Jump to content

jmcgrath

participating member
  • Posts

    383
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by jmcgrath

  1. South of Augusta is Gardiner, about four or so miles off I95.  It straddles a river and right on the bridge is the best diner I've seen in years: the A1 Diner

    The A1 Diner is more than just a diner. It does have diner food, but also has some quite eclectic dishes. I've never eaten the standard diner fare there, but have always been impressed.

    Jim

  2. I stopped for a Coke in a coffee shop yesterday. It reminded me that I hadn't been in a coffee shop for some time, and that it might be a dying breed. Lately, when I think of "coffee shop" I think of Starbucks, not a formica countertop and a burger deluxe.

    I can't figure out the delineation between a coffee shop and a diner. Is it as simple as hotel vs. motel (i.e. a diner provides parking)? Is the difference in the menu? Is there a standard definition, anyway? I can't help feeling that they are not the same thing, but I can't articulate why.

    I don't think I ever ran across a coffee shop as I was growing up in the '60s. Coffee houses were a different thing. A place to hang out with the alternate culture, drink coffee, and listen to folk songs. Diners were a place to eat; everything from omlettes to grapenut pudding. It wasn't until I moved to the Boston area in the mid-'80s that I ran across coffee shops, the Coffee Connection since replaced by Starbucks for example. I can't remember anything serving both coffee and burgers that was not a diner.

    Woolworths was a 5 & 10 that also served food. The local drugstore had a soda fountain but no grill. Horn & Hardarts was a quasi-restaurant. I guess I've never run across a coffee shop.

    Jim

  3. All this talk of jerk and I dont even know what your talking about! Please explain

    Helen Willinsky in her cookbook "Jerk: Barbecue from Jamaica" says

    Jerk cooking is an authentic way to cook pork, chicken, seafood, and beef over a fire pit or on a barbecue grill. But it is the special seasoning--a highly spiced combination of scallions, onions, thyme, Jamaican pimento (allspice), cinnamon, nutmeg, peppers, and salt--that makes jerk what it is.

    She provides recipies for jerk pastes, dry rubs and marinades. It's a good but very specialized book.

    Editded for cleaner quoting.

    Jim

  4. OK kids- I bought 6 boxes of this stuff based on the raves and I have to say I find it disgusting! It tastes like canned corn with texture. It's cloyingly sweet to me.

    The Landis article I referenced above also complained about sweetness and recommended using only one third of the sugar called for.

    Jim

  5. Hello all.

    I use Berkshire Pork in my restaurant, currently a spec of the blade end, 8 ribs, blade excised so I present a double rack.  Extraordinarily flavorful, juicy - "old line pork," before it was bred for lean and flavorless character.

    Any with any thoughts on methods of cold smoking for this window of 90 minutes without brine curing, I'd appreciate it. 

    Paul

    The issue with cold smoking is food safety. Food targeted for cold smoking is normally cured first to prevent bacterial growth during the smoking process. If the meat starts out cold, e.g. 34F, smoking for 90 minutes should be safe. You need to experiment with a temperature probe to determine how long the meat spends above 40F, in the danger zone. I assume you will want to chill it again quickly for roasting in the future. You should be able to find guidelines on how long it is safe to hold meat above 40F. Include rechilling time.

    Jim

  6. I've been intriqued by ads recommending the Jaccard Meat Tenderizer, in which a series of pins set in rows purports to tenderize by piercing the meat.

    I would be concerned about driving surface bacteria into the interior of the meat which may not reach a high enough temperature to kill the bacteria. I don't see a problem with brisket, where the interior is going to reach close to 200F. A rare steak, on the other hand...

    Jim

  7. Crab Louis

    For some reason, Dungeness crab is showing up at Costco.

    A base of chopped Boston lettuce, slices of hard cooked eggs, and tomato chunks.

    Sprinkled with crab.

    Thousand Island dressing adapted from James Beard on the side. A cup of mayo, a half cup of heavy cream, a quarter cup of chili sauce, a quarter cup of finely minced green pepper, a quarter cup of finely minced green onion, juice from half a lemon.

    A wonderful, light, Summer dinner.

    Jim

  8. What I find amusing is mineral oil, used for oiling wooden cutting boards and other wood food preparation surfaces. I've read countless times, and was just told by a dealer, to buy mineral oil at the hardware store, or at the fancy kitchenware places that sell these items. Heck no. I get it in the drugstore (probably right next to that bottle of olive oil at that store), in the medicinal aids section. Oils wood, AND cures digestive ills for a third of the price in the cookware stores.

    Where ever you buy mineral oil, make sure it is labeled USP i.e. food grade if you are using it on a cutting board or anything else that comes into contact food. I suspect oil from a hardware store may not have that labeling.

    Jim

  9. I know how to handle the butt in advance; it reheats wonderfully.  But, I'm figuring that the brisket is 10 pounds, and I will cut it in two (to shorten smoking time).

    I see from further downstream that you have already started. I don't think cutting the brisket in half will shorten things much. The way a brisket is shaped, you don't really increase surface area much when you cut it in half.

    Jim

  10. But can anyone offer any comments on why Eckert would package olive oil in this manner, in with the other drug products?  If someone has been told by their gramma to use olive oil for an ear ache, would some people actually go to the drug store for it instead of the salad dressing aisle at the market?  There's actually a small food section at Eckert's Drugstore, and olive oil is there...small bottles of it.

    I can remember a bottle of olive oil in my parent's medicine cabinet back in the '40s and '50s. Nobody in suburbia used it for cooking back then. It was either Crisco or Wesson Oil. We've come a long way, folks!

    Jim

  11. Spyderco makes high-quality folding, locking-blade pocketknives.

    I've had a Spyderco Police Model for about 15 years now. The current version of it does not appear to be available with a hard rubber handle, which I much prefer. I originally purchased it for sailing, but carry it everywhere now. It clips to the inside of my jeans pocket and is available with a flick of the wrist.

    Jim

  12. This brings up an interesting question:

    Has anyone ever had a softshell lobster and also is there any farming of these seemingly potentially delicious crustaceans?

    They are a seasonal thing, not really softshell, but what I would call pliable shell. They are to be avoided. The meat is mushy, and the shell contains a lot of water.

    Jim

  13. Brining poultry works for me. Perhaps your brine is too strong, you are brining too long, or you are brining poultry that has already been "flavor enhanced". I'm fairly sensitive to oversalted foods, but don't have a problem with a properly brined bird. Adding a good portion of sugar to your brine is important. Just because your chef screwed up doesn't make brining a bad thing.

    Jim

  14. I cooked a half-assed Costco-A-Go-Go dinner today. Costco just isn't conducive for a dinner for two. The lamb and butter for the hollandaise sauce came from Costco. Everything else was purchased elsewhere.

    I started with asparagus i7882.jpg

    pea tendrils i7883.jpg

    and a rack of lamb i7886.jpg

    I made a crust for the lamb with a half cup of Panko, three Tbsp of EVOO, three large cloves of garlic run through the garlic press, and the leaves of a large rosemary sprig, finely chopped. i7887.jpg

    The lamb with crust looked like this i7892.jpg

    I got the fire started, lump charcoal with a splint of cherry. i7900.jpg

    and tossed on the lamb i7893.jpg

    I made some Hollandaise sauce from a stick of frozen butter, a Tbsp of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of cayenne and two egg yolks. i7888.jpg

    Only wimps use a double boiler i7889.jpg

    The sauce is coming along nicely i7890.jpg

    And now it's done i7891.jpg

    I started the asparagus in a little water i7894.jpg

    I steamed the pea tendrils for a few minutes and they ended up looking like this i7897.jpg

    I tossed them with a bit of EVOO and raspberry vinegar.

    The lamb finished i7895.jpg

    and I plated things up. i7898.jpg

    i7899.jpg

    We had a loaf of french bread with this butter i7884.jpg

    Looking out into my backyard towards the Sudbury River i7901.jpg

    I bought some raspberries and clotted cream for desert, but we were too full. I think it will make a good breakfast.

    It's the morning after and I'm still full. This was my breakfast i7941.jpg

    Jim

  15. AKA Boyle's law.

    Not jumping on you specifically, Jim, but if I had a truffle :wub: for every time I've heard Boyle invoked over pressure cookers or altitude variations in cooking time...

    Gay-Lussac's Law relates temperature and pressure at constant volume. ( P1/T1 = P2/T2 ) Bingo. That's the relationship we are trying to describe.

    You are correct, of course. I apologize for my sloppyness. I tried to pull something I learned in the '60s off the top of my head, and got it wrong.

    Jim

  16. Wot Jim said, with a small elaboration for completeness' sake:

    The pressure cooker keeps the water and steam at a constant volume so the pressure will build as the liquid heats.  Without a sturdy closed vessel the steam would escape or at least expand, and the water/steam temperature wouldn't increase above the boiling point corresponding to atmospheric pressure at the stove.  The higher pressure raises the boiling point of the water, so the water and steam get hotter instead of expanding, and the higher temperature cooks the food faster.  The pressure/temperature relationship also explains why eggs and pasta take longer to boil in Denver than in Death Valley.

    Nancy

    AKA Boyle's law.

    Jim

  17. Jim,

    Aw shucks! That pan looks like you’ve made my dreams come true!

    Now that's a water pan! Even if it is a charcoal pan...

    Thanks again!

    I should have mentioned that shipping and handling will about double your cost if you order online. If you can find one locally, do so.

    Jim

  18. You can replace the Weber water pan with a Brinkman charcoal pan for greater capacity.  I guess cross posts are against the rules so you will have to find your own source.

    Jim,

    Please elaborate on the water pan swap. I have a WSM and one of my dreams is to be able to go longer than a few hours without having to add water.

    Where do I get the brinkman pan?

    Is it the water pan or the charcoal pan?

    Thanks.

    Contrary to what Fifi just said, it is the Brinkman charcoal pan that replaces the Weber water pan. You can order it here. Scroll down about two thirds of the page. Item #812-0002-0

    Jim

×
×
  • Create New...