slkinsey

Why don't you give us a little taste of things to come by giving us an overview of your Thanksgiving? Weren't you the one who said you wanted to... well, shove Thanksgiving up your in-laws' a**?

The upcoming I-Roast from Hearthware looks pretty awesome. I have loved my Hearthware Precision over the years, and am seriously thinking of picking up an I-Roast when they become available. These specs sound especially interesting: This for <200 bucks.

Upon seeing this thread, the first thing that came bubbling up from the depths of memory was this little song to the tune of the Grand March from Gounod's Faust: My Uncle roasted a kangaroo, Gave me the gristly end to chew. Was that a very nice thing to do? To give me the gristly end of a kangaroo to chew. I guess what you're saying is that it isn't all that gristly?

Yea. Like I said, it is hard to say whether the Albarello was the "best" wine, but it certainly made a big impression. It was a little strange and funky, but I was into that.

I definitely prefer gin over vodka. Vodka I drink only iced from the freezer or occasionally as a neutral base for certain cocktails. Beyond that, though, I like high-end bourbon, rum and single malt scotch about equally. I am also a huge fan of grappa. I don't take any of these on ice except occasionally Booker's bourbon, which I have found to have the strength of flavor (and alcohol content) to withstand chilling. I probably make mixed drinks based on either gin or bourbon/rye about equally.

Here are the wines we had, along with the dishes they were served with: Assorted Crudités Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Rustico, Viticoltori Nino Franco, NV – – – Kumamoto Oyster On The Half-Shell With Cucumber Granita Muscadet de Sevre et Maine sur Lies, Cuvee Vielles Vignes, Domaine Clos des Briords, 2002 – – – Cauliflower Soup With Seared Diver Scallop And Curry Oil Saumur Blanc “La Papareille,” Domaine Saint-Vincent, 2002 – – – Mixed Herb Salad With Shrimp Ceviche Saumur Blanc “La Papareille,” Domaine Saint-Vincent, 2002 – – – Toasted Corn And Stilton Soufflé Sautéed Brussels Sprouts With Guanciale and Chive/Oregano Vinaigrette Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine Alain Hudelot-Noellat, 2000 – – – Lemon-Thyme Sorbet Moscato d'Asti “Vigneto Biancospino,” Azienda Agricola Dante Rivetti, Piemonte, 2002 – – – Turkey Two Ways With Cornbread Dressing, Foie Gras And Black Truffle Carpaccio Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup “Le Rollier,” Domaine Mas Foulaquier, 2001 Sonoma Valley Red Wine “Albarello,” H. Coturri & Sons, 2001 All the wines worked very well, I thought. The most distinctive was definitely the last one, the Albarello. I'm not sure I'd say it was the best wine but it definitely made an impression, which is just what I was going for. Strange, big, deep, powerful over-ripe/late-harvest kinds of flavors... almost like red wine with balsamico tradizionale added.

It seems to be a split decision as to what people liked the best: Kathleen loved the raw oysters with cucumber granita. A few liked the pureed cauliflower soup with seared scallop and curry oil the best. Others liked the turkey two ways with cornbread dressing, foie gras and black truffle carpaccio the best. Me...? Hard to say. When you're the cook, I think you lose a little perspective. I was just happy to see every course get onto the table, and I felt that each one was equally successful in it own way. The only think I'd change is that the toasted corn/stilton souffles didn't have as much stilton flavor as I might have liked (bigger chunks next time?) and had a texture more like airy, puffy cornbread than eggy souffle. They were good, but not exactly what I was going for.

In other words: "No, we don't carry it. And no, we're not going to tell you why."

Ingles and Piggly Wiggly usually carry it, right?

I encourage you to try Sweet Marias for roasting supplies and green beans. They have reasonable prices and are a good resource.

Curses!

I'm not sure how much one needs to know: 1. Just about everyone in the world agrees that decaffeinated coffee, regardless of process used, does not taste the same (or as good) as coffee that has not been processed this way. 2. The Swiss Water people claim that by using "saturated" soaking water, their process removes only the caffeine (a tasteless and odorless substance) and none of the flavor agents. 3. These two statements are at odds. 4. One doesn't have to know all that much about chemistry and coffee to understand that it is highly unlikely that the Swiss Water system manages to remove 97% of the caffeine from the coffee beans without dissolving some of the flavor agents into the soaking liquid. 5. Therefore, it is highly likely that Swiss Water's statement in #2 is not entirely correct.

Well... I don't have any trouble believing that using "saturated" soaking water mitigates the absorbtion of flavor agents into the water to some degree. But I do have a hard time believing that it eliminates it entirely. Think about it: soaking coffee beans in hot water makes... well, coffee (albeit green coffee). Try soaking some coffee beans in hot coffee, then drying them out and brewing with them. I can't see any possible way this wouldn't negatively impact the flavor.

Ah... right. (Me: "duuuuh.") But. I still don't see how the "saturated" soaking liquid could have so much of the flavor stuff in it that none of the flavor agents would be dissolved into the soaking liquid and still be effective at dissolving 97% of the caffeine. Maybe I don't quite get it, though. If one had a solid substance that contained a lot of sugar and a lot of salt, would it be possible to soak that substance in a sugar solution such that 97% of the salt was dissolved into the soaking medium and none of the sugar?

Fundamentally, the only difference between the various methods of high-end caffeine removal is the mechanism by which the caffeine is removed. This from "Home Coffee Roasting" by Kenneth Davids:

As stated above, I don't see how it could possibly prevent the dissolution of flavor agents into the soaking water entirely or even mostly. In order for that to be the case, the soaking water would have to be literally saturated with all of the flavor compounds, which is to say "a solution that is unable to absorb or dissolve any more of a solute at a given temperature and pressure." I hardly see how this could be the case, and if it were I cannot but imagine that the use of a saturated liquid as the soaking medium would inhibit the dissolution of the caffeine into the soaking liquid.

My understanding is there are different decaffination processes. The "Swiss Process" is not supposed to do this. Jason, that is the Swiss process... otherwise known as the "Swiss Water Process" to indicate that it uses water rather than a chemical solvent to dissolve the caffeine and flavor agents. This page from the swisswater.com site you referenced illustrates the exact process I describe above. Edited to add: the swisswater.com people's use of "used" soaking water may mitigate the dissolution of flavor agents into the soaking water I don't see is any way it could prevent it entirely or even mostly. For sure, the more careful the decaffeinization process, the better tasting the coffee. But the fact is that they're monkeying with the beans and there is no way decaf can ever taste as good as regular made from the same beans.

I was only joking about the butter. But seriously, do you know what happens when coffee beans are decaffeinated? The green beans are soaked in water (or a solvent) until the caffeine and the flavor agents have been dissolved into the liquid. Then the beans are removed from the liquid and the caffeine is removed from the liquid, theoretically leaving behind all the flavor agents in the liquid. Finally the beans are recombined with the liquid where they supposedly reabsorb the flavor agents (minus caffeine), after which process they are dried and ready for roasting, etc. This does not strike me as a recipe for great-tasting coffee.

Is there such a thing as truly excellent lowfat butter?

I'm with Holly. No such thing.

Wait... you made a lowfat, low-calorie dessert for Thanksgiving?!

That's a great point, Soba. To make an example, I was able to buy a "bloc de foie gras de canard" large enough to garnish ten portions of turkey last night. It cost only around 25 bucks, and I have some left over. Part of the increasing popularity of foie gras in America is that foie, along with related duck products, is no longer a rich man's food and is affordable in one form or another to just about everyone.

Soon, I hope. That place rawks.

I have tried the Wine Clip on a number of different wines now. The response both from myself and my guests has always been "I can't tell the difference."

Try dipping a kipper in them then. That's a pretty good idea! Then I could have whisky for breakfast! I'd be interested to hear which Irish singles you think are good, as they are only just now making themselves known on these shores and the selection is undoubtedly better on your side.