JAZ

I have one of these, too, but I find that I end up with more bitter oil in my juice than I do using a regular reamer-style juicer. It's a shame, because these are fun to use and fast. ← It is true that, because this style press turns the citrus fruit inside out, you do get quite a bit of oil expressed along with the juice. Whether that's good or bad probably depends on what you're using the juice for; I like it in cocktails, but if I wanted juice to drink plain, I might not feel the same way. In any case, if you're contemplating the purchase of this style juicer, go for a stainless steel version -- much more durable than the enamel coated aluminum ones.

Just thought it was worth mentioning that for a recent cocktail party class I taught, I introduced the concept of the appetizer patty melt, made on cocktail rye bread -- cut in half, it made the perfect two-bite snack.

But why not be accurate? Certainly someone involved in the book could come up with an accurate and interesting title. Virtually anyone who sees a book called "Under Pressure" is going to assume that it deals with, well, cooking under pressure.

From the description, it seems to be about sous-vide cooking. I wonder why the title is Under Pressure. And I don't see Michael Ruhlman's name mentioned anywhere. What's his connection? Here's an eG Society-friendly link to the book.

While Holeman & Finch is a great place, I don't think it fits the criteria laid out in the original post. It's loud and crowded -- a "public house," if you will.

I need to find a few unusual ingredients for a cooking class I'll be shopping for: Fennel pollen Togarashi Kaffir lime leaves hon shimeji mushrooms Yuzu juice Micro celery Anyone have any ideas?

Since the discussion seems to have run its course and evolved into a general discussion of the benefits of the tipping system, we're closing this topic. Thanks to all who participated.

I've heard great things about Bacchanalia, but I've never been there, so I can't give it a personal recommendation. I love Restaurant Eugene, and would certainly consider it a finalist for a last meal.

The frozen ones are great -- the dishes in which I've used them have been braised or baked, and I can't tell the difference there. Maybe there'd be a difference in texture if they were pickled; I'm not sure.

My complaint about many Cook's Illustrated articles is that "problem" they're attempting to fix rarely seems to be a real problem. A friend of mine once described Cook's Illustrated's approach as the "straw man theory of kitchen science," which I think is dead on. In the May issue, for example, they're trying to come up with a recipe for a fruit fool that doesn't use custard. The reason, they say, is that "cooking custard is a fussy endeavor." News flash, folks -- no, it isn't. And it's certainly no more fussy than their solution, which is mixing sour cream into whipped cream for the base and then "softening gelatin in some uncooked berry puree and then combining the softened mixture with some heated puree to help melt and distribute the gelatin." I mean, please. If you want to put that much effort into the fruit for a fool, why not make a custard?

Id use the Le crueset, at least its enameled cast iron. ← I'd recommend against Le Creuset for caramel. It hold so much heat that by the time you get the caramel out of the pot, it's overcooked. At least that was my experience back when my only large pan was LC -- I tried to use it for candy and was really frustrated with the results.

For the current season, please see this new topic.

A new foodblog will begin next week, just in time for the beginning of summer. Here's a preview. Probably not too difficult to guess the location: But maybe not so easy to guess the blogger:

I think it's becoming clear that people's tastes vary, and we might differ on what constitutes a "compromise." I bought Gordon's gin as my "house gin" for a couple of years because in San Francisco I could almost always get it on sale for $12-$13 for 1.75 liters (compared with Beefeater at $26-$30). I was on a budget, and for that price it was fine for most cocktails (I saved the more expensive gins for martinis). Once I started using Beefeater or Boodles or Tanqueray regularly, though, it was really hard to go back to Gordon's. I don't think it is a "very high quality" gin. It's a good gin, for the price. If I were back on my old budget and could get it for the old price, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But it definitely would be a compromise for me.

MoGa, I wasn't talking about your tacos -- I was replying to the suggestion that anything in a tortilla counts as one. Your method isn't exactly the same as what I've seen for refritos (and pinto beans would be the usual bean used), but it sounds as if the end product is a pretty typical bean taco.

I beg to differ. I'm not sure that I'm a "purist" but I don't think that a taco can be filled with anything that's available. For me, it has to have a Mexican or at least Southwestern flavor profile. If you use a tortilla for other fillings, I'm sure it can be good, but I'm not sure I'd call it a taco.

Licking our wounds after that first cocktail, this one seemed like a sure thing. Indeed, this is a pretty fantastic cocktail. I hadn't been familiar with this particular Apple Brandy, but I guess it was a contract distillation by St. George for some folks that own a Gravenstein Apple Orchard in Sonoma. ← I made one of these last night (using Laird's Applejack, because that's what I had). Nice nightcap -- I liked it enough to make another tonight. It's amazing how a drink with no honey in it can taste this much like honey.

I tried corn and potato pancakes from Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef that I'll be making again. The recipe calls for baking a russet potato (I cheated and boiled it) and mashing it. Mix in corn kernels cut off the cob, along with egg yolks, creme fraiche and a little flour. Then you fold in egg whites, which lightens the whole thing up, and fry small patties. They were great, and the batter even held up for a second day. Major pain to flip, but other than that, they're a great side dish.

I don't agree that toast should be crunchy throughout; toast should be crisp on the outside and soft inside. Which is why I love my toaster. If you want good toast, you buy a good toaster. Toaster ovens do nothing well -- they're not good ovens and they're not good toasters.

I tried the frozen Italian meatballs, and was favorably impressed -- nice texture and good flavor. They're huge, though. I wish they had a small version.

Do tell. Pretty please. ← Here's the story.

I don't know if this has anything to do with your sauce, but one thing that affects bitterness is salt. If you added salt toward the end, it could have mitigated the bitterness quite a bit. (An interesting note is that the reason that salt can seem to enhance sweetness in things like vegetables and even baked goods is that in canceling out the bitterness, it makes the sugar stand out and things seem sweeter.)

Janet, Tell me a little more about this cocktail with the mandarin vodka and the Liellet Blanc. What ratios are you using? You say it's like a martini. Does that mean mandarin vodka instead of gin and the Lillet (a small amount) instead of the white/dry vermouth? Or is there a different ratio? (maybe more Lilltet). Is there anything else?? ← Jeff, I'm sorry I didn't see this before now. At the time I wrote that (Jeez -- almost 5 years ago!) I'd recently tried a drink at a local bar that was a variation on the Vesper -- with Absolut Mandarin substituted for the regular vodka. Then someone gave me a bottle of the Hangar One Mandarin Blossom, so I was playing around with it. But I haven't made it since. As I recall, I used about a 3:1 mandarin vodka to Lillet ratio, and probably added some orange bitters, if I had them back then. However, I got a bunch of tangerines and have been making a gin-based drink that's similar. A friend named it the Tableau, which seems right to me, so that's what I'm calling it. The Tableau 2 oz. gin 1 oz. Lillet .25 oz. fresh tangerine juice dash orange bitters

Those who aren't familiar with Hansen's can read about it here, in Todd's Daily Gullet article.

I'm spoiled having lived in San Francisco for 20 years, but we just found very nice, very large artichokes for $2 each. It's high compared to what I was used to at my SF produce market, but pretty good for Atlanta.