slkinsey

I completely agree. I just don't think two wrongs make a right.

I should qualify my post upthread -- in case it is not clear -- to point out that I am not necessarily "pro-pesticides." What I am is "pro-good science" and "anti-sensationalistic fearmongering." This is to say that the EWG may have some points to make, but I think the dishonest way in which they do it obscures the message to an unacceptable point. JohnL also makes some interesting and valid points. It's never been clear to me that there is a reasonable alternative to some form of chemical pest control (be that with naturally-occurring chemicals or manufactured chemicals). When I go to the greenmarket I can always tell which farmer doesn't use any pesticides, because the leaves of his lettuce are always full of tiny holes where they have been eaten by insects. "Organic," it should be pointed out, does not necessarily equal "no pesticides." For example, organic farmers may use things like oil, Bacillus thuringiensis, copper sulfate, pyrethrum, rotenone, etc. for pest control. Many of these natural substances have far greater toxicity and environmental impact than the manufactured pesticides (copper sulfate, for example, has been banned in Europe because it is a permanent soil contaminant that has high toxicity for both humans and fish). I can tell you right now, I would much rather eat a vegetable with a high score on the EWG's list than an organic tomato from the field of a farmer who uses copper sulfate. I'd be interested to hear what some people in a position to know think are reasonable and realistic alternatives to (naturally occurring or manufactured) chemical pest control. (As an aside on the discussion fork re mushroom washing: I believe both Frank McGee and Alton Brown have conclusively shown that mushrooms do not absorb a significant amount of water from a brief rinsing -- or even a lengthy soaking.)

In a strict dollar model, I think it probably goes something like this: But there are many reasons why this is so. On the cheap end of the curve, you're dealing with ingredients that fundamentally don't taste very good to begin with. This speaks to Dave's rule to "never mix a drink with anything you can't choke down straight (although I suppose this doesn't account for bitters). In the middle part of the curve, you're getting a lot of ingredients that not only taste good and have a refined flavor profile, but also often have good intensity of flavor. I don't think anyone would argue, for example, that Booker's doesn't have a more intense flavor than Jim Beam White Label, or that Cointreau doesn't have a more refined flavor than Hiram Walker triple sec. In the middle point of the curve, you're going to find more liquors bottled at higher proof, and you're going to find liquors with some age on them, but not so much that they begin to become less assertive or overly mellow in character. In the expensive part of the curve, you're going to find two categories of ingredient. The most obvious example is an ingredient that is simply too expensive to be consumed in anything other than its pure, unadulterated form. This is where you find your $300 bottles of XO cognac, etc. As Dave pointed out, it's unclear that his "Paradis Sidecar," which would retail for around $120, actually tastes all that much better than a still very expensive "XO Sidecar" that would retail at around 35 or 40 bucks. All the stuff you pay for in a $300 bottle of cognac would be obscured by the other ingredients in the cocktail. The less obvious example is an expensive ingredient that actually doesn't work as well in a cocktail compared to the less expensive one. Many liquors come to be dominated by wood flavors after a certain amount of aging and to lose some interesting characteristics that are present at a younger (aka, less expensive) age. A perfect example is apple brandy. A younger calvados still tastes strongly of apples, whereas one with more age often tastes more of "aged spirit." Other expensive spirits are too subtly flavored to be employed to good use in a cocktail. If you're going to obscure all the subtle floral character of a boutique grappa di moscato by mixing with it, you might as well be using vodka. So, looking at the curve we can think about something like the Jack Rose, a simple cocktail composed of applejack, lemon juice and grenadine. At the lowest end of the scale is regular 80 proof blended applejack, 30% apple brandy blended with 70% neutral spirits. This is actually pretty good. More expensive is Laird's bonded applejack, 100% apple brandy at 100 proof. This has a stronger apple flavor due to the increased percentage of apple brandy, and has more intensity of flavor due to the higher proof and is even better at making its presence felt through the lemon and grenadine. The Jack Rose is better made with the bonded applejack. More expensive still is Laird's 12 year old apple brandy. A Jack Rose made with this wouldn't be very good, because it doesn't taste all that much like apples. Lemon and grenadine would also obscure much of the delicate character.

I, of course, agree with Charles about going to a farmer's market to buy produce. There are many reasons to do this, and pesticides may be one of them. Of course, people in many areas of the US don't have access to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables from farmer's markets, but that is another subject. Here's the thing that I immediately noted upon reading the report: It doesn't really give us any useful information as to the nature and amount of the pesticides found on these various fruits and vegetables. Somehow they arrive at a composite score that supposedly accounts for these factors, but given that the EWG is rabidly anti-pesticide, I think their presentation is somewhat suspect. This isn't the first time the EWG and similar groups have come out with alarmist public releases about pesticides. Here is an interesting article addressing a similar release by the Consumers Union several years ago: This is not to say that we shouldn't strive for ways to use lower levels of pesticides and to develop more targeted and friendly pesticides as well as aggressively exploring non-pesticide methods of pest control in agriculture.

That little "food processor" is part of the Braun Turbo stick blender combo. That particular immersion blender is 400 watt. Very cool. Are you able to add oil while the blade is in motion? My method is (more or less) just to get the yolk going with some acid and salt (and garlic, etc. where appropriate) in the minibowl of my KA and slowly drizzle in the oil.

Nice class! As chance would have it, I'll be making mayonnaise this evening to use on the panini I'm taking to The Metropolitan Opera in Central Park picnic tomorrow. I was happy to see the food processor used in your pictures. From my own experience, I can't endorse the utility of a small food processor bowl (either a 3-4 cup "mini processor" or the minibowl of a KA processor) strongly enough. This is by far the best machine for making mayonnaise I've found.

As far as I could tell, the major difference was that Salt lick was cooking and serving the whole brisket, including the deckel, and Elgin seemed to be only serving (and perhaps only cooking) the first cut.

Dude, are you sure you're not remembering this the wrong way around? I distinctly remember sharing some Elgin brisket and sausage with you and the Psaltises, and my memory is that we found the Elgin brisket unpalatably dry. What I really liked about Salt Lick's brisket is that it was juicy, most likely because they used not only the first cut but also the second cut (aka deckel) of the brisket. Ellen and I got some good video with one of the Salt Lick pitmasters demonstrating the difference between slices from the first and second cuts of the brisket. IMO, the deckel is absolute necessary in a brisket sandwich or plate for the juicy moisture it provides.

Unfortunately, the word is that they are sold out of the Bubba Fast Pass for this year. Much more later when I awaken from my meat-induced coma. One perplexing question: if this is supposed to feature some of the best Q from around the country, why no McRib?

It isn't a calvados per se, since it isn't from France, but Clear Creek Distillery makes a spectacular "Eau de Vie de Pomme" using the traditional methods of Normandy's calvados makers. It's distilled from good old Granny Smith apples from Oregon and aged 8 years in old Limousin oak Cognac barrels. It's often been called "American calvados," and is rated higher than many examples of actual calvados. A 750 ml bottle will only set you back around 35 bucks.

Here is some calvados talk from the thread on the Sidecar cocktail (edited to include only discussion relevant to calvados. If you have a Calvados recommendation I'd appreciate that too. For Calvados, we use the Couer de Lion at Rouge for our Calvados Sidecars. It's about $25 in PA for a 750ml. Undoubtedly less wherever you live. The only other Calvados I have any extensive experience with is the Pere Magliore which is about $5 more. We used to serve that by itself and used the Couer de Lion for mixing. Boulard also makes an under-$30 Calvados that I'm certain would be fine for sidecars. My second and third favorite liquor stores have websites and here's what turned up: Coeur de Lion Pommeau Calvados, France 750ml $17.99/Bottle Coeur Lion Selection Calvados 750ML $24.99/btl Coeur de Lion Reserve Calvados, France 750ml $29.99/Bottle Coeur Lion Calvados Fine 750ML $34.99/btl Coeur de Lion "VSOP" Calvados 750ml $49.99/Bottle Do you know if one of these is the "at Rouge" under a different name? The Coeur de Lion homepage wasn't helpful. The photos aren't too clear but it appears the labels of the "Fine", the "Reserve" and the "VSOP" also say "Calvados du Pays d'Auge". My high school French is well beyond it's expiration date. Is "d'Auge" French for "at rouge"? One of the shops has the Pere Magliore Fine (750ml) at $27.99/Bottle. They also have a Boulard calvados but at $102 something tells me that's not the one you were referring to. I'm thinking the P.Magliore might be the best deal of the bunch. Apparently Chicago prices aren't significantly different from PA prices. Kurt, the "d'Auge" part means "from Auge." It's part of the regulation for calvados d'appellation contrôlée. A Calvados so named must be distilled form apples grown in the orchards of the Pays d'Auge. Very cool article, though. I agree with the authors that some of the younger, less expensive calvados bottlings can actually be better and taste more strongly of apples.

I've only recently begun exploring tequila. By and large I prefer the silver versions. With more wood and age, I just feel that it becomes less and less "tequila like" and more and more like just another aged spirit.

Here's the deal with bread knives: There is no point in spending a lot of money on a bread knife because 1) an expensive forged bread knife won't necessarily outperfom a cheap stamped bread knife, and 2) once the knife does go dull, it's next to impossible to sharpen it back to original condition -- then you have a sixty dollar knife that cuts worse than a ten dollar Ginsu. If I were you, I'd get something like this. It's an 8 inch serrated bread knife with an offset handle. It's made by F. Dick (one of the most respected manufacturers). It will cut bread as well as any knife on the market. It costs twelve bucks.

As a former owner of a Cuisinart and a current owner of a KitchenAid, I lean heavily towards the KA. It's easy to use and clean, the base is heavy, the motor is powerful and the utility of the minibowl cannot be underestimated. Of course, one will always be able to find one or the other manufacturer on a big sale. That's the nature of the beast. Comparing full retail prices, KA seems a clear winner to me. The standard 12 cup KA with 4 cup minibowl has a full retail price of $250 Cuisinart's most comparable model is the 11 cup "Prep 11 Plus" with a full retail price of $320. And, in order to match the KA's functionality, it's another $110 for the 3 cup "Handy Prep." Now, as Steven points out, you can buy an 11 cup "Custom Prep" (which I assume is either an earlier version or the "Prep 11 Plus" or a similar-looking model manufactured for Costco) at Costco for 170 bucks. That gives you another 80 bucks to find a 4 cup food processor for a full match with the KA's functionality at the KA's full retail price. A 5 minute search of the internet turned up a number of sites selling the KitchenAid 12 cup model for around 200 bucks, which narrows the gap considerably. It wouldn't be so easy to find a high quality 4 cup food processor for 30 bucks -- never mind all the extra room it would occupy on your countertop. Given the small ($30) difference in discounted retail price and the fact that KA has the 4 cup minibowl, I think it's crazy not to buy the KA.

In a great bit of irony, only weeks after we've been lamenting that genever is all but impossible to find in NYC, the NY Times does an article on genever. And not only genever, but the even more impossible to find Belgian artisinal genever. Way to do an article on something none of your readers can buy, guys! Anyway, there are some interesting bits worth reading:

Smithy, instead of making what will inevitably be a somewhat dry chicken breast tagine (that's just the nature of the beast), if your friend won't eat chicken thighs or skin why not make the beef and cauliflower tagine? Everyone I've made it for loves it.

I've come up with a pretty good one. It's based on the Improved Holland Gin Cock-Tail as given in Dave Wondrich's new book, only substituting linie aquavit for genever gin. Improved Aquavit Cock-Tail 2 oz : linie aquavit 1 tsp : 2:1 demerara simple syrup 1 tsp : maraschino liqueur 2 dashes : Peychaud's bitters Mix in a glass with ice. Garnish with lemon twist.

Yea, I don't recommend them for fish unless you live in the 'hood and don't want to go to Citarella (of course, if you're really serious about fish, you'll go to Sea Breeze on 9th Avenue). Their fish is from Wild Edibles, and good quality. But it's more or less an add-on. Meat is the reason to go to Oppenheimer. Honestly, I'm not sure I approve of the whole "butcher/fishmonger combination" thing. I'd rather have a good butcher and a good fishmonger separately. The considerations, skills, suppliers and connections for these two different types of purveyor are very different.

The customary brief excerpt for posterity:

We really like Oppenheimer Prime Meats on Broadway just about 96th. They are an old fashioned, full service butcher. Nothing is pre-cut. If you want a porterhouse, they bring out a whole shortloin of prime porterhouse, discuss how you are going to cook it, and cut the steaks to order. The last time I was there, they turned this: Into this: They are my go-to guys for custom cut high quality meat. Their pork chops are something special too.

One last thing, for those of you who may be wondering what I am doing while bergerka is cleaning the dishes and I'm all tired out from cooking a big dinner. . . Usually this.

Sorry about missing your question earlier. I'm not sure it makes sense to change vermouth brands for the purposes of cooking. You're unlikely to taste a significant difference in a pan sauce made with Martini & Rossi white vermouth and one made with Noilly Pratt white vermouth. Certainly you wouldn't want to use red vermouth, except for a few special applications (Batali has a "sweet garlic cloves" thing he does with red vermouth). The only case where you might want to switch would be if you wanted to go drier. I'm not familiar with M&R, but if it's a little bit sweet you should notice a difference switching to Noilly Pratt.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments and a fun time, and special thanks to my counterpart Marlene. It's always interesting to see how different people approach the same idea. Throughout the week I've found myself thinking that, although I wouldn't have cooked what Marlene cooked, I would have been very happy to have been eating at her house that night. I suppose that says something about the personal style or approach to cooking one develops over time, and the fact that it doesn't necessarily include all the things one likes to eat.

I've come down with a very bad cold that just keeps on getting worse. This means that cooking dinner tonight is more or less out of the question. Sorry, but no mystery basket. If we order something in, of course I'll document it here. Anyway, this morning was yeast-raised waffles. This is the legendary Sunbeam Model GC Waffle Baker & Grill, widely held to be the best waffle baker of them all. It has separate removable waffle and pancake/sandwich plates, commercial quality components, a very accurate temperature controller and heavy duty 1250 watt heating elements. They were made in the late 1950s, and this one has been in my family for around 50 years. What I like about it most is that it has very deep pockets without going over to being a "Belgian waffle" style. It makes 4 waffles at a time. Here is the batter and some condiments. Yeast-raised waffle batter is significantly thinner than baking powder-raised waffles, resulting in a much lighter and airier waffle. I also beat the egg whites and egg yolks for additional lightness. Here is one finished batch of waffles, and a single waffle on the plate. The Italian butter (made from the cream of the milk used for parmigiano-reggiano cheese) rocks.

Very cool, Marlene. I regret that I don't have much interesting food stuff for today. For dinner tonight we went to see our friends The Logistical Nightmares perform at A&M Roadhouse. I had a "fried chicken sandwich" with gravy, bacon, cheese and onion. Kathleen had a pulled pork sandwich. Both were, more or less, Applebee's caliber -- but we were there for the music, not the food. We did, however, drink quite a few glasses of nice Stella Artois.