budrichard

What a remarkable tome! I don't think I will ever be able to cook each mole recipe in this book but the fantastic variety of recipes and information certainly are exceptional. Most of the pictures are credited to Diana Kennedy and they are very well done. The basic problem is that many of the specific chilies and other regional ingredients will just not be available to us Norteamericanos.-Dick

"Many of the very best are machined, or made by what's called "stock removal." My chef's knife, which is the most expensive thing I've bought for the kitchen, was made this way. " Stock removal is very popular among custom knifemakers since Bob Loveless (recently deceased) perfected the technique and quality in the mid 20th century because it requires very little equipment but a steady hand for using a grinding wheel from a blank of steel. With the added processes today of jet cutting and other methods, a custom knife maker can order a blank delivered in just about in final form today. Heat treating and finishing then follow for a very nice blade. In the custom knife world, forging, popularized by Bill Moran is usually looked upon as the premier technique requiring skills considerably more advanced and complicated than 'stock removal'. Whether or not one method offers a superior blade is open to discussion but not for this Post. Among kitchen knives, forged knives are generally much more durable than stamped blades because of the integral bolsters and handle extending to the end of the knife. A forged knife starts off as a piece of steel that is hammered while very hot to close to a final shape with usually an integral bolster. A stamped blade is just that, stamped from a large sheet of steel and then usually inserted into a handle of some sort of sturdy material with no bolster. Custom made chef's knife's are usually one off's as the custom maker cannot supply a complete range of knives for a set. I have no custom made European chef's knives because invariably they are not long enough (I like a minimum 10" and sometimes 12") and one cannot get matched knives. "A forschner chef knife will actually outperform a more expensive Wusthoff, but it won't hold its edge any longer." I believe this is an opinion and not fact. Try using a thin Forschner on a large cabbage or squash and then try a 12" Wusthof regular or 'Heavy' Chef knife and see which one performs better. Wusthof also makes 10" and 7" Cordon Bleu chef knives that have thinner blades and are lighter than their 'Classic' counterparts. For delicate work these blades as as good if not superior to any thin stamped chef's knife. I have all the above and use them where the task requires them. "So getting back to the original topic since, there is no way I would recommend a custom chef's knife for yourself, get what you like. either stamped or forged, they will work well.-Dick

"I wish supermarkets would start putting red labels on all farmed fish. The majority of it is rubbish." I regularly purchase farmed Norwegian salmon, farmed catfish, farmed tilapia and Kona Kampichi, a Hawaiian type of farmed yellow tail suitable for sashimi. All are usually excellent. Fish is a very delicate product and the handling from the fishery to the end user is very important and will affect the quality. Search out a good fishmonger who knows the sources and quality of his farmed fish. I didn't know that hake was farmed? We never see hake in the Midwest but as I remember from living in Massachusetts, its mostly used in chowder. In terms of WF's and color labels on fish, I don't shop at WF's because the quality is usually not the best and the prices are sky high. In terms of sustainability of fish, we eat a lot of fin fish and shellfish, both farmed and wild. Hardly any of it frozen. Anything coming from China is a no go. I suspect that it will take what happened to the Cod off the Grand Banks to get fishers and governments together to regulate the catches.-Dick

"I guess I just want to know whether I've been sucked into a name brand recognition thing, and Wusthoff isn't really that much better, or what." Blackwoods are forged blades, most of the others recommended are stamped. I have a complete set of Wusthof Classic, Wusthof Cordon Bleu and stamped butcher and fillet knives by Dexter for breaking down primal cuts and whole fish in addition to the same types of Wusthof knives. The forged Wusthof knives will last you almost forever but the stamped knives are much less expensive. My Wusthof's hold an edge quite well but that is only a subjective judgement. I have not attended a Culinary School but most Schools have some sort of deal with suppliers to provide knives or sets at a good price or so I am told or read. I would contact the School and see what they have to offer, usually I would think these are stamped sets but they certainly will work. I have seen the Blackwoods and they are visually appealing but the simpler design of the Classic handle would be subject to less failures in the long term. In the final analysis, its what you feel best with that will affect how you perform, so if its Blackwoods, go for it! Good luck.-Dick

"The whole notion behind all of Keller's cooking is that "fine" is not good enough. What's the harm in seeking perfection, or hell, even just something different? Beef prepared this way has a vastly different texture than the traditional technique, it's simply not the same end product." There is certainly nothing wrong in seeking something different but perfection is a subjective judgement when it comes to cooking and I doubt that this recipe is 'perfection' but I won't make it because I can very simply prepare excellent tongue using the ingredients and method described. I have also long ago gotten off the Celebrity Chef bandwagon. In terms of food safety adding an ingredient that will insure safety AFTER the process is well underway is not the safe thing to do, but as I said only the Original Poster can make the decision about whether the thing is safe to eat.-Dick

Seems like Culinary over kill. I always use veal tongue, simmer with aromatics for a few hours, cool, peel and then use. Works fine every time and a lot simpler. When 'corning' I always use a stash I have of saltpeter to prevent bacteria growth and corn about 3 weeks. It's basically there to preserve color also. It's really your decision what to do with your tongue.-Dick

Have you read or at least skimmed the two cookbooks I referenced? I purchased the two you mentioned and while 'The Japanese Kitchen' is an excellent work it is not about Chinese cooking and is closely matched by 'Japanese Cooking, A Simple Art' by Shizuo Tsuji. Connie Trang's book is an excellent work but it not about Chinese cooking specifically. My Original Post was "It appears to me that the books have different styles possibly relating to the differences in background of the two authors. Has anyone else had similar conclusions?"-Dick

I'm thinking of dishes like stracotto, where the beef's so-called "stringiness" is a desirable outcome. Heck, modern Americanized stracotto recipes tell you to shred the beef with two forks, should you be too impatient to allow the cooking to achieve the desired texture. Not all stews seek to achieve your previously stated ideal of texture. Many peasant dishes from other cultures do indeed cook the meat into a consistency you might find unacceptable--but I've eaten many a delicious stew fashioned from ingredients that are far below "choice". Stracotto is more of a pot roast but there are dishes such as 'Salpicon de Res' where flank steak is specifically called for because of the grain structure of the meat where the flank does shred nicely after cooking but we are not discussing those dishes. We are discussing beef stew and why its tough. Beef stew is not meant to be shredded and should consist of cubes of meat reasonably intact and palatable to chew when the cooking is done. Actually the high end would be a dish such as Beef Bourguignon' where any Michelin class restaurant would not use anything other than a cut of beef that would provide a tender end point. Your 'Supermarket stew' is an unknown quality and with most large grocery chains receiving all their meat pre cut and packaged, the stew meat comes from anywhere and anything. Even stores that cut meat usually only receive Primal cuts from which there is littler waste and must supplement with pre cut 'Stew Meat'. Very few stores receive beef halves and cut to have a sufficient supply of 'Stew Meat' and even then that is no guarantee of quality. Beef carcasses are Graded by a handheld device that measure fat content but a USDA Choice carcass is not the same as any other USADA Choice carcass because we are dealing with an agricultural product where uniformity doesn't exist. I search out a store that has in the past supplied USDA Choice beef that has been consistently good and purchase a nicely marbeled piece of Chuck. I trim and cut myself because its the only way to produce a beef stew that has the required tenderness, and is not mushy or stringy. The Original Poster's only error was not cooking long enough as the recipe specified. BTW a Googled Bittman recipe for Beef Stew http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/recipe-of-the-day-beef-stew-with-prunes/ calls for Chuck and cooking time is a little ambiguous calling initially for 60 to 75 minutes but later cook until tender.-Dick

"It's not the cut of the beef....even the toughest, gnarliest beef will soften with enough cooking." There is a difference between a stew or other slow cooked beef dish that has flavorful beef with structure and not mush. Using any old cut or 'Super Market Beef' and cooking it long enough (crockpot comes to mind) will certainly make the beef fall apart but at what cost? It is possible to have a nice stew or beef Bourguignon with beef that stays in cube form, is not stringy and has taste and substance but you need to acquire a USDA Choice cut such as chuck at the minimum.-Dick

The habanero pepper is usually too hot for Gringos to use in cooking unless substantially diluted. Even though i like habanero hot sauce, I don't find any particular advantage in things such as ice cream, infused vodka or fruit concoctions. To preserve, I pickle and water bath process for future use making 4 slits in each pepper for the liquid to penetrate the peppers and not leave air pockets. For hot sauce, I blend with jalapenos and age in a Harsch crock. I currently have 20l of jalapeno/habanero mash aging. This will be bottled after a few months in 'woozy's(Trade name for hot sauce bottle) and I have designed my own label after a trail run of 5l last fall. The pickled habaneros are used sparingly for heat. One could make salsa and can but it would be too hot for most individuals. It has been a prolific season for peppers!-Dick

You need to purchase a cut such as 'Chuck' USDA Grade Choice and cut and trim yourself to assure yourself of what your are getting otherwise you could have purchased who knows what from what and any Grade. As already mentioned, submersing in fat to brown is not required. If you want to use the Supermarket 'Beef Stew', slow cook it in a crock pot for a few hours.-Dick

Just pre-ordered, I would have liked the Spanish version but my Spanish is not that great and one-click shopping is so much easier! I have just about every book of Kennedy's she has published in English since my mother-in-law gave me a copy of the original 'Cuisines of Mexico' many years ago. Now with Supermercados in many cities and towns, its a lot easier to obtain ingredients than 20 years ago.-Dick

The 'Valentina' hot sauces are made to sell at a low price point in large bottles. They are good but not exceptional. Cholula has an interesting history, originally branded 'Viuda de Sanchez', the Sangrita proved so popular that the name and recipe for Sangrita was sold, hence the name change to Cholula. Made from a blend of piquin chiles, we purchase by the case of 1/2 gallons to reduce the cost. It's a very good hot sauce with a nice flavor. The 'El Yuceteco' line is exceptional with pure habanero chiles and not adulterated with capsicum as the 'Killer' hot sauces are. I usually prefer the 'Caribbean' but the XXX is truly exceptional in heat and flavor. Although not Mexican, we used to use the 'Melindas' line of sauces but rarely purchase them anymore but they do a nice Habanero flavor and heat. Salsa Marisquera 7/Seas (Spanish translation) is very good and slanted toward sea food. The 'Buffalo' line is also good with the 'Chipolte' being very smoky and a pleasant change. There are many others and that is part of the enjoyment searching for the best sauce. I avoid the 'Boutique' hot sauces because they are invariably uninteresting and made to sell to a certain market segment at a high price point.-Dick

As with any endeavor when there is money to be made, you can be sure of more suppliers, some not so honest and some just plain dishonest. There is always some reason if it sounds too good to be true. I stick to reputable suppliers and when reputable products become too costly because of increased popularity I search for other suppliers. I was the first to place my order for an Iberico Bellota jamon in the US from Tienda.com. I waited over 4 years for the USDA to allow importation. It was expensive, excellent quality and made for a grand party but now I order from a domestic producer in the US where the cost is substantially less. Is it Iberico, no, does it have the same exact taste, no but it is an honest product at an honest price. I would suggest you try for an artisan product produced where you reside.-Dick

Ask your fishmonger. He and only he knows the arrival dates of his fish, how long the fish have been in the selling chain and how long the fish will keep. Best to purchase on Saturday anyway. Many reputable fishmongers have deliveries on Saturday.-Dick

Just ordered hardcover copies of both books. Only available used in hardcover. I will compare them them to the Young and Yin-Fei books when I get them. Thanks for the references.-Dick

I use my food processor to both puree with the blade attachment and grate with the grater attachment. The puree goes into products where I have no concern over the liquid such as the mentioned BBQ sauce. If grated, I squeeze out the juice for use in preparations such as a pate where you want to minimize the liquid content for the pate to set up or hold together if just a molded terrine.-Dick

Thanks.-Dick

"Switchblades and gravity knives are not permitted, as I understand it, but there is probably an exception if you happen to be missing an arm." A number of retailers under threat of legal action have stopped selling gravity assisted knives and some manufactures will not do business with anyone in the State of New York. The New York Custom Knife Show is moving to New Jersey because a number of makers will no longer come to New York. Chicago still maintains its Custom Knife Show but sooner or later Chicago may be like New York City. As far as I know there is no provision for an assisted opening knife for anyone in the New York law.-Dick

Grace Young's recipe for 'Hot Pepper Beef' uses ketchup also so if that is a criteria for authenticity, than both authors fail but I would think that in this day and age ketchup is now almost a universal condiment. It would be interesting to hear from individuals with a Chinese cooking background and heritage.-Dick

Where did he go?-Dick

Chicago makes possesion of any knife with a blade length greater than 2&1/2" illegal. I had Bob Terzuola make me a special version of his smalll folder with a blade length less than 2&1/2". Don't know if it would be much use for anything but one does not fool around with Chicago cops!-Dick

I have had a copy of Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's book 'The Chinese Kitchen' for many years and have found it to be a very useful book in preparation of Chinese cuisine. When her new book came out, 'Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking', it was an automatic addition to my library. At about the same time Grace Young's book, 'Stir-Frying To The Sky's Edge' came out and I decided to order both after perusing both at my local library. Both are very good cookbooks and useful additions but Eileen's book is much more detailed and on the whole her recipes require one to make a number of ingredients which I like to do and hopefully add to the authenticity of the recipes. I made 'Crisp Beef' and 'Eggplant With Garlic Sauce' and they were two of the finest Chinese preps I have ever made. From Grace Young's book I made 'Hot Pepper Beef' which appears to me to be more Cantonese than anything but very good never the less. Good Cantonese cooking can be very good in its own right. Grace does say that the recipe is for those that have limited access to Asian Ingredients. It appears to me that the books have different styles possibly relating to the differences in background of the two authors. Has anyone else had similar conclusions? I would recommend both to anyone.-Dick

"Michael is also reasonable in price for such high quality food. It's $48 if you order three courses and $55 if you order four courses (the foie gras dish had a $6 supplement, the only supplement I recall seeing on the menu)." The original Poster set a limit of $25. Miramar http://www.miramarbistro.com/ in Highwood fits the bill and is one of Gabriels restaurants and Roland Liccioni is in the kitchen.-Dick

NYC has VERY restrictive knife laws and I believe anything over 4" concealed is illegal and a folder would fall under that definition. In Wisconsin in public you can possess any length of blade as long as the knife is not for self defense. I have a stainless knife case for when I travel with my kitchen knives and that is what I would tell any LEO. I don't know what would work in your jurisdiction except to say, NYC laws are the most restrictive in the USA.-Dick