eG Foodblog: donbert - Roll Your Own...

[donbert]

Here's an interesting abstract from the Journal of Dairy Research.

Maillard browning is the main reaction of milk proteins during the manufacture of dulce de leche. This results in an attractive flavour and colour, but also leads to less desirable changes, such as loss of nutritional value and formation of toxic compounds (Rizzi, 1994; Friedman, 1996a). The natural reactants are free amino groups of milk proteins and lactose. However, as the addition of other reducing sugars is an accepted practice, the consequences may be quite different depending on the formulation used. In addition, other reactions leading to crosslinkages between protein chains contribute to the reduction in nutritional value (Mauron, 1990; Friedman, 1996b; Finot, 1997). The reduction of nutritional quality of milk proteins is attributed to the lower digestibility and the biological inactivation or destruction of essential amino acids. Lysine is the essential amino acid most affected as its free [epsilon]-amino group is very reactive (Hurrell, 1990; Mauron, 1990; Finot, 1997).

No mention what causes these "other reactions" in the abstract but "cross linkages between protein chains" sounds like a texture change to me.

Anyone want to put up the $20 to get the full article?

Edited December 5, 2006 by donbert (log)

[mizducky]

Breakfast this morning was a toasted bialy with butter and a cup of coffee.

Everyone knows of the bagels in New York but for some reason the the bialy doesn't seem to get as much attention.    They're like a cross between a bagel and an english muffin.

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I miss bialys intensely. Yeah, somehow they never made their way outside of New York the way bagels have, and I have no idea why. But part of me is sort of glad, because I'd hate to see them bowdlerized the way mass-produced bagels have been (cinnamon raisin bialys? blueberry bialys? jalapeno/cheese bialys? <shudder>).

[Kouign Aman]

Blessings upon your head, donbert.

4 hours of hot water, ~ 2 hours of cooling and voila, I have successfully dulced the leche, and humidified the crackling-dry house.

I opened the can to beautiful color, texture and thickness everything it should be. There is a faint slight hint of a metallic taste, most noticeable as aftertaste. It bothers me so greatly that I'm on my 5th large spoonful of quality control. (Its important to have sufficient sample size after all).

I think I shall have to try again soon, solely to determine process repeatability of course.

[donbert]

An unexpected boon from my quest for every brand of scm in my neighborhood last night was finding this:

I had this amazing farro pasta at Chez Panisse while visiting San Francisco last month and it's been on my mind ever since. So tonight I made some pasta using 2:1 farro:semolina.

On the way home from work I also stopped by Di Palo's to pick up some fresh mozzarella and a cacciatore .

Tonight's dinner:

(my kind of salad)

Farro Pasta with browned butter and porcini.

Now I'm off to Pegu for some drinks.

[miladyinsanity]

donbert, i'm not sure i'd go as long as 12 and 24 hours on the ddl experiment.  keep it at a low simmer and do something like 4,6 and 8 or 6, 8 and 10...wouldn't go much longer.  you'll still see differences in color/texture.

awesome experiment and i can't wait to see the results of the cajeta (real goat's milk ddl).

Hmmm... I know that after 4 hours or so works so I figured I'd take it to the illogical extreme of 24 hours. Do you think that after 10 hours it would go bad?

Maybe what I should have done was just get one of each brand to boil for 4 hours to find which is the best then get 24 cans of the best brand to see what the difference is at 1 hour intervals for 24 hours... Looks like there might have to be a follow up experiment.

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I think after say, 8-10 hours you get a firm, sliceable toffee like thing. I've no idea what being boiled for 28 hours will do to the SCM.

[donbert]

I met up with Wienoo and Johnder for a few drinks at Pegu last night. Can you guess who had what?

Jack Rose: Apple Jack(Laird's bonded), Lemon Juice, Grenadine

This is a great drink to start someone on the path to cocktail geek-dom. With only three ingredients the quality of each really makes or breaks this drink. The Laird's bonded, fresh squeezed lemon juice and home made grenadine (pomegranate juice + sugar) is the only way to go on this one.

Holy Roller: Pecan Infused Bourbon (Elijah Craig), Simple Syrup, with a side of Brian's Salty Nuts

A drink that Brian has been working on for a while now. Perfect for the holiday season. Dangerously smooth. And everyone loves his salty nuts.

Manhattan: Rye, Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica), Bitters, with a flamed orange twist

Baked Apple: Apple Jack (Laird's bonded), Cinnamon Tincture, Hess Bitters

Tastes just like apple pie.

Unnamed: Apple Jack (Laird's bonded), Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica), Green Chartreuse, with a flamed orange twist

A drink that Phil and (evil) Jim have been working on for the winter menu. Not for the casual drinker, this one has some serious bitter complexity.

Vieux Carre: Rye, Cognac, Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica), Benedictine, Peychaud's, Angostura

This was served up which sparked a discussion on how it was historically served in New Orleans and then poured over ice. A great way to end the night.

Sazerac: Rye (Rittenhouse bonded and Old Overholt, Peychaud's, Simple Syrup, in an absinthe rinsed glass with a lemon twist

I love the layers of flavors in this drink.

After leaving Pegu Johnder and I proceeded to Milk and Honey to see what Chad was up to. Ended up closing M&H last night.

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year Neat

Chad had mentioned how this was getting difficult to find so I had to give it a try. Now I need to find some.

High Hat: Rye (Sazerac 6 yr), Cherry Heering, Lemon Juice, Angostura

The Rye and Cherry Heering made an interesting combination, spicy. I forget the specifics of the cherry garnish but it was perfect for this drink. It tasted almost like it had been pickled in vinegar.

Tamarind Rum Punch: Rum (Ron Zacapa 23), Lime, Tamarind Juice, Angostura

This one is just dangerous. You can't taste the alcohol in it at all. It just tastes like a tamarind punch.

[johnder]

Ouch.

Too

Much

Booze

Last

Night.

Head

Hurts.

[weinoo]

I met up with Wienoo and Johnder for a few drinks at Pegu last night. Can you guess who had what?

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I can almost remember what I drank - it was mighty tasty. And I have no idea how you guys were able to continue on - my proverbial hat is off to you!!

And yes johnder, head hurts this morning.

[eje]

[...]

Farro Pasta with browned butter and porcini.

Now I'm off to Pegu for some drinks.

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Wow!

You came home from work, made pasta, and then headed off for drinks!?

I assume you have a pasta machine of some sort, to get such nice flat strips. What sort? I've been putting off a pasta making exercise for too long now.

[lexy]

I met up with Wienoo and Johnder for a few drinks at Pegu last night. … Jack Rose … Holy Roller … Manhattan … Baked Apple … Vieux Carre … etc. etc.

Wow, I think I need to move to New York. These look fantastic. How sweet are most of Pegu's cocktails? While I don't expect my cocktails to taste like pure alcohol or anything, I'm not really a fan of the kind of cocktail that's basically spiked sugary juice.

[Sneakeater]

Not sweet. Or balanced. Or they taste like what they taste like, and if you don't want something sweet just ask for something that isn't sweet.

You would seriously love the Pegu Club.

[johnder]

I met up with Wienoo and Johnder for a few drinks at Pegu last night. … Jack Rose … Holy Roller … Manhattan … Baked Apple … Vieux Carre … etc. etc.

Wow, I think I need to move to New York. These look fantastic. How sweet are most of Pegu's cocktails? While I don't expect my cocktails to taste like pure alcohol or anything, I'm not really a fan of the kind of cocktail that's basically spiked sugary juice.

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Of all the drinks we had last night, I would qualify only one as "sweet", the jack rose, mainly due to the grenadine. But it is more like a sour than a sugary juice sweet.

All the others are dry cocktails for the most part. The Holy Roller has a touch of brown sugar syrup in it, but for the most part the drink is 90% bourbon.

[Nishla]

That's an impressive selection of drinks. We had a vieux carre for the first time at Pegu a few months back and it's now one of my favorites. Did you have a preference for on the rocks or up?

Also, your dinner last night looked really, really good. I'm way too lazy to attempt fresh pasta on a weeknight.

[donbert]

Sorry for the lack of posts today. Just got back from running errands in NJ all day.

Breakfast this morning was some steamed buns from Mei Lai Wah in chinatown.

[Ling]

Your dinner last night looked great. So do the drinks at Pegu Club. We only have time for one cocktail lounge in NY during our trip, and that's where we're going!

[donbert]

For lunch we ate at Mitsuwa, a big Japanese market just across the Hudson.

They have a food court in the building with some of the best ramen.

I had the Spicy Miso Ramen with the Special Pork.

My friend had the Salt Ramen Combo.

Ito En, which makes the Teas' Tea line of unsweetened bottled teas has a booth there as well. Besides getting some of their loose leaf teas I tried the Green Tea Soft Serve.

[donbert]

Here's some of our bounty from Mitsuwa and teaser for dinner tonight.

Hen of the Woods (aka maitake) Mushrooms

Sake

Yuzu and Fresh Wasabi

.

.

.

and

.

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.

.

.

wait for it

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

wait for it

.

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.

.

.

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Fatty Tuna!

edit: spelling. Thanks Hiroyuki!

Edited December 7, 2006 by donbert (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Wow! Impressive line up of cocktails at Pegu. I'm simultaneously impressed and not at all surprised that your heads hurt today!

That toro looks amazing as does your ramen lunch.

[donbert]

...

I assume you have a pasta machine of some sort, to get such nice flat strips.  What sort?  I've been putting off a pasta making exercise for too long now.

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.

[Hiroyuki]

Fatty Tuna!

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Great purchases! "Fatty Tuna" is such an understatement. It's oh-toro of hon maguro!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you are going to do with maitake (not miatake).

I wonder if the sake (Otoko Yama) is a domestic or imported one.

[donbert]

Great purchases!  "Fatty Tuna" is such an understatement.  It's oh-toro of hon maguro!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you are going to do with maitake (not miatake).

I wonder if the sake (Otoko Yama) is a domestic or imported one.

Whoops, fixed the spelling.

Looks imported.

I don't know too much about sake but I've had this one before and I like how dry it is.

[Pan]

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?

[themaninwhite]

...

I assume you have a pasta machine of some sort, to get such nice flat strips.  What sort?  I've been putting off a pasta making exercise for too long now.

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.

←

Ciao, tutti. The pasta machine is (I believe) the imperia 150, which is usually about $50, but I just checked and Amazon has it in stock for just under $40. I've found making the dough very therapeutic, and although it takes more time, after one taste you will have a hard time having pasta from a box...though I may have little choice unless I recapture my machine from donbert. I guess after the dulce de leche tasting we can call it even.

[donbert]

For dinner tonight a couple friends came over.

Snacks while cooking

Powdered Wasabi can't compare to fresh Wasabi. If you haven't tried fresh wasabi, ask for it the next time you go out for sushi.

The Oh-Toro we prepared three different ways:

Oh-Toro Sashimi

Oh-Toro Tartare

(I forgot to pick up some quail eggs to top this. )

Oh-Toro Seared with a blow torch

[donbert]

Now for dinner proper most of the cooking was done by chef Coogan:

Lamb

Bacon braised Chard

Roasted Hen of the Woods Mushrooms