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Showing posts from September, 2011

On The Value Of The $200 Fennel Braiser

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This is probably indicative of my state of mind, but I got super furious when I saw the following ad on epicurious: A $200 fennel braiser.  Questions like:  Who the fuck would spend 200$ just for the task of a fennel braiser?   What unique qualities of fennel could be coaxed with a special braising device?   Why would anyone think they could get away with this scam? Where did epicurious get the gall to sell such a ridiculous item? I had to research this further.  Within seconds my rage converted into amusement.  With myself.  At myself.  For within two clicks, I found the following:

Coffee tawk.

Coffee has been top of mind  lately .  With the rising price of coffee in NYC (I think I pay $4 for a thimbleful of iced americano), being able to make an excellent cup of coffee at home is becoming a priority.  I haven't made coffee at home without the guidance of Mr. Coffee himself, so this is going to be a learning process. To further complicate things, I really only like iced coffee.  Oh sure, I'll tolerate the hot stuff when it is freezing out, but give me iced coffee  anyday . Wisdom of the interwebs says that cold brewing coffee is the way to go.  Ratios and tools change, but technique pretty much remains the same.   Once I get a handle on making a good iced coffee, some variations I want to try are: Seasoning.  A  little  bit of  salt  can go a long way. It just makes sense and will supposedly cut bitterness. Cavitation.  I won't be the  first  to take  Nitrous cavitation  to cold brewing coffee, but maybe it's time to revisit the technique. Alcohol.