DK_011821_mixdown_CD and DK_011821_mixdown_PC Chris: [00:00:00] Hey, Phil, Phil: [00:00:00] Hey, Chris, Chris: [00:00:01] how are you doing? Phil: [00:00:03] man. I'm so good. I was just laughing because right before we started recording, one of my, one of my acoustic tiles fell like right on my head. Sorry about that. I'm sure you got a good laugh of it yourself. The sky is falling. I feel like chicken little. Chris: [00:00:17] I think the times that that's happened to me, It's been like behind my camera. So you haven't seen it, but it has happened to me as the point Phil: [00:00:24] it's all smoke and mirrors. I just, I just thought everything you do is perfect. Even your little home recording studio is so perfect. now I guess we're on the same plane, so that's good. Chris: [00:00:34] is that a seven 47 there, Phil? Phil: [00:00:35] I don't hear anything. Chris: [00:00:36] The plane that we're on. Phil: [00:00:38] I thought maybe there was a plane that flew over and I just didn't hear it. Chris: [00:00:42] No, you can't hear it because your acoustic tiles are working so well. Phil: [00:00:46] Exactly. Exactly. So Chris, have you, have you been making anything inspiring this week? Changing, changing the world? Chris: [00:00:53] I did it. I did a fair bit of cooking this weekend. Spent a fair bit of time in the kitchen. Last night I actually gave our uh, chicken and one of its derivative sauces ago made a, it was like a Phil: [00:01:08] That's a great album by the way. Derivatives. Chris: [00:01:11] is that a, is that a Phil: [00:01:12] it's the bald beardy guy Chris: [00:01:14] Oh yeah. William, Willie, Willie, Willie Fitzsimmons. Uh, yeah, I listened to him for a while. I kind of forgot about him. No, that's a fantastic album. It really is great artist. But yeah, I made a chicken Villa today, white wine sauce to go with a roasted chicken that we made. It was like a whole roasted chicken because whole foods is having a sale on, it was like $6 for a whole chicken. So Phil: [00:01:36] is this like a, like a Cornish hen? Chris: [00:01:38] not like a chicken. Phil: [00:01:39] Wow. That's a good deal. Chris: [00:01:41] yeah, well, I mean, so that, that turns into obviously dinner, but then probably another three or four meals, like really easily. We just have a ton of chicken now. But the chicken flu taste sauce was. really, really good. It was interesting. was the super well-balanced sauce. So you made that and then, okay, so this one, I was actually really excited about. It was so good. Again also like a really interesting balance of flavors, So it was actually a pasta I don't even know how to describe the sauce. as like a mustard based sauce that didn't really taste like mustard, again, a white wine. It was like a white wine, heavy cream and mustard sauce with, with sausage and Bazell and seriously I'll, I'll send you this recipe, Phil. It was. other worldly, so good. Just this really interesting mix of, balance of flavors. Also another super, super easy recipe. Phil: [00:02:33] Well, I love mustard. Chris: [00:02:34] So it was, it was, Phil: [00:02:35] I'm a Chris: [00:02:36] mustardy. It's not, it's not like you think mustard in a pasta sauce. It sounds so weird. That sounds like wine tacos which I heard were fantastic. Right. Phil: [00:02:45] Dude, those things are so awful. Chris: [00:02:48] She sounds terrible. But this, this doesn't taste like mustard. It balances out with the cream and the basil and the wine and just Really is worth trying really is worth trying. So, so Phil: [00:03:00] I will. 1000% make those. Your whole chicken though, this this is kind of speak in my language because I think the meal we've probably made the most on our smoker since we got it in the middle of summer has been a beer can chicken. And I feel like, I feel like some people are going to be listening to this. Some people that I know, and they're going to be tired of me talking about it. Because I feel like every time I'm around people, I talk about how much I love beer can chicken. I can't help it. It's so good. The first time I made it, the recipe that I looked up said that it doesn't matter what kind of beer you use. And I enjoyed it. It was, it was good. It was actually during a little bit of a lockdown you know, like stores were closing really early, kind of in the, in the first part of the lockdown. And so the only place that I could get beer is at a gas station and of course you're limited to canned beer and the only canned beer that they had was domestic like Budweiser. So that's what I got. I got a. Got the classic Budweiser ale and I enjoyed the, I enjoyed the beer can chicken. It really wasn't bad. I mean, it was, it was great. The second time I made it, I was able to pick up in IPA from the grocery store and still don't really quite remember what the IPA is. Something local completely changed the flavor, like the acidity level of that IPA. Was amazing in this beer can chicken. So that's what I've been using since then. I am kind of feeling a little bit curious and I might try something else. So I did dive into your, your biscuits and gravy that you made the other day. I was curious about doing a gravy. Of course, you know, we do breakfast for dinner all the time in our house when it's not beer, can chicken, it's breakfast for dinner and. I made the gravy completely from scratch without following any recipe, didn't even look one up. And I was a little proud of myself. It totally turned out. You know, I, I started with a basher Mel and then added some salt and pepper and garlic powder and onion powder and some Sage. And it really, really worked. Matter of fact, my, my wife came back for a second, so I count that as a win. So anyways, all that to say, I love a good beer can chicken. And I think I'm becoming better at what I'm doing. You know? I mean, I we started this podcast to get better now where we're doing better, cooks better chefs, better dads, better husbands. So we're getting better. In fact, it reminds me the, was that better human beings, a better version of ourselves. Right. I've always loved that to be a better version of yourself. Do you remember when I had just gotten married and I invited you and friends over for a Sunday afternoon, barbecue. And which really was just like hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. And it was an Ashton first apartment I made these hamburger patties that first of all, the fat content was way too high because they shrunk way too much on the grill. And then secondly, I just must have done a horrible job measuring out these, you know, these hamburger patties, the, the, meat for him. Because dude, like seriously, they were all different sizes, but none of them were large enough for the actual hamburger buns. And I just remember being so embarrassed that this is what I was serving. Imagine a slider on the size of a regular hamburger bun. And they were burned and they were charred, but. You know, one of the reasons that I think they were probably that some of them were charged at least was because, you know, there were different sizes. They don't cook evenly. Anyways, I wouldn't dare make that mistake again, but you know, Chris, one of the ways that you can ensure that that's not going to happen is if you don't eyeball it, you know, way, way the ingredients way, the meats make sure they're all, all the same. Chris: [00:06:39] Yeah. Yes. Yeah. no, that sounds like a good idea, Phil. Great. Phil: [00:06:43] And that's a wrap that we got for you Chris: [00:06:46] Glad, glad I finished that one up, Phil: [00:06:48] You don't take me for a measuring cup kind of guy Chris: [00:06:52] I don't know. Are you, I mean, you were talking about measuring flour in a measuring cup. Phil: [00:06:56] well, sure. I mean, it can work. It does work. It's worked for years, hundreds of years in my own household. It's worked. Yeah, I think so. Chris, when you make your macaroni and cheese from a box. Do you weigh your ingredients? Do you measure out the milk in a measuring cup or do you put it on a scale? You're making your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Do you, do you measure out the bread, Chris? When do you put it on a scale? Chris: [00:07:25] Grams of bread. Phil: [00:07:26] Chris, when you're filling up a glass of water to drink, do you put it on a scale Chris: [00:07:31] Actually Molly's parents have a refrigerator that tells you how many ounces it has dispensed. It's pretty fascinating. But yeah, no, I, I, as with so many things in my life, I feel like this is just the common refrain is like, I just, I had no clue what I was doing until Molly, Phil: [00:07:50] How does she enjoy that? Does she like Chris: [00:07:53] I don't know. I have no clue. I never realized how, I don't know, like a kitchen scale seemed. So I don't know. I don't know if it's, it felt unnecessary or if it felt like too complicated or fancy, but I never had one. She always had she's, you know, she bakes Shah and man, I use that thing for everything now. Phil: [00:08:15] really? Okay. Let's talk about coffee then, because you know, this, this is like my coffee year. Like I'm starting to take it seriously and I, I need to know. Walk me through the perfect cup of coffee, Chris: [00:08:29] well, how, how are you making your coffee? What type of brewing method are you using? Okay. We had, we had many years with the French press and I think, coffee, like a lot of things in the kitchen is actually. So largely based on consistency, obviously like your beans are going to change the flavor of your coffee, but like the overall quality, largely really has to deal with consistency. so you have a lot of variables when it comes to coffee. I think you have, you have your, your actual being then that you're using the, in the roast, but then you have the grind. size, Phil: [00:09:03] right. Daddy likes to grind. So. Chris: [00:09:04] The temperature of your water, the ratio of coffee to water. and then if you're using something like a French press, how long you brew it for. Phil: [00:09:13] and then not just how long you brew for, but with the French press, there's obviously methods. That go along with that as well. You know, letting it bloom, making sure you stir it before you press it and things of that nature. Chris: [00:09:24] But yeah, I like some of those things that you you're talking about, you still actually do. So I'm kind of that initial bloom to you know, growing up, but uh, yeah, just maintaining consistency. So like say the kitchen scale is what we're talking about and being able to have a consistent coffee to water ratio, I think really can change the quality of your coffee. Good morning cup fell. So I don't know, like what type of ratio do you use? I think right now with, a lot of the coffees that we've been getting, I think I'm about like a 20 to one ratio. So 20 grams of water to every one gram of coffee. Phil: [00:09:59] Okay. That's super interesting. We're definitely not there because we haven't been weighing anything yet. But I want to get there, I think thus far, and maybe, maybe you can do some super quick calcs in your head, but I've been doing about. A tablespoon and a half of beans to eight ounces of coffee of water. So what does that figure out too? Chris: [00:10:21] Okay. Did you, did you actually, well, the coffee side, I don't know, but eight ounces of water. I want to say 16 ounces of water is 453 grams. So eight ounces would be half of that. So it's 226.5. So it'd be 200 and 226.5 Phil: [00:10:41] I'll take your word for it. Chris: [00:10:41] Of water anyway, the, on the coffee set, I don't know. however much scrubbiness you do? Phil: [00:10:48] Well, I feel that my bird grinder and that makes two cups of coffee. Let's put it that way, Chris: [00:10:52] wait, you're doing 260, some odd Phil: [00:10:56] dude. You lost me, man. Okay. Let's see. Chris: [00:10:59] I mean every morning we are, I am making like 1,050 grams. Phil: [00:11:04] Hang on. No, it's double that. It's it's per 16 ounces. Yeah. Okay. Chris: [00:11:10] But I think like a kitchen scale is super useful, even beyond just stuff like coffee. I made. This is going to sound super bizarre, but I made waffles. That's not bizarre, no, it was so strange. Oh, first of all, fantastic waffle recipe on New York times is there buttermilk Brown sugar. Okay. So for you, and I just made it as per the recipe for the most part And it has a whole stick of butter in it for eight waffles. Yeah. It was amazing Molly. It was kind of horrifying. It was so good. But uh, yeah, I mean, I think actually like weighing for recipes makes a lot more sense for a lot of things than, you know, just cups and stuff. I mean, especially if you're thinking in terms of. Adjusting the yield of a recipe. Say, you know, say you have a recipe for 12 waffles and you really only want. eight, adjusting, adjusting that recipe by two thirds is going to be so much easier if you're just weighing everything out and you can just adjust those weights because like, obviously the ratios are going to stay the same at that point. Phil: [00:12:20] I'm picturing Steve Martin in a supermarket, throwing a fit over the ratio of hot dog buns to hot dogs in the packaging. You know, that's from Oh, it's so good. Let's try to find a clip for you. Yeah. I could see like where weighing those measurements out might be just a little bit easier than like trying to find your fractions in the. In the mass. Yeah. Easier to divide out a weight than it is uh, you know, Chris: [00:12:47] if you, yeah, if you have like 200 grams of something, being able to just uh, like if you're doing two, just take that times. Point six, six. Phil: [00:12:58] Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Right Chris: [00:13:00] factions, math doesn't belong in the kitchen so, like what other scale for Phil? Phil: [00:13:08] Well up until we made our biscuits really nothing. You know, of course I learned this neat little trick that instead of just like taking your measuring cop and scooping, you know, into the. Into the bag of flour, you can actually take like a teaspoon and one at a time, pour that into your, scoop that into your measuring cup so that it doesn't pack down the flour. But I guess one way to bypass all of that would be to just use the scale, Chris: [00:13:35] I would actually be kind of interesting too. Compare the two compare, a fluffed cup first, like a packed cup and see what, see what they weigh. I only know just to, because of our waffle adventures this weekend, but like King Arthur uses 120 grams as a cup of flour and all of the recipes, Phil: [00:13:54] Oh, really? Chris: [00:13:55] yeah. Yeah. So we, we, we could always go try it. Phil: [00:13:59] I feel like we could cut from this episode right now and go try it. Chris: [00:14:04] I'm too tired. So I mean, like kitchen skills aren't even that expensive. I think I was just like 10 bucks Phil: [00:14:09] You can actually get them. You can get them for free, like at Harbor freight, they're obviously not used for the kitchen scale, but yeah, I saw an ad recently, you know, like Harbor freight. So I was giving stuff away and like their value pack ads or whatever is that it's called value pack. And ValPack, I think it's just ValPack yeah, I saw it in there. It was like a free scale and I just thought that's pretty much a kitchen, kitchen skill, or another place I saw Freescale was like on a stamps.com ad like sign up and you can get a free scale, you know, to wear your envelopes. And Chris: [00:14:47] well, okay. So here's, here's a question, you know, if you're using a Harbor freight scale or a stamps.com scale, what functions are those going to have? Phil: [00:15:01] Yeah, probably. Well, okay. You want to be able to zero out your way, right? That's like maybe one of the most important functions on a scale. Chris: [00:15:10] I think you, you absolutely want to be able to, to tear it. I don't know if you've messed around with it, but as you think that most actual kitchen scales have volume as well. Phil: [00:15:21] okay. Chris: [00:15:22] ours. Ours has And so in terms of weight, ours has grams and pounds like pounds and ounces, and fluid ounces. Yeah. So our scale has both weight and volume and like obviously the volume is going to be based on the liquid. uh, Yeah, I don't know that that might be something that you could go check on your scale at some point. So Phil: [00:15:47] y'all have to do that. probably about 99% of these podcasts episodes that we've done. My wife has uh, felt a little sad for me because she already knows all these things. Cause she's amazing. And I feel like this especially is going to be one of those things where she's like, how did you not know that about our scale, Phil, Chris: [00:16:04] Well, no, I think it's super interesting to be able to actually use this scale to figure out volume of liquids. one of the things that we use it for is honestly like weighing out milk for the little guy. And I guess not, not necessarily weighing it out, but pouring out like a six ounce bottle for him. but. It's helpful. It's helpful. Phil. You can do a lot with scales. Ah, long time. Phil: [00:16:35] like maybe middle school Chris: [00:16:36] I say, I don't even Phil: [00:16:37] earlier. Chris: [00:16:38] I don't know the last time that I made muffins Phil: [00:16:42] yeah. Well, I feel like muffins is like probably the first thing. Every kid learned to bake. They're fun. You get the little muffin cups, and if you were like me, it was probably a box mix. You just throw a little dollop of batter into each little muffin cup. Right. But anyways, like they were always different sizes, every single one of them. And I think in many ways, it's that made it kind of fun, but you know, if you want to, like, I like the hamburgers. If you want him to eat. Exactly. If you want like an Eve and bake throughout weighing those ingredients can really come, come in handy. So, so that your, your muffins and your hamburgers and so little, correct? Chris: [00:17:20] as, as your putting them in each little tin or cup, I suppose. Yeah. That's definitely something that. I learn everything from all this, so whatever. Phil: [00:17:30] we made bagels the other day and first time, by the way, have you ever made Chris: [00:17:34] No, Phil: [00:17:38] Okay. So you know that they, like you boil them for. Chris: [00:17:41] Yeah. Phil: [00:17:41] A little bit. Yeah. Chris: [00:17:42] Helps develop that Phil: [00:17:43] yeah, if you want like a really good, even big all the way through your bagel, you should weigh the dough. had some that were like the size of the pot. He was like a little bit of leftover dad, like, ah, just do that in one, you know, it'll work out and it like grew to the size of the pot itself. It was a massive bagel. Chris: [00:18:00] I mean, I guess like Phil: [00:18:01] was tasty. Chris: [00:18:01] a bigger bagel is going to take Longer to bake. Phil: [00:18:03] What else do you use a scale for Chris? Chris: [00:18:05] See how much weight you've gained Phil: [00:18:06] see which side is heavier in the legal system? Yeah, no, it, it, it definitely can make things a little bit easier to AML. So I think I'm on team way. I'm just going to get my Harbor freight scale and I'm going to waste them pepper. Next time I Chris: [00:18:23] well, you know how much there is? Phil: [00:18:25] Well, I don't know about you, but I'm excited to go eat my curds and whey little spider. Tough it.