The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[BWIVince]

Hmm, -7C blown clear vs. -2C with 18" of snow.  Tough choice!

 

Now that we know UPS and FedEx's cold shipping capabilities, Roy and I can have boxes of snow to anyone interested!  😀

 

Vince

[BEAV]

50 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

Hmm, -7C blown clear vs. -2C with 18" of snow.  Tough choice!

 

Now that we know UPS and FedEx's cold shipping capabilities, Roy and I can have boxes of snow to anyone interested!  😀

 

Vince

I’d take you and Roy up on the offer, but since it would arrive in California liquified, I’m afraid some on this board would want to call it a gravy and pour it over something.... 🙄

Edited December 16, 2020 by BEAV

[rafinmd]

Having grown up in Syracuse I feel for those still subject to "gifts" from Lake Ontario.  I've been fortunate to be on cruises for most of the recent snows here, and this one is not all that bad but there will be 2 waves of snow, separated by several hours of rain and possibly freezing rain.  If I were still working I would be driving home through the worst of it.

 

I hope most of it will be gone in the morning.

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

Vince,

 

I just read an interesting article in Washingtonian mag about how local hi-end restaurants are adjusting during the pandemic.  The following made me think of you:

 

Miss Sushi Taro’s splurge-worthy omakase? The counter is still closed but chef/owner Nobu Yamazaki will come to your home and slice up fish flown in from Japan. The cost: $1,600 for four.

 

Just let us know when to drop by.   

[BWIVince]

28 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Having grown up in Syracuse I feel for those still subject to "gifts" from Lake Ontario.  I've been fortunate to be on cruises for most of the recent snows here, and this one is not all that bad but there will be 2 waves of snow, separated by several hours of rain and possibly freezing rain.  If I were still working I would be driving home through the worst of it.

 

I hope most of it will be gone in the morning.

 

Roy

 

+1, Roy...  This is where a lot of people are thankful to still be working from home because of the pandemic too.  The snow switched to sleet about an hour ago here, and everything looks like a mess.  We got about 6 or 7" in the first wave before it switched, and I'm glad I resisted the itch to start shoveling, because this will be a lot easier to clean off the snow-ice-snow parfait when the crunchy layer is in the middle and not the bottom.

 

26 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

Vince,

 

I just read an interesting article in Washingtonian mag about how local hi-end restaurants are adjusting during the pandemic.  The following made me think of you:

 

Miss Sushi Taro’s splurge-worthy omakase? The counter is still closed but chef/owner Nobu Yamazaki will come to your home and slice up fish flown in from Japan. The cost: $1,600 for four.

 

Just let us know when to drop by.   

 

Our similar article in Frederick Magazine is laughably more mundane than that.  😊  That sounds amazing though -- think they'd give a discount if we were only 3 people?  haha

 

One thing I am grateful for, is our state government's switch to allow carry out liquor sales when the pandemic started, considering how much of a restaurant's margins depend on liquor.  We have some amazing mixologists up here, and I'm happy to support my favorite restaurants by buying their to-go signature cocktail pouches on top of the carryout meals.

 

Vince

[rafinmd]

3 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

and I'm glad I resisted the itch to start shoveling, because this will be a lot easier to clean off the snow-ice-snow parfait when the crunchy layer is in the middle and not the bottom.

I came to the same conclusion.

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

On 12/12/2020 at 2:07 PM, BWIVince said:

@KenzSailing, Did I offend your sensibilities with the gas station sushi reference?  😀

 

Vince

 

OK, to circle back to gas station sushi(which, BTW, is the name of my garage band.)

 

If I understand your point, you were comparing the evolution of kaiseki style sushi to mass(ie gas station) sushi to my point about the "fragmentation" of so-called ethnic cuisines in the US. (Thinking further about it, fragmentation is better described as diversification.)

 

The two points are similar, but not identical.  The key distinction is I'm describing a horizontal market development, while you are referencing a vertical one.  

 

What I mean is I'm describing varieties of cuisine that exist within a regional style at the same price point.  Like my example of "Mexican" vs "Tex-Mex."  This all happened at restaurants charging similar prices, all in the low-mid to mid price range.

 

But I think what you're describing is a cuisine moving to a different price point, in this case, down market.  It's not so much consumers discovering some new style of sushi as it is looking for the same product at a much lower price point.  Interestingly, markets can move in the opposite direction (eg, Frontera Grill makes Topolobampo possible.)

 

But what do I know?  I'm originally from that part of the country where we eat our red meat rare and our fish cooked, a preference I have never lost.

 

 

[Roland4]

4 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Having grown up in Syracuse I feel for those still subject to "gifts" from Lake Ontario.  I've been fortunate to be on cruises for most of the recent snows here, and this one is not all that bad but there will be 2 waves of snow, separated by several hours of rain and possibly freezing rain.  If I were still working I would be driving home through the worst of it.

 

I hope most of it will be gone in the morning.

 

Roy

 You call THAT a snowfall?? I'm not even sure we would see the plows for that little bit!!😁😁

[ChatKat in Ca.]

On 12/15/2020 at 9:35 AM, KenzSailing said:

 

Well in fact I have a three rib beef roast quietly burbling away in its sous vide bath, getting ready for tonight's dinner.  Going to break out the ricer and make some potatoes Robuchon to go with it.  Yum!

Which Sous Vide device do you have? 

 

And the potatoes that Jon Ashton did before Thanksgiving are pretty on par with Robuchon;s.  So good I am making them again for Christmas. And yes, they are riced.

 

[KenzSailing]

19 minutes ago, ChatKat in Ca. said:

Which Sous Vide device do you have? 

 

And the potatoes that Jon Ashton did before Thanksgiving are pretty on par with Robuchon;s.  So good I am making them again for Christmas. And yes, they are riced.

 

 

Kathy,

 

I have a Joule.  It's a little pricey.  They have two models, one a little less expensive than the other.  The only difference is cosmetic.

 

Another very well thought of option is the Anova.   I believe that's a little less expensive.  

 

Plus points to the Joule:

 

Comes to temperature quickly

Holds an extremely steady temperature

Very small profile(the thing is literally the size of a relay race baton, with an electric cord sticking out the side) This is a plus as it means more room for whatever you're cooking

 

Potential downside:

 

You can only control it via an app on your phone(it literally has one physical button that turns it off. That's it.)

 

Now, I'm going to get on my sous vide soapbox.  This gizmo is the single most important assist to my cooking I've ever had.  Don't get me wrong: it's a one trick pony, and the trick is precise temperature control.  But that is a very, very good trick for cooking proteins.  All my waxing poetic about cooking standing rib roasts?  I do that now because I have complete confidence in the outcome. (Yes, you can also get there with a good instant read thermometer(BTW, that's a Thermapen, and I have one) but now you're dealing with overshoot during resting time, etc.)  A sous vide cooker is so, so precise.  And there's virtually no chance of overcooking while you're taking a few minutes to finish that glass of pre-dinner wine(score!)

 

One big downside: it you're cooking for two or more and they like their proteins at different temperatures, well now you need separate devices and separate water baths(sheesh.)

 

Finally, if you go down this path, search on Cambro containers.  You'll end up there eventually.

 

Happy cooking!

 

PS: OLoPP wants everyone to know the standing rib roast she brought home was on sale.  She's very much in the "this whole outfit? 40 dollars!" mold.

[Coral]

10 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

I use Yukon Gold potatoes.

 

OK, small confession: I don't make the exact Robuchon recipe, but one that gets me to about the same place.  I peel and cut up the raw potatoes.  The trick is, I then cook them in a milk and butter mixture.  This prevents the potatoes from absorbing water(which is what cooking them skin-on in water is also designed to prevent) without any burned pinkies from peeling hot potatoes.

 

I mean, I'll do anything for spuds, but I won't do that.

Thanks for the tip. I have heard milk but haven't tried it. Maybe this year I will boil in milk and  butter.

Edited December 17, 2020 by Coral

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Check out the Chef Jon Ashton segment before Thanksgiving on the Crystal Blog.

After I boiled the potatoes, I left them cool and the peel came right off. Then I put them in the ricer. Finally added the warm cream, milk and butter.

 

Thanks for the Sous Vide tip. 

 

In the Desert it will likely be nice enough to grill my rib roast. I will sear it on the grill and then cook it via indirect heat.

[BWIVince]

10 hours ago, Roland4 said:

 You call THAT a snowfall?? I'm not even sure we would see the plows for that little bit!!😁😁

Haha. In fairness, that picture was when the storm started...  The 4 hour sleet and freezing rain phase in the middle of the storm tamped down the overall accumulation here at my house, but we got about 7” overall here.  Not the 18” they were calling for yesterday morning for sure.  (I live a little closer to the hills than Roy does.)

 

Vince

[rafinmd]

12 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 (I live a little closer to the hills than Roy does.)

Ouch!  I actually had just gotten back from buying groceries when I took the photo and had chosen the store where there were no hills.  I still slipped a lot more than expected and would not wanted to face it with hills.  I decided NOT to go to the UPS store to pick up my mail.

 

Roy

[BWIVince]

2 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Ouch!  I actually had just gotten back from buying groceries when I took the photo and had chosen the store where there were no hills.  I still slipped a lot more than expected and would not wanted to face it with hills.  I decided NOT to go to the UPS store to pick up my mail.

 

Roy

 

I don't blame you -- it's slick as anything here!  The ice layer in the middle of the winter parfait is a LOT thicker than it was last time this happened, and it's really hard to get through it to leverage the little soft snow underneath it that wasn't melted/compacted.  I live in a neoclassical-type townhouse with the street in the front and parking in the back on an alley, and the city plowed the street two times, but only plowed the alley right before the sleet started, so that's a complete disaster.  I'll clean up the sidewalks and the truck, but I'm staying put till the ice melts on the roads.

 

 

Vince

[ctjon]

Keep upping the total forecast here in Maine - gee I'd rather be on a cruise ship

[rafinmd]

Stay safe ctjon.  I saw on the news this morning that Binghamton, where I went to college, got 40 inches.  My December 17 sunrise is from the Prinsendam Amazon trip, on a sea day:

 

 

Roy

[Roland4]

28 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

I don't blame you -- it's slick as anything here!  The ice layer in the middle of the winter parfait is a LOT thicker than it was last time this happened, and it's really hard to get through it to leverage the little soft snow underneath it that wasn't melted/compacted.  I live in a neoclassical-type townhouse with the street in the front and parking in the back on an alley, and the city plowed the street two times, but only plowed the alley right before the sleet started, so that's a complete disaster.  I'll clean up the sidewalks and the truck, but I'm staying put till the ice melts on the roads.

 

 

Vince

 Okay, now THAT qualifies as a winter storm!!! And we will happily let you keep it!! I really hate freezing rain! You and Roy stay safe in that stuff!!

[Grandma of Lily]

Oh wow!  In the UK everything stops if we have more than 2"!

Sandie

[KenzSailing]

Meanwhile, here in Chevy Chase, the hardy locals are digging out from under the 1/2 inch of snow we got yesterday.

 

Definitely a grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch day.

[Coral]

13 hours ago, ChatKat in Ca. said:

Check out the Chef Jon Ashton segment before Thanksgiving on the Crystal Blog.

After I boiled the potatoes, I left them cool and the peel came right off. Then I put them in the ricer. Finally added the warm cream, milk and butter.

 

I bought a ricer a few years ago and have never used it. Next week will be the week 🙂 

[rafinmd]

2 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

Meanwhile, here in Chevy Chase, the hardy locals are digging out from under the 1/2 inch of snow we got yesterday.

 

Definitely a grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch day.

No real digging out here but getting my frozen driver's door open was a real challenge.  I've cleared off much of the sidewalk where the sun hit but there's still a lot of melting needed.

 

Roy

[oakridger]

And that ^ my friends is why on a warm spring day in 1976 I packed my car and left Columbus, Ohio for good.....I've been here in the San Francisco area ever since!!  It sure is pretty to look at the snow from indoors though.

 

Be careful folks!

~Nancy 

[BEAV]

6 hours ago, oakridger said:

And that ^ my friends is why on a warm spring day in 1976 I packed my car and left Columbus, Ohio for good.....I've been here in the San Francisco area ever since!!  It sure is pretty to look at the snow from indoors though.

 

Be careful folks!

~Nancy 

 

[BWIVince]

9 hours ago, oakridger said:

And that ^ my friends is why on a warm spring day in 1976 I packed my car and left Columbus, Ohio for good.....I've been here in the San Francisco area ever since!!  It sure is pretty to look at the snow from indoors though.

 

Be careful folks!

~Nancy 

I moved here from San Francisco in the 90’s for personal reasons, and I miss SF frequently!

 

14 hours ago, rafinmd said:

No real digging out here but getting my frozen driver's door open was a real challenge.  I've cleared off much of the sidewalk where the sun hit but there's still a lot of melting needed.

 

Roy

You all east and south of me really lucked out.  All that snow we got before the sleet got really wet and heavy.  I got the front sidewalks shoveled, and about 5% of my parking pad shoveled before I had to stop because of my bad back.  By now it’s all frozen solid, so plan B is just to put the truck in 4wd and slide in and out until it melts next week.

 

I read that the Maryland State Police said we got the brunt of the storm, with over 50 of the 300 accident responses on Wednesday.  We’ve been shockingly lucky the past few years with the storms going around our valley, so we were overdue for it.

 

Vince