cooking

Shawcuterie

February 17, 2012
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A good idea can start with a joke. This idea began as a bad pun, veered into the realm of speculation, and was finally implemented on a whim. In exchange for an assortment of custom spice blends, I sent my friend Mark some fennel salami and Spanish chorizo, both products of the Cabinet of Doctor [...]

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Continuing a Mail Order Education

February 11, 2012
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Apart from the basics of handwriting, grammar, and arithmetic, my grade school education happened at home, between the pages of books my parents bought to satisfy my voracious curiosity. (And, I have always suspected, to stop me from asking them questions they couldn’t answer.) This supplemental schooling began when I was given a box of How [...]

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Just One Fix

February 2, 2012
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If the story of Momofuku is David Chang turning a ramen obsession into a series of wildly successful restaurants, then the story of Momofuku Milk Bar is Christina Tosi turning whatever she could find in the Momofuku kitchen into delicious desserts. I bought the book with the intent of correcting my cereal milk panna cotta disaster, [...]

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Being Clever in Print

January 25, 2012
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If you are a regular reader of Cook’s Illustrated, you are familiar with the front matter that precedes the recipes: a folksy editorial by Christopher Kimball, the misnamed “Notes from Readers” (it’s questions from readers), and the Quick Tips. It’s the Tips that I find most interesting; a collection of handy hints from kitchen MacGyvers who [...]

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Ramen 2.0

January 19, 2012
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My last attempt at making homemade ramen noodles was such an utter failure that I gave up on the idea permanently. Then I read the inaugural issue of Lucky Peach, which was devoted to all things ramen and included a new recipe for alkaline noodles as well as a revised ramen broth (which I had [...]

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My Best of 2011

January 13, 2012
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Once again, illness and massive cooking projects have conspired to keep me from posting my review of last year in a timely fashion. Now that I’m healthy again (both physically and possibly mentally) I expect to resume with a more regular schedule. Here’s my “best of” list for 2011: Cookbook No contest. The best cookbook [...]

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Cooking More Books

December 30, 2011
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So many cookbooks were published this year that I couldn’t pick just one or two to list as favorites, but I was able to narrow down the list to about a dozen. Here’s what I have been reading and cooking from in 2011: Modernist Cuisine: My number one pick is also the largest and most [...]

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Cut and Dried (Charcutepalooza Slight Return)

December 14, 2011
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When we last visited the Cabinet of Doctor Charcuterie, I still had bresaola and lonzino curing in it that were not quite ready to eat. By Saturday, ten days later, however, they had both lost 35 percent of their weight and had become firm to the touch. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I released [...]

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Duck, Duck, Goose (Charcutepalooza Challenge 12)

December 6, 2011
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Much to my surprise, my last Charcutepalooza post was selected by Food 52 as one of the ten best posts for the November challenge. I’m honored that my chronicles of near disaster were considered worthy of their attention. I had no time to rest on my laurels for successful salami making because there was one [...]

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The Cabinet of Doctor Charcuterie (Charcutepalooza Challenge 11)

December 1, 2011
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The November Charcutepalooza challenge was about curing, which included my old nemesis – salami – as an apprentice challenge. When I saw that lardo – which I had made successfully the first time I tried – was an advanced challenge, I thought either I got lucky with the lardo, or I really suck at making salami. [...]

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