Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I've heard of garlic toes. I remember thinking it was kinda cute. It also took me awhile to get used to calling it a "head" of garlic. I had only heard of it being called a "fist."

Gerard,

I think it probably would have been fine staying in the water bath, at either the cooking or a holding temp, but pulling it and reheating it is fine too. Glad you liked it! I'm doing a porcini and apple stuffed one this weekend for an event I'm catering. I'll likely cook it Friday and then reheat and sear on site Saturday night.

Amy

So DH is showing a keen interest in sous vide. I don't think he'll actually do it since always cooks on the spur of the moment, but if it gets me a machine, I am all for it. I looked at Modernist Cuisine and even for the Home one, the price is way more than I can justify at the moment. So you has anyone used any other book? I was looking at Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide by Thomas Keller and Harold McGee or even better Sous Vide: Help for the Busy Cook: Harness the Power of Sous Vide to Create Great Meals Around Your Busy Schedule (Cooking Sous Vide) by Jason Logsdon as a way to learn more. I am also listening to the Harvard series which includes Myhrvold and others. TIA

Alina,

Most of the books out there aren't really geared to a home cook. I don't know the Logsdon book, but the title sounds more home-oriented than the the others. I have Modernist Cuisine and Under Pressure, but wouldn't recommend them for basics. I've listened to a few of the Harvard podcasts and they're good.

Much of what you'd want to learn you can pick our collective brains on...

As for equipment, I'd go the route of an immersion circulator, e.g., the PolyScience, over a Sous Vide Supreme.

Amy

I've used Modernist Cuisine several times. The big hit (based on the book's website) is the Carmelized Carrot Soup with Carotene butter. I've made it three times now and it really is that good. But this is not a sous vide recipe, it uses a pressure cooker.

I have made the sous vide braised short ribs - which were excellent. However, the receipe for the recommended red wine glaze - if the text is to believed - is just too much effort for the 1/3 of a cup it presumably renders. Between the meat (2.8 lbs), the 16 cups of veggies (starting with 7 cups of carrots), a bottle of wine, 2.8 lbs beef bones - it's labor intensive and expensive. I've wondered whether it really renders 3 cups but I'm not going to try.

I've enjoyed their sous vide steak - which is finished off by 30-seconds of deep frying at the end. Yum. The low temp oven steak is quite good as well. Aso, the sous vide fragrant salmon is very good - although I cooked it a few degrees higher (116) than they recommended (113).

The book has the most beautiful food photography I've ever seen. And while there are plenty of sous vide recipes - it is more about modern cuisine rather than just sous vide. The section on cooking sous vide (including equipment issues) is great. There's lots to do with the pressure cooker (and immersion blender) as well.

Beware! There are lots of recipes with unusual ingredients and equipment that most people don't already have. But there's no need to run out and purchase this stuff immediately as there are plenty of recipes that can be made that use what you have on hand.

Gerard

Thank you Amy and Gerard. The fact that Modernist Cuisine has more than sous vide is a plus for me. Especially pressure cooker recipes as using that more is one of my goals for this year. I am getting some money back on a sweater that I never got, so maybe I'll use it for the book instead of more clothing I don't really need.

Modernist cuisine at home is a good introduction for a lot less money and less exotic ingredients. Also, I'll note that PolyScience now has a more economical circulator available.

Thanks Paul, I went ahead and ordered it. Figured it was meant to be when I found a couple of very old B&N gift cards while looking for something else. I am looking forward to reading it and maybe even cooking from it

Congratulations Alina - I think you'll love it. As I said, the photos are amazing. You might want to check out the book's website as well.

Gerard

I catered a birthday dinner last night and made a more upscale version of this pork loin which turned out really well. (At least so I'm told...I can never eat when I'm catering). I butterflied the loin and stuffed it with baby kale, porcinis ground pork and apples. Then rolled it and wrapped it prosciutto. Did a quick pan sear, then made a sauce with shallots, white wine, some of the porcini soaking liquid, the pork jus, hard apple cider, veal stock, cream and butter.

Amy