Thursday, May 29, 2008

Ain't That a Peach.

I've been on the road, hitting some new spots.
I thought I would toss you a bone, while I'm busy writing them up.

I recently found this site The World's Largest Roadside Attractions. Granted, the site hasn't been updated since 2002. And, there's nothing to say that these are really the world's largest. Heck, it doesn't even list the big peach from Vincennes, Indiana - shown in the photo above.

Yet, I still like the site.
If you have a desperate need to find a giant yogurt container...this site has you covered. It's said to be in the United Arab Emirates and they even include a photo.

Who knew?

So, there you have it.
Keep yourselves busy while I write up a few new things...and sort through this mess of 1's and 0's we call digital photos.

D. Pin It

Monday, May 19, 2008

Why a "Juicy" Roast Comes Courtesy of the Number 8 and the Letter B.

I was reading the Columbia University Press Blog and came across an interesting Top 10 List.

In a recent interview in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Hervé This discusses such matters as the difference between molecular gastronomy and molecular cooking, the relative importance of having the right equipment in your kitchen, and some of the scientific principles of making stock. He also lists his 10 basic elements of kitchen knowledge:

1. Salt dissolves in water.
2. Salt does not dissolve in oil.
3. Oil does not dissolve in water.
4. Water boils at 100 C (212 F).
5. Generally foods contain mostly water (or another fluid).
6. Foods without water or fluid are tough.
7. Some proteins (in eggs, meat, fish) coagulate.
8. Collagen dissolves in water at temperatures higher than 55 C (131 F).
9. Dishes are dispersed systems (combinations of gas, liquid or solid ingredients transformed by cooking).
10. Some chemical processes - such as the Maillard Reaction (browning or caramelizing) - generate new flavors.

These might seems simple, but if you think back to that tough steak you had a few months ago, check out #6 above.

This list reminds me of the short cooking primer Alton Brown gave at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago last March.
Generally, that:
a) water wets;
b) fats slide;
c) proteins tangle and
d) carbohydrates build.

That tough steak is easy to overcook.
Yet, a roast can braise in the oven for hours upon hours and only get better with time.
Why?

Well, take a gander at letter B of Alton's list - "fats slide."
Roasts are typically a less expensive hunk o' meat. Whether it's a beef roast or a pork butt (shoulder), chances are it's a mass of meat and connective tissue - mainly composed of the protein collagen.

Doesn't sound too appetizing?

Yet, given a few hours cooking low and slow, that connective tissue becomes gelatinized. That unctuous mouth feel - the lip smackin' goodness that it so moist and flavorful - is thanks to a heaping helping of...well, fat.

Why does it taste so moist?
Why does your mouth think it's tasting something miraculously moist in that roast? It's partially thanks to letter B and the number 8. "Fats slide" and "Collagen dissolves in water at temperatures higher than 131 F."

I might have to check out Hervé This' new book Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) Looks like it could be good reading.

I wonder how long it takes to truly understand those simple 10 basic elements of cooking and Alton's letters A-D?

Bet it could take a lifetime to master those.

My first homework assignment?
A nice vinaigrette (#1-3 & 5-9) with a juicy roast with a small portion of pasta (#4). You know, if I sear that roast (#10) before I braise it, I can take advantage of all 10!

I'd love to wax poetic about the Maillard Reaction mentioned in #10.
But...THAT's another show. Pin It

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Silvadene. The Magic Paste.

Where there's smoke...
There may be fire.

But, I can ASSURE you,
Where there's a 500+ degree pizza oven...
There's my skin.
Waiting for its next burn.

Once again, moving too quickly,
I reached my hand across the table through a maze of hot deep dish pizza pans -
think Whack a Mole, except the Moles stay up and are scorching hot-
for something I needed right away.

And, I got burned - both literally and figuratively.
A nice bubble quickly formed horizontally between the second and third joints of my ring finger.

Course, adrenaline is a funny thing.
I said "ouch" and kept moving.

After the shift I re-evaluated.
"That's gonna to leave a mark."

So, I got home and grabbed the Silvadene.
Now, this stuff might not be for everyone.

(It's definitely NOT for those allergic to sulpha drugs and nursing or pregnant moms.)

But, for me it's a lifesaver.

I took just a bit from the GI-GAN-TO sized tube my Doc prescribed.
(I guess she knows I'm a klutz)
Smeared it on and grabbed for a band-aid.

Now, here's the cool part.
IF I keep it clean - and, IF I keep it covered
(re-applying the ointment daily)
The burn will almost completely disappear.

How do I know?
My burn on a burn from a couple of months ago is nothing but a faded memory.

Again, this isn't for everyone.
Me? I think Silvadene rocks.
"Ask your doctor or pharmacist." Pin It

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Boom De Yada! Moo!

Moo!
Yep, I'm a follower.

Jules posted this. Then Pari and Kat did, too.
Now, I'm doing it.

Why?
Cuz, sometimes the lead cow knows where the sweet grass is.
And, those who follow get the good stuff.

Not that I'm calling Jules a cow, or nuttin'.
*Wink*

(If You Tube kills the embed,
you can see the video from the original location -
The Discovery Channel site.)

Pin It

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Simmering 16th Notes and Triplets with Chocolate Ganache

This is my somewhat blathering response to my friend's wonderful post about her passion for music - at her blog, Fall To Grace.

I was made to take organ lessons starting when I was 4 or 5, back when my little fingers could barely manage the span of a G7 chord (if I remember that correctly) and I needed peddle risers to help my toes barely reach.

I was the little kid playing "The Entertainer" on the Wurlitzer every Saturday at the mall.

Not by choice.
By chore.

I could read music. Suppose I still could if I tried. But, to me, sitting at an organ, or playing the clarinet was like doing piecework. The page says you play an F here, check the key signature, adjust as necessary, and you play the note.

Complicated key signatures were nothing more than cryptology.
Making the proper substitutions, I cracked the code of circles, lines and dots.

Sure, I could have fun with Joplin as I punched down on the keys, watching my fingers dance back and forth. But, following the notes in the page was like playing Simon. A game - could I press what the ink spots told me to hit...in time?

No love.
No passion.
Basically, just math...representing sound, but not music.

How I longed to PLAY, really play, the piano.
I'd sit down and hit the notes.
But, there was no passion.

For years cooking was the same way.
Measure, dump, stir.
It came out "correct" but with no love.

Course, then there was a switch that flipped one day, September 11, 2006 to be exact, and I woke up wanting to cook. Longing to cook. Suddenly, a day without cooking, or thinking of new recipes to try, or wandering through the veggies aisle just to take in the colors - the scents - was a day without joy. Cooking became - and remains - an exciting new passion that I can't imagine living without. Nope, no joke.

And, interestingly enough, I really never wanted the passion to cook. If I made a list of desires, "passion for cooking" would have been neighbors with "learning to change my own oil filter."

Honestly, the oil filter would have won.

But, now...it's such a blessing to cook.
And, imagine, create, and learn.
And, taste.

Maybe someday...if I'm lucky, I'll wake up seeing the the colors of the notes as brilliantly as I see colors of peppers. Maybe someday the sounds will come together, becoming more than themselves... as scents become subtle as they simmer then meld - miraculously growing in complexity larger than each food component could be alone.

Maybe someday I'll feel the synergy of sound in my heart...
Instead of my head.

Oh, how I wish I had the passion for the 8th notes.
And, could really...appreciate-
A.
Rest.

But, you can't fake that.
No, you can't fake that. Pin It
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