Manitoulin — Life on the level

Kerry Beal · July 7, 2019

So this afternoon I had a 'student'. He and his partner bought Georgian Chocolates from it's owner and moved it up the road a piece into slightly larger digs. Catherine had been running it in a tiny closet sized room inside a gluten free bakery in Barrie.

He has been using the EZtemper and recently started having trouble tempering. My suspicion was the issue was thermometer related and today's lesson proved that. He left here with a thermometer considerably more accurate than the one he had been using.

He's got excellent folding technique - apparently his partner can wrap him under the table!

demiglace · July 7, 2019

5 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Anna just reminded me that I have been lax in my posting duties today as I sit around and wait for a student to come from Orillia.

Cut up the remaining berries - not a single one moldy. Smell amazing.

My lunch - the dreaded MW laced bacon, cheese and tomato sandwich.

The start of experiment 2 - Kenji's fries. You shouldn't try to put a kind of softish potato in the cutter - it gets kind of bendy and hard to push through. These have been cooked for about 10 minutes in salted and vinegar laced water.

Ontario grows really nice strawberries. Much better than some other provinces. I don't know if it's the combination of humidity and heat or what but the summers I hung down there I couldn't get enough. You had me dreaming about fries the other night, I woke up with a start thinking I had over cooked them. Fries fries fries fries. Does poutine play a roll anytime soon?

Kerry Beal · July 7, 2019

He and his delightful daughter were about half a mile up the road before we made our Intro to Aperol.

Lit the BBQ and took the Control Freak outside.

Blanched for 50 seconds at 200º C. Popped into the fridge for a few minutes then recooked at 200º C for about 4 minutes.

Kerry Beal · July 7, 2019

3 minutes ago, demiglace said:

Ontario grows really nice strawberries. Much better than some other provinces. I don't know if it's the combination of humidity and heat or what but the summers I hung down there I couldn't get enough. You had me dreaming about fries the other night, I woke up with a start thinking I had over cooked them. Fries fries fries fries. Does poutine play a roll anytime soon?

Before poutine can play a part we need the other blade for the cutter - poutine fries are much fatter. I'm hoping it will show up early this week.

demiglace · July 7, 2019

2 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Before poutine can play a part we need the other blade for the cutter - poutine fries are much fatter. I'm hoping it will show up early this week.

yay, can't wait!

rotuts · July 7, 2019

the above dinner looks deliciously

probably has some Miracle-ish in it

butIm hopefull the fries and steak made up for this.

suzilightning · July 8, 2019

On 7/6/2019 at 9:26 PM, Kerry Beal said:

Giving new meaning to organ donation. Have you signed your card?

WHERE is the "Groan" emoji?

suzilightning · July 8, 2019

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

It does indeed make an interesting read and I have no regrets buying it but, as I suspected, I will not be cooking from it.

so it is a reading cookbook NOT a cooking cookbook

**Smithy** · July 8, 2019

1 hour ago, suzilightning said:

so it is a reading cookbook NOT a cooking cookbook

That was my take on it, based on this review. Excerpt:

Quote

Whether you find a lack of actual utility off-putting or not, the narrative telling of recipes does serve a purpose: you are forced to read each in its entirety to understand what's going on. This is a cookbook designed to be read cover-to-cover, not one to be skimmed and dog-eared for recipes to come back and recreate. It's a narrative of the life of the restaurant in the same way Patterson says he aims to make his tasting menus into a narrative, with each dish leading into the next.

teonzo · July 8, 2019

12 hours ago, Anna N said:

It does indeed make an interesting read and I have no regrets buying it but, as I suspected, I will not be cooking from it.

Those books by top restaurants are not intended to be recipe books, but story books: their aim is to document what's happening in that restaurant. Many of them fail at it, some of them are excellent like this one. Personally I would put this book in the top 5 restaurant books I own.

I strongly suggest his book "The Art of Flavor: Practices and Principles for Creating Delicious Food" (kindle version is currently sold for US$5.99 at Amazon.com, the audiobook is free with audible trial on Amazon.ca), written with the perfumer Mandy Aftel. It talks about the use of aromas in food, the intersection between cookery and perfumery. Highly informative and pretty unique in its content.

Teo

Anna N · July 8, 2019

7 hours ago, Smithy said:

That was my take on it, based on this review.

It is a decidedly “cheffy” book given that some of the ingredients are beyond the reach of many of us either because of cost or availability. And cooking vegetables in actual sea water is a deal breaker unless you live on an ocean coastline. Even then you need a boat to get out far from shore to gather that less polluted sea water.

But I knew perfectly well when I bought it that it was not a practical recipe book.

He is the second chef I know of (there must be more) who debunks the idea that all blanched vegetables should be shocked in an ice bath. I just find that an interesting take on a “well known fact”.

There is more than a little Thomas Keller perfectionism in Daniel Patterson which extends even to the napkins used to clean any spills on plates before service. I like that even though such perfectionism is out of reach of ordinary mortals.

No regrets whatever about purchasing the book.

weinoo · July 8, 2019

On 7/7/2019 at 7:37 AM, Anna N said:

and David Liebovitz’ nuts.

Does he know?

Anna N · July 8, 2019

7 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Does he know?

Sooner or later I knew somebody would twig on to this.😂

**Smithy** · July 8, 2019

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

He is the second chef I know of (there must be more) who debunks the idea that all blanched vegetables should be shocked in an ice bath. I just find that an interesting take on a “well known fact”.

I didn't know this had been debunked, although I'm generally too lazy (and frugal with the ice, depending on my circumstances) to take that step. What does he say about it? What has been your experience?

lemniscate · July 8, 2019

37 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I didn't know this had been debunked, although I'm generally too lazy (and frugal with the ice, depending on my circumstances) to take that step. What does he say about it? What has been your experience?

Apparently it's in the Modernist Cuisine books. First I've heard of it too as far as not ice-bathing.

However, during my inquiry I found what I think is an even more "180 degree out thinking" process, heat blanching fresh veg and fruit to extend storage. Heat Blanching.

Anna N · July 8, 2019

42 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I didn't know this had been debunked, although I'm generally too lazy (and frugal with the ice, depending on my circumstances) to take that step. What does he say about it? What has been your experience?

I wouldn’t say it has been debunked totally. Samin Nosrat was the first chef I came across who suggested that just spreading out the blanched vegetables on a sheet pan worked equally wellp. Daniel Patterson says, “Except for a few leafy greens in a noted few circumstances, don’t cool anything by plunging it into ice water, cool by spreading out on a plate or a sheet tray. Yes, do this even with asparagus, which will stay vibrant green, contrary to popular belief.“

He then goes on to explain about what happens to cell walls when vegetables are heated and then plunged into ice water. He claims this tends to make them slimy as they absorb the ice water into the cells. He goes on to say, “When allowed to cool at room temperature, the residual heat on the outside of the vegetable evaporates the excess water, and they cool down drier and not slimy.”

I started using the sheet tray method after reading Nosrat’s book.

As to when to use this method I think depends very much on time available and what you intend to do with the vegetables afterwards.

My experience, like yours, extends only to being less of a nuisance than having to set up an ice bath. I shall be more attentive to the end result in the future.

Anna N · July 8, 2019

15 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

Apparently it's in the Modernist Cuisine books. First I've heard of it too as far as not ice-bathing.

However, during my inquiry I found what I think is an even more "180 degree out thinking" process, heat blanching fresh veg and fruit to extend storage. Heat Blanching.

I seem to recall that Harold McGee tackled this process quite some time back. Would be interested to know if anyone has adopted it and what the results were in terms of shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

Anna N · July 8, 2019

Good morning. Once again a sunny and slightly cool morning here in North Eastern Manitoulin Island.

Breakfast was something a little different this morning. Based loosely, very loosely, on the recipe for Pastrami Scrambled Eggs from Shaya.

@blue_dolphin must take sole responsibility for the hole in my bank account made by the purchase of this book. I swear she could make shoe leather look inviting.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Anna N
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blue_dolphin · July 8, 2019

57 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Good morning. Once again a sunny and slightly cool morning here in North Eastern Manitoulin Island.

Breakfast was something a little different this morning. Based loosely, very loosely, on the recipe for Pastrami Scrambled Eggs from Shaya.

@blue_dolphin must take sole responsibility for the hole in my bank account made by the purchase of this book. I swear she could make shoe leather look inviting.

I had a hard time deciding whether I should click "Like" for the eggs, "Thanks" for your acknowledgment of my enabling ability or "Ha ha" for the shoe leather comment 🙃!

Anna N · July 8, 2019

18 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I had a hard time deciding whether I should click "Like" for the eggs, "Thanks" for your acknowledgment of my enabling ability or "Ha ha" for the shoe leather comment 🙃!

Trust me it was a compliment. Your food always looks appetizing.