Jump to content

Chad

eGullet Society staff emeritus
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,295

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Chad

    New York Style Pizza, what makes it one?

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Dude... paper plate and folding in half--folded it's twice as thick, twice as strong. Of course you need to be prepared for the line of cheese grease running off it, but that can be handled. Knife and fork? I'm shuddering just reading that.

    Jon, I think the pizza that Pan and Docsconz are referring to is Neapolitan pizza -- as it's found in Naples. Pan made the remark that the pizzas he had in Naples didn't lend themselves to the NY fold-and-eat-standing-up treatment. They were more suited to knife and fork.

    Damn, I'm getting hungry.

    Chad

    water saute

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Okay, a helpful friend pointed out this definition of water saute. Apparently this technique is fairly common among macrobiotic cooks. And apparently it is only for use with vegetables. I'm not real sure about the yin & yang of the "food engergy" presented here, but the technique seems pretty straightforward.

    Chad

    Who Gets the Wine List?

    in Wine

    Posted

    So Mark - you jumped right in, but you didn't tell us what the usual practice is at Citronelle.  Care to share your protocol?

    Simple. The captain is told by the maitre d' who the host is. The menus are presented and the host is asked if he/she would like the wine list. The host is then the one who either accepts the list or delegates.

    Mark, by "host" do you mean the person who made the reservations? Or is there another way that you designate the host?

    Chad

    Story of Varmint's Kitchen Renovation

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I did a quick edit on the drawings. Does it help?

    Perfect! I'm not good with spacial relationships (or with relationships in general, for that matter :rolleyes:), and I was having trouble seeing where the two plans differed. The bright red numbers are, well, eye opening. Now I can see exactly what you mean. Very, very cool. :cool:

    Chad

    water saute

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I've never heard of "water saute," though I'm no expert. Certainly doesn't fit any description of sauteing that I've ever read. I wonder if the author is using "water saute" as a convoluted term for poaching as a way of making the techniqe seem more sophisticated than it is.

    Chad

    Remember ham glazed with Coke?

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Coke glazed ham is an old southern classic. Beyond that, I would NOT go.

    Invented in Atlanta by a pharmacist, John Pemberton .

    Bottled in Vicksburg, MS and Monroe, LA (cool museum in Vicksburg if you are ever passing through on I-20) by Joe Biedenharn (who incidentally also helped found Delta Airlines which started in Monroe, LA as a offshoot of a crop dusting service).

    This was actual classroom learning where I grew up, as it had a great deal to do with the history and development of Monroe, my humble hometown.

    Incidentally, just to get back on topic-I like Coca Cola basted ham. And for those of you that have it (I saw it over and over again in the cookbook thread, so I assuming at least some of you do) The Cotton Country Collection has a recipe for Coca Cola Chocolate Poundcake. The cake is o.k. but I make the icing all of the time for a number of different confections. It is pretty knocked out.

    Two points. One, Brooks and I are gonna have to duke it out over our Coca-Cola history.

    • May 8, 1886 - First Coca-Cola served in Jacob's Pharmacy, Atlanta
    • May 29, 1886 - An ad appears for Coca-Cola in the Atlanta Journal. This is the earliest known ad for the soft drink
    • June 28, 1887 - The name Coca-Cola is trademarked by John S. Pemberton
    • April 14, 1891 - Asa Chandler completes his purchase of Coca-Cola
    • January 29, 1892 - Coca-Cola is incorporated.
      January 31, 1893 - Coca-Cola patented
    • July 21, 1899 - Bejamin Thomas and Joseph Whitehead, two Chattanooga (History of Chattanooga, Tennessee) businessmen, receive approval on their plan to bottle Coca-Cola

    Proving conclusively :raz: that Coca-Cola was first bottled in my hometown of Chattanooga, TN (also home of the Moon Pie). Don't ever let this obviously confused Louisiana boy lead you astray.

    Second point. Coke-glazed ham is indeed a southern classic. I don't like it, but I'm not dissing it, either.

    HOWEVER, does anyone see the value in French Toast that contains 3, count them 3, cups of Vanilla Coke? Or salmon that requires 1-1/2 cups of Coke? Does that make sense to anyone? And it's especially galling after platitudes like this

    Chef Stephanie’s Word-to-the-Wise

    Think of how to make a meal more nutritious by adding healthy ingredients, as opposed to taking away your favorite foods.

    Hrumph!

    Chad

    Remember ham glazed with Coke?

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Ya know, they obviously spent some time and money on this project. The website is well designed and the photography is top notch. What weirds me out is stuff like this:

    Chef Stephanie’s Personal Philosophy on Cooking Healthy

    Good food and good health naturally go together. When you use fresh, natural ingredients in creating your meals, those flavors shine and it just so happens that you get the benefit of good nutrition along with that great tasting meal.

    Really? By dumping a couple of cups of Coke into a dish?

    Chad

    Remember ham glazed with Coke?

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Dang, Coke's PR people are busy this morning.

    In what is surely one of the most unholy alliances ever, the CIA has whored itself out to the Coca-Cola company.

    "With more home cooks experimenting in the kitchen, we asked The Culinary Institute of America to explore the flavors our wide array of beverages can bring to cooking," said Donna Shields, M.S., R.D., manager of health and nutrition strategic communications at The Coca-Cola Company. "These new recipes demonstrate how beverages can be incorporated into every-day recipes to deliver contemporary, big flavors, with moderate calories in mind."

    Cooking with carbonated beverages has roots dating back to the 1950s when Coca-Cola Classic® was used in cakes, ham glazes and pot roasts. Today, however, this culinary technique transcends Coca-Cola Classic® and features the expanded family of Coca-Cola beverages including diet Coke®, Sprite®, Vanilla Coke®, Barq's® regular and diet Root Beer, Minute Maid® Premium Orange Juice, Minute Maid® Lemonade and Odwalla® juice. The nineteen recipes created by The Culinary Institute of America for The Coca-Cola Company feature appetizers, breakfast foods, dishes for dinner, beverages and desserts.

    The recipes include new twists on traditional favorites, such as Lemony- Honey Glazed Pork Chops, made with Diet Lemon Coke®; Oven-baked Chicken Wings with Sweet & Tangy Mustard Sauce made with Barq's Root Beer; and Light Lime Cheesecake created with Minute Maid® Limonada. They also include more modern favorites, such as Baked Nachos with Braised Chicken, Peppers and Onions, made with diet Coke; Lemonade-Yogurt-Granola Breakfast Parfait which uses Minute Maid® Light Lemonade; and Mango Passion Sorbet, made with Odwalla® Mango Tango Juice and Minute Maid® Premium Orange Passion Juice Blend.

    Nasty.

    If you want to learn how to create these taste sensations, check 'em out here.

    Chad

    [PDX] Knife Sharpening

    in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Thanks for the tip. How cheap are we talking? I think the most replaceable ones we have are a couple of Sabatiers that were sold under the Cuisine De France label (not the elephant and stars or running devil like our others). One is a utility knife (mini 6 inch cooks knife) and one is a paring knife. We were thinking of starting with the utility knife...it's that or a swiss army knife, but after watching the video it seemed too small to learn on.

    regards,

    trillium

    Yup, the 6" utility is a good place to start. It doesn't take long to get the hang of the EdgePro, but there are a couple of nuances. I'm glad you got the video. As bad as the quality is, it helps a lot in figuring out how to set the stop and angle the knife as you move toward the tip. There are a couple of things to think about. You might consider The Magic Marker trick as a way of helping set the angle.

    The Magic Marker Trick

    One of the easiest ways to ensure that you are matching an existing bevel is to coat the edge with magic marker. As the magic marker is abraded away by the sharpening stone. you will be able to see where the metal is being removed and whether you have matched the angle properly. Once you have coated both bevels with marker, take a swipe or two down your stone. If the marker is wiped off over the width of the bevel you have matched the angle properly. If your angle is too high, only the marker near the very edge will be removed. If your angle is too low only the marker near the shoulder, above the edge, will be removed. Recoating the edge as you sharpen is a good way to ensure that you’re holding the correct angle throughout the process. No matter what type of sharpening system you use, the magic marker trick will save you a lot of time and frustration, especially in matching an unknown angle on one of the guide or rod-style systems.

    From my Knife Sharpening & Maintenance tutorial in the eGCI.

    If the aesthetics of the knife are important, put a strip of painters tape or masking tape on the blade, leaving the edge exposed. A slurry of metal particles and swarf from the stone can build up on the blade table, scratching your knife. The tape will keep that from happening. I don't worry about it, but I don't really care what my knives look like, either.

    Soak the stones. Really soak them. I keep them in the sink under a couple of inches of water when I'm sharpening my knives. It makes a difference.

    Oh, and forget the squeeze bottle. Try a simple plastic spray bottle set to its tightest stream when hosing down the stone between passes. It's a little neater and does a better job cleaning out the swarf.

    Which reminds me, using the EdgePro can get messy, just because of all the spraying or spritzing you do to keep the stones clean. You'll get grit and water all over your countertops unless you keep a couple of paper towels under the body of the EdgePro. I also set mine up next to the sink so I can swing the arm over the sink to spray down the stones. That makes the whole process much neater.

    Have fun and let us know how it goes!

    Chad

    [PDX] Knife Sharpening

    in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Several recs for it here on eGullet I noticed, too, in the knife topics.  I'm in The Dalles today.  Maybe I should call them up and see if I can get a demo.

    This might solve several problems! Definitely ask for a demo. And, ExtraMSG, Ben Dale offers to sharpen a knife for free as a way of demonstrating the ability of the EdgePro. Send him your knife.

    Curious? Skeptical? Want to see up close what an EdgePro will do? Send us any knife along with return postage, and we'll put an EdgePro edge on your knife free of charge.

    Of course, you're under no obligation to purchase one of our machines, but we'll be surprised if you can resist, once you see the edge you could create yourself.

    It's best to send something small and inexpensive, like a pocket knife. We haven't lost anything yet, but you know the post office (so if you send us your $500 handmade knife, please insure it.)

    For a FREE sharpening demo, send your knife to:

    EdgePro Demo

    c/o Ben Dale

    P.O. Box 95

    Hood River, OR 97031

    Include return postage (and insurance if necessary).

    From the EdgePro website.

    Chad

    Espresso Machines

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Damn! I've seen race car engines with fewer moving parts. That's a gorgeous machine, Melkor. Congratulations. The scary thing is, I didn't recognize a single thing in the photos -- except for the Leatherman tool in the last shot. And I can't figure out how to make coffe with that (unless you have a better model than I do :raz:).

    Chad

    South African Wines

    in Wine

    Posted

    Tommyf, I just got back from the wine store (Tuesday is 25% case discount day -- we're there every week) and couldn't find the pinotage you described. I've asked them to get me a bottle or two, though. I'll post notes when I get a chance to taste it. Any other SA wines we should know about?

    Chad

    South African Wines

    in Wine

    Posted

    I know nothing about South African wines. However, I did receive a couple of bottles of Roodeberg for Christmas and enjoyed them very much. Interesting blend of Cab Sav, Cab Franc & Shiraz, I believe. I liked it a lot.

    Chad

    No thank you, I will not be drinking tonight

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Man, that sucks. I've already informed my physician that if he ever tells me I have to stop drinking wine or die my response will be, "Okay, how long have I got -- in liquid measurement?" :laugh:

    To answer your real question, if I'm not having wine, I usually go through buckets of iced tea. What's infuriating is that, despite repeated requests, the waitron usually won't leave the pitcher or carafe on the table. After they have refilled my glass for the seventh or eighth time, they begin to see the wisdom of my position. A better alternative, I suppose, would be bottled water in an upscale place.

    And, yes, the service is a little different. More so in fine dining establishments because wine and/or cocktails are part of the experience. I haven't found anyone rude about it per se, but I do get the impression that the staff views you as somewhat unsophisticated.

    Chad

×
×
  • Create New...