Really tried not to let the pesky book flogging cut into the food blogging, but it’s tough when airport concourses don’t have free internet access. I was delighted to return home to see, via serious eats that The Onion had included Elements of Cooking in its highly specific holiday gift guide under the heading, “For Amateur Cooks Who Like to Feel Guilty.” But I don’t want to invoke guilt. And I must reiterate, I am not saying to people use homemade stock instead of canned broth, I’m saying use WATER instead of canned broth.
Great idea for a story from NYTimes reporter Kim Severson, about time: the death of the entree. When I go to an ambitious restaurant, I don’t want a three-plop meal. Big piece of meat, big pile o’ starch and the because-it’s-good-for-you veg. Unless I’m going to a steak house, I want to see as much of that restaurant’s food as possible. Which is why I almost always order exclusively appetizers. Frank Bruni, in his blog, defends the entrée, but I can only believe that he longs for a single entrée because it’s the one thing he can never have at a restaurant—his work forces him to try as much as possible. I also think that if more people ordered several small courses rather than one huge entrée, we’d eat less and chefs wouldn’t feel like they have to serve us in super-size quantities.
And last, I was quoted in this story in the Washington Post about Michel Richard and his new restaurants and had a brief email exchange with the reporter, Jane Black, about her claim that “Today, [Richard] is able to take advantage of diners’ growing acceptance that the master chef isn’t always in the kitchen…” Is this true, are diners becoming more accepting of the chef’s not being in their restaurants? I hope so, because it will indicate that more people understand the nature of the business and the work of the chef, but I don’t know.
Mathias:
No on both! (Just kidding. No flames, please!)
Garlic Press:
Sometimes I use a knife, sometimes I don’t. It’s my food.
Canned Broth vs. Water:
Depends on what dish and how much. The best canned broth I’ve tasted is Butterball’s.
Entree vs. Small Plates:
I like both. If there is a great protein, a great starch and great veg. I will not care about the size or how it hangs over the plate, because when I’m ready to really eat, I want to really eat. I expect large portions in some places like steakhouses or Red Lobsters and the like.
Small plates=variety, because sometimes I feel like having a bit of everything. My only problem is the small plates that cost the same as an entree. That’s not going to work. LOL
My sister, a regular worshipper at the Church of Good St. Michael of the Perpetual Stock, kindly took the carcass from the turkey I produced at TG, turned it into stock, and gave me a bucket full. Talk about being spoiled by home-cooked! I can hardly wait to do something with it.
That was a long conversation about alot of different stuff.
I’m confused? Am I allowed to use a garlic press instead of canned stock?
Mathias: “Nyeso”
[digression]
See, that’s the inherent problem with single-thread comment chains in a blog site like this one … it’s not possible for side discussions to have their own dedicated threads, and therefore they have to manifent as extended digressions within a single thread, like a tapeworm – and heaven help your attention span if there are multiple such discussions going on, in addition to responses to the host author’s blog commentary.
Such things are managed a lot more easily in a full-up discussion forum, like mine.
[/end digression about single-thread comment chains vs full multi-thread forums]
Brad
Write to me at bob del Grosso at g mail dot com and maybe we can set something up -minimally, a tour. I’m planning to set up an educational program but won’t be getting to that until I have the product line ironed out.
BdG: E-mail sent.
Vincent:
The hubby has to go out of town SOMETIME. Then – oh, yes, THEN – I will strike.
The hottest book for Foodies this season is not a cookbook. The must-have gift for cooks who care is the newest reference book, The Elements of Cooking, Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen, by Michael Ruhlman.
Not to add to the canned/homemade stock flame war but for me the difference has as often been about mouthfeel and consistency as taste. I’ve never made veal stock, but I’ve made my own chicken broth for years — I just hoard carcasses in the freezer until there are too many and then make stock from them — while my own stock tastes cleaner than the stuff in the can or the box, it’s that gelatinous quality from all the bones and cartilage that I really love. It gives body to soups and sauces that the boxed stuff just doesn’t have. They’re so watery. And if you freeze some in ice cube trays, you don’t have to defrost a whole pint jar for a sauce.
Brad,
No smoke flavor that I have done before because it’s essentially an oven, but you could put some wood chips soaked with water or a bourbon or liquid (apple juice?) in the bottom of the caja with the pig or protein of choice. It might humidify the cooking process though – maybe better to smoke it first for a bit and then put it in the cooker.
Wilmita,
I’ve been put in my place – I will try to grate some of those plantains, yucca, bananas etc. and make that masa for those pasteles and suffer like the rest of you.
To deprive the lechon would truly be a disgrace…
As for the Sevilles – most had bugs in them (I got them today) but some were good so I am optimistic.
For the record Wilmita – just because I have seen it done and done it a few times I’m sure your lechon, pasteles and sides would trump me any day – we have inspired each other!
Caludia wrote:
“Vincent – how about that Caja, dude?!! Maybe I can sneak one into my back yard, seeing as how the hubby wouldn’t let me dig a BBQ pit. (Can’t imagine why.) Now THAT’S an appliance I can really get stoked about!”
That’s what is so cool about this box o fun Claudia – it’s like a bbq grill on crack. It’s essentially an oven made of wood on the outside and metal (foodsafe) on the inside with a bottom and top rack that can (and should) be tied together to hold whatever protein you are cooking. You have to turn the product you are cooking during the process, so the racks tied together are key. You can cook pigs, turkeys, chickens or whatever in it – the skin alone is worth the price. The website is easily googled and they are a bit expensive but if you take care of them they will last.
The hubby won’t mind because the coals go on the top of the caja – depending on the size of what you are cooking the coals are easily thrown away and you just clean out the box with hot water and soap. It’s hose friendly!
Re: the broth v water debate —
live some place where the water tastes like dead fish. You will quickly come to understand that boxed or even tinned broth is better than the water. And bottled water is rather more expensive than boxed chicken broth.
And don’t tell me about filters, please. The only filter I have ever tried that works even 50% of the time is simply too expensive to reasonably maintain for the home cook.
Brad, I don’t know how much smoke flavor the caja imparts yet – I’ve only seen them on TV, but wanted one so I could do a whole suckling pig. I hope our confrere in blogging, Vincent, will give us all the details when he gets his fired up and smoking. (I have to wait for the hubby to be gone all day to smoke ANYTHING, inside the house or out, which, admittedly, somewhat puts the kibosh on my caja/smoker/BBQ pit fun (!))
Jim,
While we’re in apology mode let me also apologize to you.
I read an article not long ago about shills hired by companies to defend their products and I suspected you of being a corporate shill.
I can see now that your passionate anger was legitimate and that you really were on the level.
Again, please accept my apology as well.
I will also make tostones, yucca and moros but everything else will have to be Italian and French dishes, as well as traditional American fare. No pasteles – I have to sleep sometime!
Vincent,
Awwww NO you don’t!
Since you’ll have SO much time while the lechón is SLOWLY smoking itself to such crispy, limey, oreganoid, garlickyness in la Caja China, (¡Ay, qué rico, estoy celosa!), you just better get right to it and grate some of those plantains, yuca, bananas etc. and make that masa for those pasteles and suffer like the rest of us!
You’d still have enough left for tostones and yuca con mojo.
HOW could you deprive a and good and proper lechón asado entero of it’s accompanying pasteles? Sacrilege, this!
Seville oranges, though expensive can be procured here in Latino markets, but nothing beats what your brother brought you.
I stand fully trumped! I won’t breathe a word to the 20+ people at my table this Christmas Eve.
You gotta share how it went. I am inspired.
Regards,
Wilmita
Vincent+Claudia: a friend of mine has a caja china, but I havent seen it used yet. Does it impart a decent amount of smoke flavor, or is it primarily a top-fired roasting box ?
Brief Aside:
French_Laundry_at_Home … I just visited your site, and enjoyed my first foray immensely. I added a plug for your Blog to my book review thread (which I just freshened slightly), and I’ll add you as well to the recommended links thread in the tap room.
http://www.ibdof.com/viewtopic.php?p=1833230#1833230
I’m looking forward to your foray into pot au feau. I’ve done a lot of bone-in lamb curries, and beef stew (both french and belgian), but I’ve yet to attempt a classic multi-cut PaF, much less Keller’s version.
/end aside
Bob D, may I retract briefly – I should not, have perhaps, spoken for you, but I did not think you were personally attacking anyone since your use of the word “cheat” was in quotes. I truly thought you were saying “shortcut”.
Jim, apology accepted.
Vincent – how about that Caja, dude?!! Maybe I can sneak one into my back yard, seeing as how the hubby wouldn’t let me dig a BBQ pit. (Can’t imagine why.) Now THAT’S an appliance I can really get stoked about!
BdG: I live on LI and would love to stop by the farm sometime. I’d be happy to swap free labor and good company in exchange for some free instruction, as your interest and availability permits. I already know a lot of the basics of working with smaller cuts and a few mid-sized primals, but I’ve never helped break down a whole hog (or any other non-poultry non-fish critter) into primals before … and I’d happily bring my knife kit and a big cooler of ice (unless you have an ice machine on site, in which case I’d only need to being a small chunk of dry ice) and purchase part of whatever we cut break down (including some offal). I could also bring a friend of mine who’s a CIA alumni, as well as a few goodies to eat/drink.
p.s. Brief intro – I’m one of the site/forum admins for http://www.IBDoF.com & http://www.IBList.com, and I host a culinary discussion over there called “The Tap Room”.
Ok, I gotta get back to classwork now …
Jim
Good, I’m glad we are cool. I’m not sure where you are but I’m in Pa and work at Hendrick’s Farms and Dairy in Telford, Pa. Come for a visit if you can.
I’m can’t promise we’ll have a an animal to butcher (We don’t do that everyday, thank goodness: it’s very hard work.) But there’s always something messy to do.
The farm is largely devoted to the production of raw milk and raw milk cheeses. I don’t have much to do with that yet though. My job is to develop a line of charcuterie and other products that use stuff that is produced on the farm and by other farmers in the area.
I still can’t believe how cool my job is. The stuff I get to work with is unbelievable. How many chefs get to work side by side with a robot that milks cows?
I’ve got pictures and links at my blog (A Hunger Artist) if you would like to see some of what I’ve been up to or get the address of the farm.
And another thing: I owe Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn BIG TIME for inspiring me to return to charcuterie with their book “Charcuterie.” It’d be hyperbole to say it changed my life, but sometimes it feels that way.
Love of charcuterie was one of the things that brought me into cooking way back in 1980. I tried to specialize in it as a chef, but there was very little market for it then. I did not actually give it up, but slowly but surely stuff dropped out of my repertoire until the only stuff I made was sausage and duck confit.
Then a few months ago, I picked up a copy of that book, realized that there’s a market for the stuff and ran with it. It’s an amazing craft, so f–king complicated and with so many subtle things to consider. It’s a lot like bread baking, cheese making, brewing and wine making. Thanks Michael and Brian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chef BdG: Speaking of butchery instruction, do you have a decent book you can recommend ?
The best I’ve encountered thus far is Pepin’s “Complete Techniques”, which is limited by too many B&W photos that are often too small to be as helpful as they could, and it’s not really specific to butchery specifically.
http://www.ibdof.com/IBDOF-author-booklist.php?author=3233&from=0
Bob,
Thank you for your fair and excellent replies. I take back the harsh things I’ve written about you. Clearly I’ve misjudged you.
In fact, I wholly agree with you that “cheating” will lead to an inferior product. The part that offends me is when one contemplates what “inferior” means. Does it merely mean “not as good”, or does it mean, “you’re eating excrement and are too stupid to know the difference or to lazy to care”? Sadly, there are far too many individuals who use culinary experience as a means of looking down on other people, and I think that’s really lame. I’m well-aware that American culture is in a period of change, one where many more Americans are gaining much more culinary experience (both in making good food and in enjoying it), and I think this is a tremendously good thing. Improving one’s diet is the most efficient way to enjoy life more, and that’s why I think snobbery doesn’t belong in the enjoyment of food. I hope that explains why I have such a visceral reaction to perceived snobbery: it is inimical to what I see as good, right, and wonderful because it’s intended to prevent people from enjoying food.
In terms of working with you, I’d frankly be honored if I ever had such an opportunity, especially if I had the chance to butcher a whole animal. My butchery skills are horrible, and that’s the kind of expertise that can only be gained through experience. If such experience is helped by a learned master, then all the better. I think the only thing that I’d feel squeamish about is killing, but that’s because I’m a city boy.
Thanks again for your response. I hope you’ll accept my apology as I accept yours.
Frankly, I’d have trouble making stock, particularly beef stock.
It’s not for a lack of time, or a lack of inclination. It’s more a lack of discipline.
We have four dogs in this house. Four rowdy, lovable yet willful dogs. If ever I were to bring a bone in the house, four pairs of eyes would be watching my every move. Four tails would marking time like four metronomes. And four canine brains would be in synch, waiting for the opportunity to arise, when my back would be turned for even the slightest instant, so that they could make an end run and help themselves.
Watching the littlest, a pug/terrier mix, run off with a bone three times the size of his head would make it all worthwhile, of course.
The only solution would be to make sure I’ve got enough bones for making the stock, plus four to spare. At least that way everyone would be happy.
Ruhlman: congrats on your nominations for the Well Fed Network Blog Awards. I voted for you.
Bob,
I’m gathering, then, that there is neither Swanson, or duck piss, in your fond d’agneau!
It’d be an honor to spend a day on the farm learning from you, or a year…..sincerely
other bob
Pardon my French but…
That was a fucking awesome story, Bob. Sincerely.
Hard- boiled middled adged women and beer refs – awesome.
This blog is such a trip!
Vincent
Thanks, I’ve been carrying that story almost 36 years. It’s a good one, and one I would not believe myself if I did not know Mike personally. Thanks for your faith. I’m sure Mike would appreciate it too.
Wonder WTF he is? Anyone here know Mike Finn?
Bob,
Totally believable because I have been surrounded by people like this for a few years now. What a great name as well – you have stories to tell but with a name like Mike Finn and the background he obviously has this guy has the resume for the best beer drinking session ever.
Mike Finn where are you?! LOL
TO EVERYONE!!!
I’ve found an awesome tip in one of Rachel Ray’s cookbooks…
She (somehow!) finds the time to use icecube trays to shorten the cooking process!
She fills each tray with water, freezes and then whenever she needs a small amount of water for sauces or stocks she just pops one or two in and… presto change-o!
Magical, my friends…Magical.
For the record…
One of my Sous went to a book signing this weekend at a Williams Sonoma (I think?) in Dallas and got a pic with said ice cube tray diva Rachel Ray and may I say…
Holy Crap
She looked great and my sous looks like a dumbass in the pic. A win win IMO – haha.
Also a win – win…
Bruno Maddox has a pretty good article in the December issue of Discover magazine about Molecular Gastronomy. Most of the food is dated but it is a good article and a GREAT magazine so check it out.
The best article (IMO) is about Hans Rosling and his challenge (and life’s work, to date) to enlist hard data in the global war on poverty and disease.
Jim,
I’m truly sorry if I offended you. If you want to use boxed or tinned stock that’s fine. It makes no difference to me if it makes no difference to you.
And as for the duck piss comment, that’s just a little bit of hyperbole that was in part inspired by something that happened to a poet friend of mine back in 70′s.
Mike (the poet) was seriously poor, brilliant yet incapable of making money. He tried to support himself as a “tree surgeon,” but he could never take cash and used to barter his services for cans of coffee and food etc. He couldn’t even bring himself to take money for the stuff he loved, making music and poetry.
Anyway, one summer day he decided to take the train out to Montauk. He used to go out there a few weeks at a time to hang out with some friends of ours who fished for a living.(One of them was a daughter of Captain Mundus, the guy who the shark killing sea dog in “Jaws” was based on. Can’t remember her name right now.) The train wasn’t air conditioned in those days and he was really uncomfortable, so he decided to go to the bar car and get a beer. Now he has to pay something like 1.50 for this Heneiken and it killed him to spend the money, but he’s mad hot and thirsty so he springs for it (WTF knows where he got the money from? Probably somebody handed it to him.)
He takes the beer and sits down next to this hard-boiled looking middle aged woman who appears to be a housekeeper heading out to a her job in the Hamptons. The lady immediately begins to eye his beer. Mike, trying to break the tension says “hello.”
The woman points at the beer and in a thick German accent says “Ach, Dutch duck piss.”
As for me being a snob. Well you should come to work with me one day and see what I do for a living and then tell me about what a snob I am. Just make sure to bring a sturdy knife and a strong stomach because we might just be cutting up a hog that day.
Duck piss tastes just like…
Chicken piss
Wilmita wrote:
“You are going all the way and doing the pork with a Caja China? Good for you! That’s hardcore.
Here it’s too cold for that, so I am going for several perniles delantados al horno, with all trimmings thereunto appertaining. (yuca, rice, gandules, pasteles, etc.)
Would you be doing pasteles as well, or is the pernil enough torture for you?”
Wilmita,
I will also make tostones, yucca and moros but everything else will have to be Italian and French dishes, as well as traditional American fare. No pasteles – I have to sleep sometime!
Wilmita,
BTW – my Brother just moved here from Miami (1 week ago) and brought me a box of Seville (sour) oranges – sure to make the pork awesome.
Claudia,
I disagree with your interpretation of Bob’s words. He stated that said short cuts would lead to an “inferior product”, and we already know how he feels about inferior products (“duck piss”). Basically, I believe he thinks that people who don’t cook up to his standards might as well be eating excrement and are either too stupid to know the difference or too lazy to care (or both!). Yes, he’s entitled to his opinion, but there’s a world of difference between saying “I don’t like boxed broth” and “Boxed broth is duck piss”. The former statement expresses a negative opinion about boxed broth whereas the latter statement expresses the same thing with an additional dose of contempt for those who don’t share his opinion.
Perhaps Bob will explain his usage of “duck piss” if it wasn’t to separate himself from those he deems inferior.
Additionally, I apologize for my harsh treatment of you.
Wilmita, I wasn’t attacking the mandolin. I was using it to show that a tool isn’t rendered worthless just because the tool’s function can be performed with the chef’s knife.
Dear Jim,
It’s hard to occupy me when you’re throwing around words like “retarded.”
But keep fighting the good fight against snobbery!
The Moral Highground,
Why should I fight that fight if it doesn’t occupy you? Outside of occupying you, life has no meaning.
Claudia
I suppose I should have defined my terms more carefully. When I wrote “cheat(s)” was not referring to short cuts per se. In my mind a “cheat” is something that you know is illegitimate.
It’s not your’s, you bought it or stole it, or plagiarized it and represented it to yourself or others as your own work.
A short cut can be a cheat, but sometimes its just a quicker way of doing something or getting somewhere. A short cut is not good only when it is a cheat or yields an inferior result.
In any case, I did not use the concept of a “short cut” in the comment that upset Jim.
Connor
Professional cooks use many short cuts. The best of them use only short cuts that yield superior results- just like home cooks do.
Jim
I wrote that “cheats” will always lead to an inferior product. And I stand by that. Of course, in order for the products to be judged “inferior” the person making it would have to be understand that he/she had “cheated.” I suppose that there are some people who knowingly use inferior products in the furtherance of their craft and don’t know it. But I doubt you are one of these.
My sense of you and the level of passion that I hear in your “voice” is that you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Be true to yourself my friend, and everything will fall into place.
Jim,
If you’re trying not to sound like a shill for Swanson, your efforts would be helped if you didn’t misrepresent what was written and hope people are too lazy (recurring Swanson theme) to check if you’re right.
And if you think bluster will help, piss off, Ducky!
Jim:
Bob was not referring to your personal integrity per se when he used the word “cheat”, but was rather using term as shorthand for a short cut. Chef Del Grosso is a former CIA instructor, BTW, and if he thinks canned (or tinned) stock tastes like duck piss, he is entitled to his very irreverent, funny (and colorful) opinion. Even if he wasn’t a professional chef, he’s still entitled to said opinion. (BTW, Bob, how DOES duck piss taste?!)
I really wouldn’get your back up so fast – at least Bob used open quotes using the word “cheat”, unlike your use of the phrase, “petulant bitch.” Ahem.
Gee, Jim!
Don’t go attacking the mandolin!
One of my favorite dishes to make is Tortilla Española de Papas. You are quite right one can slice the potatoes and onions thinly with a chef’s knife.
Since my name is Wilma and not Jacques Pepín, my speed and knife technique are, shall we say a bit lacking. And I LOVE those nice, thin layers of potato, egg and onion when I slice a wedge. Dicing just doesn’t give me the flavor or presentation I prefer.
Therefore, the old Bron saves the day for me in both speed and uniform thinness.
The right tool for the right job, says I.
Regards,
Wilmita
Bob — I generally agree with your statement above about how there are no “cheats” that don’t result in inferior products. I guess that’s what drives a lot of serious home cooks to make homemade stock, sausage, bread, ice cream, etc., even if the difference in quality is sometimes lost on (or not fully appreciated by) family and friends. To this last point, I once heard someone say that the difference between being a good home cook and a great home cook is knowing when, and how, to take short cuts. I believe this more and more, especially in light of all of the wonderful, local specialty grocers and bakeries out there. It certainly turns the idea of homemade = better on its head, or at least calls it into question. For example, if there’s an Italian bakery that cranks out fresh ciabatta every day in its professional oven, then buying a loaf of it from them is a shortcut that makes sense, while buying my chicken stock from Safeway does not. Although it’s kind of cliche, knowing when and where to buy ingredients (or finished products) really makes all the difference, for chefs and home cooks alike.
The P/A,
The point of explaining what I did last weekend was NOT to brag about any of my skills, but to explain why I found Bob’s accusing me of cheating to be so insulting, and, in that sense, I haven’t warped anything. I find his chef snobbishness to be very nasty, particularly in light of all the hard work I do to make good, real food.
In terms of arguing with a nicer approach, one good turn deserves another. For instance, telling me that I drink “duck piss” wasn’t a good way for Bob to start. Wouldn’t you agree?
Personally I love small plate dining for the variety and conviviality it can bring to dining out. Izakaya and Dim Sum are very popular here in Vancouver for just that reason. I do not miss the “meat and three” entree very often. However, when I do miss it is when I’m ordering a casserole or stew of some type, like a Cassoulet, Ciopinno, Bouillabaisse or Pho. Ordering the components separately would be less than the sum of their parts. The same with BBQ. The meat’s the star but what is it without Pinto beans, greens and cornbread? Darn it…now I’m hungry again.
As for the chef being in the kitchen. My brain says he/she doesn’t need to be there. In terms of brand management and expanding one’s reach it’s actually most productive for a chef to be completley redundant in their own kitchen(s). But, in my heart of hearts, that’s exactly what I want. I think Mathias has it right. It’s the connection I crave. I’d like the remote possibility that a chef who I admire and who has options about how she/he spends their time was actually taking the time to put together a meal just for me.
@ Jim: In defense of Bob delGrosso, you just warped everything he said about Water v. Stock into some tell-all about your own home-cooking skills.
Your points about using the resources you can afford are valid, but you are a nasty person!
And your nastiness makes a lot of people stop reading and caring about your opinion.
Try arguing with a nicer approach and people might warm-up to your opinions.
Brad,
Thanks for your replies. I’d like to answer, but right now I’m far too busy staunchly preferring the garlic press. It’s time-consuming, you see.
JIM: as for your assertion on water vs canned stock … I think you’ve already made your opinion clear. Repeating it over and over, and tossing in unnecessary ad hominems, is unhelpful, undignified, and distracting. Chill out a little.
Bob delGrosso adds,
“A general comment aimed at the folks who think that there is something wrong with Ruhlman’s advice to use water instead of tinned stock…
When you are really serious about anything, there are no ‘cheats’ that do not result in an inferior product. Cooking is no different from any other human endeavor in this regard. It’s one of life’s ineluctable dictums, I think.”
This really pisses me off.
This past weekend, I rendered four pounds of lard, slow cooked twenty pounds of smoked ham (that I had smoked myself for twelve hours after brining for twelve hours), and used that as the basis for making about one-hundred tamales. I do this every year for Christmas. There are no “short-cuts” involved. It is not a difficult process, but it is a slow, tedious, and time-consuming process that results in my most favorite hand-made food I can think of. The stock I used for the masa was the turkey / chicken stock which came, partially, from the turkey carcass left over from Thanksgiving. The chicken bones came from the chicken thighs I smoked, the meat of which went into the roasted poblano and green chile enchiladas.
And yet, from your words, the fact that I would not accept that we all be sentenced to a lifetime of eating WATER-diluted foods until we forsake our heathen ways of accepting inferior boxed chicken broth means that I must be some kind of cheapskate, a cheater, a fake cook.
I advocate that people learn to forsake time as the commodity in exchange for better flavor and authenticity. That doesn’t mean I’m going to tell people that they’re drinking “duck piss” until they choose to obey my dictums. Instead, I think people should do the best with what they can while working to be even better. Once people taste real homemade stock and figure out how they can work it into their schedule, then they’ll start using it more often.
I work hard to make real, good food. You denigrate my hard work simply because I didn’t abide by your stupid dogma. You embody the very notion of the pompous, snobbish chef.
{Aside: sorry for the flurry of posts today – I’m stuck in a boring training class}
JIM: I think the point is that a chef knife can be used to speedily process garlic in a wide variety of ways (from paste, to crushed, to cracked to minced, to chopped, to sliced, to whole), whereas a garlic press is a “unitasker” that only handles garlic one way (and often not the best way for a given dish), tends to clog, and also tends to harbor bacteria because it’s somewhat of a PITA to properly. In my experience, those who are staunch holdouts for preferring presses are those who tend to be reluctant to embrace improved technique.
And yes, for doing large amounts of sliced garlic, it’s easy enough to use a paring knife (faster at speed slicing garlic and mushrooms than a chef knife), food processor or mandolin, and to use a food processor or blender for large amounts of paste … but for anything less than large quantities, a chef or paring knife is almost always better for the amounts called for in most modest sized dishes – provided of course you learn how. It’s not very hard, nor does it take long.
Personally, I find it to be a slightly dubious undertaking to entrench and criticize someone more highly trained and experienced than myself for extolling the benefits of a simple technique that’s much more versatile and liberating. I’m always interested in learning different and possibly better techniques … and I’ll decide for myself which is best suitable for whatever I’m doing at the moment … but that’s just me.
Bob del Grosso,
Thanks for your opinion on the garlic press. Not everyone is a fan of every flavor.
As far as boxed broth being “duck piss”, that’s the same damn retarded chef snobbery. First, not all boxed broth is equal. As I mentioned before, Cooks Illustrated has done several tastings of commercial chicken and beef broths and found some to be disgusting while others were pretty good.
Read it again: pretty good. Not “stellar”. Just pretty good.
Cooks Illustrated (and I) freely admit that homemade stock beats commercial broth hands-down. However, if you set the bar of acceptability to be “homemade and nothing less”, then of course anything less is going to be “duck piss”. That kind of snobbery will lead you to wish that every ignorant, unappreciative rube out here to suffer eating food diluted with water until they learn to appreciate real food.
I cannot say this loudly or forcefully enough: to advocate WATER in place of better quality commercial chicken broth when in the absence of homemade chicken stock is nothing but stupid chef snobbery. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Not everyone here works in a god damned commercial kitchen all week long. If we did, then we’d probably have a pot of stock simmering on hand at all times! For most of us, food is a passionate hobby, not a vocation, and that means we can’t always have the very best that the culinary world has to offer.
And that does NOT imply that we should suffer with water-diluted food until we can, and there is no amount of snobbery that either you or Ruhlman or any other holier-than-thou chef can conjure to convince me otherwise, so ditch that bullshit!
Mr. delGrosso wrote:
“. . . that form of service entered NYC in the 80′s reached it’s apotheosis here in the 00′s with The French Laundry, Trotter’s, Per Se, et al. Now it’s trickling down and out to restaurant near you.”
Yes. This form of service has trickled way down and out, even to humble Pittsburgh, PA.
Going out on a limb here by saying this. . . but this form of service, or rather the concept of “small dishes make the meal,” has even trickled into the commercial food chain. That’s not a bad thing, especially for the American gut and butt.
Wendy’s, for instance, has a 99 cent menu, with small a la carte items (salad, chili, baked potato, mini-frosty).
I actually enjoyed a couple of small items from Wendy’s this afternoon.
The P/A wrote
“In any event, eating many small dishes as a meal is hardly some new dumb fad or even distinct to American yuppies.”
True, true. Part of what’s happening is a trickle down phenom. Inspired by Japanese culture many Michelin *** have been serving like this since the 70′s , that form of service entered NYC in the 80′s reached it’s apotheosis here in the 00′s with The French Laundry, Trotter’s, Per Se, et al. Now it’s trickling down and out to restaurant near you.
Anyway, Kim Severson and Ruhlman are blowing air like a couple of Vogue columnists. The entree cannot be declared dead until it disappears from Applebees and Outback.
Sheesh, talk about elitist
The Second paragraph was the most useful thing you’ve ever had on this blog. Kudos.
Claudia,
Thank you for your much-less-childish reply. Since you’ve chosen to write like an adult, I will respond in kind.
Using the flat end of a knife produces smashed garlic, not minced or pulverized garlic. If you want to emulate the effect of a garlic press with a chef’s knife, then you still have to mince. Or you could just use a garlic press and save a whole bunch of time. It really comes into its own if you have to process thirty cloves of garlic.
Your comparison of a garlic press to a salad shooter is wholly wrong. A better comparison would be to compare a garlic press to a mandolin slicer. Isn’t a mandolin slicer unnecessary? Can’t you make the same kind of slices with a chef’s knife? If that’s true (it is), then why do chefs use mandolin slicers?
Duh! I never thought of ordering just appetizers. Sounds fun! I do love small plates places. When I go to regular entree restaurants, I just taste everybody elses food…getting several appetizers would be much less rude
RE: Death of the Entree / In Defense of the Entree
I skimmed both Severson’s and Bruni’s take here. I’m with Severson.
I often want to try (and do try) what everyone else is eating at the table–as Ruhlman suggested–in order to get a better feel for the quality and range of the restaurant’s food. Simple as that.
I must speak about one of the NYT comments on Bruni’s article, written by “nina-nyc” on Dec. 5th @ 10:16 am. This commenter attempted to associate (if not blame) the “death of the entree” on young diners with the agency to eat well, stating:
“[i]t is harder and harder to go to some old and many newer restaurants because self-centered young people with no brains and too much money (and few good manners) are dictating how everyone should dine or eat.”
Could that have been Nina Zagat? I hope not. It would make me sad.
In any event, eating many small dishes as a meal is hardly some new dumb fad or even distinct to American yuppies.
Indian cuisine has long offered us multiple small dishes in steel ovals in a “Thali,” (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thali) and, as “misterybus” stated above, Chinese cuisine offers us Dim Sum. I adore both approaches to eating . . . and I’m not the only one. I actually have enjoyed both with various people of varying ages and financial agency.
People should be able to eat little dishes in multiples if it suits them. Geesh.
Getting back to the original Blog topic up top … I just read the linked articles by Severson and Bruni, and like MR pointed out, both raised some excellent points. However, I dont think the articles are as mutually exlusive as they appear at first glance.
Personally, I find that the entree experience is more the embodimenet of the traditional working family home cooking experience, whereas a tasting menu is inherently more restaurant and entertainment/adventure oriented. That’s the kind of thing you go out for because it’s more effort to do that sort of thing at home.
Like bruni, I love to occasionally tuck into a good porterhouse or a whole cornish game hen (standard fare at a society for creative anachronism fete), and stay with it until it’s done … but there’s definitely something to be said for the ability to take advantage of the appetizer format that allows a chef and their staff to really showcase their flavors and food philosophy.
It’s all good.
Although I do have a bit of a bone to pick with our society’s ongoing decline in attention span, I dont really see the rise of the “tapas / buffet” trend as a true threat to the traditional entree – there will always be entrees because that’s how we cook at home, and there will always be people who go out for home style cuisine … albeit done slower, better and with higher quality ingredients than they typically have at home.
There will always be chefs and customers for both approaches to the dining experience.
Jim
I’ve been cooking professionally for 27 years and have never owned a garlic press. I’ve used them, of course, but have found them all lacking.
I don’t care how easy they are to clean or how fast they crunch up the garlic, all of them funk up the taste. Pounding garlic with a mortar and pestle, pureeing in a blender or food processor, putting it through a meat grinder and smashing the damn things with a hammer all have the same effect. I am not a fan of pulverized garlic at all.
Of course, if you like really strong and bitter garlic, and don’t mind having to clean up, all of these tools are great for smashing up garlic -garlic presses included. (I’m not being sarcastic here.)
I will only cut garlic with a knife. If I need to cut a lot, I will chop it briefly in a food processor. But mostly I use a knife.
Why are Dim Sum restaurants so popular – because of the small individual portions. One from column A is enough thank you. Ever wonder why you get soooo many chips with your single piece of fish? Keep the pasty rice pilaf, I’ll do just fine wih a small steak and a green salad. Back when I was young and cleared tables for a living(?), it never ceased to amaze the amount of side dishes that got thrown away. Americans have always wanted just one or two things. We’ve just had more stuff on our plates because we could. But I have found that in most restaurants, speial orders DO “upset us.” I dislike mashed potatoes and gravy. I once requested that the chef hold the gravy. What I got was a double portion of potatoes – yuck. Bring on the “new” trend!
A general comment aimed at the folks who think that there is something wrong with Ruhlman’s advice to use water instead of tinned stock.
Anyone who is passionate to cook really great food but does not want to take time off from work to make it should consider a career in cooking. That way your work will be making great food and the problem will be solved.
Otherwise, just cook whatever you can afford to cook in the time you have available and don’t try to emulate Ruhlman or anyone else who scratch cooks as much as he does.
And be real. You cannot and you will not cook as well as he does -or any of the great cooks and chefs you admire for that matter- if you are not willing to do the hard work of making your own stocks, pasta, bread, cheese, cured meats and so on.
When you are really serious about anything, there are no “cheats” that do not result in an inferior product. Cooking is no different from any other human endeavor in this regard. It’s one of life’s ineluctable dictums, I think.
Bobby D, I think you said it all. No one is trying to be a “food snob” and guilt-trip anyone into feeling lazy or apathetic if you don’t make your own stock, etc. – but if you do care that extra little bit about your food, then, yes, you do make your own stock (or otherwise acquire home made), roll your own pasta, etc., etc. It’s as simple as that. There’s no judgments being made here, no condemnation – just “hey, if you want the best results -”
And Line Cook, you summed it up correctly, too. Sure you can use water in polenta – OR broth. Of course, as you know, it’s even more fun to add cream to it later, or grated parmesan. Just like you use broth in risotto – but, you know, those last few ladles of warmed white wine REALLY help (!)
Hey. It’s just a thought (!)
Whoops. Omitted “Agreed.” from the start of my post above.
DERVIN: Easy enough to make a quick chicken or fish broth on a spare burner – no roasting needed and minimal hands on time. However, brown broth/stock from red meats (veal, beef, lamb) are a different matter, and usually need roasting and mirepoix for flavor development, and long simmering times, plus reduction to glace … so (as a home cook) I normally do that only very occasionally (once every few months), on weekends. Better still, I’ll get together with a culinary buddy and make stock (usually while I’m helping him prep for one of his catered events) … and then diivy the results after it’s finished and reduced. BTW, having an outdoor cajun cooker, so that you dont tie up your stove, is a real boon.
In any case, the point of making glace is that you can get away with only making it very infrequently, and then using a small chunk of it as the magic flavor/texture bullet in sauces, stews and soups.
The trick is being able to learn and incorporate such techniques in a way that enhances your cooking, without unduly adding to your cooking time – and that’s where multitasking comes in.
bravo Claudia!!!!
FLaH: I’ve reviewed a few restaurants {not for money mind you – mostly for an old newsletter I used to do for a homebrewing / winemaking / gourmand club} and Ruhlman’s right … the best way on an initial visit to a new restaurant (or an established restaurant that’s undergone a kitchen staff change) to get a feel for sort of food they’re doing is to order a lot of apps … esp if you’re dining alone (such as when travelling) or dining in a small group of people – when entrees would be too much food. I usually olnly order entree(s) on a subsequent visit if their apps entice me to return … or if they’ve already been vetted by a reliable source.
It’s a standard way of initially canvasing an establishment.
I, too, am a fan of ordering multiple starters/appetizers in certain restaurants because I want to taste as many different things as I can. However, doing this so painfully and clearly highlights a common breakdown between front of house and the kitchen. Many servers aren’t sure how to enter the order into the system, and honestly, the expediter isn’t usually much help in that regard, and the timing of service is often thrown off.
I’ve also had the experience that servers will roll their eyes or give you crappier table service when you order multiple apps instead of one app and an entree, because they feel it means more work for them, and somehow a lower tip because they know apps cost less than an entree… even though 4 apps usually cost more than an entree.
When you find a place that can be flexible and do it well, it’s a beautiful thing.
Line Cook: I was starting to write almost the same reply to Jim while reading downwards, and then tossed my scratch sheet when I got to your post. Agreed on all counts except 1 – using stock for polenta. Allow me to digress for a moment …
{Digression: I generally use water as the liquid for polenta, as it doesnt need broth – salt, parm, and butter are all that’s needed. Semolina porridge however, benefits from a little help, as it’s a much more mildly flavored grain … so I use 50:50 broth and milk, in addition to the salt, and finishing with the usual parm and butter.}
Ok, back on topic.
First, you don’t have to use ten pounds of bones! Use a couple pounds.
Re water. As the story goes, michelin three-star chef Bernard Loiseau (who died by his own hand in 2003) made a splash, if you will, by promoting water-based sauces, and emphasizing lighter healthier cooking.
Paul Bocuse was walking in Paris with Pierre Troisgros talking about Loiseau. Bocuse motioned to the river along which the strolled, the Seine, and said, “Imagine how dismayed Bernard would be. To see all this sauce going by.”
Jim, I’m not petulant and I’m not a bitch. I’m also not given to name-calling. And using the flat of knife instead of garlic press is not “food snobbery” – just long practice. Long before someone throught to design and market the garlic press. Or the salad shooter. OR, for that matter, the egg slicer. And, yeah, anyone who has been using those fairly basic knife skills – whether a home cook or a professional – is naturally going to keep using them and be perfectly secure about doing so. I fail to see how that makes me or anyone else a “food snob”, but if it does, I’ll take the rap for that – along with all the other “elitist food swine” here. Oink, oink.
Bob del Grosso wrote: “but canned and boxed broth is what it is: duck piss.”
OK, I think that could be the end of canned and boxed broth for me, even in small amounts.
Dervin, I’m not a fan of the word “foodie”, and I can’t call myself a gourmet either. I can’t speak for anyone else regarding those terms, but I think most of us here just want to cook the best way we can.
I’m confused by this:
“We want the elite status without working hard, that’s why we call ourselves the childish “Foodies” and not the original term “gourmets.” As a “Foodie” we’re free, we aren’t tied down to any rules, “food is fun.” As opposed to the stodgy humorless gourmets. We want to be praised every step of the way, an honorable mention, a participant’s trophy for stepping up from the bullion cube to the canned stock to the environmentally friendly boxed low sodium free range happy animal organic stock. Oh wait, you want us to do more!!!”
Are you saying we should be willing to work harder, or that we shouldn’t be pressured to do so? Most of the home cooks I know are willing to do the extra work necessary to make good – sometimes even great – food, so I don’t get the suggestion that we’re lazy. That doesn’t mean we don’t sometimes use short cuts. We just decide what short cuts are acceptable to us.
With the increase of cooking shows that encourage the use of frozen pie crusts, jarred pasta sauce and frigging seasoning packs, I’m happy that there are also lots of people who want to cook good food, whether it takes a half hour or an entire day.
home-made vs. store-bought
This is one of those great battles that can only happen on the internet. When Hoi polloi search out the elites for advice, we expect to have some secret revealed to us. Instead, we get the two words Americans hate “work harder.”
No hidden tips or tricks, no $9.99 kitchen utensil, no trip to Williams-Sonoma, just “work harder, stop being lazy.”
We want the elite status without working hard, that’s why we call ourselves the childish “Foodies” and not the original term “gourmets.” As a “Foodie” we’re free, we aren’t tied down to any rules, “food is fun.” As opposed to the stodgy humorless gourmets. We want to be praised every step of the way, an honorable mention, a participant’s trophy for stepping up from the bullion cube to the canned stock to the environmentally friendly boxed low sodium free range happy animal organic stock. Oh wait, you want us to do more!!!
It’s tough, I was reading through the chapter on stock, almost chanting veal as my finger went down the page! My God it’s great! It’ll be so easy!! F*ck chicken stock! I’m going for the veal!!
And then…
8-10lbs of veal bones WTF!! How much is this going to take. I live by myself, I pretty much cook for myself and now I have to buy a 10 gallon stock pot in chinatown? Scrounge around every local butcher and supermarket for the bones I’m new to this area, buy a second roasting pan! It’s a culinary punch in the gut. Take out the pencil and paper and see how much I can change the suggestions. (I’ll still need to buy a bigger pot).
But there isn’t anything that I can’t do the knife skills are minimal, I can take a day off and work from home to keep an eye on it, I can afford $40 bucks for the stock pot.
It just might be cheaper to hang out by a good restaurant and bribe a dishwasher for a gallon of their stock. We’ll just have to wait for Bourdain to write that article.
Make sure to pour the non-homemade stock down the drain. And make sure poor people don’t try to catch it somehow…make sure it really and truly goes down the drain. They’ll settle for less; we won’t! And if you come across a non organic veg, toss it. Nobody needs eat any veg not organically grown. Let the peasantry fend for themselves, I say!
Ruhlman writes right
Use water instead of canned broth. You can always tweak the seasoning of [the]dish you make with water, but canned and boxed broth is what it is: duck piss.
Vincent,
You are going all the way and doing the pork with a Caja China? Good for you! That’s hardcore.
Here it’s too cold for that, so I am going for several perniles delantados al horno, with all trimmings thereunto appertaining. (yuca, rice, gandules, pasteles, etc.)
Would you be doing pasteles as well, or is the pernil enough torture for you?
S. Woody, you’ve saved a couple of people here. Many thanks!
Regards,
Wilmita
Ruhlman writes right
Use water instead of canned broth. You can always tweak the seasoning of dish you make with water but canned and boxed broth is what it is: duck piss.
S. Woody -
That book (happy in the kitchen) is awesome. The recipe for crimini cigars with ginger remoulade alone is worth the price of the book. His food is so clean and fresh.
To Wilmita -
As I have been thinking of what to make for this year’s xmas dinner you smacked me in the face with my favorite xmas meal of all. I lived in Miami (Miami Springs) for years and remember the pigs roasted in La Caja China – the tip that S. Woody gave would be perfect for the mojo de ajo!
One year I went to a market in Hialeah with a friend and picked out the pig, they killed and cleaned it for us and we were off. As a chef I was godsmacked to watch the process of that cooker – indirect heat on top over so much time. It was awesome! I also remember the older women at the party fighting over the “cuerito” and the inside of the pig’s head!
I ordered my new “Caja China” from Miami today and it will be here late this week. they are actually distributed in Medley, Fl. -it’s right next to Miami Springs.
Tis the season to be late to every party it would seem.
I really must add my pfennig to the comments on the canned broth-stock/water controversy.
I am one who has used canned and boxed for years completely without any apology. I am used to the flavor. I am comfortable using it. It makes my life easier. What’s wrong with that? Nothing.
I probably never would have bothered even making stock, ever — except I’m one of those souls who needs to watch their salt. At that point, it becomes, where is salt most helpful, yada yada.
I tried making the homemade, expecting it to taste awful and bland. I was wrong — happily and unusually so. I was used to salt water. Seriously. There was no comparison to me. My roasted homemade opened my eyes to what chicken and herbs and mirepoix tastes like — as opposed to salt water.
I would not be saying this if it wasn’t true for my palate and my taste buds. I love salt! I like roasted chicken stock better.
That said, I think line cook said it best. I don’t always have the time. I will go out of my way to use it for certain soups and things.
I see the trend here to try to call Ruhlman elitist and snobbish. I don’t believe that’s so. Being thoughtful about food, being open to try making a broth or experiment with water, ultimately leaves one with more freedom to choose. That’s a great gift, at least to me. In my eyes, its a reminder that creativity has a place in everyone’s kitchen, no matter the skill level of the cook. This seems to really bother some people, and I confess I don’t understand why.
Dear S. Woody,
Gee, thanks for that tip from Michel Richard! That would be great when I am making Yuca con Mojo for our Noche Buena, (Christmas Eve) Pork fest this year.
I would make plenty of mojo for dipping the “cuerito”, that crispy garlicky, lime, oregano-flavored skin of the Roast Pork. There is NEVER enough cuerito or mojo for my folks.
Thanks again.
Wilmita
Re: Garlic
I believe it is Michel Richard (in HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN) who advocates using a rasp file for making quick work of garlic. A few swipes over the cooking pan and the garlic is finely “minced” (actually grated) into the dish.
I’m not sure how this would work with some classic preparations, but I’m “just” a home cook and it works fine for me.
Just make sure you wash the file before using it to make bitty chocolate shavings for a special dessert.
Thank you, Michael.
Custom culinary is available at Central Market stores in texas, as well as on their website.
Also eggs benedict – most commercial canned stocks are made from bases with added salt. It tastes different, but is basically the same animal.
Base is a totally different animal than canned broth/bouillon.
Most at home cooks aren’t going to have access to bases
To the cooks out there who have access to it -Custom Culinary has a great “base” product that I use in these crunch times esp. during the holidays. They have a number of bases – chicken, beef, bacon, turkey etc. I used the chicken one today. The main ingredients are chicken and chicken fat, salt and egg yolk, amongst others. No MSG,etc. They have many other bases that work well with soups and stocks.
Water is awesome. It doesn’t work so well with the 2,400 people I fed yesterday without a depth aspect and to be quite honest I don’t have the warehouse space to make stock from scratch so…
Use what you can get. Taste your stocks and foods – if your using a base the salinity factor as you start the process of making a stock or soup or sauce is key.
Again – I am a fan of water, but it depends on what you put in it.
Michael, if you’re considering “The Elements of Dining,” can you please find an explanation for how we came to call the main course of a meal an entree. The French as we can decipher by the actual word call an appetizer an entree. It’s a french word and so they obviously got it right. How did we end up getting it wrong?
Man… I work hard and when I get a break or sometime to myself, I reach for the elements of cooking. I admire how Ruhlman is able to dig in and mine anything, be it an egg or water and make so multidimensional and …don’t know know what to say. KAPOWWW! seems reasonable. I mean tomorrow I will make hard boiled eggs…and they will take 20~30 minutes NOT THREE!!!!!! for the hour glass fans. And I expect to see a difference. But as I sit here on my tired bones… What I really think I would like is a CD version of this book without the goofy good eats antics and o’course without any visuals from Bourdain.
Excellent comment, line cook!
I can’t stand to think that I’ve wasted so much money on canned broth all these years when I could have been using water the whole time and I’m sick of people who are serious about food making me feel bad for being lazy and apathetic.
You know what? Fuck it. I’m going to Chili’s. Their food is acceptable and tastes just fine.
Jim out.
I can understand where Ruhlman is coming from on this whole stock vs broth vs water issue.
Canned stock tastes bad. A lot of folks just plain don’t realize how bad it tastes until they get some real home made stock in their mouths. It tastes tinny, oily, salty, and generally “fake.”
The box stuff tastes a little better, but it still tastes bad. It’s not as tinny, and it’s “usually” not as oily, but it certainly still tastes fake or flat.
Ruhlman isn’t saying “if you have a cup of canned broth, use a cup of water instead.” That’s just stupid. He’s saying make adjustments to your recipes and use water if you can’t be bothered to make stock.
Stock brings a lot to the table, and broth tries to emulate it. It brings savory notes, a bit of salt (even the best stock has some salt from the remnants of blood and meat in the bones), and the mingled flavors of the vegetables and animal. If you just dump a cup of water into a recipe in its place, of COURSE its not going to taste as good. I don’t think that’s what Ruhlman is asking you to do. Take that cup of water, put a nob of butter or bacon grease or something in it, maybe a quick dash of msg or salt, maybe a lil onion/garlic powder, and heat it briefly, then add it to your recipe.
The reason Ruhlman wants us to use water rather than canned broth is that the water at least doesn’t taste artificial or tinny. You toss broth into your recipe, you are going to taste about 70% broth and 30% other flavors. At least with the water you can taste something other than Swanson’s devillish brew.
Ruhlman isn’t angry that you get the same taste from a 2 second pop of a can that he does from hours of work on a good stock. He’s angry that people settle for mediocre food that tastes like garbage. He wants your food to taste good. He wants you to realize that while canned broth adds flavor, it also adds flavors you don’t want.
re: canned broth vs water Which is better?
The answer is, it depends on what you’re doing.
Making a pan sauce? Water. Can’t use the canned for sauces at all. The final sauce will suck. Period. Classical sauce? Neither. You gotta make stock for that, or cook something else. A slow braise? Obviously water. Really. What’s in your braising vessel? Some meat(s), probably on the bone. At some point there’ll likely be some veg and aromats in there, too. You’re already making stock!
However, there are some things canned/boxed is better for. Grits/polenta, rice pilaf, even lentils if they’re gonna be served hot. In each of these instances, a quality boxed is better than water.
Soup? Depends on what soup you’re making and what the purpose of the soup is. If it’s to make the best soup you possibly can using anything but homemade stock, then it’s water, or at least not canned/boxed. Frequently though, I’ll throw some minced garlic and ginger (I use a knife at home, a food processor at work) in my saucier, deglaze with a splash of white wine, the dump in some Swanson’s low sodium (of the 4 different boxed chicken broths I’ve tried, this was easily the “best”). Occasionally I’ll throw in some assorted veg, but more often than not, it’s just a handful of frozen peas. Ladle it over some cooked-off glass noodles, a squeeze of lime, a little sambal, maybe some chopped scallion greens and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, and I’m pretty content. Besides, glass noodles make me happy.
For some odd reason, I have always preferred to order a series of appetizers to ordering entrées, even before it became fashionable.
The variety of tastes, textures etc. does more to satisfy my appetite than a single appetizer followed by a huge entrée where the entire thing is not what I wanted anyway nor could I finish it.
I am glad this is no longer such an anomaly. However, I am afraid my custom of never ordering dessert, (except fruit and/or cheese occasionally), will not catch on any time soon.
Red Beans and Ricely Yours,
Wilmita
Jim wrote: “You’ve not only described snobbery, but you’ve described it in a manner highly reminiscent of a snobby and petulant high-school bitch.”
Oh, good Lord, was that even remotely necessary? There’s no reason to turn a discussion about stock/broth/water into a name-calling session. It’s a conversation about food. There’s no need to start flinging insults.
Also, if Michael Ruhlman thought we were just a bunch of idiotic, clumsy home cooks, I doubt he’d take the time to maintain two blogs, write books and spend time talking to his fans. He allows open discussion here, and is always polite, even when he’d be justified in telling someone to fuck off.
I don’t fully agree that water is better than canned broth. I use canned broth in small amounts in a lot of what I cook – never more than a cup. But I don’t take his opinion that water is better as some sort of personal insult to my cooking ability. If I really disagree with his opinion on a particular matter, I’ll just ignore it.
Re: entrees… Small plates and nibbles are a lot of fun. I get a little weary of the tapas-fusion thing though. Too many small-plates are billed as tapas. To me tapas is tapas, not just small plates or apps.
But how about the family-style ‘super-entrees’? I’ve been seeking out those special serves 2 or more items that require some advance notice. Think Zuni’s roasted chicken… seek & eat with friends.
Re: lack of airport wifi: Consider blogging with your phone! I’ve done it from a treo and my thumbs still work.
CG
As an example of sharing plates at a restaurant table, there’s one cuisine where it’s always been a tradition: Chinese. Pile some rice on your plate as the base, and add a bit from this bowl, another bit from this other bowl, and so on. And go back when you want for another taste of this or that. And the more, the merrier.
It’s great to hear from Kim Severson…I’m guessing her days at the Anchorage Daily News must seem a distant memory! I have to add that I haven’t ordered an ‘entree’ in a restaurant for at least 15 years! Whenever we go out it’s hard to even commit to one restaurant in an evening let alone one dish…often we will start at one place for drinks and snacks and then on to the next place for the next ‘course’.
In these days of chemi-homemade, you have to remember that Madeleine Kamman and Julia Child wrote those books when knowledge about real food was “exotic” and the broth ingredients list didn’t look so much like a chemistry set (if there was an ingredients list then.)
Depending on the quality of the restaurant the “celebrity chef” may not be in the kitchen but hopefully the sous chef is. Remember that in most kitchens the “standard” menu is being prepared by a brigade of (mostly) Hispanics who prepare things EXACTLY the way they’ve been taught. But that guy who walked up from Oaxaca and climbed over a fence in Nogales just to cook your dinner in San Francisco is probably not going to be contributing to the new French menu. At least not right away.
Restaurants strive for consistancy, but when the menu doesn’t change it gets boring. The chef needs to be in the kitchen often if not every night. I could easily just order take out Chinese.
I think one reason chefs pursue celebrity is to get the hell out of the kitchen for good. Why? Because it’s really hard work. Even Rabelasian figures like Batali seem to spend more time in the front of the house than the back even if he is wearing the white jacket.
And does anyone else think that “Top Chef” should be rechristened “Knife with Bad Haircut”? Make that boy wear a toque.