slkinsey
-
Posts
11,151 -
Joined
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by slkinsey
-
-
Haven't looked at the article yet, but I'd like to point out that the sum of the parts is only .999 -- is this a rounding error, or is that .001 something the secret ingredient that makes it perfect??
Perhaps the .001 is love.
(barf)
-
They also invented the chip buttie.
i should add this to my list of things i don't get.
"i'll have some starch in my starch please."
Shades of "Big Night" when the lady customer demands a side of spaghetti to go with her risotto.
Uno: "I suppose next she's gonna want a baked potato?"
Risotto, you see, is a starch... it... doesn't really go with spaghetti. Sometimes spaghetti likes to be by itself.
-
Not quite clear on what point you're trying to make here. There are, of course, certain cookware designs that are better for certain cooking tasks than others. It's not clear to me, however, that cookware can be made significantly more efficient when it comes to cooking over an open flame. Cooking on an electrical element is significantly more efficient, but it also has its limitations: the heat source is significantly less responsive and the cookware must be absolutely flat because all thermal transfer is via conduction (as opposed to convection from a flame). One supposes that induction is a cooking method that solves many of these problems, but it still doesn't offer the same visceral connection one has when cooking with flame.
Heating a cooking vessel over an open flame is, by its very nature, a somewhat inefficient process. Furthermore, there are certain compromises one must make in order to make cookware that is easy and efficient to cook with. This does not necessarily equate with absolute maximum thermal efficiency. Pans with fins to increase surface area, for example, would be horrible to work with. And, of course, a great deal of thermal energy is lost when one cooks without a lid, which leaves out frying, sauteing, etc.
Really, if you have been able to boil water over an open 18000 BTU burner in only three times longer than you predicted in your hypothetical 100% thermal transfer/0% thermal loss model, I'd say that's pretty darn good.
-
"i don't get xxxx."
"you're wrong, xxxx is good."
"no, no, you just don't understand xxxx, therefore, you are wrong."
"Dude, there is no such thing as good xxxx."
I have to confess that my first thought was, "did Emeril take triple-x hardcore porn and 'kick it up an x?'"
-
Okay, Saturday the 11th at Molly's Pub - 287 3rd ave. @ 24th, 212-889-3361. Shall we say 1:00? Who's in?
This is the Molly's we want tommy, right?
It's in the Palm Pilot. I'm in.
-
From this page:
Story No. 2: Wine and noses. That same New Yorker food issue contains an article by humorist Calvin Trillin, who set out to investigate the so-called “Davis Test”—a purported blind tasting of red and white wines that supposedly proved even experts can’t always tell the difference between the two. Trillin came to the source: UC Davis’ Ann Noble, professor of viticulture and enology and expert on sensory science, whose wine aroma wheel has helped scores of novices differentiate between a Pinot Noir and a Zinfandel. Noble’s verdict: The “Davis Test” is an urban myth. The test she gives her students asks them to identify the varietal by use of smell alone. “The minute you put it in your mouth,” she told Trillin, “it’s game over.” To prove her point, Noble offered Trillin two black glasses, one filled with red wine, the other with white, for him to taste. He got it wrong. -
I disagree about the lids. They are attractive, functional and not that difficult to keep. The benefit is that one lid can be used for a number of pots of the same diameter.
I don't think the suggestion that copper lids are more trouble to maintain when compared to stainless lids is subject to dispute. Clearly they are more trouble. It is also the case, of course, that stainless lids may be used on a number of pots of the same diameter, and I invariably find myself reaching for a stainless lid whenever possible. I'm only interested in the maintenance hassle if I'm going to get performance out of it.
My point about the price is also fairly solid, I think. Let's say you were buying an 11" curved sauteuse evasee (they call it a sauciere) and a 5.2 quart saucepan from Falk. If you buy the copper lids, you end up spending 75 dollars for the 11" lid and 60 for the 9.5 inch lid. If you buy heavy stainless Paderno lids instead, you only spend 24 dollars on the big lid and 20 on the smaller lid. That's a 90 dollar difference, which is almost enough money to buy a 1 quart sauteuse evasee (they call it a chef's pan). Personally, I'd much rather have another heavy copper pan for my money instead of two pretty lids that require more maintenance.
The only reason I can think of someone would want the copper lids is for the looks. It used to be the case that Falk sold all their cookware with the copper lid included. I voiced my opinion that the lids were driving up the price of Falk's cookware with practically no added functionality to Michael a few times over in rec.food.equipment not long after they set up e-shop, and I like to think that my feedback helped influence them to lower their prices and offer the copper lids as an add-on.
Anyway, I am glad you like Falk. I have always been a strong advocate of stainless lined heavy copper and Falk has often offered the best value. That said, as I point out in my cookware class, I don't think it is the best solution for absolutely every cooking task, and I don't see how it offers much benefit when it comes to stock pots.
-
Never fear, Kristin. I am willing to make a supreme sacrifice and eat all your sausages. Especially if they're blood sausages. :yum:
-
Re setting a date/time: Could also do weekend eves upcoming. For that matter, I could do tomorrow at 1:00.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (ugg, Friday too before 2:00) are out for me until the Bloomfield Farmer's Market closes October 30th. They are my baking/selling days. I was hopeful for a day or so that I could sneak out for a coup[le of hours,but then reality settled in.
Plus, we want pnapoli, and she can't do weekdays. Nights?
So... basically we're talking about Monday lunches or weekends, yes?
I'd like to do a mix of both, myself. We don't want to leave out pnapoli, but we don't want to miss Tommy either. No doubt, they both have much hamburger wisdom to impart.
-
Re Jackson Hole: I always go to the one on Columbus and 85th. Pretty good, I think. Always get the "Soul Burger" -- a bacon cheeseburger with sauteed onions and Canadian bacon. Like, at some point someone looked at a bacon cheeseburger and said, "that just doesn't have enough preserved pork on it." That is my kind of thinking!
Re setting a date/time: Could also do weekend eves upcoming. For that matter, I could do tomorrow at 1:00.
-
I swear to God, I read "Rob Scheider" as "Ron Jeremy." Either one makes perfect sense. Especially the HUGE talent part.
So... fan of the Hedgehog, eh?
-
Oh... I can do evenings/weekends too, if lunch is no good.
-
I've followed the cookware discussion with interest.
My question: Can we separate technical aspects of cookware and of stovetops (heat resources, i.e. capacity, responsibilty, temperature etc.), as they always work together? Or did I miss this discussion somewhere?
Well, yes they can be separated to a certain extent when just discussing the design. The point of my article was to explain how various cookware designs differ and by so doing to provide people with a basis for selecting cookware following an evaluation of their cooking needs and resources. The stovetop is a resource. So, when it comes down to making a choice of which cookware design to acquire, the stovetop is one variable to consider along with all the others.
For example, people who own electric stoves understand that they do not respond quickly when the heat is adjusted up or down. So, an electric stove user who wants a super-responsive pan for saucemaking has to understand that a primary limitation on responsiveness will be the heat source. This should inform his/her decision as to what kind of cookware to purchase. It may not make sense for such a person to invest in copper, for example.
-
i bought a 12" rondeau, and it serves me extremely well. i don't know what i did before i had it. but i haven't bought the copper pan yet, as someone told me that they warp rather easily (and the thicker the bottom, the worse!?!?). can that be true?
Man... where did your friend get these ideas?
No, copper doesn't warp easily. The only common cookware material that has serious warping problems at a usefully heavy gauge is unclad aluminum. Thin copper, such as Mauviel's "Table Service" line (which I should point out, is not meant for cooking) might warp. But this is true of all cookware with insufficient thickness.
No, it is not the case that "thicker the bottom, the worse [the warping]." The opposite is true: thicker gauges are less prone to warping than thinner ones.
I have to say, Okralet... I'm a little bit disappointed that you would bring this up or give credence to such ideas, since the idea that copper warps easily and that thicker copper warps even more goes entirely counter to the information provided in my article.
Glad you like the rondeau!
-
So... how about this week? Anyone up for Thursday at 1:00? Obviously we won't be able to include everyone every time. Presumably we'll be able to make a good split between weekdays and weekends.
-
Whoa! Fat Guy got a Chinggis Khaan wallet and key-case! Score!
Are you ready? This is very special . . .
Sweet, dude. Maybe not quite as good as having a wallet that says "Bad Motherfucker" on it.
On the other hand, since Chinggis Khaan was a prime example of a bad motherfucker, perhaps it's the same thing.
It's very close anyway. That's what I'm trying to say here.
-
FWIW, the Sur La Table "mattone," besides being remarkably un-brick-like, doesn't seem to offer any special benefits that can't be attained with a two heavy skillets (one above and one below). I usually use a heavy copper fry pan as the base and a cast iron skillet as the weight.
This is not to say, however, that Wolfert isn't correct about the difference between the results from the clay gizmo she recommends and using two skillets. I, too, would be interested to hear side-by-side comparisons.
-
-
So...? When is the inaugural meeting of Burger Club? I'm free ~1:00 on weekdays this week.
-
Whoa! Fat Guy got a Chinggis Khaan wallet and key-case! Score!
All I have is a Tutankhamen's tomb bottle opener.
-
Shhh Katie, it's their ferret.
It's OK... although weasels and ferrets are cousins, it's common for ferret-lovers to call them weasels.
That is Zebulun.
As it so happens, Steven, Ellen and Momo dropped by to see the ferrets yesterday. Momo was apparently inconsolable that his mother got to play with the ferrets and he did not, and cried in the living room (as big tough dogs are wont to do). Anyway, there were some pretty cool pictures taken by Ellen. Asher is the salt-and-pepper looking one with the stripe on the middle of his head, and Issachar is the champagne colored one.
-
Given a little notice, bergerka and I can usually arrange our schedules for weektime lunches.
-
but cubs and sox - wouldn't that be a great series to watch?
Word.
Say your Rosary.
Oy... I don't know if I could take it. I literally haven't been able to watch a baseball game since a certain-game-that-shall-not-be-mentioned in 1986.
-
I think it's probably because it is so simple. It is relatively easy to make a good roast chicken and yet can be incredibly difficult to make an excellent roast chicken. Starting with great chicken can make a big difference. But, on the other hand, certain techniques can elevate meidocre chicken. So it is a cooking task with a lot of little variables with which we can tinker. There are also built-in challenges. Primary among them will always be the problem of preserving a moist breast and yet cooking the legs completely. Many of us understand that the most effective way of achieving this is to cook the legs and breast separately... but that wouldn't really be a challenge, would it? I think many of us appreciate the challenge of tinkering with all the little details that separate mediocre roast chicken from good roast chicken from awesome roast chicken. Now... I definitely like steak and double-cut pork chops better than roast chicken. But, as long as I start with quality ingredients, it's a lot easier to cook an amazing steak than it is to cook an amazing roast chicken.
FWIW, I don't think this kind of interest is reserved only for roast chicken. One can find similar discussions about other relatively simple cooking tasks such as making hamburgers and omelets.
Q&A -- Understanding Stovetop Cookware
in The eGullet Culinary Institute (eGCI)
Posted
Just teasing, of course.