Mjx

I'm seriously impressed (especially since Valentine's Day hasn't really made any inroads here in DK + I become excruciatingly embarrassed by traditional displays of sentiment, so I'll be lalala-ing/whistlingly turning a blind eye to the entire holiday ). Did you use the same cutter to create the veg hearts and the chocolate ones?

Just curious, here: I add oil (usually olive oil) to dough to relax it, particularly when I'm making empanadas; how does using L-cysteine stack up against using oil, in term of working texture?

My first thought was exfoliating gloves, if you can get hold of some; I use them to clean potatoes (they make them in brown, and marked 'potatoes', for this very purpose, but they're the exact same things, just more expensive), and they make a quick job of it. They are pretty durable, cheap, and take a good deal of the skin off new potatoes (more so, if they've been soaking for 5 minutes or so). Or, if the skin on the ginger is thickish, perhaps you could use the mail gloves you already have?

First thing that springs to mind is peposo. Just a cheap cut of beef, tomatoes, garlic, a little wine, and lots of pepper, braised for a couple of hours, then reduced. Since traditionally, the meat isn't even browned, there's very little fat. Yet, the flavour is so intense, it's borders on the uncomfortable to eat without an accompaniment (potatoes are traditional, but I have problems with them, so I often go with a red lentil puree). I'm sure it's possible to gorge yourself on this, but no one I know seems to do this. I'd put dried fruit and bresaola in this category, too. Let's look at what you're talking about, though... Leaving aside the fact that many cheap cuts are actually quite high in fat, you're not exactly saying that peposo makes you full so much as you're saying that the intensity of flavor makes it difficult for you to eat all that much of it. Considering that you're eating it with an accompanying starch, the guess is that you don't necessarily eat a notably smaller quantity of food when you're having this dish. That's the thing: I actually do eat less. In fact, I made a version of this tonight, with some venison. It was delicious, but about a 3/4 cup of rice with about the same amount of peposo over it was as much as I could handle (there were no other dishes, this was it). My boyfriend had a little more but not much. Once it is reduced, the tartness of the tomatoes approaches the richness of tomato concentrate. Well, I can't disagree, and I'm not arguing against any of the points you make. The questions were whether intensely flavoured things satisfied in smaller quantities, and whether intensely flavoured foods were very likely to be rich in fat. My own impression (confirmed empirically, if not exactly representatively, since I don't know all that many people) is that richly-flavoured foods do seem to satisfy at smaller quantities; and the foods I mentioned were simply examples intensely-flavoured foods that are not particularly high in fat (I'm not looking at this from a health standpoint, by the way, just source-of-flavour perspective). Your point about, say, dried apricots still being simply apricots minus the water is absolutely correct, but the thing is, I can eat close to a kilo of fresh apricots, one after the other, whereas over 5 or 6 dried apricots are enough for me at one go. And I just cannot eat much bresaola (2 or three slices), but I can eat a small bistecca fiorentina (0.75 kg or so) on my own. For many people (I'm not saying this is universal), there does seem to be some sort of connection between flavour intensity and satiety, and it seems to be something independent of high levels of fat to carry the flavour.

First thing that springs to mind is peposo. Just a cheap cut of beef, tomatoes, garlic, a little wine, and lots of pepper, braised for a couple of hours, then reduced. Since traditionally, the meat isn't even browned, there's very little fat. Yet, the flavour is so intense, it's borders on the uncomfortable to eat without an accompaniment (potatoes are traditional, but I have problems with them, so I often go with a red lentil puree). I'm sure it's possible to gorge yourself on this, but no one I know seems to do this. I'd put dried fruit and bresaola in this category, too. I should mention that I do tend to seek out this type of food, because rich things (meaning those containing a fair amount of fat) tend to make me queasy, if I eat more than a little.

I don't know why more richly flavoured foods might make people feel more full – or more satisfied, which is not exactly the same – with smaller amounts, but I've noticed that it does, and when discussing it with others, many have mentioned experiencing a similar effect, almost as though the brain is somehow keeping track of flavour units as a measure of how much has been eaten.

This may not fly with the people you know, but if a gathering this big is really rare for you, is there any chance you could ask to borrow the pieces you need from one of your guests? Given the size of NYC apartments, you probably don't want pieces you virtually never use taking up space, regardless of the material they're made of. I don't think it's ever occurred to me to use paper or plastic, apart from for picnics and barbecues (where there was an excellent chance of things being lost or damaged). I've just stuck with inviting smaller numbers of guests, although I almost inevitably end up using very obviously mismatched pieces.

I wonder whether the various perceptions have most to do with the culinary tradition one knows best; when I think of intense flavours, I think in terms of seasoning and reduction, rather then something with a great deal of fat; I grew up with Tuscan cooking, wich tends to be relatively lean, but is often very concentrated.

I've noticed this phenomenon too, and wondered whether it is universal, or specific to some people. If nothing else, I am very aware of how full I feel if what I'm using is intensely flavoured, while I can easily eat more than a comfortable amount of something bland before noticing that I've done so. Which makes me wonder, why do conventional 'diet' foods tend to be so bland?

Please let this be an elaborate joke, please... I mean, I'm openminded and all, but bacon just would not get me going, not in that way, anyhow. Ick. On an equally uplifting, tasteful, and, unfortunately, apposite note, Stronzo beer tastes like beer with... wait for it: orange juice. Yep, this brew has it all: classy name, charming marketing, and a flavour that makes you want to pound a bottle of Jaegermeister to make it go away. YeeHah.

I also meant to add, there are commercially available bitters brands that use essential oils in their recipes. Thanks, that was exactly what I wanted to know!

Are you speaking of oils in this regard - http://www.baldwins.co.uk/Essential-Oils/Essential-Oils/344 - ? I was thinking of something (branded or not) that was a recognized bitter used in drinks (even something that was once often used, but may have fallen out of fashion). Anything like that exist? I'm familiar with essential oils, since fragrances are another area of interest for me, but most aren't safe for consumption, even if the raw ingredient itself is not necessarily toxic, as extraction methods for perfumery/aromatherapy only need to be safe for dilute application to the skin.

It kind of makes sense, although I don't have any personal bias at all; I've never had hash (although I've had biksemad), not even sure I've ever even looked at any before this, and am likely to make a hash that is at least small, partly discrete chunks of meat and... well, hokkaido. Although I'm telling myself that without potatoes, it's not really hash, so I can't include my version here, if it has no potato (but... there's also the argument that the basic hash premise involves the using-up of odds and ends of meat and starch). and I love potatoes. On the other hand, if I make it with potatoes, I'm going to be in pretty poor shape after I eat it, and hokkaido as somewhat 'potato-y' texture, so I'm tossing this back and forth in my mind.

It sounds as though alcohol extracts something that is fairly unpalatable: In ganache, the scent was distinct, but I noticed no added bitterness, so I'm guessing that the fat extracted/carried flavour far less efficiently than it did aroma (a bit in the way that an enfleurage does in perfumery). How do small quantities of fluid lipids mix in drinks? Are there any bitters that are at least partly oil-based?

I don't think it sounds strange, just that you've reached the point that few works really have something to offer that justifies their cost/shelf space (especially, as you mention, after MC). Once, many books may have had something intriguing/new/useful to offer, but by now, you know what interests you, and have a solid skill (and reference) set. I doubt I buy a cook book one once in a decade, and have about half a dozen. I consult one often, another not infrequently, and the others very rarely, or for inspiration, rather than an actual recipe. Most of my ideas for what to cook come from interacting with other people, talking with them, or walking about and just looking. I've seen quite a few cook books with interesting ideas or stunning images, but much as I love books (actually, because I love books), I can't justify buying something that I only handle on those rare occasions I work up a head of steam, and dust.

Not sure what you mean when you say 'the flavour of cigarettes'. Quite a few things have an extremely attractive (I realize this is subjective) tobacco note, and it isn't surprising that someone would want to play with that a bit, and enhance it by infusing tobacco (in this instance, I'm not speaking of a smoky note, but the actual scent of, say, loose tobacco). Tobacco is so strongly flavoured, it effectively contributes its scent in amounts tobacco that are way below that which would be toxic: I've done this with ganache/truffles. I used a government publication (Nicotiana tabacum L) the monograph Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 9 Chemistry and Toxicology (Hoffmann, D. and Hoffmann, I.) as references, and to be on the safe side, used the toxicity level for children as a guideline (no children ate these, I was just being careful, and yes, everyone knew that tobacco was a flavouring ingredient); the actual amount I used was, incidentally, way below the safe level, because it was not difficult to tell that the maximum safe level would have made the end result inedible. One can start from the assumption that guidelines for working with potentially toxic substance should be based on the fact that there are many careless imbeciles out there, but... I don't know. Careless imbeciles will always find a way to menace the population, regardless of attempts to regulate risk. What I'm saying is that I think a reasoned, rather than an emotional response is called for, when considering tobacco infusion (for the record, I've never smoked, and grew up in a family of anti-smokers).

It's definitely possible to use a knife, if you have a good sharp blade, and are willing to practice a bit (they even have a hand-slicing competition at the annual prosciutto festival in Langhirano), but we got a slicer, because a) our initial results were not great, and we had no patience at all, and b) my boyfriend fell in love with an Azeta slicer, so that was that (if you go the slicer route, you might want to take a look at Meat Slicers: The Topic).

Unless my memory is seriously letting me down, ginger beef (and chicken, and pork) is actually a fairly common item on Chinese restaurant menus, shouldn't be difficult to find (or perhaps that's the just case at the cheaper joints where I tend to run in and get take-away?). I'm fairly certain I got it at Charlie Mom just a few months ago, for example. You might have better luck finding the sort of version you describe out in Queens, though; they just seem to run to more variety out there.

I'd take ratings of most things online with a grain of salt, and I'm with the others who suggest using tapioca, and that the times given are too short. The Best Recipe (which hasn't let me down yet, in over a decade of using it), recommends 3 to 4 tablespoons of tapioca to 36 oz./1021 g. berries (6 cups of berries) for its summer fruit pie recipe (two crust), with a baking time of 20 to 25 minutes at 400 F°/205 C°, followed by 30 to 40 minutes at 350 F°/177 C° (and a cooling time of 1 to 2 hours, to allow the juices time to do their final thickening).

I really think people's use of convenience foods is in the 'If you build it, he will come' category. After all, once, everyone cooked from scratch because they had to; some hated it, some loved it, some were brilliant at it, some sucked, and most people probably didn't give it much thought, and were okay at it. As soon as various convenience foods came into existence, those who hated cooking/knew what they made was appalling/just had no time, joyously embraced them: they were lifesavers. Those who loved cooking used them far less... same as today. I don't think any one product, or even general category of products changed things in itself; the people who wanted or needed them met them halfway. It isn't even a matter of upbringing/exposure, since my sister and I, who both grew up in the same food environment (virtually no convenience foods) stand at the opposite ends of the spectrum, cookingwise: I enjoy cooking, started voluntarily when I was about eight, enjoy fiddly, time-consuming technical aspects and lots of science, am demanding to the point of psychosis about what the quality of the content of any cookbook I buy, and become depressed and miserable if things go pear-shaped; my sister never cooked until she was an au pair and in her twenties, began inauspiciously by burning some rice, hates fiddly, detailed recipes, buys cookbooks for their attractive titles or pictures, and is almost pleased when yet another culinary effort tanks. I tend to be dissatisfied with what convenience foods bring to the table, while my sister is quite likely to use them. I'm fairly certain that if convenience foods had emerged in, say, the renaissance, just as large of a percentage of people would have embraced them then, but by now we'd regard them as culinary classics.

How about hash? I have a hunch that prepped, uncooked hash would probably freeze well, too.

I'm afraid I'm out, because owing to several different things, it's pretty clear that I'm not going to be able to go anywhere for at least the next two months. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of you turn out, though

For the most part, I'm with you. Given the choice and even a small amount of available time/energy, yes, the more painstaking approach is the way to go. On the other hand (staying with the corn/maize example), sometimes the ears at the supermarket are in lousy shape, or its 22.00, just coming off a gruelling marathon of day, and honestly, stopping at the 24-hour supermarket to get corn, even if it's fantastic corn, is just not happening. That's when you reach for the freezer, and pull out the bag. Hell, on those nights, I don't even cook the corn. I eat it frozen.

I've hed several Greek desserts/sweets, but I'd say that the stand-outs were moustalevria and melomakrona (I may have botched the spellings big-time); they were unusual and interesting, but still accessible. I've also had various variations of dried figs stuffed with ganache and coated with chocolate/cacao. I don't know whether they're strictly speaking Greek, since I've also been told they were Portuguese, Spanish, and (I think) Maltese. But they are insanely good.

Anyone here used one of the cast iron 'stones', and if so, comments, regarding effects on outcomes?