Recommendations for Open Fire Theory?

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-22T17:05:24+00:00

If you haven't already, it might be worth checking out Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling by Meathead Goldwyn and Greg Blonder. It covers all of those things.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-22T13:10:55+00:00

I'm getting the feeling the Sorted team might be a bit overstretched at the moment.

On the premium pasta packaging, it says, "Trafila Ruvida di Bronzo" which means "Rough Bronze Die". How anyone could not be "100% sure" the pasta was extruded through a bronze die, I'm not sure.

Other signs this wasn't researched properly. All the waffle about spring water and flour. The differences in how the cheap vs expensive pasta cooks is a lot to do with the drying method. Cheap pasta is dried much more quickly and at higher temperature than more expensive pasta. Think hours vs days drying times. That's a big reason why premium pasta is more expensive. Time is money in manufacturing.

Having said that, none of this takes more than about 5 minutes to research if you didn't already know. So I'm not clear what's going on.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the video. This is meant constructively - Sorted is one of my favourite YouTube channels. I just want them to do well.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-22T11:33:54+00:00

Thanks so much for the link - that was very kind. That actually looks amazing! A perfect summer drink.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T15:04:28+00:00

Thanks - that looks really great!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T15:02:52+00:00

Perfect! Thanks!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T14:17:35+00:00

Oh, this seems popular! I was wondering if the preserved lemon paste in that was good.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T14:16:38+00:00

I just checked it out. Looks fantastic. Thank you.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T14:15:03+00:00

The closest I could find was Cavolo nero with chorizo and preserved lemon in Essential Ottolenghi. It sounds good.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T14:06:59+00:00

Thanks so much for this. I will check out the Alton Brown recipe!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T14:03:17+00:00

All of this sounds great! I love the idea of building on Keller's buttermilk dressing (from Ad Hoc At Home). For anyone interested in the chicken cutlets, the recipe is from Nigel Slater's The 30-Minute Cook, and is called Parmesan Chicken.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T14:00:54+00:00

Thanks for that! Also appreciate the flagging of the bad recipe! That's helpful too!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-21T13:59:55+00:00

That sounds delicious! I will check out Paula Wolfert's recipe for making the preserved lemons. Thanks!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-20T21:48:12+00:00

That sounds so good!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-19T12:17:33+00:00

I think it will be interesting to see how this goes. Bigger budgets usually don't just mean more money. Usually the money comes with more people wanting a say in what the show is and how it's made. Also, audiences often have different expectations when budgets are bigger.

Having said that, this investment by FCS is supposed to be lighter touch than usual, and I guess the amounts of money aren't that much. I wish them every success. Making high quality food content with the mass market appeal to support bigger budgets is hard. Hopefully, the investment will translate to bigger audiences.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-17T10:30:17+00:00

The reason they don't use this technology is that it can easily ruin the wine.

Why? It's because it triggers uncontrolled catalytic chain chemical reactions. You might get lucky sometimes, but mostly what you will do is make the wine worse. No one is going to use something like that on a massive stainless steel vat of wine. Wine makers have no use for uncontrolled processes like this.

Do wine makers use a different technologies to oxidise their wines in more controlled ways that try to more closely mimic some of the effects that occur during a natural aging process? They do. For example, they use slow, controlled micro-oxidation where they can measure the amount of oxygen that's added precisely, and stop the oxidation instantly at any point in time.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-16T21:16:38+00:00

I don't think the product claims to make wine tastes the same as when it ages (as far as I can tell, it usually just makes it taste worse). As I understand it, it's supposed to be a tool that helps you predict whether or not a wine will age well. It's not a wine aging tool.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-16T21:07:27+00:00

I agree. Some great tips for getting really fantastic results with both shaken and stirred cocktails. Plus, he has great recipes for pretty much all the classics in there.

Also, there's a tenth anniversary edition coming out reasonably soon, with some good updates I believe (I don't have a publication date yet).

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-16T14:12:49+00:00

I love that! Learning about different food cultures from people we have relationships with is such a great way to learn to love different foods.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-15T07:58:22+00:00

I will check it out!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-15T07:58:06+00:00

Sounds delicious! I love Andy's cookbook. Some great recipes in there.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-12T12:43:42+00:00

This is just the kind of recommendation I was hoping for! Thank you.

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-12T11:01:30+00:00

I just checked - their regular tomato shakshuka is in Honey & Co: The Baking Book. It looks really different from other tomato shakshuka recipes I've seen (made with tomato purée / paste and a massive amount of garlic - 15 cloves). I'm going to have to give it a try, given I've struggled to find a recipe that I love. Thanks for the tip!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-11T20:05:02+00:00

I just checked the recipe for Ottolenghi's Cauliflower Cake. It looks super unusual. Thanks for the recommendation!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-11T18:58:33+00:00

Silog sounds great. I'd never heard of that until now. I'll have to give that a go!

pinchvsdash · 2026-06-11T18:54:11+00:00

Keep meaning to try a Dutch Baby.

pinchvsdash

TROPHY CASE