slkinsey

Daniel and touaregsand, let's try to keep this on topic and not try to nitpick each other. The premise that Hesser had some kind of substantial financial entanglement with Vongerichten because he blurbed her book is absurd. It's not like she's one of the backers for Spice Market, or that they are working together on a new cookbook. People blurb books all the time as a matter of professional courtesy. To suggest that there is a quid pro quo relationship over a book blurb because of the dollar value that blurb brings to the table strains credulity. Now, there may be valid reasons for Hesser to have disclosed her relationship with Vongerichten. One could make the argument that she should have disclosed the fact that he blurbed her book. I'm not making those arguments, I'm just pointing out that they don't have to do with whether Hesser is profiting in any financial way from Vongerichten's blurb on her book cover. More to the point, going back and forth over this very minute point is not contributing to the dialogue on this topic of discussion.

There are several possibilities why ex-smokers may not perceive any significant changes in "palate" after quitting. Per my post above, we're mostly talking about the sense of smell. Smoking does not seem to affect taste. 1. Smell sensitivity varies widely, and most people don't consciously notice whether their sense is acute or dull. It even usually takes people who develop asnomia some time to figure out what has gone wrong. This means that smokers and ex-smokers may simply not notice that they have reduced sensitivity because everything seems "normal" to them. 2. Similarly, because natural smell sensitivity varies widely, it makes sense that some people with a naturally highly sensitive sense of smell could have this sensitivity reduced by smoking and still maintain good sensitivity. 3. As jayt90 points out, it may be the case that the smell senses have already naturally declined with age. 4. Ex-smokers may continue to be exposed to significant amounts of secondhand smoke, thereby significantly mitigating any potential recovery of smell sensitivity. 5. Per my post above, it may be the case that cessation of smoking does not lead to dramatic repopulation of olfactory sensory neurons (and therefore increased olfactory sensitivity). In other words, it's possible that the decreased smell sensitivity that results from smoking may be, to a large extent, permanent.

"Suggested retail" means "the price at which the manufacturer suggests vendors sell the product." Some products, for example, are deliberately priced high because high prices are associated with perceptions of high value. For this reason, manufacturers often will not give vendors "authorized retailer" status (which is necessary for the manufacturer's warranty to be valid) unless they sell at the suggested retail price. What Bridge is saying is that they are selling at 30% below that price. It's unclear, however, whether this is always going to beat other prices. Amazon.com, for example, is offering some pieces at up to 48% off the suggested price.

There appears to be no evidence that smoking has an effect on the taste receptors. The smell receptors are a different story. There does seem to be some evidence that people who are exposed to a lot of cigarette smoke have a reduced ability to identify certain odors. One major contributing factor seems to be that cigarette smoke causes greatly increased death rates of olfactory sensory neurons which overwhelms the olfactory epithelium's ability to regenerate. There is also the fact that nicotine affects perception.

Mooshmouse is the winnah! First, of course, I had to have a drink. . . This one I made up on the spot. Two ounces of gin, an ounce of ginger-infused simple syrup, a quarter-ounce of Yellow Chartreuse, 3/4 ounce of lime juice and one raw egg white. Nice. Before the bibimbap, we had a pa jun. This one has kimchi, scallions and red bell pepper. Here's the finished pa jun with the dipping sauce. Here's one dolsot on the stove. Here's the finished dolsot bibimbap. Here I'm starting to mix it up. Note the crunchy bits of rice. Here it is completely mixed up (and slightly out of focus for your viewing pleasure) and dosed with kochujang.

It's a secret. Let's see who can figure it out. Here are my ingredients: Leftover short rib meat, leftover bean sprouts, leftover mushrooms, leftover asparagus, shredded carrots I had around, scallions, red bell pepper, rice, various spicy pickled vegetables, red pepper paste, eggs and two large thick bowls made of stone. Begins with a "B" . . . Ends with a "P" . . .

Cool stuff. I've found those small food processors to be the best thing for making mayonnaise or any other emulsified cold sauce -- much better than a blender. For a food processor, I have one of the KitchenAids with a mini-bowl inside so I could have a large bowl and a small bowl processor all in one. I probably use the small one more frequently.

It should be pointed out that there is a big difference between eating a food that contains enzyme-producing bacteria and just eating a food that contains the target enzyme. The enzyme-producing bacteria may (depending on the bacteria) survive the environment of the stomach, take up residence in the intestines and continue to produce the target enzyme or provide other benefits (such as breaking down molecules we cannot digest into molecules we can digest). That said, presumably some non-produced enzymes do appear to have some activity in the digestive system. Two good examples are lactase pills and Beano. Whether there are enzymes that provide any substantial benefits when consumed in the form of natural raw foods strikes me as unclear at best.

Very nice. Thanks for checking with Sitram!

I think this is easier to do with the whole leg than just the thigh. You have more to work with that way. My usual method of making them, and I usually make enough to fill a small Pyrex baking dish) is to roll them up with the skin on in foil as described above, pack them into a baking dish and bake them in the oven some unspeficied length of time until done (it's hard to overcook leg meat in this context). Then I cut a hole in the foil, drain the liquid into a small saucepan (this becomes the sauce), unroll and place the chicken onto a baking dish and broil them until browned on the outside. I've never had any problems with flabby skin, because the skin seems to shrink a bit anyway during the first stage and render out most of its fat. I've actually never made it your way. For some reason, I tend to stay away from using toothpicks to hold things together.

No spices. Just salt and white pepper. I am, in general, not a fan of heavily spiced chicken skin. I like the salty chicken flavor to come out uninhibited. The vegetables were blanched to not-quite-tender in salted water and then shocked in an ice bath. Then they were reheated just prior to service in a very intense reduction of chicken broth. Once warm, I placed the vegetables on the plate, plated the chicken and mushrooms, then mounted the chicken glace with butter to thicken it and give it some gloss, gave it a touch of fresh lemon juice for acidity, threw in some minced parsley and drizzled the sauce over the vegetables. Exactly. I wrapped them rightly in several turns of heavy duty foil, then twisted the ends to pack everything tightly together. Completely watertight -- in fact, a fair amount of liquid came out when they were opened (this went into the sauce). Prior to browning these pieces, they rested for a while and then I patted them dry. Ordinarily, I brown the skin under the broiler when I do chicken legs like this. But it seemed like a waste to do with just two pieces.

Just for the dessert record, I did make bread pudding for Sunday's dinner party. Okay, here is the rest of tonight: Here are the legs. I've deboned them, so they are now rectangles of skin-on dark meat. The turnip greens and diced mushrooms went inside, then they were wrapped in heavy foil and put in a water bath in the oven. Here I am cooking the breast meat (skin side down about 70% of the time) and also browning the skin on the cooked leg meat rolls. Meanwhile, I needed a drink. The true classic Martini: 2 parts gin, 1 part white vermouth, a dash of orange bitters and a lemon twist. Here is one view of the finished dish. Here's another.

Yes, congratulations Marlene. That looks great. It's always intimidatingly touch-and-go when you're using a technique you haven't used much before. And spit roasting is not as easy as it looks. I know some people will revile me for this, but... I... I... don't usually eat dessert.

Okay, chicken with Spring vegetables. Rather than roasting a whole chicken, I am going to cook it in sections off the bone. The legs will be deboned, stuffed and gently poached; and the breasts will be fried for a crispy skin. This will go with a melange of Spring vegetables glazed with butter and chicken stock. Here are the vegetables. I'll blanch/shock the turnips, onions and radishes prior to the glazing step. I'll also blanch and peel the fava beans. The morels I'll cook separately, and the asparagus is tender enough that it doesn't have to be blanched. I want everything with just a hint of crunch left. Here's the chicken. It's free roaming/organic. I'll stuff the legs with (blanched) turnip greens and diced mushrooms.

Tuesday's breakfast. Yadda yadda yadda.

Sorry. Probably the booze talking. The variety of potato is "Russian banana." The dish itself is inspired by Peter Luger's "German potatoes," which as far as I can tell is diced roasted potatoes.

We could do Thai food for the mystery meal, but only if I get to borrow JosephB.

I am by and large not a fan of vodka, but it is useful for the occasional drink and Charbay does make a good product. That is their blood orange vodka that I bought because I wanted to try making a kumquat-based drink from Town called Convent in Chile. The best place to get Charbay is Astor Wines down by Astor Place. That is actually probably the best area to get liquor in Manhattan, because right around the corner from Astor Wines is Warehouse Wines & Spirits. These two places combined likely represent the best selection of liquor in Manhattan.

Nothing fancy tonight. And light. We definitely wanted something light. First, though, a drink. . . This is the Pear Martini from Blue Ribbon. 2 ounces Belle de Brillet, 1 ounce citrus vodka, 1 ounce fresh line juice. In the glass and garnished. For dinner tonight, we made "hot soup featuring garlic" as the main event. In this case, it was what I call "faux pho" -- bean sprouts, slivered garlic, boiled short ribs, cilantro, scallion, garlic chive and pieces of paper thin lime with hot beef broth poured over. Just what the doctor ordered after a night of overindulgence.

I saved all the rendered fat and poured it back over the steaks on the platter. It's important, in this style, to cut the steak right on the platter on which you will be serving it (after resting the steak in the same platter). That way all the juices from the steak are in the platter and can be spooned back over the steak. For this reason, I didn't feel like it needed any additional butter. For a grilled steak, though, I like a pat of anchovy butter or herb butter melted over the steak in the platter. For the roasting stage, I stood the steaks up on their end bones (something you can't really do unless it's a very thick steak), put a thermometer probe down into the strip and roasted them to 125 degrees in a 350 degree oven.

Marlene, here's the truly amazing thing: Thanks to bergerka (still asleep), the kitchen this morning looks exactly the way it did before I started cooking yesterday. Maybe even better.

This morning's breakfast:

Most of it I buy at regular NYC liquor stores. The falernum and bonded Laird's I think I ended up finding at Spec's in Houston, TX the last time I was down there. If you can't find the Fee Brother's stuff (and it's fairly well available via online order), just contact them. They're good people: http://www.feebrothers.com/ And for bitters, don't forget Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6.

I'm barely conscious, but let's see if I can sum up. I just didn't have it in me to do this at 1 AM. . . First, a little bit more of the prep and cooking: Here we have some spinach and shallots before and after processing in preparation for being turned into creamed spinach. Always fun to see how much the spinach reduces in bulk. This is the caramel for the bread pudding at two different stages. Here's the bread pudding just before the custard went on to it. It's brioche cubes, caramel and Ghirardelli double chocolate chips. The custard was made from egg yolks, milk and cream. Here's some of the food cooking on the stove. Browning the porterhouse before standing it up on the end bones and moving it to the oven; German banana potatoes cooking with olive oil, pieces of whole garlic and, later, some rich chicken stock; mushrooms roasting in the oven with butter, thyme and, later, some bread crumbs and parmigiano-reggiano. Then it was time for a drink. 2 ounces of Laird's bonded applejack, 1/4 ounce of 2:1 demerara simple syrup, 2 bid dashes of Fee Brothers aromatic bitters. After we had that, a few of us were still thirsty, so I made a 2:1:1 Sidecar with Domaine Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy, Cointreau and fresh lemon juice. Here are the two cocktails in the glass. The old fashioned applejack cocktail is on the left, the Sidecar on the right. Fat Guy brought over a dry kielbasa that we nibbled on with our drinks, along with some radishes ewindels brought. I've never had a dried kielbasa before. It was pretty good. Dinner proper started with a salad. Long julienne strips of cucumber, paper thin slices of red onion, chopped white anchovies, lemon juice and good Sicilian unfiltered evoo. Then it was time for the main event. Creamed spinach with crispy shallots (wilted/pressed spinach, cream, parmigiano-reggiano, crispy fried shallots). Russian banana potatoes. These cooked such a long time that the chicken stock I had added to the pan glazed on to the outside of the potatoes and caramelized/maillardized to much that the potatoes were like candy. The roasted mushrooms. The steaks. These turned out incredibly delicious. Really first rate. Just as tender as could be. And, at this thickness, cooked almost more like a roast. Each slice tended to be the same degree of doneness throughout, but there was a range of doneness available to satisfy most tastes. I preferred the rarer pieces, but even the tail pieces (which were cooked to a full medium at least) were juicy and delicious. By the time I got some food on my plate, I had lost the discipline to take pictures. Maybe later I'll take a few shots of the (shockingly small amount of) leftover steak to give an idea of how it looked in slice form. Since we found ourselves wanting something to drink, I was able to reach into my cellar and pull out a little something. This picture is after Fat Guy and I decanted it. As you can see from my avatar, I've been drinking the good French reds for quite a few years. Here is the finished bread pudding. ewindels also brought a strawberry tart. Both were most delicious.

So far this is what I have on the menu for this evening: Cocktail: An as-yet unnamed variation on the Tombstone -- 2 ounces of Laird's bonded (100 proof) applejack, 1 teaspoon 2:1 demerara simple syrup, 2 big dashes of Fee Brothers aromatic bitters, stir with cracked ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with fat lemon twist. Fat Guy may bring something to munch on. Then a salad: Cucumber, red onion, mint, and a touch of white anchovy. Then the steak: um. . . this will be steak And the sides: I'm going old-school -- creamed spinach, German potatoes and roasted mushrooms. Dessert: chocolate caramel bread pudding.