docsconz

For those to whom it may not be apparent, the Riverwalk Complex is in New Orleans. Is there a website for the museum? I hope to check out the place when I am there in a few weeks. Sounds interesting.

I have come to really appreciate the CVap when entertaining. This past Saturday, we had a spontaneous dinner party determined by a visit to the Farmers market in the morning and the purchase of a couple of fresh chickens and sweet corn. When I came home, I quickly spatchcocked the chickens and put them in a hotel pan with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper that I cooked on the stove to mellow the garlic. I then placed them in the CVap at 148ºF with 0 browning level for 6 hours along with the corn that had some of the outer husks and silk removed. After our guests arrived and were served steamed clams with white whine, garlic, thyme, parsley and pimentón and tomato-basil bruschetta, I put the chickens in a 450º convection roast oven for ten minutes to crisp the skin. The chickens came out perfectly, retaining incredible moisture and flavor along with the crisp, salted skin. The chicken was served along side sauteed green beans with butter and mint and the corn. The corn, too was amazing, retaining its moisture, while being cooked just enough. The work and maintenance factors were minimal. In fact, we spent the better part of the afternoon boating and swimming in Lake George. The following night, I made hamburgers. I took 4 half-inch thick beef patties and put them in the CVap for a little over an hour at 130ºF with 0 browning before completing the cooking by searing them quickly in a cast-iron skillet and topping them with cheese. The burgers were cooked medium rare, delicious and juicy. I would have trouble using this technique without knowing and trusting the source of the ground beef, but they are really, really good if one does. Sorry for the lack of photos. I have also discovered that the CVap is excellent for rewarming leftover roasts without drying them out. We recently had a leftover pork loin that had been cooked conventionally. It lost nothing when reheated in the CVap at 150ºF for an afternoon. One process that I have not had much success with yet, though I am getting closer, is cooking the perfectly poached egg. I have tried cooking them at 147ºF, cracked into a covered ramekin, but have yet to achieve the runny yolk along with the cooked whites. Each time I have done it, I have left them in the CVap overnight.

Thank you for your comments and excellent questions. I will address them individually. I don't believe that you can do this at most farms, though my understanding is that it is perfectly legal. I happen to know the farmer, who provided me with the lamb as a favor. The bowl was literally empty before hand, but in the photo contained unused parts and blood from an earlier slaughter as well as fresh blood collected from my lamb. The farmer waited for the lamb to bleed out and stop its death throes. The process did not last long before he was able to butcher the animal. The animal was most definitely dead prior to its skinning. The thymus is only available in very young animals. It regresses as the animal ages. Most animals sold commercially as lamb in this country are beyond the age at which they have any significant thymus remaining. Lamb thymus is particularly delicious and particularly difficult to come by. The heart is too good to use for stock, IMO. I do not know how the lungs and trachea would fare in a stock - certainly not "a dumb suggestion." Maybe someone else can offer an opinion based on experience or theory? Do the animals on a small farm actually witness the slaughter, or is it done in another area? How do you know your lamb was jittery for that reason? Interesting pick-up, though I do not really see it as a contradiction. I believe that she was jittery because these animals are always jittery when being rounded up, a process that happens for a variety of reasons other than slaughter. My statement about the other two lambs was nothing more than my own wonderings. While the slaughter did not take place in an enclosed area, it wasn't done directly in view of the other lambs and animals besides free-ranging chickens, guinea fowl and dogs. What was the california cow incident? ← I do not know!

Was the Taverna actually in Positano? That was a long day. I doubt anywhere could have lived up to expectations with a travel day like that. If that was indeed in Positano, how did you come to choose to stay there as opposed to la Sirenuse or Il San Pietro? I'm looking forward to more.

What would you do with the bike while you were eating?

Good suggestions, thanks. Neither the butcher nor the saw were scrubbed or sterilized for surgery, but both were reasonably clean and probably as or more hygienic than would be found in most slaughterhouses, though I'm not familiar enough with slaughterhouses to bet on it.

I know that Paul Liebrandt will do everything he can to be open in time for the Starchefs ICC in mid-September. Of course, the timing is not just up to the chef!

Now that is xxxx food porn! Beautiful.

That is a lot of walking, but doable.

Interesting dynamic between Ruhlman and the ladies. Did I notice a little tension?

Outstanding narrative as evidenced by the above quote. Priceless! Thanks for doing it. I really enjoyed your description of your experiences in my native city.

eGullet Society member, Louisa Chu, is a judge on tonight's episode - Bobby Flay against Gabrielle Hamilton.

It was gelatinzed gin and vermouth, layered in the straw. You suck it up and let the two combine in your mouth. Again, I like a traditional martini more, but this was nice twist. ← Ah, a martini with a twist! Nice job with the photos, Bryan. I have particularly enjoyed your foray into northern Spain, where I have more familiarity. For a discussion of Spanish beef see here. At Madrid Fusión, Andoni Aduriz gave a discussion about his beef dish and also about his cuisine being on the verge of insipid as he tries to show subtlety in his flavor palate in order to bring each and every sense into the dining experience. This does not play equally well to everyone.. Interesting to note that there was little evidence of "sand" on Pedro Subijana's plates at Akelare. I'm looking forward to the rest. It looks to have been a truly outstanding trip.

I like the bar at Max's on Broadway for cocktails. While not quite Tailor, Pegu Club or The Violet Hour in terms of mixologic creativity or detail, they do a nice job with classic and newer cocktails alike. Time coordinating permitting, I would be happy to meet someone for drinks or dinner. PM if interested.

I live in the area. Next weekend will be a busy one for me as we have our first events for our new Saratoga Region Slow Food Convivium. Our events next weekend are based around the 6th Annual Salem Courthouse Al Fresco Dinner, which is modeled after the Sienese neighborhood dinners before the Palio race. We have organized a number of events around that dinner including a Slow Food dinner on Friday night (25th) at Farmhouse at Top of the World that will be attended by Erika Lesser, the Executive director of Slow Food USA. This very "slow" dinner will be prepared by Chef Kevin London, who will be part of the 2008 Terra Madre Chef delegation. Kevin will source foods locally, including vegetables from the Farmhouse garden. Reservations for Dinner and Accommodations (limited) should be made directly with Top of the World at 518.668.3000. Mention the "Slow Food Weekend" when making your arrangements. The dinner, which will be at 7:30PM, will cost $35 for Slow Food members and $40 for non-members not including alcoholic beverages or gratuity. Saturday morning, a visit to Nettle Meadow to meet the farmers and their animals and taste their wonderful cheeses will take place. Reservations for this free but limited event can be made here. Later in the afternoon we will be heading over to Cambridge, New York for a Slow Food reception at Maple Ridge. Tickets and information for this event, which will be attended by Erika Lesser and Slow Food leaders from the northeast are available here. On Sunday morning, we have organized a north country breakfast at Sheldon Farms before members head out on Washington County Farm Tours and demonstrations. Information and tickets for the breakfast are available here. Tickets for the Al Fresco dinner are sold out, but I am aware of at least a couple still available at this moment. PM me if interested.

This is very enlightening. How does one go about identifying and obtaining the appropriate stock?

Final Inspections this morning... ← Yeeha! Good luck!

While you missed out on Grimaldi's earlier, I'm glad that you managed to make it to at least one of NYC's special pizza institutions.

This was clearly a different dish than the one I was alluding to and one I didn't have.

I couldn't help but smile, no: lol at this remark - sounds like a quote from woody allen... Nevertheless I would be thankful if you could elaborate what you mean by that, especially in regards to fine dining...(per PM, if you like...) By the way: as opposed to many other european tourists, I love L.A.! (And I love NYC, too!) regards kai ← I love LA, too, but as a whole it is very different than anywhere else in the US. It has its own vibe as does NYC. NYC's, however, is more easily found in other large metropolitan US cities. As for comments relating to fine dining, I would suggest that there is perhaps a higher proportion of the population into the guise of "healthy living" - at least in public than elsewhere in the US. That may be a reason why you sensed a high proportion of fine diners avoiding aperiitifs or wine since alcohol may be associated with an unhealthy lifestyle - rightly or wrongly. Of course, that is not to say that all or even a majority of Angelenos fit that bill. There may, however, be sufficient numbers to leave that impression.

Kathryn and Lenski, when you had it, are you sure the meat was duck? When we were served the dish, it was squab. If duck, it would appear that the dish has evolved, which would certainly not be a surprise at the ever-evolving Alinea. I would imagine that it would work equally well, though I don't understand the potential east-west palate dichotomy for this dish.

That may be true compared to Europe, but that is certainly not my experience. It may be more common at more creative restaurants where people can be more intimidated ordering wine by fear of not ordering the "right" wines. I have always left my fate in the hands of the superb sommeliers at Alinea and have never been disappointed. One other point - this is not meant to disrespect L.A., but that city should never be used as a model for anything anywhere else in The US. The city is unique in many ways as are its inhabitants. Again, that is not meant as a criticism. Chicago is totally different.

Interesting statement, Sam. Since you used the word "often" and not "usually", I will agree with you. I think that this is more often the case where wines have a greater hype than others. For example, while I enjoy many wines from the Napa Valley, it seems that a certain caché has developed from being a winemaker and having expensive wines - the more expensive the better. With an approach that if the wine is cheap, it can't be considered to be good, many wines that perhaps should be cheap aren't. I think this holds less true in areas with longer winemaking traditions, that are less trendy such as Alsace, the Rhone or Germany. In areas like that, the price:quality ratio is more likely to be accurate. One is more likely to find that the increased price is reflected in increased quality per the standards of the area. Whether or not the differences in quality are worth the difference in prices is another question altogether.

Very interesting. The restaurant is apparently situated within an old monastery located not far from Manresa, home to the fine restaurant Aligue and Alicia, Ferran Adria's think tank, also located in another beautiful old monastery. I will have to make a point of getting there next time I return to visit my friends in Manresa.

If I wasn't sold on it before (and I was), this latest account of Cochon makes it absolutely certain that I have to hit Cochon with my son when we visit NOLA to check out Tulane next month! Don't expect us to eat as much as these reporters did, though!