Cooking and Dining

[mamaemeritus]

Joshua Weissman. I'm actually following his starter recipe. After my first attempt at the uber basic King Arthur recipe. I don't know if I'm doing this right or not - if it looks right or not. It's not rising and I don't see a ton of bubbles.

[mamaemeritus]

I feel like all I've accomplished in 2 weeks is waste a metric ****ton of flour.

[dodint]

They sell bread already bagged and sliced. It is the greatest thing.

[mamaemeritus]

I like to bake. It's therapeutic for me. I've been baking since I was a little girl, so I generally know what I'm doing. Figured I'd try something a little different. Just wanted to see if I could do it and produce a semi decent loaf.

Interestingly, finally, today my starter looks slightly more like a starter.

Surprised with all of the Harry Homemakers in here with their sous vide and fancy recipes there aren't more bakers.

[dodint]

The closest thing I do to baking is c2i's pizza dough.

[robbiestoupe]

I've tried sour dough before, but only when I've been gifted a starter. Never made a starter from scratch. And since I'm hardly home all day no matter what day it is, I don't have time to do it anymore.

[count2infinity]

Yeah, the upkeep and the planning ahead got to me after a while. I did Josh Wiessman's schedule with the rye and white flour combo and it worked for me. I got great loaves the first couple times:

But you have to keep on top of it or it doesn't keep. I found that I let it go to long and it largely died on me.

[DigitalGypsy66]

I used to make excellent rye bread, using a starter. I forget the ratio, but it was clear flour and water and let it ferment. Then keep it going, and unless some of the hurricanes and lengthy power outages broke the streak, I bet that starter is still going. Man, that bread was so good. Used to make rye, pumpernickel, and marble rye with that.

[mamaemeritus]

That looks great, @count2infinity. I'm going with JW's recipe to start. I'm also going to try Claire Saffitz's method as well. I made her sour cream & chive pull apart rolls and they were to die for.

[Shyster]

I tossed my sourdough starter last year because I wasn't baking enough sourdough bread to justify the (admittedly minor, but still) hassle of keeping it fed and alive. I didn't start it from scratch; I bought it from King Arthur. So I figure if I ever want to bake sourdough again I'll just buy some of King Arthur's fresh sourdough starter again.

I used to bake bread a lot more, but I've changed my eating habits some, and that's cut down on the amount of bread I make.

[Shyster]

Speaking of bread baking, one bread recipe I would highly recommend is Japanese Milk Bread Rolls.

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipe ... lls-recipe

My SIL says that these rolls are as good or better than the milk rolls she ate when she lived in Japan, which were a favorite of hers. They make for killer dinner rolls for Thanksgiving and the like. Pretty easy to make, too.

[mac5155]

I like to bake. It's therapeutic for me. I've been baking since I was a little girl, so I generally know what I'm doing. Figured I'd try something a little different. Just wanted to see if I could do it and produce a semi decent loaf.

Interestingly, finally, today my starter looks slightly more like a starter.

Surprised with all of the Harry Homemakers in here with their sous vide and fancy recipes there aren't more bakers.

I don't hate baking. I just rarely make sweets.

[tifosi77]

I am not very good at baking, in large part because I do not particularly like the results and proceeds of baking enough to warrant getting any better at it.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

are there really no Michelin star worthy restaurants outside of NY, DC, Chicago and Cali?

[willeyeam]

There are 15 in Florida per the Michelin guide site

[tifosi77]

In the U.S.? There are probably hundreds of restaurants that are worthy of recognition. But Michelin only sends reviewers to those locations.

They are quite an absurd organization, but there's no denying the value of a star on a restaurant's door.

[tifosi77]

FL is new for 2022.

They went something goofy like 12 years between Guides in California.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I’ve been thinking about this because I saw the Grant Achatz Chef’s Table episode. This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to go to a Michelin star restaurant (Alinea’s got 3)

if you haven’t seen the episode, think artsy fartsy bordering on pretentious food

[Dickie Dunn]

I’ve been thinking about this because I saw the Grant Achatz Chef’s Table episode. This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to go to a Michelin star restaurant (Alinea’s got 3)

if you haven’t seen the episode, think artsy fartsy bordering on pretentious food

It's worth it.

- The only **** on this board that's eaten there.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

what’s the difficulty level of getting reservations? I want to go sometime in 2023

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

the best restaurant I’ve ever been to is Pujol in Mexico City, which was also on Chef’s Table. My god that food was amazing

The ant sauce with the corn was surprisingly good but the octopus was the most perfect thing I’ve ever eaten

[Dickie Dunn]

what’s the difficulty level of getting reservations? I want to go sometime in 2023

Honestly, not that difficult. They've changed the restaurant since we ate there and now offers The Gallery and The Salon. I believe The Gallery is the original experience and The Salon slightly pares down the theatrics and courses, but regardless they release seatings two months in advance on the 15th of the month (April bookings are released on February 15th, etc.). Be ready to pull the trigger on the 15th of whatever month you're looking at and you'll be good. Willingness to take an early seating (5ish PM) increases your odds.

Reservations are not traditional reservations. The ingredients are expensive, preparation is long, and they're not eating the cost of you being a flake. You're buying a ticket to a seating and paying the cost upfront. If you need to cancel or change, the restaurant will work with you to sell your tickets (which means if you're looking for a seating there's a decently active waitlist/secondary market). Wine pairings (can be split) and gratuity is what you'll pay at the restaurant. Ticket cost, wine pairing cost, and expected gratuity is all listed on the website.

[Dickie Dunn]

the best restaurant I’ve ever been to is Pujol in Mexico City, which was also on Chef’s Table. My god that food was amazing

The ant sauce with the corn was surprisingly good but the octopus was the most perfect thing I’ve ever eaten

Ate there as well (though your picture is from his NYC restaurant). Incredible food. The mole madre is still going strong and up over 2,500 days old. Loved his Chef's Table episode and the work he does with Mexican cuisine. He and the restaurant also made an appearance in the CDMX episode of Somebody Feed Phil.

While on our trip last week we ate at El Vilsito, which was on Taco Chronicles and is an auto body shop that turns into a taco shop after hours. Best al pastor I've ever had. Midnight and the street was bumper to bumper cars trying to find somewhere to park to grab food.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Mexico City has the best food I’d ever eaten in my life. Every meal there was stupendous. Even the street tacos were memorable

[Dickie Dunn]

100%. There's a hole in the wall carnitas quesadillas and gorditas place down the street from my MIL's that's probably the best thing I've ever eaten.