Dave the Cook

Bill Buford's take on Mario Batali, "The Secret of Excess" (also in the New Yorker) evolved into the best-selling Heat, but the book (which admittedly is less about Batali and more about Buford) wasn't as focused, energetic or evocative as the original:

Like many of my students, he has a hard time with the concepts of "atoms", "ions", and "molelcules". Salt (in this case sodium chloride, NaCl) breaks up into two ions (or particles) when it dissolves in water, a sodium (Na+) ion and chloride (Cl-) ion. Sugar (sucrose) molecules don't ionize, so you just have the one particle. So on a unit by unit basis, for every one "unit" of NaCl, you get two particles, and for every one "unit" of sucrose, you get one particle. This can make a difference in colligative properties like freezing point depression and boiling point elevation and osmosis (this last one is important in brining). Colligative properties depend on the number of particles in solution, and are not dependent on the identity of the particle. Now, having said all that, unless Mr. Kimball is determining the concentrations of sugar and salt of his brining solution, taking into account the different molar masses of the two compounds, that this really matters all that much. Sorry for the chemistry lecture, occupational hazard. I think what you've laid out here is probably what confused Kimball. It's a little harder to explain away his implication that you could use sugar instead of salt in a brine, and the only difference would be that sugar would take longer.

It would be nice to be able to rely on seminal research done 70 years ago, or to attribute obesity to a western abundance of fat-laden foods, or some sort of moral failing. Unfortunately, facts bear out neither assumption. One study done in the 80s (Stunkard et al, "An Adoption Study of Human Obesity," New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 23, 1986) looked at adoptees -- a reasonable method for assessing the effect of genetics and environment (the team had to go to Denmark to find records that included all the pertinent information). Gina Kolata further summarizes in her book Rethinking Thin: A study published in the same issue of NEJM looked at the another side of the issue: why can some people eat whatever they want and never gain weight? The researcher, Claude Bouchard, monitored twelve pairs of identical twins who were trying to gain weight. Each of them ate 1000 calories more than required for weight maintenance. They did this six days a week for 100 days, amounting to 84,000 extra calories per man. Each should have gained 23.3 pounds. But that's not what happened. The average gain was 18 pounds -- not too far off the prediction -- but the range was between 9-1/2 and 29 pounds. Some added muscle and some added fat, which seems to account for the difference; it takes a lot more energy to convert food to muscle than it does food to fat. The study also found that each pair of twins tended to gain weight in similar ways, adding fat in the same places on their bodies.

It's not clear to me why you're having trouble with the Le Creuset. - Perhaps the enameled surface doesn't promote quite as crisp a sear as stainless (though the evidence for this is anecdotal), but I have no problem developing a fond in LC. - There are issues with Dutch ovens when it comes to the initial sear, especially if you've got multiple items (chicken thighs or short ribs, for example) that need turning. The high sides of the pot make using tongs awkward -- but that's not isolated to enameled cast iron; you'll run into it with any high-sided vessel. - If you feel that the Le Creuset doesn't get hot enough for a good sear, then you'll not find raw cast iron much better, because I suspect the problem isn't that LC won't do it, it's that you're just not waiting long enough. It takes iron a long longer to heat up than clad aluminum. In the end, if you want a single pot to handle the process end to end, you've already got it. But I confess that I often do exactly what you're doing now: sear in a sauté or a skillet, deglaze and transfer. Yes, it's an extra pan to wash, but once the braise is simmering, there's time to do that.

It's expensive by app standards, but it doesn't seem expensive for what it actually is: a $50 (list price $75) textbook in electronic form, with all the bells and whistles that app technology brings to the party. That means linking, inline definitions, calculators, video, photo enlargements, and a bunch of other stuff. Creating a book in this form is much more work than the already immense task of publishing in paper format. With the exception of actual printing, the sort of app The Professional Chef represents entails everything required to create a traditional book -- to which you add programming, videography and sound. I'm wrapping up an ebook project now, and though it's much less ambitious than The Professional Chef, it's nevertheless turned out to be far more work than anyone expected. In the end, I'm surprised that the CIA can sell it so cheap.

I'm bumping this up to see if anyone followed through on last year's ambitions, or if there are more suggestions. The produce manager at the local Whole Foods gifted us with a Buddha's Hand the other day. So far, we've used the zest in crab cakes, but there's lots of fingers yet to be harvested. Any ideas?

It's probably useful to draw a distinction between "mashed" -- which I would say is a hand process aided by mashers, ricers or food mills -- and "whipped," where a stand or handheld electric mixer is used. When making the former, mixing potato types isn't usually a problem. Once you bring motors into the picture though, you run the risk of overworking the starch in waxy potatoes, leading to the gluey mess to which rotuts alludes. The only way I know around that is to retrograde the starch before applying mechanical force.

I suppose the question is "Even if they only eat two spoonfuls, would they have a cardiac incident if the taste was not 'classic'??" We discussed the issue here. A minor tweak would be to use fresh crimini mushrooms (perhaps I am deceived by the darker color but I think they have more flavor then white buttons) and some haricot verts or other thin young green beans (Trader Joe's has excellent frozen ones) and using a simple white sauce as the binder. I snuck some fried shallots (from Asian market) over the top of the last one my step mom made and it was a flavor boost without being shocking - more of an enhanced familiar taste. My recipe is basically the same as Heidi's. I use haricot verts sauteed in butter then garnished with some toasted, slivered almonds. Now you can use the canned french-fried onions, but I'm going to use some fried shallots that I can get at the local Asian Market. They are tiny little deep-fried nuggets bursting with flavor and I can buy a 16oz. jar for about 2 bucks. Mind you, it doesn't have the soy sauce or cream soup called for in the recipe on the onion can from the supermarket. We threw this together because we realized we needed something green for a class promoting twists on Thanksgiving classics. The aforementioned fried shallots, or even toasted almonds, would work just as well for the topping. You could also use frozen green beans; just thaw them thoroughly and add for the last two minutes. Not a green bean casserole Serves 6 1 pound green beans, trimmed 1 pound Cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced or chopped (into 4 pieces if small, 6 if large) 2 leeks, trimmed (white and pale green sections), or 1/2 cup canned fried onions 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup dry sherry Oil for frying (if using leeks) Salt and pepper If using leeks: cut the trimmed sections into 1-1/2" logs. Cut the logs in half lengthwise, then slice each log into 1/8"–wide strips and separate the layers. Using a strainer and a large bowl of water, wash the strips. Drain and spread on paper towels; pat dry. Heat oil to 360˚F. Fry the leek strips in small batches until brown at the edges, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. They will crisp as they sit. Put the mushrooms in a large sauté pan and cover with water. Add the butter and about a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are browned, about 15 minutes. Add the sherry and scrape with a wooden spoon to dissolve any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook until the sherry is almost evaporated. Set aside. Steam or boil the beans in salted water until almost tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain the beans and set aside. Add the cream to the pan, bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat to reduce to a sauce-like consistency, about five minutes. Put the beans back in to finish cooking, about two minutes. Check seasoning. To serve: plate the beans, top with mushrooms, and sprinkle leeks or fried onions over.

I don't think it's purged in farmed shrimp, I think it's scheduled. If you know when a shrimp last ate, you can make a pretty good guess about when it's going to eliminate. Right after that is when you harvest.

In the US, cooking consumes less than five percent of the average household energy budget. If you want to reduce consumption, you'll get better results by looking at refrigeration, heating water, and -- especially -- heating and cooling your house. That's where the money is. Or goes. Those are the direct costs. A broader view would include the implications of the carbon footprint, especially whether locavore initiatives are truly environmentally friendly.

No one in the UK lives more than about 75 miles from the ocean. I suspect that if you drew a 75-mile stripe along the places where the US borders the sea, you'd find a similar intensity of interest in fish, especially if you accounted for the differences in population density. The UK is about 60 million people in an area roughly the size of Oregon. Meanwhile, Oregon, a state that sits on the Pacific ocean, is home to fewer than 4 million people.

I'll join you, I like them too. With tartar sauce. Not my first choice now, but I credit them as being the first step on the slippery slope of learning to love fish as a kid. Me three, but skip the tartar sauce. A fish stick is the fastest route to a fish taco.

I'd skip Taqueria del Sol. I find the food ranges from (charitably) slightly above average to slightly odd. If you're after "best in class," you want to hit Holeman & Finch for great cocktails and an always interesting menu that hints at nose-to-tail cuisine. Another "everything but the oink" place is Abattoir (owned by the same people that own the excellent Bacchanalia). Atlanta also has several excellent entries in the "farm to table" category: the aforementioned Miller Union, JCT Kitchen, Serpas, 4th & Swift, Woodfire Grille (where Top Chef runner-up Kevin Gillespie is chef) and Restaurant Eugene are probably the best. For burgers, Flip is the most interesting. But if you don't care about the many proteins that can be ground up and called burgers and don't mind missing nitro-shakes, Farmburger is also very good. Atlanta has several very good (if not on a par with New York or New Haven) pizzerias: Antica has been suggested; Varsano's and Baraonda are also good choices. Finally, Atlanta has many excellent ethnic outlets. Bahn mi and Viet are discussed here, dim sum here, just to name a couple.

If you can find a Cuisinart Little Pro Plus on eBay or Craigslist (it's inexplicably discontinued), you'll be very happy. It's much more substantial than the mini-prep.

Former Top Chef aspirant Fabio Viviani is hawking Domino's new "Artisan Pizza: hand-stretched crusts and "balanced" -- whatever that means -- ingredients. They look pretty good in the commercials and on the website. Should I now feel better about Domino's, or worse about Fabio?

I've used wine, juice and various beers all to good effect. I am pretty sure the liquid makes the cheese less thick when heated, so it is more creamy and gooey. I made "Cheez-wiz" for cheesesteaks last weekend using water: you can use anything whose flavor complements (or doesn't detract from) your cheese, but it's going to depend completely on what exact cheese you use. I don't think there's a good way to generalize, but it's easy to test: crack open a beer and slice up some cheese. For the Heartland Gathering, we made a modernist cheese "crouton" (photo here) using sherry and a touch of sherry vinegar as the liquid. It was pretty tasty.

The best east Asian food in Atlanta, as your daughter has probably already been told, is along Buford Highway, from North Druid Hills (which, at its eastern end, transects the Emory campus) north to about a mile outside the perimeter (I-285). Japanese, Indian, Viet, Thai, Chinese, some of it excellent. As Janet said, Taqueria del Sol and Fat Matt's are overrated. But if you're willing to go that far (Fat Matt's is nowhere near Emory), try Top Flr for a nice dinner: creative food at great prices, and for some reason rarely crowded. Almost next door is Papi's Grill for good Cuban/Caribbean sandwiches (don't know about their dinner menu). The location is a straight drive along Ponce de Leon Avenue from Emory. And speaking of tacos, your daughter is most likely familiar with a quasi-local chain, Taco Mac (there's one in downtown Decatur). Be aware that there are TVs everywhere, but they're not obtrusively loud. Do not order tacos. Order wings, and one of the villion beers on tap or in the bottle. It's an Atlanta institution. So is Manuel's. Good burgers and sandwiches, lots of Democratic-party and Atlanta/Georgia memorabilia -- helpful if you're missing your blue-state vibe.

About a year ago we started to develop a cooking class for just this dilemma because in Atlanta, it's illegal to use a grill on an apartment patio or balcony. To my surprise, the class didn't sell so we never finished the recipes. However, we came up with two that you might find helpful. (Sorry that I've mixed metric and English, not to mention volume and weight; we never finalized these.) Besides the mess of indoor grilling, I don't use grill pans much because they don't add grilled flavor. However, they do contribute evocative grill marks. What's more, if you avoid animal proteins (and therefore, animal fats), the mess is greatly reduced. Grilled Romaine, Portobello and Tomato Salad Serves four to six Dressing 1 egg 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 large clove garlic 3 whole anchovies or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper Salad One head romaine lettuce 2-3 portobello mushrooms 2 large tomatoes Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese for shaving Vegetable oil for grilling In a medium bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, beat the egg until the yolk and white are mostly combined. Mince or press the garlic and add it. Whisk in the oil and anchovy until smooth. Drizzle in the vinegar, allowing the dressing to emulsify. Stir in the cheese and pepper. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Leaving the core intact, cut the romaine in half lengthwise. Trim the mushroom stems and scrape out the gills (a grapefruit spoon is a good tool for this). Cut the tomatoes in half across their equators. Clean out the seeds. Place the vegetables on a sheet pan, cut sides up. Brush a generous amount of dressing on them. Set aside for 30 minutes. Heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush the grate with vegetable oil. Place the vegetables diagonally across the pan, uncut sides down. Cook without moving them for two minutes, then rotate 90 degrees. Cook for two more minutes. Flip the vegetables, brush the tops with dressing, and cook one more minute. Move the vegetables to a cutting board and let them cool just until you can handle them. Chop roughly (or leave in larger pieces if you want to show off the quadrillage) and put in a salad bowl (or arrange on a platter). Toss with more dressing if desired, then plate and top with cheese shavings. + + + The second recipe was designed to evoke the smoky flavors of the grill. Rub 2T sweet paprika 2T smoked paprika 2t smoked salt 2t ground chipotle 1t ground cumin 1t Worcestershire powder This is enough for two racks of baby back ribs, which we brine and cook in a 250°F oven for three to four hours, until the meat starts to shrink up the bone and the racks are very flexible. Meanwhile, make a glaze: 84 ounces (12 7–ounce bottles) malta 250 ml strong brewed coffee (or 1T instant espresso dissolved in 1C water) 8 grams ground ancho 6 to 8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled 250 ml reduced–sodium tamari or “lite” soy sauce zest from one tangerine or one medium orange (about 8 grams) Combine malta, coffee, ancho and garlic in a large saucepan or Dutch or French oven. Bring to a lively simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce to about one liter. Depending on the size of your pot, this will take 60 to 90 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a smaller pot. Add the tamari. Bring the mixture to a simmer again, and reduce to about 300 ml. It will be very syrupy. Add the orange zest and keep warm. (If it gets too cool, it will thicken alarmingly. This isn’t a big deal, but you’ll have to reheat it to apply it as a glaze—or even to pour it into a storage container.) When the ribs are almost done, brush the glaze on concave side of the ribs and cook another ten minutes. Flip and brush the convex side, and cook another ten minutes. Repeat glazing on both sides and remove ribs from oven. Cool for ten minutes, then cut ribs into serving portions. Leftover glaze keeps in the fridge at least two weeks, and probably longer.

It's called pincage (peen-sahj) -- at least it is in French cookery -- and dates back to before Escoffier. It's not just for tomato sauces, either. I use it for almost any stew or braise where a little umami depth would be welcome in the finished dish.

Yep, Asian and Hispanic markets here (Atlanta) will sell it to you with or without bones. It's not the entire rack of spares, though, it's just the end -- maybe three or four bones two to three inches long.

Sorry for the late notice, but we (JAZ and Dave the Cook) won't make it to Friday lunch. We'll meet up with the group at VTR.

Lunch is planned for noon, but could be earlier or later as needed; if people are on tight schedules, we'll probably tour the garden around 11am. Is Dave David Ross? When Janet says "Dave," she means me.

I took a look at one just yesterday. The temperature setting goes from 120°F to 500°F. Whether it can hit those temps and hold them accurately is a separate question.

It's interesting -- and can be very frustrating -- that propane actually holds more energy than natural gas (methane). Frustrating because most manufacturers optimize their ranges for the latter, and make poorly designed conversion kits for the former, resulting in worse performance. Nevertheless, as you say: And yet here's Josh Ozersky blaming his tools. He's upset because his smoothtop won't accommodate his warped pan (warped? what's up with that?), exhibits a complete lack of understanding of heat transfer, and piles one mistake upon another until he finally ends up with an unsatisfying plate of scrambled eggs. Then he trots out the familiar litany of praise for gas with the warning "You still have to know how to cook," even though the egg experience casts doubts on his mastery. Then he libels, if not every smoothtop fan, at least me: Not content to assault the motives of electric-range owners, he goes on to insult anyone who's ever used a thermometer, and finishes with: I like wood fires. I also love to cook, and I can't see how my choice of ranges -- or Josh's misplaced anger -- makes any difference in my "expression" (whatever that means). Finally, I usually like Ozersky's writing; The Hamburger: a History was a ton of fun. But based on how he cooks, I think I'll stick with reading his books and avoid a dinner invitation.

I hadn't heard about this. Is it like the credit-checking scene in the movie "L.A. Story"?