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Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
With apologies to Mark Peel, there isn't a lot of science that suggests a 12-24 hour wine bath would do much for the brisket or veggies (check experiments done by Cook's Illustrated or Harold McGee). In fact, as the recipe notes, it means you have to dry everything thoroughly before browning.
Plus, I prefer ragu bolognese recipes that start with milk :-)
marinara separating?
@joyyy - That's what I thought until I tried it! Just remember that butter is only ~80% fat, so it's equivalent to 4 TB of olive oil (1/4 cup). That's how I justified it the first time :-) Now? It just tastes good!
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Anyone ever catch "After Hours" on Mojo Network?
Posted by dvchurch, November 28, 2007 at 5:34 PM
Fregetables = fruits treated like vegetables
Posted by dvchurch, September 17, 2007 at 5:40 PM
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread
Jim Lahey has a whole bunch of variations (including whole wheat and rye) in his recently-published book, My Bread.
His version of a wheat loaf has 25% whole wheat flour, but he says you can play around with the ratio.
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
With apologies to Mark Peel, there isn't a lot of science that suggests a 12-24 hour wine bath would do much for the brisket or veggies (check experiments done by Cook's Illustrated or Harold McGee). In fact, as the recipe notes, it means you have to dry everything thoroughly before browning.
Plus, I prefer ragu bolognese recipes that start with milk :-)
marinara separating?
@joyyy - That's what I thought until I tried it! Just remember that butter is only ~80% fat, so it's equivalent to 4 TB of olive oil (1/4 cup). That's how I justified it the first time :-) Now? It just tastes good!
marinara separating?
Marinara sauce is actually supposed to be a quick preparation (~45 minutes or less). Longer cooking sauces do tend to separate. As the water is driven off, the oil has less "room to hide" (in suspension) and, being of less relative density, floats on top of the tomato portion of the sauce.
My favorite simple tomato sauce preparation (Marcella Hazan's - I hesitate to call it a Marinara sauce, though) actually instructs you to cook it until it breaks: http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/09/start-with-tomato-sauce.html
My solution would be to start with less oil and, if you're trying to play up the flavor of a fruity olive oil, stir a few tablespoons in at the end.
Sous-Vide Cooking with Heston Blumenthal
@yayfood - BPA is typically present in hard, clear plastics (think old-school baby bottles). If it's softer or translucent (i.e., not perfectly clear) then it is probably BPA-free.
Sous-Vide Cooking with Heston Blumenthal
Honestly, I've been waiting for something like this for a while.
@foodinmouth -- when you pre-order, they offer you the option of purchasing a $7.99 Reynolds HandiVac system.
'Word of Mouth' Taste-Tests Reverse-Engineered KFC Recipe
@Nickiter -- Accent isn't a replacement for salt. It's MSG, which is a flavor enhancer. If you leave out the salt in your experiment, you'll have bland food. More appropriately, use your normal recipe (with the salt) as the control and then just add Accent to half and examine the resulting difference.
Where can I buy rennet tablets in NYC?
I've seen them at Whole Foods before -- Junket brand, I think.
Serious Heat: Where Do You Buy Your Spices?
TheSpiceHouse.com
Barista in the Wild, Part 1: Coffee Bean Origins
Quick correction -- Sulawesi and Sumatra aren't countries, but two of the islands that make up Indonesia.
Matthew Amster-Burton's New Cookbook-Memoir, 'Hungry Monkey'
As a new dad with a four-month-old who is just about ready to munch on more than her mom's uh...anyway, I purchased this on my Kindle and have not been able to put it down. The stories are funny and easy to relate to. I can't wait to try the recipes with my little one :-)
Dominic
the zen kitchen
Korean tapioca bread recipe?
This sounds very familiar to a brazilian bun called pão">http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2007/2/4/list-making-for-dummies.html">pão de queijo. Maybe you could use that as a starting point?
Dominic
the zen kitchen
What Is Kraft Doing to My Salad Dressing?
Try the buttermilk ranch dressing base from The Spice House (http://www.thespicehouse.com)
Buttermilk + some mayo + the base (just dried herbs/spices/salt) = a quick, tasty, and easy ranch dressing
Whimiscal Wedding Drink with Wine?
You could also try making Sake cocktails. It's usually allowed where hard liquor isn't.
Here are some recipes:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2003/03/28/sake2.DTL#recipes
Dominic
the zen kitchen
Serious Efforts: Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread?
Check out Peter Reinhart's "Whole Grain Breads" -- he has a technique (he calls it the epoxy technique) that allows you to use 100% whole grains while still tasting incredibly good. Like all good things, it takes time - you have to start at least a day before - but you mention having sourdough starter so that may cut back on the initial time investment.
Also, for a video of Peter talking about this method, go to http://www.ted.org and look him up. It's a very good, quick (15 minute) tutorial.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
Ming Tsai's Plastic Knives
You can walk into a Sur la Table and get one, or order on Amazon.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
Cook the Book: 'On the Line'
gotta go with grilled -- obviously limited to thicker cuts of sturdier fish, but I love the way that a little bit of char tastes on a hunk of fish!
Knife Brands
The Forschner santoku is very sharp and really cheap. It's available at Amazon for $19.07. It's very light in your hand and has a granton edge. The Forschner chef's knife was the winner of the Cook's Illustrated testing -- for whatever reason, I find myself reaching for the Santoku much, much more.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
What is your all time cookbook? Just one. What would it be?
Here's a vote for The New Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated. If you limited me to a non-comprehensive tome, I'd pick Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
Cook the Book: 'Baking Unplugged'
I think I was 8 or 9 and decided to try baking while mom wasn't home. She kept salt and sugar in identical jars on the shelf and I didn't know which was which. I guessed wrong and my cookies could have been used as salt licks!
Making Your Own Cocktail Ingredients
A while back, you inspired me to make my own orgeat syrup. I've used it quite a bit since then. I definitely make my own fruit syrups, and sometimes a nice, tart shrub (thanks to Eric Felten).
Dominic
the zen kitchen
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Marcella Remembers'
Vitello tonnato -- who knew veal and tuna could be so good together? I confess, the tomato/butter/onion sauce has been my go-to sauce since orangette blogged about it...
Dominic
the zen kitchen
I like to ______ with leftover rotisserie chicken
Our second day of rotisserie chicken always manages to morph into chicken caesar wraps, made with bagged caesar salad and store-bought flatbreads :-)
Dominic
the zen kitchen
Ricotta cheese filled pastry that my Aunt Carm use to make
They are called Casdette. i will post the recipe soon. they are delicious
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
When I first moved to Seattle the coffee in some of the restaurants was so amazing I had to ask what it was and every single time it was Cafe Vita. Pricey beans but worth every penny.
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
Stumptown on Capital Hill
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
It is Vivace's world and we are just living in it. I like the one on Broadway the best (sidewalk bar), but all are amazing.
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
Even though Stumptown is from Portland, it is amazing and you should definitely seek them out. They have two locations on Capital Hill, both near some excellent restaurants and bars.
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
I like Cafe Ladro for the espresso drinks and Cafe Vita (Queen City Blend) for the beans to take home.
marinara separating?
I'm with @dvchurch. Don't cook it too long. Marinara is my go to I have no time to make dinner dinner because it cooks in a half hour.
I use a tablespoon and a half or so of olive oil, a good pile of minced garlic, hot pepper seeds and salt to two big cans of peeled plum tomatoes that I squish in a bowl by hand before adding them to the pan. Cook until just thickened about a half hour then add some fresh basil.
I don't think marinara is supposed to be really thick like a "Sunday gravy" it should be light.
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
I bet this would make a hell of a lasagna.
marinara separating?
I didn't read all the responses but have you ever added tomato paste? I usually add one 7-ounce can of tomato paste and one tomato-paste-can of water to every 28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes I use. It tastes great and does not separate.
What makes marinara "marinara" is the fact that it's meatless. It's "in the style of the mariner" who needed a product that would not turn rancid when brought out to sea for long periods of time.
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
sailordave, you took the words right out of my mouth! I'd rather we had Dunkin' Donuts instead of Starbucks on every corner here.
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
Vivace is the best in town, though there are many places mentioned here that are great as well. Just don't do the tourist thing and go to the first sbux in the pike place market. The coffee there is as shitty as it is in any sbux.
marinara separating?
Use 2-3 TBS and saute it with the onion in the olive oil.
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
Yes to Vivace!!! I'd only been to the one off of Broadway which has moved, I guess, but it's the highlight of any trip to WA for my hubs.
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
My bolognese takes most of one afternoon, but it is worth it. 3 days? Gimme a break.
marinara separating?
@ all ya'll
I drain the spaghetti well after it is boiled in plain old salt water. I do not rinse the pasta. If the bf is in the kitchen, he'll throw a little olive oil on it back in the dry pan. The only oil involved is at the start of the sauce when I cook the onions. Also, I'm only using about a T of tomato paste (frozen, since I never use the whole can, I freeze it in ~1T chunks, usually tossing one into a pot of sauce). Does that sound about right? Would more help?
This is part of the reason I loved the SE baked ziti so much, where you cook the noodles in the sauce and then bake it - never have that problem when using that technique.
marinara separating?
Ok no cornstarch! Use more tomato paste and saute it with the onions which makes a tomato paste/rouxish thing which will thicken your sauce. A lot of chuncked up tomatoes need a home to live in, so add some water or wine or stock to the party to thin out the tomato paste once it has sauteed.
Here is my question are you pouring oil in the pasta water. Some genius one thought this was a great idea. The starch is needed so the sauce will adhere to it. Do not rinse pasta and do not put oil in the pasta water.
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
Pork roast in milk, Marcella's recipe.
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
I've got to agree with Kenji -- although this recipe sounds good, it does sound more like a version of Italian-American gravy than Bolognese sauce. From the introduction to the recipe in Italian Classics, by the editors of Cook's Illustrated (Boston Common Press, 2002): "Unlike meat sauces in which tomatoes dominate... Bolognese sauce is about the meat, with the tomatoes in a supporting role. Bolognese also differs from many tomato-based meat sauces in that it contains dairy -- butter, milk, and/or cream. The dairy gives the meat an especially sweet, appealing flavor."
I make Bolognese sauce often. My everyday version is based on Marcella Hazan's in the revised edition of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, and my fancy recipe is from The Complete Book of Pasta by Jack Denton Scott (Galahad Books, 1968). Hazan and Clark both use nutmeg as a key flavor (in small amounts), and they do not brown the meat, either. They also use white wine, not red. And there is NO garlic. Clark adds some mushrooms and chopped chicken liver. Either of these recipes takes about 3 or 4 hours from start to finish. When it's done to my liking, the sauce is salmon-colored. If it's red, I've used too much tomato or too little cream.
Interestingly, the recipe in The Sliver Spoon (touted on its cover as "the bible of authentic Italian cooking") uses butter but no milk or cream. In The Food of Italy, Waverly Root describes Bolognese ragu as "an unctuous blend of onions, carrots, finely chopped pork and veal, butter, and tomato." He adds that ragu is often richer than his description of the basic recipe, and I suspect the richness comes from liberal use of milk and/or cream. I usually use both -- adding milk toward the beginning, after I've taken the redness out of the meat but without browning it, and a bit of cream just before serving.
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
@phaelon56- thanks for the clarfication!
marinara separating?
First I take out all the seeds,then take out as many stems as possible......oh shit....wait a minute....i THOUGHT the post was marijuana separating.....sorry......
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
Interesting. I've never seen a bolognese recipe that doesn't contain some dairy element.
It also seems like a huge amount of tomatoes for a bolognese, which traditionally contain very little. This seems to me more like a recipe for a 3-day Italian-American Sunday Gravy without the sausage and braciole!
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
@mr guy - LOL this was my first thought too!
I bet each and every difficult and time consuming step is recognized in each bite! mmmmmmmmm
cant wait to make a batch this weekend!
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
My favorite bolognese recipe right now is from Sheila Lukins 10 but now I'm definitely going to have to try this!
Where to find the best coffee in Seattle...
There are three Vivace locations but the espresso drinks should be similar at all three. I'd put them on my short list and the others will to an extent depend on whether you have easy access to outlying neighborhoods or not.
Victrola, Stumptown and Vivace are high on my list of places that are easy to reach and I also like the espresso at Cafe Trabant.
Cook the Book: Bolognese Sauce
I don't know if I am reading this recipe wrong but... when cutting the meat to marinade it states to cut the brisket along the grain in 2" pieces,(I'm thinking in strips) it does not say to cube the meat(which the author did) which would be much smaller pieces and much harder to fish out each time. Anyone?
Recent Posts
Anyone ever catch "After Hours" on Mojo Network?
Posted by dvchurch, November 28, 2007 at 5:34 PM
Fregetables = fruits treated like vegetables
Posted by dvchurch, September 17, 2007 at 5:40 PM
Houston, TX - Restaurant Suggestions, Anyone?
Posted by dvchurch, July 29, 2007 at 3:13 PM
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Jim Lahey has a whole bunch of variations (including whole wheat and rye) in his recently-published book, My Bread.
His version of a wheat loaf has 25% whole wheat flour, but he says you can play around with the ratio.