Duvel

Grilled cheese (mozzarella, manchego, parmesan) on rye ...

"Strammer Max": freshly baked rye bread (see bread thread), sweet mustard, Leberkäse, fried egg. For the bread I also opened some potted pork belly and a jar of "Zwiebelmettwurst" (cured meat with onions). In both cases the jellied juices from the glasses are fantastic.

Light rye bread: 50% rye flour (type 1050), 45% strong wheat flour, 5% semolina. 2.5 days cold ferment. Baked at 250 oC in a preheated Le Creuset (in the oven) for 20 min, then at 200 oC in the oven alone for 30 min. To be eaten for lunch with homemade meats ...

Perfect, thanks !

Looks great, HC! Care to share crust recipe and cooking temp/time ?

I feel with you - what is life without decent cheese ! Let me know the next time you cross the border to HK and I'll prepare a "care package" for you ...

Only if you have a couch made from Asbestos filaments (cf. the popular Charlemagne story) ...

Yeah, those times are over. But that bread would be nice - heavily buttered - with smoked salmon and a glass of MR ... Damn, it's only 10 am

Reinhart's "Poor man's brioche" for Sunday morning toasts ...

@TomRahav: Amazon.com carries several brands of calcium gluconate and ships to Hong Kong. I order there semi-frequently ...

Being a scientist myself I truly admire your passion for this. While I agree that germination of perfectly preserved seeds has been successfully performed, it should be noted that no one has successfully cultivated that plant from its seeds in the timeframe it was used. The article devotes a large portion as to why this could be. Progress has been made in agriculture but it would be rather difficult to convince a potential grant sponsor that you would not only find seeds a a plant that has been extinct for two milleniae but also for the first time in human history be able to cultivate it (probably even outside of its very district native habitat). That being said and not be too discouraging, I do believe that your planned endeavor would make a fine feature for one of the "popular" historic/natural science oriented periodicals, e.g. National Geographic. I know the do sponsor independent authors with projects of this scope. Maybe that would be a possible entry point for your expedition ? I for one would be very happy to read about your findings

Please have a look: she links her first (successful) endeavours with alkaline noodle with detailled instructions in the post. I think that would be a better place to start.

I've read the recipe you've linked (better the one that was referred to in the link you provided). She is very specific as to which and how much of the two flours to use, 1 g (not a teaspoon) of Na2CO3, kneading times etc. As she gets it done, maybe I'd rather follow her instructions to the letter and try again and again before heading out and changing details (or even begin with different materials or quantities). Yes, it might be a formulation issue, but it could also be lack of routine to succeed. Maybe try using the recipe in a pasta machine first to see if stable noodles can be achieved. Then head out and do the pulling routine ...

It's 7.30 am here ... and I am sooooo wanting this right now !

In Hong Kong both dyed and "natural" versions are available ...

Thanks to my lovely wife I had my (belated) birthday dinner yesterday at Tin Lung Heen, one of the few Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurants in the city. The restaurant is located in the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, which in turn occupies to upper floors of the ICC in Kowloon. The view from the 102nd floor over Hong Kong island and the South China sea was spectacular and got even better after nightfall. Around 20.00h we could see the fireworks of Hong Kong Disneyland – from above! We opted for the Signature dish degustation menu (the other two menus being the Michelin menu, which was more western oriented and the seasonal King crab menu). You could have a paired wine selection with it, but we had a glass of Champagne and my wife choose a Chablis to go with most courses while I was happy with Jasmine tea. The amuse gueule was tofu, a carrot cube and a young onion bulb, all dressed in a sweet Pu’er dressing. It tasted exactly like it sounded. Tofu, boiled carrot and boiled onion. Diluted Pu’er with a bit of sugar. That was not a very good start into an exciting meal. Don’t get me wrong: I do like simplicity and unalduterated flavors, but this was just unexciting. The three starters to follow were more pleasing: Abalone, jellyfish and lettuce hearts were a play on textural contrasts. The abalone was juicy, and the jellyfish crunchy. The shrimp toast was very good. The braised pork with honey was flavorful and juicy. This was announced as “the” signature dish of the restaurant. I think that while it was good it was simply a well executed braise. There was no “wow” effect to it … Deep fried crab shell filled with crab meat & onion was very tasty – maybe my favorite plate of the evening. There was a lot of sweet crab meat with sweet onion in a slightly tangy sauce. It came with fried pink ginger crisps, which complemented the dish with a slight sharpness. The double-boiled chicken soup gained a lot of sweetened from the coconut in which it was steamed for the second time. Initially I found it a bit weird, but it worked very well at the end. The fish maw had a interesting consistency, almost like braised fat. I liked it a lot, while my wife was happy to give me her portion of the maw. Garoupa was perfectly cooked and flaky, with just the tiniest bit of garlic chicken consommé and strips of dried fried squid. The quality of the fish was very nice, although we were a bit irritated that the waiter had to emphasize several times that this was from a fresh fish and not from frozen. I’d never expect frozen fish in neither Cantonese settings nor in a two star Michelin place. Fried Wagyu beef with red peppers and black beans was a well made, with the beef a bit undercooked and a nicely balanced sauce. Bamboo fungus with spinach was ok, again a textural thing. The sauce was foamy with strong truffle aroma and a hint of mustard. It worked well with the spinach, and the bamboo fungus just offered a contrast with its kind of semi-tough, open foam mouthfeel. The fried rice I found to be pretty standard. Very rich, with goose and shrimps added, but nothing out of the ordinary. The desserts were all very good. The (cold) mango pomelo soup was great, with the astringency of the pomelo really underlining the sweetness of the mango and coconut cream. The sesame dumpling had a kind of grainy sweet custard filling, which reminded me a bit of dulce de leche. The petit fours were nice, too. All in all a nice evening out of the routine in a beautiful setting. I am pretty sure we had well done renditions of classical Cantonese dishes and probably some of the ingredients were amongst the best the market has to offer. I enjoyed it. That being said on the way home my wife and me agreed that while we enjoyed it we do not need to repeat this experience and would rather go to a high-end Yakiniku place instead next time …

I do quite some baking, but for curing, brining, making pates and terrines - anything where seasoning and salt have to be precise and not "to taste" or you can't judge from the initial formulation the final taste I prefer to weight my ingredients. and it's safe to say that I use the scale every day ...

I'd second the knives. Then maybe my Microplane grater, followed by my scale.

Yes, but the Crayfish pizza does unfortunately not ... but they have mayonnaise under the cheese. Ever since living a Japan I do like seafood/sweetcorn/mayo combination a lot. Maybe we could petition for adding sweetcorn ?

I had a fantastic Chinese Long Island Ice Tea last time I visited Shanghai ...

Chicken place in Asakasa, Tokyo. Basic, but very good. Freshly made, only lightly set tofu, various starters, rice & Zaru soba. Yakitori (liver, cartilage, wings, thigh, ...) - all very good. Pick of the evening was chicken tataki (basically briefly seared sashimi) of breast & thigh. And then the chicken meatballs: A work of art, so light and juice. I picked with pickled plum and shiso - it was hands down the best grilled chicken I ever had ...

Seasonal Tempura set in a small family-run place in Roppongi, Tokyo: Shrimp, eggplant, pumpkin, shiso leaf, some white fishes, squid, peppers and as the highlight a glorious entire see eel fillet (anago) ... all made in front of you by the master. Orange segments as the perfect dessert.

I remember her tomato sauce with onion and butter, in which she specifically mentions removing the onion (which is added in quarters, iirc). So, I'd leave the veggies in here; if you object to their texture you might just chop them to a finer dice. Do the chopped tomatoes fully melt during the cooking time ? Or could is be meant to resemble a kind of veggie ragout rather than a smooth sauce with veggie chunks ?

I think using the bus would be quite the journey. The place is really in a tiny village in the mountains. Cab yes - but it's 75 km / 1h. Maybe there are hired cars for the day / Uber that would be cheaper. In all cases, you should definitely not miss it

If you have local transport options (e.g. a rental car) in San Sebastian, you need to go to Asador Etxebarri. It's about one hour drive and has been one of the most memorable restaurants of my life. Barbecued meats and seafood in the middle of nowhere ...