budrichard

You won't get live in the shell scallops because of Maine State Law and you can't order live on-line but they do have a website and the best fish/shellfish in the US, Browne Trading http://www.brownetrading.com/ . So if you want the best 'Dayboat' scallops available, we eat them as sashimi, and the quality of seafood shipped to the best restaurants, call Browne.-Dick

The convection feature on our Viking gas range is a little like a pig iron blast furnace. The air enters near the bottom near the dual burners and raises the temperature considerably especially on the bottom rack. so if something needs a good crust, or you need to hurry something up in cooking time, its on the bottom, oven set to 550F and Convection on, but you have to watch it because it gets HOT! Making multiple things like pizza's with it on, it is a must to rotate or a burnt crust will result on a pizza left on the bottom. I don't use the feature for long slow cooking because the oven is quite good anywhere inside without it. Frankly, with a gas range like the Viking, i wouldn't be without it!-Dick

The short answer is you don't. Shellfish and lobsters exist in a cold salt water environment. Once removed, they start to die and then decay. Put a live lobster on ice, not in ice but on ice and monitor it day to day. after one day, it may revive, after two days, it is definately dead as the claws and tail will droop and will not revieve as it warms up. The scallops if shucked along with the mantle and row will keep for 2 days. Razor clams I don't know. We had a similar choice this year as Xmas and News Years each fell on Thursdays and by Sunday the big stores were all sold out of product so there was really nothing to purchase on Wednesday so we did without.-Dick

Kind of takes the 'fun' out of cooking with alcohol!-Dick

Did you purchase mail order and from what source? Most of my purchasing is cut right from the primal dry aged piece.-Dick

Does it say refrigeration needed on the package? Some of this stuff is so industrial and vacuum packed that it needs no refrigeration but if it does need refrigeration, then be careful as its two months over date and you can get very sick from bad smoked fish even if it looks and smells OK As I well know, so 'if in doubt........" .-Dick BTW "In Captain Scott's Winter quarters there is tinned food from 1912, no sell by date, no use by date and from investigation it is still potable." This was I believe frozen and not refrigerated.

You need to start with a cut of beef equivalent to USDA choice or better with the fat cap left on. I don't know what that equates to in the UK. I use simple canning salt, spices and saltpeter and usually corn for at least 3 weeks, followed by slow simmer for about 3-4 hours. I suspect its your beef. Don't fall for the thinking that long slow cooking can make any cut/grade of beef tender because it just won't. I have made briskets from Waygu animals also which resulted in very nice results. I susally corn at least two whole briskets and smoke at least 6 per year on the 'Q.-Dick

My conclusion is still the same answer to the same question, "Dozens of cookbooks on my shelf instruct that "when the water returns to the boil" you're supposed to remove the vegetables you're blanching, or you're supposed to start timing the pasta, or you're done cooking a particular item. But does this advice really make sense?" The reason that cooking times are then referred to from 'time to boil' is because this is a standard and is usually 212F at sea level. The boiling temperature does not depend on material volume, pot size and material or heat source thereby elimnating all these variables. In regard to integral calculus, there is no 'science' behind the various cookbook instructions because I don't know of a single cookbook author with a degree in Mathematics and/or Mechanical/Chemical Engineering that understands chemical changes and heat transfer let alone Integral Calculus. -Dick

I have been shopping at Mitsuwa for many years and its a long learning process. The ingrediants from Japan vary greatly in price as the handmade aspect (artizen products) increases. Many items are now supplied from China or Korea at substantially lower cost than Jpanese quality products. I would let your pocket book be your guide and start with lower price Japanese products and slowly work your way up the $$ chain and learn as much as possible about the methods and quality involved in the making of the various products. We have gone to artizen Japanese products for shoyu, mirin, miso and others but the prices are high. Good luck.-Dick

Liquid Nitorgen is very hazardous, i suspect there is a HAZMAT fee involved? Where and how is your bread going. This is winter in the US and frozen bread should survive overnight shipping.-Dick

Mutton is not sold anywhere i know of in the US.-Dick

I love butcher block counters, especially endgrain. In most ways they're my favorite. If I decided against the high tech option, I might go all the way the other way to wood. But I'm concerned about it in wet areas, like around the sink. And I also worry about leaving huge scars by putting screaming hot skillets and roasting pans on it. You've had no issues with this? Sink is Franke Manor House commercial thickness unit and sealed around the block with clear sealant. It gets wet, we keep a towel for drying and eventually will have to reseal the interface but so far no problems. I wash large pots/pans and just put wet onto block until I can dry. If possible I try to use trivet for a very hot pan but if not, down the pan goes with no effects i have been able to discern. If there was, just sandpaper to remove. Are yours finished with something like urethane, or are they just oiled? Boos says just food grade Mineral Oil and that's all we use on the 4" end grain. Edge grain Sushi Bar is not cut on by us although some do use for this purpose so finished with Poly Gel about every two years. 4" Blocks come maximum 5' lenghts as I remember and are quite heavy, most contracters don't want to work with them as they are either lazy or have no experience. They want to sell you what they can make the most markup on and what's easiest for them to install. Went through two contracters in the process and finally the third knew what they were doing. It's not for the faint of heart but once installed and used, you will know. Blocks can crack, its an agricultural product. We have one with a crack, Boos has supplied new block free and we will install this coming spring. Either an original defect aggrivated by dry winters or from moisture from dishwasher? Who knows but i will design new moisture proof enclosure for dishwasher when replacing the block. -Dick

As stated, imported lamb is grass fed while most US lamb is finished on grain and can be had USDA Graded. We get our lamb local grown in Wisconsin from Pinn-Oaks http://www.wisconsinlamb.com/ , fresh, not frozen and its simply marvelous. Used to get excellent USDA Prime at a Greek grocery in Chicago but have not been there for ages. Aus and NZ are good for marinade and then BBQ on grill but for a great classic lamb dish, its US grain fed.-Dick

We have had John Boos 4" thick end grain countertops for over 10 years now. Haven't been able to hurt them, hot pans or whatever but no sulfuric acid available. Scratches?, sandpaper every couple of years followed by Boos food grade oil. We also have a 10 ' Sushi bar of edge grain Boos, same process but since no cutting on bar, sandpaper is followed by a Boos poly gel. -Dick

Since it is composed of meat, fat, gristle, cooking to tender makes it fall apart. We always use it for 'pulled pork' or things similar. At Sams Club, you can find a whole loin section for around $2/# and if studded with garlic spears, anchovy pieces, seasoned and then roasted until medium rare, letting it rest, presents a nice presentation slices very nicely. Cold it makes great sandwiches.-Dick

Agreed, its kinda like chicken feet, no meat to speak of but gristle and bone for sucking on!-Dick

Yup! You can't live in Wisconsin without it becoming a habit!-Dick

The specifc heat of water is 1 Cal/degree Celsius per gram of water i.e it takes 1 Calory of heat(not a food calories) to raise the temperature of one gram of water, one degree Celsius. The heat is supplied through the walls of the cooking vessel by conductivity. The greater the amount of heat your burner can put out usually discussed in But/hr and the greater the conductivity of the material of your vessel, the faster and more importanly, the more heat that can be transferred to your water. So you cannot make a simple comparison of small pots to large or whatever because its not that simple but not that difficult either. If one uses the same heat source(burner) and same pot, obviously the more water in the pot, the longer it will take the bulk temperature of the water to raise the same amount. If you use the same burner, different size pots and different amounts of water, you either have to calculate or measure, the rates of temperature rise, a simple I think it is not correct. Heat is transferred most effectively into the bulk fluid by what is termed nucleate boiling. There are sites in the vessel material that allow steam bubbles to form which can transfer heat much faster than simple conductivity and then convection. This is what you see when water starts to boil as little streams of bubbles. These gradually increase in size and number and eventually result in what is referred to as 'rolling boil'. As well discussed, it all depends on your volume of material put into the pot, amount of water in the pot, size and material in the pot and the rate at which your heat source can deliver energy to the outside of the pot as to how low the temperature will drop and how long to recover. The reason that cooking times are then referred to from 'time to boil' is because this is a standard and is usually 212F at sea level. The boiling temperature does not depend on material volume, pot size and material or heat source thereby elimnating all these variables.-Dick

We have been grinding our own meat for ages, first with a hand grinder and about 10 years ago I purchased the grinder attachment for our Kitchenaid mixer. The benefits are really fourfold. First, whenever you increase the surface area of a product, you increase the area for air and drying almost exponentially, guaranteeing you a loss in quality. Second is the fact that if a contaminant is present in the commercial food processing line, its in the grinding of meat where it is dispersed. Third, one can control the fat content. Fourth, one can control what in your ground meat. I usually purchase Choice Chuck Roasts at Sams Club, trim extensively and then grind. We have an Australian Labradoodle that gets an all raw diet and when we first started feeding her, we used commercial ground meat, when we used some of it ourselves, the fat content shocked me, even the 10% lean. So we grind hers also. It works out well, she is a happy 83# girl and we have some nice ground meat when we need it. The best ground meat I have had is from choice or prime tenderloins that I have broken down from primal cuts and either ground or chopped up the bits and pieces leftover. I always stick a pat of unsalted butter in the middle of my burgers and it doesn't get any better than that. I haven't tried any of the pre-ground products mentioned here and I won't.-Dick

The fins on the fan which is really what is called a squirrel cage fan can be removed from the motor shaft by a small allen wrench on the set screw on the shaft. The fans should then pull off for cleaning. Remember which fan is which because they have preferred orientation for air flow when reinstalling. It requires a bit of manual dexterity because you are basically working blind to fit the correct allen wrench in the set screw but can be accomplished. Good luck.-Dick

I have a set of just about everything Falk makes or made at one time. there simply is no better copper cookware. "Basically my question is, what kind of sizes and shapes are liable to be most useful to me for sauces and reductions, assuming the 11 inch curved sauteuse evasee is a given? I'm thinking something more medium to small sized, 1-2 quarts 6-8 inches" My advice for sauces and reductions is ot get the biggest you can afford as you can always put less in a pan but you can't put more than its capacity. One caveat, Falk is heavy in the larger pieces so if weight is a problem than you have a decision to make. Falk should be able to supply the weight of an individual piece. I would also advise the Falk lids as they are as industructable as thier pots/pans. They will fit similar pans of the same diameter so you don't need a new one with every pot.-Dick

Wusthof makes a very nice 7" Santuko which fits my size 9&1/2 hand very nicely. The Cordon Bleu version has no bolster but I think its discontinued.-Dick

We keep at least one of the hood fans on whenever the oven is on.-Dick

I use Morton Kosher salt for cooking. I tried Diamond but since I was used to Morton, no sale. It's just what you are used to, neither is better. I use a commercial variety for canning/preservation because its a little cheaper. I hate to admit we have one fancy sea salt we have been using for a long time because of its large crystals which if added externally, give quite a salt buzz when you encounter one. That said, salt is salt and all of its eons old whether mined, from the sea or any other process except putting a base and acid together. I am particularly wary of colored salts because they have no analysis for contaminants and heavy metals. I am also amazed at the prices asked for these salts! Clearly PT Barnum was correct.-Dick

My Viking is not self cleaning and we clean it about every two years, no problems. Is your hood vented to the outside or one of those filter type units that vents back into the kitchen? Venting to the outside is required not only for odors/smoke but heat removal. I still say something is wrong someplace if your oven smokes all the time into your kitchen?-Dick