eG Foodblog: donbert - Roll Your Own...

[donbert]

I think you all know where this is going...

I couldn't wait for friday so I got another can to cook tonight. Tried simmering this for only 2 hours and it sill worked. It was much lighter in both color and flavor.

Much more pourable while hot.

On some ice cream and cookies.

On it's own.

[johnder]

Oh man. Oh Toro!

Much better than the chicken wings I had tonight! Damn.

That lamb looks awesome, did you get it at mitsuwa as well? I was getting worried you polished off that bottle of sake and forgot about us!

[donbert]

Don, how were you able to get clear pictures of all those drinks? I think that if I had been able to have so many drinks, I would have been too dizzy to get a decent picture! How many drinks did you have in total, and how are you able to stumble home afterwards, without eating something? Lemme guess; you gradually built up your tolerance?

For the pictures in last night I brought my digital camera (Olympus C5050, point and shoot with lots of manual settings) with me. I usually don't carry it around but it has a bigger lens so you can still get good shots in low light conditions. For low light shots you need to hold the camera as steady as possible. I studied photography in college and most of my photos were take at night so I had to learn to have a steady hand and to take advantage of anything i can stabilize myself against. Instead of with your elbows pointed out to your sides, you should prop your elbows against something (table, bar, or even you body).

I think I had 5 drinks... maybe six... Eating all that pasta before going out helped a lot. I've ended up closing Pegu after Johnder leaves on a couple occasions before so this wasn't that bad.

I'm one of those atypical Asians who can hold a lot of liquor. Everyone in my family seems to have a very high tolerance. I guess it helps that my father comes from a long line of Soju distillers in Korea up to my grandfather.

[donbert]

...

That lamb looks awesome, did you get it at mitsuwa as well?    I was getting worried you polished off that bottle of sake and forgot about us!

The lamb was from Ottomanelli's and the Chard was from the Union Sq Farmer's Market.

Well...we did finish off that bottle...

but there were two of us and it was only 1.8 L.

edit: fixed embedded picture

Edited December 7, 2006 by donbert (log)

[johnder]

...

That lamb looks awesome, did you get it at mitsuwa as well?    I was getting worried you polished off that bottle of sake and forgot about us!

The lamb was from Ottomanelli's and the Chard was from the Union Sq Farmer's Market.

Well...we did finish off that bottle...

but there were two of us and it was only 1.8 L.

edit: fixed embedded picture

←

Sweet.

Frank @ Ottomanelli's does have some awesome lamb. Loved the butter/rosemary quick brown technique.

[s_sevilla]

read upthread about the dulche de leche. You can caramelize pretty much any milk product you want. Yogurt does well in a 180 degree bath for 24 hours.....tastes a bit like a ripe cheese.

[donbert]

read upthread about the dulche de leche.  You can caramelize pretty much any milk product you want.  Yogurt does well in a 180 degree bath for 24 hours.....tastes a bit like a ripe cheese.

Hrm... yogurt you say...

Have you ever tried Geitost? It's a Norwegian goats milk cheese that's caramelized.

[Hiroyuki]

The maitake looked good!

I found that the sake was sold for 2,625 yen (including 5% consumption tax) in Japan. How much did you pay for yours?

Did you use the yuzu? Or, are you going to use them for cocktails or something?

[donbert]

The maitake looked good!

I found that the sake was sold for 2,625 yen (including 5% consumption tax) in Japan.  How much did you pay for yours?

Did you use the yuzu?  Or, are you going to use them for cocktails or something?

The sake was $39.99 pre tax. Not sure what the tax on liquor in NJ is. Thats quite a mark up but Japanese bars sell it for $7-$10 a glass/box here in NYC.

The green stuff on the seared oh-toro was yuzu zest and we squeezed juice over it as well. I'll probably try using the remaining one in a drink tomorrow. I'd like to play with them in more cocktails but they're very expensive here. $3 for 2 right now.

[Pan]

[...]I'm one of those atypical Asians who can hold a lot of liquor. Everyone in my family seems to have a very high tolerance. I guess it helps that my father comes from a long line of Soju distillers in Korea up to my grandfather. 

←

No kidding? That's very cool! I like soju. What are your favorite sojus?

For the record, my great-great-grandparents had an inn in Lithuania around the 1850s or so and made liquor in their bathtub. That worked well, because whenever the authorities came around, they just pulled the plug -- no more evidence! I have no idea how good or bad their liquor was, but apparently, it was popular with the traders who stopped by their inn.

[Kouign Aman]

read upthread about the dulche de leche.  You can caramelize pretty much any milk product you want.  Yogurt does well in a 180 degree bath for 24 hours.....tastes a bit like a ripe cheese.

Hrm... yogurt you say...

Have you ever tried Geitost? It's a Norwegian goats milk cheese that's caramelized.

←

When I was a teenager. I didnt like it. If I remember correctly, it had a chalky texture that was (forgive me) udderly unappealing. Its not high on my list of things to try again.

What's your take on it?

[donbert]

Breakfast this morning:

Total Greek Yogurt with Honey and a cider donut.

[slkinsey]

I actually have TheManInWhite's pasta machine on loan at the moment. It's made by Imperia but I'm not sure what exact model number it is. Maybe he'll come out of the shadows and comment. 

I've been meaning to get the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment but been putting it off as well. Once I give this back though I'll have to finally pick it up. Fresh Pasta is so easy to make and better than store bought pasta.

The Imperia is a cool machine. I have the Imperia my mother had when she was living in Italy over 50 years ago. When I bought one for a friend a few years back, I was pleased to see that it appears to be the exact same machine with no substitutions of cheap parts or construction. That said, now that I have the KA pasta roller attachments, I never use the Imperia any more. It's just so much faster and easier with the KA. FWIW, I never use the cutters. I've never been entirely happy with the extent to which they separate the strands of pasta, and I find it's easier/better to simply roll up each sheet of pasta and cut it to whatever width I'd like by hand.

Now sure I agree that fresh pasta is better than store-bought pasta, if we're talking about comparing fresh to dry pasta. They're really two different animals, and artisinal dry semolina pastas like Latini, Rustichella d'Abruzzo and Setaro are as good as any fresh pasta you'll ever have. Now, if you're saying that homemade fresh pasta is way better than store bought fresh pasta, I'm with you 100%.

read upthread about the dulche de leche.  You can caramelize pretty much any milk product you want.  Yogurt does well in a 180 degree bath for 24 hours.....tastes a bit like a ripe cheese.

This is the sort of thing where having a recirculating water bath heater really comes in handy.

[donbert]

No kidding? That's very cool! I like soju. What are your favorite sojus?

...

I don't really seek soju out myself. Most soju today is industrially produced and essentially a low proof vodka, neutral spirits diluted with water. There are a few artisanal sojus but nothing I've tried so far has been interesting enough to capture my interest.

I'm loosely affiliated with a couple different Korean drumming troups in NYC and after practices/performaces we usually go out drinking in K-Block (I refuse to call the row of Korean restaurants on 32nd st "K-Town"). I only drink soju when I'm out with them and they're all about the OhShipSeJu a 1:1 mix of BaekSeJu and Chamisul. The name OhShipSeJu is a play on the name BaekSeJu which literally means "100 years wine" because it the ginseng that's allegedly flavored with will help you live till a hundred. OhShipSeJu mans "50 years wine" since it's been cut in half with regular soju.

[donbert]

When I was a teenager. I didnt like it. If I remember correctly, it had a chalky texture that was (forgive me) udderly unappealing. Its not high on my list of things to try again.

What's your take on it?

I've tried it a couple times while working at Murray's but it didn't do anything for me. It was rarely requested by customers and with all the other great cheese there I was too busy snacking on the ones I really liked.

[slbunge]

read upthread about the dulche de leche.  You can caramelize pretty much any milk product you want.  Yogurt does well in a 180 degree bath for 24 hours.....tastes a bit like a ripe cheese.

Hrm... yogurt you say...

Have you ever tried Geitost? It's a Norwegian goats milk cheese that's caramelized.

←

When I was a teenager. I didnt like it. If I remember correctly, it had a chalky texture that was (forgive me) udderly unappealing. Its not high on my list of things to try again.

What's your take on it?

←

I know you didn't ask me, but gjetost shouldn't be chalky. Mostly I find it to be soft and a bit sticky. I've found that people tend to separate into only two factions with gjetost: lovers and haters. I've met very few people who think it is merely OK.

I love the stuff, myself. A breakfast with strong black coffee, yeasty rolls, slices of gjetost, and some good berry jam is great on a cold winter morning.

[slbunge]

The Imperia is a cool machine.  I have the Imperia my mother had when she was living in Italy over 50 years ago.  When I bought one for a friend a few years back, I was pleased to see that it appears to be the exact same machine with no substitutions of cheap parts or construction.  That said, now that I have the KA pasta roller attachments, I never use the Imperia any more.  It's just so much faster and easier with the KA.  FWIW, I never use the cutters.  I've never been entirely happy with the extent to which they separate the strands of pasta, and I find it's easier/better to simply roll up each sheet of pasta and cut it to whatever width I'd like by hand.

←

Interesting. I get frustrated with the KA cutters as well because I find myself having to pull apart the strands of pasta after cutting. I've wondered if it was because of my dough. A bit relieved to find someone else with this problem because the way the sheets of dough feel before I feed them seem right.

The dough roller, though, is spectacular. Very well built. And the ability to use a hand to feed (in addition to a hand to receive) produces a much more consistent outcome because the dough isn't stretched as it is being pulled into the rollers.

[donbert]

I know you didn't ask me, but gjetost shouldn't be chalky.  Mostly I find it to be soft and a bit sticky.  I've found that people tend to separate into only two factions with gjetost: lovers and haters.  I've met very few people who think it is merely OK.

I love the stuff, myself.  A breakfast with strong black coffee, yeasty rolls, slices of gjetost, and some good berry jam is great on a cold winter morning.

Do you eat it it straight or on bread? Both jam and geitost on bread?

I just remember it being more sweet than savory and being annoying to cut. It doesn't really fit the traditional idea of "cheese". Maybe it would be more popular if it was sold as a Norwegian style dulce de leche.

[johnder]

I actually like gjetost, being part Norwegian I guess it is in my blood.

I was bored one week and actually tried making it at home using this recipe hoping I would end up with something better, but the commercial stuff had a much better texture.

[donbert]

For lunch today I went to a Korean style Chinese place for some JaJangMyun ($6.95).

I came here on the recommendation of a friend who prefers the sauce here to the place I regularly go to. I have to agree that the sauce was less greasy and better but the noodles weren't being hand pulled so I'm not convinced of this place yet. Guess I'll just have to go back a few more times until I can decide.

[weinoo]

What's the place that does this with hand pulled noodles, don?

[donbert]

What's the place that does this with hand pulled noodles, don?

The best is a place I've been to was Fort Lee but I don't know the name. I'll look it up for you.

There was a place on 32nd between Madison and Broadway call Geun Ryong (Golden Dragon). It recently changed its name to Shanghai Dong though and I haven't been back since. If you walk along 32nd on the south side they usually have a guy standing at the front window pulling the noodles.

[Cachaca_Dave]

Just got the response from Eagle Family Foods Inc on the difference between their two brands of scm:

Subject: RE: Eagle versus Magnolia

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 17:23:48 -0500

From: "Corporate" <Corporate@effinc.com>

To: "David Catania"

"Good afternoon David,

We apologize for not responding sooner to your inquiry. Eagle Brand is our banner brand (marketed brand), while the Magnolia Brand is our bi-lingual brand. Both can be used interchangeably in all of our recipes. While they have the same ingredients, the Magnolia Brand does have a slightly sweeter profile."

Let's see how it affects the grand SCM Experiment!

-Dave

[KatieLoeb]

[...]I'm one of those atypical Asians who can hold a lot of liquor. Everyone in my family seems to have a very high tolerance. I guess it helps that my father comes from a long line of Soju distillers in Korea up to my grandfather. 

←

No kidding? That's very cool! I like soju. What are your favorite sojus?

For the record, my great-great-grandparents had an inn in Lithuania around the 1850s or so and made liquor in their bathtub. That worked well, because whenever the authorities came around, they just pulled the plug -- no more evidence! I have no idea how good or bad their liquor was, but apparently, it was popular with the traders who stopped by their inn.

←

Why am I not surprised in the least that there are descendants of all manner of distillers, vintners and moonshiners here on eGullet?

I just tried soju for the first time very recently and I really like it. That's very cool about your family, Don. (And your grandparents too, Michael!)

[eje]

[..]

I just tried soju for the first time very recently and I really like it.  That's very cool about your family, Don.  (And your grandparents too, Michael!)

←

Really?

Which brand of soju?

If you've found a good one I'd love to see some tasting notes here.