Dave the Cook

Brief discussion here. I recommend Lodge as well, especially if you can use one of the larger, two-burner models. I am not thrilled with thier round pan, but I haven't found anything better. Definitely spring for the seasoning -- it doesn't cost much, and ensures that your pan gets off to a good start.

First: congratulations to Seth, Mrs. Seth and Nate. If nothing else, we know the little guy will eat well. Second: Adoxograph, maybe we're channeling. Saturday night (the night before BB), I made a gratin of zucchini, tomatoes and onions. I've been salting zukes for a while -- it's a Southern staple, after all -- and I'm always surprised not just at how much water comes out of them, but how much the taste is improved by concentrating the flavors in this way. Third: I love BB. But the consensus chez Dave was, "not worth the time," especially since Dad has a standard Beef Stew with Wine that demands less of a commitment from the cook -- and the diners chez Dave are not impressed with garniture. At all. Napkins are considered uppity. I think the culprit is the episodic nature of the recipe -- and yes, it sneaks up on you. Upon reading, it seems like a series of simple steps -- and Julia's suggestion to break it up over several nights, though I didn't follow it, somehow made it seem even simpler. In fact, it is a series of simple steps. Nothing is hard. I guess it seems really time consuming because, as Seth alluded, you can neverstep out of the kitchen for very long. I thought the lardons were trivial -- did I miss something? Oops. I didn't follow Julia's recipe for mashers. Truth to tell, it didn't occur to me to look. Since my dear departed mother-on-law (Pennsylvania Dutch to the end) taught me to make them twenty-mumble years ago, I haven't varied from: two pounds Russets, four tablespoons butter, one cup hot whole milk. More butter at the end, as the occasion demands. This is a good, basic recipe that happens to coincide with the one in Cooks Illustrated. Creme Brulee: I agree regarding the amount of zest. A specified quantity would give you the ability to reproduce, as exactly as the oranges allow, the same recipe, time after time. I didn't measure it before adding, and that's my bad. Rochelle's CB method does not suck. I've always flattened out the flame, and swept over the dish, but that heats up the ceramic too much. Along with the skimming lesson she gave me in Raleigh, that's two invaluable techniques. (Thanks, R.) Seth: strained sauce a la BB -- absolutely, though I would have reduced it a bit further before freezing. Still, you're going to like it, and that's great thinking. As for the beef stock, I don't think real stock made a whole lot of difference. But if we hang around together for long, you guys are going to run into Dave's Rule of Threes: 1. I needed stock for the larder. Uh oh. 2. This recipe called for stock. The urgency intensifies. 3. I go to the store, and they have neck slices and oxtails, my cuts of choice for stock, on sale. In my book, when three things coincide, the universe is trying to tell you something. In this case, it was, "Dave, make beef stock." I'm up for anything next time. Heather's suggestions are all fine, as is the duck thing that was coming to a simmer last week. And I want to hear marie-louise's report.

Welcome, Tess. There are several reasons why you might want to inject (or soak, or tumble) chicken in a saline solution. The ability to sell salt water at chicken prices might be one of them, as you suggest. For some better reasons, please see my eGCI course on Brining. Done properly, brining tenderizes proteins. You might or might not consider that "improvement." It is true that the texture changes. Having had one of these sandwiches, I don't think brining is the issue. I'm not convinced that the chicken in it is not chopped and formed meat, rather than a natural breast. At the least, it's sliced too have much texture at all; it doesn't feel like meat. On the other hand, Bayless aside, the product is hardly the work of the devil. It's a fast-food sandwich.

According to mineralwaters.org, a number of East European brands have sodium in the 1000+ mg/l range. Admittedly, a liter would be a large serving.

We completed our assignment yesterday. Matthew, I hope you're either taking the day off or working at home. Seth is right about the time commitment on this dinner.

Put a Spotted Dick on your table tonight.

Thanks for joining us, Mr. Cutlets. On the front page of your wesbsite, you're holding what appears to be a freshly butchered animal. What is it? Where did it come from? Did you name it? I realize that's three questions, but they're all easy.

Since I had to back way the hell up and make stock, I'd already settled on Sunday. But thanks for reminding me about the custard, Seth; I can do those tonight. Some shopping notes: - The available chard was slimy. If I have a chance, I'll get to another market tomorrow, but just in case, I got a bunch of rapini. From a skill-development standpoint, this is equivalent, since I've never prepared either rapini or chard. I'm disappointed, though, in the community and culinary repercussions. That chard recipe sounded really good. (Suggestions for rapini prep gladly accepted -- solicited, even.) - There were a couple of beautiful top blade roasts, Jacques' favorite, I think. Unfortunately, none were more than 2-1/2 pounds, well below what was called for. I got a "boneless shoulder roast," what ever that might be. The only other chuck cuts available were underblade roasts, which have not impressed me. I'm wondering how everone else did. - No Seven Moons Pinot Noir. However, I found Echelon '02 for about the same price ($8.49). I don't have a wine guy to advise me, except the ones I run into on eGullet, so if this is going to suck, please let me know. - No 1-1/2" onions. Got pearls instead, and found some relatively small mushrooms, since aesthetics seemed to require sizes that were roughly the same.

Great Hash 101, FG. Two great tips that are universally applicable and worth the price of admission all by themselves. Oh gosh, no. Not at all.

And a Veg-O-Matic.

Now that piques my curiosity. What's cheerwine? Okay, it looks like my lack of information will have to suffice here. Cheerwine is a soda somewhere down south, or in the midwest, or someplace. It's extremely local to the place it's made. I can't remember what it tastes like. Cherry soda -- and a pretty good one, if you like that sort of thing. As elyse surmises, it's availability is limited to the South, and not even all of that. Cheerwine website.

You've got cut pasta, but I can see ravioli, too, stuffed with spicy ground veal, broccoli or celery puree and a bit of cheese. Semolina Waffles, topped with mornay, broccoli and julienne of one of the smoked meats. Celery braised in stock is satisfyingly crunchy, and matches with sausage. Monte Cristo sandwiches, because they're deep fried, are pretty filling, even without the currant jelly. And since they're covered in batter, no one notices the bits of meat standing in for nice even slices. Like FG, I love hash, but I find it a real challenge to get everything right. Speaking of getting everything right, have patience, Lily. And please keep writing.

For purees, I think a good blender beats a food processor almost every time. It's tedious, but if I want something really smooth, I'll do the initial whacking in the FP, then transfer to the blender for finishing.

I wandered around in the link that Sandra provided, and found this. Are those something like what you're after?

There used to be a restaurant in Washington D.C. called Thai Roma. I remember some interesting, if not entirely successful, noodle/pasta dishes with cross-cultural seasonings, spring rolls with Italian stuffings and vice-versa manicotti, and, for lack of a better description, fusion skewers. On the off chance the place was still open (I was there maybe ten years ago), I googled it, and found this review by a fellow eGull: Thai Roma

"Voted in"? Was this a Florida election?

If he wants to come in and clear it up, that's fine. But I personally think it's a lot more fun to speculate.

What does this mean? I assumed it was a reference to the fact that too much truffle oil can really taste nasty. That possibility occurred to me, but "harmless" is an odd way to express that notion. More accurate to say "there's just the right amount of truffle oil," rather than make it sound like the condiment is armed and dangerous. So perhaps FG simply doesn't like truffle oil?

What does this mean?

Yea... I didn't make that up. I have actually heard people whose expertise I respect say it. I think that the mechanism by which fat is rendered out of meat is stronger than the mechanism by which fat is absorbed back into meat. And, if you cook somehing in a liquid bath for several hours, you are going to render out pretty much all the fat in whatever it is you're cooking. I would actually be interested to see data on just how much fat is absorbed into a piece of meat cooked submerged in fat. My guess is that it's not very much, especially when compared to vegetables (and especially starches). I don't think there's any net gain of fat. I would doubt that there's ever a net weight gain at all. There's too much stuff -- fat, collagen, water -- that gets loosened up and starts moving during long periods over heat. Once the cells give this stuff up, it's very difficult to get it back in, because cellular structures and muscle networks have been transformed, too. At best, you might get some re-uptake of liquids as the meat cools and the muscle fibers relax. As you point out, a starch molecule behaves very differently when it's heated. (Made it up? I figured either you had done it, seen it done, or were conducting a thought experiment, which is somehow more noble than just making stuff up.)

Your first example isn't analogous. But have you actually tried the second? I'm as certain as I can be, without having done it myself, that you're right about what happens. I suppose the cellular structure allows fat out, but then locks up in the heat before fat can flow back in?

I would have said that a confitted (if I may indeed say that) duck leg was no fattier than its raw counterpart, but I would not have claimed less fatty. Admittedly, I haven't done any sort of analysis. How does your explanation stack up against the principle of diffusion?

Can there be any question? It's Artichokes Poached in Olive Oil and Butter. Now... that might not sell as many portions as Confit of Artichokes. Exactly.

Chad: I'm not willing to guess what Gray Kunz is thinking. I too find the elasticity employed when applying classical terms to new dishes confusing sometimes. But I can easily see how it happens: I have this thing I do with frozen artichoke hearts, where I simmer them over very low heat for about 45 minutes in a mixture of butter and EVOO. I actually got the idea from an article in the LA Times by Keller and Ruhlman (apparently no longer on line) about barigoule. Normally you would start with fresh artichokes, but I don't always have time to do the prep work. Anyway, what I do is a way to make a mediocre product a good bit more palatable. One of the kids asked what I called this dish. I don't remember how I replied. So you tell me. Is it: "Artichokes Poached in Olive Oil and Butter"? "Revisionist Barigoule"? Or "Confit of Artichokes"?

But Ringo is the only minor Beatle left!