David A. Goldfarb

I've sampled a homebrewed potato vodka made by an acquaintance of mine who lives in upstate New York, and it was a smooth and complex thing, which isn't a kind of flavor I'd associate with "moonshine," though I suppose any artisanal spirits might meet a legal definition of that term. This acquaintance mentioned that he followed a homemade spirits discussion forum (is it "moonshine," if it's got an internet discussion board?), and one of the more active members there took pride in making spirits from discarded stale breakfast cereal, like Froot Loops, and it was surprisingly good. Froot Loops Vodka definitely sounds like moonshine to me.

My slaw of the moment is a Filipino achara made with green papaya like the Thai version. The recipe I use is based on the version in Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan's excellent book (and I'm not just saying that because they are friends--it really is one of the best Filipino cookbooks out there), Memories of Philippine Kitchens. Romy and Amy's version that they serve in their restaurant is made with rice vinegar, hot peppers, ginger, garlic, and salt and is fairly mild. I had them over for dinner and made it with a sharper premium cane vinegar imported from the Philippines and a little more chili, and Amy heartily approved.

Nice light!

My Cuisinart lives on top of the microwave, so I don't have to move it, and it doesn't take up additional counter space.

I've had the Cuisinart self-freezing model for a number of years. It's worked fine except for the knob which broke once. It cost about $5 to replace. It is also kind of noisy. It takes about 40 minutes to an hour to freeze five cups of chilled ice cream base.

I've had this grinder for several years, and it grinds well if it's kept clean, but the cleaning process is tedious, and I had to figure it out on my own by trial and error. If it isn't cleaned, the grind becomes too fine and somewhat uneven, and it tends to spray coffee grounds all over the counter. When it's clean, the grind is even over the whole adjustment range, and most of the coffee drops straight down out of the spout, so you can grind directly into an espresso filter basket without getting coffee everywhere. I downloaded the most recent manual several months ago, and it seems they've redesigned it to make it easier to disassemble, but the version that I have was clearly not meant to be user serviceable. There are no instructions for disassembly in the original manual. The first step is to remove a set screw on the back, which requires a Torx bit (the newer version uses a standard Philips head screw). Then there's a left-hand threaded acorn nut that holds down a round metal apron that guides the beans into the funnel, and to unscrew this nut, you need to keep the burrs from moving. To do this, I insert a wooden skewer into the spout where the ground coffee comes out to hold the bottom burr while unscrewing the acorn nut with a socket on a T-wrench. On the newer version, the funnel/adjustment ring simply screws out. Once that and the small metal piece are removed, the funnel, which is also the grind adjustment ring, can be unscrewed, and you can access the burrs. I brush them out and remove caked on coffee with the same wooden skewer used to stabilize the burrs in the earlier step. To calibrate the grind adjustment ring, the instructions for the later version of the grinder apply to the earlier version. The manual can be found here-- http://shared.whirlpoolcorp.com/product_li...g200&siteCd=KAD

My Italian neighbors who can tomatoes blanch them in stockpots that size over propane burners in their backyards. An induction burner sounds a lot safer.

Last week I made a Basque chicken dish which yielded as a byproduct about 3 cups of reduced gelatinous chicken-chorizo stock, which I've saved in the freezer. I don't know what I'll use it for yet, but it was too good to throw away.

I couldn't resist the quail eggs in the Union Square Greenmarket yesterday, so this morning's breakfast, with a little inspiration from Thomas Keller's poached "Bacon and Eggs" (mine are hard boiled), was deviled quail eggs with homemade pancetta-- To hard boil quail eggs, put eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes, then chill in ice water and peel under cold water. The eggs have a surprisingly thick membrane, so the trick to peeling them without breaking is to break the membrane and let a little water in to separate it from the white. It's a little tedious. I'm glad I restrained myself and only bought a dozen quail eggs, even though they were $3 a dozen, $5 for two dozen. The egg salad is made from the quail egg yolks and whites that broke while peeling, a little mayonnaise, grainy mustard, and a brunoise of chornichons. I put the extra quail egg salad over cucumber slices.

Green yolks are more a matter of not cooling quickly enough than overcooking usually. I usually simmer ten minutes for hard boiled eggs and then plunge them in ice water, changing the water a few times as it warms up, so that the eggs are cooled thoroughly before refrigerating them.

Impressive!

The NYC trans-fat law is aimed at improving health in poor neighborhoods, where there aren't a lot of healthy options and people aren't necessarily literate or educated about food choices (a much deeper problem that requires a much broader solution), where marketing and peer pressure contribute to young people eating a lot more in fast food chains than they would, if they were making fully rational and free choices. It is not as if partially hydrogenated oils make the food better in any way. They are used because they are cheaper and last longer in the fryer.

Rumaki, the name of which evoked a whiff of exoticism, but which doesn't seem to be of any particular exotic origin--a piece of sauteed chicken liver and half a canned water chestnut wrapped in bacon, held together with a toothpick. Wikipedia suggests that it was probably invented by Trader Vic.

I haven't made an ice cream thickened with cornstarch (I almost always use an egg custard base), but a base thickened with cornstarch would be something like a blancmange, so you might start there.

It sounds like their sodium levels are truly egregious, but it's not as if any sane person would order something like the Meat Lover's Scramble with the idea that it was good for their health.

The best I've been able to find in New York is Celles-sur-Belle, which I prefer to most of the European and domestic European-style butters I've tried here, but I'm sure it doesn't compare to what can be found locally, handmade in small batches.

From the photographs posted by John Curtas, I'm guessing they're all aged in the same room, but they are probably selecting as they go, cutting primals that look like they're going to decline and letting the ones that look like they can take a few more weeks without going bad continue to age. It is probably hard to predict which ones will start molding first, as is the case with salami and other cured meats.

Pasta, pretty much as heidih does it, also nice as a one-pan dish sauteed with chicken or veal and some shallots or poached with fish. I haven't tried it, but I could see a chanterelle stuffing being a nice thing for poultry, chicken, or rolled fish fillets. 20 lbs is a big haul. I'd dry most of them, and then you'll have them on hand for stews when the weather gets cooler.

Thanks for the clarification.

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in small amounts enhances yeast growth and will produce a springier dough. It could be that vinegar is doing the same thing.

Had an unplanned guest, so I only had time for one photo, but tonight's dinner was-- Cold cucumber soup with cold potato foam (i.e., last night's leftover hot potato foam). This was simple and very effective. The soup was just a whole English cucumber, about 3/4 cup frozen chicken consommé, and the juice of one lemon, pureed in a blender, a mound of potato foam on top, garnished with thin strips of lemon zest made with a zester. Poulet au riz basquais from Elizabeth David's French Country Cooking This was a very quick photograph, so I didn't have a chance to arrange it so that you can see the rice, but it's a dish that photographs very nicely and tastes great, so I'll have to have another go at it. I was able to find piment d'Espelette for this at O & Co at Grand Central Terminal and chorizo imported from Spain at Murray's Cheese Shop. Strawberries and fresh whipped cream for dessert. Since the Thermo Whip was otherwise occupied with potatoes, I whipped the cream the old fashioned way with a whisk.

Since I got a Thermo Whip a couple of days ago, it's pretty much guaranteed that every dinner is going to involve a foam for the next few weeks. Last night I indoor-grilled a big porterhouse with a soy-sesame marinade, boiled corn on the cob, and tried a potato foam. I sort of like lumpy mashed potatoes made with a fork, and potato foam is the opposite extreme (with whipped potatoes made with a stand mixer somewhere in the middle), but I can see the attractions of the foam, where I might want the flavor of potatoes without filling up on potatoes, or if there's a potato famine, I'll be able to feed a family of twelve with one potato.

I was in Zabar's yesterday and noticed that they have quite a few Induc'Inox pieces on the shelves. I don't have an induction range, so I'm not interested in them myself, but they seem quite well made with the same cast iron handles generally, at least for the long handled pieces I looked at, as their professional copperware. They are also advertised to work well with traditional heat sources, but I haven't tested that myself. The Zabar's website only lists a small fraction of what they carry, so if you can't stop in the store, it's probably best to call them. Phone number, etc., at-- http://www.zabars.com/housewares/Housewares,default,sc.html If the line is discontinued, you can probably bargain with them a bit, particularly if you take a display piece after the rest of the stock is sold, or if you are getting a few different pieces. I've gotten some great deals there on discounted tin-lined Mauviel copperware, which hasn't been discontinued by the manufacturer, but Zabar's has apparently decided only to carry the stainless lined versions.

Since some of the links referenced at the beginning of this thread are now dead-- There is an English translation of the basic outline for making espumas from the Adrià pamphlet here-- http://www.espumas.at/preparations/the-espuma-method/en/ Click on "Preparations" on the left side for other useful suggestions, and click on "Recipes" for, well, recipes.

I've been to Project Basho and have met a few times in Philadelphia and New York with Tsuyoshi Ito, who runs it, and it's a great institution that he's building. Anything they do is sure to be of high quality.