the market. LC has really had their design department in high gear the last few years.