Taste and technique

[Okanagancook]

I made the roasted carrots and pan fried mushrooms.  Liked both but why is the carrot recipe for 8 people?

i made 1/4 of a recipe, sheesh.  I like the addition of Parmesan shavings to the mushrooms.  I used button mushrooms because I do not get fresh wild mushrooms here.

[blue_dolphin]

I tried the recipe for Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Pickled Mustard Seeds.  The combination of flavors is delicious.  The cooking instructions are for the birds.  The recipe can be found here.

 

We are instructed to preheat the broiler (no temperature specified) and place the oven rack as close to the heat source as possible.  The sprouts are to be halved, tossed with olive oil, S&P and placed into the broiler for 6 minutes (we are reminded to set a timer), stirred about and returned for 6 more minutes.  At that point, we add the pickled mustard seeds and give them.  Now, I knew full well this protocol would result in cinders but the author was so precise about it that I figured I'd give it a try.  

 

Here are my sprouts, 30 seconds into the first broiler session:

 

I pulled off the leaves that were really incinerated, dropped the temp, lowered the rack, gave them 4 minutes, flipped them over for 2 more minutes and added the mustard seeds:

After discarding the outer leaves, the rest were quite good, aside from the bigger ones being still a bit hard in the middle.   

I can and will do a better job of cooking these in the CSO but I figured I'd give the carefully detailed protocol a try.  Sheesh!

 

Edited to add that the mustard seeds are nice.  The recipe uses much more sugar than any others I've seen so it makes for a fairly sweet condiment that will limit its usefulness for me.  Though it was very nice in this dish and I can imagine other things that might work but, for example, I thought they might be a nice garnish for deviled eggs - no.  I tried and they are way too sweet.  The cooking time was a bit off as well, taking well over an hour to thicken, compared to the 25-35 minutes stated in the recipe.  I used a rather low simmer and am sure that cranking it up would cut down on the time.

Edited January 5, 2017 by blue_dolphin
to describe mustard seeds (log)

[Anna N]

 Bet you did not use the required Guatemalan salt.  Might have made all the difference 

[blue_dolphin]

5 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Bet you did not use the required Guatemalan salt.  Might have made all the difference 

 

You would win that bet!  Nor did I practice the recommended "aerial salting technique."  I don't have the book and don't know what "aerial salting" involves but images of a trapeze, safety harnesses or perhaps drones come to mind !

[Okanagancook]

The cooking instructions in this book seem to be troublesome as I also have found.

I made the stock and while it is very good, it is also very expensive to make because there is a lot of meat called for.  I am making a stock today from another book and this stock is bone and vegetable based so I shall be interested to compare the two.

[btbyrd]

Bones have very little flavor on their own. They contribute body to stocks, but not much in the way of taste. Home cooks often overlook the importance of flesh in making a flavorful stock and opt for meatless bones or well-picked carcasses. Even then, few use enough bones to yield a stock worth making. The easiest way to make a powerful stock is to use cuts that have a good balance of flavorful meat and bones... things like chicken wings/thighs, oxtails, short ribs, shank meat, and neck bones. These contain enough meat to give you flavor and enough collagen to give body to the stock. If I ever make a stock with just bones, I'll add ground meat to up the flavor. And if I ever make a stock with just meat (like when there's a crazy sale on chicken breasts), I'll throw in some feet to add body. At any rate, the ratio of water to bones/meat should approximate 1:1... add water until the bones are just barely covered. Lots of bones, lots of meat, little water... excellent stock.

[Anna N]

On December 24, 2016 at 10:34 PM, Okanagancook said:

I made the roasted carrots and pan fried mushrooms.  Liked both but why is the carrot recipe for 8 people?

i made 1/4 of a recipe, sheesh.  I like the addition of Parmesan shavings to the mushrooms.  I used button mushrooms because I do not get fresh wild mushrooms here.

Wow.  I just read through the recipe with a view to making it and wondered why the need to finish it in a stainless steel pan after starting it in a black steel pan. Is it the little bit of vinegar she's worried about. I don't know? I think I need a sous chef/human dishwasher beside me to work with this book!  

[Okanagancook]

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

Bones have very little flavor on their own. They contribute body to stocks, but not much in the way of taste. Home cooks often overlook the importance of flesh in making a flavorful stock and opt for meatless bones or well-picked carcasses. Even then, few use enough bones to yield a stock worth making. The easiest way to make a powerful stock is to use cuts that have a good balance of flavorful meat and bones... things like chicken wings/thighs, oxtails, short ribs, shank meat, and neck bones. These contain enough meat to give you flavor and enough collagen to give body to the stock. If I ever make a stock with just bones, I'll add ground meat to up the flavor. And if I ever make a stock with just meat (like when there's a crazy sale on chicken breasts), I'll throw in some feet to add body. At any rate, the ratio of water to bones/meat should approximate 1:1... add water until the bones are just barely covered. Lots of bones, lots of meat, little water... excellent stock.

What you said is the way I usually make stock but I thought I would try this recipe out of Cooking the Nouvelle Cuisine in America.  I have never made a stock with just bones before and am curious because of the forward in the book.  Once reduced to about 1 pint it is their glace de viande which is used throughout their recipes.  They say it is essential to make the glace.  So I just thought I would try it and see how it turns out.  I agree about the addition of meat really making a stock flavourful.  I am also trying a new technique:  using a "Chefalarm" in the stock to ensure it stays between 190 and 200 degrees F.  Usually when making stock over a longer period of time, I come back to the pot to discover it has come to a higher simmer than I want or it has gone too low.  With the upper and lower alarm I can relax today.

[rustwood]

I felt compelled to revive this thread after reading the reviews and comments about Taste and Technique in this year's Piglet over at Food52.  It is getting a lot more love over there.  Admittedly I started to skim a bit, but I didn't see any of the issues raised in this thread mentioned there.  I think it has an uphill battle ahead of it, but it could win.  Go figure.

[blue_dolphin]

My library just got this in and I was first on the hold list so I've had it for a couple of days.  I agree with the annoyances that have been posted previously.  My own experience with the brussels sprouts cooking directions that I knew would produce a poor result don't make me confident about following directions for other recipes.  For now, I've decided to enjoy reading - the photos are lovely!

[blue_dolphin]

Taste & Technique is the March book for the Food52 Cookbook group so I’m having another look at it. 
The pouring of boiling water over the egg in the aioli recipe has already been mentioned but still puzzles me. 
Why am I interested in setting the protein in the whites and how can that help the emulsification process when the white is promptly discarded? 


Edited to add that I agree with @Okanagancook that using a squeeze bottle to add the oil is very smart. 
 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Taste & Technique is the March book for the Food52 Cookbook group so I’m having another look at it. 
The pouring of boiling water over the egg in the aioli recipe has already been mentioned but still puzzles me. 
Why am I interested in setting the protein in the whites and how can that help the emulsification process when the white is promptly discarded? 


Edited to add that I agree with @Okanagancook that using a squeeze bottle to add the oil is very smart. 
 

 

 

 

The logic of this completely escapes me. 

[eugenep]

I tried her new deconstructed take on a pavlova and I thought the different textures really impressed guests at a dinner party. 

 

Her green pea risotto was also really nice. 

 

I think she used a black garlic sauce in an asparagus dish that I've been meaning to try. 

 

I think she went out of business owing to over spending in the past. I wonder what she's doing now?  I think she started a new project with a new restaurant? 

 

I did see her Ted talk which was also really cool. 

[blue_dolphin]

41 minutes ago, eugenep said:

I think she used a black garlic sauce in an asparagus dish that I've been meaning to try. 

Yes, it's a black garlic hollandaise.  I'm curious to try that, too.  Though I've seen some photos and the gray-ish sauce didn't look all that appealing. 

 

44 minutes ago, eugenep said:

I think she went out of business owing to over spending in the past. I wonder what she's doing now?  I think she started a new project with a new restaurant? 

I don't know what she's doing now either.  She closed Beast at the beginning of the pandemic and opened Ripe Cooperative which offered both pre-made meals and dine-in service.  I thought that sounded like a smart idea but it closed this past October: Naomi Pomeroy’s Ripe Cooperative Will Close This Week

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, eugenep said:

I think she went out of business owing to over spending in the past. I wonder what she's doing now?  I think she started a new project with a new restaurant? 

Click

[Maison Rustique]

Why did I have to click on this thread!! Now I feel like I need another new cookbook. Sigh.

[Alex]

26 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

Why did I have to click on this thread!! Now I feel like I need another new cookbook. Sigh.

 

Library? That's what I do (and just did for Taste & Technique). Assuming the book isn't needed for another reader's hold, that gives me two months to decide what to do. I usually wind up just copying a few pages, if that.

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

Why did I have to click on this thread!! Now I feel like I need another new cookbook. Sigh.

 

2 hours ago, Alex said:

Library? That's what I do

 

That's what I did with this book and what I recommend.  For this one, especially. It's a big, beautifully photographed book and expensive, though used copies are available. I borrowed it from the library years ago, decided it wasn't a book I needed, then sometime later, I picked up the Kindle version for $2.99.  I'm revisiting it this month for a cookbook club. 

 

[AlaMoi]

On 3/1/2023 at 6:29 PM, Anna N said:

The logic of this completely escapes me. 

 

could be . . . I'm sure you've experienced the little bit of raw white that insists on jumping into the bowl with the yolk, when separating.

perhaps that little bit of white makes life difficult down the line?

and perhaps 'setting' the white ensures a clean separation?

 

and just to be sure the ThriftDrift gods are appeased . . . making a souffle there's always a couple yolks left over . . .

I put them in a bowl of water, thence into the oven with the souffle - watch the timing - but it's basically s.v. egg yoke nuggets.

really good stuff - keeps the cook happy . . .

[blue_dolphin]

23 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

could be . . . I'm sure you've experienced the little bit of raw white that insists on jumping into the bowl with the yolk, when separating.

perhaps that little bit of white makes life difficult down the line?

and perhaps 'setting' the white ensures a clean separation?

 

That was my first theory upon reading that instruction but elsewhere in the book, in the section on separating eggs, she says, "The fresher and colder the eggs, the easier they will be to separate."

It's hard to square the two. 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, AlaMoi said:

and perhaps 'setting' the white ensures a clean separation?

If it is truly this esoteric surely a book claiming to teach technique ought to offer an explanation?

[AlaMoi]

54 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

That was my first theory upon reading that instruction but elsewhere in the book, in the section on separating eggs, she says, "The fresher and colder the eggs, the easier they will be to separate."

It's hard to square the two. 

 

perhaps not . . . as eggs age the whites become less and less viscous.

if you've ever dealt with 'really fresh eggs' - hen house required....- the whites are thick and cloudy.

with age the white bit gives up their CO2 (that becomes the 'air sac') and become clear(er)