Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine at Home" (Part 2)

[Erik Shear]

[Moderator note: This topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the earlier part of the discussion is here: Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine at Home" (Part 1)]

I have been cooking out of MC@h for a few months now and haven't found this forum until recently. I thought I would stop lurking a participate as I have tried many of the recipes with great success, as well as had some pretty spectacular failures I mean who hasn't?

Last night I decided to try the pressure cooked pork belly adobo I served it like a lettuce wrap with some sweet onion, diakon and cilantro and it turned out fantastic. I wish I had taken a picture.

For those who have made the adobo it is rather rich and I want to add something more to cut through it a bit and was thinking of a foam so I can practice with my new whipping siphon. The addition of the lettuce cups with the onion and diakon helped a bunch I just think it needed one other element to really balance it out.
Any thoughts on what you would use?


-Erik

[ChrisTaylor]

I'd go about taming it through my choice of vegetable side. Some sort of salad, perhaps involving cabbage, with a fairly acidic dressing.

[Baselerd]

I would serve the pork on a steamed bun with some pickled veggies, but that's just me...

[Erik Shear]

I would serve the pork on a steamed bun with some pickled veggies, but that's just me...

I like th

I'd go about taming it through my choice of vegetable side. Some sort of salad, perhaps involving cabbage, with a fairly acidic dressing.

Thats kinda what I was going for with the lettuce cup idea but just need bit more acid. I think the pickled veggies would be perfect. I like the idea of a steamed bun as well. Have to give that a try.

[ElsieD]

The caramelized carrot soup was way too sweet for me.

I made it and found it to be very sweet as well, almost cloying so. I am going to try it again leaving the cores in as I think that should make it not so sweet.

[Bojana]

I never bothered with removing cores but that is just lazy me. Also, there is tons of other vegetables that requires less work. I use this technique for my quick & easy meals all the time. I said it somewhere before, but you can leave out all the butter and add only to your taste. The technique works even if you dissolve the baking soda in a tiny bit of water or vegetable juice.

[Okanagancook]

Tried the sous vide lamb skewers on page 86 of the kitchen manual. I cooked the lamb at 133 degrees rather than the suggested 135 degrees because I wanted them more on the rare side. The lamb really picked up the marinade flavour however we found them borderline salty. They were left in the sous vide bag with a little residual marinade on the surface for about 7 hours before being cooked which could have made them a little salty. Or too much salt in the marinade....it did seem like a lot of salt when I was mixing up the marinade. I used lamb leg and they turned out very tender.

[TheTInCook]

Tried making pressure cooker carnitas yesterday. It was the first time I've ever used a pressure cooker, so I'm still getting used to the kinks. It seems like I used too much water. I used the jus to make a batch of beans in the pc, instead of reducing it down to add to the pork. 30 minutes at 15psi gave soft meat, but it was drier and less succulent then the carnitas I've made the old fashioned way. Next time, I think I'll let the meat rest in the jus so it can reabsorb some of it. I didn't shred and deep fry per the instructions. I just crisped them up in my cast iron skillet with a little oil. I liked the ratio of crispy to tender meaty I got that way.

One odd thing I noticed, is that when I went to crisp up a batch tonight for dinner, the pork sucked up the oil. Almost like it was eggplant!

All in all, I think it's winner. I just need to tweak it a bit for my taste, and get more practice in with the pressure cooker.

[FoodMan]

Crispy Korean Chicken Wings.

Made those for the Super Bowl and they are probably the perfect chicken wings. Great texture and amazing flavors going on here. I don't know how I went so long without cooking with Korean pepper paste. That stuff is brilliant. I served them with a crunchy salad of sorts made with celery and blanched kale stems and flavored with pickled ginger and ponzu.

White Bread.

Easy to make and very tasty, especially in grilled cheese sandwiches.

[Reignking]

After weeks of having the book, and not having the time to cook, I spent most of Sunday doing just that...only to get much less done than I expected. I could really use 3 more pressure cookers.

1. Carnitas set my timing back, since I could not find achiote paste.
   
2. I had to make PC garlic confit for the paste, which was on my list to do anyway, but that took the first two hours of cooking. I finished the paste up at night, and it smells great (as did the garlic, of course).
   
3. Meanwhile, I made the carotene butter, which is simpler (not PC or SV needed). Used bottled carrot juice from Whole Foods.
   
4. I had to make use of my rigged SV set up, so I moved on to another infused butter -- Porcini Butter. This was a failure, and I wonder if the directions are murky. It calls for "crumbled dry porcini", so I used dried shiitakes, which I pulverized in the food processor. There wasn't close to enough liquid from the butter to mix with the dry mushrooms, so I ended up with something more like mushrooms poached in butter, not the other way around. Should the recipe call for fresh mushrooms? When I read "dry", I think "dried".
   
5. Next in the PC -- veg confit. Definitely a success, but I would like to add more herbs next time (and find a way to make a larger batch). That's great; I have a technique to play with. I used one jar since two of the ones that I have would not fit (either due to height or the small trivet included with the PC), and it was fine.
   
6. PC brown pork stock, which didn't finish to almost midnight, for the carnitas. I realllly wish I had doubled or tripled (if room allowed) the recipe, since 2/3 of it will be used in the carnitas. If the yields are so low, even though the effort is low (vs.traditional stockmaking) is it really worth it? I want to be able to stock my freezer with these building blocks.
   
7. Tuna confit brined; will make that and the PC chickpeas tonight or tomorrow.
   
8. Soups postponed until sometime this week -- PC caramelized carrot, and apple-turnip (instead of parsnips) -- I just have tons of turnips from my CSA that I need to do something with. I plan on doubling or tripling these since the yield seems low.
   
9. Made an orange oil using the lemon oil ratio as a template on Saturday, but it came out bitter; I was trying to use up some old oranges, so that is probably the issue.
   

I'm finding that I wish there were more non-PC recipes.

[Judy Wilson]

After weeks of having the book, and not having the time to cook, I spent most of Sunday doing just that...only to get much less done than I expected. I could really use 3 more pressure cookers.

1. Carnitas set my timing back, since I could not find achiote paste.
   
2. I had to make PC garlic confit for the paste, which was on my list to do anyway, but that took the first two hours of cooking. I finished the paste up at night, and it smells great (as did the garlic, of course).
   
3. Meanwhile, I made the carotene butter, which is simpler (not PC or SV needed). Used bottled carrot juice from Whole Foods.
   
4. I had to make use of my rigged SV set up, so I moved on to another infused butter -- Porcini Butter. This was a failure, and I wonder if the directions are murky. It calls for "crumbled dry porcini", so I used dried shiitakes, which I pulverized in the food processor. There wasn't close to enough liquid from the butter to mix with the dry mushrooms, so I ended up with something more like mushrooms poached in butter, not the other way around. Should the recipe call for fresh mushrooms? When I read "dry", I think "dried".
   
5. Next in the PC -- veg confit. Definitely a success, but I would like to add more herbs next time (and find a way to make a larger batch). That's great; I have a technique to play with. I used one jar since two of the ones that I have would not fit (either due to height or the small trivet included with the PC), and it was fine.
   
6. PC brown pork stock, which didn't finish to almost midnight, for the carnitas. I realllly wish I had doubled or tripled (if room allowed) the recipe, since 2/3 of it will be used in the carnitas. If the yields are so low, even though the effort is low (vs.traditional stockmaking) is it really worth it? I want to be able to stock my freezer with these building blocks.
   
7. Tuna confit brined; will make that and the PC chickpeas tonight or tomorrow.
   
8. Soups postponed until sometime this week -- PC caramelized carrot, and apple-turnip (instead of parsnips) -- I just have tons of turnips from my CSA that I need to do something with. I plan on doubling or tripling these since the yield seems low.
   
9. Made an orange oil using the lemon oil ratio as a template on Saturday, but it came out bitter; I was trying to use up some old oranges, so that is probably the issue.
   

I'm finding that I wish there were more non-PC recipes.

Hi Reignking,

Sounds like quite the undertaking!

I buy achiote paste at a local Mexican market in Seattle. I'd recommend checking for such markets in your area, or using the recipe in MCAH.

Judy

[Reignking]

Part of the day was 90 minutes at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market, which, I thought, had everything. That's one of the few places I can find obscure things like kaffir lime leaves; the place is gigantic, and has aisles dedicated to Latino foods (and at least 3 for each Chinese, Japanese, Korean). I didn't even have time to look at Eastern European aisles.

[Lawless Cooks]

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I ventured into my first recipes from MCAH this past weekend. Of course, the obligatory carrot soup and based on the posts on the forum, Pork Belly Adobo.

A couple of issues I wanted to run by the experts:

When I made the carotene butter for the soup (stovetop method) I couldn't get the butter to separate. I got the impression from MCAH yield and photos that it was supposed to be just the butterfat infused with carotene along the lines of a clarified carrot butter. Instead I got one continuous emulsion with a little bit of foam at the top. I used an immersion blender to incorporate the butter, per the recipe. What did I miss? The soup was excellent, regardless, so not a waste at all!

On the Pork Belly Adobo, after pressure-cooking, the liquid that is used as a sauce was more of a broth than sauce consistency. The portion in the pan reduced to the glaze was perfect. Was this other people's experience as well? Once again, the dish was great and I guess this one is more of an issue of judgement as I can always reduce the liquid to a desired consistency.

I guess with MCAH's precision in measuring ingredients I was hoping the recipes would be more predictable. In the end I guess it's all up to personal taste ...

The forum is great and I can't wait to work my way through more recipes and learning through the process!

[Reignking]

Did you let the butter cool?

I absolutely loved the carrot soup; it's a definite winner. I tried it with turnips and apples -- obviously not as sweet, but the caramelizing was fantastic.

I enjoyed the carnitas, but the flavor of the achiote paste didn't come through enough. Also, I need to defat it at some point. The pork stock was the important takeaway, as that really made some porky goodness.

I loved the tuna confit, and it holds up really well. Glad that I could reuse that oil in the chickpeas, because it used a lot. One interesting note -- I made 1/2 of the emulsion without the sardine, and its volume was 40-50% of the recipe. That sardine really emulsifies well, apparently.

And the chickpeas -- adding calcium chloride (on-hand from cheesemaking) is now another no-brainer.

[torolover]

Anyone try the sous vide coffee creme brulee? I found the texture too thick. How do I make it more silky?

What is the purpose of heating the bath to 180F and taking out the ramkins when the custard is 176F? Why not just heat the bath to 177F so you don't overheat the custard?

[Lawless Cooks]

Did you let the butter cool?

I did let the butter cool. I put the pot in an ice bath trying to get it cooled down quickly to put in the fridge. Then I let it sit overnight. When it was still one consistent mass the next day, I reheated it and tried letting it cool on its own. Still the same result.

Anyway, you and others successfully made the butter? I will definitely try again before purchasing a centrifuge!

[Beusho]

For people who have made the sauces: how well do they hold up after freezing, the book says they hold up for 6 months? I've been making them with the dish but the extra 30-45 min of the simpler sauces is taking away from the main course, as well as having to use my pressure cooker or sous-vide set up and then use it again.

So:

If you've frozen your sauce and then reheated it, how did it turn out, how long did you have it frozen for?

[nickrey]

I've never had a problem freezing and reheating sauces. It makes sense for a home cook.

[Reignking]

Did you let the butter cool?

I did let the butter cool. I put the pot in an ice bath trying to get it cooled down quickly to put in the fridge. Then I let it sit overnight. When it was still one consistent mass the next day, I reheated it and tried letting it cool on its own. Still the same result.

Anyway, you and others successfully made the butter? I will definitely try again before purchasing a centrifuge!

I have, but I also think that if you still had some of the "unwanted" liquid, it wouldn't matter.

-----

I tried a few other recipes this weekend:

SV Chicken breast skewers with PC Peanut sauce: The chicken was ok, but not as tender as I was hoping. The sauce, however, was fantastic. Learning about PC-caramelization from that and the carrot soup is a great takeaway.

Pistachio pesto -- excellent. I omitted the $19 bottle of pistachio oil (couldn't believe my local, normal grocery store had it), but it wasn't necessary. The few "extra" steps of blanching the greens, and the especially the garlic, were worthwhile. Glad I doubled that recipe.

I'll be using the mushroom jus in some risotto at some point in the next week.

[Todd in Chicago]

For people who have made the sauces: how well do they hold up after freezing, the book says they hold up for 6 months? I've been making them with the dish but the extra 30-45 min of the simpler sauces is taking away from the main course, as well as having to use my pressure cooker or sous-vide set up and then use it again.

So:

If you've frozen your sauce and then reheated it, how did it turn out, how long did you have it frozen for?

I will tell you a great winner is Instant Sous Vide Hollandaise, I just used my last pouch this past weekend. The sauce was 2 months old.

A winner.

Todd in Chicago

Edited February 20, 2013 by Todd in Chicago (log)

[Paul Kierstead]

I will tell you a great winner is Instant Sous Vide Hollandaise, I just used my last pouch this past weekend. The sauce was 2 months old.

At what stage did you store it? I am presuming frozen?

PK

[Todd in Chicago]

I will tell you a great winner is Instant Sous Vide Hollandaise, I just used my last pouch this past weekend. The sauce was 2 months old.

At what stage did you store it? I am presuming frozen?

PK

PK....

I completely made the sauce and then portioned it into smaller bags and sealed and froze.

Here is the Crab eggs benedict it was used on.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have made espuma hollandaise (well, bearnaise actually), although not prepared sous vide. While good, I don't feel that using a siphon adds anything to the presentation of the sauce. I cook my hollandaise and bearnaise in a copper pot over direct heat.

The pictures of the procedure on page 107 show the sauce being added to what looks an awfully lot like a Thermo Whip, with instructions to use a water bath -- something iSi says not to do.

Tonight however I made my first real recipe from MC@H: peanut butter gelato (pp 370-371). I had set off to make pistachio gelato but was unable to find the ingredients locally. The result astounded me. Other than the salt being a little much, the gelato was perfect, and wow, did it taste like peanuts. I had three scoops. Then I compared it to a bowl of my twenty something percent butterfat custard vanilla ice cream. Texture, mouthfeel, and meltdown were remarkably similar. I had two more scoops.

Would the MC version of the recipe be any better?

MC@H is a beautiful book, but I have to say I am a little disappointed. I was hoping for something like On Food and Cooking, but with pretty pictures. I realize now that was not the intention of the book.

Part of my disappointment is that I don't have the tools for many of the recipes. I'd love to make the caramelized carrot soup (pp 178-179), but I don't have a blender or a (working) pressure cooker -- part of my love/hate relationship with Cuisinart who don't sell replacement parts. Can the soup be made without the pressure cooking step?

I also don't have a digital scale, pacojet, blowtorch, combi oven, microplane, microwave, nor sous vide setup.

[rotuts]

T-i-Chi:

your'e a Rat for posting that Food p0rn . or as EnriqueB would say while giving that class in Chi: Raton ( accent on the o )

[jmolinari]

Crab-eggs-benedict.jpg

I will tell you a great winner is Instant Sous Vide Hollandaise, I just used my last pouch this past weekend. The sauce was 2 months old.

At what stage did you store it? I am presuming frozen?

PK

PK....

I completely made the sauce and then portioned it into smaller bags and sealed and froze.

Here is the Crab eggs benedict it was used on.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

So you made the sauce including the foaming in teh iSi? or up to that point and then froze?

Did you iSi it after you defrosted or just warm and put into the eggs?

thanks