joethefoodie

I'm more like Jax. That's one smart kid. There may be contemplating involved, but it is more likely to be contemplating how can I get more?

Wednesdays are a major food delivery day. So - slow-roasted and unsmoked wild sockeye. Za'atar pita crisps - which are decidedly better using plain as opposed to whole wheat pitas. Tzatziki. Baba ghanouj. Gazpacho - which was actually pretty good. Lots of cilantro, scallion, chives, sherry vinegar, olive oil, jalapeno and Anaheim chilis, tomatoes. There was one complaint from my dining companion - that the gazpacho would be better served in an icy bowl, as opposed to an icy glass...💣

Well, some can scoop it out, but some can't evidently eat it.

An interesting cocktail - I looked through many of the (non-tiki) cocktail books on the shelf, and only found it in 2 - Meehan's Bartender Manual, and Wondrich's Esquire Drinks (a true classic). Here's what Dave had to say: So Dave's recipe (then): 1.5 oz. white or golden rum (Puerto Rican or, of course, Cuban) .5 oz. orange curacao .75 oz. French vermouth Dash of grenadine. Stirred, strained, twist of orange peel for garnish. Meehan says that Wondrich, a few years ago, found that the French vermouth used back in the day in Cuba was a sweeter Chambéry style. And Meehan's recipe is way different, as he feels that Cuban-style white rums are traditionally aged and filtered. Meehan: 1.5 oz. Havana Club Añejo 7 Años rum 1.5 oz. Alessio vermouth blanco .25 oz. Pierre Ferrand dry curacao .5 tsp. grenadine Dash ango Stir, strain, same garnish. He goes on to say that one great hack is to go to 2 oz. of rum, and dial the vermouth back to 1 oz. And subs Bacardi 8 if one doesn't have a bottle or 2 of the Havana Club. Oh - my only complaint about the picture of the cigar is that it's an Arturo Fuente, a cigar that was never manufactured in Cuba!

Thinking about this a little bit more, what I wonder if @voyager (and me, for a really long time) might not get is that there is a wide range between what might objectively (if that's even possible, since we all have different taste) be judged outstanding home ice cream, to what might objectively be judged the holy grail of commercial ice cream (and, for the purpose of this post, scoop shop ice cream). (i think, in many cases, ice cream in a scoop shop tends to be "fresher" (i.e.: churned more recently) than ice cream bought in a store, even if some scoop shop ice cream is made from a commissary prepared ice-cream base a million miles away.) And what I'm learning and have learned so far, is that use of let's call them non-conventional ingredients for what we both think of as homemade ice-cream to be consumed fairly quickly, actually can make even that ice cream that much better. And some of those non-conventional ingredients are actually ingredients one might already have in a pantry; cornstarch, for example. Some not - but basically, they're all just fancy names (like Trimoline and dextrose and Cremodan) for stuff used and in, well - everywhere. So used properly, they won't make you run for a glass of water (like some home-made custard based ice creams might do) post your ice-cream nirvana. They may even make you think - hey, this is so much better (even using, god-forbid, milk or cream from a cow I didn't milk this morning) than what I used to make with the rock salt and water. As a matter of fact, the flavor and texture may even convince me that even though my time is worth more if I were outside landscaping, my homemade ice cream is so much better, and brings my family and me so much joy, I won't spend the time going to my suburban grocery store to buy some 4 to 6-week old Humphry Slocombe ice cream, even though I think I know it's better, and uses better (and probably more) ingredients than I can even hope to procure.

Watch out that no one steals that tweet.

what?

Bloviatrix, are you talking about chunks or fully pureed?

I was totally wondering about the use of your foraged sumac berries. I was hoping to have my dried skim milk and tapioca flour by now, but I'll be making my next bases today without it I guess. Do you plan on cooking the peaches before you puree them, or do you use them raw?

Sounds good. The more "technical" stuff I'm reading about ice cream, and even in some of the recipes for ice cream at home, I've seen dextrose and trimoline; the Cuisine-Tech stuff not quite so much. Isn't the -64 used more for sorbets?

Got it.

what are you using now? There are some smaller footprint models (especially the one I'm coveting) that may not take up much more space than your current ice cream setup.

All kidding aside, I'd really like to know what's in your ice cream base, if you don't mind sharing.

A couple of days ago, rib eye was reversed seared, sliced a bunch with pan sauce. It was okay. Some leftovers found their way into fried rice this am. For some reason, I enjoy prepping Asian food. Shallots and garlic, shaved palm sugar, lemongrass and ginger, scallions and chives, chilis, lime juice and fish sauce. Not shown - a bunch of herbs, the eggplant and chicken. Chicken (the breast from last week's poulet rouge, which would've been infinitely better had I done some sort of marinade or brine), eggplant and potato red curry. Jasmine rice.The premade jarred curry paste from Thai Kitchen needs a big boost, in my opinion. Even more than all the aromatics (and there's a lot!) applied. Galangal, maybe? Lime leaves? Other chilis. etc. etc. Overall though, no comlaints. Significant Eater loves this stuff.

uh oh...It's not that far of a leap from spirulina to LaFreida.

Testing the Lello!

Dorie is all over it today...gasp! The Particular Texture and Joy of Homemade Ice Cream

Do you ever make ice cream with less than perfect ingredients?

Top, and bottom, of a frittata made recently, using two bits of leftover pasta; one with pesto, the other all'amatriciana. This style is more (I think) frittata-like than the puffier, custardy one made in a different pan.

It's funny, but I feel differently. Having to go to the market (at earlier than 7:45 evidently), and then planning out and buying a week's worth of meals based on what's there sounds way more fraughtful to me. Like what if on Tuesday I decide I don't really want to make that boar sausage? Or Wednesday, I really just want to have cheese, salumi, and breads and not cook? Now I've got excess stuff that if I don't use soon, might go bad? It keeps me a little more interested in cooking not knowing what I'm gonna make until like the day before or day of, based on what NOW is in my fridge or freezer.

Isn't the flavor ketchup?

Or..a compressor machine is your friend. I have both non-UHT (i.e. HTST) organic milk and cream being delivered today. Should have fun experimenting with a new flavor or two this weekend. Or just remaking the same stuff that smashed all over the floor.

I'm doing kinda the opposite; order a bunch of proteins and vegetables (not even knowing what vegetables will show up, but making sure I have basics like onions, carrots, celery) and then decide what to make. Every week, a chicken, some pork in one form or another, maybe some crab/shrimp, freezer still stocked with frozen wild salmon/halibut/duck breasts, etc. If I could only lose 5 lbs...

Improved chicken stew, based on Jacques' video recipe. Improved by subbing potatoes for sweet potatoes, subbing stock for water, and the addition of saffron. Only used the wings and legs (neck for me) of a poulet rouge. Finished dish with a crispy chicken skin garnish.

I wonder how often those premium brands defrosted and refroze on the way to the frozen food aisle at your local grocery store. Like when they stack it up in the aisle before putting it in the freezer. Or when it sits on a pallet on the loading dock. But really, why make anything at home unless it's fun? Or worry about the opportunity cost?