No burnt ends (aka Kansas City bean flavoring)?

The gastrocave is a warehouse space occupied by the Gastropod and MsCheezious food trucks. The space is used for docking, prep, storage, office, and some very cool underground events.

Michael... pithaya are grown commercially a little south of us, so we are definitely in the dragonfruit zone. I've grown succulents before, and I've always had an appreciation for them so this was like having something good turn into something better. There is a grower named Roger (who I'm told has gone strangely missing) in Miami who has a farm called the red dragonfruit company. He had the most perfect specimens of pithaya I have ever used. One of the amazing things he had done was successfully hybridized the white and red fleshed varieties to create a 'pink' dragonfruit. My plant only has yielded one fruit thus far, so my uses have been restricted to just peeling and eating.

Yang... the baking powder is a leavener, which puffs out the meat where is stabilizes into a lighter product (hence the holes visible in the sliced portion).

Umami-smoked.

Linda, I am always amazed at how you find the time to capture every photo and detail of the ICC. Next year, I just won't take any notes and just refer back to your blog for reference. Great seeing you again!

How can there be anything wrong with using pre-made onion flakes. There is a certain strength in the bought product that is equal to, say, using dried shiitake in Asian foods. Both granulated onion and garlic are strong staples of cajun food flavor, and I have never been able to stop myself from using these in the majority of my dishes (even when fresh onion and garlic are present). The flavor boost is amazing. Is it not similar to Elena Arzak demonstrating their use of freeze dried squid to season fresh squid. Granted, you can't just go to the store and pick up squid powder, but if you could would there be any loss of integrity? The onion flake discussion also reminds me of my very first 'kitchen' job in a bakery mass producing onion rolls by patting them into partially rehydrated onion flake... I can still remember that intense smell.

Beef and anise are happy also... at least star anise is. It's so often used to smooth out the flavors of beef and pork just like ginger. That shrimp sheet is really nice. Looking forward to seeing it's journey.

No matter where the chips fall, I feel no sadness over Adria's decision. I only equate it to the Beatles decision to stop touring circa Sgt. Pepper when they felt that the expansion of ideas in the studio would not be executed live in a lucrative manner. When thought of in this perspective, we should only feel excitement over the amazing things to come about in the future from this incredible team. I will only open more doors and show more possibilities to chefs around the world.

Louisianians everywhere will applaud you for your developments in the roux browning process! I will miss the scent of roux slowly browning on the stove all morning though... the price of progress.

Sounds like an awesome trip, Linda. Grits are great and fall into that category of foods that 'stick to your ribs.' Now you know why, with the huge spectrum of beloved southern foods that have been touched by modern cuisine, Edna Lewis once said, "You know, people should just leave grits alone." You can understand her incredible sense of notalgia over this simple sacred dish. However, it never stopped me from messing with them either.

Not much going on now, Bryce. We're about to head to NY for starchefs. After that, we're going to a culinary convention in Venezuela for some demos. I'll keep checking my email to see what's up. Just trying to tie up loose ends before the travels. Chad

This is ironic because my wife had found some sites in Chinese that discuss this very item. What we found even more interesting than the 'heating' capabilities was the fact that it is ground up and used in a special noodle dish. I've been wanting to order some online, and your post has just peaked my interest even further. If you search 'white charcoal noodles' in English, you will pull up several links to this dish. What could the flavor be like?

Very traditional, I believe. The word comes from the French 'andouille' which is also very popular in Louisiana. The name is even pronounced something like andouille... n' doo-yah. Ironically, it's more like a salami than andouille, but does have a bit of piquant-ness. Like your newpaper hat avatar on Twitter. Cool. You should fold it up like a pirate hat. Chad

Hey, Larry. Is this the product you are referring to... http://www.candywarehouse.com/candyfoam.html . Amazing how all this stuff pops up once you think you have an idea. Does it use a foam pump or is it aerosol? Someone else linked a product available in Italy that uses pressurized aerosol cans to dispense actual flavored foams (like a disposable iSi). I really had no intention of a patent here. Just a cool idea from an execution perspective that I wanted to share. Chad

How are you, Jaden? Great to hear from you. Congratulations on all of your recent success... books, TV, etc. You have it all!!! You've really pushed for this, so you deserve every bit of it. I'm just taking the low road at this point. Millions are not in my future. Just give me peace of mind and a nice backyard to hang in. A beer in my hand and a pig on the grill. Ciao, Chad

Linked recently in a FoodPlayer tweet http://footstepsfarm.com/footstepsfarmblog/2009/05/real-lard.html

There was a honeysuckle vine at my bus stop during my early school years. We used to drink the nectar while waiting for the school bus... much to the dismay of our neighbor who was growing the flora for aesthetic purposes. I can never remove that association with the flower from my mind.

Are the orange translucent flecks rock salt?

How about cool ranch filling?

The real value of this product is that you don't actually have to waste a can of beer.

Oh, yeah. And nice shot at CDM with the unavoidable powdered sugar spots on the bluejeans.

That book made me homesick. I was actually reading it while we were in the hospital having our baby girl... well, as much reading as is possible in such a situation, and a sad wake-up to my forevermore limited time.