Short answer: no. But why even ask the question? Once again, radical claims by Cook’s Illustrated could not go untested. Cook’s Illustrated #99 had the gall to suggest that one could cook crispy, creamy french fries in just six cups of oil. If six cups of oil sounds like a lot, consider that usually when […]
5 comments | Cook's Illustrated, Fast, Fries, Frites, Oil, Peanut Oil, Potatoes
Cooking in a modern kitchen is all about control: I have implements for cutting food into pieces of exacting dimensions; I can measure volume and mass; I apply precise amounts of heat to pans that have been engineered to have efficient and predictable conductivity. Sous vide and molecular gastronomy take control to the extreme. As […]
No comments | camping, Chicken, Grilling, Herbes de Provence, Primitive, Rustic
The Wedge is hosting a workshop entitled “Canning Foods Safely” with Suzanne Driessen on Wednesday, July 22 from 7 to 9 pm. The workshop is $15/12 members and was just announced in the Wedge’s most recent newsletter. Here’s what their description says: Whether you are new to home canning or have been canning for years, […]
1 comment | Canning, Coop, New York Times, Preservation, Tomatoes, Wedge, Workshops
Many factors affect the way bread turns out: what kind of flour is used, if and how long the bread gets kneaded, the amount of salt, natural yeast versus canned yeast, the ambient conditions, etc. Of these, none is more influential than the ratio of water to flour. Bakers express this ratio as a baker’s […]
6 comments | Bread, Flour, Math, Natural Yeast, No Recipes, Starter, Technique, Water
A quick calculator for making up bread recipes.
1 comment | Bread, Flour, Math, Natural Yeast, Starter, Technique, Water
I mentioned in one of my more recent posts that I’ve come a long way in the past couple of years with the help of a couple of cookbooks and someone named Tom. You can tell from our postings (I think) that my core of inspiration centers not around dinnertime but around the dinner table, […]
3 comments | Cooking, Dinner, Italian, meals, minestrone, mise en place, soups, Technique
Like most people my age, I grew up on microwave popcorn. Actually, I have a memory of an air popper with a yellowish-brown plastic top that melted butter and shot popcorn into a bowl, but most of the popcorn eaten in my life has been made in a microwave. Which is amazing because microwave popcorn […]
5 comments | Fat, Garam Masala, Ghee, Indian, Popcorn, Salt
Don’t throw away beef trimmings-make suet!
5 comments | Beef, Economic Crisis, Fat, Gristle, Lard, Meat, Thrift
Tom makes various crackers.
10 comments | Aleppo Pepper, Bread, Caraway, Chili Powder, Crackers, Dill, Flour, Garlic, Pasta Machine, Rolling, Salt, Seeds, Sesame, Soy, Vindaloo, Yeast
Experimenting with sous vide without experimental equipment.
5 comments | Beef, Cheap, Chuck Steak, DIY, Economic Crisis, Experiment, Sandwich, Sous Vide, Ziploc Bag