Really Nice!

Are you using fresh tarragon? I ask because I cannot think of any herb or spice that has a greater deviation in flavor than fresh and dried tarragon. I find the dried kind positively repulsive. Where have I heard that before? The dried version tastes like aluminum foil. And as I eat whatever the item is, bile starts to build up in my saliva glands, and then... Uhg. But I do like fresh tarragon. It's a completely different flavor profile. edit ofr spelling

Hi gruyere, For me, yes. Anytime I can put something together at home that helps remove the mystery behind the packaging at the store is worth doing. Keller talks about the law of diminishing returns (page 14), and sometimes it seems more laborious to prepare the dish as written, so my own law of diminishing returns is to do it his way at least once, then find the shortcuts. To me the shortcuts I'm looking for are the time savers, not so much the money savers. The cookbook is but a very small representation of what the restaurant does. The only recipe I can guarantee that is presented every night is the salmon tartar in the cornet cone. I have been to The French Laundry four times and each menu is a different based on seasonality and availability of the ingredients, and based on how whimsical Keller and the staff are feeling that day. For example, there's always a caviar dish with some base to support it, foie gras seared or torchon with different garnishes every night, a fish dish depending on what came in that day, a crustacean, a veal or lamb from Four Story Hills Farm, pork from Hobbs Shore, a cheese plate, and 3 or 4 desserts including a pot de crème, and a crème brûlée... His agnolotti can have a different filling and sauce every night. If you look at his soups you'll see it's all about method. There's nothing on my four menus that's in the book, but the menus obviously carry the theme and spirit of the book. I have been a part of a group of friends who have made two (or is it three?) dinners solely from the recipes in the FL cookbook. The recipes work without fail; all will take practice at least once before attempting to present to someone else. A couple of things to note: The white truffle oil-infused custard on page 16. To make the chive tip the book says to preheat the oven to 275F. I've never been able to get it to brown at that temperature. In the same recipe it says to place the egg shells filled with custard in a baking pan and fill the pan with hot water... He does not mean hot tap water. Use water that's at least 170F otherwise you'll be cooking this dish for a long dime. I really enjoy reading every word in this book and had I known Michael Ruhlman was going to be at the Art Institute of Seattle last Friday I would have brought my copy in for him to sign his signature right next to Thomas Keller's. (side note: Michael, what are you writing now?) Anyway, to me this is an important book because I use it as a measure of my own success in the kitchen. Did I treat each ingredient with respect, did I use the proper techniques and methodology (do my brunoise cuts look the same, or does it look like I just did a rough chop), and did I feel like I gained something from the process of preparing this dish that I can use elsewhere. Edit to add here's a picture of a foie gras torchon from a recipe in the book (page 111). I didn't copy the recipe exactly, but the recipe/book influenced its outcome. Not bad if I do say so myself. Foie gras torchon (poached in veal stock) with fleur de sel, pink Hawaiian sea salt, fresh ground pepper, golden delicious apple, gewürztraminer gelée, 50-year-old balsamic vinegar, and brioche. This was taken on the picnic table in my backyard. This was a good day.

I saw that last week on Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home; it was their vegetable segment. He sauteed his greens in a little bit of water, she did the BPB thing. Hers were greener. What are you putting in the pot that would diminish a boil so much that it would take minutes for it to return? To do it properly you should never break the boil. Add your veg a little at a time; the boil doesn't break and you have a nice green veg.

The amount of energy required to get an oven or grill to 500F seems more wasteful. How much wood, gas, or electricity is required to get there? I also don't think putting river stones on or in there for "a few minutes" will suffice enough to maintain the rolling boil for the time required; depending on the item you're blanching. How would the vegetables become greener? The whole idea behind big pot blanching is to create a salty liquid that has a higher density than the liquid inside the plant. The boiling water along with the salt helps keep the chlorophyll in the plant. If you want to bring water to a rolling boil more quickly, put a lid on the pot. To keep the veg boiling at a full boil, put the veg in a little at a time, put the lid back on, and remove the veg to an icewater bath. Repeat until done. To add even more efficiency, once you're done you can use the water as a brine for a protein. This is provided that you've done it correctly and the water isn't green. Deep frying is not "essentially blanching in oil." Blanching is a moist-heat cooking method that uses water as the cooking medium. Deep frying is a dry-heat cooking method that uses oil as the cooking medium. I would not mess with using stones to heat oil.

Someone sent me an e-mail saying the photo server I was using was no longer functioning, and I can't edit the original, so here's a repeat of the post using ImageGullet. ------------------------ The basic summary: If you have two smokers and you love bacon, you have to try this. You'll make the best bacon you've ever had in your life. 1. Here are the packages of pork bellies. I was hoping to get larger pieces, but this is all they had. I bought it at a local Asian market for $2.89 a pound. 2. This is the dry brine recipe. After three days there will be about 12 ounces of liquid in the bag. 3. This is both the dry and wet brine recipes after three days. The wet brine pork got a lot of dark color (and flavor) from the molasses. I started brining both on Wednesday morning. 4. You want to create a light skin on the pork. Set up a fan to blow air on it for about an hour to create the 'pellicle.' 5. This is the wood. The original photo looks a lot better. But, that's Maple on the left, Apple on the right, and Hickory in the front. To describe them I'd say they look like rabbit droppings. I used 1.5 pounds of maple and apple each, and 3 pounds of Hickory. There was about 1/2 pound left at the end of 8 hours. 6. This is the operation. It ain't pretty but it works beautifully. The traeger is on the right. It's a wood pellet auger-driven smoker system. I used painter's tape because I didn't want the sticky stuff that duct tape leaves behind. Unfortunately, it rained after I set up the operation the night before and it started falling apart. I taped the sides of the lid, as well as the pipeline, and the grease drain. I'm guessing about 75 percent of the smoke made it inside the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) pictured on the left. 7. This is a closer look at the link to the WSM. It fell apart shortly after I took this photo. Painter's tape doesn't hold well on wet surfaces. I ended up using clear packing tape, but I still couldn't get a good connection as too much smoke was escaping. I decided to cut the end of the pipeline in 8 places, about 1.5 inches deep. I then folded back each cut and applied tape to the 8 newly created 'wings.' Sorry, but I didn't take a photo of the new connection. The tape held firm and the new connection reduced the amount of escaping smoke. Also, the WSM has three vents in the bottom, one vent on top. The vent connecting to the pipeline was wide open, the other two on the bottom were completely closed. The vent on the top was initially wide open to create a draft, and after about 30 minutes I closed it halfway. The WSM is a water smoker, meaning it has a basin in the middle to hold the water. Remove this so it doesn't interfere with the smoke. Leave the charcoal basin in the bottom to prevent smoke from leaking out or to prevent the draft from getting too strong. 8. This is the bacon as it sat in the WSM. The temperature inside never got over 100F. The day started out cloudy and cool (60F). Towards the afternoon it became sunny and warmed up to about 90F. I started the Traeger on high; about 450F for about 10 minutes. This produced a lot of smoke. I turned it down to medium (300F) for 20 minutes; then on low (150F) for 7 hours. Finally, it went back to medium for the last 30 minutes. Total smoking time: 8 hours. 9. This is the WSM as I opened the lid after smoking the pork bellies for 8 hours. There's a lot of smoke and the bacon looked lean. I placed it all in the freezer to harden for about an hour before slicing it on a Braun slicer. 10. This is the cooked bacon. I think this particular piece was originally about 12 ounces and it gave me twelve good slices and a couple not so good. The Braun slicer was on setting 2, or about 1/4 inch thick. I baked it at 425F for 15 minutes. It looked better than the photo shows. 11. Time to assemble my ultimate sandwich, the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato. I made bread while the bacon was smoking, made homemade mayonnaise, got a tomato from a neighbor's garden, and for the first time, I'm using homemade bacon. I couldn't find any local iceberg lettuce so I had to go with store bought. The remaining bacon was sliced and vacuumed sealed. 12. And here it is. The best BLT I've ever had in my life. So naturally you need one heck of a fine wine to go with it: Lafite Rothschild, 1976. You can't see it, but the wine had a beautiful red brick rim. Conclusion: Okay, we know I'm not a photographer. I'd like to say I'll never buy store bought bacon again. If I'm in a pinch and unprepared, I'll have to buy it. But, with a little bit of planning, you too can have some fantastic bacon in just four days. ---------------- Addendum: This post originated in the Pacific Northwest forum as a quest to find pork bellies, hence the initial discussion for a local purveyor. It is now rightfully placed in Adventures in Eating. This was the only time I made bacon like this. I sold the house soon after this test and now live in a condo that does not allow for bbqs, smokers, etc.

I'm going to go with the Bœuf Bourguignon this weekend (page 212). I'll post pictures.

Excellent work zeitoun! That is very impressive!!!

Who sells the lowest priced vanilla beans? I checked at my local gas station and they were out. What prices are you paying for this these days, and where?

Reminds me of the Hogan's Heroes episode when Shultze was in the bar and his wife limited him to one beer a night, so he had the beer in his helmut. It probably held about 1/2 gallon's worth.

Okay, okay, OKAY!!!! I picked some up at the gas station on the way home tonight. Obviously this hasn't been on my radar before. Tomorrow in culinary school we're supposed to bring a carbonated cola beverage originating in Atlanta, Georgia and invented by Doctor John Pemberton late in the century previous to the last one, and, for a time, the ingredients included extract of cocaine. Any suggestions?

Hi, I'm looking for French lentils lentilles du Puy, which are smaller and dark green compared to our red, brown, and yellow lentils. The French lentils hold up well in dishes when they need to be served alone, unlike the American ones that get mushy after a half hour of cooking and are pretty much reserved for soup. Anyone know of a local source? Thanks!

Actually this site makes so much sense to me. Give me bullet-point culinary verbs over verbose paragraphs any day. The recipe for carrot cake is a great example. I know how to: blend, drain, sift, drizzle, mix, bake, cool, and frost. I much prefer this method over: "In a large mixing bowl blend eggs and both sugars at medium speed with electric mixer until the eggs are well incorporated with the sugars. Slowly drizzle the canola oil at a pace that keeps the mixture blended." Just give me the ingredients and what needs to be done to them. I don't care about the size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, manner, place, frequency or time.

Yeah, but don't forget... candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.

kitchen Science by Howard Hillman is the reference you're looking for. It's not a college textbook, but does explain what goes on in the kitchen on a level we all can understand.

The only knives available at AIS are cutlery. There are no chefs', boning, slicing, bread, paring or any other kinds of knives available. All students bring their knives in a knife kit bag. Some gather so many other little items that the bag isn't large enough. A few use a tool box or fishing tackle box. I use a briefcase. As to why they don't want you to bring knives, I don't know. From the application... If selected as the winning contestant, you must be willing to work in a Todd English restaurant in New York... Damn! ELIGIBILITY RULES AND REQUIREMENTS III. You must be in excellent physical and mental health. Damn! Damn! Have you ever had a temporary restraining order issued against you or has anyone ever attempted to obtain a temporary restraining order against you? Damn Damn! Damn!

Forgive a dumb question, but why braise fish? It's already moist and tender. Seems like it would dry out (why I never eat paella) and fall apart. Is it a "real" long-term braise or a briefer encounter between the fish and water? ← It's called a white meat braise (Escoffier 2176) and the main differences from the braise that we're used to are: • Use tender cuts of meat or fish • Don't brown the meat or fish • Don't brown the vegetables • The cooking liquid is white stock • Cook until done, not for hours until the meat/fish becomes tender (because it's already tender) Personally, I like braises where the meat comes from any of the four corners of the animal. This is where the meat is toughest and it requires that long, slow cooking.

A good place to start might be Society of Wine Educators. This is a certification program for people who want to become either a Certified Specialist of Wine Certified Wine Educator Certification covers the following: Viticulture • Vine Structure & Growth Cycle • Canopy Management • The Role of Soil • Diseases & Viticultural Practices Grape Varieties • Major White & Red Varieties of the World Wine Production • Table Wine • Sparkling Wine • Fortified Wine Wine Regions • Label Laws • Geography • Grapes, Blends & Quality Levels Wine Tasting • Wine Composition and Chemistry • Wine Tasting and Faults • The Physiology of Taste

Hmm....

You're confused? If the question were to be delivered in class why would I be asking it here? He read in a book that Point visited Japan, and after that visit hw started creating dishes using lighter sauces, smaller portions, seasonal and regional ingredients at a time when the rest of the French culinary world was into heavy sauces, large portions, and using ingredients no matter the season or region. This new style that Point developed is in line with Japanese cuisine. This is the information I have to go on, this is why I posted the question.

I gave him the link to this question, so hopefully it will be soon.

Thank you all for the input. Your responses and participation is very cool. If you can find anything else about this topic, please continue to post it here. By the way, does Point have any descendants that any of you might know of??

My bad. It's been a while since I looked at my book and I was going from memory. For chlorine bleach the general guidelines are: 50 parts per million for immersion or for spray cleaning Temperature needs to be above 75F and below 115F (chlorine evaporates above 115F) Contact time must be at least 7 seconds pH must be below 8.0 (note that detergents raise the pH so rinse well before applying bleach) Chlorine bleach quickly becomes inactive when reacting to organic contaminants in the water solution (this almost always occurs with in 4 hours after making and using the solution Source: ServSafe Coursebook. ISBN 1 58280 015 4

To me it's worth it. The man is the best chef in the country, and arguably the best in the world. To spend an evening with him to hear him talk about his views as to where the industry is going, what his next step is, etc. is worth the price of admission. Plus, to have someone of Ethan Stowell's caliber preparing the dishes is an added bonus. Thomas Keller is my rock star, he's my culinary hero. Some people would pay $200 to see Mick Jagger prance around the stage for two hours, or sit in an ice cold football stadium on the 50-yard line for three hours. I wouldn't, but I will gladly be the first in line for this event. BTW... Tasting menu at Union... Now $60 Wine pairing at Union to with the tasting menu... Now $45

I'm still having difficulty coming to terms for this stupid act... totally beating myself up for it... it was an early '80s Pétrus.

A mixture of bleach and water loses it's sanitizing abilities after 4 hours. Also, use water that is under 75F. Hotter water breaks bleach down enough to where it's useless.