Profile

Linda Miller Nicholson

Conscious omnivore & foodie fashionista who loves slow food, modern gastronomy, bacon-curing, making salt, and sous vide at home, with wine, in stilettos.

  • Website
  • Location: Seattle, WA, US
  • Favorite foods: I eat it all. With salt.
  • Last bite on earth: A forkful of Grant Achatz' brain.

Modernist Eats: Spherified Green Eggs and Ham

@The_Egg yes! Lemon caviar totally works, I serve it with oysters in place of a mignonette. Meyer lemon granitas caviar is pictured here: http://www.saltyseattle.com/2011/03/consider-the-oyster-simple-sriracha-bubbles/ and the reason I made a granitas first is to cut down on the acid in pure lemon juice so that the pH wouldn't be so difficult to correct with sodium citrate. Basically I made lemon simple syrup, added a small amount of citrate, and spherified that. Exact measurements will depend on the pH of your lemon substance (whether straight juice or if you cut it a bit like I did) but it's not too hard to play around to get the right consistency.

Modernist Eats: Sous Vide Egg Souffle

@iwannabecaitlin
@kenji Sorry, I should have clarified- I get my chicken and duck eggs directly from farmers or friends with backyard birds. In those cases they have not undergone typical USDA-regulated sterilization procedures, which I feel adversely affect the flavor of the eggs. I live in Seattle, WA and unwashed eggs are extremely easy to find at farmer's markets, although I'm not sure the availability for the rest of the country, nor how they get around the legalities.

Sous Vide Egg Souffle

@dbepstein the reason for the specific timing is that because I use human-sealed plastic wrap instead of machine-sealed, I worry that too much time might allow water to seep in. i wanted to get it to exactly the right point that the whites are set, but not allow it to go much further in order to prevent any unhappy accidents. Also, the whites are fairly delicate, as with making meringue and overwhipping, once they're done it's best to stop the process.

@tn9627 sorry if it was vague- no special plastic wrap needed, tho I use the industrial stuff that comes in giant rolls from the restaurant supply, if you want to be really specific. Have fun experimenting!

Modernist Eats: Sous Vide Egg Souffle

@simon the complete recipe including the jamon hash is here http://www.saltyseattle.com/2010/10/sous-vide-souffle-parisienne-vegetables-jamon-iberico/ tho in retrospect I probably wouldn't bother with chopping the vegetables Parisienne-style, as they'd be fine a little less precious since it's about the souffle more than anything.

Sous Vide Egg Souffle

@cookiequiz no, you untie and remove them from plastic wrap and place them on parchment. Very sorry if that wasn't clear.

@thebarkingdog I've tried it both ways. The brulee torch is acceptable, I guess, but rather than browning the egg it more burns it, as though you were burning a cotton ball. It leaves an unpleasant carbon aftertaste as well. The broiler is better for even browning, though it's a good idea to watch it too, as different broilers will produce different results, and brown is the goal, not burnt.

Modernist Eats: Sous Vide Egg Souffle

@sjburnt I read your comment as genuinely curious, so glad you spoke up at the risk of retribution. Previous commenters have expertly addressed the safety issues of sous vide and egg temperature, so I don't really need to add to that, I only wish to say that as someone who has spent a portion of my life outside the US, I feel that the USDA is excessive in their guidelines. In fact I tend to leave my eggs at room temp rather than refrigerating them, which is the norm for the rest of the world. If you're still concerned, you can purchase pre-pasteurized eggs.

@JustinH I have no intention of stepping on Kenji's toes, he's got the rest of us beat by a mile, anyway. I am happy, however, that Serious Eats is progressive enough to give a dedicated space to a relatively underrepresented yet fast-growing aspect of the culinary realm. I hope to continue to do it proud yet be approachable for the many newcomers to the field.

Pepperoni Powder

@lemonfair

It keeps slightly better in the refrigerator but benefits from re-fluffing when you remove it. I've had it upwards of two weeks and it's fine, not sure beyond that.

I didn't use the entire amount because I like to have a little extra in which to pop the popcorn.

You could certainly use more butter, my goal, however, would be to always use as high-fat a substance as possible to avoid dissolution of flavor. The more you cut it, the less intense the pepperoni (or whatever flavor) will be.

I rendered this in butter because I prefer the taste. Also, if you used another oil, you'd want to choose something fairly neutral in taste.

The discs left after the oil is rendered are like carbon. If you crushed them up they'd taste like ashy rock with a hint of pepperoni.

The smaller the pepperoni the easier time you'll have rendering it. That's why I sliced mine first. It's possible to buy great pepperoni from the butcher and have them slice it as well.

Hope that helps!

Modernist Eats: Turn Pepperoni into Powder for a Popcorn Topper

@yuppicide- Bacon powder absolutely works, if it comes out a tad smoky. As with sopressata. Nutella and peanut butter work well because they have a high fat content, but popsicles would actually be impossible, unless of course someone froze duck fat on a stick and called it a popsicle.

Tomato powder in this method won't work because of the lack of fat, but I have been experimenting with powdering tomato via the dehydrator to make tomato tuiles, and that works extremely well.

Cheese powder- absolutely, as you can render fat from cheese. It sounds as though you've got some experimenting to do- good luck!

Delancey: The Pinnacle of Seattle Pizza

Delancey is ok- in my top 5 Seattle pizza joints, but The Independent in the Madison neighborhood blows it out of the water.