Let's talk about food

LOL! I must have misunderstood.Yes, I was talking about Cleveland, OH.

Ouch.Well, at least it's close to Chattanooga. I think it's really nice around there, at least the scenery. I've seen some really nice "mountain" lakes around there. Oh, and you're close to Lookout Mountain. How lucky are you?

One of the books I have is a translation of: le Viandier de Taillevent. Guillaume Tirel (Taillevent). The translation claims it is based on a second edition believed to have been written between 1386-1393 (Vatican Library manuscript).Has gems like:Subtlety of a swan reclothed in its skin including its plumage.Take the swan, inflate it between the shoulder, slit it along the belly, and remove the skin (including the neck cut close to the shoulders). Leave the feet attached to the body. Put it on the spit, bard it, and glaze it. When it is cooked, reclothe it in its skin, with the neck very upright on the plate. Eat it with Yellow Pepper [Sauce].

I love cooking for other people, and I'm generally considered pretty good at it. Unfortunately my shiny new girlfriend is a vegetarian and almost none of the things I'm good at cooking are IMO, you can't beat a good hunk of meat washed down with homebrew, though.

Ah, Grasshopper, you must learn the ways of the Pasta Pot and the Roasted Vegetable.

Hey, Schraf, you must know a thing or two about cheese, right?How come I can't do a decent cheese fondue to save my life? It either separates completely, with the cheese solids on the bottom in a stringy mass with milk-water on top, or else the cheese proteins break up, but I can't get them to smooth out and I wind up with a gritty mess.I sense it has something to do with pH - not enough beer, wine, or lemon results in the coagulation of the cheese proteins and the cheese-mass scenario; more acid clearly breaks up the proteins but I must still be doing something wrong to get the gritty consistency. Generally I'm just doing a kind of pub fondue - light pilsners and firm cheeses like cheddar, gouda, or gruyere, plus brown mustard. Cornstarch (mixed with water first, natch') to thicken if needed.

I think your technique may be the problem.I don't think that the pH is the issue, because both heat and acid will denature the proteins, and the wrong amount of either or both will cause the lumpy mess. You also always need some kind of binder like cornstarch to keep the fat from separating from the liquids and proteins. Also, you might want to use a little more cornstarch with the cheddar than you would with the gouda or gruyere. The latter two cheeses are made with milk curds which have been "cooked", which is why they melt so easily and smoothly. Cheddar curds, OTOH, are just separated from the whey and then stacked to express exess whey. So, cheddar needs a bit more help in staying in a smooth and creamy state.The "slurry" method you were using works great for stir fries and gravies but won't work for fondue, I think, because of the high protein and fat content of cheese. Adding a slurry at the end it too little, too late, if you know what I mean. It needs the protection and structure of the starch to support it all along the way.OK, are you ready for the instant, life-altering solution to your fondue problem??Drumroll.....Instead of mixing corstarch with water, toss the cornstarch with the grated cheese.Get your tasty alcoholic beverage of choice and lemon juice gently simmering (NOT boiling) (get your garlic or shallots in there now if using) and then drop in a handful of the cheese and cornstarch mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until it all melts. Repeat until you've added all of it. Stir in your mustard and salt and pepper and any other flavorings you want and there you go.The fondue can bubble a little bit but watch the heat or it may break on you.

bump

I did read it, but unfortunately, my apartment was burned out in a fire so I haven't really been able to cook. Or post much.But your suggestions, as always, are expert, and I cannot wait to put them into practice in the kitchen.Once I have a kitchen.

Now that's gonna take some 'splaining, Lucy.

---

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

1) Douchebag in another apartment lights an unattended candle and falls asleep. This is sometime Sunday morning. (alternative narrative: lights a joint and passes out.)
2) Wakes up/comes to to find his bedroom in flames. Proceeds in uncharacteristically rational fashion (i.e. calls 911 and evacuates).
3) Firefighters arrive from firehouse about two blocks away.
4) Yours truly and the missus awake to find sirens and smoke puring in through their window (smoke is currently blowing in from around the corner.)
5) Yours truly dons pants, shirt, and shoes and grabs cell phones and wallet, runs outside, and observes that the building is on fire. Wife does same.
6) Fire spreads into walls and up a pipe chase into the roof area, guts most people's bathrooms (including mine.)
7) Firefighters enter the Crashpad and fight fire in bathroom and in roof area (Crashpad located on top floor) by tearing down my bedroom ceiling, unbeknowst to me. All yours truly sees from the vantage point of the driveway are firefighters bursting in my front door with hoses, and smoke bursting out same door in thick greasy clouds.
8) Fire is contained. Hours later we're able to re-enter the premises. Apartment is unlivable, bed and computers under piles of rubble and wet, loose cellulose insulation from roof, and all the rest of my stuff, while structurally intact for the large part, has been succulllently hickory-smoked.The long and the short of it is, unlike most of the rest of the unlucky bastards in my apartment building, our stuff was relatively unharmed and, Mrs. Crashfrog's mother being an insurance agent, the importance of renter's insurance had been well-impressed upon us. Others were significantly less fortunate. So, we're holed up in a hotel about halfway through the process of the recovery company contracted by my insurance boxing up my stuff and taking it off to be cleaned and stored, as the wife and I look for a new apartment. The landlord says he'll dissolve the lease at our discretion and, as the fire occured on the morning of the first, we hadn't yet sent in the rent. (Sucker!)Also we're totally uninjured, again unlike a few of the other residents. So, it's all good. Well, being homeless sucks. But it could have been well, well worse, and there's a lot of people for whom helping us is a top priority. So, in the grand scheme of things, not that bad.

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.You're right, it would have been a lot worse.Tell me, did the smoke alarms go off?

Did he try to warn anyone else?

---

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Mine might have, had I bothered to put the battery in. I don't know about his but apparently, the only injuries were smoke inhalation among the guy and his family and a woman above them who had to jump out of her second-story window and fractured her ankle. So apparently everybody got out in time.

Hey Schraf,
I am enjoying the cheese I got from your company.
A little pricey to put in my lunchbox on a daily basis,
but worth it for a once-in-a-while indulgence.I ordered the Cheesemaker's Passport package.
These are definitely for the discerning palate.
I suspect that many North American consumers would expect much blander flavor and softer texture in cheeses for direct consumption, as opposed to cooking, but the quality was not lost on me.
I can't get anything comparable in these parts.I would only say that I might prefer to get the cheese package without the bread.
Don't get me wrong - the bread was very good, but it doesn't really travel as well as the cheese and, while I might be willing to pay a premium to ship specialty cheese cross-country, I don't really want to pay to ship bread with it.But all in all , a definite thumbs up !EZThis message has been edited by EZscience, 05-15-2005 03:18 PM