Cooking Alinea, Ordering Pizza

[jg2007]

i'd add the flours to the water next time when you make you're tempura batter, and also club soda water works just as good, use a whisk! :)

[mistersavage23]

yeah... stab the meat to pull it out and not let it rest at all. plus, you cant label something as a misprint if you don't do everything exactly how it's written.

[mistersavage23]

yeah... stab the meat to pull it out and not let it rest at all.

[JulesClay92]

Chinois isn't 100 lol cheesecloth aint the same.

[FlipSnipeZ]

I <3 Agar Agar!!

[mathewmeeker13]

there is a video on here of a 5 year old and a 9 year old making this recipe and they made it perfectly. cant be too hard.

props to Mr. Achatz for coming up with it though.

[chef5311964]

hey girls. as far as your attempt i salute you. i think i might be able to help with a more successful result.

the agar part. take your liquid and blend on as high as possible. open the top and sheer in the agar "powder." cook it for 5 minutes, then strain and cool in the fridge until set. the pheasant has to be shocked after cooking, then cube it from a really cold state. the tempura batter, use seltzer water and whisk it into the flour mix until smooth. good luck next time, brian

[acidkid1984]

ok i think you all did a very good job.three factors paly into this big time. 1) Grant has made these recipes 100's of time and has them down to a science. 2) Its hard cooking someone else food thats not your style. food is art and everyone has their own style. 3). the first time you do a new activity, it can require you to go out of youre comfort zone. people at home do not usually do stuff like this. i thought it looked really cool when you presented it

[IlTavoloBambini]

also, always powdered agar agar or you'll need to simmer forever to get the agar agar properly dissolved, then you want to cool it rapidly over an ice bath stirring frequently, this will give the gel a smoother texture.

the carbonation and temp of the tempura batter are also key to get something light and airy. More gas in the water = more gas leaving the batter when it fries = lighter. Also the colder the water the more gas it can hold, I actually use club soda with ice for my tempura batter

[IlTavoloBambini]

Just a few thoughts here

-might want to cool the shallots in the fridge and cut them while they are cold, theyll be firmer

-cheesecloth is not a substitute for the chinois. a good chinois is finer than a sheet of cheese cloth and allows liquids to seep out while retaining excess fiber, giving a smoother and lighter base for the gel

-in place of a bane marie for the sous vide you can try using the hot running tap water from your sink if it stays consistent temperatures. Mine gets up to 165.

[PartyPantsProduction]

yeah do sous vide on a way lower tempature cus that really was nooot sooous viiide

[chef1924]

7 HOURS!

[chef1924]

WOW! Why waste your time!!!!!

[ewnassar]

Seriously ladies. If you do not want to TOUCH the pheasant and do not know that cheesecloth is in no way a sub for a chinois ( a regular sieve is BTW) then you really have no business cooking from Alinea. No wonder you screwed it up!

[jet179]

I think the point is that they're average cooks, not experts. Which is what I'd consider myself (an average cook, that is), and I'd never heard of chinois and would have no idea what the best substitute would be. Basically what you're saying is that the average person has no business cooking from the Alinea cookbook.

[ewnassar]

Absolutely. that is exactly what I'm saying. The book is geared toward professionals and very proficient/ambitious home cooks. I mean no insult here at all, but not all cookbooks are necessarily made for you.

BTW..I am not hostile, and I did enjoy their mishaps. What bugs me is one thing, thm not wanting to touch the dead meat. I'm sure any cook, average or pro, would agree that touching the food is kind of a req for cooking.

[jet179]

Grant Achatz seems to think that anyone can cook from his book--I read something in Chicago Magazine where he said that the recipes were no more complicated than a recipe for a chocolate cake from scratch, or something like that. I've seen the book and personally don't think it's nearly that easy, but according to everything I've read the authors absolutely intended for home cooks to be able to use the book.

[ewnassar]

Sure. Some recipes are even easier -maybe more time consuming though- than making a cake from scratch. I also never said that a home cook is not the target audience along with Pro chefs. However, you have to be an above average home cook who actually wants to spend time on fussy recipes and does not mind doing some research in certain cases.

[DeciderChicago]

I'm definitely a messy cook, so, confession time: 98 percent of the time I go vegetarian. I decided to try it out for the sake of making a whole recipe, and because my meaty meanderings are a more recent thing, I've never actually cooked with it before. Hence the squeamishness.

[DeciderChicago]

Also (I ran out of characters), you only "have" to be an above-average chef to have brilliant results. I'd recommend this to anyone willing to take risks--it was fun, I learned a lot, and messing up made it even more fun. So don't be dissuaded, fellow amateurs!

[elypse]

I'm with jet179 -- I think this is supposed to be a humorous take on what happens when people with normal kitchens who are not elite chefs attempt some challenging recipies. It looked like they had a good time in the process and I thought it was pretty funny. I'm surprised by some of the hostility in these comments.

[DeciderChicago]

I'm happy to accept donations for a better knife set.

[ac3jc]

just sharpen them

[DeciderChicago]

I've got a lovely sharpener that I use as directed.

[oneswellfoop]

I really think that those must be the dullest knives I've ever seen. Ever. The utility knife is better and smashing the shallot than cutting. The chef's knife tears the pheasant rather than cutting.

I respect the desire of some people to increase their culinary knowledge and experience, but baby steps ladies, baby steps...

[jk782]

A very valiant effort. What time should I be over for dinner?