radtek

<<<< Do I really have to say it? But I also like cheese and cured meats. Little bites of these can be extremely satisfying and stave off hunger until mealtimes. Much better than gorging on high calorie junk-food.

The book "Red, White & Greens- The Italian Way with Vegetables" by Faith Willinger really opened my eyes. Simple cooking of what's in season basically appears to be how traditional Italian cooking has been done. Preparing what is in season in continual inventive ways since one'll be eating a lot of particular ingredients- vegetables in this case due to seasonal availability. Here today gone next week until next year so take advantage of the exciting largesse. And it appears to me that the bulk of Italian recipes aren't complicated or heavily seasoned. In contrast our immigrant population arose from poverty in their homeland in a country of plenty; in particular meat was widely available to a meat-eating society. This had to have been exciting for a people who ate meat rarely and most likely in small portions. So large meat-centric preparations became the focus of the new Italian cuisine. And who could blame them- meat has been consistently and readily available in the States for hundreds of years.

I know this is small consolation but many Asian vegetables, fruits, herbs, primal cuts, meats, prepared foods etc are now made/grown/prepared here all over the States for the multitudinous Asian communities. Plenty of canned goods are still imported. And business is good as far as I see. Perhaps this will come to pass in Britain where the reliance on dubious quality imports in order to exist as a niche business will cease.

I am so hungry after looking at all these images of wonderful wonderful food! Great job guys! Dinner is gonna be late tonight and not for a couple more hours.

Hehe to quote myself from another forum:

You could dry salt it overnight instead of the full week. If one adds about 0.25% cure #1 (sodium nitrite&salt) to the salt mixture the belly will develop a nice pinkish color regardless of whether it is a dry cure or a brine cure. I think this brings a lot to the party and a quick and light cure really livens the belly up.

For the first time I drank a couple Vespers last Friday per the stated recipe. Whew. Quite good but smooth and sneaky.

Wow! People have been bringing it! Here's mine... Ripe tomatoes from the garden macerated with balsamic, olive oil, minced red onion and garlic from this past Spring with home fermented jalapeño sauce and dried lemon-basil. Plated with Gorgonzola and house-cured pancetta. Last night I dusted the chop with fine salt and fresh-cracked pepper then sealed for a rest in the fridge. The lamb rib-chop was done SV @135F for 3 hours then quick-seared 30 seconds each side in olive-oil. Served with feijoada-rice and steamed Brussels sprouts tossed in a tomato-mustard vinaigrette based on the prior salad. The lamb was amazingly succulent and a perfect medium. Unfortunately the tomato-mustard vinaigrette was a little BBQ-ey and clashed with the rest of the dish. And next time three sprouts will be enough. Having to chew through all of the sprouts no matter how perfectly cooked totally dominated the dish. It was good but a fail in these two aspects. Next time butter, salt and some lemon juice perhaps...

This was a difficult one for me. Starting out as a bartender and self-taught at that- looking at a "bible" revealed to me that many of the drinks just wouldn't pass muster appearance-wise with the glassware we had and the prices we were charging. So I had to scale them up. Plus, I see many bartenders falling prey to using agitation with ice to make the drinks seem appropriate but end up with a watered down cocktail- especially when martini's are involved. I'm all for smaller intensely flavored drinks. As long as they are faithful and made properly. I like a strong drink but usually they are pre-meal and I've fallen out plenty of times due to thirds becoming fourths etc...; skipping dinner and hitting the pillow way too early being the result. Let's see if the Nation follows suit. I believe NYC usually sets the standard.

I stated my reasons for not wanting to try insects and believe them to be completely reasonable. By no means am I a picky eater or boring. Implying that I or others would be is an oblique criticism. Of course it is a matter of opinion... I'm pretty sure I'd hate eating feces but would you say that I'm limited or deficient in some way for not trying it at least once?

I've really been enjoying this show and don't mind doing so over the web. But PBS hasn't made the last 4 episodes available except in excerpts. GRRR.

Probably is intended to "pad" the price a bit. Sort of an involuntary up-sell? My really useful books are all scratched and written in. The corners are bent and there are some splatters here and there. Definitely not coffee-table material when it comes down to aesthetics.

I wish we could get pigeon here, but have to make do with rock-hens. Looks delish.

Perfectly describes my own experience with eggplant as a young child.

LOL The door and one shelf is various condiments, pickle/preserved stuff and cured meats. I've never had a problem with olives losing quality in the fridge unless they were out of a brine or oil for too long. I like to keep a good rotation though and buy less but more frequently. Will have to try the bulk method perhaps. You might want to change the brine periodically when leaving the olives out.

I think it's gonna be "mooch off my relatives" this year. Barring that I'm gonna try for duck and maybe a terrine.

Some of Ruhlman's garlic sausage paired with Chang's roasted Brussels-sprouts and fish-sauce vinaigrette. Home-made coarse mustard. Damn I feel garlicky tonight. Sausage done SV and hit with the heatgun to add a bit of color. Works well albeit a bit messy. Gonna have to spray the stove off in the AM!

As a first go I absolutely love this device. Was within 0.5F of my Thermapen once it got a-rockin. You guys remember to turn it off when done right...? Ruhlman's garlic sausage and some Vietnamese garlic sausage done to 150F. Took about 1.5 hours.

That looks like a gut buster! Trying to count the layers... Nine?

It arrived this afternoon. I am so excited I'm beside myself! An inspection reveals a nicely put together piece of equipment. Made in California which pleases me. Bought some nice lamb rib chops and considering doing them SV. Any suggestions? Even though I want the lamb tonight the plan should be stuck with. It'll be garlic-sausage as the test-run served with Momofuku roasted Brussels-sprouts.

Forgot one thing which surprises me as it is firmly at the top of the list: watermelon. Can't stand the texture. The smell and flavor leaves little to be desired too. I really embarrassed myself in Germany when I turned down my hosts' offer of watermelon which they had specifically bought because they thought as an American, that I'd like it. I managed to choke down a few pieces to appease them but really it is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

I think it isn't irrational to not want to eat insects. We don't need to eat them here as there are plenty of sources for protein and calories already. It isn't common in our culture either but that doesn't mean I'm against other cultures eating them regularly. I'm against me eating them.

I'm not much of a burger guy but would prefer a traditional well made one such as yours Keith. Truffles and scallops are for another occasion!

Menudo. Pretty much it's the musty smell of the tripe and the thick layer grease that is off-putting. Absolutely disgusting. And due to a traumatic first experience with eggplant when I was a young child it is very hard for me to eat it. Though I guess if prepared properly eggplant would certainly be taken over Menudo. And Tapioca pudding. My brother tormented me while I would spoon it in by saying: "mmmm... creamed lice!" Never been able to eat it since. I'll try almost anything except bugs.

Y'know this sounds complicated. Like visiting my next door neighbor by way of walking around the block. I guess things will be revealed to me.