ChrisTaylor

Heh. I've had the same reaction to amaretto in things. Was something I found in the drinks thread, maybe. Just a small quantity of amaretto in the mix, pretty much like you see there. And, too, it was also going up against Campri. And Campari has a strong flavour--it doesn't fuck around. Might've even been the same drink. But all you can taste, at all, once you add amaretto to something is that medicinal bitter almond quality.

I think you're giving me permission to just not include it at all. I dislike sweet things.

I can get glucose, yes.

I'm making the hot dogs from Ruhlman's Charcuterie. To 1.5 kg beef he adds 30mL light corn syrup. I understand is popular in the States but it's not popular in Australia. Without searching high and low--I'm sure it exists somewhere--what I have access to is dark corn syrup, which includes some sort of caramel flavouring, and vanilla-flavoured light corn syrup. Would I be better off just using, say, golden syrup?

I'm using Monte Alban too. The range of mezcals I have access to is very limited. I think the big chains sell maybe three different kinds and, according to reviews, Monte Alban was the pick of them. EDIT I was using Herradura anejo as the base, too.

I decided to try cooking (farmed) pheasant sous vide. I guess I was lucky in that most of the recipes I found online were essentially the same. Either this reflects how incestuous the internet is, particularly when it comes to cooking blogs, or it suggests that multiple people in multiple places all arrived at pretty much the same place after experiments and/or happy accidents. The breasts were bagged with a little bit of truffled salt, some black pepper and some olive oil. 30 minutes at 62C then chilled and seared. The legs were cooked at 75C for 5 hours with a 'fair bit' of olive oil in the bag. I guess I was shooting for a confit-like texture, although the goal was hazy. I didn't cure the legs like most pheasant confit recipes called for, though. The random off-cuts such as the neck (I gave the head to one of the cats) and wings, as well as the main body of the carcass, were given a short roast (20 minutes, 190C) and then bagged with a little bit of water. I also cooked these at 75C for 5 hours. The intent was to make a simple pan sauce. A sous vide gravy, if you will. What surprised me, opening the bag several hours later, was that there was very little liquid. Very little. If you tried to reduce it, which was my original plan, you'd end up with a dry pan. The pheasant was served with roasted vegetables (beetroot, sweet potato, carrot, onion and Jerusalem artichokes). Thoughts: The skin on the breasts probably didn't crisp up enough. Next time I think I'd remove it, whether or not I intended to crisp it up some other way (deep-frying, et al). Was happy with the texture of the flesh, tho'. The legs were a little dry. Not overly so. But maybe needed a little more oil. Or, say, duck fat or lard. Either/or would be better than the ev olive oil I used. Instead of trying to make a 'pan' sauce in a bag I think I'd throw the pheasant carcass, along with some chicken wings, in the pressure cooker, make a stock and then reduce that. Maybe throw in a little white wine. Granted, the sauce did have a nice flavour to it. Too, if you happened to have an ice cube or two of frozen chicken (or, say, actual pheasant) stock on hand, you could throw that in the bag in place of water. Possibilities.

Another local-ish beer. Red Duck's Overland Bright Ale. A bit more interesting than the Sightings.

A slightly modified take on the Oaxaca Old-Fashioned. Modifications stemming from prior experience with tequila-based OFs (grapefruit bitters) and what I had on hand. 1.5 oz aged tequila, .5 oz mezcal, 1 tsp dark agave syrup, 2 dashes grapefruit bitters, 1 dash Angostura bitters, lemon twist, single large ice cube. Nice but I think next time I'd maybe try using 1.75 oz tequila to .25 oz mezcal. Or maybe losing the Angostura in favour of, say, chocolate mole. Maybe the spicy chocolate-ness would make friends with the smoky mezcal.

The company that sent me the wasabi also emailed me some detailed instructions on how to grow it. Nice touch.

Visiting, sort of, Harcourt again. Not literally. But with booze. This time it's Sightings' American Pale Ale, which I picked up on a recent trip to the area. Found a bottle-o that sold a lot of locally made beers. It's nice enough, I suppose. Perhaps even good enough to qualify as very good. A bit hoppy but not overly so. Crisp with a slightly bitter finish. It's not like this stuff is sitting on the shelves anywhere near where I live, but if I remember--next time I'm up that way and all--I might pick up some more at some point.

Agree with this. And in the case of red onions there's something off, not sure what it is, about the texture. Maybe the layers a bit thinnier than the layers on a white or brown onion. You know, just a thought and all, but have you considered something like dropping some roasted whole shallots into the mix? An added textural/flavour thing. I think it'd work.

It's a cider, sure, but yes. Henry of Harcourt makes some of the best ciders in Australia. Maybe the best. I mean, it's not like, off the top of my head, I can think of anything better. But their 2Pear seasonal/limited/whatever edition, man, that's nice. Clean and crisp. Dry. Only lightly (bottle) carbonated. I doubt he makes enough to export--yeah, there's a guy called Henry in a place called Harcourt that's unsurpsingly known for growing apples and pears and, in recent years, cider--but if he does, if it turns up somehow, it's all worthwhile.

Not sous vide but I am using my PID controller and slow cooker: pork picadillo set to simmer at 94C. I put the probe inside an unsealed zip lock bag.

Have you seen booko.com.au? AUD prices, I know, but it finds the cheapest source for any title you search for, including postage (if applicable).

Really? Generally I receive orders within a week or two. Rarely does it take longer. Amazon, on the other hand, can range--and I'm only talking about their entry-level shipping deal here--from a week to the best part of a month. I figured it'd be the same for New Zealanders, too.

I rate Book Depository too. Free shipping for all. Woo.

Albuquerque Old Fashioned from Kindred Cocktails. Subbed in Tabasco--hey, people use it in a Bloody Mary--in place of the habanero shrub. Don't have habanero shrub, obviously. I suspect I need a bit more Tabasco than the 5 drops specified for it to really come through. This was an experiment that worked, however.

Why shouldn't he use salt?

A little bit of pork is a nice inclusion. Too, I use passata.

I hit the ribs w/ salt and pepper then give them a fairly short roast. Hit them with a squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the fat.

Yeah. That. What heidih said. I mean, what came to mind for me was a guy I work with. He's a vegetarian but extends his list of 'forbidden foodstuffs' to include onions, garlic or anything in that delicious, delicious family of oniony things. Won't eat any of them ever. He says they're stimulants. If you're thinking along those lines or are, say, allergic, then maybe basically everything suggested so far is useless to you. Then again, you mentioned ramps, which I assume are in the same family, so perhaps that's not the case. But, too, what's wrong with onions? I mean, onions do enhance the flavours of other ingredients. You're caramelising them all the way, right? EDIT For the sake of adding a new suggestion, try white onions. In Australia at least they're slightly more expensive than the brown ones but I think they're better in most onion applications.

Unsure if I should plant in soil or a pot (at least initially). Thoughts? EDIT I should add that I have a seedling and a bag of seeds. So I guess, really, I can do both and hope at least one batch is successful. Too, just ordered some more seeds. Fennel, padron peppers and ancho chilli.

The '12 season has just opened round these southern parts. In the past couple weeks I've planted -- salisfy -- beetroot (random selection of heirloom varieties) -- jerusalem artichokes -- carrots (random selection of heirloom varieties) -- radishes (ditto) -- couple kinds of strawberry -- couple kinds of lime -- half dozen varieties of chilli -- ditto, plus a couple, for tomatoes -- tomatillos! never seen these sold in australia in grocers, aside from the (rare) can on the shelf at a specialist grocery store. currently nerding out over this. -- standard selection of herbs: parsley, three kinds of basil (sweet, purple, Thai), couple kinds of mint, coriander, chervil, thyme (couple kinds), rosemary, dill, tarragon, oregano, sage -- bay Over the next few days--school holidays, nice weather--I want to rip up some of the shit around the side of the house and install some parsnips, maybe some capsicums, possibly some other berries. Just ordered some wasabi and Mexican coriander, too.

I'd suspect it's a lack of confidence in their cooking. A sense you set a standard that cannot match or surpass. I wouldn't attribute it to rudeness.

I managed to find Sibilia on a menu last night. Hadn't heard of it until this thread. Or seen it, even. Luckily I now know where I can get it. This stuff is amazing. Truly bitter. Not disgustingly so, of course, but I totally understand the 'you can't substitute this' comment. I mean, I have a decent collection of cocktail bitters and most of the amari readily avaliable to me but I can't think of anything that would be a fair replacement.