In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

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In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Fri May 15, 2009 12:52 pm

Sorry, still nothing audio-related to write about but we're planning dinner for guests this weekend and the entree I made up-- "couscous crab two ways" needs a perfect egg yolk. But we were hungry when we got home tonight so I went ahead and made the dish-- first the couscous base: boil 2.5 cups beef stock with a small cube of butter, turn flame off, add couscous and let sit for 6 minutes without opening the lid of your pot, then fluff couscous with fork; working "upwards" we have crabcakes-- peekytoe crabmeat, 3 tablespoons mayo, 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon dry dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce, formed into patties which I let sit in the freezer for 10 minutes then sauteed lightly with butter, served with horseradish on the side.

On top of this crabcake, sandwiched between the softshelled crab, I wanted a perfect yolk. But first, I lightly fried some Spanish chorizos (Palacios is an okay brand in the US) which I "garnished" around the couscous, then added peanut oil to the the oily goodness left over in the wok to deep fry the lightly breaded soft-shelled crab. I was pretty happy with the result below, sans yolk--

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Truth is, I really want a Polyscience 7306c immersion circulator 8) I was about to leave for JB Prince during my lunchbreak when miss Y, who works as a molecular biologist at MSKCC, called and said she found a discarded Fisher Scientific at her lab. Problem is, it's analog and our digital thermometer is busted so we had to improvise doing our sous-vide experiment. (Sorry analog lovers, this is one situation where I definitely prefer digital gear :geek:)

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Here's a good text on sous-vide: A Practical Guide to Sous-Vide Cooking. Basically, the idea is to cook for longer times at very precise, yet lower temperatures. Below, we have the egg about to be "poached"--

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Here's a video of the experiment. Not kidding, this might just be the best egg yolk I've tasted!



But we're not done, miss Y had been playing around with dessert and while I personally love her durian gelato, she thinks it won't suit our guests so she broke out her Alinea cookbook--

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and made this Tobacco cream which turned out great!



Looks like we're all set for this weekend-- melon gazpacho for starters, followed by butakakuni with pickled melon, then my couscous crab two ways, then durian gelato or tobacco cream for dessert. Now it remains to be seen, will the Fisher stop me from getting a Polyscience 7306c with thermocouple therm and probes... or an anti-griddle? :lol:

Thanks for reading!
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby Black Widow » Fri May 15, 2009 1:01 pm

BTW.....

I ate this dinner... ten minutes later, all smiles and no comments:

ttommy: How is it?
Me: I can barely live it down... you, kicking my ass in cooking!
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby qguy » Fri May 15, 2009 1:21 pm

"Truth is, I really want a Polyscience 7306c immersion circulator "

do you insert this in between the pre-amp and the power amp ? Image
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Fri May 15, 2009 11:57 pm

qguy wrote:"Truth is, I really want a Polyscience 7306c immersion circulator "

do you insert this in between the pre-amp and the power amp ? Image

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Thanks, made my day!
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby pigdog » Sat May 16, 2009 12:19 am

ah ha! somebody is working hard perfecting the receipe prior to my arrival! ;)
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Sat May 16, 2009 12:26 am

pigdog wrote:ah ha! somebody is working hard perfecting the receipe prior to my arrival! ;)

You got it! :y:
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby dimfer » Sat May 16, 2009 1:56 am

Ttommy & Black Widow - you are welcome to cook in our kitchen anytime.

very sophisticated man indeed :rock:
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Sat May 16, 2009 11:41 am

dimfer wrote:Ttommy & Black Widow - you are welcome to cook in our kitchen anytime.

very sophisticated man indeed :rock:

Thanks, Ding, would love to take you up on that someday... besides, I envy your backyard grill :lol:

Was very busy today but then our work database had to be patched. This gave me an hour to head off to JB Prince...



..and score this toy. Definitely makes the process easier :)

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Tonight's dinner was more to follow a "common progression." It seems cooks learning the technique start with an egg, then fish, then meat. So I tried salmon today, seared and peeled its skin, then brined in 10% salt solution for 10 minutes. I laid back a bit on the seasoning as I wanted to taste the fish more. Vacuum-sealed the fish and cooked for 17minutes at 126 deg F for a nice medium-rare (unfortunately, poor audio in vid below).



The main difference between sous-vide cooking and regular cooking is that with the latter one focuses more on the time it takes to cook a dish, with sous-vide, you focus more on getting the exact temperature to deliver the desired result. Taste-wise the main difference is a general evenness of flavor and considering the food is vacuum sealed, little to none of its internal juices are lost.

Siguro next, I'll try ribs :geek:
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby pigdog » Sat May 16, 2009 9:36 pm

PRIME RIBS!!!! PRIME RIBS!!!!!
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby setup6 » Wed May 20, 2009 4:08 pm

I like your post a lot.

My friends and I have been playing around with sous vide cooking. We have done it on eggs [in my experience we take it out of thermal bath to cool, then before serving toss it into boiling water for 1 minute so the whites are less runny, I saw Dan Barber do the same], veggies, beef [27 day aged done sous vide and finshed on a screaming hot pan/salamander to get a crust], pork, chicken [great way to add flavor and texture to a breast], and fish [my friends like it, but i personally do not like the texture of fish/salmon done sv].

Here is a blog made last year when my friend hosted a lunch.

http://dessertcomesfirst.com/archives/800
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Thu May 21, 2009 12:45 am

Thanks for the kind words and the tip on boiling eggs, setup6, much appreciated! Oh, and kindly tell your friend, "Max" he's my culinary hero! :clap: :clap: :clap: Now that is a proper kitchen he's got, truly world class! :inlove:

As for our weekend dinner, we had Miss Y's friends Zully and Max, but the Polyscience didn't see action during the meal--

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Since Miss Y made the dinner entirely by herself, with no assistance from moi, here's what she did in her words--



"We started with a cold watermelon gazpacho, two parts of watermelon plus one part of honeydew were chilled in the freezer. On top I had a touch of salt and a bit of bittersweet chocolate and red chili peppers in olive oil. Soft avocado and sauteed shrimp were added on top to contrast the coolness of the soup.


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"For the second course I sauteed a mix of murshrooms and onions in olive oil with beef stock until all the water has evaporated. Then I added a touch off rosemary oil I prepped earlier, seasoned with salt and pepper. The oil was reserved for the beef.


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"Filet mignon was seared to rare/medium-rare in reserved murshroom olive oil, then served on a bed of arugula seasoned with salt and olive oil, topped with mushrooms and Thomas Keller's "Quick sause" - which is anything but quick:-)


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"For the dessert we had home made chocolate ice cream on top of which we served Alinea's tobacco cream adapted for raspberries, black pepper salt and clover honey. Beef was sourced from [url="http://www.lobels.com/"]Lobel's (thanks detubo and joe3rp!)[/url], wines were a Chateau D'Arcins Bordeaux and a La Fiole du Pape Chateaunef-du-Pape."


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But then the next day, our chef came down with a cold so I made brunch from leftovers (couscous with crabcakes topped with a yolk :) finished with spanish-style hot chocolate, then melon with ginger tea. Slept. Finally got some rest. It's been hectic since mid last month. Dinner was one of those "fusioney" things I enjoy doing-- deep fried some cashew nuts in peanut oil, sprinkled salt, then set aside; deep fried the leftover crabcakes from this morning's brunch; made sichuan-style shrimps; made pad thai and pulled everything together.

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The most experimental dish we had this weekend was Alinea's tobacco cream which Miss Y adapted for raspberries! Click pic below to see a bigger picture with the recipe on it... and yeah, it needs a cigar!

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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Wed Jul 15, 2009 12:25 am

Here's last weekend's experiment-- Mexican by way of Hongkong and Thailand! :P

Friday evening-- made marinade for Pandan chicken then prepped Cantonese-style pork belly-- scalded, jaccarded then lightly rubbed with baking soda and five spice. Set both overnight in fridge.

Saturday morning-- started with roasting pork belly, 375F for 1 hour, then a quick broil--

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Then when Miss Y woke up, put her to work wrapping and deep frying the chicken while I made the dipping sauce (rice vinegar + sugar + chilies, reduced) and started prepping the next dish--

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Then it was time for lunch, Thai Pandan Chicken with jarred Croatian Ajvar as extra condiment--

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After the "essential" part of the Cantonese Pork belly was consumed ;) made a Salsa Verde with tomatillos, cilantro, lime, onion, garlic, one roasted ancho and chipotle, this last two making for the darker color you'll see below, cooled in fridge while both the leftover Cantonese pork and Thai chicken were pulled--

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Then made the sauce for the meat (cumin, chili and garlic powder, paprika, salt), mixed with meat, then moved on to the masa, got the texture right, then onto wrapping--

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Steamed tamales for two hours, then it was time for dinner--

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While it was fun (and tasty!) making those Asian stops, this was the actual target :)

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And I'm proud of the result... definitely better than the taco truck near my office! ;)

* * *

Additional dishes for our readers in Español--

Gambas con tostones y esparrago--

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Paella bastardita--

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And coming off that Tamale weekend, last night we decided to go light and eat healthy-- so, here's a veggie and fruit basket that's so easy to do. Take some pineapple, bell pepper, okra, zucchini and bosc pear, lightly drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then grill. Accessorize with crustacean and lean fish...

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Et voila!

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Thanks for reading! :devil:
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby rtsyrtsy » Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:46 am

Tito,

I just killed myself for 2.5 hours on a bicycle (inspired by the on-going Tour de France) and then I read this.

When, oh, when will my daughter be taller than my belt?

Setup6,

I'm so glad to see you on this thread. I now have one more thing I must do before I die: all of us enjoying one meal!
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Wed Jul 15, 2009 5:21 am

rtsyrtsy wrote:I just killed myself for 2.5 hours on a bicycle (inspired by the on-going Tour de France) and then I read this.

Audio = nakakapayat bulsa vs Cooking = nakakataba'ng pantalon. Either way, we lose :$
Siguro tama si Makoy-- para sa ikauunlad ng tiyan... bisekleta ang kailangan!
Teka... mali yata 'yan :lol:
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby Jon Agner » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:01 pm

i just had my lunch and now I'm feeling hungry again :o :D :D :D :D
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby dimfer » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:53 pm

Jon Agner wrote:i just had my lunch and now I'm feeling hungry again :o :D :D :D :D


exact same feeling when I checked this thread upon arrival at my office after having lunch with Mrs. Dimfer.
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby audiostar » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:56 pm

This is what I like about tito's thread, gaganahan kang kumain :) keep 'em coming chef ;)
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby Superman » Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:05 pm

Tataba na naman ako nito! :D
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby mandym » Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:27 pm

A PERSON IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE. YOU HAVE MY ADMIRATION TITO!
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Re: In search of the perfect yolk (and other experiments)

Postby ttommy » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:27 pm

Thanks for the encouragement, guys! Also goes without saying that if any Wiredstater is in town, I could be your restaurant tour guide or, if you have time to visit Brooklyn, there'll be a home-cooked dinner waiting :)
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