budrichard

First, get a new butcher. He obviously has no idea what caul fat is and why should he need to see your recipe? Caul fat is thin and lacy and has to handled carefully, certainly not an inch thick in places. Dietrick's Country Market has great caul fat but they don't take credit cards. You have to send them a check of some kind. All liver is not liver for terrines. Pork liver has a higher fat content than chicken liver or veal liver. Chicken liver must be used with schmaltz(rendered chicken fat). Veal liver needs fat of some kind. Foie Gras has enough fat. Higher temps and longer cooking just render the fat out of your terrine. I don't know how to put it back in. Let it float on top and it will harden as you cool the terrine and privide a seal. Try your terrine, your palate wil tell you whether it is good or not. -Dick

If you are a fan of Carlos than the book is for you. Pictures, historyand tidbits of the staff and food. If you want to become a world class chef, this book alone will not do it but will set you in the right direction.-Dick

The ammonia smell in skate comes from the breakdown of urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia. This does not take days to occur. The smell is therefore not an indication that the flesh is decomposing or even past its "best before" date. What it most likely means is that skate was not skinned upon capture and that some of the skin's urea has leached into the flesh and broken down. And when that happens, brining the fish as one does with shark, poaching it in a vinegar solution and/or serving it with a sauce that includes vinegar and/or acrolein (formed when butter browns) effectively counteracts the ammonia. Most of the above information comes from my most trusted fishmonger, whom I just got off the blower with. And, by the way, he scoffs at the notion that ammonia is an indicator of decomposition. "Since when does decomposing fish smell like ammonia?" was more or less how he put it. "Cheese, yes. Fish, no." A number of websites support this view. This one, for example: How to prepare skate for cooking. You can find others (and, yes, ones that contradict it) by googling skate ammonia (include -hockey to refine the results). For what it's worth, it's also the position taken by Yvonne Young Tarr in her normally reliable The Great East Coast Seafood Book. ← . Better get another fish monger! If one does a goggle for ammonia odor fish, one finds references such as http://www.freshfish4u.com/discussion/messages/1087.shtml. I will say it again and stand by it, fish, actually any seafood, that smells of ammonia is decomposing and we throw it away

I ordered whole tenderloins and briskets from this source before the last price increase. http://www.gamemeat.com/kobe.html This is the Kobe Beef Association http://www.kobe-beef.com/quality.php On the Japanese scale of 1-12 it was probabaly about a 6-7 or a little better than US Prime. The briskets were smoked. The tenderloin normally cooked. It was a couple of year ago that I tried to purchase some Waygu animals from the source in California and was told that the produciotn went to Japan. AS far as Japanese not eating US beef, at Mitsuwa in Chicago, US Waygu which is really low Prime sells very well among the Jpanese clientel. I also agree that true Kobe is just too fatty to cook conventially on a grill but in small slices, seared is best, other wise you will cook all the fat out of it.-Dick

We have mail ordered and the bread is everything it is supposed to be. -Dick

DO NOT braise your goose. Roast as before without any stuffing. What you need in the cavity is aromatics such as your fresh herbs, onion, apple, celery et al to give flavor to the goose. No need to crisp the skin at the end as it should have been crisp if the fat has been rendered. If not roast at higher temperature for your next goose. It is almost impossible to ruin a good domestic goose as it has so much fat unless you way overcook and succeed in drying it out.-Dick

Waygu cattle are raised in the United States in California and shipped LIVE to Japan for finishing in the prefecture of Kobe and are then correctly sold as Kobe beef. They ARE NOT processed in the US and sent to Japan. I have purchased Waygu from several sources including Australian and although very good beef, I assure you that it in no way compares to real Kobe beef. The marbleing of Kobe beef is akin to top grade O-Toro, almost solid fat. There is no reason to believe that the price will drop if sold in the US. The price to finish in Kobe will be the same and with the exchange rate, the end product over here will be very high.-Dick

The opinions of whether the device caused a change are subjective and would be termed Voo Doo Science. It would be almost impossible to quantify a meaningful change other than that accomplished by simply decanting of the wine. I am glad I was not there as I would have been laughing.-Dick

Lunch yesterday at Carlos was its usual impeccable self. The Prix Fixe is priced at $39.50 includes an Amuse, Consomme(duck), Appetizer choice. Entre choice and desert choice. No corkage for the 5 bottles of wine I brought for the 7 of us as per Carlos policy for Monday. I also picked up my copy of thier new book i had ordered. Probably the best value in the midwest for fine dining.-Dick

"on another thread about cooking brisket, we discussed the fact that briskets aren't generally graded at all. briskets are NOT a prime cut of meat. but you can get melt-in-your-mouth results if cooked properly. " While the above statement is technically correct, there is a substantial difference from a brisket from a USDA Grade Select animal vs a brisket from a USDA Prime graded animal. If you obtain your brisket from a seller that sells Select beef, that's what your brisket will be. If you obtain from a seller that deals in Choice or Prime, your brisket will be of a higher quality. I have been purchasing Waygu briskets for a few years now, first from Lobel's and then from a US source in Kansas I believe. These briskets are substantially more tender than any other 'Choice' type I have used. It's the same with roasts, slow cooking will not turn a Select roast into a silk purse.-Dick

Fish and Chips: FRESH cod and I mean fresh, not the dried up crap that most stores pass as fresh fish. Oily(mackeral) or soft fish(flounder) should not be used. You can make a batter or just coat with Wondra. Seasonings are up to you. ANY type of russet will do. Canola oil is fine. 375F with a thermometer to monitor temp. Lastly, good malt vinegar.-Dick

I'm surprised that the USDA grade of meat was not listed as the most important factor. Purchase a Prime Chuck roast and a Select Chuck roast, cook them the same and experience the difference. If the meat was Select or below to begin with, all the slow cooking is not going to make it a tender piece of meat. Be aware that Choice also varies considerably and you have to find a store that sells top quality Choice to make a good roast. Choice is genereally very good for roasts and you don't always need Prime. -Dick

Recipes are not really needed when you understand the science behind chopped chicken liver, pates and mousses. FAT and seasoning along with cooking techniques are what does it. Typically chopped chicken liver is made from ground cooked livers with schmaltz and additives. The chicken fat adds binding and palatability. Additives are up to your taste. Butter can used also as the fat. Pates can be made from cooked or raw livers of any kind or from veal/pork chunks with pork liver/veal or any other kind of fat for a binder. Seasonings again are up to you with the knowledge that the seasoning has to be more intense for a cold dish. Cooking is usually done in a terrine in a water bath. After cooking and cooling, a layer of fat can be added to seal the pate/mousse. -Foie Gras can be done whole, or processed with little addition if any of fat because of the fat content of the foie. Seasoning is still needed. -Dick

Wusthoff carving knives are great! I have them out to 32cm. But there is just some mystique about a matched set with stag. They don't cut any better but it sure is nice! What set costs $1000?-Dick

Haven't gone to one of those for many many years. The focus is on sales rather than good wine by mostly sales people rather than wine people. The only tastings we attend are low number focused tastings that we pay for to taste premium wines with the owners/vitners. Last one was with Christian Pol Roger tasting of all the Pol Roger wines. Along with tasting some great Champagne, Christian's lively history of his family and Champagne was alone worth the cost. Bubbly tasting coming up 12/15! Another venue that we have been going to is focused dinner/tasting at upper end restaurants. You have to wade through the chaff to determiine the suitable ones where their is a focus on the wine with knowledgable representation and of course good food. Many restaurants that offer mediocre food have climbed on this bandwagon are now offering tastings of god knows what to go with thier food. Of course, everyone that goes to these speaks raptures about the food and wine. I am continually surprised by the wonderful reviews of these places. Of course the reviews are punctuated by incessant pictures. How can one enjoy an evening of good food, wine, conversation and companionship while constantly taking pictures?-Dick

Your XMAS dinner will be better than mine. We are going to my daughters house for XMAS and with the small number of people we will have a choice Black Angus Tenderloin. Of course, I will be with my two grand-daughters!-Dick

Chukers are one step from quail/doves. I bone and stuff them. Makes easier eating and the stuffing adds interest. -Dick

How I cope: 1. I process my own venison and primal cuts. I know more then 99% of the 'butchers'. 3.I never use prepared foods of any kind. 4.I never purchase ANY type of meat that has been adulterated with a saline solution including seafood. 5. We try not too eat animals that have been fed feed made from animnal products. 8. I also grind my own meat 9. I always determine country of origin and do not purchase any but US raised. 10. So far i have not had any problems. Knock on wood. -Dick

Straight two prong forks are mislabled as 'Carving Forks'. They are really meat forks used to serve sliced meat. Follow this link to Wusthof http://www.wusthof.com/main.htm . Since the fork does not curve, as the knife decends it binds on the fork whereas a curved fork allows the knife to decend unimpeded. -Dick

Jim, certainly if the Kabinett wines are properly cellered, not moved, they can last but the only conditions that i know that exist are in limestone caves which do exist in Germany and some of the world's greatest white wines are cellered that way. The average collection is subject to temperature variation, humidity variation, vibration and moving. My Auslese, BA and TBA are kept in a controlled temp and humidity environment but my Kabinett, Quality Wines and Spatlese are kept in thier orginal cases in the celler because of the number of cases does not justify the expense to create a controlled environment for that large a collection. My French, Spanish and others are also kept in the celler. Even though the celler is always cool, the temperature does vary over the year along with the humidity. My buddy has the same type of storage. So unless you have stoarge conditions like a limestone cave with relatively steady temp and humidity year round, Kabinett wines will simply reach a peak and then decline. The same is true of Auslese, Spatlese, BA and TBA. It is quite something to open a bottle of 1969 Niersteiner Reback TBA and find it maderized, knowing that the rest of the case is probabaly off also. -Dick

Kabinett wines are not long lived and are generally enjoyed best when fairly young. Your wine is among the best vineyards and produced but it is not a long lived wine. The higher the grade ending with BA and TBA are usually longer lived but even these wines unless held in constant temp limestone cellers may only last 20-30 years. After drinking and collecting German wine for almost 40 years and having enough failures in the BA and TBA claasification due to age along with some very sorry Kabinett's held too long, I err on the young side now. My long time friend sells German Wine and has a celler that occupies his entire basement. He also experiences failures with German wine held too long as well as degredation in quality. -Dick

If it's marketed by All Clad you can be sure that it is cheap to manufacture and that the advertizing hype will say its great. Al cookware is cheap to manufacture but it needs coating to work and anything that is done to it is to try to convnce the users that it can work . BTW http://allcladfrance.free.fr/ does not list this cookware. I wonder what "crafted in France" means ? -Dick

Your stuffing will burn at roasting temp. If roasting a whole chicken, they are not stuffed either so the chicken will roast faster. The stuffing retards the cooking on the inner surfaces. -Dick

The original poster referred to slice of meat 1&1/2" in thickness, that is small to me and in fact too small to achieve a nice pink rare, your meat will be well done by the time you cook the puff. I use whole tenderloins, be they beef, veal or lamb for Wellington's and that is what i mean by the biggest piece. You could remove the head of a beef tenderloin and just use the body or filet section also. For veal or lamb since they are so small anyway, I don't sear. With a whole beef tenderloin, I sear but stop the cooking process in cold water and the dry, layer with mousse or pate, put into puff and the bake until about 100F internal and the let rest for 30 minutes for a beef Wellington and about 15 for a veal or lamb Wellington. Just made a veal Wellington wrapped in a veal mousse and it turned out perfectly, slightly pink internal veal and cooked mousse and puff. -Dick

We also have a tree and I processed them once. Must use gloves to avoid stain. One of the easier methods and the one I used is to put the unshelled nuts on your driveway and run over them with the wheels of your vehicle. Then take out the nut kernal and let dry. We let them dry in the garage and the scent was so intoxicating to the squirrels that they came right in the garage. I eventually put them out one by one for the squirrels to enjoy. -Dick