« First World Problems... | Main

Food Thread: Nice Buns! But Size Does Matter!

We are rapidly approaching that special week in December that requires festive foods. Seriously, I think it's the law, or at least in the Bible! Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day all require some ridiculous, complicated, overly time-consuming, expensive culinary effort to make them special!

Or you could make Sloppy Joes.

Actually, now that I look at an actual sloppy Joe, it is less appealing than the image I have in my mind's eye from, oh, 40 years ago!

My point though is that festive doesn't have to mean complex. And it certainly doesn't have to mean expensive. Sure, if your tastes run to lobster and foie gras and caviar, and those are your favorite foods, then have at it!

But if your favorite food is a great cheeseburger dripping with your special sauce (ketchup and mayo?), then make that!

I am hosting a New Year's Eve dinner, and I am going to keep it simple. I had to restrain myself, because one of my favorite dishes is a French regional dish called Cassoulet, which is really just beans and meat. But...it is also a three day affair if done from scratch, so while it is absolutely delicious, I'll hold off a bit and make that on some dreary long weekend in March.

How about you?

******
I made Paella for a combination Hanukkah/Birthday celebration last week, and while it was successful, I was disappointed by the quality of the Chorizo that I used. My regular purveyor didn't have any, so I bought Boar's Head Chorizo at a good supermarket in my area. It looked...fine. But when I began to cut it into small chunks to be sauteed, I discovered that it was extremely hard (shut up!); far firmer than my go-to stuff. Yes, there are a bunch of different styles of Chorizo, but this stuff was like a dried salami, and not the best choice for Paella. And...the folks over at Boar's Head were quite skimpy with the paprika!

But was even worse was how damned salty it was! Far too salty, even for a dish that can handle a lot of salt. I had to back off on salt for the rest of the dish! Luckily I also bought some Keilbasa, just on a lark, and that worked out extremely well, and will be in my next batch.

One thing this Chorizo crisis reinforced in me was tasting the ingredients. It is a very good idea that cooks know what they are putting into their food. Maybe not the raw chicken, but it is important to know your ingredients, and the best way is to pop a bit into your mouth!

Oh...of course I stirred it! It is vital to stir the rice so that the flavors are distributed evenly, and it begins to cook without the hot and cold spots in the Paella pan affecting the final result. Once most of the liquid has evaporated and the rice no longer moves freely, that's when to stop! But don't listen to that "Pete Bog" curmudgeon.

******

******
Biomedical research is famously inexact, and is filled with weasel-words like suggests and associated and possibly. But I choose to believe this one because...duh!

High- and Low-Fat Dairy Consumption and Long-Term Risk of Dementia

Higher intake of high-fat cheese and high-fat cream was associated with a lower risk of all-cause dementia, whereas low-fat cheese, low-fat cream, and other dairy products showed no significant association. APOE ε4 status modified the association between high-fat cheese and AD. Our study's observational design limits causal inference.

Of course, my interpretation of this is that happiness reduces the risk of dementia, and high-fat cheese makes people happy!
******

I grabbed the only hamburger buns on the shelf, and while the burgers were great, with the biblically-mandated Kraft American Cheese (two slices!) on top, the bun was an embarrassment. Clearly it was in the pool!

Now, I am not suggesting that the bun should overlap the burger, and I am not resistant to the idea of a slightly larger burger, but this bun exceeded design limits.

******
Well, this is a new one for me! And I am very happy to have stumbled upon it. Brussels Sprouts Gratin sounds like something that I should have had, but I guess I was raised poorly and made some bad decisions in my life.

Sadly, "Dad Cooks Dinner" makes a hugely problematic modification to the recipe he cribbed from (the execrable J. Kenji López-Alt)!

I followed Kenji's basic technique but left out the bacon because some of my guests are vegetarians.

This is madness!
******

******
A friend graciously gave me some genuine grown-in-the-USA garlic, and I tasted one clove and planted the rest, because my pathetic failure last year is an anomaly...right? I hope so, because it's in the ground (actually, a large pot), and it had better work this time!

Send all of your extra antelope to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! 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.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!