Dave the Cook

I'm not an apologist for non-stick coatings, or even straight-gauge aluminum cookware, which I think is simply a flawed design. But you can make these things work. What do you want to brown? Yeah, fond is pretty much impossible -- it won't stick to the pan, so it sticks to the meat. But that's only a problem if you want a pan sauce, isn't it? For braises, you get the benefits of fond without deglazing -- not that you want to skip a wine-reduction step that might be part of deglazing! I suppose without a sample of this new pan, we don't really know, but like fifi, I am dubious.

I've made Emeril's Worcetershire sauce. It's definitely in the same neighborhood as L&P (and fifi's right about the aroma), but I found it to be all top heat and bottom sweet -- not quite balanced. It does, however, work perfectly in his recipe for barbecued shrimp. The second time around, I made some modifications: Oil for sauteeing 3 C chopped onion 2 jalapeno chiles, minced 2 poblano chiles, chopped 4 t minced garlic 2 2-ounce cans anchovies in oil, lightly drained and chopped 6 or 7 whole cloves 1-1/2 T Diamond Crystal kosher salt 1-1/2 t ground black pepper 1 large lemon, peeled (zest stripped off and reserved), cut in half crosswise 2 C dark corn syrup 1 C Steen's cane syrup 2 C malt vinegar 2 C cider vinegar 2 C water 2 C grated horseradish (about 1/2 pound fresh; well-drained if bottled) 1. In a large stock pot (at least six quarts), saute the onions and chiles until softened. 2. Add everything else. Slowly bring to a bare simmer and leave it there for about four hours. It's a lot of liquid, so it might take as long as six, but let it cook down until it's very slightly syrupy (Emeril says "barely coats a wooden spoon; I like it a little thicker than that, but that's me). When you think it's close to done, crush the lemon zest into the mixture. 3. It will thicken as it cools, but strain it while it's still quite warm, or you'll never recover all the liquid. 4. Use standard canning procedures. Process for 15 minutes. Let age for at least two weeks. This has more body (for some, that might not be desirable) than the original, and more middle heat (the poblanos, more garlic) and sweet (the poblanos and the vinegars, which replace white vinegar in Emeril's recipe), at the slight expense of what I call heavy sweetness. Next time I might add one more can of anchovies, and substitute cayenne for some of the jalapeno. My observation is that the jalapenos and anchovies lose some of their power over time.

Worcestershire Sauce This is derived from a recipe in Emeril Lagasse's Louisiana Real & Rustic. Finding the original lacking balance, I modified it for more middle heat and slightly less deep sweetness. Topic here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=78377 oil for sauteeing 3 c chopped onion 2 jalapeno chiles, minced 2 poblano chiles, chopped 4 tsp minced garlic 2 cans anchovies in oil, lightly drained and chopped 6 whole cloves 1-1/2 T Diamond Crystal kosher salt 1-1/2 tsp ground black pepper 1 large lemon, peeled (zest stripped off and reserved), cut in half crosswise 2 c dark corn syrup 1 c Steen's cane syrup 2 c malt vinegar 2 c cider vinegar 2 c water 2 c grated horseradish (about 1/2 pound fresh; well-drained if bottled) 1. In a large stock pot (at least six quarts), saute the onions and chiles until softened. 2. Add everything else. Slowly bring to a bare simmer and leave it there for about four hours. It's a lot of liquid, so it might take as long as six, but let it cook down until it's very slightly syrupy (Emeril says "barely coats a wooden spoon;" I like it a little thicker than that, but that's me). When you think it's close to done, crush the lemon zest into the mixture. 3. It will thicken as it cools, but strain it while it's still quite warm, or you'll never retrieve all the liquid. 4. Use standard canning procedures. Process for 15 minutes. Let age for at least two weeks. Keywords: Easy, Condiment, Hot and Spicy, Marinade ( RG1503 )

Are you guys saying that you can't brown over medium heat on a conventional range, or that you can't brown in a non-stick pan following the manufacturer's instructions? I'll go out on a limb and say that I don't think either is true, if you're willing to accept a $1600 KitchenAid range as more or less conventional. As for this new stuff, Dupont is typically opaque as to details, but it seems possible that they've mixed aluminum flakes or something like that (is that possible, fifi?) into one of the three layers they describe to spread the heat, but I also suspect that the big "innovation" is mandating a certain aluminum thickness in the license. Of course, the real problem with well-made non-stick aluminum cookware isn't hot spots per se, but warpage -- a true, but different, definition of "hot spot."

I think it depends on which Swift brand you buy. According to this page, Swift Premium Guaranteed Tender is "Enhanced with up to 10% of Swift’s proven solution." Swift Natural Fresh Pork, on the other hand, claims to be 100% pork.

I can vouch for its efficacy in this regard, as Ronnie was a tomato slave at Varmint's. I rather liked the knife, which Ronnie let me work with a bit. Unfortunately, I had to clean potato salad out of Marlene's jewelry, so my play time was limited. I don't recall the feel of the handle to be all that similar to my Shun santoku with the asymmetrical handle (which, salespeople have told me, some lefties think is the best handle ever made. Go figure.)

Exactly. This is because the stuff that's not water-soluble (which includes most of the flavor components of herbs and spices) isn't contributing to the brine, per se -- it's a marinating component of the liquid, and never gets much past the surface of the meat.

Michael, you have had your say. Now it's time to move on. We are not going to continually rehash the handling of any given topic or the deletion of a post. Not only has all this been explained to you in private correspondence, but it is a never-ending process that we don't permit, for reasons we have explained many times. For the record: we have thoroughly investigated Rocketman's identity. He is not a chef, not a sous chef, not Michael Psaltis. He does not appear to be involved in the culinary community in any way, except by acquaintance. He is surely a friend of one or both Psaltises -- but then, you don't need to know his name to determine that, do you? We know his name (a rather common one), his address (a big city) and where he works (at a desk job unrelated to the culinary world). Knowing any of this wouldn't change a thing, and we are going to maintain his anonymity per our policies. If he violates the member agreement, we will delete his posts (and have on several occasions), just as we will delete any post that violates the member agreement. The issue of Rocketman is closed. It is inappropriate -- not to say inconsiderate -- that we have had to speak so specifically and publicly about a member in response to these incessant harangues. Of course we know there's a potential conflict of interest whenever a member of management is close to a debate. That's why we don't allow those conflicts to affect our moderating policy. A manager -- even the executive director -- who gets close to a debate is required from the point of their involvement to act as a participant. Everybody who has had a point to make in the Psaltis discussion has had the opportunity to make it -- repeatedly -- including you, Michael. You are still complaining that your post about anonymity was removed, even though you were allowed to start this whole, lengthy topic on the subject. Likewise, the purpose of this topic was not to rehash the Psaltis affair but, rather, to discuss the phenomenon of psuedonyms and what they mean for online discussion. That discussion is worth pursuing. From this point on, rehashing of: any specific topic; any decision to delete; or any member's status will be removed without further comment. And no, Michael, you won't receive an explanation. You should be smart enough to know that when a moderator says stop and you continue, your post will be removed.

Shameless self-promotion department: At the other end of this link is a negligible article on what to do with your microwave: Better than the column, however, is the discussion topic attached to it, which has a number of excellent suggestions.

We've tolerated lots of borderline off-topic discussion of motive, anonymity and disclosure in this topic, because in most cases it's been germane. It's less so now, especially since it revolves around factual issues that have been pretty thoroughly wrung out. New discussion points and/or new facts are welcome. Anything else is subject to deletion.

Awesome, Susan. That pan screams "Fried chicken."

Brilliant. Do you have a recipe?

We had a recipe?

Damn. She figured it out.

I'm all for lovely assistants. However, Russ Parsons has a foolproof almost-no-stir polenta (actually, I think he admits stealing it from Paula Wolfert) in How to Read a French Fry: just mix everything together and bake. I think it gets stirred once.

You bet. But if you change your mind and do the trays in formalwear, please post pictures.

Yellow Truffle explains here.

This is why we trust Steven to teach us how to get the best out of restaurants.

Very carefully! I did this once with hardwood charcoal (as opposed to briquets). The foil melted. I had no idea how hot that stuff could get.

I assume you're in something of an emergency situation. I mean, if I could get parrafin, well, I'd get a chimney instead! Sprinkle (don't douse) two or three full-sized sheets of newspaper with a neutral vegetable oil. Crumple it up (just enough to give it structure) and set it on the charcoal grate of your grill, with the vents wide open. Make a sort of grate over the crumple with thin sticks and twigs. Gently place a layer of charcoal on the twig-grate. Light the newspaper. The oil turns the paper into a sort of wick, lengthening the burn time and giving the twigs a good chance to ignite. Once the layer of charcoal has gotten started, you can add more on top and around the edges.

I don't think 24 hours is outrageous. That amount of sugar is. You'll turn your turkey into something quite unlike turkey (oh, wait -- maybe that's the point?) I'm also wondering how one brines a turkey in ten cups of water. Fifi's right that all that other stuff won't make much difference -- if it's not water-soluble, it won't be carried in with the brine -- even if it is water-soluble, it might not matter.

This topic is animated enough without using exaggeration to counter exaggeration. Let's stick to facts and opinions, please.

Thanks for the reference, toliver. One thing I would add is the importance of holding back some of the fat in the initial processing. I've found that you can let the potatoes cool, keep them warm (any of the suggestions already mentioned will work), whatever -- as long as you beat the last portion of fat in as you're bringing them up to service temperature.

This one? ← Ah. Sorry. That would have been this one. Note the "edit" tag at the bottom of the post.

Bordain's post hasn't gone anywhere: click