Food Thread: Cake...The Final Frontier

Great cake...does it exist? Sure, but I think the topic is a bit more complicated than just throwing a ton of chocolate and frosting in and hoping it all works out. And even the frosting gets a little weird. Too many are just sugar bombs that feel like they are are rotting one's teeth with the first bite. And frosting hides a multitude of sins, most egregious being dry cake. Except it doesn't really hide that dusty, crumbly, sort-of-gross mouthfeel that a dry cake gives.

Oh, and another thing...don't use the same frosting in the layers as on the outside! I want some contrast, damn it! In fact, some of the best cakes I have ever eaten had a tart fruit based filling between the layers, which I think works perfectly with the sweeter frosting.

But not too sweet! Do I have to repeat myself again? And that's quite a trick, because frosting is sugar. But some bakers know how to do it, and that is a truly impressive thing. When the filling is delicious and the frosting is interesting but not too sweet and the cake is moist and flavorful, then that means that the stars have aligned and all is right in the world...at least for a few minutes.

Yeah...cake is complicated. There is a reason why great cake bakers are in demand.

Gee...I wonder why?

Inflation is now baked into the cake (SWIDT>). The Fed probably won't raise interest rates, the government is spending like a drunken sailor, and the destruction of the labor force (minimum wage, regulation, welfare, etc) will keep wages high, so there is very little downward pressure and a whole lot of upward pressure on prices. And have you noticed...fuel costs are rising!

The profit margins in the restaurant industry are brutal, and while McDonalds can probably handle an extended run of even more pricing pressure, I can't imagine how the smaller restaurants are doing.

My sense is that even well-off folks are decreasing their discretionary spending. That's based on all sorts of anecdotal evidence, but I would lay money that I am correct.

Home cooking is going to make a big comeback. That's why you should tune in here every Sunday!

I probably sound like a broken record, but damn! This technique plus a delicious marinade is a great and easy combination.

The technique is simple. Trimmed bone-in thighs on top of a bed of sliced onions. Lots of them! Then into the oven for about 30-40 minutes at 425.

The marinade was all of my leftover cilantro, blended with Dijon, honey, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, half a small onion, and half a Jalapeño. I left the chicken in the marinade for a full day, and I think that was the important step.

When the chicken looks good, remove it from the skillet and return the onions to the oven until they brown a bit and the liquid mostly evaporates. Five minutes?

Then eat!

That is a composite cork, which has become quite popular with inexpensive wines. And that's sad, because screw-tops are much better, but more expensive. Those composite corks are irritating for both esthetic and practical reasons. Esthetically? They are ugly. Practically? They seem denser than real cork, and many cork screws don't work as well in them.

Sure...that's a classic First-World Problem^TM, but still!

This guy is not screwing around. Bacon in the bread. Bacon in the cheese. Bacon in the meat. Bacon in the sauce.

Mother of Baconator looks delicious, and a whole lot of work!

But all that bacon! Yum!

I really like salmon, but have been cooking fillets rather than steaks for many years. One reason is that I like salmon steaks on the grill, and I suck at cooking fish anywhere near fire. Yeah...they usually stick a bit, and that disturbs my OCD! The other reason is that I have a bunch of solid recipes for fillets that are easy and delicious, so...I just stopped grilling salmon.

As for bear? I have eaten it, and I find it just okay. It is entirely possible that the bear I have eaten was not processed or prepared correctly, so I will reserve judgement, especially since that bear looks pretty damned good!

[Hat Tip: Misanthropic Humanitarian]

Who are those poor deluded souls who shake their Manhattans? These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

However, I will give dispensation to those who use maple syrup on Brussels Sprouts! I tried that and it worked nicely. I still prefer Agave, but still...

And yes, I used to demand fancy bourbon, but let's face it, $1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

posted by CBD at 04:00 PM

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