paul o' vendange

Just a couple of late. A pretty typical German bauernbrot, and a French Levain (an everyday one for us, recipe and process, the late French master baker, Gerard Rubaud). The Bauernbrot is high in whole meal rye, but it is soft, moist ("saftig"), very aromatic due to the use of altbrot, just flour made from my leftover and dried dark rye breads. Really helps the dough take in more hydration without becoming too slack.

Man that is insanely gorgeous. Thank you again.

Gorgeous!

I just looked him up - glad to say he's still with us. 90!

Thanks! My mom bought the book for me as I'd grown up in love with everything French from very early (like, 5 or 6, began learning the language), and was driven to cooking from, among other things, Galloping Gourmet which I raced to always watch. I was 13 or 14 when I cooked Christmas for our extended family, all from La Technique. My brother sent me some photos....feel really lucky.

Looks really beautiful. I grew up 50 years ago on La Technique so not a lot to contribute here. Which Pierre Hermé book(s) do you draw from, if you don't mind me asking?

We were re-watching Top Chef Season 15, episode 5 ("This is not Glamping") just two nights ago, the very night I found out. I was very saddened to come to know of it. Not too many days prior, I had read the article covering Kwame Onwuachi in the current F & W, and noted the sidebar at the end mentioning Naomi's Cornet Custard Shop. She died after the issue had already gone to press. Peace to her memory and healing to her husband, staff, friends and family.

For what it's worth, a good amount of discussion here and here on "fleur de levain," though it's in German (I'm part of a German baking community on FB). Though these aren't used as leavening, rather just a flavoring component using up excess sourdough or "Anstellgut."

If you'll send it to me, I'll wash it for you.

Yes. There's a part of me that wars with a part of me that misses the classical coulis that is disgusted by most elements of haute cuisine. It's one reason I got out. There.

This is a "gateau orange caramel," which I got from Cuisine et Vins de France. The recipe calls for Grand Marnier in the batter. My wife, whom I lovingly refer to as "kitchen witch" as she loves to make all kinds of liqueurs and extraordinary bitters, provided her "Cointreau." One of these days we will have to source Seville Oranges. The recipe also calls for faisselle égoutté. Easy to make (the soft, drained cheese), I've made it many times but I haven't made any cheese in a log time and have no cultures so I substituted the faisselle égoutté with Chobani yogurt - I made a "sack" with double layers of tight-weave cheesecloth and drained it overnight over a bowl in the frigo. Texture came out beautifully.

@paulraphael: " It's so easy that I don't do anything generic like veal or a white chicken glace. I use a dish-appropriate meat for whatever meals I'm planning. The degree to which this is better than an Escoffier demi-glace has to be tasted to be appreciated. And you don't give up a whole weekend for it." I always believe in using the "thing itself" as much as possible, which is why I was always such a fan of Keller's "quick sauces" approach. That said, because he uses his (extremely light, 40-minute simmer) chicken stock and demi-glace, along with water, for his multiple glazings, I think there can be a tendency for a generic "roast meaty" taste between his duck, squab, lamb, etc. quick sauces, despite the uses of "squab spice" and so forth. Interested in the coulis approach, with meat. Anyway, more of the PC process generally somewhere?

Paul, a sort of master process, let's say. Do you have a "standard" light chicken stock recipe? And what size (make, while we're there) PC do you use? And you're earlier description of a sort of hybrid-coulis process sounds like something I seem to recall Peterson describes, in terms of trying to parse out aromatics given multiple wettings. Is this where you got it?

Thanks. Looking for Puebla y su Cocina, no luck so far but I love these kinds of books.

Loved his autobiography. Ooooooooo, juice! Also loved Tony Bourdain's documentary on him, The Last Magnificent. Saddens me he seems to be a recluse now in Mexico. Wonderful place to be, but I can't help think he was wounded from very early on and left a lot of life behind.

I'm re-reading 32 yolks right now, third or 4th time through. Just closed the chapter on the loss of his dad. Deeply moving, brought me to tears. I love the guy. In case it's not apparent, Eric and Maguy and I aren't like "this." We're "never met." And I'd fall of my chair too, swooning to my wife and son's humiliation. 😁

I get it. I'm such an orthodox cat it's extremely hard for me to change up my ways. I know that's hard to discern, because I'm always going on about pushing the modernist envelope and am generally considered "down with it" and "cutting edge" by most younger cooks who know "where I'm at." But it's definitely something I'm going to try. This is probably not at all comparable, but in brewing, you actually want to drive off some volatiles, mostly the precursor to dimethyl sulfide, which can give finished beer a quality of cooked corn. Yum. Perhaps there's something here - desirable loss of volatiles?

Congratulations, and happy anniversary! Say hi to Eric and Maguy. We're like "this."

Rancho on my cart - looks awesome. Could you talk about Pueblo Y Su Cocina a bit?

@paulraphael "...James Peterson Sauces book (a gem). " - Can we get an amen! It's in my bedside "speed rail" of books I can't stand not having within arm's reach. 'My reduction days are mostly over too. When I want to make a glace or coulis, I start with proportions pretty close to what I'm hoping to end with. Why lose all those aromatics? The Carême and Escoffier methods seem very dated now. They're about throwing in a whole barnyard full of meat in in the beginning, knowing that most of the flavor will go out the window. You can do better even without a pressure cooker. " I know you're right, Paul. In every way (losing volatiles; not keen on coulis, old-school or as Bernard Loiseaux called it, "sacrificial meats."). Still, I'm a hopeless luddite romantic. I'll never be able to jettison the old fellas entirely. At least my dog loves me.

Well, jury's out for me on this jus. Tastes salty to me but my wife died for it. Her threshold is much higher than mine (it helps she's Estonian blooded). I don't like to taste salt at all in anything, unless it's grains of fleur de sel or gris at finishing. Muddier than I like, but then I wonder if as Heidi says, I might have been chasing all these years clarity at the cost of deeper flavor. Keller's "Big Pot" blanching; Alice Waters's decrial of such blanching for looking beautiful but losing flavor. Hmm. I'll need a bigger freezer, lol. Mine is an old army tank of a 20 qt. All-American. It's also aluminum. But you intrigued me before, and now I'll have to do it - with a smaller PC.

Cool. Thanks!

I do like the complex sweetness that comes from aromatics, but add them in final hour. I love Keller's veal stock, but with the remouillage, those veggies are dead. I think if there's one issue I have with it, it's a bit too sweet for me, and I like some (lighter side) roastiness. Making Ducasse's chicken jus right now. 2# chix parts, 8 oz. butter, 6 garlic cloves smashed, 1/2 tsp salt. Two glaze cycles, mere 20 minutes with very little water. I'm a fan of repeated glazings, which I think Ecoffier does either with his fond brun, or fond brun de veau, maybe both, Keller's "quick sauces." Will report!

I've not had it. Is this a vin jaune?

Thanks Tdev! I've tried that and for some reason I'm not getting the link suggestions - it just stays as plain text. -except right now, of course, as I'm confusing this site with a bread site I'm part of (doesn't have this feature). My brain, lol. @TdeV. @paulraphael, you're being talked about!