Jump to content

formerly grueldelux

participating member
  • Posts

    175
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by formerly grueldelux

  1. Very interesting. Here's a picture of one from the googler. Does anyone know of any US retail or online sources? Of course you don't need a specific vessel, but they look sort of cool.
  2. Coincidently, the new (July + August) Cook's Illustrated has a bit on pastry brushes. They were down on the silicone ones. The "clear winner" was the OXO Good Grips, which has natural bristles and is dishwasher safe.
  3. Add me to the sampling. I won't be buying any more cookbooks without weight measures.
  4. This has always been the way to do it in my family, if you don't have a dishwasher. Washing dishes under flowing hot water has always struck me as extremely wasteful. I've seen people do a large pile of dishes and keep the hot water running for over half an hour.
  5. Food and Wine has always been way down on my list. I subscribed for a brief period but let it lapse. But that raises another issue: is eGullet killing the food magazine? Since I began spending several hours a week on eGullet I've let lapse over half of my subscriptions to food magazines and newletters. The glossies are starting to seem lame in comparison.
  6. I didn't think it was out there. Maybe it's time to open me a factory.
  7. Italy–garlic Mexico–garlic Korea–garlic Thailand–garlic France–garlic China–garlic Vietnam–garlic India–garlic Argentina–garlic Spain–garlic Greece–garlic Brazil–garlic
  8. Is there anyone packaging chiles in the toothpaste-type tubes that e.g. tomato paste is sold in? I haven't seen such a thing in person or on any of the online Mexican grocers. If it doesn't exist, what do you think of the idea? Seems to me that it would be pretty cool. Dried chiles could be toasted, re-hydrated, ground, packaged. I, for one, would probably keep on hand at least a few varieties. michael
  9. One of the gems from Paul Lukas' "Beer Frame" (a zine focusing on "inconspicuous consumption") was about Twinkies, ring dings etc. The types that have a piece of cardboard supporting the cake. And how you take your finger and run it over the cardboard to lift off the residual gunky bits of crumbs. How that stuff is, for many, the best bit, but a bit that's eaten almost unconsciously.
  10. Where was the lobster roll? I think they both missed the obvious American classic that could have been wittily nudged towards Italy or Japan. Overall, I thought Morimoto won this battle, at least with the concepts; there seemed to be more of an effort to explore the essence of lobster. Mario Batali once too often, in my opinion, simply plugged lobster into an Italian classic. That being said, I'm sure if I had tasted the dishes I too would have voted for Mario, especially given the ignorance of my palate for Japanese food.
  11. Very interesting stuff, yet again. I'm particularly impressed by how, over the course of your eCGI sections and your memorable blog, you've snuck in practically a whole course on British cookery. Can we hope for such a module in the future? I find the bit about ground beef very interesting and it makes me wonder if these insights are used in the industry at all. A restaurant could hold pans of burgers in a 140F oven for 4+ hours and then finish on a grill, for example. Perhaps this way you could get a smaller patty to keep the satisfying juiciness of a thick one (I don't know about burgers in England, but in the States there are countless burger variations but also one type that's fairly constant - the basic bar burger, usually at least 8 oz., grilled, basic adornments. I frequently get this type of burger because, in my experience, it's the surest way to get the best beef experience. But the thing is, I don't really like burgers that big. I'd much rather have two smaller ones, say 5 oz patty on a small bun. Tried to long cook a 5 oz. burger in a couple of ways (sear first, sear at the end etc.) but didn't have much luck because I too couldn't get my oven to give a consistent low temperature (I have a warming drawer that's supposed to range from 100-200 but tops out at 120. I can get it up to 140 if I put the main oven on as well, but the heat isn't consistent.) My winning burger used a pan preheated under the broiler. The burger was then broiled on one side and then held at or near 140F for 4 hours. It was overcooked by the end, but I see the potential. So how do we get these low temperatures? I assume it's easy in 4-oven AGAs. Do you happen to know if other ranges feature ovens that can go below 200F? As a stop-gap, there's always electric appliances, I guess. But many slow cookers, roasters etc. only have a couple of settings, so it's hard to know what temperature you're at. The best range I've seen (EDIT - link removed for not ultimately being that interesting. It was a Nesco 4 Quart slow cooker) claims to start at 150F. I suppose you could put a chicken in there for hours at 155F then blast it in the oven to crisp the skin. Also looking more interesting after reading your piece are devices that control grills and smokers, like this one from bbq guru Some of the products are geared to high end cookers, but it looks like they're adaptable to even cheaper Weber kettles and home made pits. Even lower and even slower. Thanks.
  12. I'm not even sure I agree with this, though I'm of two minds about it. Amanda's stated reason for getting peeved at her grandmother for eating hearty breakfasts while on a trip to Rome is that Granny should experience the rhythm and structure of a traditional ROman lunch, which she is unable to do if she's full from breakfast. But I don't entirely buy that, nor do I completely buy into the notion that one *should* follow all local customs when visiting. I was actually speaking only on the subject of coffee customs, not food customs in general, but I realize using the phrase "when in Rome" confused things. What I mean about the latte question is simply that we should learn as much as we can from countries with more developed coffee cultures, but once we learn to appreciate a fine espresso, for example, we are free to develop our own culture around it. A perfect espresso is great after dinner, but so is warm espresso-spiked milk. Take your pick. Just because Italians do things a certain way doesn't mean we need to at home, provided we treat the coffee itself with the repect that they do. Amanda Hesser, at least in the Mr. Latte pieces, seems to think it's bad form to have a latte after dinner yet she's the one showing bad form for caring. It's the overreaching kid from the sticks coming to Capital City and trying too hard to be wised-up. If the book ends with a bit of realization along these lines, then great, I take it all back. So on that issue, she's just wrong, in my book. The other stuff is more complicated. I'd certainly be bothered if someone I brought to Italy wouldn't at least attempt to resist the hotel buffet. "Uncivilized" is a bit of an exaggeration, but I do think you should try to roll with the local customs as much as possible. But when you wake up in Rome powerfully hungover and desperate for coffee but late for lunch with friends at a restaurant and with no time to get a coffee at the hotel or on the way to the restaurant, and the waiter jokingly but seriously refuses to give you an espresso until after lunch, stupid american, feel free to pelt him with antipasti. And ask for ketchup and coke.
  13. I would hope by book's end she'd become even a little self-aware. Maybe she'll realize she's been so obsessed with trying to collect all the "correct" things to think about food that she's never learned to think for herself or listen to her appetite. The latte business is classic. It's one thing to learn from cultures that have richer coffee traditions, and to strive to match that level of expertise and appreciation. And certainly when in Rome it would be almost uncivilized to not learn and pretty much follow local customs. But at home? With friends? In New York? Drink a latte whenever you damn please! Perhaps you can let us know if she comes around by the end of the book.
  14. I too like how it feels and looks but I haven't been able to get enough technical specs. to warrant a purchase. I spoke with a Tfal rep. at a department store, I even called customer service. The only info. they have is that the aluminum layer is "thick". They either don't know or won't tell exactly how thick. -michael
  15. Seeing there are many people with kids off fighting the war, I am sure they'd differ with your opinion. I am part of a very small clan myself, due to deaths, and to the fact that sis took hubbie and kids and moved to FL. So...for some of us, sharing time with people who are our flesh and blood--those whom I love, and who love me, is very special to me. If you find yourself at the kids' table, it's no wonder why. Our kids' table is reserved for those who don't recognize black humor.
  16. That does sound good. Maybe a little chili oil, garlic. On a similar note, matzo brei and chilaquiles make a tasty collision. Either chilaquiles made with matzo or brei made with tortillas, with variations. Yum. -michael
  17. Isn't once a year more than enough? Didn't we invent Thanksgiving as a way to distance ourselves from family? We can now have a couple of ritual dinners per year where family is celebrated, but the real point is to give thanks for the 49 Sundays per year when we're all blessedly apart. -michael
  18. I might be a slightly bigger fan of CI "ethnic" offerings. I think the recipes serve as reliable introductions to a cuisine. They aim at a hypothetical Everyman with an interest in cooking but not a consuming one, a person with no desire or time to shop outside of a mainstream supermarket. Not the type of person who'd delve deeply into Hot Sour Salty Sweet, for example, but one who just wants five or six reasonably authentic recipes for Vietnamese night every couple of months. Lemongrass and fish sauce are embraced but the line is drawn at galanga and lime leaf. Like I'd bet most people on these boards, I wish they'd raise the bar, but I can't say I've ever found a recipe other than delicious. I'm with you on the velveting though. I guess I'm going to have to do a direct comparison and make up my mind. -michael
  19. Did anyone notice the Cook's Illustrated take on velveting in the new May/June 2004 issue? First they have this incredible breakthrough idea - soak the chicken in a soy sauce marinade instead of brining it. Imagine! Then they introduce us to velveting. They define velveting as coating the chicken "in a thin cornstarch and egg white or oil mixture, then parcooking in moderately heated oil [no mention of amount]" They choose cornstarch/oil over cornstarch/egg white. They then state that the result was supple but pale, and "far too involved for a quick weeknight dinner." So. They then explore coating the chicken in the same way but skipping the parcooking. This resulted in equally "juicy and tender" chicken that had an "attractive golden brown coating" (which is presumably better than a pale one.) Further tweaks to the coating resulted in a recipe including equal parts a.p. flour and corn starch with some sesame oil. They then proceeded to cook chicken over high heat in 1 tablespoon of peanut oil. So in other words, nothing at all like velveting except for the presence of a coating. It's a stir fry in which the chicken has been lightly battered. Peculiar. But interesting. Do you think it's true that marinated chicken coated in a cornstarch mixture and sauteed in minimal oil can be as tasty as traditional velvet chicken? It's certainly more convenient. -michael
  20. Chubby Chicken! Though I have to say it's been over 20 years since I've tasted it, so who knows if it's only a sentimental choice. I remember the skin as spicy, crisp and not too thick. My first summer job was at an A&W so I used to have it all summer long. We used to pride ourselves on being better than KFC because we would spend the time to properly clean/trim the chicken. -michael
  21. And a SNL peak moment (at least for me) - Crystal Gravy. For those who never saw it, it was a mock ad for a clear, colorless and viscous gravy. It was sending up the trendlet of crystallizing various products - eg. Crystal Pepsi. Hilarious. -michael
  22. Interesting, thanks. I can see that the benefits will quickly plateau. Home cuvee aside, I still think it's odd that people, at least from my experience, are completely passive about the wine they drink, and way too reluctant to do anything to make a particular glass more pleasant . They'll either suffer through it or pour it out , but for some reason would never consider doing something even as simple as adding a tablespoon of water. -michael
  23. But of course you were already a bad-ass cook. I still have several of the recipes from your eGCI module in heavy rotation. -michael
  24. Yes it's sensible to seek out a reliable merchant to steer you to balanced wines, but I agree with britcook - it's inevitable that some bottles from even the most reputable merchants might benefit from a splash of something in the glass. It's peculiar to me that people are so reluctant to do this. They'd sooner pour a glass down the sink then try to make it more to their liking. Can you concoct a decent table wine out of blend of $3-$5 wines? Is it instructive to try? Though Brad might be right that it's plonk in plonk out, I'm not yet convinced, and while I continue my experiments I'm thinking more critically about things like balance than I ever do when drinking a better bottle. Suppose I took the cheapo factor out of the equation. Suppose you started with a bunch of respected varietals in the $20-25 range. Do you think it would be instructive/intersting/fun to try to come up with a pleasing blend? I do. -michael
  25. Do you ever mix two or more wines in a glass? Me neither, until I recently did a Charles Shaw taste test. Like a lot of people, I found them only barely drinkable but I found that when I mixed the cab with the merlot the result was much better than barely drinkable. This act was quite liberating, and I was left wondering why I never tried it before. Why, for example, I suffered through all those bad wines in the past when I probably could have come up with a tasty red wine cocktail if had only thought of it. Obviously I respect the winemaker's craft too much to consider this with any remotely serious wine, but with cheap ones I now feel no restrictions. If one wine is way too dense or oaky, for example, I'll lighten it up with some beaujolais or something with more fruit. I hosted an event for a couple of friends (all of us with only basic wine knowledge) and we had four different bottles from which we made a half dozen blends and then tasted, compared etc. It was a lot of fun. With this I realized that I was actually learning something about wine in the process. It wasn't just a perverse frugality instinct run amok (because, you might ask, why wouldn't I just start with a better wine?). So what do you think? Is this a common practice? Does anyone else share this habit? And a question for the experts, is this sort of thing a part of a typical wine education? I suspect the main criticsm will be that making a blend from poor varietals won't teach you all that much. But what if it's done with good ones? -michael
×
×
  • Create New...