Ok Nina, here's where we left off from your last post......
Starters are amazing little creatures. The one that I have is a bacteria that I bought in San Francisco (that sounds weird) and has evolved into what it is today. Depending on where you live and what wild yeast is around you will depend on the flavors of your starter.
I made my second batch of polenta tonight and this time I wanted to get a little more creative with it since I have the basic concept (I thought). I started with sauted onion and garlic and I used a 4:1 ratio with chicken stock and added some dried basil early on with salt and ground pepper. When it was done I finished with a metric crap ton of butter and a touch of heavy cream. It came out beautifully and tasted great. However, about half way through dinner as it cooled it started to gelatinize and got rubbery. Where did I go wrong?
Has anyone on the forum ever felt that the culinary arts field may not be for them?
I know a lot of technique, and have been going to school for an associates degree in Culinary Arts, but there are a few people I have met who work in the industry that I don't want to become.
I hope someone will be able to give me a little insight on this matter.
I'm looking for a clear video on de-boning a chicken. Anyone have ideas?
G'day everyone.
My name is Brian (pseudonym Jacobite.)
I'm a little embarrassed to say that I've been watching from the sideline for quite a long while without contributing to the forum; however, I've finally made the effort to get into the game, and (hopefully) make a useful contribution.
I'm an Aussie, born and bred in the heart of Sydney, but now living a rural existence in Australia's most-southern state, Tasmania - a beautiful island-state affectionately known as the " Apple Isle".
I finally completed the podcasts through the mother sauce series and I have a little bit of confusion about demi glace. Chef Jacob mentioned you can reduce your veal stock to over 50% to produce a demi glace. However, in the Espagnole episode he revealed a true demi glace is 50% Espagole, and 50% veal stock. I understand the concept of reenforcing the flavors, so I'm trying to figure out if it's important to go through the veal stock > espagnole > demi galce process or can you get the same basic result from reducing your veal stock down to a demi glace consistency.
I made my maiden voyage into Risoto tonight and was very pleased with the results.....it came out beautifly andente and creamy. I now understand why Chef Jacob calls Risoto a "Labor of Love," but one that's worth the effort.
Tonight's menu was 7 bone roast braised to perfection, served over risoto and finished with a pan reduction sauce, and aldente green beans blanched and sauteed with garlic and almonds. My family almost licked their plates. :-) Sorry for patting myself on the back, just wanted to share my sucsess with fellow foodies.
I think it would be great if a new video category was added for your Food Science 101 video series. I had a little bit of trouble finding the video on emulsions this morning. :-)
I've been re reading one of my favorite books "Chez Jacque," Jacque Pepins biography/recipe books, and he mentions "Fromage Fort" which is, as he describes, marinated cheese in leek broth and white wine, left in the cellar in an eartheware container and eventually mashed with garlic.
I was just looking for someone to shed a little more light on the process of producing fromage forts, they sound delicious!!
Does anyone have an idea whether there is a general rule of thumb for the amount of yeast required in any given bread dough recipe? I understand the Baker's Percentage but since it excludes yeast from the calculation, I would think there would be a way of figuring how much yeast would be required for any given volume of flour. No? My store does not carry instant yeast and it appears the only yeast I can get around here is rapid rise or active. Not sure what the difference is but I was under the impression rapid rise was for bread machines. Any help would be appreciated.