Dave the Cook

Sorry. Um, nice pictures, Colonel. Thanks.

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that roast boneless?

We had the blue cheese (Maytag) pasta tonight, to good reviews all around. Clumping is a definite problem. Constant stirring was useless, and only partly because the spinach cooks for a mere thirty seconds. I think the problem is here: Bittman calls for a rough chop, which is hopelessly vague. A rough chop for, say, onions, is quite different to my mind than a rough chop for spinach. I'm all for rusticity and artistic interpretation, but sometimes precision must be given its due. I think to be successful, we're talking about 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces. If you want it folksy, tear it by hand. I employed, with minimum shame, the French-fried onion option. Frankly, I don't think deep-fried shallots could have been better. Though perhaps a comic gambit, a great idea nevertheless, Matthew.

I'm inclined to reserve all judgments. However, should pictures not be forthcoming soon, perhaps we'll find that such tolerance has a limit.

I agree with Dano -- my chicken stock recipe (here) calls for 1/4 tsp. per quart. In this thread, I describe a tasting experiment I conducted to test for salt, flavor extraction and reduction. While I am full enough of myself to point you to the thread, I am not so full that I can't admit that the results surprised me. But to answer mrbigjas, I think that most people don't reduce canned broths, and most people use salt as a flavor in and of itself, rather than (or in addition to) an enhancer. Swanson's (just to pick one) customers like it salty, so that's what they sell. Also, we shouldn't confuse broth with stock. While their uses are intertwined, they are not really the same thing. What Swanson, et al, sell is broth. If we're going to continue to talk chicken broth, perhaps we should switch over to the aforementioned thread, so as not to lead this one further astray.

Does epazote work, even for beans? I thought that had been discredited, but I could be wrong. The cause is the same as it is for beans: an abundance of oligosaccharides. The modern human intestine has no way to break them down. Two two basic solutions apply: either 1) eat more JAs (and beans, too, for that matter), which, over time, conditions the digestive tract to process the sugars; 2) roast them for a very long time -- if memory serves, we're talking 18 to 24 hours. Someone with ready access to McGee's The Curious Cook might be able to elaborate (or correct) on option 2. As I recall, one of the chapters is called something like Taking the Wind Out of the Sunchoke.

Ahem. What Suzanne said. Lately, I've been moving towards Pepin's method (in Complete Techniques), which makes little distinction among protein sources (well, the land-based ones, anyway): beef, veal, chicken, even duck. If I roast the bones, it's a brown stock, if I don't it's white. This has become my "stock" for most purposes. As with the fish, if I need something with definite flavor (say, for a chicken pot pie), I'll make it with a fresh chicken and use the meat for the pie. Or . . . I'll supplement my basic stock with canned chicken broth. Shhh . . . Ask me again in a few months, and I'll probably have changed this philosophy entirely.

Before you decide that you can't get enough Jerusalem artichokes, you should know that, for many people, they rival beans as a cause of flatulence.

I never make fish stock unless it's for immediate use. I freeze lobster, shrimp and crab shells and make stock from them, reducing to a glaze, then freezing that. If I need a more neutral "fishy" medium, I reconstitute with white chicken stock or a combination of white stock and bottled clam juice.

What's the brunch menu, other than Sue's raised apple pancakes?

Great review, Seth. Your experience encapsulates both the strength and weakness of CT. I also agree with marie-louise that Cookwise does not have such great recipes. What is there does a good job of illustrating the principle(s) at hand, but Corriher's imagination as a cook seems rather limited. Why can't we use J&J as our reference for recipes, and use whatever technique is offered there. But before preceeding with any specific dish, we can consult reference tomes like Cookwise, How to Read a French Fry, I'm Just Here for the Food, whatever McGee might have to offer, or anything else for that matter, including our own experiences. We might find that there is more than one way to approach a specific issue. In those cases, some of us can try one way, some another, then we can report and dissect. This also means that the only book anyone has to have is J&J. If other texts are relevant, whoever already owns them can research and report.

Red-eye Gravy Serves 6 as Main Dish. This was served as the staff meal at Varmint's Pig Pickin' the night before. It's based on a recipe from Savannah Seasons by Elizabeth Terry. Her recipe calls for a cornstarch slurry, but Varmint's pantry came up short on that count, so guajolote improvised a workaround using flour. We also substituted some nice portobellos for Terry's shitakes. It was served with Shrimp and Grits. 1 T butter 8 ounces country ham, minced 2-1/2 ounces Portobello mushroom caps 1/4 C minced onion 1/2 C madeira 1/2 C coffee, freshly brewed 2 T flour 3/4 C tomato-based vegetable juice, like V-8 1 T organic* hot pepper sauce 1 T minced fresh thyme 1. Over high heat, sauté the ham in the butter until browned. 2. Add the mushrooms and onion, continue to brown. 3. Add madeira and coffee. Simmer until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. 4. Dissolve the flour in the vegetable juice. Add the pepper sauce and whisk into gravy. 5. Return the sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the raw flour taste is gone. 6. Remove from heat and add the thyme. May be made ahead and refrigerated. * inside joke for those who have attempted, in vain, to find sriracha -- or even Tabasco -- at Whole Foods. Keywords: Main Dish, Sauce, Intermediate, American ( RG733 )

Red-eye Gravy Serves 6 as Main Dish. This was served as the staff meal at Varmint's Pig Pickin' the night before. It's based on a recipe from Savannah Seasons by Elizabeth Terry. Her recipe calls for a cornstarch slurry, but Varmint's pantry came up short on that count, so guajolote improvised a workaround using flour. We also substituted some nice portobellos for Terry's shitakes. It was served with Shrimp and Grits. 1 T butter 8 ounces country ham, minced 2-1/2 ounces Portobello mushroom caps 1/4 C minced onion 1/2 C madeira 1/2 C coffee, freshly brewed 2 T flour 3/4 C tomato-based vegetable juice, like V-8 1 T organic* hot pepper sauce 1 T minced fresh thyme 1. Over high heat, sauté the ham in the butter until browned. 2. Add the mushrooms and onion, continue to brown. 3. Add madeira and coffee. Simmer until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. 4. Dissolve the flour in the vegetable juice. Add the pepper sauce and whisk into gravy. 5. Return the sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the raw flour taste is gone. 6. Remove from heat and add the thyme. May be made ahead and refrigerated. * inside joke for those who have attempted, in vain, to find sriracha -- or even Tabasco -- at Whole Foods. Keywords: Main Dish, Sauce, Intermediate, American ( RG733 )

Sounds like you did do it right. I'm proud and envious. Thanks for the running commentary, especially Lady T, whose steadfastness in posting updates was exemplary (ah, yes, the kitchen ballet!)

Oh, yeah . . . What-all is on the smoker? And how's it doing?

What (or who) is getting spatchcocked? I recall no spatchcockables on the menu. P.S.: Spatchcock.

Food coloring: all is forgiven. Cunning carrot decorations are of course exceptionable. Two-tone pepper thing: Varmint's fuck-up is your gain. Dammit. Brisket snackies: yum Steve Martin: Matthew's a fan. Whodathot? Wine in a can:

Yeah, we did. Yeah, it is.

Yes! We were promised pictures! And -- -- I think we're owed an explanation for the food coloring. It had better be good.

After re-reading Chef Paul's prime rib technique, I'm not sure it's suitable. But since I promised, here's a synopsis: When the meat is done -- one level below your target doneness -- refrigerate for three hours. Portion the roast into steaks and make a spice rub: 1 part each: dry mustard and cayenne 2 parts each: salt, white pepper and whole fennel seeds Make sure your exhaust fan is on "extra-high" or do the next part outside. Rub about 4 teaspoons of the mixture on a steak and blacken in a screeching-hot cast-iron skillet. It takes two to three minutes per side to develop the crust -- hence the lower target doneness and the refrigeration. ******************* Hope everyone has a great day. It sounds like tremendous fun.

Well, I don't have it either, though I intend to get it. Someone on eGullet recommeneded it highly. It seemed to me that it might suit one aspect of our "club" (for lack of a better word), in that it layers (again, for lack of a better word) techniques: you make the basic version of a dish, then create successively more elaborate versions of it. The downside would be, to go through all the versions of one dish would take five lessons. Just in typing this out, I'm inclined to go back to J&J. Absolutely.

Excellent idea, Susan!

Good for you! In Raleigh, we couldn't get guajolote to put on an apron -- even one with scantily-clad beauties. Well, I noticed that singalongs tend to distract those two. We're looking forward to it. I understand the chef is very, very good. Don't forget the wine notes! Cooking with Maggie, Aurora and the G-man is a blast, but I guess you already know that. sigh

Please keep us posted. We expect plenty of pictures, too.

I think this is an excellent choice -- a good range of technique and taste. And if we get really stuck, we can always check the video! I'm pretty sold on J&J, but let me toss in a wild card, just in case: Simple to Spectacular, the Vongerichten-Bittman collaboration.