slkinsey
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Posts posted by slkinsey
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I suspect the results are due simply to good and conscientious winemaking, and not to orienting the barrels in accordance with the Zodiac and related nonsense, but go ahead and start a thread on this, someone, please. And let's also not forget the proclivity of many top French chefs for mysticism, tarot, astrology, tea-leaf reading, and the like.
I just started a thread in the wine section. How do I post a link to another thread here?
Look here for the discussion on biodynamic wine.
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IKEA.
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Maybe I'll try Sam's version as a compromise between the traditionalists and the avant-guarde. It appears that it would also free up some overn space and time, which is another key consideration.
Lemme know if you want the details. I can PM or post to recipeGullet.
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I am surprised that there is not much discussion about the origin of the main course! ... So where will you get your bird and what kind will it be?
I'll be ordering a mostly-organic free-range turkey from my local full-service butcher.
I've been carefully culling the best of the markets and our garden to make sure that we would have everything we need to, well, shove thanksgiving up his a**.
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Probably, yea... I understand that it's a lot better than it was when I grew up in Newton, but still probably not great.
I would give you some recommendations, but since I haven't been back there in almost 20 years, I doubt they'd be of any relevance. The one place I understand is still around and still high quality is Rosenfeld's bagels in Newton Center.
The other thing to consider... depending what part of Newton you're going to be in (it's huge, as you probably know) you're practically in Boston anyway. From, say, Newton Corner you're no more than 30 - 40 minutes away from plenty of good places to eat.
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And Sam, your turkey is out of control-- I don't know if I dare post whatever it is I'll be making after that!
Well... the foie gras and truffle is really gilding the lilly -- not that it's difficult to include them. But the preparation of the actual turkey and stuffing couldn't be easier: The leg meat can be braised the day before, moistened with some of the braising liquid and reheated for service. The stuffing is already pre-portioned, and is also only reheating. And I simply throw the breasts in the oven around 45 minutes before I want to serve them with a Polder probe stuck into the thickest part of one breast. No worrying about dry breast meat or underdone leg meat. No hours of tying up the oven. No carving at the table. None of those things that can make cooking a turkey such a chore (not to mention such a hit-or-miss operation). So, the real secret of my method is that it seems much more elaborate and difficult than the traditional version, but the fact is that it's a lot easier. The so-called "simple" method of roasting a whole stuffed turkey is, IMO, the most difficult way to do it.
Full disclosure: my method is adapted from a Ripert technique I read about.
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When you decide what you're having... please tell us.
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It's so interesting, I have to say, to read what you are having for breakfast tomorrow when I haven't yet gone to sleep tonight.
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I might as well give my plan (subject to change, of course)... This is dinner for ten. All the portions are fairly small, as there are several courses. Everything is plated.
1. Crudites and Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico while everyone arrives and mills around
2. Everyone will sit down to one kumamoto (or other small) oyster raw in the half shell with a little dollop of cucumber granita on top. Presented on frozen blocks of slate around 3" square and 0.5" thick with a sprinkling of extra-coarse salt on top of the slate to keep the oyster from rolling around. Wine TBD, or finishing the prosecco.
3. Pureed caulflower cream soup with curry oil and a light sprinkle of minced cilantro. Wine TBD. Last year I did two cold purees (one of cauliflower and the other of red pepper, both barely cooked) poured into opposite sides of the bowl at the same time. It looked cool, but was a little bit more trouble than it was worth.
4. Shrimp and scallop lemon ceviche with mixed herb salad. Wine TBD.
5. Individual roasted corn and stilton souffles (or flans, I can't decide) with brussels sprouts sauteed with guanciale and a herb vinaigrette. Wine TBD.
6. Lemon thyme sorbet, served in hollowed out and frozen lemons. Wine: tiny glasses of moscato d'asti.
7. "Turkey two ways" with cornbread dressing -- this takes some explaining: The turkey is completely deboned several days before. The dark meat is marinated in one bottle each of red wine and port, along with some aromatic vegetables. The breasts are brined. The bones are made into around 1 quart of very reduced tuckey stock. Later, the leg meat and aromatics are braised low/slow in the stock and marinating liquid for several hours until very tender at which time it is coarsely shredded (pulled). The aromatics are strained/discarded and the braising liquid is reduced -- it will later be mounted with copious amounts of butter to form the sauce. The cornbread dressing (a simple affair of cornbread, white bread, fresh herbs, cream and stock) is cooked ahead of time and individual portions are wrapped in blanched cabbage leaves into little "packages" which are placed into a buttered baking dish. These will be moistened with stock and reheated in a warming oven for service. The breasts are browned in butter and roasted around 45 minutes until just done through, then rested. Presentation is a sauced plate, a fan of three pieces of breast over a small mound of braised leg meat, the stuffing package at the apex of the fan, and a small "coin" of foie gras on top of the fanned slices topped with a little carpaccio of black truffle. Wine: I usually serve this course with two different red wines and let the diners serve themselves whichever they like (or mix).
8. Selection of desserts, usually including cranberry cheesecake, pecan pie and bourbon bread pudding. This with a choice of whatever boutique bourbons, grappas, single malts and other things I drag out of the cupboard.
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I noted an interesting thread from last year where people posted their Thanksgiving dinner menus, or proposed Thanksgiving dinner menus. Rather than tacking this onto last year's thread, I thought I'd toss in a reference and start with a clean slate.
So... what's it going to be for everyone this year? I am especially interested to hear how people are organizing their Thanksgiving dinners... whether or not there will be multiple courses or everything at once... whether the food will be plated or family style... whether the turkey is roasted whole or in pieces, presented/carved at the table or in the kitchen... whether and to what extent sweet foods will be included alongside the savory foods... whether the meal will be "fancy" or "rustic"... to that extent there are traditional family "must have" dishes, and whether or not this is a blessing or a limitation... to what extent non-stereotypical and/or non-traditional flavors or traditions are included, etc.
Please chime in. Inquiring minds want to know.
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Savarin just refers to the ring shaped pan the cake is baked in. Carry on...this thread is amusing to us outsiders....
And a savarin doesn't have raisins or currants, right?
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Believe it or not but Mix has taken another shot in the heart in todays New York Post.
Article is called Top Bill's, I think.
I promise people before the day is over i'll get this linking thing mastered.
The article, which is titled "Killer Bills" and focuses on the high prices at fine dining establishments, may be found here. Below are some relevant excerpts relating to Mix:
Certain places flagrantly take customers to the cleaners. Two weeks ago, I called out new Alain Ducasse-backed Mix over its obscene prices, which much of the foodie press seems determined to deny.The Times reported Mix's pre-fixe dinner options as $48 or $58. It unfathomably chose not to mention the $72 option - the only one that includes a real entr‚e, and the one most diners will want.
The new Zagat Survey ranks Mix as "E" for expensive. In the zany world of Zagat, "E" means $31-$50 for dinner per head with one drink and a tip. At Mix, $31 will cover a glass of wine plus tax and tip, leaving maybe $4 for food. Eat up!
Mix's insipid macaroni and cheese goes for $18 at lunch. It's shamed by the bubbling $11 cauldron - big enough to share - at Schiller's Liquor Bar on Rivington Street.Is Oceana's food better at dinner than at lunch? Of course not. But it's better than Mix's - at either price. -
Hey there,
You never did respond to my questions on Oct 4 2003, 01:00 PM, and Oct 3 2003, 10:58 AM .. but while you mentioned sitram, one of my questions was: is sitram profisserie the same as Sitram Professional? And is sitram Catering the same as Sitram Collectivite?
Sorry for not responding. The answer is that it is very hard to tell. If you go to the Sitram web site, you won't find anything under "Sitram Professional" -- or "Sitram Catering" for that matter.
That said, the web site has a lot of problems (they describe the Profisserie line as having a "thick triple copper bottom to distribute the heat" and then give detailed specifications that include "thick aluminum sandwich base of 7,3 - 7,5 - 7,7 - 8,0 - 8,5 mm depending on diameter"). So, it's really hard to say. The only Sitram lines with which I am fully familiar are the Catering and Profisserie lines as sold by Bridge Kitchenware.
The Collectivite line is described on the site as having a "copper sandwich base [of] 3,3 - 3,5 - 3,7 - 4,0 - 4,5 mm thick depending on diameter." I have a hard time believing that these thicknesses of copper can possibly be true, and assume that the specifications include the thickness of the stainless body as well as the stainless layer on the outside in calculating the thickness of the base. Clearly, the largest thicknesses describe some truly gigantic restaurant pans.
All this said, of the four lines described as "professionnel" on the Sitram site, the Collectivite line seems the closest to what I know as Catering. The only reason I can say this is that the other professional line I can find on the site with a copper bottom is the Magnum line, which has a design detail in which a small circle of copper is visible on the bottom of the pan. The Catering line does not have this detail. Sitram probably labels some of their cookware as "professional" specifically for sale in the US, and has neglected to provide that information on their web site.
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Thanks so much for the Bridge Kitchenware tip. Unique Homeware doesn't offer all the Chaudier 5000 pieces either. Now I know where to get comparable pieces at a decidedly lower price.
Glad to help. That's what I'm here for.
While you're poking around Bridge and elsewhere, don't ignore Sitram's Catering (copper bottom) and Profisserie (aluminum bottom) lines.
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They bake all their own bread, that's probably one or two people right there.
This is what got me confused.
ADNY probably bakes their own bread, not Mix.
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The Canadian company, Padinox, Inc., makes several lines of cookware. Their lower level line, called "Paderno" in Canada and "Chaudier 1000" elsewhere, has 0.8 mm thick stainless steel and a 3/16" (~4.5 mm) aluminum base. Their high level line, called "Chaudier" in Canada and "Chaudier 5000" elsewhere, has 2 mm thick stainless steel and a 1/4" (~6.25 mm) aluminum base. Chaudier 5000 is awesome stuff. Used on Air Force One.
I use Chaudier 5000 and have for many years. I bought my original pieces from Professional Cutlery Direct but they no longer handle that line. I haven’t done any exhaustive comparisons but my Chaudier performs flawlessly. Lately, when I want to add a piece or two I wait until Unique Homeware puts it on sale. I think they do that once a year and the discount is substantial, around 40% if I recall correctly (although I could be mistaken about that). I’ve finally reached the point where I can’t justify many more pieces. Drat! The stuff not only performs well, it looks like jewelry.
For what it's worth, I'd like to point out that you can get Paderno Grand Gourmet (the original upon which Chaudier 5000 is based) for considerably less at Bridge Kitchenware.
For example, a 4.4 quart Paderno Grand Gourmet saucepan with lid runs about 95 bucks at Bridge (78 for the pan, 17 for the lid), whereas a 4.5 quart Chaudier 5000 saucepan with lid runs $155 CAD on sale at Unique Homeware -- this works out to around $120 USD. That's a difference of around 25% for pretty much the exact same pan.
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These are ongoing Q&As connected to the eGCI classes, so you needn't worry about digging up an old thread.
It is the nature of cast iron and seasoning that a certain essence of foods past can remain with the pan. Ordinarily this is not much of a problem because the foods cooked in the pan won't have such distinctive and powerful aromas. I cook bacon and sausages in my cast iron all the time, and it has never effected my tartes Tatin. Seafood, on the other hand, does have a distinctive and powerful aroma, and for this reason I would avoid cooking it in your cast iron pan if you want to use that pan to prepare certain foods. (Similarly, I have never had problems with pie stored in a container that had previously held sausage tasting "porky," whereas I would definitely expect the pie to taste "fishy" if the container had recently been used for fish.)
You also have to understand that you have a very young cast iron pan. Residual smells and flavors should lessen over time as the seasoning builds up. It is also possible that the oil you used to cure the pan caused or contributed to the "fishy" smell. One thing I would recommend is that you lay off making pasta sauces and things like that for a while (personally I think cast iron is horrible for this cooking task anyway) and make several months worth of bacon, sausages, steak, hamburgers, pork chops and the like. These types of food items are proven to help build up the seasoning.
I hope this helps somewhat. Please feel free to ask more.
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The problem with using Pyrex or a ceramic on a baking stone is that they are horrible conductors of heat. If you want to get a blast of heat on the underside of the crust, you want to use a metal pan. The advantage of Pyrex, I understand, is that it allows you to monitor the "doneness" of the crust visually and also allows more radiant heat to get in there.
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Professional pans like these (there are many pages, see navigation at the bottom) are cheap enough.
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This is entirely different, of course, from The Three Ss.
was dat,
shittin', skippin', and strippin' ??
Close... it's what many men do first thing in the morning: shit, shower & shave.
Okay... Shiewie needs to tell us about more cool food before this thread veers dangerously off course.
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For real expresso making, the feeling among cognoscenti is that one must acquire at minimum a grinder that costs around $250. There does not seem to be anything less expensive that can produce the required fineness and consistency of grind.
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It's a variant pronunciation for "learning."
From the same school of pronunciation that brought us The Three ''Rs'' -- Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic.
This is entirely different, of course, from The Three Ss.
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Hey, when you come to the city next, want to go to DiFara's?
hmm, difara's. not a bad idea....how's parking there, in case i drive up?
It's street parking and a busy area, but the time we went there we managed to find a space. You might have to circle the area for a few minutes though.
how busy is the area on saturdays between 1 and 7pm?
If you're willing to invest 6 hours of your time, I'm positive you'll be able to find a space.
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Not sure if you noticed, but the Yankees lost.
And I have at least one other person playing, so it's only a matter of time before participation spreads like wildfire! I noticed. I did a little happy dance, actually--while looking around furtively to make sure no Yankees fans were watching...they can legally shoot you for that in NYC, or so I understand.
K
Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se.
Biodynamic Winemaking
in Wine
Posted
I think I totally agree with the Corpulent One.