Back in September, I spent a weekend helping my buddy Natalie make Alinea’s version of some hoity-toity soup dumplings. After 48 hours of kneading dough, steeping broth, setting gelatin and pleading for help with a chef on Instagram, we wound up with 18 delicate pouches filled with creamy black truffle broth that would, in olden times, have you hailed as a saint or branded a witch.
We pored over a cookbook and multiple web sites, debating techniques. We marveled at the frankly outrageous prices of the raw ingredients [HOLY SHIT, TRUFFLE JUICE IS $34 FOR WHAT IS NOT A LARGE CAN AT ALL.] We tried talking multiple batches of dumpling wrapper into behaving (Monica Eng, you would’ve been very very disappointed.) We watched episodes of an obscure Canadian cooking show and drank wine and talked trash.
And on Sunday afternoon, Natalie carefully cooked the little suckers and we enjoyed, silently, ecstatically, the singular pleasure of consuming a Truffle Explosion.
Umami, in crashing waves, underneath which one happily drowned.
And yeah, they were delicious. But eating them was kind of beside the point.
Getting the dough strong enough to hold together, nailing the consistency of the gelatinized filling so it would hold together during construction yet yield under heat and turn into broth; every recipe, regardless of complexity, is an opportunity to learn or relearn or perfect methods and ideas in the kitchen. And with friends who have, over the years, nourished you in so many different ways* - chowing down is almost less important than the time spent in good company - and if you happen to learn a thing or two about how to better nourish others, well, cool.
To be clear: we did not spend hours afterwards peering into the mycelial void, pondering new ways to plumb the hidden wonders of our sensorium. We gobbled those motherf*ckers down.
Talking about what we love about food, making more delicious moments possible, and sharing those moments with the people you care for (including yourself - cooking can be self-care) is what The83K is all about. I hope you’ll help me in that mission and send me your favorite recipes, your fascinating food news, your delicious Taco Bell hacks, your pictures, your favorite cooking videos, your recommendations for where to eat in your town (or places you’ve loved to eat in).
Because what’s the point in having a good time if you can’t share it with other people?
I hope I can help you get to the good stuff.
Thanks for being here.
– Theo
*Natalie once made a batch of 48-hour sous vide short ribs so amazing everyone in her condo was levitating.
A word from Franklin:
Things you should cook:
Tacos Al Pastor are delicious…but instead of using the traditional pineapple, may I suggest grilled peaches? I’ve been seeing a ton of grilled peach implementations lately, and I think they’d do the trick, flavorwise. If you wanna go big, try this recipe and rundown from Serious Eats. For something a little simpler: try this from F&W. BUT DON’T FORGET THE PEACHES.
Angel Food Cake is notoriously fiddly to make…but Bon Appetit’s Claire Saffitz shows us how to get through it with a minimum of fuss:
Someone recently told me they’d never, ever eaten really good corn on the cob before (they grew up away from fresh corn sources and, apparently, people who know better.) If you’re one of these poor souls who’ve never experienced the sweetness and pop of fresh kernels off the cob and can get some fresh ears in your hands, please try one of these three easy, fantastic methods.
Links:
Automats died out in America but they’re still alive and well in the Netherlands.
In Belgium, there’s a library of sourdough starters from around the world.
Videos:
People used to poison each other (and themselves) over watermelon:
A quick primer on spicy foods, why we eat them, and what to do when things get toooo hot.