eG Foodblog: melkor - Insert Clever Subtitle Here

[ludja]

Hey, nice to see you blogging, melkor.

Did you snap a photo of your wild mushroom haul?

[melkor]

Hey, nice to see you blogging, melkor.

Did you snap a photo of your wild mushroom haul?

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Thanks!

I don't think I took any pictures of our haul this time - we were all pretty bummed that we only got a few pounds. A good trip yields 30+ lbs of good mushrooms. It needs to rain more down your way so I can start foraging in the hills around Santa Cruz. This three hour drive to mendo is tough to do more than a few times a season.

[melkor]

The usual latte breakfast, again with biscotti. I started on dinner for tonight - the pictures are downloading now, I'll post them shortly.

[Pontormo]

I have a question about the flour that you use for your pasta. I was going to post this on the Italian forum, but it seems like you know your way around pasta.

What is the U.S. equivalent of Italian Tipo 0 and Tipo 00?  They produce very different results and the flour here seems to just be labelled "flour".

Thanks!

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I don't think there is an equivalent, though I've seen some recipes call for cake flour. Some specialty markets sell tipo 00, but I've been using a mix of all purpose flour and semolina - more AP if I want softer pasta, more semolina for firmer ones (like lasagna or pasta that will end up in soups).

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Judith, I don't know if you can get EVERYTHING in New York, but I've just discovered a wide variety of brands of light, bleached (?) flour nearby in Virginia where there's a supermarket belonging to a chain found exclusively in the South. White Lily is the most recognizable brand, but there are several more I had never seen before. They may make fluffy, high biscuits, but I wonder if they might also be close to Tipo 0/0. I intend to experiment with some in December when the Italian forum turns to Emilia-Romagna. Perhaps there's someone down South (Therese?) with experience and knowledge?

[melkor]

The start of some braised lamb shanks, they're currently in the oven at 250*F. The shanks are dried and salted, then dried again, browned in oil and set aside. Deglaze with a bit of stock, add the veg (onion, leek, and carrot) and a pinch of salt, cook until aromatic. Stick the veg in a cheese cloth bag along with some parsley, thyme, garlic, whole peppercorns, and some dried chanterelles, tie the bag closed. Bottle of wine into the pot, set it on fire (we need more fire pictures in foodblogs). Once the flame goes out, add the shanks, veg bag, and enough stock to cover, stick in the oven for a few hours until it's done.

[racheld]

Swoony-smiley for the technique, I who do not care for lamb. This is just the most wonderful cooking lesson.

Fire. Yes, more FIRE.

[melkor]

Lunch is on the stove - some sort of ragu made with the last of the shortrib leftovers, some san marzanos from mariquita that I prepped over the summer and froze, shallot, garlic, olive oil, parsley, a little oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. It needs to simmer for a while, then I need to figure out what to do with it. I've been eating a ton of pasta recently - anyone have any bright ideas for non-pasta things to do with my meat sauce?

[dvs]

sloppy joes?

[kanljung]

Lunch is on the stove - some sort of ragu made with the last of the shortrib leftovers, some san marzanos from mariquita that I prepped over the summer and froze, shallot, garlic, olive oil, parsley, a little oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  It needs to simmer for a while, then I need to figure out what to do with it.  I've been eating a ton of pasta recently - anyone have any bright ideas for non-pasta things to do with my meat sauce?

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Serve it with potato gnocchi. Or maybe that's too similar to pasta?

[melkor]

sloppy joes?

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Is it still a sloppy joe if I just toss the sauce onto bread and melt some mozzarella over it?

[Priscilla]

Under the guise of "tasting," the male 2/3 of my household will put ragu on bread and make a sandwich, a very rich little sandwich.

We have been known too to use leftover ragu as a topping for homemade pizza, with the aforementioned mozz. Excellent.

Melkor, good blog so far. What do you do with the lingcod you catch? I like that fish very much.

[dvs]

sloppy joes?

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Is it still a sloppy joe if I just toss the sauce onto bread and melt some mozzarella over it?

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open-faced... but yes.

[racheld]

Is it still a sloppy joe if I just toss the sauce onto bread and melt some mozzarella over it?

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Slightly disheveled Giuseppe?

[melkor]

sloppy joes?

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Is it still a sloppy joe if I just toss the sauce onto bread and melt some mozzarella over it?

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open-faced... but yes.

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That works. The oven still has the lamb going at 250*F so since my broiler is unavailable the torch will have to do.

Not as even as the broiler would have melted the cheese, but since the burned bits are my favorite part, I'm not complaining.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[melkor]

Under the guise of "tasting," the male 2/3 of my household will put ragu on bread and make a sandwich, a very rich little sandwich.

We have been known too to use leftover ragu as a topping for homemade pizza, with the aforementioned mozz.  Excellent.

Melkor, good blog so far.  What do you do with the lingcod you catch?  I like that fish very much.

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Thanks! I like lingcod fish and chips best I think. They're also good roasted whole. I fully support the sauce tasting method used in your home - it's much more efficient than my system of standing in front of the stove with a spoon eating as much sauce as I can under the guise of seasoning the sauce.

[melkor]

The lamb is out of the oven and resting in an ice bath. I've discarded the veg and strained the braising liquid over the shanks. Once it's cool I'll remove the shanks and start reducing the braising liquid down to make a sauce. In the meantime, a cappuccino is calling me so I'm off to visit the espresso machine.

[BarbaraY]

In my opinion anyone who says they don't like lamb should try braised shanks. It might be a cure.

Nice blog and once again we have someone making me want a trip to the City.

Edited November 29, 2006 by BarbaraY (log)

[Shaya]

I've noticed you have mentioned your technique for braising twice now. Interesting.

I love the way you deglaze between browning batches - I never want to toss away the browned bits but I also can't stand the way they char while I'm browning subsequent batches.

I also have never tossed the veggies into a cheesecloth for a braise, although I always do when I make stock.

And when it comes to cooking off the alcohol, I let it cook off slowly, whereas you go for the instant gratification method of fire!

I have learned what I know from reading, mostly books on Italian cooking.

I am curious to know where you learned these techniques - or are some of them of your own making?

Your lamb looks great so far, by the way, I can't wait to see the final dish.

[melkor]

I've noticed you have mentioned your technique for braising twice now.  Interesting. 

I love the way you deglaze between browning batches - I never want to toss away the browned bits but I also can't stand the way they char while I'm browning subsequent batches.

I've got no idea where the original idea to deglaze between batches came from - I saw my wife doing it at some point and have been doing it ever since. She probably came up with it on her own.

I also have never tossed the veggies into a cheesecloth for a braise, although I always do when I make stock. 

And when it comes to cooking off the alcohol, I let it cook off slowly, whereas you go for the instant gratification method of fire!

I have learned what I know from reading, mostly books on Italian cooking.

I am curious to know where you learned these techniques - or are some of them of your own making? 

The veg thing comes from one of the recipes in the Bouchon cookbook where it calls for you to make a nest with cheesecloth. I prefer the cheese cloth bag since it's easier and has the same result.

I never pass up the chance to set something on fire when I'm cooking. The wine throws more sediment when it's reduced quickly, but that all gets caught when I strain it through a fine cloth.

I learned most of the techniques I cook with from reading and watching other people cook - I've learned a huge amount from goofing off with people in the industry. Some of the stranger cooking habits I've got I think are more home grown - like salting the oil before sauteing veg in it.

Your lamb looks great so far, by the way, I can't wait to see the final dish.

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Thanks! I'm happy with how it's coming along. The braising liquid is simmering on the stove, my wife lands at the airport at 7:30 tonight - everything seems to be on schedule. I've got to toss together something for dessert, figure out a starch, blanch some broccoli and carrots for a side, and I'm all set. I'm thinking either potatoes roasted in duck or goose fat or polenta for a starch. There are a few apples left on the tree behind the house so a caramel apple bread pudding seems like a good way to go for dessert.

[hathor]

I have a question about the flour that you use for your pasta. I was going to post this on the Italian forum, but it seems like you know your way around pasta.

What is the U.S. equivalent of Italian Tipo 0 and Tipo 00?  They produce very different results and the flour here seems to just be labelled "flour".

Thanks!

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I don't think there is an equivalent, though I've seen some recipes call for cake flour. Some specialty markets sell tipo 00, but I've been using a mix of all purpose flour and semolina - more AP if I want softer pasta, more semolina for firmer ones (like lasagna or pasta that will end up in soups).

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Thanks...I'll give it a whirl.

[Pan]

I didn't think wine had enough alcohol for a flambee. Is there some special technique you use to get the flame, or only a match?

[melkor]

I didn't think wine had enough alcohol for a flambee. Is there some special technique you use to get the flame, or only a match?

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Bring it up to a simmer and set it on fire. Matches work, but I use a torch.

[FoodMan]

I love how you used the Beouf Burignon technique from Bouchon on the lamb shanks...can't wait to see the results!

BTW, because of this blog I craved a capuccino all day yesterday so I had to have one this morning. Although I only have a Bialetti Moka kettle my lattes/capuccinos come out very good. My trick: well it really is something I learned from Jamie Oliver, I put the hot milk in a small bottle with a lid and shake it hard. Makes a nice foamy mixture and is very fast.

[melkor]

All the dinner prep is done, everything is either in the fridge or on a cooling rack waiting for me to get back from the airport to chuck it in the oven or finish it on a burner.

The all-used-up veg, along with the cloth I strained the sauce through. Sauce reduction along with the finished sauce. Veg prep - the carrots and potatoes are getting roasted to finish them, the broccoli (which completely lost its purple tint as a number of you had said it would) is being sauteed with some lemon zest and a little garlic to finish it.

Apple bread pudding - vanilla, cream, milk, sugar, brown sugar, stale bread, eggs, salt, and some apples. I'd post a more complete description of how it's made but I need to run out the door to the airport.

Well, maybe not immediately - I did have time to check that the bread pudding wasn't poisonous.

[Smithy]

Well, maybe not immediately - I did have time to check that the bread pudding wasn't poisonous.

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