"To Brine or Not to Brine?" Part II.

Hello, Class. I hope my last post didn't make you feel you were back in Chem 101. Today I promise to be a teeny bit less technical. But I am still going to rant, this time about marinades and frozen fowl.

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"To Brine or Not to Brine?" That is the Question.

Perhaps the most discussed “innovation” of the last few years is the technique of brining a turkey before roasting. Adherents claim that submerging the whole bird in heavily salted water overnight produces moister and more tender meat on the plate.

Does it work?

Yes, to some degree.

Unfortunately, it has drawbacks as well. I am inclined to believe that the results people are getting have more to do with lower roasting temperatures in the new brining recipes and less to do with the brining itself.

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Is the Entrée Dead?

Every hip menu today seems to have a section devoted to “small plates.” Some restaurants are even replacing the traditional three-course menu with a variety of appetizer-size dishes that can be ordered in any sequence or even all at once. But as any devotee of tapas or dim-sum knows, there is nothing new about small plates.

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The Green Bicycle Saves the Day: Part II

The streets of New Haven being less charming than the bucolic beach roads of New Hampshire and Maine to a cyclist with now other aspirations, the green bike was eventually, after having served dutifully many thousand miles, stored away.

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The Green Bicycle Saves the Day: Part I

I was driving on 287 the other day when I spied a green mountain bike strapped to the back of a car. It filled me with a warming wave of nostalgia. It was the particular shade of green—celeste green—that brought the memories flooding back.

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