« First World Problems... | Main

Food Thread: Beef-In-A-Bag And Other Deliciousness

I made short ribs last weekend, and used a technique that is sure to raise the hackles of that small and deluded core of com-symps who reject modern cooking conveniences.

Yes...it was Sous Vide! And it was great. And all Sous Vide did was give me complete control over what was essentially a long slow braise at a very low temperature! The development of the roasted flavors that come via the Maillard reaction was a bit of a cheat, as I used homemade beef stock and Guinness Stout!

Delicious! Even if it did use a frog-invented technique!

******
Let's talk about bread. Specifically the utter, obscene, offensive ridiculousness of artisanal bread that costs $25 or $50 or $60...per loaf! You think I am kidding? Here is Martin Auer, a NYC bakery and clip joint that sells a rye loaf for $60. And if you aren't mortally offended by that price, just look at the other products he sells.

Here's a $41 example. And a $23 example.

Flour, water, yeast, salt. That's it. The equipment necessary to make good quality bread that is better than supermarket bread and approaches the quality of many bakery's products is less than $100, and I'll bet that many of you have most of it anyway.

Sure, you can buy artisanal flour harvested by bare-breasted nymphs under a full moon, and milled with stones from Stonehenge, but good quality flour is $5 for a five-pound bag. Rye flour is more, but you only need about a pound of it for a large loaf.

I have been baking for a long time, so I have reasonably good dough-handling skills. It takes me about 15 minutes of work to make an excellent sourdough loaf that is better than 99% of the bread I have eaten. And sourdough is more difficult than good old white bread for sandwiches! You can make very good bread in a matter of a few minutes with what you have on hand at home. And it will be a fraction of the price of the supermarket stuff, and almost certainly better.

I am second to none in my pomposity and snobbishness when it comes to food and drink, but charging that much for a simple loaf of bread is simply f*cked.

And next week (if I remember) I will address the stupidity of the $8 Chocolate Chip Cookie!

******
Long-time commenter and existentially flawed Manhattan maker "naturalfake" mentioned a drink I haven't had in forever. The Aviation is a classic cocktail when judged by its ratios, but the ingredients are a bit different....

Because I didn't have this stuff...

I made one with Crème de Cassis, which is a liqueur made from currents, and is most famously used in a drink called a "Kir," which is just dry white wine with Cassis to taste! Fun before dinner, and worth trying. "naturalfake" warned me that my Aviation with Cassis was not going to be as good, and he was correct, but it was still a tasty drink.

Of course I then ran to the store for a bottle of the real thing, and this was the result.

It is a nicer color than it looks...a delicate purple...and it was a success!

******
Well, let us revisit one of the most important questions in cooking...to soak or not to soak your beans! DadCooksDinner weighs in with his instant pot solution, and because I am a traditionalist and a Luddite, I disapprove!

I either use canned beans or I soak the dried beans overnight. Anything else is an affront to the cooking gods and they will exact retribution!

But if you are into that sort of thing, here's the recipe for Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas.

Which reminds me, I think I am going to make a pot of
WeaselBeenz!

******
I have pontificated at length about the pleasures of expanding one's wine horizons. Yes, there are people who are content to drink Cabernet or Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc for their entire lives, and are perfectly content, and probably not bad people who kick puppies and pull the wings off flies.

But there are many other less-well-known grapes that are made into wonderful and usually less expensive wines for every day drinking. Here is a photo of a good bottle of a Spanish wine called Albariño, made from the grape of the same name.

It's inexpensive, delicious, and a great party wine because it isn't monstrously alcoholic. A nice crisp drink for a warm fall day! And yes, the gentleman in the background cooked the fantastic pork at the recent Texas Meet!

The moral of this story is to try the other grapes that winemakers use. They aren't paying a premium for the name of the grape, so in general there is more value in the bottle!

******

Okay...now what? I had a lot of egg whites from the six egg yolks that went into my spectacular coffee ice cream with Heath Bars. So I made meringues, even though I didn't need an additional dessert, don't really like them that much, and wasn't expecting the brats to clean out the larder.

Yes, it is because I am a cheap bastard and don't like to waste. So I spent my time, a few bucks worth of sugar and cocoa powder, and I guess some natural gas to heat the oven. All so I wouldn't waste a few cents worth of egg whites.

I took them out too soon so they fell a bit. They were modestly pleasant to eat, but not something I will return too anytime soon...until I make ice cream again and have unused egg whites. Yes...it is a vicious circle!

******
Maybe I am insufficiently attuned to the modern zeitgeist, but I don't give a shit who is touting the products advertised to me.

Do I like Mariano Rivera? Of course I do! He was the reason I didn't have to watch the end of the 9th inning when the Yankees were winning...back in the day when they actually won stuff. Lights out, seemingly a good man (maybe), and his attitude toward baseball and life was refreshing.

But what the hell does he know about hot sauce?

******
The great garlic experiment of 2025-2026 was a resounding...meh. Send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

About the Bourbon Bubble...I think it has burst, but the category is also suffering from the inflation that affected everything else (Thanks Biden!). I think the sweet spot is still $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!