paul o' vendange
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Posts posted by paul o' vendange
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Thanks for the advice, everyone! I made my first batch this morning. I think it was a little weak, so I will try to tamp it down a little more firmly tomorrow.
My in-laws were holding out on me. I found two books in their collection about coffee and espresso recipes. The coffee book is from the late 70's but had some useful information about how an espresso machine basically works. The book also says that froth should be made before heating the milk because it is easier to make froth in cold milk. Is this true?
I would grind my own beans, but my goal for right now is to understand and learn the process. I bought a 1/4 lbs of Allegro Espresso blend at Whole Paycheck and ground it fine there. Even if I wanted to, my in-laws do not have a grinder and I am not that generous. Once we go back home, I will add it to the long term list of things to buy when money is available.
Dan
Interesting discussion on proper tamping.
On the cold milk, yep, that's both my memory from barista days, and my home practice now. Not sure of the science behind it, but my suspicion is that this allows a proper length of steam infusion and froth development/redistribution, before reaching the critical threshold of milk temp (too much, and you end up with not only scalding/bubbles and not foam, but an unpleasant milk flavor). Use as cold a milk as you can muster, would be my ongoing advice.
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I don't know the machine, but would recommend that if you could purge some hot water through the system prior to putting in the filter and handle, you will ensure, or better ensure, anyway, that you are getting properly hot steam (not a bad mixture of hot water and steam) into your coffee. Just a few seconds, insert the espresso filter, then go.
As to your milk, to make sure you're also delivering a relatively pure steam and not mixture of steam and water, purge your wand until you see pure steam; you can use a coffee cup. Not necessary with any pro-line models, most home-line models, even pump delivery ones under several $100's, will need some priming to deliver pure steam. Once you do have that steam, bring the wand towards the bottom of the pitcher - not the top, yet - and bring the milk up to a hot (not scalding) temp. There is a temp ideal, which I've long forgotten (I worked my way through Berkeley by managing "Muffin Mania," and am only going on memory, so forgive any errors), but just cup the stainless pitcher and wait for it to feel "hot," but not exceedingly so. You don't want the milk to scald or boil. Once you've reached this temp, bring - and this is in my opinion the trickiest aspect of a perfect froth - the wand to just below the surface of the milk, and keep it so, so that you get a classic, fine froth developing, and a very characteristic "pitch" to the steaming sound; you follow this "up" as the froth stand develops. The longer you do this, the more you're apt to boil the milk, so be careful. If you find you are getting large bubbles, and a kind of boiling effect, you've either boiled your milk, or you have lifted the wand to high. The best froth comes from the proper feel of the wand just beneath the surface, and carefully following the froth stand up.
Hope it helps!
(edit -sorry, missed some of your post, and your new post. The purge is to get pure steam, so do it long enough to see that - if it's still pouring out water, that will go into, dilute, and ruin your milk). On the filters, from what I can tell, simply variations on a single (shallow filter, single spout) or double (deeper filter, double spout) espresso shot. Cannot tell what some of the other accessories are about, sorry.
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Came across a 2007 Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin, "Les Jeunes Rois." At $29, it was an incredible offering, in my opinion. Still tight, but already drinking really nicely, and over a day, opened considerably to promise much more.
I've never come across her before - my understanding is that Ms. Tortochot took over from her dad - but am very intrigued to follow her more. Anyone else come across them? Other vintages/vineyards/impressions?
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I think my objection comes from an apparent complete lack of historical appreciation. In this, I am in complete agreement with the many others of this thread.
I believe with all my heart that whatever greatness we achieve in life tends to come from standing on the shoulders of those who come before us - we may see past their vista, but we begin by drawing from their strength and courage. In this vein, I count Ms. Child's contributions nothing short of visionary; she joins a pantheon of others I will always revere.
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Modern IPAs and DIPAs really aren’t meant to be aged. They’re hopped to hell because that is what people expect out of them and, while I cannot speak for every brewer, I can’t imagine a brewer going through the trouble to hop to hop/wet hop/dry hop a beer just to have the customer put the beer down to rid the beer of all the benefits of the hopping. It’s not as if bittering hops are the beer equivalent to tannins in wine with the brewer adding hops with the intent that the beer with “mature” with age.
I'm not really that concerned with what a beer is "meant" to be or the trouble and/or effort a brewer went through to make it or why he/she made it - it should stand on its own without context and without explanation. Lots of brewers "mean" their beer to be good, and it isn't. Sour beers are "meant" to be sour, if you don't like sour things, explaining the intention doesn't make it any better. Modern hefeweizens are "meant" to be served with orange or lemon slices, but I don't like stuff in my beer - does that mean that I'm drinking hefeweizens incorrectly?
I guess I'm not advocating that you only buy IPAs and DIPAs for cellaring. But I am suggesting that there is some value in cellaring them - that they do, in fact, change and sometimes for the better - or at least equivalently different. Yes, the hops, particularly aroma, degrade over time. But bitterness degrades much more slowly with little noticeable difference (especially in DIPAs) 2 or even 3 years down the road (a lot of the reason for this is that our palates can't really differentiate above 75 IBU or so, so 100+ IBU is often functionally equivalent). And, yes, hops can be a bit like tannins, especially with less filtered IPAs, the vegetal properties really come out and hops can taste like steeped tea. The hop aroma disappears, but often the malt aroma comes out, again without losing much of the bitterness. So, it becomes different, sometimes better, sometime not.
My only point is this: Try it. See if you like the results - maybe you will, maybe you won't. I often like the results. You don't. We disagree. The only point of my post is that there are some of us, whether you find me crazy or not, who do cellar some IPAs on occasion. And, frankly, I don't know a single brewer of quality beer that would be offended.
While I agree with you that the beer should stand on its own, ultimately - after all, you bought it - I think a brewer's intent is instructive if one is going to give a fair evaluation of the product, especially an aged product.
I do have to disagree with the characterization that hop bitterness degrades fairly slowly; obviously so much depends on cellaring conditions, but degradation of iso-a-acids to off-products (which can often be mistaken for "bitter," but are in fact harsh, astringent chemicals differing from the isomerized alpha acids) can be quite pronounced, and it can happen fairly quickly.
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Is the 'mingling' a good thing? Or should the flavours be separate?
That raises an interesting question, Carlovski. Many more more at home in Italian cuisine than I will chime in, I'm sure, but it does pique my interest.
One of the reasons I love this stuff is precisely because of the "surprise" in its several bites - texture and taste. My want, personally, would be much like my want in ratatouille, the preservation of the discrete character from each contributor. Not therefore a fan of "melded down" ratatouille, and I suspect that although it would still taste wonderful, I would myself prefer to keep puttanesca similarly "fresco."
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@David - I love Kriek/Lambics as well, although I tend to prefer the more austere varieties - Lindeman's catches some flak for using syrups, more or less a ton of resulting sweetness, and if I remember correctly, they do not bottle condition; makes their versions palatable for a broader swath, but they can be pretty cloying, in my opinion. Not that I don't enjoy them, on occasion, but if you find them too much to chew, I'd suggest a more authentic brew - some sweetness, yes, depending on the make, but a good deal of acid from natural/wild yeast/bacterial fermentation and skilled "aged" blending as well. Try Cantillon, Liefman's, others.
@Florida, yep, another life ago, but I worked for the production brewery. There has been a veritable diaspora, since then - some still there, some went on to Sierra, Three Floyds, Peace, even to owning (Southern Tier). I got out of the biz entirely. And have shed close to a century.
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There's nothing truly "Belgian" about Stella; a marketing success, and that's about it. Being a lager, it is as alien to Belgian brewing culture as it would be in, say, Hook Norton. In my opinion, an insipid, mass-produced and mass-appeal drink; the Budweiser of Belgium only - owned by InBev (ummm....doesn't the name just scream craft?), the largest brewing company in the world.
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Chris, Oro was my first of his ales, and we were absolutely floored, as well. Second for us was the La Roja. Enough to convince a guy back to beer...!
Edited to add....LOL, uh, that would be La Roja, the beer, not La Raza, the paper, or political movement.
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Not sure what their distribution area is, but FWIW, a Michigan brewery doing outstanding Belgian-style ales would be the Jolly Pumpkin brewery. When we had our restaurant, we introduced them to the Upper Peninsula, and were very pleased to do so; a true craft artisan.
Don't drink beer like I used to...in other words, about 70 lbs. ago, and another life (in the brewing industry...Goose Island), but Belgian ales, though they can be a confusing lot (add to their myriad "styles" are the many makers worldwide of their style), are well worth the investigation. Belgians know their stuff; they are unafraid of wildness, in every way (literally....much as "terroir" applies to wine, the wild yeasts and bacterias of Belgian brewing areas, floating freely and used to "infect" Belgian worts to make their lambics and gueuzes, have their unique characteristics regionally). Some non-Belgians doing good work, in my opinion...already mentioned Jolly Pumpkin, would also recommend Unibroue, out of Canada, or Ommegang, Upstate New York.
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I just watched as much as I can bear. I love both Bourdain and Ripert, each are in their skins in their own way, and each have my abiding appreciation. I cannot stand MS, and this exemplifies why. What a completely arrogant fool.
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I would say, if you don't notice much difference between a stock made from roasted and unroasted bones and mirepoix, then you may not be roasting deeply enough (or, depending on the animal, simmering enough/getting enough extraction). Much the same as the difference between a white and brown veal stock, white and brown chicken stock, etc., these are entirely different in character (and use).
What are you looking to do with the stock?
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I think companies like Garagiste give (some of) those small producers a market they might not have been able to find 10 years ago, sort of a wine-geek's version of a CSA. All hope is not lost -- in fact, it's possible that things are improving.
That's a great point, John; I hope so.
I need to stop reading older books...currently re-reading Eunice Fried's Burgundy, detailing, in part, Becky Wasserman's early forays into vigneron brokerage; that, and Waverly Root's Food of France, which I finished again recently, having read it for what must have been half a dozen times. Le Vin Bourru is on order next, by Jean-Claude Carrière....details life in 30's SW France. Not that Carrière's book is a rose-lensed view of rural viticultural life; far from it. They worked like dogs, like smallholders do, have always done.
Still, after reading books like these, or Terry Theise's Reading Between the Wines, or Lawrence Osborne's The Accidental Connoisseur, I can't help but get melancholy; it feels ineluctable, like the tide of history is heavily weighted against craft, and towards an insipid mean, a global "standard." It doesn't help that my cousin is a California winemaker; I have seen firsthand (ok, secondhand) what happens when a large bunch of Bourbon boys assert their behemoth market sway on an entire wine region. Or when larger wineries themselves turn to these powerhouses for help in further "market penetration."
I guess that if I acknowledge it as a natural consequence of a free market, in an era that more and more values some of the things we've been discussing, I see it, but it troubles me pretty deeply.
Uh...I need me some garagiste nectar.
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I hear you, John, and ultimately, the market will bear out -if people value price points only, eventually, then so be it; 2 Buck Chuck will rule the day. I guess my beef is that I see so much consolidation everywhere that skews what would be a "fair" evaluation - with such market force, it's difficult to get at the heart of true valuation, dollars for intrinsic value. Some would say, well, that, too, is simply the market - that advertising, and the sway of Parker's points are important to people, and they value accordingly. But I can't agree.
I might just be a romantic, locked in hopeless enmity with modernity; I mourn the ability of family, small-plot vintners to stay alive, so will eschew Brown Forman's lineup anyday, if I can, to support a 1 hectare producer.
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She's being mighty saucy, that one. [Austin Powers]Oh, behave![/Austin Powers]
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Très raffiné...
LOL - not two minutes ago my wife showed up with our boy, fresh home from school (and Trader Joe's, along the way)...with makings for...uh, yep. I had mentioned to her my pang for the stuff, and voila.
-her loot includes a tin of Cento anchovies. Seems the universe is conspiring to tell me something...
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Lightly sautéed tomatoes, no anchovies, little oil: that just ain't gonna do it for me.
OK, OK, I'll relent.
Oh, not on using unblanched anchovies. On the name. Penne Putain. A gentler, more L'ile de France cousin.
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On the anchovy, it is the taste itself (rather than any textural thing - the "Shakey's Pizza" comment was a joke, from my childhood memories) that is at issue, but as I say, I love (salt packed) anchovies generally. Like your idea of basil in at serving, often "sort of" do that on other things (e.g, see fishy below...halibut on ratatouille, pommes anna, red pepper coulis, basil oil, garnishes of nicoise and basil chiffonade), interesting to try. Between the first drop of garlic and plating is likely no more than 1 minute or so, as I work it that fast. First from "family meal" at a now-closed place in L.A., I've never shaken the love of this particular, rustic flavor combination...and the bite of "goodies" nested throughout the pasta.
Thanks for the idea!
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Definitely doable - an old and in my opinion a noble tradition, if amounting to little more than slave labor. But if you go in with the idea that you are working and gaining an essentially free, practical and rigorous apprenticeship - oftentimes, in a place that can little afford any kind of slipshod work - it can both give you exactly what you seek, a realistic appraisal of whether this is for you, and if you bloom at your chosen place of stage, an entree into bigger and better things; all for the cost of your labors alone.
If you're young, have few encumbrances, a good heart and a clear eye, and know what you're getting into, I say, go for it. Having apprenticed to a number of folks - the last, a Japanese martial arts and zen master, while in my mid '30's (uchideshi - "live inside" student, literally, living inside the temple/dojo), I'd definitely put the emphasis on "young." Ask my now decrepit spine. At any rate, congrats on your desires, and all the best wishes for your success.
Anyway,
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Chris, weird for me that I don't use anchovies in this, as I love them generally; for some reason, it throws the palate out of balance for me, in this dish. After all is said and done, though, with a name like "puttanesca" and whole, discrete, big flavors, maybe "balance" is a bit of a ridiculous goal...
I think it's one too many visits to "Shakey's Pizza" as a kid, with the little bones the stuff of puerile nightmares...I like to use water (and milk, depending on what I'm doing) soaked/"blanched" anchovies, too, when wanting some of the character but not all the sharp bite...will try it here. Or, like caramelized onions and grey liver, perhaps I will let my childhood food demons go, and just do an honest puttanesca.
Thanks for the input so far, folks!
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Just curious how folks put together theirs...one of my favorite quick dinners, though it is "standard," curious for what your tweaks are. I do not simmer this thing, but depend on a healthy dose of hot olive oil to pick up infused flavor quickly. Basically, heat olive oil to below smoking, then toss in in quick succession of (moderately) crushed garlic, basil chiffonade, let them quickly work, whole olives (kalamatas, usually, but also gaeta, or alphonso), capers (with some juice - I know it's sacrilegious, but I do not use anchovies...so get some salt otherwise); let the brine liquid work for a small bit, toss in chili flakes, then prepared pasta (tomato) sauce. Flavors come together for only a small while, pour over pasta (usually, penne), and chow.
What's yours?
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I agree with much of djyee10's post. I know that unless I am extremely lucky, I will sadly never gather anything more than lesser-growth Bordeaus, for example.
That said, my preference for wine is decidedly in terroir, a concept I do believe in, love, and embrace sensually, if it is misused and overused. I am not a Parker fan, generally, and if he has sneered at the notion of terroir, to some extent, I am a fan of growers who call themselves growers, not winemakers, again, generally.
All of which is to say that I do not believe all lands are equal. One can certainly work with one's terroir to make the best wine with what one's got. But I measure "best" to mean the most pleasurable wine (and for me, that includes its ready marriage with food), given its expression of the land. I do not measure it in trying to squeeze out some alchemy from one's land to market the wine to some perceived, authoritative, global standard.
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I guess I remain puzzled as I don't find this a complicated thing. I should think anyone would be flabbergasted that a private conversation was made public, and once that line was betrayed, not sure what incentive would be in place to continue the conversation, since privacy wasn't honored in the first place (in fact, quite the opposite - at least a nominal publicizing, for reasons hashed over throughout the above, before a potential 100's of 1000's).
Less to do with whatever the nature of the conversation, and more to do with publically outing that private conversation in the first place, in my opinion. This is beyond the other issues raised in the thread, which I won't revisit.
French seafood soup
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
First of all Stan, I'm really sorry to hear about your love's health issues. Without knowing you, from one person to another, a simple wish to her better health.
Some thoughts, beyond bouillabaisse. Bourride (Provence, Languedoc); a provencale style, pureed fish soup; cotriade (Bretagne); matelote (different regions - Normandy uses, classically, sole, with shellfish and cider, while inland river regions like the Loire use freshwater eels, wine, etc.). Lots of others, obviously - Basquaise styles with salt cod, chowders more northerly (facing England, say), but these 3 obvious thoughts come to mind.