slkinsey
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Posts posted by slkinsey
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It is worthwhile to point out, while we're at it, that all the most potent toxins known to humankind are of "natural" origin (which is to say, produced by animals, plants, bacteria, etc. as opposed to chemical reactions in a laboratory or factory).
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I don't have anything substantial to add other than to thank Ya-Roo for one of the more interesting threads I've read for some time. Keep it coming.
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How well you can wok-cook totally depends on the strength of your burner. Fundamentally, there is only so much you can do with a regular residential burner. To compensate for this, you want something with a very high heat capacity. I suggest the Le Creuset enameled cast iron woks.
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As it so happens, I am going to hold a Burns' Night dinner here in NYC (I am of Scottish extraction). Stay tuned for details, including picture of eGullet personalities clad in kilts and pickled on Famous Grouse.
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Welcome to eGullet, chef. I hope we can help you come up with a few good ideas re investors, and I hope you continue to check back with us to let us know how the restaurant project is going.
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So they really do still drink Tang?! That is so cool!
At least my 7 year-old self had one thing in common with the astronauts!
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It totally depends on how long you brew the coffee, too. If you use the 2 T/cup formula, you don't need to brew the coffee for very long. This extracts all the good stuff and very little of the not-so-good stuff, while still providing a nicely strong cup of coffee. The only way to get the same level of flavor with less coffee is to brew it longer (which can either be via extended steeping in a presspot or a finer grind in a drip system). But this results in the extraction of more not-so-good stuff, and ultimately an inferior cup.
Then again, I suppose some people prefer coffee-flavored water.
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Okay... but, for the sake of clarity, Steven and I can easily eat enough food for four people between the two of us.
Obviously you haven't yet had the pleasure of going mano-a-mano with JJ and me.
Hmmmmm... if Steven, Jason and I went up against you, JJ and Eric Malson, it would be scary. And, yes, I think the skinny guys would win. YOU BASTARDS!
Okay. I feel better now.
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Make "coniglio in fricò."
Cu the rabbit up into parts and brown it thoroughly in a heavy pot over high heat. Then throw in some whole cloves of garlic, several sprigs of rosemary and a bunch of juniper berries. Then pour in a thin layer of dry white wine and slap a lid on the pot. Every so often, add a little big more wine to keep a shallow layer of furiously boiling liquid on the bottom of the pan. When the bottle is empty and the last of the wine evaporated, the rabbit is done.
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It depends laegely on which top-shelf liquors you're talking about. Raynickben's assertion is based on certain assumptions about congeners. Congeners are non-ethyl alcohols (amyl alcohol, propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, etc.) and other "impurities" that inevitably find their way into any distilled beverage.
The theory is that top-shelf liquors cause fewer or less severe hangovers, or more specifically headaches (there are many components to a hangover besides headache), because they contain fewer congeners. There is a certain element of truth in this, and there is evidence that congeners do play a role in hangover headaches. That said, there are several problems with this theory:
First, headaches are only one component of a hangover, and congeners only play a partial role in headaches. Dehydration caused by excessive alcohol consumption also leads to headaches and overall discomfort. Then there's the fat that drinking leads to an acid stomach and other gastrointestinal problems. Excessive alcohol consumption also disturbs the drinker's REM sleep, leaving him tired and sluggish. And, of course, there's the bad breath and waking up next to some hideous person who you could swear was super-hot the night before. None of these things are related to congeners.
Second, there is the problem that different liquors contain different levels of congeners. The congener-hangover theory also hinges closely on the consumption of vodka. Vodka tends to be very low in congeners, and the more refined the vodka, the lower the lower the levels of congeners. So, in that sense, if you are going to drink 4 vodka martinis, you'll experience less of the congener-induced aspect of hangover headache by drinking Skyy instead of Popov. Won't help you much with the other stuff. Furthermore, most other liquors, like bourbon or rum for example, are chock full of congeners. So, drinking top-shelf rum in your rum and coke won't make one bit of difference.
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Still... the Fried Dumpling and Dumpling House dumplings are very good, and the amazing fact is that you and I can go there and eat ourselves into a stupor for something like seven-fifty. And that's not apiece, that's for both of us!
$7.50 could stuff four people to the gills at Fried Dumpling.
Okay... but, for the sake of clarity, Steven and I can easily eat enough food for four people between the two of us.
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Hmmm... Never used orange bitters in a martini, but I always use it when making a Manhattan.
Since Plymouth is so delicately flavored (haven't had Citatelle), I'd be concerned that the bitters might overwhelm the gin. What has your experience been?
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Fried pork dumplings at New Green Bo. As much as I enjoy the Fried Dumpling and Dumpling House dumplings -- and for value they can't be beat -- I've got to give New Green Bo the crown.
Really? I've never had these. And I've never been to the restaurant, actually.
I sense an outing in the offing.
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Still... the Fried Dumpling and Dumpling House dumplings are very good, and the amazing fact is that you and I can go there and eat ourselves into a stupor for something like seven-fifty. And that's not apiece, that's for both of us!
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Thanks, Lindsey, and welcome to eGullet. I hope we'll be hearing more from you. Are you a member of the Wine Society of Texas?
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Nah... just this bald guy I call "Dad."
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You should consider the 12 qt. Cuisinart disk bottom on sale at Amazon for $25.
That's a very good suggestion, as the Cuisinart piece is almost free at that price.
However, there is a big difference between a 12 quart stock pot and a 17.5 quart stock pot in terms of usability for stock making. On the other hand, one could buy two of the Cuisinart pots and use both for 24 quarts!
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For anyone who might be interested, the 11 inch, 4.6 liter, stainless-lined, copper Mauviel saute pan I ordered from artcuivre.com in Normandy has arrived.
Dude... who wouldn't be interested?
Thanks for the report.
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Well, Nick... that's a question only you can answer.
Seriously. Making stock isn't too complicated. Fundamentally making stock isn't all that complicated. A stainless cooking vessel with a thick aluminum pad should be all you need to do the trick. Now, in my opinion, the Paderno stick pots are heavier, more reinforced and therefore better able to absorb abuse. This might be a reason to buy Paderno... or maybe not. It might make sense in a restaurant, but perhaps would make less sense in your home. That really comes down to personal preference and whether or not the heavier construction seems like it would be worth 50 bucks to you.
Oh... and let us not forget that the Paderno pot holds an additional two-tenths of a quart! If that's not worth 50 dollars, then I don't know what is.
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Oh, and what exactly is a shoofly pie?
I'm not quite sure... but I understand that it pairs quite well with apple pan dowdy. Indeed, some say these two in combination will make your your eyes light up and your tummy say "howdy," whereas others allege that they make the sun come out when heavens are cloudy. I don't know about any of that, but I do know that I never get enough of that wonderful stuff.
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Yum! One of my favorite bean preparations is to simmer dried beans until barely al dente in copious amounts of water, then drain them well + let them cool. Just before dinner, I'd put an unhealthy amount of strong-flavored good quality evoo in a saute pan, drop in the beans with two whole cloves of garlic and let the whole thing slowly come up to temperature. At the last minute, on goes a handfull of chopped parsley, a generous pinch of flaked red pepper, some Maldon sea salt and a glug of raw evoo. You can really taste the difference between different bean varietals.
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I kind of like aspic, when it's surrounding a pate or something like that.
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I've had a number of wines from Becker Vineyards, and all have been very good to excellent. The claret is particularly good, as I recall. It's an interesting place to visit, as well. My parents went out there to see about touring the grounds, and it was Becker himself who showed them around. Apparently he is a medical person (dentist or anaestheologist or something that makes piles of money), and he and his wife were looking for a little vacation place in the Texas hill country in the early 90s. Instead, they ended up buying the vinyards in 1992. Since that time they have become dedicated to making good wine, have brought in some serious expertise and are making really very good wine. I highly recommend checking the place out if anyone is spending a little time in the hill country.
On the other hand is Dry Comal Creek Vineyards. They had some interesting wines when I visited, if not outstanding. I liked one or two of their wines very much, but I got the impression that they still had to scale some learning curve on most of the others. Their Dry French Colombard and Spanish Black (which is not yet available for sale) were both very good. When Fat Guy was over last night to help me finish the gargantuan pile of stuffed cabbage I had made, we popped open a bottle of their Comal Red III, which my brother gave me for Xmas. My reaction was that it was cloyingly sweet, which I guess is part of their attempt to copy the Ausbruch style of Hungary and southern Germany. Still, I didn't like it much.
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I don't know... in my mind, even one star is a reward. It's saying that you can regularly and reliably have a good meal at a certain level. There are plenty of good places in the city that offer consistently excellent food in an attractive setting and do not have any stars.
Q&A -- Understanding Stovetop Cookware
in The eGullet Culinary Institute (eGCI)
Posted
Under cooked as in how? Do you mean that the water was not all absorbed in the amount of time you expected, or was it the case that the water was absorbed but the rice was crunchy? What is the technique you use?
I always cook rice in a Le Creuset pot, and have never experienced any problems -- but mayube I have adjusted my technique to work with the pot. If the problem you're having is that the rice is too wet after the usual amount of time, I'd recommend using less water. If you use the same technique I use (bring the rice to a boil uncovered, then reduce to minimum heat and cover for 20 minutes) you might boil the rice uncovered a little while longer than usual to reduce the liquid. The lids on enameled cast iron are much heavier than "regular" lids, and as a result I find that there is less evaporation when maintaining a low simmer with the pan covered. This means that one has to adjust by starting with less water, or anyway making sure there is less water in the pan when you cover it.
If the opposite is true, and your rice is crunchy at the end, I'd recommend a little more water, covering the pot a little earlier and using a lower heat setting when the pot is covered.
The point of all this is that different cookware really can change the way a certain dish turns out. When using cookware with unusual and particular properties, often times one must adjust the cooking technique slightly.