Duvel

In that case I do not have to put you on my “ignore” list for posting such an obscenely delectable dinner … It’s time I’ll get to NYC.

I cook bare chested*. Like all men in my family I am blessed with the Yeti gene which means I can simply outgrow stains and various failed cooking attempts** —- * I know you didn’t know that … ** except when making marmalade (see the “I will never again …” thread). But then again: scars are a man’s proof he has accomplished something in life and looking like a partially shaved llama has its own merits.

The presear/resear sequence leads definitely to faster browning. But it adds a step and frankly, I do not do that anymore (and add butter in the final sear to get the color right) …

From my experience, that cured meat consistency is an issue with longer SV cooks (e.g. for not standard steak cuts). For a strip steak that stays in the bay he for 2h at 51 oC or so it has never been a problem for me. I always presalt and leave in the fridge overnight for some concentrated flavours. If you want to go funky, the same principle works with fish sauce (25% salt). Draws out moisture and seasons the outermost layer, which equilibrates during the cook.

Found some great lamb steaks today and channeled whatever else we had in the fridge into a Turkish themed dinner … Lamb, SV turkey breast turned Döner, cabbage salad, carrot/yoghurt/mint salad, roasted courgette, zaziki. Beer and ayran to go with it. A word of caution: this combination in itself is already very filling. Accompanied by two pides. One basically a khachapuri, the other with Sucuk and some kashkaval cheese. Luckily, full approval by my toughest critic 🤗

I am using liquid smoke very sparingly, so my only bottle was still purchased in Hong Kong, more than two years ago. There are two items I like it with: my favorite is ribs, where I brush it on the full meat slab before springling them with dry rub, marinating them and cooking in a low oven until tender. It gives a smokey background flavor that is quite different (at least for me) from using a smokey BBQ sauce. The other item are chicken parts (e.g. drumsticks) where it is part of an all purpose marinate. I find it especially useful when using together with sous vide, but also marinating and panfrying gives nice results (if you do like this smokey touch). I read a lot about adding it to chili (as in chili con carne), but I found using smoked paprika / smoked chilis works much better for me.

I was just wondering (as they have Lillet blanc on offer this week at my supermarket): does a “Martini” with Lillet qualify as a Martini (skip the bitters for this question) ? I prefer a straight dirty gin-only Martini, but I have to admit that the sake-infused variety I made recently worked very, very well. It can’t be called a Martini, though … Where is the borderline on what vermouth-like liquid you may add to still earn the “Martini” designation ?

You are right, the article suggests that. But with title and opener focused on wings (hence @heidihs post here in the Cook-Off) I felt closing the article stating that “boneless wings” from Domino’s are seeing reduced portion sizes as well would have been a great opportunity to point out that these are actually not wings and Domino’s is just cashing in on the shortage. But then again I am not a journalist …

Comfort food on a Friday night - fried noodles. Please note the nice shrimps … … that had disappeared in the 60 seconds it took me to retrieve the Sichuan peppercorn oil from the cellar. (Finally I got one as well though - officially they only took them away to peel them. It always helps to protest 🤗)

One thing made me wonder: On Super Bowl weekend, there will be constraints on wing mania. For example, football fans ordering from Domino’s Pizza Inc. may notice just eight boneless wings per order versus 10 previously. My understanding was that these “boneless wings” aren’t wings at all - they are mostly breast, cut in the size/shape of a n average wing piece. So how can these be affected by the demand for wings themselves ? Or is Domino’s just cashing in on the wing shortage ..?

I read that as Char siu beans and thought to myself: what a great idea. But your baos are pretty awesome, too 🤗

That kid is half German, half Catalan. How much more Dadaist blood can you have in you veins 😉 ?

Well … let me check on that. Little one is 8yo and I am sure he could have plated a at least a pirateship with that 🤗

That’s my gold standard variety as well. Simple & perfect. As is her ragu alla bolognese (as a base for this) …

Interesting … can you describe that ?

Sous vide fillet of pork, served with zaziki and carrot phkali …

Georgian lamb Kharcho, with tamarind filling in for the elusive sour plum puree … still delicious !

That sounds pretty awesome - it’s on my list 🙏

Yeap - thanks for the link ! And truth to be told - the sake does work pretty well. None of these slightly bitter, nutmeg-y overtones if vermouth. Clean sweetness, with a bit of a starchy, rice-y touch from the sake and a straight punch from the gin. And the Hinoki bitters taste like you are on a rainy day in a temple in Kyoto. Hard to describe, but once you’ve experienced that it actually tastes like it. Good indeed and a perfect opportunity to bring my Fuji-san glas out 🤗

I like those in the “sweet potato” variety, because any other method has failed me so far to get crispy sweet potato fries …

Made a version of this tonight (before he goes public tomorrow): Roku Gin, nice semi-sweet Junmai Daiginjo, Hinoki bitters and a quick pickled ginger slice as garnish. Not bad … not bad at all ☺️

What is inside of your avocados ?

If you leave out the vermouth, yes !

It’s interesting how many preparations ask for this precooking (in combination with a overnight drying step). And it seems to work …

In Germany, there would be three linguistic “options”, and - because it is Germany - they are not only options, but prescribed terms by German (food) law: 1) “Gyros” (from the Greek word for “rotating”): made from stacked thin pork slices, marinated in a oil/spice/onion/vinegar marinate. What you have pictured here at least looks very, very similar. 2) “Döner” (from the Turkish word for “rotating”): made from either veal or beef, marinated in a oil/spice/garlic marinade. The meat needs to contain mostly stacked thin meat slices, but is allowed to have a small percentage of spiced minced meat to smoothen out the texture*. The meat you have pictured is too pale to be beef (from my experience), but could be veal. A subset of the “Döner” family is chicken or turkey “Döner”: still allowed to be called Döner, but with a mandatory prefix of either of the two meat employed. Here, only meat slices are stacked, no minced meat allowed. Typically, the marinade of this contains a higher percentage of paprika, so the white meat is tinted red at its surface, so it is not alike to your pictures. 3) “Drehspiess” (from the German word for “rotating”): Pretty much anything else you want to put on a rotating skewer. Naming (in the restaurant) needs to contain at least the animal, and can contain either “Gyros” or “Döner” as a reference to the expected marinade/taste profile. Usually used if your product does not qualify for the (higher quality) options 1 or 2**. “Puten Drehspiess nach Döner Art” = Rotating skewer made from turkey in the style of a Döner. —- *however, this is considered by many to be inferior. **and yet a welcome option when you return from a night of drinking, and all the quality ones have closed for hours.