cdh

Dead link. I'm not even sure what "organic" might mean in the context of yeast... by my reckoning, all yeast are organic.

Somebody has done some of the work demystifying the asian greens section for me already: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/asian-green-guide.html Do those with personal knowledge think this article comports reasonably well with reality?

Thanks for enlightening me. I have seen Aa Choy in the local Korean market and wondered what it might be like... now I have an idea what to expect. Some day I'm going to need to buy a bunch of all of the different Asian greens on offer and try them... there are so many, and I know so little about most of them.

Was wondering whether your MCM was meant as the roman numeral for 1900, or for the abbreviation of Mid-Century Modern... now I know.

Where do you live that you have places that still do mid-century modern dining?

An eGulleteer from the earliest days, Holly Moore has passed away. (or so lots of people on FB have announced today) I have fond memories of sitting with him at the Heartland Gathering in PHL when we ate at Zahav. Fantastic foodie all around. Sad to hear he is no more.

It claims to be able to keep water at temp within 1 degree F... So stovetop sous vide is possible with it, theoretically.

I recall reading on here years ago that GE had some sort of precision controlled induction burner in development. Not entirely sure what happened to that... but this device could be the offspring of that research project. The price is nice... hope the quality is up to snuff. I do wonder why nobody had done a precision induction burner before now... are there hard EE problems to be solved in modulating the RF field that makes the pan heat up? Even the "pro" flavored induction plates only had 20 stops on their control dials. I am not sold on the whole everything needs to be controlled over wifi with an app design philosophy... but this application of it is super cool sounding. Anyway here's the link: Tasty Onetop

Have to wonder if the "old people only want meat and potatoes" idea is less about what all old people want, and more about picky people getting more assertive as they get older... rather than accepting a plate full of stuff they're unexcited about eating, people realize that they're in a position to demand just what they want. There are plenty of people of all ages with unadventurous palates... just not all of them will put up a fight about getting only what they want, and nothing else.

Looks like you're eating well and having a great time! All that construction is amazing, but i recall reading that it is a half-assed job... building huge buildings above ground, and no infrastructure underground... are there still trucks lined up to haul sewage away because there's no sewage pipe or treatment plant infrastructure? A relative of mine was one of the designers of the Palm Island project there, so lots of fun stories about how things get done there.

Went to Aldi the other day... They had several varieties of the Deutsche Kuche branded sausages back on the shelves, which have proved quite good. In the freezer they also had DK branded pork schnitzel. Those were great as well. I don't buy much at Aldi, but their processed meats have been uniformly good so far, between this stuff, and the pates and Jamon Serrano they had over the holiday period.

Love the Lilo poster!

Quite right! Wish I were there!

Like a rock star! How long can you keep this up? I'm kinda craving a big green leafy salad just thinking about how rich everything looks so far...

Been years since I ate at a Subway... but don't they cut a triangular wedge out of the top of the roll, rather than count on a hinged book-cover kind of opening for their rolls? They seem to have solved your problem by engineering around it.

For elderflower in cocktails, I actually prefer it in syrup form, rather than cordial form... The Ikea Fladersaft syrup does the job just fine for me.

Only you know the tastes of the folks coming. Do you want to do a keg of something lowest common denominator like a keg of your area's go to party beer for people who don't like beer with too much flavor? Here in PA, that would be keg of Yuengling, at probably the neighborhood of $100, and you'd serve 100 people with it. If you are confident that your people could handle a step up, check what's available at what price points from your distributors whereever you are... beer laws and prices are different in every state, so my PA (liquor laws vintage 1934) advice is only worth so much. As to liquor, think about a couple of premade cocktails for the event... no mixing at the moment. The most you want to do is pour over ice and stir. What flavor palate you're mixing for is a mystery... Gin is cheaper than bourbon... so if your people can handle gin based drinks, make a few of them. If they need vodka, then you're kinda saved... no vodka drinks taste good (at least to me) so you could mix it with any damn thing you felt like and they'd not care any the less. Does this crowd need fruity? Boozy? Booze hidden under lots of other stuff? Complicated? Know any homebrewers who keg beer? Borrow a couple of kegs, make a 5 gallon batch of gin and tonics (3.5 l gin ($25), 15 l tonic ($15)... make a 5 gallon batch of a rum punch for about the same price... serve from the kegs.

I've given sample 11 some more chances, and 190F, western ratios produce something very nice. The lilac still doesn't come through on the palate, but the aroma and the flavor complement each other well with that set of brewing parameters.

Is this just a expansion of the Waiter Rant book's thesis into the kitchen? I imagine the author there didn't poll the cooks because of a language gap... Since OP is coming from a French POV, is there that same language gap between kitchen and servers? In the US, it seems that the majority of folks manning the stoves are not exactly fluent in English.

After a bit of a break to drink other non-relevant stuff for the past couple of weeks, we're up to sample 11. Tightly crumpled leaves. Amazing lilac fragrance. Very easy to make astringent in the cup. Another case of the aroma being more interesting than the flavor.

Are you sure that is allspice? That looks like a Datura, usually poisonous. The spikey seed pods are a giveaway. Is allspice related to jimsonweed?

The vinegar that they're pickled in is amazing when mixed with brown butter... chop up a few capers in there too, but the vinegar + brown butter is just a magical flavor even if no capers leave the jar.

I don't think performing a written recipe in front of a camera is plagiarism at all...

Thanks for spotting what the goji berries were. They didn't infuse into anything interesting given a few minutes in hot water... their dry aroma was more interesting than their rehydrated aroma... much more fruity when dry... more cardboardy when wet.

Since sample 9 was a bust, I've moved on to sample 10: This is labelled oolong tea, and one appears to be in the package. This one is quite well roasted, looking very dark, and very tightly curled up. I've gone to the gongfu method on this one to fine effect. It has a roasty aroma, a smooth rich initial flavor, and subsides into a long fruity finish. More a peachy flavor than plummy... tough to get more descriptive than that. More interesting with water at 200F than at 190F. 6 infusions in and seems like it is just getting started... the leaves are very slow to unfold.