Gnocchi

Made potato gnocchi for the first time yesterday. Slightly gummy, but still delicious when browned and sauced (nut and sage puree). Must try again soon.

Also, need to do this soon.

New Effort

I need to start cooking at a much higher level at home, at least once in a while when I have the time and I'm not distracted.

Also, started the ready-to-go dough trial today.

Starter Dough

I'm going to start keeping a big ball of hydrated and salted flour in the fridge for easy conversion into pizzas, breads, and flatbreads. I think having this 'starter' around will encourage me to make those items more, diversifying my grain diet a bit. In addition, keeping the flour pre-hydrated should mean I get more flavorful products. We'll see how it goes.

Rice Paper Wrappers

Last night I tried wrapping rice paper around some marinated and baked tofu and then searing the packages on each side that I could reasonably sear - some were too small. I used medium-high flame, which I think was probably too high, because the thin rice paper went past golden-brown quite quickly. The end result was Not Delicious. Even the perfectly browned parts of the paper had little flavor of their own, so the coffee-like too-dark flavors dominated. More salt may have helped (the filling was underseasoned too), but it may also have just made it salty.

In looking for guidance on how to improve the technique before I experiment with it this afternoon, I came across this recipe from Ming Tsai, but his technique is essentially the same as mine, though he uses high heat and doesn't season the paper at all. This person baked the packages, which I will definitely try. Deep frying is the obvious alternative, but that would make this technique far less useful and I'm not willing to make that compromise.

What I Want

Hojicha broth (with ginger? spice?), udon noodles, fish with crisped skin. Salmon?

Maybe some water chestnuts.

Molecular Mixology Source

http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/category/molecular-mixology/

Great stuff, especially the videos on the Aviation, Vessel 75, and Rosewater Rickey