CRUZMISL

The lack of a bolster is actually a plus. My Henckels were professionally hand sharpened but over time as you remove material the knife will develop a belly just before the bolster. This makes trying to chop something very annoying as the blade doesn't contact the board. You can't grind the bolster either because the blade is too thick at that point. I never even notice it's gone and hold my knives the same. Joe

I have had the Henckels Pro S before, the full series of all the different knives in the block. It looked really nice but never really used them all. I have since sold those and invested a handsome sum in these Hattori's from Japan. I now only use 3 knives. They are rockwell hardened to 60-62 and are made of a core of VG 10 layered with stainless steel which gives it the beautiful damascus look. They also have a western style handle. I don't particularly care for the Japanese style handles. As far as performance these knives are beyond reproach. They'll leave any of the top German manufacturrs in the dust. They literally cut like a laser. I'd definitely suggest looking into these but I only found 1 importer in the US. Here are some pics below. Joe

Well, I'm going to send it back tomorrow. I ordered a new board from Ozark West. The owner said the quality of his boards is unmatched because Boos has an assembly line approach due to the sheer volume that company has to produce. My new one is custom made 16x20" and will be half as thick at 2 inches. The center will be maple with a black walnut surround. Here is a picture of one. I Was thinking of going cherry surround instead of walnut so there wouldn't be so much contrast but I'm still undecided. The board pictured is cherry/walnut surround. PS thanks for the compliments on my kitchen. Very kind.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have to agree, as much as it pains me, I'm going to have to send it back. It' is a work of art but it's just too much. The thing weighs 40lbs and isn't that easy to lug around the kitchen. I could make a stand for it but I don't really want to add anything else to the space. I may shed a tear boxing it back up....... Joe

I wanted an end grain Boos cutting board but the sizes were limited. They only had these little round ones which wouldn't really work well since I like to scrape my remains into the sink. Also they were small and I now work with a board that is 15x20. I noticed that Boos had a chinese chopping block sized 18x18 which is just perfect but it is 4 inches thick. 4 inches doesn't sound like a lot but it's much higher than what I'm used to. IS this too much for a counter application or is it how it's supposed to be? Seems big but maybe this is normal and I'm not used to it. I'd rather exchange it before I cut on it. If I cut on it I'm sure it's mine to keep. Any advice.

I presume we're talking roasted beans? I usually order form Intelligentsia Cafe from Chicago because they roast and then ship. It's get's here in a day or 2 with ground shipping which is always nice. I typically get the Oromo or Black cat blend. Other than that I usually get Espresso Vivace from Seattle. PS I have a commercial espresso machine which is what I buy my beans for. Yummy dark esprsso with thick crema :) Joe

I could ship some KA flour if you want to pay for it....... Joe

I can never find panko. What can I use in it's place? Regular breadcrumbs (unseasoned from a local bakery)?

I just picked up a 3 pound loin. Just curious what the best cooking method would be? Thanks, Joe

FWIW a lot of people have good luck with a well seasoned cast iron pan sear on both sides and finish in the oven. You just need to be careful of the oil you'll use (if any) becasue it could burn. The smoke point for olive oil is 400 and change I think. Anyway, that technique is great if you want to fill your house with smoke. Me, I hate cooking odors in the house so I stick with a charcoal grill blazing hot and the grates close to the coals. I sear on both sides and then move the steak away from the coals for an indirect heat finish. I also get my steaks cut based on preferred temperature of the person eating it. Obviously thinner for well and thicker for rare. That way they all come off at about the same time. Joe

You need to be careful buying cellars from a company that's main focus is refrigeration. They typically take a regular refrigerator compressor and put it in a nice case and voila, a nice wine fridge. My Mom bought me a Haier from Costco. It held 30 bottles (too small anyway) but it was noisy and I hated it. I returned it, and bought a 220 bottle vintage keeper. It is designed to store wine, it's quite and I really like it. If you drink a bottle per week a 220 bottle cellar is just the right size and possibly a bit too small. I think I got mine for $1600 Canadian from a local restaurant supply house. www.vintagekeeper.com Hope this helps, Joe

Yepper! That's it. You could probably mail order some booze but even if it was allowed the customs would rape you on duty and taxes. Try the vintages catalog, they have a lot that isn't in the stores. Joe

check out my thread. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...ST&f=3&t=30160&

Boos only has those small round ones...unless I missed it. Any other ideas? Joe

Here's my order. I make dough. Let it rest in the refrigerator for 20. Roll out 2 disks - back in the refigerator while I prepare apples. Prepare the apples as wuickly as possible, no lemon juice or anything and mix with sugar and spices and then into the pie and bake immediately. I had initially thought it was my apples so I switched today using 4 fuji's and 4 granny's. Everything else remained the same. Low and behold damned watery pie again. I have a theory though. I may be overstuffing my pie's. Too many apples for such a small space. I have to say though it's a lot of liquid for 1 or 2 extra apples. I want to try the cooking of the apples first idea. This may help. Any thorough tips out there?

I'm curious if it's worth the expense and then if it is, where the hell do I find it? Thanks, Joe

Yes, there are 4 slits in the top of the pie to let the steam escape. Maybe the apples are better for a different task other than pies...... I really don't care for the liquid. If it's syrupy and in small amounts OK but this was literally like water..... Joe

True, true. I wasn't thinking straight. Either way though it's gone. No big deal though since I have a bushel of apples in my garage waiting for something but I want to find out if I'll have a lake inside my pie again before I venture to make another. Joe

I've gotten into this fruit pie kick a few weeks back and decided to get some fresh apples since it's one of the last weeks before the weather breaks. Anyway the orchard had Mutsu's and Empire's. I used half and half for my pie. I also added a few tablespoons of AP to the apples just in case there was some extra moisture. The pie turned out wonderfully but when I cut into it there was literally 1.5C of liquid My measly 2 Tbsp of AP was pointless. So, I pulled the first piece out and tilted the pie over the sink to drain the liquid. The pie tasted good but I didn't care for the texture of the apples. Kind of rubbery. The taste was good especially since I used my Vietnamese cinn from Penzey's (yummy). I am curious what could casue so much liquid to be released. Was it the orchard fresh apples, the type of apples? I normally use Mac's and Granny's which are purchased from the market. The texture is wonderful and zero liquid. Any ideas? Just for kicks here is a pic mid bake

No, this is no garbage goat cheese and I have tried a few different brands. I don't know the exact brands but they were packed in plastic. Are there goats cheeses not wrapped in plastic? Joe

Every time I buy goat cheese it tastes like plastic but when I go to restaurants it doesn't. Is it the packaging or the type of cheese? I love goat cheese and would like to know why. Thanks, Joe

I've been doing pulled pork for years with excellent results. Here is my method but others will have their own way. Whatever works for you is fine but the same basic principles apply. You MUST cook the pork longer. You want your cooking temp to be no more than 250. For about 10 lbs of butt you'll be looking at 12-14 hours give or take a few hours. Really depends on how often you open the BBQ to look at it. You want to pull it off when it reaches an internal temp of 196. You won't have the temperature surf of a roast done at 350 so keep that in mind. You will also want to have a water bath to add moisture and catch fat drippings. NEVER trim the fat prior to cooking. Leave that goodness on. You'll thank me for that when your eating it. Also, I find the cut without the bone easier to cook but that's preference. If I recall it's a different cut and the one without the bone is better in some way but I'm not sure how. Be careful not to get too much smoke. Everyone is always worried about that but after the first few hours the smoke won't penetrate the meat anyway so your wasting your time. I rub my meat the night before and have it sit at room temp for about an hour before I get it on the grill. I hope this helps, Joe

Hi Chad, awesome report! I really learned a TON! Based on your praises of the Edgepro system I went and bought one. Admittedly, my first knife sharpening experience with it wasn't that great but the second was fantastic. MY question really revolves around bevels and stones. First I sharpened my Henckels at 15 degrees and then at 18 degrees to achieve a beveled edge. I thought it was 20 degrees but I wasn't on the correct setting. Is this OK. Also, is the beveled edge always superior to a straight angle edge? Lastly, Edgepro says that for kitchen knives the 180 and 220 stones supplied are all I need. What are your thoughts? I was thinking it's OK for a chef's knife but I may want finer for a paring knife since it's going to be pushing more. Thanks for the reply. You really opened my eyes to knife sharpening. Now I know how to use and maintain my tools. Simply awesome! Joe