What I learned today (Take Two)

[Jenise]

Ah, it's Shirriff. Joke's on me--the Toronto-based company is now owned by Smuckers!--and it's a three fruit blend of oranges, grapefruit and lemons indicating that I totally misunderstood the meaning of "pure" on the label. Nonetheless, the long-ago origins and popularity of the product confirm that it was the beloved product I suspected:

http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2 ... story.html

Speaking of citrus, I have a half a bottle of Everclear here and I want to try making limoncello again. My first effort, many years ago, failed due to too much pith, but now I know better. I hope.

I'm scouting around for Sorrento lemons but I don't know whether I will find any. Failing that, I know where I can get a Buddha's Hand so I may proceed with that instead.

[Jenise]

Today I learned that oysters each process/filter 50 gallons of water a day each!

Not really surprising. After all, humans breathe about 2,000 gallons of air each day. And that water provides all of the oysters' nourishment as well as its oxygen.

-Paul W.

Last night I succeeded in imparting wok breath to the roast pork lo mein I made, without using the high-BTU outdoor propane gas ring. I was able to get wok breath using my (ordinary BTU) butane gas ring. The trick comes when you add the noodles after stir-frying the aromatics. After mixing the noodles and aromatics together, don't stir them continuously. Let them sit in the wok and stir them up only a few times a minute. Do this until brown spots start to appear on the noodles, and then proceed with the rest of the dish. You can achieve wok breath without a chop suey range if you're patient.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, don't the flames need to get closer to the noodles? If we're talking about the same thing, Maillard reaction isn't neccessary for wok breath.

Maillard isn't necessary, but it works. At least partially.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

This week I learned that potatoes can't be trusted. Last weekend I made a Spanish tortilla using two different types of potatoes, Kenebec and Washington yellows (like yukons). The potatoes, as y'all probably know, are pre-cooked to about the 75% point, sauteed with onions and olive oil under cover in a large pan for about 30-40 minutes. You want them to be steam-cooked, essentially, not fried. Did all that and then assembled in the usual manner with eggs (and in my case, black truffles) and baked another 30 minutes to finish before turning out. I let it cool and carried it that way to the event and then cut it into wedges there. I was very dismayed on cutting into it to find that a number of the Washington yellows had turned black.

So they'd oxidized AFTER THE FACT in spite of being peeled, cut and cooked without delay. Out of the bag they had a lot of green on them which, of course, went away with the peel and I thought nothing of it. I made mashed potatoes a few days later to figure out whether I should keep the rest of the bag, and the mash was totally correct--not dark or glue-y. So maybe the green didn't have anything to do with the problem (opinions welcome!), but I'm tossing the rest of the bag anyway, why take a chance. I wouldn't trust them in a potato salad, for instance.

No idea what happened there. Very strange. (I googled around and there is no consensus about why the potatoes darkened despite proper handling.)

[Jenise]

Thank you! I've had old potatoes oxidize, turning pink or gray or pink-then-gray, but that usually happens fairly quickly. That it didn't and that the discoloration didn't occur until some time after being entombed in an egg batter an hour later? Boggles my mind. The Kennebecs were perfect, btw.

And a note about Kennebecs: better restaurants up here often tout that their fries are made with Kennebec potatoes but never, ever, ever are they labeled as such at regular retail. On the rare occasions you find them, they're simply "baking potatoes" and interchangeable with russets.

Just looked up Kennebec potatoes. Eyballing it, I would say it's an all-purpose type, but detailed descriptions say that it is slightly on the starchy side. Hence, good for frying, and a large %age of the crop goes to potato chip makers.

They are also grown in Maine but I have no idea whether I can get them here in NYC. I default to using Yukon Gold for everything except simple baked potato, for which I take good ol' Russets.

I learned if you're going to spatchcock a turkey, get real poultry shears. It was a real pain using regular kitchen shears (they're fine with a chicken or capon). Kenji recipe for herb mayo roasted turkey,which was very good (Ithink I touched bone with a temp probe, ended up with slightly dry breast but skin and dark were great).
As Betsy's neice is pescetarian, also made Ottolenghi’s black lime salmon. Then 2 pans dressing (one with oysters, one without), mashed potatoes (with butter, milk, cream cheese, sour cream), salad, biscuits, gravy, chex mix. Others brought Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes (with marshmallows- yech), pecan pie, butternut squash pie, pumpkin pie.

I agree with you on sweet potatoes and marshmallows. >gag< Aren't they already sweet? Someday, I'm bound to see a sweet potato dish with Peeps on top. Maybe blue or purple for complementary colors.

[Jenise]

Dale, I've used mayo on the turkey skin for years, it works very well.

And yesterday I learned that not everyone knows what dark meat is. Our host only served white meat (they only like white meat) and when dark was requested, he went into the kitchen and brought back a wing. We never saw the thigh meat we all craved.

And today I learned that my pie crust making technique still sucks. I don't know why I can't seem to make a flakey, tender crust--and I use all butter. Same recipe as in the NYT, but I guess I just press too hard or something. I think I'm doing everything right. Oh, and today one side sagged during the blind bake and could not be propped back up. Fortunately I'd made some snowflakes to add as decoration and they hid the sag on the finished pie but jeesh. A shame as it looked so perfect before it went into the oven, textbook crimping and all.

Although butter can make a good crust, it is 20% water, which can contribute to the formation of gluten, not flakiness. Lard, if you want to use it, has 0% water.

A few days ago I saw a trick from Julia Child that I'm going to give a try. In pie dough you want flakes of butter (or whatever) layered between layers of flour. After she cut in the cold butter, she smooshed the dough by smearing it on the counter away from her, forming those layers of butter and flour. Then she rolled it up into a ball and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours before she rolled it out. She warned that the technique would freak out Americans, but I instantly saw the advantages of doing it that way. Gonna try it.

Meanwhile, I'm working to perfect my sourdough bread. Not there yet.

She warned that the technique would freak out Americans...

Where is the part that would freak anybody out?

She warned that the technique would freak out Americans...

Where is the part that would freak anybody out?

The smooshing of the dough away from you on the counter. I admit I had never seen that technique for pie dough.

Regarding spatchcocking a turkey, I'd use my heavy-duty Chinese cleaver.

In a similar vein, most Chinese spare rib dishes call for the ribs to be cut crosswise into thirds so that they can be easily eaten with chopsticks. Most Asian markets sell racks of ribs already cut this way. I bought a hacksaw so that I can do this at home when necessary. The hacksaw also comes in handy when I have to cut a piece off of something that is frozen.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Although butter can make a good crust, it is 20% water, which can contribute to the formation of gluten, not flakiness. Lard, if you want to use it, has 0% water.

A few days ago I saw a trick from Julia Child that I'm going to give a try. In pie dough you want flakes of butter (or whatever) layered between layers of flour. After she cut in the cold butter, she smooshed the dough by smearing it on the counter away from her, forming those layers of butter and flour. Then she rolled it up into a ball and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours before she rolled it out. She warned that the technique would freak out Americans, but I instantly saw the advantages of doing it that way. Gonna try it.

Meanwhile, I'm working to perfect my sourdough bread. Not there yet.

Larry, understood. Which is why I used a low water content butter from Tillamook creamery. I mixed my dough in the food processor, but was careful to leave butter chunks "the size of lima beans", to quote the NY Times recipe for same. I also chilled the dough for half an hour to rest the glutens before rolling out. I didn't smoosh it awy, but everything else was pretty much on target except for the fact that I needed to add more water than called for (10 tblsp vs. 6 for the equivalent flour/butter). It just wouldn't come together with less. The result was delicious, a really nice pastry, but it didn't have the structural integrity needed to hold the crimps.

I have a story about sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. One year, we were invited to the home of our youngest son's in-laws. We traveled with them in RVs and got along very well. After telling me she had everything covered, I asked what I could bring and she finally suggested a "sweet potato thing." My only experience with sweet potatoes was baking them. I looked up recipes trying to find something I liked. I swore from then on I would always bring something I knew was excellent and that everyone would like. The dish I made was a complete flop, I was embarrassed and never again asked, what can I bring. I asked what everyone else was bringing and I worked around that. I still only use sweet potatoes in baking. I tried fried sweet potatoes once, not impressed. And as far as sweet potatoes with marshmallows, NO!

We are not sweet potato eaters. When I was little, sometimes there would be glazed sweet potatoes served at TG and they were just goopy and awful. I have roasted them myself and... eh.

But I have had them twice when they were very good. Once was in Japan. There are men with carts who roast the local species of sweet potato over charcoal and those were great. The other time was a huge group dinner of the New Haven Mineralogical Society, where someone brought a dish of mashed sweet potatoes with peanuts. Not too sweet, the nutty crunch was a good counterpoint, and though I am not a big fan of either food, it was very good.

[Jenise]

Big no here on sweet potatoes as well. I enjoy them now just baked with butter and onions, but it took most of my life to get me to this point, so jaded am I by the marshmallow-type y'all are talking about that my grandmother brought to every Thanksgiving dinner, and wherein the base material was canned. Egads.

For our Thanksgiving dinner my brother-in-law made gravy with rice flour. This was a learning moment as, best I know, I've never before had a meat gravy made with rice flour. A very good cook in his own right, he apparently finds wheat-flour gravies too heavy and only uses it for beef. Personally, if he hadn't stirred chanterelle mushrooms into his gravy, I think I would have missed the extra body. I also discovered at this meal that he grew up next door to Jimmy Dean (on St. James Island). Sausage jokes ensued.

Larry, understood. Which is why I used a low water content butter from Tillamook creamery. I mixed my dough in the food processor, but was careful to leave butter chunks "the size of lima beans", to quote the NY Times recipe for same. I also chilled the dough for half an hour to rest the glutens before rolling out. I didn't smoosh it awy, but everything else was pretty much on target except for the fact that I needed to add more water than called for (10 tblsp vs. 6 for the equivalent flour/butter). It just wouldn't come together with less. The result was delicious, a really nice pastry, but it didn't have the structural integrity needed to hold the crimps.

Been there.

Next time I make pastry, I'm going to try the Julia thing. Smearing the pastry dough with the heel of your hand makes me visualize long flakes of butter between layers of flour. The illustrated recipe and technique is in her Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She also uses a blend of butter and shortening.

You folks who don't like sweet potatoes are crazy! Perhaps some of the same folks who don't like mangoes? For the same reason presumably, they are too delicious?!

I agree that the abominations with marshmallows or other sweeteners are crazy, that was around during my childhood. But I haven't seen that in years and it has nothing to do with sweet potatoes themselves.

I do prefer some of the smaller varieties as opposed to Beauregard, Garnet and Covington, but even those can be delicious from the right farmer. Afterall, it's such a delicious food!

My mainstay is roasting chunks but we also like it baked. And the spread of commercial sweet potato fries is a good thing IMHO!