IndyRob
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Posts posted by IndyRob
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... I suspect that spirits aged in charred oak barrels came about not because someone had an epiphany, but rather that they ran out of barrels and, rather than pouring the rest of the product on the ground, they decided to store the remaining product in those barrels behind the barn that were damaged in the last fire (after a good cleaning). And those got opened absolutely last. Then the epiphany came...
Nice idea, but maybe more to do with the relative cost of barrels left over from importing foreign booze, compared with barrels made new from the vast swathes of oak forest in the UK's massive area of land, that hadn't been whittled down at all for purposes like shipbuilding ?,I would imagine that barrel re-use would have been the norm. But not necessarily using burned barrels or keeping them in the containers for any longer than it would take to distribute.
I was in Louisville, Ky. during the Maker's Mark fire some years back. It was quite the inferno. I doubt that it was the first distillery fire.
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I was told that with Cognac and whisky and other aged spirits, aging is merely marketing. And of course that's a load of crap. Try a line up of a couple of different vintages of anything that matures and you'll pick that right away.
Sorry, I think I inartfully tried to make my point while trying to be concise. Here's what I was thinking....
First, we have a relatively simple goal. Make something that tastes like (or similar to, but better than) something else. Here, we're talking about something out of a bottle. Texture isn't really an issue. We're not talking about replicating things related to service (temperature, ice, the shape of the glass), just flavor - and maybe color and smell.
Even if we had a pure scientific method for measuring flavors, they'd be meaningless. Like colors, everyone perceives flavors differently. It's a biological fact. And, they also perceive them in the context of their own experiences. Plus, like smells, flavors can evoke memories.
That's why, if I seemed a bit dismissive, it was because the goals, in the end, are more than man man - they're mind-made.
Take the New Coke debacle. Pepsi is slaughtering Coke in blind taste tests and is picking up marketshare on the back of it. So Coke decides they need to do something about it and creates a formula that wins those taste tests. Great, now they have a better product, right? No, it's an astounding disaster.
Coke and Pepsi are both products that most people will like at first taste. But when we move in the realm of things like Scotch and Beer, we're talking more about acquired tastes (along with the reinforcing effects of alcohol). Acquired tastes necessarily involve some sort of social pressure (normally peer pressure) to get you to sample the product in the first place. That's where the marketing folks can start to play a role.
So, if I am able to create the blind taste test winning 'New Coke' of, say, Bourbon, can I ever be taken seriously? Especially if I said I did it with a bottle of vodka and a few drops of, um...(made-up word) methylcyoiodine?
Things that mature necessarily change over time. But was that ever really the goal? I suspect that spirits aged in charred oak barrels came about not because someone had an epiphany, but rather that they ran out of barrels and, rather than pouring the rest of the product on the ground, they decided to store the remaining product in those barrels behind the barn that were damaged in the last fire (after a good cleaning). And those got opened absolutely last. Then the epiphany came.
But does something need to be twelve years old in order for it to be good? I don't think so.
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Well, alcohol-free beer and wine don't work, so I think it's a bit rough to say there would be something special or significant in the commercial failure of booze-free whisky. Booze is an undeniably large part of the charm of whisky. It gives it that warming, comforting quality. But if I just wanted straight booze, and didn't think much of the other stuff, I'd buy the cheapest nastiest blend or vodka I could. Or take my friend's bath tub swill in old 2L Coke bottles.
Right. We're talking alcohol delivery systems. I just wanted to get that straight.
Age does make a difference. The timber does make a difference. If you taste three versions of the one product--a VS, a VSOP and a XO in the case of a Cognac--there is a significant difference in flavour. Curiously, I've always enjoyed the VS and VSOP more than the much more expensive XO.Age and timber may make a difference, but does the age and timber need to come from the storing process? Many good wines are blended. Can we not simply add some of the char of wood to the manufacture? I think there are better ways to skin this cat.
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I was just watching some TV show that had a proud display of oak charred barrels, and thought "How long before Nathan Myrvold jumps on that train?"
I'll be honest up front and say that I don't at all get spirits such as whisky, bourbon, et. al. As an outsider they appear to be referred to in whispered tones, always with a reference to the age of the spirit, the barrels, the tradition, etc., etc.,
Yeah, right. Take the alcohol out of it and see if that sense of romance stays. Absynthe seems to be the world record holder for alcoholic hype - to the extent that it got itself banned.
I don't think that any home distiller could match the established brands. But a good one with a first class marketing department could.
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Interesting. Are these predominantly locals - newly empowered due to the change in regulations?
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I really, really loved the "sudden death OT" rules: I wish they had the time to do those for every elimination. So that every week the bottom three would compete in a head-to-head challenge that didn't depend on the vagaries of team challenges, or luck of the draw, or whatever, but just cooking your best. Worst bite goes home every time. So you never get eliminated based on getting screwed by the challenge, it always comes down to who is making better food.
Absolutely! All in favor say "Aye!"
Aye! - If they add another 30 minutes to each episode.
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I was wondering about the strudel (dough). Having lived in Austria for over a decade in the '80s when Puck was up and coming I know that pulling srudel dough is non trivial.
But hey Blais (who I root for) has strudelteig hey presto...
I call foul.
--edit also it looked pre made... really the gulash et al seemed easy but
the strudel I thought would become interesting
This was bugging me and I was googling for an answer. Finally, I watched Rick Moonen doing the goulash and despite the title, he also did the strudel. The dough came from a box. He called it strudel dough, but said you could also use Phyllo dough. It looked exactly like Phyllo dough to me and was treated in the exact same way.
Again, Moonen left off the interesting garnishes.
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I've never really embraced Chinese food. I know now that I don't think I've ever actually had real Chinese food. So that's probably a bit unfair. But especially in my early experiences, there seemed to be a complete absence of proper bread. Of course, the asian countries that get invaded by France get bread. I think that's part of the deal. We invade you, and you get bread. From the French point of view, I'm sure it seems a fair deal. And now we get banh mi.
So anyway, my wife and son love these Chinese buffets. Sometimes I'll go along, but often they'll just go themselves when I'm otherwise engaged. Or I just don't want to go.
But then they told me about the place with the crab legs - all you can eat. Awesome. I'm there. But no bread. It turned into a hollow experience. Like if you go to a restaurant, have a great entree, but the waiter never delivers a single drink order. You just feel a little bit incomplete and unsatisfied.
So how evil would it be if I turned to smuggling - filling the pockets of my trenchcoat with baguette slices spread with cultured butter, and turning up my collar to conceal the consumption of my illicit fare?
Yes, I'm sure it's unlawful and unwanted. But, c'mon, it will necessarily mean that I'll eat less crab (I don't really eat that much in one sitting anyway).
Do I risk disembowlment at the hands of a dragon-tattoo festooned tong enforcer? Or rapid-fire whacks from the cane of an elderly matriarch? The disapproving stares of my fellow diners?
Or, maybe, a lucrative black market trade?
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Would adding cultured butter to sourdough make it more sour?
I would't think so. The flavor difference between regular and cultured butter is pretty subtle. And in the quantity used, I'd think there'd be very little difference. But I have been considering adding culture directly to a starter.
Back to fats, a couple of years ago I was following a foccacia recipe when I realized that a good quantity of olive oil that was meant to be reserved and used on and under the dough, got added directly to it. I wound up with a very wet dough and discovered my mistake upon reviewing the recipe. But I decided to drop some dough in a small oiled pan, let it proof and see what happened. It actually wasn't bad. The crumb had a dense texture somewhere between bread and biscuit. I thought that if it were refined a little, it would be good for the sort of boule-shaped loaf you get at some Italian(ish) restaraunts meant to be torn apart and dipped in olive oil and/or balsamic.
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We need the Modernist Cuisine Channel.
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Well, maybe the low expectations helped, but I thought the show was okay. This isn't an instructional type program, it's modified version of Dinner: Impossible. More time, but with the quirky molecular blingstronomy done by the quirky, often overly optimistic, and nearly always diplomatically deprived chef.
Marcel's Meltdown might've been a better title.
I think I'll keep watching. How else am I going to find opportunities to mutter "Really, Marcel? More foam?"
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I don't think it's a spoiler when it's so blatant. I wasn't even watching it very closely. When it was over, my wife asked me who I thought will win, and I said I already know Blaise wins, and rewound it for her.
That's basically what I was saying.
But I'll blame you if Blaise doesn't win.
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When Padma was saying "You are Top Chef" on the Next Time On Top Chef at the end. She was looking to her right when she said it.
Blais was on her right.
Just sayin'...
i noticed that too, but you have to think they know that a lot of people would focus on that.
Normally I would take dim view of these sorts of spoiler posts, but based on some other recent teaser fails, I think it's legitimate to bring it up.
I think I've made a few comments about them telegraphing results in this thread. They used to be really clever about this. But lately, I feel that they have been testing the limits and have often gone over the line.
Unfortunately, when someone analyzes the preview, it comes down to analyzing which side Padma is wearing her brooch on. Did they swap left and right to cover themselves?
I don't care. But I am absolutley certain that the producers are not taking the care that is demanded of the contestants.
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I can't agree with the entirety of this premise. There were not that many cooking shows being broadcast when the majority of married women were still home during the day.
In the late '70s and '80s there were just a couple broadcast during the day - in my area Graham Kerr was broadcast at 5:30 p.m. ...
I had to check my memory with the help of the world wide wikipedia. Kerr's The Galloping Gourmet went from '69 to '71. That correlates well with my memory of watching him in the early afternoons in the midwest at the age of 7 or 8.
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Still in process of designing/rigging Ghetto Vac 5000.... coming soon.... hopefully!
Looking forward to it. I had occasion to drag out the ShopVac the other day. When I turned it on I was impressed by the power of the vacuum. Of course, this immediately made me ponder the ways in which it might be employed in the culinary arts.
Today I discovered GLAD Press'n Seal plastic wrap. I'm pretty sure a marriage is possible here, but a preliminary FoodSaver powered test revealed that some development of technique will be required.
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I was really routing for Antonia, but think she made a tactical mistake in her last supper meal. There's no way you're going to produce an authentic Japanese meal like Morimoto's mother would have made. I was hoping she would somehow try to essentially use his childhood dishes as an inspiration rather than as a template. I mean, there are soups you can use miso in that aren't the traditional Japanese miso soup. And there are ways to do sticky rice that aren't straight sushi rice. I'm not saying it would have been easy -- Mike had a much easier meal to make modifications to. But both Mike and Blais added their own personalities to those dishes, while Antonia played it very straight. Playing it straight might have been fine if she was cooking for someone whose last meal was Italian. But given what she was faced with, I think her only chance to win that challenge was to go pretty far afield from Japanese home cooking.
This is pretty much exactly what Collichio said in the extended judge's table video on the Bravo site.
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Who is marco pierre white?
He was Gordon Ramsay's Gordon Ramsay and cult idol for young line cook Anthony Bourdain.
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Yes, cooking Japanese food for Morimoto's last meal would be hard enough even for a trained Japanese chef. To give that challenge any one of these three...., well, that was just sadistic. So I'm glad they turned to the sudden death overtime bite.
BTW, Richard mentioned he didn't have a recipe for strudel dough, but appeared to make nice looking strudel. Did he find some phyllo dough back there or something?
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I generally avoid these things. The idea is good if you have a great product. But usually I find it's a frozen pizza or something. I think once in around 20 years I've actually bought something based on an in-store tasting. I think that was some sort of dip made by the store's deli dept.
There are definitley no upscale samplers in my area.
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How many episodes do you give it?
It sounds like a not very good show on the wrong network. How many episodes did "Blais Off" last on the Science Channel?
I only found two. Were those pilots? But there was some promise. I bet if someone gave all the footage to the right people it could be made into something good.
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A thought I had earlier in the thread....Making something once is always worth the trouble. It's a MacGuyver thing.
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I haven't seen this yet. In fact, I wasn't even aware of it until this thread. My DVR has committed to me that it will record the next airing no matter how bad it is. But the description on the guide seemed to say nothing that would imply that any sort of useful information would be involved.
Does anyone think it works on the let's-get-this-trainwreck-on-film-for-our-own-amusement level?
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It would definitely have to be deep-fat frying in mass quantities (fries, chips, etc). I don't find it a problem to take some fat, stick a thermo in it and let it heat on the burner in a dutch oven. Actually, I enjoy it, but it gets pricey as I use fresh oil every time I cook at home.
Second, is basic condiments. Ketchup, Mayo, that sort of thing. Heinz and Hellmans are hardly ever matched.
You've captured my view and I'm jumping on the deep frying bandwagon. Until someone invents a cooking vessel that can make efficient use of cooking oil for deep frying, I'm out.
And Mayo, I absolutely love to make it. It's so magical. But so inferior. When really I'm looking for anything more than Hellman's, I can add some garlic or sriracha.
You bread heathens, though,....we're going to have to have words....
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At age 10 or 11 or so, my Mom taught me to make Crepes Suzette. Well, that's what she said they were. In a later restauraunt moment slightly uncomfortable to us all, I learned that Crepes Suzette did not involve cottage cheese and frozen sweetened strawberries. Instead, my order caused a whispered conversation between Mother and waitress - one that involved words like 'wine' and 'alcohol'. I was summarily informed that I would not like this version, and was left to work out my confusion until later in life.
Still, I had learned to make proper crepes and I've since substituted fresh strawberries macerated in balsamic and sugar for the frozen ones. It's still good. But I'm calling them "Crepes Esther" now.
"America's Next Great Restaurant"
in Food Media & Arts
Posted · Edited by IndyRob (log)
Sriracha? That came from a thread here. Not sure if I'm ready to commit - although I am loving it on my scrambled eggs.