251 replies to this topic

[C. sapidus]

Kitchen knives:

A while ago I bought an Edge-Pro and sharpened our 20-year old Chicago Cutlery set. Two conclusions: 1) a sharp knife is a wonderful thing; 2) soft steel doesn’t stay sharp very long. After considerable research, I purchased three Japanese knives as an experiment:

Hattori HD-8 gyuto (240 mm/9.4 inch). I love this knife. It is light, cuts cleanly, stays sharp, and has a nicely-rounded handle. I use it mostly for chopping veggies, which is probably 80% of my knife work. It also slices meat very nicely, but I prefer to avoid cross-contamination between meat and veggies.

Ittosai Kotetsu GY-180 gyuto (180 mm/7.1 inch). This is Mrs. C’s main knife, and she loves it. Occasionally I use it to slice meat if she isn’t cooking or prepping. The steel is incredibly hard – 63 to 64 Rockwell units. I haven’t tried sharpening it yet.

Tojiro DP F-803 honesuki (150 mm/5.9 inch). This is a chicken boning knife (insert chicken boning joke here ). We usually cook with chicken thighs, bone-in or boneless depending on the intended purpose and what is on sale. Deboning chicken thighs is time-consuming, especially on a weeknight, but this knife does a nice job. The blade is flat on one side, making it easy to cut along the bone. Tojiro knives provide incredible value, so they are an excellent way to find out if you like Japanese knives.

Odd fact: I ordered knives from Korin and Japanese Chef’s Knife around the same time. Japanese Chef’s Knife delivered faster and charged less for shipping, even though Korin is only a four-hour drive from here. Confounding.

Knife block: I love this – it was the only one that I found with several wide slots for gyutos/chef’s knives and cleavers.


Most-used knives: heavy cleaver; 240 mm gyuto; 180 mm gyuto; slicer; honesuki; paring knife.


To completely replace the old knife set, I would like to get a sujihiki for slicing meat and a small utility knife or two (petty, in Japanese knife lingo). I would also like to try a thin-bladed Chinese cleaver. I hear that Chan Chi Kee cleavers are a remarkable value, and I like the idea of a wide blade to use as a scooper.

[C. sapidus]

After renovating the kitchen, we have been slowly upgrading some of our kitchen gear.

Pots and pans: We have an old set of disk-bottom Revereware pots. They did the job for 20 years, but the new stove’s burners are wider than the disk bottoms. This causes a burned ring around the bottom of the skillet and smaller saucepans.

To remedy this problem, we bought the 1.4-quart (7-inch) “Try Me” copper sauciere from Falk Culinaire (1.4-liters, 18 centimeters for metric folks). We love this pot. It heats evenly enough to melt chocolate without a double boiler, caramelizes sugar smoothly, responds rapidly to changes in heat, reduces sauces quickly, and cleans up easily. We were so happy with this pot that we ordered two more Falk copper saucieres through eBay – one 4.6 quarts (11 inches) and the other 3.1 quarts (9.5 inches). We cook most meals in the wok or the large copper sauciere, and the extra pots are essential when we entertain.


We bought two more pots during a post-holiday sales at a nearby at outlet mall. The first, a 12-inch pre-seasoned cast iron skillet, will be used for pan-frying and searing. The second, a 12-inch Calphalon Commercial non-stick saute pan, will replace a similar non-stick pan that is no longer non-stick. Mrs. Crab prefers non-stick cookware, and I use the non-stick occasionally for pan-frying delicate fish.

We have a few more pots and pans on our wish list. Our beloved wok has a dangerously loose handle, so it needs to be repaired or replaced before I anoint myself with smoking oil. We could use a couple of small, straight-gauge aluminum saucepans.

We store the most-used pots in a drawer under the rangetop. It’s a pretty tight squeeze, but very convenient.


The lower drawer below the rangetop holds most of our other pots and pans.

[C. sapidus]

We have three compost bins. With several mature trees, we could use more bins, but for now we toss the extra leaves in the woods. Any compostable vegetable matter, egg shells, coffee filters, etc. winds up here:


We had a compost bin at the old house. To hide it from the neighbors, I planted a small garden with a Darwin’s Enigma rose, Fru Dagmar Hastrup rugosa rose, Ville de Lyon clematis, May Night salvia, and Japanese anemones. The clematis loved the nutrient-rich runoff from the compost bin, growing madly and flowering profusely all summer.

Eventually, we will dig out some vegetable gardens and use the compost there. For now, we compost the lazy way – dump everything in and let the microorganisms break it down in good time.

Edited: I forgot about Fru Dagmar - one of my favorite roses.

Edited by C. sapidus, 20 January 2007 - 09:38 AM.

[C. sapidus]

A few other kitchen odds and ends:

An incredibly useful pull-out drawer sits to the right of the rangetop. The top drawers house kitchen and grilling implements . . .


. . . and the pull-out drawer below holds oils and Asian sauces.


Glass-fronted cabinets to the right of the rangetop. We made stair-step shelves to hold spice jars, and the baskets in the upper shelves hold dried chilies and bulk spices. Mostly Asian sauce bottles on the middle shelves.


Farther right above the prep sink, the upper cabinet holds more bulk spices, Asian ingredients, and miscellaneous stuff. The drying rack also serves a cookbook holder.


To the left of the cooktop, cabinets hold measuring cups, salt, cornstarch, etc. We keep plastic containers and the stock pot above the microwave.


The glass-fronted cabinets in the dining room hold cookbooks and stemware. As the cookbook collection grows, some of the stemware will need to be relocated. We have some art glass in a slot below the cookbooks. Eventually, Mrs. Crab will make stained glass pieces to fill this spot.


I just kinda like this picture – this is “my” prep area.

[C. sapidus]

This is what the kitchen looked like before the renovation:


Late breakfast: buttered whole-wheat English muffin and a blood orange.

[Dejah]

Such organized shelves! I am envious.

I was wondering about your knife block, Bruce. I have been trying to find one that would accommodate cleavers. Can you tell me where you bought yours? Another eGulleteer emailed about a different kind of knife holder from the UK. It's not a block, and I think I'd want both!

Mrs. C. is on WW program. Does she have to really work at figuring out the points? I would like to try the program, but think it might take too much work in figuring out the points when I make Chinese homestyle food, for example, last night's soup of dried tofu stick soup with rehydrated oysters, pork bones and gingko nuts. It's encouraging to see that Mrs. C is able to work with all the delicious dishes you prepare.

Not sure if anyone has asked, but do you have Asian in your heritage? I thought maybe because one of your sons looked Asian, and because of your store of Asian ingredients, recipes, etc

[Susan in FL]

Your foodblog is awesome and inspirational. The order and organization in the kitchen is a culinary dream, and as always, your food looks sensational!
Thank you for sharing so much with us.

[prasantrin]

Rona: We chose Akurum Adel medium brown cabinets. We also considered Adel light birch because we were concerned that the medium brown would make the north-facing kitchen too dark. We really liked the medium brown, so we mixed in some glass-fronted cabinets and used open shelves around the window to keep the kitchen from feeling closed-in.

By the way, we found Ikea's free kitchen planning software (click) invaluable in planning the kitchen. The program is a bit buggy, but one can work around most of its quirks.

Thanks! My mother's kitchen is so small, plus has no windows, so I think we might have to go with a lighter colour. But I generally prefer darker colours (not my kitchen, but I do have input!).

I will download the planning software as soon as I get my new computer! Which will hopefully be sooner than later...

[johnnyd]

Outstanding knife collection - and the block is extra cool.

I just put some chicken to marinate in an attempt to prepare your Vietnamese chicken with Jasmine Rice. Just before leaving the store I ran to get a cucumber. What the hey?!

Thanks for blogging this week. Well done!

[little ms foodie]

ok your completely organized kitchen cabinets has me working on mine today!! I love those little baskets for all the bulk spices! great idea, much neater than the multitude of small packets I have falling all over the place!

[snowangel]

Wow, are your cupboards nice and organized (I'm hanging my head in shame). Love the bag of prik haeng in the cupboard above the drying rack!

Your new kitchen is absolutely beautiful, and I'm wondering that now you've had the time to play in the kitchen if there is anything you wish you'd done differently?

What kind of toaster do you have? Do you like it? I have a 4-slice one that I hate, and which I would really like to replace with one of those two long slots ones.

[C. sapidus]

For lunch, I tried mapo dofu for the first time. This dish always reminds me of Rachel’s comment:

Tofu is like a teenager looking for a peer group; it takes on the persona of its surroundings

I started with Fuchsia Dunlop’s recipe in Land of Plenty, but had to substitute for some ingredients (yes, that is chorizo again).


Cut up tofu and place in hot water:


Line up ingredients next to the wok:


Heat oil to smoking and fry the meat:


Add chile bean paste, stir-fry briefly, and then add soy bean paste (substitute for fermented black beans) and roasted chile powder (substitute for Sichuan chile powder).


Add chicken stock and tofu, simmer for a bit:


Add Chinese leeks, stir to combine, and simmer until the leeks are cooked:


Done! This had a ton of flavor - I liked it a lot, and so did Mrs. Crab. She doesn't care for the texture of soft tofu, so we used firm tofu. I’ll definitely try this again with the proper ingredients. Chinese food experts - any suggestions for doing better next time?


We are off to an Ethiopian restaurant tonight. When I return, I will share some pictures from this afternoon's travels. See you this evening!

Edited to add: as several of you noticed, I forgot to sprinkle ground roasted Sichuan peppercorn on the mapo tofu before serving. D'OH! I sprinkled some on leftovers the following morning - a definite improvement, adding another dimension of flavor.

Edited by C. sapidus, 21 January 2007 - 09:18 AM.

[kayswv]

Bruce,

Thank you for the week. We really enjoyed seeing the "new" Frederick. We sold the Carriage Inn Bed and Breakfast in Charles Town, WV 4 1/2 years ago before moving to WA state. I used to shop weekly in Frederick and wish I had the variety of stores to choose among that are available there now. I'm glad to hear there is still some farmland around the area. The rate it was building up, I was afraid it would become wall to wall houses.

Kay

[alanamoana]

i'm sorry to see this blog come to an end. i'm sure more than one eGulleteer would love to move (if not in with you, then next door) to be able to eat the delicious meals that you're always preparing.

the mapo dofu looks great. i always use spicy italian sausage instead of plain ground pork as that is what my husband likes. i've never used leeks but usually garnish with thinly sliced green onion and a dash of white pepper or ground szechuan peppercorn. it is supposed to be a bit numbing (ma).

great blog bruce. so good to meet the rest of the family as well!

[Dejah]

The mapo tofu looks good enough to eat!

I'm wondering why you "blanched" the tofu - to firm it up?

I love the texture of soft tofu. It makes it saucy, smooth, soothing. Hubby and the kids like to have firm cubes, so I use both.

Chorizo sounds like a wonderful addition - different spices, different heat. I will try that next time!

Fermented black beans keep well in a jar. I also keep packages in the freezer.

Thanks for a great week!

[Pam R]

Bruce, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed your blog. Thanks!

One quick question for you - Has Mrs. Crab's being on WW influenced what you cook and how you shop - or is she on her own?

[snowangel]

Bruce, first a question. As I reported via a link here, I had lunch with Peter one day when he was eating school lunch. What do your kids do for lunch while they're at school? What do they eat? Do they have enough time in which to actually eat their lunch?

Second, thanks for opening up your lives to us. I know, first hand, how hard it can be on the family when you are doing the documentary. Hats off to Mrs. Crab, eldest son and younger son for putting up with us!

[lucylou95816]

Bruce, thanks so much for the wonderful blog and for the awesome kitchen tour..I have some work to do in mine. Thanks again!

[C. sapidus]

Wow, thanks for all the kind comments and excellent questions. Let me tell about our afternoon and evening, and then I’ll answer questions and close things up.

This afternoon, we drove north of Frederick to fruit and orchard country, passing horse pastures on the way:


We had amazing apples and blueberries from Pryor’s Orchard last summer . . .


But they are closed for the year. We took some pictures anyway . . .


. . . of the blueberry patch . . .


. . . and one of the orchards:


Next, we drove east of town to wine country. Although we did not have steamed crabs this blog, I took pictures at two of our favorite crab joints. Avalon:


Most crab joints cook crabs in a separate building out back:


Apparently, the building that houses Avalon started out as Mount Pleasant Public School No. 3 more than a century ago:


The former school, now serving delicious crabs.


Liberty Road Seafood also has very good crabs:


Hmm, I might need a new avatar


Elk Run Vineyards (click) was our destination, but several other vineyards are located nearby.


They have several vineyards:




Oak barrels outside:


Elk Run sells Maryland cheeses in the tasting room.


Mrs. Crab examining the wares. We brought home an ice wine and a port.


The proprietor, I think (jeez, I am such a lousy reporter)

[OnigiriFB]

Wondeful blog! I love seeing so much Asian food. I think I need to pick up some more cookbooks. Thanks for letting us into your home for the week.

Oh, and I love the "eternal cucumbers". :)

[mrbigjas]

Elk Run Vineyards (click) was our destination, but several other vineyards are located nearby.

nice way to end the blog. i have a bottle of elk run ice wine downstairs that a friend gave me several years ago that i've never opened. i should get to that one of these days...

edited to say thanks for doing this! good fun.

Edited by mrbigjas, 20 January 2007 - 08:35 PM.

[C. sapidus]

We ate dinner with friends at Tajitu, a fairly new Ethiopian restaurant downtown Frederick. I used to make regular forays to the Adams-Morgan neighborhood in DC for outstanding Ethiopian food. Meskerem and Red Sea were my favorites back in the day. Street scene outside Tajitu (photo taken earlier):


The building formerly housed the Snow White Grill, which operated from 1938 until around 2003 (picture also taken earlier).


Dinner starts with hot steamy towels, brought by our charming server. She remembered our last visit, probably a year ago, because our boys devoured so many sambusas.


The boys made short work of the sambusas again.


The food is served on injera and shared among the diners.


Picking up the food with injera.


The happy crew (wearing a white shirt was obviously a mistake on my part):


The aftermath. Mrs. C assigned 10 WW points for the meal. She was 2 points over for the day - not bad, all things considered.


Edited to add WW points.

Edited by C. sapidus, 20 January 2007 - 08:41 PM.

[C. sapidus]

Such organized shelves! I am envious.

I was wondering about your knife block, Bruce. I have been trying to find one that would accommodate cleavers. Can you tell me where you bought yours? Another eGulleteer emailed about a different kind of knife holder from the UK. It's not a block, and I think I'd want both!

Dejah: We found the knife block at Artisan Central (link).

Mrs. C. is on WW program. Does she have to really work at figuring out the points? I would like to try the program, but think it might take too much work in figuring out the points when I make Chinese homestyle food, for example, last night's soup of dried tofu stick soup with rehydrated oysters, pork bones and gingko nuts.  It's encouraging to see that Mrs. C is able to work with all the delicious dishes you prepare.

Mrs. C uses Weight Watchers online. Many dishes already have WW points assigned (the database did not have ginkgo nuts, but it did have dried tofu). Once you have entered an ingredient or a meal, you can pull up that information for future entries. Mrs. C does not get too hung up on exact details – for example, candlenuts are related to macadamia nuts, so she entered the data from macadamias when I used candlenuts in the sambal udang. If in doubt, she overestimates the points.

Not sure if anyone has asked, but do you have Asian in your heritage? I thought maybe because one of your sons looked Asian, and because of your store of Asian ingredients, recipes, etc.

We adopted our boys from Russia. Elder son was from eastern Russia, hence his Asian features. He thinks of himself as Asian, Russian, and American. No other Asian heritage in the family - I just love the food.

[C. sapidus]

Your foodblog is awesome and inspirational.  The order and organization in the kitchen is a culinary dream, and as always, your food looks sensational!
Thank you for sharing so much with us.

Thank you very much!

[racheld]

Black skillets

This has been SO wonderful, and the week has flown like minutes. Your lovely family, the great cooking, the ultra-pro photos, and just a glimpse into your lively life. I especially enjoyed seeing steps to the finished "Dinner" plates we drool over every day.

And the mapo looked wonderful, but DO give a try to Ah Leung's version---that's the one that gets my tastebuds a-tingle at BREAKFAST time. When that ginger/garlic starts to sizzle while I'm having my first coffee---bliss. It also has a definite bit of that pleasant heat. And Caro makes it perfectly---she's already at work now, and won't be home til daylight. She'd want to convey how much she's enjoyed this blog, as well.

Thanks again for the week. See you at DINNER.

[SuzySushi]

Wonderful blog! Your kitchen makes me jealous! Also the fact that your boys will eat vegetables.

[C. sapidus]

Wow, are your cupboards nice and organized (I'm hanging my head in shame).  Love the bag of prik haeng in the cupboard above the drying rack!

Yes, a very nice person kindly sent that to me. I thought you might notice the chilies.

Your new kitchen is absolutely beautiful, and I'm wondering that now you've had the time to play in the kitchen if there is anything you wish you'd done differently?

Thanks, Susan. We would not change many things about the kitchen, although we have been very unhappy with the Whirlpool dishwasher - two service calls in the first year, and it does a lousy job of getting dishes clean. We were very happy with our last Whirlpool, so maybe we just got a lemon.

I once read that if you get 80% of what you wanted after a kitchen renovation, you did a pretty good job.

What kind of toaster do you have?  Do you like it?  I have a 4-slice one that I hate, and which I would really like to replace with one of those two long slots ones.

It is a Black & Decker with one long slot. We are happy with it, but we don't use a toaster that much. This was the first time we had it out in several months.

[C. sapidus]

Outstanding knife collection - and the block is extra cool. 

I just put some chicken to marinate in an attempt to prepare your Vietnamese chicken with Jasmine Rice.  Just before leaving the store I ran to get a cucumber.  What the hey?!

Thanks for blogging this week.  Well done!

Awesome! Do tell how you like the chicken. Who knew cucumbers would be the star of the blog.

[C. sapidus]

Bruce,

Thank you for the week. We really enjoyed seeing the "new" Frederick. We sold the Carriage Inn Bed and Breakfast in Charles Town, WV 4 1/2 years ago before moving to WA state. I used to shop weekly in Frederick and wish I had the variety of stores to choose among that are available there now. I'm glad to hear there is still some farmland around the area. The rate it was building up, I was afraid it would become wall to wall houses.

Kay

Thank you, Kay. I have heard of the Carriage Inn, but never had the pleasure of a visit. Yes, the shopping options have greatly improved in the past few years.

We will see about the wall to wall houses. When my parents moved to Silver Spring in the late 1950s, it was considered "out in the country." My father told me that Piney Branch Road, now a major thoroughfare, was still a dirt road.

[C. sapidus]

i'm sorry to see this blog come to an end.  i'm sure more than one eGulleteer would love to move (if not in with you, then next door) to be able to eat the delicious meals that you're always preparing.

the mapo dofu looks great.  i always use spicy italian sausage instead of plain ground pork as that is what my husband likes.  i've never used leeks but usually garnish with thinly sliced green onion and a dash of white pepper or ground szechuan peppercorn.  it is supposed to be a bit numbing (ma).

great blog bruce.  so good to meet the rest of the family as well!

Thank you very much, alana. I'll have lots of ideas for the next mapo dofu session.