LazBro
Prolific Poster 
Posts: 10,049 
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 3, 2017 10:34:59 GMT -5
My name is The Lascivious Snape, and I suck at cookbooks. I own several and enjoy reading them, but I rarely cook from them. The reasons are many. I am a poor planner in general, so I do most of my meal planning during the workday, a time when my cookbooks are far from reach. I tend, also, to get fuzzy-brained reading recipes. Ingredients lists and processes, even things I handle capably without prompting, seem overwhelming when all laid out before me. Things like measuring and timing make cooking feel like work. This is no doubt why I've always taken so well to food TV over cookbooks. Seeing a dish put together step by step is more approachable to me than learning a recipe. I can learn the bones of a recipe and then wing my way through. It's served me well.
Still, I endeavor to become a better cook. To cook new things, and in new ways, and to learn new ingredients. I endeavor to grow more comfortable using recipes. So begins my project: The Lascivious Snape vs. Alton Brown: EveryDayCook.
In this thread I'll be making as many of the recipes in Alton Brown's latest book as I care to make. Then I'll write in with how it turned out, whether I recommend it or not, maybe a picture if I like how it looks, whether Baby Snape ate it ... really whatever comes to mind. My goal is to cook as much of the book as possible, and to stay as true to the recipes as possible, including even times when I'm stepping outside my personal tastes. So, come along on this journey with me, or make the smart decision and avoid this thread (or even better, pick your own book/recipe source and start your own!)
Rules/exceptions/disclosures:
- I hold myself to no timeline on this. It's a for fun project I'll update as I can.
- No seafood, as Mrs. Snape doesn't eat it, and I need to be practical along the way. (Maybe if I get a rare night to myself AND have time to plan AND choose to cook a meal for myself rather than just do spaghetti with butter and cheese and a bunch of beer like I usually do).
- Spicy foods will depend. Baby Snape is really intolerant of spice, but the Mrs. and I really like it, so I might make occasional exceptions to my "I'm only cooking one entree" policy to sneak some spicy recipes in.
- NO RAW CUCUMBER.
- The book has several cocktail recipes which I will not be making. I don't like liquor and couldn't care less about cocktails.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 3, 2017 10:39:25 GMT -5
I look forward to following this. I own a bunch of cookbooks and like to kind of read them as literature/for ideas, but I rarely cook from them - I mostly only refer to recipes when baking or if I need to refresh my memory on procedure for some new thing. But I do very much enjoy Alton Brown, as you know. (You do too like liquor - you just like it in beer form.  |
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 4, 2017 0:50:02 GMT -5
#1 - Breakfast Carbonara
The first recipe in the book, and the one I first saw when I encountered the book and decided to ask for it for Christmas, this is what it sounds like: it's breakfast-flavored pasta carbonara. Breakfast sausage replaces the typical pancetta, providing a rich, herby accent to the creamy egg sauce that bathes the whole wheat linguine (or spaghetti, in my case, because I couldn't find whole wheat linguine). A clever twist tops the finished pasta with toasted breadcrumbs and orange zest, completing the concept: sausage, eggs, toast, orange juice. Thoughts:
I've made carbonara lots of times, so this was well in my comfort zone. I loved the idea of bringing the breakfast flavors into a pasta dish, and thought the orange zest was a neat idea. The results were good, too, if predictably heavy. Mrs. Snape and I both agreed that the "breakfast" flavor came through best toward the bottom of the bowl, as the remaining sauce began to over power with its soupy, eggy goodness. The Mrs. even started scooping it up onto some toast and eating it as if it was a yolky egg. This was also a cool opportunity to try Alton Brown's cold water pasta method, in which you add your pasta to a wide, fairly shallow vessel of cold water and then bring it to a boil, cook for like 4 minutes and it's done ... and it was done! Like, I don't see a reason to cook pasta any other way now. Recipe: cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018326-breakfast-carbonaraNext up: roasted broccoli sandwich (not my image) 
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 4, 2017 0:58:21 GMT -5
So Alton's famous Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are my go-to biscuits. I don't even have to consult the recipe any more. A minor surprise, then, that this book has a new biscuit: Alton's Little Brown Biscuits. I'm trying to line them up for Thursday, but I'm discovering that the recipe contains one kind-of-rare ingredient, and one damn-near-impossible-to-get ingredient.
The kind-of-rare ingredient is whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat flour, sure, no problem. Whole wheat pastry flour. Ugh. Had to find it in the specialty grains section, which is never on or even near the baking aisle in our local grocery stores.
The damn-near-impossible-to-get ingredient is leaf lard. No stores local and accessible to me sells it. I've even found forums on Chowhound of Dallas locals discussing (and failing to find) it around here. It's available online, but a 16oz package on Amazon would be $24 with shipping (and no Prime available). I may have to compromise here and just use regular lard, especially if I want to do this by Thursday.
|
|
dＬᵒ
Prolific Poster
𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓦𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓸𝓵 𝓨𝓮𝓽?
Posts: 4,533
|
Post by dＬᵒ on Jan 4, 2017 2:01:52 GMT -5
LazBro Weird protip, if you're looking for Bob's Red Mill stuff, one of the best places to find it is Big Lots which carries most of their stuff. As for lard have you tried this? Oh wait I mean this ' baking lard' (I've seen it in a specialty store before).
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 4, 2017 2:07:22 GMT -5
LazBro Weird protip, if you're looking for Bob's Red Mill stuff, one of the best places to find it is Big Lots which carries most of their stuff. As for lard have you tried this? Oh wait I mean this ' baking lard' (I've seen it in a specialty store before). I saw that stuff in my Amazon search, but since it didn't specify as "leaf" lard, I passed it by. I do like that it's not hydrogenated, though, and available on Prime, too. Thanks for the tip! |
|
|
|
Post by pairesta on Jan 4, 2017 8:32:55 GMT -5
Wouldn't bacon be the more obvious--and better--sub for pancetta in carbonara than sausage? Especially some homemade, sous-vide bacon? (This isn't aimed at you; just weird Alton wouldn't have gone to that instead, unless he was thinking sausage would go better with orange zest, I guess).
Did you look in bulk at Central Market for whole wheat pastry flour? I remember almost buying it a couple times when I needed regular pastry flour.
Yeah I've never seen leaf lard anywhere. I think it gets claimed by all the pastry chefs.
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 4, 2017 8:39:10 GMT -5
Wouldn't bacon be the more obvious--and better--sub for pancetta in carbonara than sausage? Especially some homemade, sous-vide bacon? (This isn't aimed at you; just weird Alton wouldn't have gone to that instead, unless he was thinking sausage would go better with orange zest, I guess). Did you look in bulk at Central Market for whole wheat pastry flour? I remember almost buying it a couple times when I needed regular pastry flour. Yeah I've never seen leaf lard anywhere. I think it gets claimed by all the pastry chefs. Yeah, the first comment on that recipe article I linked is someone saying that (whether bacon or pancetta), traditional carbonara is already "breakfast" carbonara. Tasting it, though, I disagree. Bacon is a universal ingredient, applicable to virtually any meal at any time of day. Bacon doesn't taste like breakfast (to me), it tastes like bacon. Meanwhile, breakfast sausage, with it's sage, maple and red pepper flake, screams breakfast. Besides, if I'd made it with bacon, it wouldn't be different enough from other carbonaras I've made, since I almost always use bacon and not pancetta anyway. I didn't check Central Market, because I can't get out there during the week. It's too much of a pain for me to get to except for on the weekends. You're right though that they probably do have it. I used to buy all kinds of random flours from them back when I was going pretty hard with the bread baking. It's all good though, I found what I needed. And I also have a goal of doing sous vide bacon on biscuit night, so I should have my chance very soon. |
|
|
|
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 4, 2017 10:00:41 GMT -5
This was also a cool opportunity to try Alton Brown's cold water pasta method, in which you add your pasta to a wide, fairly shallow vessel of cold water and then bring it to a boil, cook for like 4 minutes and it's done ... and it was done! Like, I don't see a reason to cook pasta any other way now. I've been making pasta in a similar fashion ever since I discovered Martha Stewart's one-pan method (which is a variation) - if I'm just making a quick noodle dish for myself for lunch for instance, you let the water steam off, add bits more if needed, and add any veggies/sauce/etc to the pan as it cooks. I still do a huge stockpot of water if I'm making a lot of pasta, but for 1-2 people, it's so much easier. |
|
|
|
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 4, 2017 10:13:35 GMT -5
This is an interesting topic, Snape! Speaking of whole wheat pastry flour, leaf lard, and sausage: I have definitely noticed that Alton Brown likes to have at least one (and often more than one) ingredient in every recipe that just flat-out doesn't belong. Whether it's mustard powder in his macaroni & cheese, chili powder in his glazed carrots, peanut butter in his hummus, or raisins FUCKING ANYWHERE, the guy either has a weird palate or else a mean streak a mile wide. Mustard powder absolutely belongs in mac & cheese, my mom put mustard or mustard powder in our mac & cheese since time began (OK as long as I can remember). I'm also OK with chili on carrots - balance! Peanut butter in hummus is weird though. |
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 4, 2017 10:22:34 GMT -5
This is an interesting topic, Snape! Speaking of whole wheat pastry flour, leaf lard, and sausage: I have definitely noticed that Alton Brown likes to have at least one (and often more than one) ingredient in every recipe that just flat-out doesn't belong. Whether it's mustard powder in his macaroni & cheese, chili powder in his glazed carrots, peanut butter in his hummus, or raisins FUCKING ANYWHERE, the guy either has a weird palate or else a mean streak a mile wide. Yeah, that peanut butter in hummus thing always surprised me. I've always apologized that recipe away by saying it was an older episode when he was still playing to a less experienced crowd. He maybe felt that tahini, which back then was less familiar, more expensive and probably harder to find, was a bridge too far for many of his viewers, so he hedged with the peanut butter. (My encyclopedic knowledge of Good Eats also knows that in that episode, there's a text card right after the recipe saying to use tahini for a more authentic result). For sure the chef of today, who insists on fucking leaf lard for "everyday" biscuits, is not the same chef who once compromised on tahini with peanut butter. But you know, I've never actually made hummus with peanut butter, and that might actually taste great. FUCK raisins though. |
|
Gumbercules
AV Clubber 
Get out of my dreams, and into my van
Posts: 2,987
|
Post by Gumbercules on Jan 4, 2017 13:34:27 GMT -5
Yeah, that peanut butter in hummus thing always surprised me. I've always apologized that recipe away by saying it was an older episode when he was still playing to a less experienced crowd. He maybe felt that tahini, which back then was less familiar, more expensive and probably harder to find, was a bridge too far for many of his viewers, so he hedged with the peanut. (My encyclopedic knowledge of Good Eats also knows that in that episode, there's a text card right after the recipe saying to use tahini for a more authentic result). But you know, I've never actually made hummus with peanut butter, and that might actually taste great. FUCK raisins though. I tried it! Don't waste your time, it tastes like straight-up vomit. I still regularly cook out of the three Good Eats cookbooks. As the show progressed Brown really started ramping up the weird and especially hard-to-get ingredients, like grains of paradise instead of allspice berries, or real cinnamon instead of the cassia legally sold as cinnamon in every store. Having tried quite a few of them, I confidently pronounce them all pointless--grains of paradise taste identical to allspice berries in every recipe I've tried, and real cinnamon actually tastes insipid compared to cassia. I'd bet money on the leaf lard thing being another instance of this, in which case I'd say you'd be fine using regular old hydrogenated lard. Or Crisco, for that matter. I finally got through a Penzey's order of Ceylon Cinnamon last month. It's weird, because it tastes so much like Big Red chewing gum to me. I'm so used to Cassia, I prefer it. Plus, those sticks are a lot less likely to flake everywhere in a recipe than ceylon. |
|
|
|
Post by pairesta on Jan 4, 2017 13:50:16 GMT -5
I tried it! Don't waste your time, it tastes like straight-up vomit. I still regularly cook out of the three Good Eats cookbooks. As the show progressed Brown really started ramping up the weird and especially hard-to-get ingredients, like grains of paradise instead of allspice berries, or real cinnamon instead of the cassia legally sold as cinnamon in every store. Having tried quite a few of them, I confidently pronounce them all pointless--grains of paradise taste identical to allspice berries in every recipe I've tried, and real cinnamon actually tastes insipid compared to cassia. I'd bet money on the leaf lard thing being another instance of this, in which case I'd say you'd be fine using regular old hydrogenated lard. Or Crisco, for that matter. I finally got through a Penzey's order of Ceylon Cinnamon last month. It's weird, because it tastes so much like Big Red chewing gum to me. I'm so used to Cassia, I prefer it. Plus, those sticks are a lot less likely to flake everywhere in a recipe than ceylon. That's almost exactly my experience, except I compared it to Trident Cinnamon, but yeah. |
|
|
|
Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Jan 4, 2017 14:35:43 GMT -5
Mustard powder absolutely belongs in mac & cheese, my mom put mustard or mustard powder in our mac & cheese since time began (OK as long as I can remember). I'm also OK with chili on carrots - balance! Peanut butter in hummus is weird though. I always put dry mustard in mac and cheese. It gives it a nice sharp boost. I did it with the pan I made this week, along with a couple shots of Tabasco. Because you gotta have Tabasco and dry mustard with seafood especially. |
|
|
|
Post by Liz n Dick on Jan 4, 2017 14:50:17 GMT -5
I finally got through a Penzey's order of Ceylon Cinnamon last month. It's weird, because it tastes so much like Big Red chewing gum to me. I'm so used to Cassia, I prefer it. Plus, those sticks are a lot less likely to flake everywhere in a recipe than ceylon. I also gave the Ceylon Cinnamon a try from Penzey's, and discovered it would really only be good for home made red hot candies. But that was my point of reference because I've never had cinnamon chewing gum. I think it's pretty clear, regardless of your candy experience, that Ceylon cinnamon is a total waste of time. |
|
|
|
Post by songstarliner on Jan 4, 2017 18:22:54 GMT -5
I finally got through a Penzey's order of Ceylon Cinnamon last month. It's weird, because it tastes so much like Big Red chewing gum to me. I'm so used to Cassia, I prefer it. Plus, those sticks are a lot less likely to flake everywhere in a recipe than ceylon. That's almost exactly my experience, except I compared it to Trident Cinnamon, but yeah. For me it was Red Hots! I couldn't take it seriously, and I never used it. |
|
Gumbercules
AV Clubber
Get out of my dreams, and into my van
Posts: 2,987
|
Post by Gumbercules on Jan 5, 2017 6:57:07 GMT -5
Mustard powder absolutely belongs in mac & cheese, my mom put mustard or mustard powder in our mac & cheese since time began (OK as long as I can remember). I'm also OK with chili on carrots - balance! Peanut butter in hummus is weird though. I always put dry mustard in mac and cheese. It gives it a nice sharp boost. I did it with the pan I made this week, along with a couple shots of Tabasco. Because you gotta have Tabasco and dry mustard with seafood especially. Are you by chance from Maryland?  |
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 5, 2017 9:12:29 GMT -5
#2 - Roasted Broccoli Hero SandwichThumbing through the book, this is one of the first recipes that grabbed my attention. A meatless sandwich built around roasted broccoli and incorporating Asian, Italian and classic American ingredients. It was crazy, but was it crazy enough to work? The short answer: yes! This one is actually inspired by a famous sandwich from No. 7 Sub in New York. Let's run down what's on this thing: toasted sub roll, mayonnaise, bread-and-butter pickles enhanced with an Asian marinade, roasted broccoli, French's fried onions and ricotta salata to top it off. So many flavors and textures working together at once. The stars of the show, the real defining ingredients, were the Asian enhanced pickles. Take however many B&B pickles you think you'll need, give'em a rough chop, and then marinate them in their pre-existing brine, sambal oelek, fresh garlic, fresh ginger and sesame oil. Let sit while you put the rest of the sandwich together. I'm no fan of bread-and-butter pickles. I often find them too sweet, and had this recipe used them straight from the jar, I doubt I'd have cared for them in this application either. The rejiggered brine changes the game - spicy, bold, nutty, craveable! (Alton also offers the terrific idea of combining the resulting liquid minus the pickles with some mayonnaise to make a dip or dressing. WILL TRY!). I'm a big fan of roasted broccoli already, so that was nothing new, but Alton's method here is longer than I usually go, a full 30 minutes. The resulting florets were dense and meaty, not unlike portabello mushrooms, and both the Mrs. and I agreed that we didn't miss the meat in this sandwich at all. Finally, the cheese: my local didn't have ricotta salata, so I subbed in feta I already had. Feta and ricotta salata don't exactly taste the same - feta is much saltier and, hmmm, "wetter?" - but I stand behind the decision, because the original inspiration from No. 7 Sub actually uses feta, not ricotta salata. (Weren't we just talking about Alton goosing the recipes with random rare ingredients?) Verdict: This one is an unqualified success. Spicy, meaty, crunchy, easy to make, and probably pretty darned good for you, too. Mrs. Snape expressed her enjoyment during the meal, which is usual, but then she brought it up again later in the evening just to say how much she'd liked it. I'll make this one again and encourage you all do the same. (Adapted) recipe: www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/a-strange-but-delicious-broccoli-sub-suddenly-becomes-doable-at-home/2016/11/07/01a99d36-a2a6-11e6-a44d-cc2898cfab06_story.html?utm_term=.4e868a3967e5(not my image) 
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 9, 2017 8:34:59 GMT -5
#3 - Heavenly Orbs of Belgian GoodnessRoasted Brussels sprouts. Look, they're not all going to be fancy. In fact, Alton profers two roasted sprouts recipes, including a bacon-maple combo that I have no doubt will be delicious, as it's that very combination that got me into Brussels sprouts in the first place. (And which, to be honest, I've done more than a couple times before). But it's this recipe that caught my eye. In place of more the more common sweet or citrus, we take the orbs East by dressing them with fish sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flake and roasted peanuts just as they come out of the oven. I liked it. It makes for a lighter side overall, which is nice, as many Brussels sprouts recipes work in so many calories along the way (<cough> bacon-maple <cough>) that what should be a really healthy side gets lost. This had tons of flavor, and you still felt good eating it. Tweaks: for a pound or so of sprouts, the dressing recipe is laughably small at only 1 tsp each of fish sauce and sesame oil. Strong flavors, I know, but it still struck me as inadequate. I doubled it and still could have gotten away with a little more. (not my image) 
|
|
|
|
Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 9, 2017 8:52:14 GMT -5
#3 - Heavenly Orbs of Belgian GoodnessBut it's this recipe that caught my eye. In place of more the more common sweet or citrus, we take the orbs East by dressing them with fish sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flake and roasted peanuts just as they come out of the oven. Variation served by Megg's Cafe on Temple, TX: instead of roasted peanuts, garnish your Asian-dressing Brussels sprouts with...some freshly popped popcorn! |
|
|
|
Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 9, 2017 9:03:10 GMT -5
#2 - Roasted Broccoli Hero SandwichThis one is actually inspired by a famous sandwich from No. 7 Sub in New York. Let's run down what's on this thing: toasted sub roll, mayonnaise, bread-and-butter pickles enhanced with an Asian marinade, roasted broccoli, French's fried onions and ricotta salata to top it off. ...Finally, the cheese: my local didn't have ricotta salata, so I subbed in feta I already had. Feta and ricotta salata don't exactly taste the same - feta is much saltier and, hmmm, "wetter?" - but I stand behind the decision, because the original inspiration from No. 7 Sub actually uses feta, not ricotta salata. (Weren't we just talking about Alton goosing the recipes with random rare ingredients?) Okay, I'm gonna have to jump in here and defend Alton Brown, because he has actually REMOVED random rare ingredients from this one! I own the No. 7 Sub cookbook, which is named A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches and (even though I've only made one sandwich from it, the rather delicious roasted cauliflower, scallion, raisin, French dressing, and potato chip sandwich) generally fills me with glee at chef Tyler Kord's insane, occasionally genuinely upsetting recipes and also his neurotic, utterly bananas writing style (e.g. ingredients lists that curse at you, instructions like "If you are a meticulous person, you can toss the slices in one at a time, like you're dealing cards to a very dangerous poker player, and that way they will be less likely to stick together."). Another thing that fills me with glee is that the recipes almost all really, really upset my girlfriend, so I can get some cheap and cruel entertainment just by going "Hey, look at this one!" and waiting for her to say, "GROSS, why would anyone eat that?!" and then declaring my intention to eat it forthwith. Anyway. His ingredients are - mayo (recipe in the book) - Lychee Muchim (also in the book, but it's basically the Asian pickling brine you used, except spicier and on lychees) - fried shallots (also in the book, but I mean, shouldn't be hard) - broccoli - pine nuts - "1 cup ricotta salata cheese, shredded like a motherfucker" + bread I could write out the recipe, but I'm late for work! Ack! |
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 9, 2017 9:38:03 GMT -5
#4 - Smoked Pork ButtBarbecue might be the one culinary arena where I trust myself over Mr. Brown. I've been working on my smoke game for years now, and with the exception of maybe ribs, I'm confident in my results - and the "oh my gods" and rolled-back eyes I've seen at my bbq parties are all the 3rd-party testimony I need. It helps, then, that Alton's recipe for smoked pork shoulder hews so closely to my own, at least as far as method is concerned: smoke at 225 for 6-8 hours, then double-wrap in heavy foil, park in a like-temperature oven, and finish for another couple hours. Where it diverged, and what intrigued me, was the prep. No rub here. Alton Brown's pork should is wet-brined in a bath of water, salt and LOTS of molasses. I was skeptical. I wasn't sure how much impact a brine could do in the recommended 8 hours to such a large and relatively low surface area piece of pork. But I stayed true, finishing the brine and then tweaking the recipe only to add a light layer of salt and black pepper before hitting the smoke (Alton goes right from brine to grill). Verdict:
Good. But that's because a properly smoked pork should is going be good. The meat was moist and smoky, fall apart tender, and not too salty. The bark was black and rich, but maybe not quite as sweet as I like. I would augment the post-brine rub with a little brown sugar, at least on the fat cap, to bring those molasses flavors forward. There is nothing distinct about the wet-brine method that improved the shoulder over my usual dry rub, and wet-brining is way more of a pain in the ass. I doubt I'll return to this method. (not my image, and for the record mine looked WAY better than this)  #5 - Little Brown Biscuits
I went full Southern for bbq night with cole slaw, edmame-corn salad (I call it succotash, but I know some people are offended by the thought of calling anything without lima beans a succotash) and, of course, biscuits. As earlier stated, Alton Brown's Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, a recipe from all the way back in Season 1 of Good Eats, are my go-to biscuits. I don't always make them exactly to spec - I like to do all butter in place of the butter-shortening combo, and I frequently add flavors - but they are a great foundation in the traditional, fluffy style of southern biscuit. They are damn good. I've made them countless times and can do so from memory. So I was more than a little excited to see what Alton did with a new biscuit recipe. These are Alton's Little Brown Biscuits. The recipe is not far removed from the one I know and love. Half of the AP flour is replaced with whole wheat pastry flour, and the fat is 100% non-hydrogenated leaf lard. There's also an uptick in the salt. Everything else is as usual: a good amount of baking powder, a cup of buttermilk, no sugar. Well, I couldn't find leaf lard, so I used non-hydrogenated Tenderflake lard from Canada. And because this is baking and I know it matters, I also used: White Lilly AP flour, Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour. Verdict:
The thing about biscuits is that technique probably trumps ingredients, and my technique is ever a work in progress. Today, they were tough. Not unbearably (and in fact I like a drier biscuit sometimes) but not ethereally light and fluffy the way I've delivered with the classic recipe so many times. It could be ingredients, it could be that I overworked the dough, it could be the air ... it could be lots of things. What this recipe has going for it is the flavor. The whole wheat flour brings an undeniable nuttiness, especially in the crusty top and base, and for sure the lard lent a flakiness I don't get in the other recipe. I think I could make a couple tweaks here and really have something special: half butter, half lard, really work it as little as possible, and maybe check the expiration on my powder. I'll be back until I get it right. (not my image) 
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 9, 2017 10:08:53 GMT -5
Okay, I'm gonna have to jump in here and defend Alton Brown, because he has actually REMOVED random rare ingredients from this one! I own the No. 7 Sub cookbook, which is named A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches and (even though I've only made one sandwich from it, the rather delicious roasted cauliflower, scallion, raisin, French dressing, and potato chip sandwich) generally fills me with glee at chef Tyler Kord's insane, occasionally genuinely upsetting recipes and also his neurotic, utterly bananas writing style (e.g. ingredients lists that curse at you, instructions like "If you are a meticulous person, you can toss the slices in one at a time, like you're dealing cards to a very dangerous poker player, and that way they will be less likely to stick together."). Another thing that fills me with glee is that the recipes almost all really, really upset my girlfriend, so I can get some cheap and cruel entertainment just by going "Hey, look at this one!" and waiting for her to say, "GROSS, why would anyone eat that?!" and then declaring my intention to eat it forthwith. Anyway. His ingredients are - mayo (recipe in the book) - Lychee Muchim (also in the book, but it's basically the Asian pickling brine you used, except spicier and on lychees) - fried shallots (also in the book, but I mean, shouldn't be hard) - broccoli - pine nuts - "1 cup ricotta salata cheese, shredded like a motherfucker" + bread I could write out the recipe, but I'm late for work! Ack! The article I linked mentioned that book as well. The writer liked it but said he got frustrated by how much it relies on auxiliary recipes. Not unlike what you just listed, each recipe read like a series of still smaller recipes, all of them on other pages ... making the whole effort a bit, well, ugh! He liked that Alton's recipe was simplified. It's interesting that the restaurant's website clearly states that the sandwich uses feta, and yet both the chef's own book and Alton's substitute for ricotta salata. And pine nuts would be great on there. Alton's recipe didn't have a nut component. That cauliflower sandwich sounds great (minus the raisins). |
|
|
|
Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 9, 2017 11:34:56 GMT -5
The article I linked mentioned that book as well. The writer liked it but said he got frustrated by how much it relies on auxiliary recipes. Not unlike what you just listed, each recipe read like a series of still smaller recipes, all of them on other pages ... making the whole effort a bit, well, ugh! He liked that Alton's recipe was simplified. It's interesting that the restaurant's website clearly states that the sandwich uses feta, and yet both the chef's own book and Alton's substitute for ricotta salata. And pine nuts would be great on there. Alton's recipe didn't have a nut component. That cauliflower sandwich sounds great (minus the raisins). Yup, exactly - I really enjoyed reading the recipes, but have only made the one. And that one required making my own "smoky French dressing" and "scallion & golden raisin relish", so I got a few extra rolls and committed to like 4 weeknight meals of that sandwich. I do sometime want to try making the mayonnaise that allegedly tastes exactly like pho, although that too will probably have limited uses... Wonder if the restaurant uses feta for sourcing/food cost reasons but Kord originally intended ricotta salata. |
|
|
|
Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 10, 2017 10:42:15 GMT -5
UPDATE: The girlfriend found "A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches" sitting out last night, opened it to a random page, and said, "This isn't upsetting at all!" (It was the veggie burger patty melt.) Then she flipped through the whole veggie burger chapter and said, "None of these are upsetting. I would make these."
So...progress???!?!?!!
|
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 10, 2017 10:45:09 GMT -5
UPDATE: The girlfriend found "A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches" sitting out last night, opened it to a random page, and said, "This isn't upsetting at all!" (It was the veggie burger patty melt.) Then she flipped through the whole veggie burger chapter and said, "None of these are upsetting. I would make these." So...progress???!?!?!! Progress. |
|
Gumbercules
AV Clubber
Get out of my dreams, and into my van
Posts: 2,987
|
Post by Gumbercules on Jan 10, 2017 12:05:42 GMT -5
UPDATE: The girlfriend found "A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches" sitting out last night, opened it to a random page, and said, "This isn't upsetting at all!" (It was the veggie burger patty melt.) Then she flipped through the whole veggie burger chapter and said, "None of these are upsetting. I would make these." So...progress???!?!?!! The upsetting portion has nothing to do with the recipes. They just like to throw spoilers of shows or movies in the middle of each recipe, or note facts such as "several animals were not just harmed but also slaughtered in making this book." |
|
Baron von Costume
TI Forumite
Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
Posts: 4,660
|
Post by Baron von Costume on Jan 10, 2017 12:33:19 GMT -5
#3 - Heavenly Orbs of Belgian GoodnessBut it's this recipe that caught my eye. In place of more the more common sweet or citrus, we take the orbs East by dressing them with fish sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flake and roasted peanuts just as they come out of the oven. I liked it. It makes for a lighter side overall, which is nice, as many Brussels sprouts recipes work in so many calories along the way (<cough> bacon-maple <cough>) that what should be a really healthy side gets lost. This had tons of flavor, and you still felt good eating it. I'm not a brussel fan at all but I will eat them when prepared in this method. My only complaint is that it seems to be showing up as a dish at literally every 'modern' restaurant I ever visit. |
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 11, 2017 8:35:16 GMT -5
#3 - Heavenly Orbs of Belgian GoodnessBut it's this recipe that caught my eye. In place of more the more common sweet or citrus, we take the orbs East by dressing them with fish sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flake and roasted peanuts just as they come out of the oven. I liked it. It makes for a lighter side overall, which is nice, as many Brussels sprouts recipes work in so many calories along the way (<cough> bacon-maple <cough>) that what should be a really healthy side gets lost. This had tons of flavor, and you still felt good eating it. I'm not a brussel fan at all but I will eat them when prepared in this method. My only complaint is that it seems to be showing up as a dish at literally every 'modern' restaurant I ever visit. Yeah. They're especially common in the "bacon + something sweet" mode around here. And that's delicious, but I enjoyed a lighter take here. Roasting is definitely the way to go with Brussels sprouts, though I do also like them shaved raw in a cole slaw. Just not boiled. |
|
LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
|
Post by LazBro on Jan 11, 2017 9:29:38 GMT -5
#6 and #7 - Weeknight Spaghetti with Chicken Parmigiana Meatballs
Second week into my project I think I've already exhausted the pasta recipes. Oh well. Combining these two was a no-brainer. The ingredient list for the Chicken Parmigiana Meatballs includes a full batch of the Weeknight Spaghetti sauce, minus the spaghetti part. I just put that back in. Here's the overall method: 1. Mix and form the meatballs 2. Brown the meatballs in a flavored oil 3. Remove the balls and build the tomato sauce in the same pot; add the meatballs back in to cook through 4. Remove the meatballs 5. Add pasta to the same sauce to finish 6. Plate up pasta + meatballs + mozzarella; broil to melt the cheese 7. Throw something green on there for aesthetics Since I'm not one to make a big batch of tomato sauce to portion out and save for later use, being able to throw together a tasty tomato sauce on the evening of is pretty important to me - and something I do often enough that I have several combinations I like to do already. Alton's is different from any of them. It's also a zero-chopping recipe. It starts by flavoring olive oil by sautéing whole sprigs of rosemary and thyme and some garlic over medium heat until the herbs stop sizzling and the garlic browns. Per the recipe, you're actually supposed to make 16oz of the stuff and save what you don't need by letting it cool completely with the herbs and garlic, then strain and save (in the freezer, because garlic). I didn't do that. I just made enough to use in both this and the meatball recipe. However you choose to get there, you then heat up 2 Tbsp of the herb oil and go in with a big can of San Marzano tomatoes and cook them down with salt. After 5 or so minutes, add 2 anchovy filets and cook them until they're gone. Then, just before service and after you add the pasta, you make the final addition of fresh basil. No red pepper, no onions and no garlic that wasn't hand-me-down from the oil. Zen-simple, provided you have anchovies on hand. I've never cooked with them and worried about the fishy potential, even though I've heard again and again that they bring a certain umami goodness to food, not fishiness, but I live with the most fish-averse person on Earth, so it was a risk. Result: a competent tomato sauce that was not fishy, but was not spectacular in any notable way. Perhaps if I'd had time to cool the herb oil, allowing more time for the herbs and garlic to infuse, that element would have packed more punch. As is, I don't prefer this to my own recipe which includes fresh onions and garlic, red pepper flake, and granulated garlic for that punch-in-the-mouth "red sauce" joint flavor. And while there is some chopping involved in mine, it's really no more effort than making herb oil. On the wash I like mine better. I'm pleased to say, then, that the Chicken Parmigiana Meatballs were fantastic. A bit more work than your standard meatball, but so worth it in the end. It starts as a basic chicken meatball, with panko, parmesan, a few dried Italian herbs, some of that herb oil and an egg. Mixed lightly and formed. Then the meatballs get a coating of parmesan and panko, mimicking the crust layer of a chicken parmigiana. Then, in the actual recipe, they are browned and then braised in the tomato sauce in the oven, topped with mozz and finished. I did the braise on the stove top and then coated the final plated dish with cheese instead. I've made chicken meatballs bunches of times and with all different flavors ... I'm telling you, this is some kind of master recipe. The perfect proportions of (dried and therefore very predictable) ingredients lending to a beautifully moist, but not squishy or loose, meatball that offers a satisfying chew and a genuine flavor of chicken parmigiana. I often don't feel that ground chicken tastes very much like portioned chicken, but this tastes EXACTLY like its namesake dish and was knock-out-of-the-park good. 
|
|
