About 6 months ago I wrote about record restoration and trying to correct alot of youthful indiscretions of abuse on vinyl recordings. Well, the learning curve has been a steep one. Thought I had restored about two dozen or so. But was frustrated with an album a friend wanted me to restore.
Put it aside for a couple of months and returned to the challenge at the beginning of the year. Not a New Year's resolution but a determination to get the job done and git 'er done right. In the ensuing months I did more research and study on record restoration.
Also, visited the online forum site of the software. Enhanced Audio's forum is not a large one but has many knowledgable users who are willing for others to succeed. There have been instances where they will take a small snippet of a troublesome file, restore it and return the snippet explaining each step and why.
One of the tricks I learned during my hiatus from the frustration was a tool in the program that reverses the file. A filter is run to remove the clicks and pops before and after reversing the file. Seems that reversing the file removes some of the nasties that could not be found without the process.( It is also pointed out that if you listen to the track in reverse you might discover any nefarious messages. I believe the Beatle's Abbey Lane was supposed to be imbedded with messages.) ¿Quien sabe?
I not only finished the album for the friend but successully restored some particulary troublesome albums that I would not play on a turn table because the pops and clicks were tooooo distracting. Now the challenge will be to finish the other 350 + albums.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Cacciatore
Some time ago I wrote about Italian chef Marcella Hasan's recipe for cacciatore. It is a wonderful dish that can be made in about 1 - 1½ hours. I use it regularly....that is, until I rediscovered a recipe by Sandy d' Amato, Milwaukees' James Beard award winner.
Sandy published his cacciatore about two years ago and I had clipped the article from the Journal Sentinel where it first appeared. Doin' some cleaning recently, I came across the recipe and decided to give it a try.
Certainly glad I did because this recipe is full of veggies and equally important, flavor. Sandy uses massive amounts of garlic (huzza), red and green peppers, mushrooms and onions. This is truly a one dish meal that is well worth the time (about an hour) and effort.
Sandy uses chicken thighs "as they have a bit more fat and more moisture and so, when they are cooked they hold up well to braising". I use both the thigh and leg. Chicken breasts require less time and still have a tendency to dry out (overcook). However, if you want to use the breasts, cook the thighs for about 20 minutes, add breasts and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Then add mushrooms and pepper and cook for 5 minutes more. Complete the recipe.
Sandy gives the option of cooking for the prescribed time just to get the chicken thighs tender or cook longer until they are fork tender. I prefer the latter. He also uses red pepper flakes, just the right amount. Experiment with the pepper flakes...start with half the amount.
When finished, pour yourself a good chardonnay or pinot noir and enjoy the fruits of your labors. Admittedly, sometimes I do not wait that long to enjoy a good wine.
Click the title to get the recipe.
Sandy published his cacciatore about two years ago and I had clipped the article from the Journal Sentinel where it first appeared. Doin' some cleaning recently, I came across the recipe and decided to give it a try.
Certainly glad I did because this recipe is full of veggies and equally important, flavor. Sandy uses massive amounts of garlic (huzza), red and green peppers, mushrooms and onions. This is truly a one dish meal that is well worth the time (about an hour) and effort.
Sandy uses chicken thighs "as they have a bit more fat and more moisture and so, when they are cooked they hold up well to braising". I use both the thigh and leg. Chicken breasts require less time and still have a tendency to dry out (overcook). However, if you want to use the breasts, cook the thighs for about 20 minutes, add breasts and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Then add mushrooms and pepper and cook for 5 minutes more. Complete the recipe.
Sandy gives the option of cooking for the prescribed time just to get the chicken thighs tender or cook longer until they are fork tender. I prefer the latter. He also uses red pepper flakes, just the right amount. Experiment with the pepper flakes...start with half the amount.
When finished, pour yourself a good chardonnay or pinot noir and enjoy the fruits of your labors. Admittedly, sometimes I do not wait that long to enjoy a good wine.
Click the title to get the recipe.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
30-Minute Meal?
FoodTV's Rachael Ray seems to have cornered the 30 minute meals TV crowd. But she doesn't have a monopoly on the art of preparing good food in a short time frame.
Gourmet magazine has a section in their magazine called 'Quick Kitchen'. The February issue offers a sautée/grilled chicken breast ala Morocco with a lemon couscous. The recipe is easy to do and the results are very good.
A couple of caveats: the couscous calls for oil-cured black olives. Did not have oil cured so I used the Kalamata olives I had in stock. Also, use imported black olives as they have a much better flavor than any domestic varieties. I use a Micro-Plane to zest the lemon. If you do a Google on the name, you will find a bunch of places to buy. They come in many sizes of zesting capabilities. I use the fine.
The recipe says to pound the chicken breasts to ¼" thickness. ..that's a bit thin. Anywhere from ¼" to ½", closer to ½" will give better results. Sauté/grill the breasts as indicated on both sides. Then cover them off heat for a couple of minutes to complete the cooking process.
The cumin and paprika in oil brushed onto the breasts before cooking, along with good technique in grilling, results in juicy morsels of bird. The lemon in the sauce for the chicken complements the lemon couscous.
Give it a try and let me know.
Gourmet magazine has a section in their magazine called 'Quick Kitchen'. The February issue offers a sautée/grilled chicken breast ala Morocco with a lemon couscous. The recipe is easy to do and the results are very good.
A couple of caveats: the couscous calls for oil-cured black olives. Did not have oil cured so I used the Kalamata olives I had in stock. Also, use imported black olives as they have a much better flavor than any domestic varieties. I use a Micro-Plane to zest the lemon. If you do a Google on the name, you will find a bunch of places to buy. They come in many sizes of zesting capabilities. I use the fine.
The recipe says to pound the chicken breasts to ¼" thickness. ..that's a bit thin. Anywhere from ¼" to ½", closer to ½" will give better results. Sauté/grill the breasts as indicated on both sides. Then cover them off heat for a couple of minutes to complete the cooking process.
The cumin and paprika in oil brushed onto the breasts before cooking, along with good technique in grilling, results in juicy morsels of bird. The lemon in the sauce for the chicken complements the lemon couscous.
Give it a try and let me know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)