budrichard

NO!-Dick

Eel MUST be skinned! Your fish monger should bleed and eviserate your eels. Use a pliers to pull the skin off when you get home. If you can't nail them to a board, then get two people. One to hold and one to pull of the skin. Then blanch, cool and rub off the fatty layer under skin. The eel will then be palatable anyway you cook it. -Dick

Absolutely no problems with the 'O' series. We use them for BBQ's and other events where they are less likely to tip over from exuberant party goers. The Bacarrat is for more sedate events. In terms of taste differential, I will bet GOOD MONEY that a properly conducted blind tasting will discern NO difference between the 'O' series and other Riedel stemware. Of course a blind test will be hard to do since I can't figure out a way to keep the taster from discerning glass shape! In fact all the Riedel hype for glass shape is some of the best marketing BS I have ever come across. -Dick

The Tribs tasting http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/new...1,2528787.story confirms the blind tasting that I have done with Special Export and other beers. While not #1, Special Export still shows very well. Our blind tasting showed that there was not a lot of difference between Export, Beck's and Heinekin. -Dick

Sake has evolved in the last few years. Sake's have been brewed that are kept cold in storage and meant to be drunk cold rather than heated. I find them very refreshing with Jpanese food especially Sashimi. The type that we really like is the ones with rice lees in the bottle. The lees give a very smooth mouth feel. What i would actually do is to tell your server that you would like the servers to match the type of Sake to the course being served. I would'nt have a different type with each course because you may not be able to stand at the end of your meal! -Dick

Telling the chef a $$ amount is OK. Usually though, I say feed me until I say 'STOP'.-Dick

I avoid using the lump charcoal that has become available from Mexico. Industry regulation and morality are very different in Mexico. I would be concerned about the charcoal being made from wood that was contaminated with all sorts of toxic material.-Dick

KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid! No milk, no weights, no Old Bay, just clean just before cooking(do not let your fish monger clean them for you or you will lose moisture), sprinkle with Wondra, season with white pepper & salt, into the hot unsalted butter. So what if it Pops! Putting a weight on them will steam them. Serve with lemon wedge and stand back because if truly fresh and still moving when cleaned and not limp and dead as some purveryors will try to sell you, they will evaporate! Oh yes, a nice white Burgundy will enhance one of natures true wonders, the 'Beautiful Swimmer' which is part of the latin name of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and the title of an excellent book, 'Beautiful Swimmers' on the blue crab.-Dick

I don't read the articles in GQ, I just look at the pictures! -Dick

When we have a whole duck that we deconstruct, the fat is always rendered. We then make Pomme Frites. Just slice your potatoes the way you like them, heat up the duck fat until it looks right and fry! Very simple. You can wash and dry your fries first and monitor the duck fat temperature but after a few times doing it, I streamlined the process. -Dick

I purchase the factory branded Champagne glasses whenever they have an overstock. We have so so many broken that its the only cost effective way. ANY reasonable flute type glass is suitable for Champagne and it doesn't taste any better in any one type of glass despite what the 'experts' would like you to believe. -Dick

Unless these raw country style hams have been specifically tested for Listeria, They are NOT safe to consume raw. Even then, thier are instances of Prosciutto being recalled for Listeria. Listeria is killed by heat. -Dick

very cool, dick! do you feel like a secret agent when you carry it? ← When I carry this, I feel like a Secret Agent: http://www.sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalo...=8&productid=63 -Dick

Blender methods don't insure safety. Once you try making hollandaise over direct heat with melted butter, you will never go back. It's quick. simple and just about foolproof. You need a large SS mixing bowl and wisk. Put your egg yolks etc in the bowl and briefly heat while wisking over flames. You have to straddle the line between scrambled eggs and a thickening that occurs by removing from the heat or adding more heat. You can see the scrambeling start to occur on the upper surfaces of the bowl and then its time to remove from the heat. When the thickening occurs, simply remove from heat and wisk in the melted butter.-Dick

Your bones are not an endless supply for stock. After one roasting and boiling they are done for stock. The bones are sometimes reused to make a flavoring agent from a reduced stock called a glaze but this invloves making the stock and then reduction to thick syrup like consistancy which jells upon cooling. -Dick

'Dirty Steak' works for thin steaks, because it briefly sears the outside and cooks the meat internally. don't try it with a thick t-bone or filet mignon or you will end up with a burnt crust by the time the center is done enough. -Dick

I cook a whole Prime Grade Rib Roast every Xmas. It's very simple inspite of all the crazy ways others think of doing it. Season your roast and then put into a 475F oven for about 30minutes or until it is crisp enough for you, since time is a constraint for you, back off the temp to about 400F and roast until the internal temp in the center touching a rib is 100F. Remove roast and allow to stand a minimum of one hour wrapped in foil. Your ends will be medium and the center pieces will be rare. If the center is too rare then simply put back into your oven at 400F for a while. Works every time. -Dick

I use this for my Wusthof http://www.wusthof.com/en/database3.asp?id=2808 . While the inside is not shown, it has foam slots for the knives to be stored vertically and has room for a steel. -Dick

I really don't care to see pictures of your food from your trip especially if it involves impinging on the attempts of other diners to have a nice meal without distractions. If you attempt to photgraph next to me, I now have management make a decision, stop the photography or lose a customer in the middle of his meal. Societal restraints against imposing on others have been rapidly lost . Individuals feel free to impose unwanted distractions on others and don't consider whether they might be annoying others. Of course if you are eating at McD's, go ahead and shoot, because I won't be there. -Dick

Your fiddleheads need to be blanched in boiling water and then cooled in cold water. Next rub ALL the coating off the fiddleheads. Use however you want after that. -Dick

Dead lobsters tell no tales! A 'Tempest in a Teapot'. We as a society have way too much free time on our hands. If you were really hungry, you would rip the head off the body, break the tail into pieces and eat and not worry about whether a lobster can feel pain. Me I've been killing lobsters for at least 50 years. If cooking them by steaming or boiling, then they go right in the pot. If I want to disjoint them , then i 'pith' them and disjoint. I'm not sure that pithing them does any good at all? -Dick

I'd bet good money that the Japanese would not tolerate such programming junk. -Dick

"Beers, all beers being made over any period of time, have constantly evolved and no matter how hard they try to keep them the same, or affect subtle changes over time, they change. That's the nature of making something that is derived from an agricultural product. " The change to beer over time is in no way related to beer being agricultural product. The real impetus to changing the methodology and formulation was profit. To increase profits, the beer companies needed to reduce the time of brewing and the amount of ingrediant in the beer. The brewers then left the rest up to advertising and the actually sold 'light beer' and the new formulations. That was the exact cause that folded Schlitz if anyone remembers the brand! They reduced the brewing time and changed the formulation. When a product changes today, the only reason for the change is profit. You can be sure that the marketing department feels that they can sell the change as something new and important for the consumer with BS. -Dick

Go to http://www.cityofchicago.org/Mayor/ and you'll be redirected to the correct page. Click on the teeny-tiny "Contact Us" at the top of the page. ← I do not believe that is a link to the Mayor's Office but to the City of Chicago. The page for the Mayor's Office dose not list an email. -Dick

Wild caught Gulf Shrimp! The rest is crap!-Dick