slkinsey

What would be interesting to see, and perhaps it will evolve in this direction, would be an actual NYC style of barbecue to emerge. John Brown's barbecue pastrami and other offerings (I have sampled barbecue foie gras there) might be moving in this direction. One thing I will say I notice is that there seems to be a preference for a much more prominent smoke component among people here than there is in most indigenous barbecue areas.

I just had an opportunity to drive from Houston into the heart of Hill Country, stopping at a number of the most famous TX barbecue places on the way. It was good. Great, really. Of course. But I have to say, the meat wasn't categorically better than what they're serving at Hill Country Barbecue Market on 23rd Street, and HCBM's sides are significantly better. I'll take an even more heretical step and say that the barbecue at John Brown Smokehouse in Queens -- especially their pastrami, which is absolutely phenomenal -- is better than any of the barbecue I had in the Texas Hill Country this trip.

This is a restaurant thing rather than a grocery thing, but visitors from the South to the North in the United States are occasionally surprised to find that iced tea is not available year-round (or often at all) in restaurants up here.

I'm not so sure that this spoon looks very comfortable to use. There are two ways you can use the spoon when you stir: (1) You can grip the shaft firmly and move the spoon in a circular motion without letting the shaft of the spoon rotate in your fingers. In this case, the cup of the spoon is always facing in the same direction. So, for example, if the back of the spoon is facing the wall of the mixing vessel in the 12 o'clock position, the front of the spoon will face the wall of the mixing vessel in the 6 o'clock position and the side of the spoon will face the wall of the mixing vessel in the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions. (2) You can grip the shaft lightly and allow the shaft rotate in your fingers while making a circular motion. In this case, the cup of the spoon maintains its orientation relative to the mixing vessel. So, for example, if the back of the spoon is facing the wall of the mixing vessel in the 12 o'clock position, it will face the wall of the mixing vessel throughout the circular motion. The latter technique, in my opinion, creates less turbulence in the liquid and is more gentle on the ice. But, since the shaft of the spoon rotates in your hand as you stir, a twisted shaft with edges can really tear up the skin on your "stirring fingers." For this reason, I prefer a smooth shaft. Yours looks like it would be especially rough on the skin. What I'd love to see at some point is a stirring spoon where the shaft of the spoon is encased in a closely-fitting metal tube so that the spoon would be free to rotate in the glass but the part in your hand wouldn't rotate. I agree with those who would like to see a precise 1 tsp spoon. I also prefer a more elongated "teardrop" shape compared to the rounder shape you have there. It makes it easier to float, I think. Finally, if you made the reverse end heavy enough and in a useful shape to crack ice cubes, that would be a nice feature.

"Beefyness" can decrease somewhat with long cooking. This is a good reason to chill LT/LT beef after it's cooked, then give it a good sear in a hot pan to develop a crust and Maillard flavors, then rethermalize and serve. Also, if you are getting a "corned beef" like flavor and texture, this is because you have salt in the bag and the salt is effectively "curing" the meat in the bag as it cooks over 48-72 hours. It's no different from brining the meat for 48-72 hours, which we would expect to result in a corned-like flavor and texture. You should only salt the meat once it is finished cooking and out of the bag, and this will avoid curing the meat.

UHT processing is technically not pasteurization, and is 275 deg. F (135 deg. C) for 2 seconds, plus some special filtration and aseptic packaging. Most "low temperature pasteurized" milk is treated at 161 deg. F (72 deg. C) for 15 seconds. The 30 minute treatment at 145 deg. F (63 deg. C) is for batch, rather than continuous processing.

Bob's Gluten-Free Biscuit and Baking Mix includes both baking powder and baking soda.

Sauteed chicken livers. But I have to agree with Mitch (hold the presses!). The pre-cooked tubes of polenta are awful. If you want to like polenta and would like to want to have it again, chuck the tube and go out and buy some quick-cooking polenta (most polenta sold nowadays is the quick-cooking variety). It cooks up in about 5 minutes and is way better than any polenta you'll ever get out of a tube. There's no more need to buy precooked polenta than there is to buy precooked grits or precooked oatmeal.

Ginger-Scallion noodles.

The best meatballs I've ever had in terms of moistness even through repeated reheatings are the lamb meatballs from Beacon (search the forums). The secret ingredient, in my opinion, is the inclusion of quite a bit of strained Greek yogurt. I now include this whenever making any kind of meatball.

I use them and like them. But not everyone likes the tactile sensation. Mrs. slkinsey prefers plastic straws because they have a little "give."

Some other points to consider: Sparrow Robertson was born in 1859, making him 19 years old at the time the Old Pal was allegedly invented by him. The Powderhall Foot Races took place near Edinburgh, Scotland (the place of Robertson's birth). So, for consideration is whether this seems like an 1870s drink; whether cocktail culture had much of a foothold in 1870s Scotland; and whether any of rye whiskey, vermouth (either French or Italian) and Campari would have been available with sufficient ubiquity to have been combined into a cocktail at a footrace in 1870s Scotland by a 19 year old. This seems rather unlikely to me, but who knows?

Again I'd say it's not just the vermouth, it's both*. The various Old Pal recipes from around that period call for Canadian Whiskey or Rye (with dry vermouth), and the Boulevardier is/was Bourbon (with sweet vermouth). Like other drinks I'd fully expect their to have been some form of evolution or change across different books but every one I own or have access to detail these specifics (with these same ratios). Possibly a bigger difference between Canadian and bourbon at that time? Is Toby mistaken that the earliest recipe for the Boulevardier in Harry's ABC called for Canadian whiskey?

So... interesting. If the original recipes called for Canadian whiskey, then I suppose it settles the question in favor of the style of vermouth being the original difference between the two drinks.

I believe the first publication of the Old Pal was in an early version of Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails. In my experience, McElhone doesn't call for Canadian Whisky very often. The only cocktail I can find in his "Barflies and Cocktails" that calls for Canadian Club rather than Rye, Bourbon, Scotch, or Irish Whisky is the "Canadian Cocktail". That said, I don't have an early edition of Harry's ABC to check and the Old Pal was omitted from Barflies and Cocktails. When Harry Craddock included the Old Pal in the Savoy Cocktail Book, as with most of the cocktails which called for Rye or Bourbon originally, he called for Canadian Club. In this NYT article on the Boulevardier, Toby Ceccini writes: "The drink is credited to Harry McElhone, the founder and proprietor of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, and dated to 1927. It is mentioned only glancingly in his book “Barflies and Cocktails,” not in the 300-odd cocktail recipes that make up the bulk of that volume, but rather in a tongue-in-cheek epilogue that follows, recounting the antics of his regular customers. In a brief paragraph, he cites: “Now is the time for all good barflies to come to the aid of the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boulevardier Cocktail: 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian vermouth, 1/3 Bourbon whisky.” McElhone’s earlier volume, “Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails,” has the cocktail listed using Canadian Club as the whisky." (Emphasis mine.) Given the clear relationship between the two drinks, I would imagine the Old Pal was also originally with Canadian Club.

Doesn't the Old Pal originally call for Canadian Club whiskey?

Using celeriac in a stock sounds interesting. I would have thought it would make the stock cloudy with starch, like potato would, but apparently it's no more starchy than a carrot.

Only because you haven't had a fishamajig. Actually, for a megachain fast food place, I have to give props to Long John Silver's. I would probably eat a fish sandwich there.

That's not really going to get you the same thing as Steen's, unfortunately. . . . . I'm wondering whether the stuff exported to the US has a slightly different flavour profile to the UK syrup, which has a just the faintest saltiness to it, and tastes very rich and full. I think Dave the Cook's 'sunny' pretty much nails it. I don't think there is any difference between UK Lyle's and US Lyle's. As far as I know, it's the same product. Although I suppose it might be possible that the NYC groceries where I buy it are actually bringing in the UK version (Fairway has a largeish section of imported British products). Anyway, I would say that my impression of Lyle's matches your own: faint saltiness, rich and full. Certainly with a much richer/fuller/more interesting flavor compared to something like light Karo. But some of this depends on one's frame of reference. Lyle's is certainly "rich and full" compared to light Karo, but it's also "bland and sweet" compared to Steen's.

That was my thinking as well: overboil semolina pasta in water, VitaPrep it into oblivion, strain out any chunks and freeze.

Why not get a lexan with a lid? Stock pots work okay, and have the added benefit of being multitaskers. It's what I normally use. But something that's shallower and wider (like a lexan or a cooler) would be more convenient, especially when putting in lots of items. Personally, I don't get the whole pingpong balls thing. With a lexan or a cooler, just modify the lid to accommodate the circulator. If you're using a stock pot, just get a restaurant-sized roll of cling film (which is great to have around the kitchen anyway) and cover the stock pot with cling film when doing extended sous vide cooking (there is little need for any cover if you're doing fewer than 8 hours or so).

Yes, I've done it. No, it's not really worth doing. As others have said, eye round is not particularly flavorful. It's fine to cook SV to rare and use for roast beef sandwiches. But that's about the only thing I'd do with it. I suppose if you had some plan to do beef medallions heavily sauced, it might be worth doing as well. But I'd prefer to do that with a more flavorful cut. If you want to do eye round SV for roast beef, I'd consider doing things to increase the flavor. For example, you could thoroughly trim it, aggressively brown the trimmings, make a minor amount of broth with them and then put that in the bag while you're cooking the meat to get some more beefy umami in there. Or you could use a spice rub or something like that. Or you could brine it with something flavorful. Otherwise... meh.

Pretty much the same way I felt about it. I enjoyed the 20th well enough and the offshoot 19th (bourbon, dubonnet rouge, creme de cacao, lemon juice) even more (I think, it's been a while) but something about the 21st didn't work as well for me. My lack of experience left me unable to figure out exactly what that something was but it didn't feel like it continued the chain started by the other two and didn't completely agree with me even as a standalone outside of the "century" theme. I'm pretty sure that the 19th Century, as originally formulated by Brian Miller at Pegu Club, contained bourbon, Lillet Rouge, white creme de cacao and lemon juice. Not that Dubonnet Rouge (or even Bonal) wouldn't work plenty well. But your point is well made about the fact that this tequila drink breaks the model, which in its loosest interpretation is: base spirit, white creme de cacao, quinquina, sour citrus. The two elements that hold these drinks together, in my opinion, is the white creme de cacao and the quinquina. Without that thread of chocolate and the bitter quinine finish, it just doesn't taste like a "century" drink to me. The connection is further muddled by the incorporation of non-cannonical absinthe. I'm not saying it isn't a good drink, just that it's a bit "one of these things is not like the other" alongside the 20th Century and the 19th Century. In the case of the 19th Century, the use of a stronger-tasting and more tannic red quinquina made sense together with whiskey. With tequila, I'd think that a return to a white quinquina would be in order -- perhaps an Americano would be interesting. I'd be interested to see what tequila, white creme de cacao, Cocchi Americano and lime juice would taste like.

Frankies Spuntino?

Properly made punch is not all that alcoholic. Maybe around 15% abv (i.e., the same strength as a robust modern red wine).