Dave the Cook

I'm no expert on Japanese cooking, but I understood katsudon to be a pork cutlet, breaded with panko and deep fried (and served with broth and noodles -- that's the "udon" part, right?) Other than the basic cooking technique, I don't get the connection. Tempura is a batter coating usually associated with vegetables and light protein -- shrimp and the like. There's an earlier discussion on tempura here, with recipes and lots of tips. There seem to be two essentials: low protein starch in the batter (it sounds like rice flour works, as does a combination of cornstarch and wheat flour); and proper frying temperature. Again, no expertise asserted, but I think tempura is supposed to be on the pale side. Certainly an egg yolk (included in a couple of recipes from the link above) would deepen the color, if that's what you're after. But maybe yours is coming out too dark?

This might work: JAZ's shrimp skewers.

Something kind of special that's not too difficult and combines your chocolate with your brother's fondness for berries might be the old chocolate bag trick. Fill it with a berry mousse or pastry cream and berries.

The more you use the convection mode, especially with meats, the more you're going to appreciate self-cleaning. All the grease and stuff blowing around means you need to clean it a lot more often.

Pecan and hickory are closely related trees, and have similar flavor, I think. Hickory is a bit more aggressive in my experience, so that gives you some room for calibrating to your personal preferences. As everyone has suggested, apple is fine for bacon, but suprisingly, someone recently told me that she had discovered a flavor link between it and traditonal Montreal smoked meat. I haven't looked at the Bradley site to see what's available, but alder and salmon are a traditional match-up -- one that I haven't been able to try. I can't imagine using mesquite for smoking. It's much too acrid for long exposure; I've quit using it even for grilling.

We'd like to thank everyone for their participation. The discussion is moving over here, starting with a Daily Gullet editorial. We hope to see you there!

There's a great cross-reference here, including Spanish, German, Italian and a few others. Since it uses British nomenclature, the hardest part about using it is the English-American translation.

I wish I'd known earlier; I would have modified tonight's menu. However, by measuring carefully, I managed to consume precisely 3.14 ounces of gin during cocktail hour tonight. I served it of course in a round glass (upper surface area 8.67 square inches).

Did she mess around with those recipes, too?

Thanks for reminding me, Genny: Nice glass!

Grits tighten as they cool, like pretty much any other starch, so you really do have to risk a run if you don't want to be eating wallboard compound towards the end of your dinner. Use the tricks you already know: make them a little loose to start with (knowing how loose comes with practice); serve on a warmed plate; use lots of fat and make sure it's fully warmed and incorporated before serving; eat fast. Finally, don't despair. If they get too cool and thick to eat, mash the remains into a cake (about 1/2-inch thick) and grill or fry in a flavorful fat for a later dinner. In fact, you can treat them like leftover mashed potatoes: add a beaten egg, a little onion and some flour, and make a savory pancake. I should add that as a traditional breakfast item (which is how most of us first encounter them), grits are much looser than the polenta style that's typically used in a dinner setting, and they're served in a bowl. Very cool, Janet. Who makes that guy?

You have to consider yield. A bone-in wing is only 54% edible, while a bone-in breast is 80% (source: USDA Argricultural Research Service Nutrient Data Laboratory). Using your prices, breast meat (and skin) is $4.61/lb; wing meat (and skin) is $4.98.But I think divalasvegas is on the right track. You'll never get enough fat into a breast to make up for what's in a wing. They're 9% and 16% fat, respectively; remove the skin and separable fat from a breast (something that's impossible to do with a wing), and the fat content drops below 2%. So you have to make it up with moisture, and a brine can do that for you. As for cooking technique, I'd deep fry. There's some science that says that the fat in yolks attracts fat from the cooking medium, so if greasy is really what you're after, find a recipe that includes egg yolks. They'll also increase richness, and batter can carry some seasoning -- again, substitutes for the missing fat.

. . . and now those as unobservant as me come to realize what was missing in your kitchen tour: a dishwasher.

I don't know why more people don't use this technique, because it's fabulous. Janet was part of the kitchen crew that hot-smoked short ribs for staff meal at Varmint's Pig Pickin'. Here's what ronnie_suburban had to say:

Jason Perlow, one of the founders of eGullet.com and a director, officer and staffer of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, announced today that he's taking a leave of absence from his Society duties. Satisfying the demands of his outside business ventures will be followed by a much-needed, much-deserved vacation. With great appreciation for his years of selfless service on behalf of the organization, we wish him well and look forward to seeing him back soon.

If what you end up with something that is remotely similar to Montreal smoked meat, please post the recipe. I miss the smoked meat on Mount Royal and Rue de La Montaigne and if I remember correctly, Ste. Catherine (and the pastries too, but that's another forum). ← I'm not homesick for Montreal -- the one time I was there, I saw the surface of the earth for all of ninety seconds -- but I'd love to get some idea of what Montrealers are always raving about. So, please, if you get something close, yes, let us know.

Il Laboratorio del Gelato?

Wilma did a number on the stone crab harvest. I don't think you're going to find anyone offering an all-you can-eat option.

Sounds tasty, Sara. It seems to me that there's probably a fat level between milk and cream that would minimize the tendency to curdle. Maybe sub some half-and-half for the milk? Is that still too rich?

Yes, as a matter of fact. Please see maggiethecat's essay in the Daily Gullet. You might also find the recent eG Spotlight Conversation with Ruth Reichl to be interesting reading.

Can you tell us what the brand name is on the package? From your text alone, it sounds like you have superfine fructose. Since fructose, or fruit sugar is sweeter than sucrose, or table sugar, I don't think you can use it for the same application without some taste or texture differences. However, if you're pressed for time and have a little table sugar handy, try tasting each one and see if the fruit sugar is sweeter. By the way, Wendy, I use C&H's Baker's Sugar almost exclusively for baking, and it produces consistently good, even-textured results. It gets a little wonky when I use golden castor sugar, though - my baked goods taste great, but are denser and flatter. skyflyer ← It's a Redpath sugar. Since I wasn't sure, I ground some fine sugar as suggested and used that. I'll try to post a picture later of the other sugar I have. ← I thought the same thing, skyflyer and Patrick. But at this site, I found this: skyflyer: most likely, the density of your baked goods changes when you use golden castor sugar because of a higher moisture content.

The board of directors of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters held its annual meeting and elections yesterday. The directors, officers and advisors of the eGullet Society are now: Steven Shaw, Director and Executive Director David Scantland, Director and Director of Operations Jason Perlow, Director and Chief Technology Officer Marlene Newell, Director and Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Day, Director and Chief Strategy Officer Paula Wolfert, Director Stanley Santos, Treasurer Dean McCord, Secretary and General Counsel Steve Klc, Advisor and Head Evangelist Two directors were up for re-election this year: David Scantland and Steve Klc. David Scantland was re-elected unanimously. Steve Klc did not stand for re-election, and instead took up the new position of Head Evangelist and became the first member of the new advisory board. Marlene Newell was elected to replace Steve Klc on the board of directors. The other four directors (Steven Shaw, Jonathan Day, Jason Perlow and Paula Wolfert) remained in their positions. All three current officers were up for re-election. Stanley Santos was re-elected as Treasurer. Dean McCord was re-elected as Secretary and General Counsel. Steven Shaw was re-elected as Executive Director. The board of directors also voted to make Executive Director a paid position. The Executive Director will be receiving the minimum wage plus a modest benefits package. The board of directors also elected several new officers: David Scantland (Vice President, Director of Operations), Marlene Newell (Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer), Jason Perlow (Vice President, Chief Technology Officer) and Jonathan Day (Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer). All eGullet Society director positions are unpaid, volunteer positions. All eGullet Society officer positions save for Executive Director are unpaid, volunteer positions. The board also voted to authorize the hiring of an office assistant.

I should add that while I am a little disappointed in tonight's repast, it was easily the best butt I've smoked in the last twelve days. I want to thank everyone for their support, their tips, and their good will. I've tried quitting many times before, but this time it might stick, and I believe it has a lot to do with this blog. So thank you, everyone, with special props to our guest quitters Maggie, Matthew and Brooks. I especially want to thank Marlene and Susan, not just for the amazing food, the words of encouragement, and the good spirits they've managed throughout, but for the incredible effort they made when I got stranded in Florida without a decent connection, and with a case of the flu that is only now starting to clear. They kept this thing on the rails, and I'm very grateful.

Sorry I'm late. It was a late dinner, and I had to take my son home, it being a school night and all. I finally had to take my butt off the fire in mid-stall. People were clamoring for dinner, and it really was getting late, even by my standards. So it was a good butt, but not a great one. I've put the rest back in a very slow oven for finishing. I did manage an app: smoke-toasted pitas. I halved them and served them with store-bought hummus (that's right, no shredded cheese for me, but pre-packed hummus is fine!) Back to the butt: It had a decent smoke ring, but it wasn't nearly pullable -- you can see some telltale cut edges: I dressed the slaw (after adding a few green onions and some chopped white onion) with a vinaigrette made with a little celery seed, brown mustard and honey. A soft white bun, some sauce (tomato puree, worcestershire, molasses, cider vinegar and pepper sauce -- thinner than western, thicker than eastern) and there you have it:

I knew six hours was optimistic, and that I'd regret the late start. I just hit 140. The floor is open for ad hoc appetizer suggestions.