Anthony Bourdain - No Reserv - Techniques Special

[chocolatelab]

I love the show. I think its one of the best on TV right now as well.

He has an interesting vocabulary and cadence, I wonder if thats him or an exceptional writer on his team.

[javadog]

That's him... he IS the writer...

JR

[jeffgrant]

He does have some pretty hilarious comments:

"Pork in this country is like chlamydia at Burning Man.... it's everywhere."

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit."

"Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria's mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once."

"We know, for instance, that there is a direct, inverse relationship between frequency of family meals and social problems. Bluntly stated, members of families who eat together regularly are statistically less likely to stick up liquor stores, blow up meth labs, give birth to crack babies, commit suicide, or make donkey porn. If Little Timmy had just had more meatloaf, he might not have grown up to fill chest freezers with Cub Scout parts."

"PETA doesn't want stressed animals to be cruelly crowded into sheds, ankle-deep in their own crap, because they don't want any animals to die-ever-and basically think chickens should, in time, gain the right to vote. I don't want animals stressed or crowded or treated cruelly or inhumanely because that makes them probably less delicious."

"To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living."

[Shaun @ Tru6]

tried the chicken technique tonight for lunch salads. 3.5 lb bird, 425, 55 minutes. smelled so good, ate it out of the pan, breast was excellent, best I've had, especially with spoonfuls of fat.

[woodman]

Inspired me too, been cooking Boeuf Bourguignon today AND Tom Kellers roast chicken. My house smells edible...

I got roast chicken down pretty good, but the beef dish is a first for me. So far the sauce is pretty thin tasting. Need to make a demi-glace to have on hand to give stuff like this some depth of flavor.

[silver912e]

One of the few shows on TV that I actually look forward to watching.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by woodman

been cooking Boeuf Bourguignon today AND the sauce is pretty thin tasting.

You shouldn't need much demi-glace and it really doesn't change the flavor much, anyway. What recipe are you using?

JR

[chocolatelab]

After watching him tonight in nicaragua my wife made me watch real house wives of orange county.

What a bunch of insane idiots.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by javadog

You shouldn't need much demi-glace and it really doesn't change the flavor much, anyway. What recipe are you using?

JR

I was using his recipe. i brought some leftover for lunch today. Looking forward to see how it tastes a day later.

[gtc]

His cookbook is pretty darn good.
His fiction sucks. (IMO)
His travel books (Medium Raw, Nasty Bits) are mostly just a re-hash of the TV shows.

I liked the episode a while back where he and Eric Ripert work the line at Les Halles for a night.

[304065]

Originally Posted by cmccuist

Kitchen Confidential was a great book. Medium Raw was horrible! I could barely get through it. OK, you can drop f-bombs. I get it!

The only thing that saved that book was reading about the guy who cuts up the fish at Eric Ripert's Fish restaurant and learning about that exotic bird that you eat whole and is illegal to cook.

Anyway, he's great on Top Chef.

Ah, the Ortolan. I don't think they are endangered anymore so probably legal to eat.

They are usually eaten with a white napkin over your head. One chef said,

"We do this so that G_d does not see us eat the little bird."

[javadog]

Originally Posted by woodman

I was using his recipe. i brought some leftover for lunch today. Looking forward to see how it tastes a day later.

I tend to cook it somewhat longer and slower. I make sure the onions melt away completely, or I remove the meat and carrots and blend the onions into the sauce. I throw away the carrots and put new ones in towards the end, so they don't look so hammered.

You might also try adding some more liquid, whther it is wine or stock. Then, reduce, reduce , reduce. Traditional recipes call for much more wine. I don't like this, as the wine flavor is too prominent. Done right, Anthony's recipe tastes mostly of beef; the wine just adds a little richness. I also reduce mine to a thicker consistency than Anthony suggests. He prefers it more brothy.

I also have been known to add some pearl onions, or sauteed whole mushrooms in at the end.

JR

[woodman]

Originally Posted by javadog

I tend to cook it somewhat longer and slower. I make sure the onions melt away completely, or I remove the meat and carrots and blend the onions into the sauce. I throw away the carrots and put new ones in towards the end, so they don't look so hammered.

You might also try adding some more liquid, whther it is wine or stock. Then, reduce, reduce , reduce. Traditional recipes call for much more wine. I don't like this, as the wine flavor is too prominent. Done right, Anthony's recipe tastes mostly of beef; the wine just adds a little richness. I also reduce mine to a thicker consistency than Anthony suggests. He prefers it more brothy.

I also have been known to add some pearl onions, or sauteed whole mushrooms in at the end.

JR

Cool, thanks. Now i know how to modify it a bit next time. Such a tasty dish...

Back to the roast chicken briefly...last night power was out in our part of town for a long time, 5 hrs+. I had just finished resting the roasted chicken, so i threw it into the freezer to get it colder quicker. The power went on middle of the night, chicken froze solid. Asked the boy to pull it and thaw it in a pot of water this evening so it would be thawed for dinner. Forgot to specify "leave it in the bag". Looks like we are having soup tonight instead...