EdS

As you probably already know, a deba isn't considered a general purpose knife. It's a specialized knife mainly used for filleting fish but is also used for cutting of chicken, including light bones, and meat. They are usually rather heavy and thick. That said, the largest deba looks like a possibility, as eccentric and unrecommended it would be considered by most. All debas I've seen have a single bevel, with its strengths and weaknesses. I think I'd mostly be worried that the blade would be too thick, functioning as a wedge. That's not an issue with a similarly thick yanagi-ba (sashimi knife) because you're mostly slicing off of one end of something. You might consider something like a thin-bladed wide santoku if you want a Japanese knife in a wide triangular pattern. My primary knife is now a Kai Shun Chinese cleaver. I didn't jump from a chef's knife to the Chinese cleaver, however. I had been using a Wüsthof 10-in. wide chef's knife as my primary and then got more into Japanese cooking. I picked up a Global G-5 vegetable knife, a nakiri. I found myself enjoying all the precision knifework and in the process learned how to put a rectangular blade to use. I would encourage anyone wondering about why someone would want to use a rectangular blade over a western chef's knife to look at Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji and The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Barbara Tropp as both books illustrate how these knives are used. It got to the point that I was using the nakiri for most everything. I found myself wanting a larger one. Then it struck me that a nakiri and a Chinese cleaver are cousins, with the latter being typically a bit larger and certainly wider (i.e. taller). I'd lose the ability to easily take a daikon (Japanese radish) cylinder and turn it into a long sheet in my hand, but I'd otherwise have the advantages that come with a larger knife. I did some research on the available Japanese-made Chinese cleavers and played around with a few cheap Chinese cleavers in Chinatown and that led me to ordering the Shun. It would be wise for you to handle a large deba, if you haven't done so already, before spending a lot of money on a custom one. Edited to add: I do not recommend the Global G-7 deba. I've had the edge roll in spots several times on light chicken bones which a deba should handle. The steel is too soft, certainly softer than the better Japanese knives now on the market. I wasn't aware of the other brands before I bought this one. I would not have bought Global knives if I knew what else was out there.

Salsa Mexicana, pico de gallo, whatever you call it wherever you are, at a taqueria just up the street from me. The salsa should have been bad considering tomatoes are out of season but it put a smile on my face instead.

Head down to Buenos Aires and eat like a gaucho. Order the parrillada mixta. Besides the parts of a cow you are likely used to eating you will get this... udder lower intestines kidneys heart sweetbreads I went with a friend who doesn't speak Spanish. He couldn't read the menu. Being the good friend that I am, I didn't tell him anything other than that the meat might taste different because it's grain-fed down there . Well, he has a master's in biology and you should have seen him picking away at his plate trying to figure out what he was eating. The udder stumped him. I must say, it was tasty.

I have a couple. One is hummus. I remember thinking as a kid that it looked kind of like frijoles refritos but I'd taste it and then nearly puke. I couldn't deal with it until I became an adult. Now I like it very much. The other one is soft cheese like brie or camembert. I'm working on this. A slight gag reflex kicks in when I have my first bite but then as I get through it I feel better and better. I'm determined to like this stuff!

Brown sauce. You can swirl cold butter into a brown sauce just before serving to thicken and enrich it (monter au beurre).

You should try the fish version! edited to add: maybe not so funny because I know somewhere out there someone might try braising a fish for three hours. I'm certain I've had this served to me in a few nameless restaurants. ← Not quite cooked for three hours, but the Freshwater fish stew from Burgundy is called "Pôchouse", there is even a "Brotherhood of the Pôchouse’s Knights", who will most likely be tracking you down now that you have dissed their stew. ← Hmm. Larousse describes Pôchouse as a Burgundy fish stew made from a selection of pike, gudgeon, eel, perch, carp, and preferably the very rare burbot. It's cooked with white wine and thickened with kneaded butter. It sounds quite good. Those brotherhoods seem like an excuse for otherwise grown men to dress in funny costumes and get drunk. Not that it's a bad thing. If I see any sinister Citroën 2CV's in the neighborhood with an eel stretched across the dashboard, I'll let you know. I've studied the Monty Python fish dance and can deal with this threat.

I make my vegetable stock when I need it. Since the cooking time is significantly shorter than a meat stock and thus little trouble to make and because I like to choose vegetables best suited for whatever I'm making, I don't bother keeping it. I think you lose something in flavor by trying to keep it because it's so delicate.

I've always made poulet au vin rouge with either a California zinfandel or Beaujolais, being careful to keep the cooking time down to minimize the chance of drying out the young chicken. I've been pleased with the results. Besides authenticity, does using a rooster contribute anything significant to this dish? I can't say that I've had a proper coq au vin. Rooster sounds like winged mutton to me.

You should try the fish version! edited to add: maybe not so funny because I know somewhere out there someone might try braising a fish for three hours. I'm certain I've had this served to me in a few nameless restaurants.

I had a free sample today. I expected it to be awful but was pleasantly surprised. Good chocolate flavor. I only wish it weren't so sweet. I think it has too much sugar and borders on sickly sweet to my taste. I think America's favorite flavor is sweet so I think they're just pandering to that.

your choice depending on the fusion... Soul Paulo Seoul Paulo Soul Paolo Seoul Paolo

Baguette slices with plenty of mission fig preserves. More like mission fig preserves with some baguette slices.

When you know who Ferran Adria is.

previous evening... Miso shiru (wakame, tofu, green onion) Skewered yakitori chicken Sake-simmered locally-caught Pacific Red Snapper (Rockfish) Gohan (Japanese rice) Daikon pickles

Leeks with mustard-shallot vinaigrette Croque monsieur (sweet batard, cave-aged Gruyere, Prosciutto) Slices of Fuji apple

Thank you, chefzadi. I think finding myself a French girlfriend would be a step towards solving this problem.

I keep a spray bottle of bleach solution at the ready when I'm working in the kitchen. It gets refilled every few weeks. Why would bleach degrade by adding water to it?

I never made it to Australia but I had a number of burgers in New Zealand with a slice of beet. It must be a thing Down Under. It wasn't bad at all.

I would love to be enlightened about contemporary French food. We Americans are still fairly educable. I'm all ears. Er, eyes. Whatever. ← Add me to that list. I can easily point out books that cover traditional French cuisine but I can't exactly put my finger on what people are eating there today. I know the best solution is a plane ticket to France but that'll have to wait for me. I've snooped around in the France forum but it's still not clear. Is there a contemporary equivalent to Mastering the Art of French Cooking? Where do French home cooks look for guidance?

That's too funny! I didn't put two and two together that you were the one who posted about those Nigella spoons. So, it was an unintentional cheap shot! It's so easy to get in trouble on the Net, isn't it?

Sigh. If I don't post, I get PMs asking me to. If I do, I get PMs or, in this case, posts like this. Ta ever so, folks. It's been a slice. edit: Oh, I just mean I'll not post in this thread as this has gone on since the thread began. All of which I have tried to answer, but I just don't have the time oe inclination. I'll still irritate you elsewhere, in other threads. See you there. ← Many of us are huge fans of yours and find your dinner posts an immense source of inspiration. I hope someday to put flavors together like you do, Jinmyo. I really hope that you will reconsider. For those of you unaware, Jinmyo performs her kitchen magic at what I think she has referred to as a private club.

Those were my Dirty Little Secret for years. I'd raise hell to my friends about not eating certain foods or going to certain restaurants because they were unhealthy and yet I'd crave these greasy atrocities and make late-night runs to the drive-up window especially for them. It didn't help they were so cheap you could practically pay for them with pocket lint and a used postage stamp.

I think what some of the readers are reacting to is what they perceive as an exclusionary tone. One does not need to be employed in the food service industry, as the term "pro" suggests, to be knowledgeable about food service equipment and its usage in a commercial environment. I'm not a pro in that industry yet I'm familiar with a substantial majority of the equipment above other than the pastry equipment and was going to suggest such things as the sous-vide equipment and a high-BTU wok because I can think of lots of reasons to have both in a commercial kitchen but I didn't post after I saw the ugly exchange. I think if the initial post were worded differently and asked like you say about suggestions for a pro kitchen and gave that same list of examples, any Suzie or Jimmy homemaker thinking about suggesting a George Foreman grill, a Ronco rotisserie, and a set of Nigella measuring spoons would have moved right along and not wasted anyone's time which I am sure was Tony's intent.

A small plate of aged Canadian cheddar that I just finished, eh?

Sauteed finely-diced shallots and fleur de sel mixed in 80/20 chuck. Bun toasted in butter. Dijon mustard. The jury is still out for me on what the best bun is. To me, a burger is all about the beef. If I had to use a McDonald's "hamburger patty" I would throw on a lot of condiments but much wiser to avoid that altogether.