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Food Thread: The Intersection Of Cooking And Science...Sometimes Doesn't Work!

That's the result of trying to use dry ice to chill a cocktail. It makes perfect sense in theory, and to answer the question, "How would a martini taste when it is very cold but not diluted by water melting from the ice?"

But, as the great Richard Feynman said...

It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.

And I was wrong!

As Jay Guevara explained, "Dry ice doesn't cool aqueous solutions very well because as the dry ice vaporizes, it generates an insulating gaseous layer around it, unlike water ice."

But I didn't know that, so I tested my theory and came up short. I did however discover that glassware can develop internal cracks if it is chilled very quickly. So I did learn something! Well...I learned two things, the second of which is that the really cool shaker glass that I have with the perfect measuring marks is very expensive to replace.

And that is what it looked like with a large chunk of dry ice merrily sublimating away! It was actually odd to see this happen and then discover that the martini (a 10:1 Boodles gin and Vermouth) just wasn't cold. It was damned good though, which speaks to the quality of the gin. It didn't need to be diluted with water to smooth it out.

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I'll make it short and sweet, because this is a horse I will be dragging out more and more and beating it to death...again and again and again.

When rich countries screw around with food production so that they can virtue signal and play politics and feel better about themselves, they kill people on the margins. That means that when these well-meaning but dangerous fools make food more expensive, through legislation or other means, they increase the price of food across the world and that means the poorest of the poor will be unable to afford to eat. And some will die.

Food Politics: U.C. Davis

CHARLOTTE: The paradigm that really informs the emergence of alternative food movements is a whole new way of thinking about good food that isn’t purely through the lens of nutrition, but starts to incorporate a systems mentality that connects food to all kinds of other systems- social and economic and environmental, etc.

AMY: For example, some people choose to not eat meat because they feel all animal agriculture is harmful to the environment, as we heard in Episode 1 of Unfold. People may only want to eat local food because they desire closer social relationships with the farmers that grow their food. Or people may not want to eat GMO crops not just because they feel it’s unsafe, but because they don’t trust current food systems or corporate agriculture.

CHARLOTTE: That’s what’s so fascinating about all of our conversations about good and bad food is that you know fundamentally they reflect these deeply held values and ultimately, they are important sides of political debate and negotiation and many people wish, and I understand why they wish this, that it was purely a technical debate, and that it could be settled simply on the basis of facts, about safety etc. and benefits. But that hasn’t proven to be the case.

It's one more example of "Chesterton's Fence." The left sees food production and thinks..."Let's make this better!" But they have no idea what the unintended consequences of going organic or decreasing land availability for livestock or hundreds of other small but powerful changes.

There is only one measure that matters, and that is how we provide for humanity. Our lives are more important than some hypothetical damage done to Gaia.

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That's a big mushroom! A Puffball mushroom to be precise, and the next photo is intriguing. I have grilled Portobellos, but that is it.

"Marty" tells me that it was about the size of a volleyball.

Wow.

Sliced into one inch slabs, with olive oil and salt and pepper, then grilled. Looks good!

[Hat Tip: Marty]

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These Handmade 3D Cookie Frostings Will Blow Your Mind

Yeah...maybe it will blow your mind, but mostly I think they look a little creepy. But the Anime theme is always going to put me off. Exactly why is for a more serious post...

[Hat Tip: Misanthropic Humanitarian]

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One of the pompous conceits of many food magazines and food writers is the insistence upon shoving foreign ingredients -- in particular, spices -- into their recipes to signal how hip and cool and well-traveled they are.

But they aren't...they are just irritating, because I don't want to eat "Kimchi And Squash Mac And Cheese" for Thanksgiving. I want to eat burnt ends mac and cheese. Because that is American!

121 Thanksgiving Side Dishes That'll Outshine the Turkey

They sucked me in with an appetizing photo, but only a few of these dishes are worth a damn (and there are a bunch that are just recycled from every other Thanksgiving side dish article ever written).

Here are some that aren't...

Coconut Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Roasted Beets with Grapefruit and Rosemary
Cabbage Roll Casserole
Aloo Tikki With Hari Chutney
Muhammara (huh?)

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This is the first I have ever seen of this guy, and he seems to be a bit of a loon. But in a nice way.

Unfortunately I am not enamored of his chicken parm. It's a pretty standard recipe and can be found in every Italian-American restaurant in the country.

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And a joke that could be torn from the comments!

When I woke up this morning, my girlfriend was cooking breakfast in nothing than a T-shirt... ...when I came downstairs, she told me she needed me to have sex with her right away...
Needless to say I was thrilled, so we did it right there in the kitchen...

...she immediately went back to cooking... we didn't usually do stuff like that, so I hesitantly asked, "so...what was that all about?"

She said, "I had 5 minutes left on the casserole, but the timer broke."

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Avocados sans thumbprints, beef short ribs that have meat on them (not the stupid little sliver of bone they sneak into the packages), carrots that don't taste like stalky chalk, spare bottles of Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year Old Bourbon, an herb garden that actually produces herbs (but no basil!), well-marbled NY strip steaks and elk backstrap to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

And don't think that you are off the hook with maple syrup and French Toast: I'm watching you...all of you! And I am watching you perverts who shake Manhattans and keeping a list for the Burning Times.