Martha Stewart Copped Out

I try to stick with themes. This morning, the theme that arrives time and time again, are wine glass tags.

Wine glass tags are just as they seem; little markers for the wine glass so that it doesn't get mixed up with another guest's wine glass. I thought to myself, "who puts their wine glass down?" But then it became obvious to me that when one ducks into a closet for a quick snog at a cocktail party, most people put their glasses down. It then occurred to me that you have just exchanged a lot more than spit--so why the shy behavior suddenly? BUT then I thought further and realized that it may come down to philosophy; HIS glass may be half empty.

First it started with a perusal of an old Martha Stewart Magazine. Someone requested "smart and simple" ways to make wine glass tags. The first mistake was to assume "simple" thought I. But Martha disappointed. She suggested buying silk flowers with the bendy stems to wrap around the glasses.

EWWW. Doesn't that seem a fright? I can imagine a rose growing up the side of your Burgundy and tickling your mustache.

Then I saw these, and suddenly the flower seemed downright avant garde!

I remember the good old days, when it was appropriate to drink out of "red cups" and you could just Sharpie your name on the side. Those were simpler times.

I'm not even gonna talk about these.

I've been wracking my brain to come up with a better idea. And then I had it. We've lived centuries without wine glass tags--therefore WE DO NOT NEED WINE GLASS TAGS.

As I always say, keep your wine glass close and the wine bottle closer.

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Sous Vide, a Primer

My mom had this idea a long time ago. She saw this machine on the Home Shopping Network (we were in a hotel and there was NOTHING else on) and she ordered it. It was this narrow machine that reminded me of a white Knight 2000 grill (I had to Wilkipedia that; apparently the onboard computer was named Kitt--NOT the car). It was not much bigger than a three-hole punch. She had this brilliant idea to put chicken in the pouch with seasonings (I recommend parsley, garlic, lemon, thyme and rosemary) and then would freeze it and boil it when she was ready to eat. To me it sounded gross. I come from the school of "color equals flavor" (so to speak), so a boiled chicken breast is about as unappealing as eating dough after its second rise.

Then she read something about plastics putting off carcinogens when heated to a certain level--that was then end of sous vide in my house. The debate is still on, but that hasn't stopped the trend from reaching our restaurants. Sous vide literally means "under vacuum". The method used by chefs is much more refined than my mother’s sous vide pot roast; cook the flesh at a low enough temperature that the texture is not compromised. In fact it is a texture that we can't get with our traditional methods of baking, poaching, or sautéing.

In culinary school we are taught to cook thin slices of meat (and high protein meats) at high temperatures. This ensures the meat will be cooked evenly and will retain its juices. In sous vide cooking there is no where for the juices to go but back into the meat--so the result is a finer texture and a juicier piece of chicken.



But the machines cost 5 grand and the New York Health Department has nixed the process by explaining that there are rules about chicken reaching the designated 165 degrees (the temperature at which salmonella can no longer live).

Don't get me started in on the salmonella debate--it's the FDA's lack of regulation that our food supply is so diseased in the first place (google the term "fecal soup" and have fun).

As with any fad or trend I roll my eyes, but the possibility of eating rhubarb that looks raw but is neither stringy nor crunchy has my curiosity peaked. Imagine what salmon that has been cooked for an hour at 100 degrees will feel like in your mouth! Imagine the flavor--a chef's job would be to baby-sit the meat (insert your own joke here).

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Holy Crap

BUTTER CUTTER!

LOVE IT.

(the all caps just goes to show.)

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Download.

I agree.

And agree some more.




(from yosh.com)

"'Download,' a dinnerware set for one, is a comment on technology and our lives. I once saw a 1960's science program that proclaimed computers would simplify our lives bringing a 4 day work week. I can only speak for myself, computers have had the opposite affect. Most of my meals are spent in front of the computer. The pace of our lives seems to be spinning out of control.

'Download' is dedicated to the individuals whose dining companions are often their computers. The monitor, a shallow plate that reminds us there is more to life than work. The keyboard, a shallow box for holding food items, a CD to serve as a small plate or coaster, a mouse which is a two sided spice dispenser and a mouse pad napkin."

download.com
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Who is Gonna Get This For Me?

come on...it's only $17,300 per place setting.

That's not much when you consider how many times I'm gonna cook for you...

ETERNITY.

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STACKme

As I mentioned in an article below, design for design's sake is not my cup-of-tea. I like design to solve a problem.

STACKme is a stacking place setting that allows for each plate and bowl to stack UP not OUT. Think NYC when suddenly there was no more land to build on--"let's go up!" the mayor might have proclaimed.

Table sprawl shall be a thing of the past; soup with a view probably even tastes better.

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coo.boo

I'm eternally fascinated by design. I started out as a design student before I became a chef, indeed. And though I love designers/design, I often don't agree with how they come about their designs. This particular design I will share with you falls into the "WTF?" category. I wish that he knew the subject before he designed for the subject.

It's not beautiful. It doesn't solve any "problems"--it is design for design's sake--use the brainpower to stop starvation or global warming. But then again, those are real problems--getting soup on your cookbook is much easier mountain to conquer.

coo.boo
via: Cool Hunting

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coo.boo Digital Cookbook
by Tim Yu, 7 February 2007



You might have heard, but soon there will no longer be a need to risk your laptop in precarious situations in the kitchen. Modeled after a spatula, coo.boo is a digital cookbook that fits into the kitchen environment better than any laptop or printed cookbook. Recipes stored on the user’s computer are automatically synchronized through a wireless docking station and displayed on the face of the device. Digital function allows the cook to choose the degree of support wanted, from simply displaying recipes to full audiovisual cooking lessons. Not fragile like other high-tech digital devices, coo.boo is washable and can be placed on the counter top or hung up next to other kitchen utensils. Designed by Philipp Gilgen, a student at the University of Applied Sciences in Northwestern Switzerland, it recently won the IF Concept Award 2007. Still in prototype stage, there is no word yet on release or price. Contact Philipp Gilgen for more info.

Woah

Not sure why this is better than a jar of spices and seasonings--but I guess it could be.


via: Thrillist

Wok

Title as simple as subject.

Got one.

Happy.

Here it is:


Here is the book I am going to get:



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Fizzle My Nizzle

Champagne is the theme for the day. All things Champange, sparkling wine, and Prosecco are in my head--or rather go to my head. Many of you know that I love Champane; I've dined on Champange with celebrities, with friends, and with family (okay, so she's not real family--but we are "scorpio sisters" after all)--but mostly I've dined on Champane alone, in my bathtub with a good book. I've even been known to finish the half drunk glass of Champagne of those that I just met (apparently she is also a celebrity--though she could learn a thing or two about the celebrity bit where one drinks too much and trashes the bathroom, as her predecessor most certainly has done--she didn't even finish her first glass! Where's the celebrity in that?)

I could bore you with the details of Champange, but I'll let Wikipedia do that for you.

I'm here to fill your senses with the good stuff.

A good book with 16 Champagne recipes :

A nice modern flute:

For the person that has everything:

To the good life!

"Salut, bon vivant!"

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Calorie Counting Chocolate

This is brill for my new diet--as the holidays have arrived, and pecan pie is my weakness--I've started counting calories, a preemptive strike, if you will.

From Italian, ADF.

Via Swissmiss.

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Roller Toaster

This is going in my kitchen,mos def(I mean when I can put it on my amazon.com wish list).

Tubular!

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