jk1002's Profile
ISO Fresh Green Peppercorns
I believe fresh green peppercorns are restricted from import into the US.
I tried them in Thailand, i had them whole, they ddidnt impart much flavour into the dish unless you bit on them.
I have some dried lying around, alwas wanted to try using thrm in a thai dish but didnt get around.
Molecular Gastronomy in Boston Area?
Just google the ingredients once you figure out what you want to know.
Thing is, some of the chemicals expire rather quick, ( i.e. meatglue/activa, to me the worst offender) and I found the techniques very time intensive and hard to integrate into normal cooking.
Only thing that stuck so far is basil caviar in asian beef and tuna tatar to retain the smooth texture all the way through .
I would give the thinkgeek thing a shot to be honest if you just want to play. There is also a similar package available under Adrias Textura Line, check amazon.
Need Answer from someone familiar with All-Clad Fry Pan
I have the 12" with lid as well. I believe it is the exact same pan as the current 12" without lid.
Over the years I believe they managed to produce thinner pants so if you compare old versus new, yes some new pots are lighter.
Also, All clad has the tendency to produce these packages limited time as sort of a promotion. I.e. The french skillets were sold in pairs with large discounts over the individual pieces.
If you check next year, you will see this deal gone.
There is no 8" frensh skillet by the way. It"s 7.5 Or 9. My 9" french is 1kg, the 12" fry is 1.2kg.
European toaster with inner basket?
Do you mean somthing like a Dualit with Sandwich cage? Check Dualit.com they have a few different ones .....
Stork Club?
The problem is the "modest" atmosphere. The place was expensively renovated and that just can't get thrown out of the door. I believe it was listed for 600K with 6k rent a month at atlantic restaurant group when the first owner went bust. I don't know for how much it actually sold. To me that is a lot giving it's subprime location. Dropping this for a new space and then re-design it is a lot too ask.
Interestingly the more modest Parish Cafe around the corner seems to be thriving.
Truffles that have no taste? The mushroom, I mean.
I had once a multi course black truffle (Perigord) dinner. Most things didn't taste much of truffle until we hit ice cream that was jacked up with an excessive amount and had truffle oil on top. The oil is a different animal but not "real truffle".
I think I expected them to have much more flavor then they actually do since they are used so sparingly.
Ice cube tray
Hard plastic can get brittle and break. Silicone doesn't.
Then there is handling, with hard plastic it is easier to get many cubes out at the same time because you bend the tray all over the place until the cubes break up and fall out. With silicone its more like a peeling them out one by one. You have more control. I prefer that since I usually make just one or 2 drinks and I don't want to have cubes shoot all over the place.
Is personel preference I guess. There are also some discussions about some plastic materials not being food save that is why some hippies revert to aluminium trays from back in the 50ties.
Ice cube tray
I like the Tovolo Silicone ones for 15$ a pair from amazon. Yes it takes a sec to get each cube out but they have an optimal size for cocktails.
I used plastic for a bit but they sometimes break apart when I try to get the ice out. if you need lots of cubes at once silicone is of course not a good option, but if you just need few cubes for a drink I would go for that.
Menton Interior
http://www.urbandaddy.com/slideshow/bos/305/Menton_Slideshow_Boston_BOS#http://static.urbandaddy.com/uploads/assets/image/slideshows/standard/7d4baea258367161b4f945a7393eac37.jpg
Better pictures here
I hate my All-Clad - what am I doing wrong?
You are probably searing wrong. For one you need to buy into using a decent film of oil in the pan. For 2, the food will stick initially but then come of once the crust formed.
You don't really have to season it.
That said, for potatoes, eggs and some flaky fish I am typically using a non stick.
Sous Vide -- wow
I have the 7306c. They will come out with a new model soon, a bit cheaper then current ones I heard. I am not sure if they are these ones .... http://www.RemarkablyResponsive.com/ or if there will be a dedicated SV line.
I am happy with mine, only thing is it is a bit bulky. I wish the would make a smaller one. I wanted to use my 8qt stock pot and gave up on that and bought cambro tanks.
Very solid built, restaurant approved and made in america which I liked (even though I am just a guest here).
If you want to buy right now I would wait a bit if you can or call and see if they do deals to clear inventory.
If the small one shown on the website is the new slightly cheaper one for the SV market I would def go for that one ....
Sous Vide -- wow
The vacuum is not needed to manage bacteria growth, it is need to get as much air out as possible to prevent a floating bag and to allow direct contact between water and product. Air is an insulator. For protein it is usually fairly easy to get enough air out - even submerging a ziploc and pushing the air out works to some extend, for burgers and some vegetables it is a bit more tricky.
I use the ziploc vacuum bag with pump and for most things it works well enough (broccoli etc is tricky). I even used it with fluids, I just wash it out afterwards ... doesnt seem to be a problem for the seal if some fluid escapes.
In regards to use for the home cook, I think this is a killer technique for restaurants but for home cooking the time it takes is often just too much.
I have a polyscience circulator and as said here earlier I use it as one of many techniques - for chicken for example I prefer roasted or skewered and grilled rather then the SVed breast.
For sure it rocks with tough beef and burgers, fish can be great as well.
If you have 500$ to spare and want a gadget, go play - otherwise some things can be done with a digital thermometer and a normal stove and some patience. This is how I started a year back.
Sous Vide -- wow
The controller will control the power to the slow cooker. If the water gets cold it switches on, if it gets too hot it switches off.
Recommend an easy to clean mini food processor/chopper
I used an immersion blender with chopper attachment for a bit and hated it. It was uncomfortable to use i.e. when I had to scrape down the sides also, and that may have been model specific (Viking) it wasn't easy to clean.
I am using a discontinued dualit now, mostly for aestecical reasons but am very happy with it.
braising chicken breast - questions and tips
Thats brining not braising and way not enough salt in my opinion.
One Night in Tokyo
I can't make recommendations in that location but I would do sushi at the fish market in the morning.
My internal clock was seriously messed up when I traveled to Tokyo last year, I never thought I would be up early enough for fish market .....
Poaching Lobster in Butter
this is where I would go sous vide - even without expensive equipment - because you will use a teaspoon rather then pounds of butter.
You do not need to cook the lobster long and it is quiet easy to keep the temperature of a large pot at 60c for 15 minutes.
http://www.sousvidecooking.org/sous-vide-at-home-lobster-tail-20-mm-thick-60°c-during-41-minutes/
Look there and note my comment. You can use plain ziploc bags and push the air out by sybmerging it in water.or get one of these ziploc vacuum bags that come with a pump if you dont have a foodsaver.
cheers
JK
Deep Fryer French Fries
The classic method is clearly double frying, but Heston Blumenthal does a triple fry in one of his "In search of perfection" book. This put basically boiling in water upfront the double frying. He was doing that on thick fries which I don't like and I figured it would not work on thinner fries - but it does.
See below for instructions and temperatures.
http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/tech-the-halls-easy-holiday-cocktails-and-treats/
It works consistently for me while the double fry does not - double fried fries get soggy to quick.
Storage containers
For Cambro I used
http://www.globeequipment.com/Default.html
Even though they seem to be commercial, they have no minimum and shipped to me twice very quick. - they are in CT so it should come within a day or two.
I figured I pay shipping but save the sales tax .....
Sous Vide with immersion heater
I on't think that will work, you end up with hot spots here and there unless you stir.
I would drop the few bucks for a rice cooker or not go the PI route at all and just use stove and thermometer. I started that way and switched then to a immersion circulator.
Note that fresh meals, the guys that sell a PID will come with new products like a bubbler etc.
Also note, that some believe the rice cooker works so well because it is insulated.
Just be extra careful with times and temperatures and rather go higher and longer then ending up with salmonella from a bad chicken breast.
I really really recommend to try it out with stove and thermometer first. There are some things that I did not like sous vide, like the infamous egg - I can't get the white firm enough, neither do I care for fish medium rare or rare.
That said, 24 hour flank steak is genius, SV pork loin rules chicken breast though I am not sure yet - causes some mystery meat memories in my head.
Cheers
JK
Cookware for the Extremely Broke?
I got some of my equipment from restaurant supply. There not always super cheap, I think if you hit the ones on Bowery in NYC then yes you can find sometimes prices like Bittman mentions. Otherwise, while it's quality it may not be as cheap that you can get a full set of pans for below 100.
That said, for budget I like Ikea. My 1st set of pots was and I didn't find anything wrong with it plus one can buy additional pieces over time.
Using a PID for sous vide
I wouldn't. I used an "induction" hot plate, no PID, I regulated the temperature manually.
I measured around in the pot and noticed significant differences in temperature. I believe the problem is not that great with a rice cooker or hot pot since these are insulated which seems to help a bit.
If your sold on SV I would make that investment, otherwise start out on your normal stove and try it out.
Note also that fresh meal solution is coming out in the coming weeks with a "bubbler",
http://www.cookingsousvide.com/info/freshmealsmagic-from-fresh-meals-solutions
Cheers
JK
Sous-Vide Cooking at Home - Sous-Vide Supreme. Anybody using it ?
I have to correct me here, he is pan roasting for 5 minutes, it says "for a total of 10 minutes" so he is including the pan searing phase I guess.
Sous-Vide Cooking at Home - Sous-Vide Supreme. Anybody using it ?
He is using a 400gr piece - nearly a pound. I don't think you would want to eat that if you pan sear for 30 secs plus 3 minutes in the oven. I can't link to his times, it's in his book. Not recommending to buy it for the home cook but maybe you can take a look at your local B and N, they might have it.
You would not get a rare steak with his times that is for sure but a very pleasant one.
That said, I think he is playing it somewhat safe with times and temperature in his book. It's made for the professional chef and in a restaurant I guess they have to be extra careful.
If you think about it, usually you take a steak rare cause you like it tender. With SV you can break down the collagen that causes toughness if you use time and temperature correct so I wouldn't insist on a rare steak anymore but that is just me.
Daily cleaning of stainless steel cookware?
I am using stainless since 2 years or so. For pots, most of the time soap and water is OK, every now and then I use Bar Keepers friend.
For pan's this is a complete different story. If I pan sear at high heat I use Bar Keepers Friend all the time, soap and water does not much for these cases.
Sous-Vide Cooking at Home - Sous-Vide Supreme. Anybody using it ?
I have done sirloin - I think the temperature should be higher, I follow the general rule that tough cuts go low temperature longer time while more tender cuts require higher heat and shorter time.
keller has sirloin at 59.5 but then sears 5 minutes in a pan and adds another 10 minutes of pan roasting.
Why do restaurants do this when you're trying to book for large parties?
If a restaurant is not set up for 7 days a week it is tricky to just give up the free day and catch up on the required rest later.
Also, depending on cuisine cooking for a large crowd can be a much much different process then then the regular single portion line cooking. They may not even be set up to handle that.
Coming from Barbara Lynch - Menton
>>Maybe No. 9 just doesn't do it for BL anymore and her vision has evolved. She's taking a gamble, but if it works, it works. IMHO it's too big a gamble for this town. I<<
With her 70 seats and price range, she is exactly at the same level as Pierre Gagnaire / Twist in Las Vegas. That is a 7 million $ restaurant.
It is going to be interesting to see how Menton shapes up.
Sous-Vide Cooking at Home - Sous-Vide Supreme. Anybody using it ?
I have a circulator and have done it with induction cooktop earlier.
To me it is not a substitution. For example, if you sear a steak you get layers of different textures from very well done outside to a lets say medium center. With sous vide, it usually is medium all the way with crust on the outside.
Lobster tail for example has a very different texture as well. And let's not get started on the egg. Yes you can control exactly what happens to the yolk but the white doesn't firm up. To me a perfect egg has a firm white and somewhat liquid egg yolk center. A sous vide egg may have a perfect yolk, but firming the white is tricky.
It results in different tastes and textures, but too me I haven't seen anything where I would fully consider it a substitute to regular cooking.
Cheers
JK
Cooking School
I 2nd the FCI.
http://www.internationalculinarycenter.com/recreational-classes.htm
I took a multi weekend class at FCI as well as a single evening session at their "recreational" division, that one is a bit hidden on their website. Loved both.
