slkinsey
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Posts posted by slkinsey
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Hee! This is what is so cool about you, FG. You went and ordered two different kinds of ribs and four sides after having had lunch!
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Sam, I was just down at my local specialty grocery. They've dropped most of their other lines of cookware in favor of a brand called Berndes. This is not a company I've heard of before, but the pans themselves were heavy aluminum, non-stick and had some sort of powder coat on the exterior. All in all, not bad gear from the looks and heft of them.
Do you have any experience with Berndes?
No personal experience, but we can learn something from their web site. The cast aluminum like this line, this line, this line and this line appear to be 6 mm thick at the base, which is encouraging. The spun aluminum products appear to be 3 mm to 5 mm thick, which is bad to OK for unclad aluminum. I would definitely expect the thinner pans to warp.
The main thing to consider with these pans, really, is the nonstick coating. If you get a cast aluminum pan that is 6 mm thick on the bottom, it will have pretty good thermal properties. However, nonstick coated pans are only as good as the nonstick coating. Once that coating wears away, the pan is junk. Plus, nonstick coatings have only limited usefulness in my opinion (I only have one large nonstick fry pan and don't see the point of nonstick saucepans, etc.). I honestly don't know anything about the nonstick coating and how well it holds up, or whether they have different coatings on the different lines.
The other thing to consider about these pans is the cost. They are not all that cheap, especially when compared to, say, a similar pan in Calphalon Commercial Nonstick which we know from user reports has an almost indestructible nonstick coating. In the example I just showed, I'd spend the extra 4 bucks on the Calphalon fry pan every time based on the information I have. That said, I would never spend $114 on a 12 inch nonstick fry pan. I'd wait until Fat Guy told me about another big sale on Amazon and I'd pick up the Calphalon fry pan for 25 bucks.
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We both love acid.
Man... It's been a long time, but I really used to love that stuff too.
lysergic acid diethylamide
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Totally cool catch, McDowell!
I also wonder whether some of the reported effects of absinthe from the end of the 19th century might be due to methods of distillation which produced significant quantities of alcohols other then ethyl.
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Great article!
The few times I have roasted a whole hog (usually "luau style") it has been frozen when I picked it up. This makes things a lot easier, as the pig can defrost overnight in the bathtub or another suitable large container without any health concerns.
How long did you have to burn the initial fire before you got started?
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Query: Do people tend to change what they typically eat when they do these foodblogs? I did.
I didn't... but the ferrets gave me a lot of pressure to underreport the amount of food they ate, as they didn't want to appear too gluttonous. These days they're on a raw meat thing, rather than cooked. And they have been subtly suggesting that I buy them some frozen baby chicks to eat.
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We both love acid.
Man... It's been a long time, but I really used to love that stuff too.
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i'd like to know how to keep the stinking flies away from a starter-in-progress.
Two things you can do:
1. get an old pair of sheer stockings, cut an appropriately sized piece, stretch if over the top of the jar and secure with a rubber band.
2. Use an old fashioned canning jar with a rubber gasket (like these). What you can do is remove the rubber gasket and the metal stuff so all you have is the jar with the glass top resting on it. This keeps things from getting into your starter and also allows the gasses created by fermentation to escape.
Keep in mind, by the way, that there is no reason whatsoever to maintain a lot of starter. I usually keep no more than 50 grams of starter (equal parts flour/water by weight) around and whenever I want to make bread I use that starter as the inoculum to make whatever amount of sponge or chef I need. The little bit of starter that remains stuck to the bottom of the starter jar is the perfect amount to serve as the inoculum for the 25g of flour and 25g of water I put back into the jar to maintain the starter culture.
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Hell, Sam, you're responsible for the cultural side of my trip. You know, "How to Wear Blaze Orange and Look Like a Native New Yorker," or "Singing for Food", or my favorite, "How to Suck Up to Mario Batali with Pride"
Welll... really I only wear blaze orange when I'm trying to blend in with the Cheeseheads at Lambeau Field and suck up to Saint Vince. Of course, a blaze orange camouflage coverall is de rigeur when the thermometer drops below negative 50F with the wind chill.
Here I am in the very latest in Green Bay Packers home game apparel. Note the way my jaw is craftily tucked into my neck to create the perfect Sgt. Schultz "I know nothing" look that is so popular in Northern Wisconsin.
Seriously, though... have you decided where you want to go for dinner and do you have reservations? I'm sure some of us could help in that regard.
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I think for some things it will end up being a combination of the two (perception and physiology), but when it comes to human brains, as fresco alludes, sometimes it's bloody hard to differentiate the two.
Totally hard to differentiate, and very complicated. Basically you would have to separate out all the various constituent compounds and determine if any of them are consciousness-altering. Then you would have to determine the threshhold of perceptible consciousness-altering for each substance. Then you would have to factor in all the possible potentiation effects in the various combinations. Very, very complicated.
I think one also has to differentiate between 1. substances that have little physiological effect but can produce consciousness-altering effects by psychological association (e.g., mom's apple pie), 2. substances which act directly on the brain's chemistry to alter consciousness (e.g., THC) and 3. substances which do have a physiological effect that is not consciousness-altering but where the physiological effect alters consciousness by psychological association (sulfites, perhaps?). My strong suspicion is that alcoholic beverages are chock full of 1, have some 3 and very little of 2.
Ok, if you're wrong, you're buying, right? If you're not wrong but not entirely right, we both buy. Deal?Oh, no... I'm buying no matter what. Having "e-known" you for all these years, if I ever meet you in the flesh you're not getting away without at least one drink from me.
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JD & Maker's Mark: There is a big, big difference between the two and it is an important one. Many people call JD "bourbon" even though it doesn't say it on the bottle. By Kentucky law it does not stick to the rules of proper bourbon because it is leached through charcoal and that process disqualifies JD. However, it is that process that gives it, in my opinion, a much smokier and sweeter flavor than Makers Mark--which gives it the perfect qualities for the perfect Manhattan. I want to emphasize that I think MM is legitimate, superior bourbon that should be sipped and savored. BTW, whisky from Scotland is smoked over peat--and is never spelled with an "e"--and is also something I prefer for someone other than myself to drink.
Two things here:
What are your thoughts on using rye whiskey in a Manhattan? If one is going for authenticity, I think this was the original.
I also find the fact that you appreciate the sweet smokiness of JD and yet do not appear to enjoy blended scotch intriguing. Is the scotch just too much smoke for you? Have you ever tried a Rob Roy (i.e., a Manhattan made with blended scotch instead of bourbon or rye)? I rather enjoy them with Famous Grouse, my family's blended scotch of choice.
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What I am arguing is that true absinthe is a distillation of more than one thing, including wormwood, and that taken together, along with the ethanol, I wouldn't dismiss out of hand a drinkers assertion that they have experienced a different sort of inebriation.
I do agree with you about this. Perhaps I did not make it sufficiently clear in my previous post. While I think it is extremely unlikely that any such effects aren't almost entirely psychological or psychosomatic, I do think one cannot absulutely rule out the possibility that there may be some psychoactive properties in the other substances present that make themselves felt. That said, I think it would take a lot of convincing for me to buy that these effects are significant or produce a characteristic quality of inebriation separate from the psychological effects of expectations and associations relating to that beverage, etc. We do know, for example, that one can ingest a measurable amount of opiates by eating a poppy seed bagel. But I have a hard time believing that someone who ate a poppy seed bagel and then drank 4 martinis would experience an inebriation that was uniquely distinct from the inebriation of someone who ate a plain bagel and then drank 4 martinis -- despite the fact that we know opiates have an effect on consciousness and are potentiated by alcohol. In this example, if one of the drinkers had a strong psychological association with bagels I think that would have a much more profound effect on that drinker's quality of intoxication than the opiates in the poppy seeds.
Nevertheless, you do make a valid and interesting point, and I hope I didn't give the impression I thought your comments were absurd.
I will also argue is that while ethanol does indeed have a powerful physiological effect (I'm staying away from the term psychological purposely) it does not immediately follow that because it has such a powerful effect it will mask the effects of other agents present. In fact, one could also make the opposite argument that the presence of ethanol would magnify the effect of another agent. ... Therefore, I wouldn't personally dismiss someone's claim that the inebriation they experience from red wine is different from that from bourbon.You are correct, of course, that alcohol may potentiate the effect of other substances. That said, I think there is enough variation in the reported intoxicating effects of various alcoholic beverages to make me take any such reports with a big grain of salt. If there were certain psychoactive substances in bourbon (or whatever) that acted on the brain either directly or assisted by the potentiation of alcohol, I think A) we would see a lot more commonality among reports as to the unique intoxication produced by bourbon, and B) if research scientists thought this was a significant phenomenon we would see some research in this incredibly interesting area.
Given what we understand about perception and the mind, I am putting my money on psychological effects. It is, of course, impossible to separate the psychological effects that a person's associations with a certain alcoholic beverage may have on his/her perceived experience of the intixication that results from the consumption of that beverage. So, in that way, and to the extent that many associations and expectations that are connected with certain alcoholic beverages are influenced and formed by the culture at large, it is true that a "wine high" will differ from "bourbon high." And this goes a long way towards explaining why some beverages (Jagermeister, for example) are associated with commonly-reported characteristic psychological effects in certain cultures (American 20-somethings, in this case) and not particularly in others (German >40-somethings).
It's my opinion there are not enough facts, hence, my suggestion that such strong statements in the post I was replying to are better served when qualified a little as in the examples I'd given. Of course, I would hold no blame if someone decides to chalk my comments up to unnecessary scientific pedantry and ass-covering and carry on exactly as they wished.Oh,
! What is wrong with a little precision of language? Although I clearly disagree as to the likelihood that such effects do happen, you are certainly not incorrect in pointing out the mistake in using such absolute terms. Although "extremely unlikely" and "impossible" are very closely related, they are not the same thing. So, while I don't think the evidence is there to give any credibility to such fraternity house myths as "Makers Mark gives a mellower buzz than Wild Turkey" and so forth, I suppose it is unscientific to reject them with absolute uncertainty. As you may note, I revised the language of my thoughts in my post of Aug 20 2003, 10:17 AM to reflect your comments.Not that I'm going to be putting down this big shaker of sodium chloride any time soon when it comes to this subject.
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Of those, the capers & jams are what I'd have to replce.
Wait... you would replace the capers and jams and not the tartar sauce?
What I meant (as opposed to what I wrote) is that I find the capers and jams more essential than the tartar sauce.
Ah. Of course I agree!
Salt-cured capers especially... mmmmmmm.
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Quick inventory of the ice box here at the mcdowell compound shows also:
Capers
Jar of sliced jalepenos
Jar of sun-dried tomatoes
Tartar sauce
Jams/Jellies (quite a collection in my fridge)
On the OT side... my grandfather's name was McDowell. We always thought of the mountain house in NC as the "McDowell house." I still do.
Of those, the capers & jams are what I'd have to replce.Wait... you would replace the capers and jams and not the tartar sauce?
Aren't the capers already preserved in brine? Also, wouldn't the sugar in the jams/jellies tend to have a preservative effect? I don't think there is a heck of a lot of bacteria that can grow in an environment with so much sugar. That's why we call 'em preserves, right? Even in the event where you might grow some mold on the surface of a jam or jelly, the rest of it is perfectly fine if you scoop out the top centimeter or so (at least this is what my mother the biochemist used to tell me when I caught her doing it -- and I was always unable to detect any defects of flavor).
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Is there a special reason to refridgerate walnut oil?
Yes. Walnut oil quickly turns rancid at room temperature. Putting it in the refrigerator slows this process down considerably.
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I am interested to read how many people here keep jarred mayonnaise on hand as a refrigerator staple. I haven't bought a jar of mayonnaise in years, aside from the occasional jar of Dukes when I'm down in NC on vacation.
Maybe we're unusual in that we don't use a heck of a lot of mayonnaise, but I have always found it easier/better to make my own on the occasions when I do need some. Totally easy to do. The small inner bowl on my KitchenAid food processor is just the right size for one yolk's worth of mayonnaise. Just toss in the tolk, some salt and a little lemon juice... turn on the motor and drizzle in the oil(s) of your choice. 60 seconds later I have a cup of fresh mayonnaise. Works every time. Keeps at least a week.
This, for me, has two great benefits: 1. no jarred mayonnaise can compete with homemade in terms of flavor, texture, etc.; and, 2. when you make your own you really understand how much fat there is in there (one cup of mayonnaise equals... well... just about one cup of oil).
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...a half-pint of heavy cream with an expiration date that coincided with the Bush inauguration...
Bush I or Bush II?
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Maybe some red eye gravy?
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Hey Tommy, you look cute from the back. Where's the frontal shot?
i look like i have a freakin mullet. i gotta get a haircut.
You mean you don't have a mullet?
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As someone in the pharm/tox brain business, I'd like to gently discourage such all-encompassing blanket statements. I'd like it better if it read "it's unlikely that you can get enough thujone from drinking absinthe to experience any of its mind-altering effects" and "any such perceived effects are more likely to be purely psychological".
Good points, Trillium. My assertion was based on data I have seen as to the amounts of thujone typically needed to produce any consciousness-altering effects, the concentration of thujone in absinthe and the typical alcohol content of absinthe. This, along with my training in psycholgy, leads me to conclude that it is incredibly unlikely that the vast majority of drinkers drinking the vast majority of absinthe available can consume enough thujone so doing to experience any of thujone's consciousness-altering effects, and that any such perceived effects are almost certainly purely psychological in origin.
I will concede, however, that rare people having a certain physiology and drinking a particular batch of absinthe, etc. may experience some of absinthe's alleged consciousness-altering effects over and above what they might experience from a similar-tasting beverage with the same alcohol content.
As for the differences in wine vs. bourbon buzzes, I'm not so willing to wave it all away...we already know that wine has other pharmacologically active agents in it besides ethanol, right?Things like wine, etc. may have pharmacologically active agents in them, but that doesn't mean that they are agents which have any consciousness-altering effect on the brain's chemistry. Of course, to a certain extent everything has a psychological effect... The smell of vanilla can result in certain brain events in some people. That said, I think we can agree that vanilla and THC are birds of a different feather. Most people who study these things would say that the effects resulting from the smell of vanilla were psychological and not consciousness-altering in nature whereas the effects resulting from the ingestion of THC are chemical and consciousness-altering. Given the fact that alcohol is a very strong consciousness-altering drug whose effects would likely obscure whatever minute effect any other agents in wine or bourbon might possibly have, and given an understanding of the power of the mind to "invent" psychological effects, especially where certain effects are expected, I think it is reasonable to conclude that any percieved differences between the altered consciousness one achieves via alcohol intoxication from drinking wine as opposed to bourbon are almost certainly psychological and not chemical. That, of course, does leave the door open for the special 0.001% case.
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In the same thread he says:
While Willy makes some good points that can be of use to someone who know absolutely nothing about wine. His approach is too simplistic for anyone who does any homework on their own.I do think you have a point, however, that it is a great way to introduce people to an appreciation of wine -- especially those who might be intimidated or inexperienced. These same people may go on to leave Willie's book behind and become more expert as their interest grows.
Me? I just don't have the time, resources or interest. I like a good glass of wine... I really like a good glass of wine. But I have too many other things going on to make a major hobby out of it. I find that I can follow Willie's advice on my own and/or rely on the advice of trusted wine shops (which Willie also explains about in his book) and expect to find very good wines at a reasonable price 90% of the time. Are there certain wines that I may miss out on by following Willie's advice? Certainly. But I feel that I am skipping a whole lot of losers and overlooking relatively few winners by doing so.
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I was worried you would say that about the wine. Actually, I thought about it.
Craig Camp, I would love to drink better wine! Send me some.
read a book. *the* book. this book.
Willie is the coolest. Dated a roommate of mine for a while. I think this is the best book out there for people who appreciate a good glass of wine but don't have the time, money or inclination to do a lot of homework and become wine connaisseurs. However, because it is geared towards this kind of wine consumer I can see how real cognoscenti like Craig have problems with it.
Tommy, have you ever been to Nancy's Wines?
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No garbage disposals in Manhattan? Is that for real? As in nobody in Manhattan has a garbage disposal? Eeeek!
Garbage disposals only became legal within the last 5 years. And even then, if I understand the law correctly, only certain buildings are eligible. I assume new construction has them, but the pre-war buildings definitely don't.
AFAIK it's not strictly true that old buildings can't have them by law... It's just that the plumbing in many of these buildings simply can't handle garbage disposals, so many co-op boards have decided to disallow them. I believe that the prohibition against garbage disposals was originally intended to reduce the amount of organic waste in the NYC sewage system, although someone may have better information than I.
Going back OT, we like to reuse our bags whenever/however possible. Usually this is for garbage. Our ferrets, however, love to play around in crinkly, crunchy, loud paper shopping bags.
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Recently made:
2 oz home infused lavender vodka
1 oz limoncello
.5 oz Vya extra dry vermouth
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Shake and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with extra-long spiral of lemon peel cut with chanel knife.
Pretty good, but it lacks something... perhaps a touch of simple syrup. Really cool pale green color, though.
Absinthe: The Topic
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
I don't see any commentary. Where did you find it? I'd like to check it out.