http://www.3sheik.com Bread And Circuses Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:33 CMT nypost article:
after blogging about his efforts with the human cheese, customers started demanding a sample, he said.
"The phone was ringing off the hook," the chef said. "So I prepared a little canap of breast-milk cheese with figs and Hungarian pepper." cows milk was also used in the cheese, as it needed more protein. per expectations, the health department has politely asked him to refrain from serving said dish.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:02 CMT sierra nevada. sierra gets disrespected on in certain circles because it's not obscure or weird; but, as the article points out, they're ubiquitous because they've earned it by being consistently awesome. they're among the early brewers to use cascade. and, as most of you probably know, they're releasing newer, limited release beers like their delicious big foot ale.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:39 CMT so, after walking around very quietly (think elmer fudd here) for about an hour, a group of pigs were spotted. we maneuvered to get a bit closer, the pigs headed our way, and my hunting friend took aim and dropped a small-to-medium sized hog. i aimed at a piglet, not wanting to us to have a pile of large dead pig flesh, and missed (not once but twice), something i didn't find at all surprising.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:12 CMT this inside.
here's hoping we end up with a ridiculous bounty of this stuff in years to come, so we can eat it at breakfast with eggs benedict, at lunch as cream of asparagus soup, and at dinner in salads and lightly blanched.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:59 CMT georgian wine, very little of which finds its way over here. it spans quite a spectrum; while in georgia, we had some that was quite good and some that was overly simple (but still good with khinkali). they have some brandy that isn't bad either, though armenia's ararat brandy (a fav of churchills) is the regions best to my taste (available in the us, at specs occasionally here in texas).
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:37 CMT 2007 was a banner year almost everywhere around the globe. As a result, in places that are accustomed to selling more casual wines you are finding incredible value. For red wine value Provence, Southern Rhone, Languedoc, and Roussillon are kicking some serious ass. All Cotes du Rhone are Southern Rhone. If you see a CDR at the store from 07 at a decent price, get it. Other appellations in the Southern Rhone that often get folded into Cotes du Rhone are: Lirac, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, Beaumes de Venise (more known for their dessert wine, but they make a solid quaffing red wine also.) If you see any of those Appellation labels on a bottle at a price you like, go for it. I found this red wine from Languedoc called "Coup de Roses, Granaxa 2007" that was 13 bucks. If you can get your wine store to carry that one, buy a case and call it a day. As with all things, producer is vital. 2007 was a blockbuster for the south of France but this is not to say that wines from 06 or 08 by default suck. As I get a better idea whats available to you as far as producer I'll be better able to advise you.
with that as advice, i headed over to wine.com - i'm set up to receive some sort of graft/kickback when i buy stuff using the link on the right, but i've never tried it, so i thought it would be worth a shot. anyway, after poking around, i picked up a few bottles, the highlights being:
Arnoux et Fils Jean Marie Vacqueyras 2007, a Dom. d'Andezon Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2007, a pair by the same producer, the Perrin Cotes du Rhone Villages Rouge 2007 and the Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2007, and finally Dom. Lafage Cote Sud 2007.
also, i joined their free shipping program for the year, so if any of you live near me and want to order, i can order for you and you can skip the shipping cost.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 03 Mar 2010 9:12 CMT toffee the other day... close to the recipe linked, but drop the corn syrup, up the salt (i like a salty/sweet toffee), and toss some chocolate chips on top of the toffee when it's cooled some (but not so much that the chocolate won't melt; smear them around with a spatula as they melt).
i'd also cook to about 320 instead of 310, but that's a taste issue.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:44 CMT the bacon artery for our kitchen. don't miss the thank 'que lord poster.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:15 CMT sullivan street bread recipe, but this overview of knead vs no knead in baking has some nice thoughts anyway.
the short version? don't feel the need to knead, and don't fear the wet dough.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:38 CMT driving people to a life of crime.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 23 Feb 2010 8:42 CMT wal-marts foray into locally and organically grown produce. surprisingly, they seem to be doing well; the article also involves the guys at fino (here in austin) for the taste test.
the most shocking thing in the article to me was this sentence: "I wished Id bought the identical Promised Land milk at Whole Foods, to see if there is in fact a difference in the branded food products that suppliers give Walmart, as there is in the case of other branded products." huh? buying an identical product at walmart might not be buying an identical product at all?
thanks to jeff for the link.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:53 CMT square pie to the menu.
that is all.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:09 CMT roasted vegetables, thai style, she settled on waffled eggplant, which consists of breading the eggplant and cooking it on the waffle iron.
as for myself, i've been told that i'm allergic to eggplant since my early childhood, and have faithfully shied away from it since (assuming it to be some form of squash, which i have an allergy that has proven somewhat less severe in my adulthood). however, in the course of waffling the eggplant, my wife announced that it is a member of the nightshade family, and is therefore not a squash at all, but more of a tomato. i promptly tried a piece of the waffled eggplant and am happy to report that no ill-effects have ensued so far (though zyrtec may be to thank); i'm also happy to say that the eggplant was delicious.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:27 CMT texas queso dip that doesn't include velveeta. the comments explode in debate on whether it's authentic texas queso if it's not velveeta (which is why i'm posting this).
i realize it's traditional perfection for folks to have velveeta and rotel, but for the life of me, i can't see how people love it. the processed cheese fails me on both taste and texture counts.
by taylor
Comments : 3 ]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:39 CMT this bit on an oxtail-amaro broth that seems creative. i haven't personally thought about amaro (or whisky) in broths before, but it seems worth playing around with at least. the hardest part for my palate will be keeping the sweetness out of the way...
by taylor
Comments : 1 ]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2010 9:53 CMT east side king, the little food trailer behind liberty bar on east sixth that has been garnering accolades everywhere.
first, be prepared that the liberty bar is a beer and whisky shots kind of place; we were thrown off by the profusion of bottles behind the bar, so my wife ordered a sidecar. after a few minutes of searching, the bartender let us know that unfortunately there was no brandy in the house. so keep it simple, and go straight to beer (we ended up with a victory double ipa, so at least you aren't stuck with shiner).
the trailer is out back and is cash only; they have a little atm that charges a $2.95 fee if you're truly stuck. the trailer is apparently headed by the sous chef at uchi, and the menu reflects the asian bent, though they seem to be poaching more momofuku than uchi. we ordered the brussels sprout salad, beet fries, and the pork buns. the brussels sprouts salad was skippable - the sprouts were great, but were paired with a cole slaw that was too sugary for my wife and i, and left us with far too much cabbage and not enough brussels.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:19 CMT unaged whiskys. they're clear, and have floral/fruit notes instead of the body, color, and acids imparted by wood aging.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:14 CMT thomas keller way. or you can just buy the kit, if that's your style.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:23 CMT guardian way back in november, there is an acute shortage of angostura bitters in the world. this potential lack of angostura could mean the death (or at least significant change) of many cocktails, including the old fashioned, manhattan, and many more. the plant is back online, but it'll take a while to get bitters back in stock for a while.
the shortage is bearing out here as well - spec's (the local booze superstore) has been out for months. i found some at out of the way heb a few days ago (and bought 4 bottles), and apparently cocktail kingdom still has some around.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:59 CMT cook them back to a bit of glory, pulling advice out of eric ripert, alain sailhac, and more.
on the pro chicken side, one of my favorite meals ever was of free range chicken breast at a restaurant in pleasanton, ca.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 15 Jan 2010 9:43 CMT maraschino cherries aren't supposed to be like the glowing bioluminescent spheres you usually see; originally they were marasca cherries perserved in maraschino liquor. if you're really curious, you can buy a 12 lb can of true maraschino cherries on amazon for $150 + $20 shipping, but they may not be worth the money.
personally, i buy the bionic red ones at the store, then drain the syrup and replace it with some cheapish brandy, though you can pursue fancier routes.
credit goes to meester jeff for most of this content...
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31 CMT by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:37 CMT handpresso allows you to make espresso from anywhere with hot water; you supply up to 9 bars of pressure via the built in pump (like a bicycle pump).
the competition, the mypressi twist, uses a gas cartridge to save you from pumping, but to my mind that might make travel a bit difficult. plus, the handpress can be picked up in a slick picnic case that combines the press, some cups, and a thermos in a pretty leather case.
check coffeegeeks take on the handpress and the twist if you're curious.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:22 CMT the violet hour, toby maloney, dropped in on a thread discussing how to make their drinks at home and provided the actual recipes.
you might want to try the 'juliet and romeo', which is third in gq's 20 best american cocktails list (worth browsing). to create...
Juliet & Romeo
2 oz Beefeater
.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
.75 oz Simple Syrup
3 drops Rose Water
3 drops Angostura
3 slices Cucumber
3 sprigs Mint
Tiny pinch of salt
Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Mint leaf and 1 drop rose water/3 drops of Angostura Bitters.
Ice: None
Muddle cucumber, mint and pinch of salt. Add rest of ingredients. Let sit for 30 seconds (time allowing). Shake. Strain. Garnish with 1 floating mint leaf and 1 drop rose water on top of leaf, and 3 more drops of angostura on the surface of the drink.
via metafilter
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 05 Jan 2010 9:12 CMT fancy deviled eggs, complete with a recipe.
i do like a deviled egg, though it's easy to eat too many. however, as my wife has a mortal feud with eggs, i rarely eat them.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:12 CMT recipe has me thinking it's time to make them at home...
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:44 CMT milk products master chart.
our lubbock correspondent sent this over with a practical use for it, as he had used it to "get whole milk from half-n-half and skim milk".
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:08 CMT cheese puffs look like a delicious friend of the lee brothers cheese straws.
by taylor
Comments : 2 ]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 9:44 CMT black truffles, grown in tennessee. i believe i've read that some folks are growing them in oregon as well.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:05 CMT momo, aka himalayan dumplings. they look rather identical to georgian khinkali, probably my personal favorite georgian food. in georgia, you eat them with lots of beer and brandy, never letting any of the juice drip and counting how many you've eaten by saving the tops in a little pile. good winter food...
and, on the topic of georgian food, no discussion would be complete without khachapuri, georgian cheese bread (served with almost every meal).
by taylor
Comments : 1 ]]> Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:52 CMT chow posted it so you can try it even if you don't have das buch.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:36 CMT englishrussia.com we have a russian food porn gallery. you may spot a bit of a theme...
by jeff Ronk
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:34 CMT michelin inspector and provides some insight on just what goes into a three star rating.
i'm not sure i'm sold on the michelin system, but i'd sure take it over yelp.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 8:10 CMT 101 things to prepare before the turkey goes in the oven. which is to say, thanksgiving foods that you can tackle ahead of time. special mention for tomato pinwheels (crackers made with sundried tomatoes, number 81) and brussels sprouts sliders (roasted halved brussels sprouts, already delicious, used as buns in a bacon sandwhich. number 42).
worth reading through for the volume of ideas alone; you're bound to shake something loose in your brain that will be an idea worth eating.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:39 CMT the recipe is available here, though it's missing the octo vinaigrette, which i will provide for you here.
octo vinaigrette:
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic.
2 tbsp chopped/peeled (ed. note: is that like chopped/screwed?) fresh ginger
1/4 tsp finally chopped pickled chiles, or fresh birds eye chile
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup usukuchi (light soy sauce)
2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil)
1/4 tsp asian sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
fresh pepper
combine and shake.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:13 CMT injera (kind of an african crepe) and lentil stew, both of which came out very well (last nights dinner).
pretty simple, though you'll need to start the day before to make injera. if you want to try your hand at ethiopian cuisine, here's a few recipes to get you started.
doro wat: 1 , 2 , and 3

berbere: 1

finally, a bunch of recipes: 1, 2, 3, and 4
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:41 CMT these breads are all riffs on a theme in peter reinhart's book, the bread baker's apprentice. and though i am at this point the slacker apprentice that would have been let go in the middle ages, i'm still baking. each bread is a basic yeast, multi-stage fermentation bread, meaning they have few additives and are meant to show off the simplicity of good plain bread. pane a l'ancienne is pictured at the top - a modified french bread recipe with a cold (read refrigerated) fermentation to allow sugars to develop more slowly, layered the next day with new dough to add another layer of flavor. very good, but i rue the home oven and its lack of steam.
pain de campagne, country bread, was the next bread, and it was easier to disguise our lack of steam with beautiful loaf shapes. the loaves shown are epis - sheaves of wheat. they were good, but a little dry (my baking, i'm sure), and still just riffs on rustic breads. the greatest thing about this bread was its beautiful oven puff. baking french-like breads, every little breath of air seems to take rise out of the loaf, but here, even after cutting (with a serrated tomato knife) and moving the 'wheat' pieces, into the oven they went and rose gorgeously.
the last bread was pane siciliano, which you can see is an unusual loaf shape - a spiral S. i made both it's dough and pain de campagne the same afternoon, but this bread has an overnight rise in the shape of the loaves, pictured here, and then a next-day baking. we topped the loaves with caraway seeds, which i doubt anybody ever does on sicily, but some of our eaters are allergic to poppy, the tradicionale topping. finished product: toothsome, flavorful, with good wheat flavor and nice fat touch because the loaves were sprayed with oil at the end. full disclosure: i looked at my bread, and then i looked at peter's bread in the picture, and i was a little disheartened. my bread looked ashy. but hey, what's lotion for bread but oil?
and on that note, happy baking.

by taylor
Comments : 1 ]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:20 CMT nytimes article on cooking steak with alain ducasse (a great article), egullet provides a nice pictoral argument for lowering the temperature on your steak cooking.
via metafilter
by taylor
Comments : 5 ]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 9:32 CMT recent cookbook trends, with a special focus on thomas keller. interesting-ish lite read, including gems about how these high end cookbooks are too difficult for home cooks such as:
"One particularly challenging recipe comes with a deceptively comforting title: Chicken Soup with Dumplings. The picture of a thick broth poured over bright green celery and carrots and perfectly shaped dumplings is motivating. But the recipe takes about two hours of active labor and dirties about 10 pans and bowls. It involves such diverse skills as making a parchment lid for a pot, thickening broth with a roux, and making cream puff dough (for the dumplings). That celery is bright green because it is separately cooked in boiling water, then quickly chilled in ice water and later incorporated into the soup. Also, using two spoons to form the torpedo-shaped dumplings known as quenelles might be a challenge for novices."
heaven help us; a roux.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 8:06 CMT her journey through the french laundry cookbook, and is currently working through the alinea cookbook. both cookbooks are great, and though i confess that i'm still not onboard with the alinea philosophy ("lets take put everything into a paste/gelatin/goo by adding glycerin/glucose/ddt"), it is interesting. but she writes engagingly about cooking, and reading through her posts you can't help but get interesting ideas about what you might try yourself.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 7:56 CMT normally in bubble tea, they have these giant pearls of tapioca; but they also have straws to match those giant pearls, whereas i just have itty bitty straws. so, unless you have giant straws, make sure you have small pearl tapioca. to prep the tapioca, boil 7 cups of water and add 1 cup of tapioca. let it boil (covered) for about 15 minutes, then turn it off and leave it for another 15. drop it into a strainer and rinse it in warm water, then put it into a tupperware with some simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, mixed into a syrup). you'll end up with about 2-3 cups of tapioca pearls, ready to drop into the bottom of your iced tea with condensed milk or whatever kind of bubble tea you want. these will also be sneaking their way into the bottom of cocktail glasses for the next few days.
for the tapioca pudding, i soaked the tapioca overnight; that's as far as i've gotten on the recipe i'm trying (courtesy of mr alton brown). we'll see how it turns out...
if you'd like to see someone do something genuinely interesting with tapioca, then i suggest you check thomas keller's oysters and pearls.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:13 CMT french fries made at a sichuan restaurant. the kicker is that they're ore-ida potatoes, fried up in some delicious chili-sauce (sriracha) and chinese spices. sounds like a delicious quick snack to me.
this has me thinking that it's about time to have a fry fest; make a few dozen pounds of fries, do some with oil and parmesan (as one of the comments on the times article suggests), some sichuan style, and some as poutine.
update: also, alain ducasse tried a bunch of fry places in nyc with nymag. i haven't had most of the ones covered, but his second favorite, pommes frites, is delicious.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:26 CMT 1, i've never tried it.
2, i'm not sure i like where this is headed.
with that out of the way, the idea of putting a dash of salt in your coffee to remove the bitterness (when the coffee is terrible) is something i may try the next time i'm traveling and stuck.
thanks to jason...
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:55 CMT one potential solution...the folks over at evil mad scientist have gone to the trouble of creating a wallet decoder card for south indian cuisine to help avoid mixing up your paneer and your saag.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:16 CMT don't pay for toasted oats, which pretty well sums up the situation. we started making granola a while ago because of my allergy to nuts and all things wholesome (our recipe), and have pretty continuously maintained a stash of granola for quick breakfasts (served with yogurt).
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:07 CMT breakdown of the top 10 food risks, by the numbers. number one? leafy greens. almost 1 in 4 of all outbreaks are the fault of leafy greens.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:53 CMT tarte tatin on bitten is looking super delicious on this rainy day. i think i was pretty much hooked by the time i read, "the amazing thing about tarte tatin is how the caramelized apples are somehow transformed into something entirely new but at the same time remain intensely apple-y."
mmmm...carmelized apples.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:28 CMT article on making bitters with a few recipes; also, there are some recipes for digestifs, which would be fun to make.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]> Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:07 CMT lipton tea. we know tea. we just don't use any of that knowledge in it's manufacture.
by taylor
Comments : 1 ]]> Fri, 02 Oct 2009 8:46 CMT beef, tomato, olive, and rosemary pies. every year, the onset of cold weather (in texas, we settle for 'less hot') has me start wanting pot pies and meat pies. the capers in this recipe seem like the perfect touch; i'd be tempted to decrease the tomato paste down to 1 tbsp and up the olives/capers accordingly.
by taylor
Comments : 0 ]]>