eugenep

I'm watching MasterChef the Professionals UK but I'm guessing its different from the ones above. I'm curious to see Marco Pierre White in the Australian edition one. It motivates me to improve on - trying - to plate. I bought molds and other tools for that purpose to make my stuff shine at dinner parties - hopefully And the critics, Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti, give really good analysis on why some dishes work and some don't - over/under seasoned, poor execution, over/under done protein, not well balanced, not tasting the ingredient, not having a reason for an item to be on a plate etc. I think I learned a lot watching the masters and it sure is motivating

I work around Lower Manhattan and I think I'm going to walk it to Despana's Broom Street location at lunch to get some money-for-value PX vinegar and likely getting the Villa Manodori balsamic vinegar at $40 from Whole Foods this weekend (to try and likely not purchase again because there are cheaper ones with the IGP Gold and DOP labels that appear to be comparable in flavor for less money) thanks for the above info suuckas

I should check out TJ's - didn't know about the better prices ..like..I always ordered these premium priced, higher-quality, hard to get items on Amazon bc I couldn't find them in grocery stores But I was thinking that with Amazon + WF acquisition, the algorithms used and data gathered by Amazon could better predict exactly what premium items to stock and we could see it on WF shelves

Welcome Sandeep. That's a nice coconut drink you have there. I've never been to Mumbai but I heard it's "the city of dreams" for some but in an interview with workers that go there for seasonal work they really, really don't like it and prefer the countryside. Looking forward to hear more from others in Mumbai

I read that WSJ article too and I'm hoping to check it out this weekend. Sometimes, their prices on some pricey goods are actually very competitive and lower than others: Kirshwasser, KBS (beer), vanilla, dry age steak, etc. And they do have a broader selection for high quality goods I can't find in the standard supermarket - Red Boat fish sauce, real balsamic vinegar 10+ years etc I end up going to both Whole Foods and Shoprite in NJ (low prices, rude services, less than fresh items but better selection and prices for packaged goods)

nice. I tried making it for the first time a few weekends ago based on this youtube Foodwishes Chef John video. And mine was really too sweet and I don't think I'm ever going to try again after that experience. I didn't do the long way of making a separate Gastrique and I think it was more like a pan sauce based on orange juice and a sugar with cognac etc. My Peking duck breasts were raw inside and uncooked because they were so thick but the outside had a lot of heat so I just took it off the heat (for fear of drying out and overcooking the outside) ate the inside raw - didn't taste gross but the dish overall was a thumbs down (for me). Glad it worked out for others with controlled sweetness - maybe that's the key or fatal blunder

Terrine I made over the weekend for lunch today

I was impressed by how it could be turned into a blender and has a smaller jar for grinding spice - like a universal machine. ....all...while..looking...impressively...good

To tell you the truth this was my first time doing it and I was doing it after work - like I come home at 7:30pm so I have like less than 2 hours. The oven seemed easy and true to the recipe. I'm just doing it to learn about technique currently. Hmm...and I'm not a fan of sous vide. The meat never tastes as good as traditional forms of cooking - pan fry, bake/roast, poach etc. - for some reason.

Mussolini tell you how to cook Mousseline Sauce

Yes. I saw it on a Rick Stein youtube video I googled it and it even has this scale function and a mini-bowl (hoping for easier clean up) https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-FPM910-Multipro-Processor-Stainless/dp/B014IPKHU0/ref=sr_1_7?crid=20NW0MJ43ZO2N&keywords=kenwood+food+processor&qid=1553957389&s=gateway&sprefix=kenwood+food+%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-7 But the amazon reviews say it jumps around and sucks. It looks much better than the robo-coup and Cuisinart (that everyone including myself has). I might try this one out if my Cuiinsart ever breaks But - wow - a food process that isn't ugly to look at. I was so impressed just because..after looking at the plastic Breville and the eye-sore designs of Cuisinart and Robocoup I sort of thought all food processors have to look ugly (like part of the intrinsic engineering design)

Food52 always has really good looking ones. https://food52.com/shop/search?q=cutting board I'm not sure if the exchange rate is 1 GBP = $2 USD

Nice. It looks super minimalist and reminds me of the style in Hunger Games - like this naturalistic earthy style

when working with flour I use an apron bc it gets all over me for some reason but not for other things

yeah..I should have slow cooked it at 325F. At 400F the outside would get crazy hot and dry out before the inside cooks which is what happened here. But I chose 400F because I needed the skin to brown. At 325F the skin would not brown in time. and I chose 400F because I was following the original recipe by Pepin at The Ballentine technique is technically brilliant but not easy (for me at least) to get the meat temperature perfect. I was super sad when I bit into that dry meat and dinner was not good.

Chicken Ballentine I put it in at 400° for 30 minutes and the breast meat was 180° so it dried out and didn’t taste that great because it was overcooked.

darn - I wasn't nominated for Best Home Chef category. Better luck next year maybe.

@cdh - hmmm...like I was after the points list. I'm not sure if what I'm saying exists. Like the Wine Advocate has a vintage chart but I was thinking that there is a chart/table that lists the wines and the points score out of 100. I don't know how the monthly/periodical magazine is formatted but I don't think it's in the magazine - the comprehensive chart - but maybe it's something that comes out annually - ratings for 2017 etc. If anyone subscribes to the magazine, and can give some info that would be good. If found this website that has many Robert Parker / Wine Advocate rated wines https://www.thewinebuyer.com/main.asp?request=articles&article=50 I think I'm going to buy buying in bulk and driving there for pick up The ratings are true and the flavor has been pretty solid

I'm not sure if dive bar is within this category but their's Jimmy's Corner near Times Square and Rudy's Bar and Grill. It's not a place you want to take a date to but it's a really friendly relaxing place with no pretensions and friendly service. A girl actually took me to Rudy's when we were in college .

The Wine Advocate yearly subscription is about $200 or something which is not worth it for me because I only drink $20 or less (which excludes most wines they talk about I'm guessing). But the Robert Parker ratings for $10 - $20 wines I've come across taste really good when it's between 85 to 90 and above points. Is there a way to buy the wine list rankings without subscribing to the Wine Advocate or is there a website that will sell wines with a comprehensive list of Robert Parker rated wines etc. I found one website at https://www.winetransit.com/ratings/robert-parker.html And I just buy it at my local Total Wine because they don't ship to New Jersey. I did a dinner party where I needed to supply all the wine. To make it affordable so I bought wines at about $10 per bottle ranked 85 - 90 points by RP and all but one bottle tasted really good. Might have another one but I don't want to bring the same bottles I guess. Thanks

I wish I bought a Jura but I got the Gaggia instead because it was recommended by Cooks Illustrated and they had a 40% off mark down on x-mas so it was about $500 or so rather than $850. The Gaggia makes a super loud noise like - pluck pluck pluck pluck - and then screams. It gets better when I clean it with a descaler but it's loud. I don't know if it'll last that long. It's been about a 1.5 years so far. If the Jura can last 10 years, I think I might get that next. I had my mind set on the Jura coffee only for about $900 (low end model). I tested it out at Sur La Table and it's super quite.

thanks for the info and it's nice to hear a Parisian's take on it. I did think about it and the choux creates this air pocket in the center that allows a cream custard center filling that bread and pie crust can't offer. And I know that the choux tastes really different when fully put together with a crunch caramel coating (salambos). So I end up with a contrast of textures - crunch on the outside, airy-ness from the chox, and then a soft cream caramel in the center. This contrast of different textures all in one bite is unique to choux and the experience is good It's not..hard to make..but I don't think it's as popular in American home kitchen's because it a lot of work without that much flavor The flavor seems to come from sugar (where it's fermentation in the case of bread) But the texture's great in choux pastries. I guess preference depends more on what you care more about - texture or flavor I'm a flavor guy so not for moi my Parisian amigo

The choux pastries For eclairs and the chocolate custard From the book the art of French pastry. There’s a chocolate fondant coating which I don’t think I’m going to do because it’s not made from scratch. But it doesn’t taste good. I don’t think I’ll be doing anymore Choux pastries in the future. Just because fermented bread and piecrust has so much more flavor than choux

Jack Dorsey, CEO/founder of Twitter, in an interview said he used to go to Zuni everyday for lunch. That would be so cool if you saw him or another famous tech nerd from the money start-up community there

@blue_dolphin it definitely looks like something I would see at a nice restaurant. thanks for the photos - really professional. Dinner guests would be really impressed I bet