i brought some plain chocolate truffles to our birthing class tonight, because otherwise i don't know how else i was going to use the chocolate blocks leftover from the last burning loaf. some reviews include "sick" "stupid" and "off the chain".
i'd forgotten how good the plain chocolate truffles can be. i lost my way in serpentine innovation. besting classics is best left to the bold or foolish.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Drink: Cocktails, Part I
the first cocktail that rocked my world was a margarita from picante. i stood and watched it happen: a generous pour of tequila, a splash of triple sec, and real lime juice. not a mix. that blew my mind. jen, dm, ab, and i put away three pitchers over a prolonged taco orgy and post-dinner slurfest. later, one of us fell into a pile of tires.
and so i learned: a cocktail should be, simply, great or at least very good liquor, and fresh juice.
the next benchmark was a sidecar from the lounge at michael mina. this was the first time i'd had a non-margarita cocktail that didn't taste like cough syrup. and that was all the excuse i needed. that was my drink of choice for the next few months; i've had many sidecars since and most of them have in fact tasted like cough syrup.
the current benchmark is co-owned by scott beattie from cyrus and colin macdougall and david wolowidnyk from west. from scott, i love the waverly place echo (mandarin, kaffir lime leaf, five spice) and pelo del perro (grapefruit, coconut, and smoked salt). the latter might be my favorite drink of all time. from colin and david: kaffir fling (kaffir, ginger, orgeat, lime), pie (pumpkin and spice), four o'clock (bourbon, vanilla, orange blossom foam), passage to india (mango, jalepeno, cilantro, curry), and a half-dozen others they've invented on the spot.
parts II and beyond: notes on my latest experiments, drinking experiences and reports
- tkw
and so i learned: a cocktail should be, simply, great or at least very good liquor, and fresh juice.
the next benchmark was a sidecar from the lounge at michael mina. this was the first time i'd had a non-margarita cocktail that didn't taste like cough syrup. and that was all the excuse i needed. that was my drink of choice for the next few months; i've had many sidecars since and most of them have in fact tasted like cough syrup.
the current benchmark is co-owned by scott beattie from cyrus and colin macdougall and david wolowidnyk from west. from scott, i love the waverly place echo (mandarin, kaffir lime leaf, five spice) and pelo del perro (grapefruit, coconut, and smoked salt). the latter might be my favorite drink of all time. from colin and david: kaffir fling (kaffir, ginger, orgeat, lime), pie (pumpkin and spice), four o'clock (bourbon, vanilla, orange blossom foam), passage to india (mango, jalepeno, cilantro, curry), and a half-dozen others they've invented on the spot.
parts II and beyond: notes on my latest experiments, drinking experiences and reports
- tkw
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Food: Chocolate Truffles Part I
most people think chocolate truffles should be like this:
or this:
they are correct to the degree that literature should be like the davinci code.
what i want from a truffle is this. i don't want a pretty drizzle design on top. i don't want a shiny gloss and a hard snap. i don't want a capsule of goo. i want a delicate, buttery texture. i want the sharp, dry bitterness of cocoa powder, yielding to a deep, mellow richness of dark chocolate and butter.
another great thing about truffles is that they are fairly easy and inexpensive to make. i will tell you how.
8 oz dark chocolate*
6 T butter
1/4 c water
1/2-1 egg yolk (pick out the chalazae)
1/4 c cocoa powder**
(*assuming trader joe's 70% dark chocolate. i prefer 60%, or a mix of dark and milk. if you use a lower %, you can cut the butter to 5T, and if you use the 70% you may want to add some kind of (liquid) sweetener. generally speaking, the less you enjoy eating the chocolate as-is, the more butter and sweetener you should add.)
(** i'm no expert but i like cacao barry)
break the chocolate into chunks by wrapping it in plastic and pounding on it with something hard. put the chocolate, butter (cut into pieces), and water in a bowl, and alternate between microwaving for 15 seconds and stirring with a spatula. the bowl shouldn't get hot; between turns you should stir the chocolate enough to cool the bowl to lukewarm.
once the mixture has melted and its temperature has come down to lukewarm, whisk in the egg yolk with a wire whisk. pour the mixture onto a sheet pan lined with plastic or parchment paper, or some other kind of pan or mold. lay some plastic on top and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
put the cocoa powder into a ziploc freezer bag. (note, if you are doubling the recipe you don't need 1/2 c powder, probably just 3/8 c)
after the chocolate has firmed up, remove it from the fridge and dump it onto a clean, odor-free cutting surface. cut the mixture into approx 1/2" squares or cubes using a pizza cutter. the pieces may be uneven and stick together (a lot). this is ok.
after you've cut or scored the chocolate, put it in the ziploc bag and shake to coat the chocolate. break the pieces up and shake some more until each piece is coated in cocoa powder. (note, the softer the chocolate is when it goes into the bag, the more powder will stick to it. this is good or bad depending on your taste. also, you should have some cocoa powder leftover, ok to save the excess or return it to the container.)
there! you are done. you now have a decadent treat and a lifelong superiority complex.
part II: notes on my experiments with different flavors
- tkw
or this:
they are correct to the degree that literature should be like the davinci code.
what i want from a truffle is this. i don't want a pretty drizzle design on top. i don't want a shiny gloss and a hard snap. i don't want a capsule of goo. i want a delicate, buttery texture. i want the sharp, dry bitterness of cocoa powder, yielding to a deep, mellow richness of dark chocolate and butter.
another great thing about truffles is that they are fairly easy and inexpensive to make. i will tell you how.
8 oz dark chocolate*
6 T butter
1/4 c water
1/2-1 egg yolk (pick out the chalazae)
1/4 c cocoa powder**
(*assuming trader joe's 70% dark chocolate. i prefer 60%, or a mix of dark and milk. if you use a lower %, you can cut the butter to 5T, and if you use the 70% you may want to add some kind of (liquid) sweetener. generally speaking, the less you enjoy eating the chocolate as-is, the more butter and sweetener you should add.)
(** i'm no expert but i like cacao barry)
break the chocolate into chunks by wrapping it in plastic and pounding on it with something hard. put the chocolate, butter (cut into pieces), and water in a bowl, and alternate between microwaving for 15 seconds and stirring with a spatula. the bowl shouldn't get hot; between turns you should stir the chocolate enough to cool the bowl to lukewarm.
once the mixture has melted and its temperature has come down to lukewarm, whisk in the egg yolk with a wire whisk. pour the mixture onto a sheet pan lined with plastic or parchment paper, or some other kind of pan or mold. lay some plastic on top and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
put the cocoa powder into a ziploc freezer bag. (note, if you are doubling the recipe you don't need 1/2 c powder, probably just 3/8 c)
after the chocolate has firmed up, remove it from the fridge and dump it onto a clean, odor-free cutting surface. cut the mixture into approx 1/2" squares or cubes using a pizza cutter. the pieces may be uneven and stick together (a lot). this is ok.
after you've cut or scored the chocolate, put it in the ziploc bag and shake to coat the chocolate. break the pieces up and shake some more until each piece is coated in cocoa powder. (note, the softer the chocolate is when it goes into the bag, the more powder will stick to it. this is good or bad depending on your taste. also, you should have some cocoa powder leftover, ok to save the excess or return it to the container.)
there! you are done. you now have a decadent treat and a lifelong superiority complex.
part II: notes on my experiments with different flavors
- tkw
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Food: Vande Rose Farms Applewood Smoked Bacon
The Bacon of the Month for January hales from Des Moines, Iowa, Vande Rose Farms to be exact. They have been around for 100 years and use a dry curing recipe that is even older. It is a thick cut bacon that looks to be very fatty at first inspection. This, in my oppinion is not a bad thing. But once cooked (and it produced a LOT of fat in the pan) it has a very, very meaty consistency. It is the bacon that eats like a meal. A 12 oz package yielded about 8 pieces, just enough for one meal, and it is not cheap (retail price is $13.95), but as a treat, it is well worth it. With a very good smokey flavor, a hint of pepper and very little shrinkage I give it 4 out of 5 pigs.
-bgc
-bgc
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