budrichard

Chef's knives are not meant for chopping bones, period. A good Chinese cook's knife is more properly used for cutting and the thin edge is again not useful for chopping bones. Most of the ones sold are so cheap that you can chop bones and just throw the knife away if you damage it. A good Chinese chef's knife such as a Wustof is such a delgiht to use with its very thin edge and is ceratainly not for bones. Poultry is best cut with a 'Poultry Shears'. Chopping is best done with a proper cleaver which comes in different sizes and edge thicknesses. For bone splitting, Wustof makes a 13" 'Bone Splitter which looks like a BIG chef's knife but will cleave a beef marrow bone with no problem. Use the proper knife for the job. The reason I use Wustof is that they make all the above in various sizes. -Dick

1960's , Madison Wisconsin, Leine's $2/case, good beer for being out in a boat fishing in Graduate school in the summer. 1990, Leine's about $6/case, still good beer compared to the water now marketed as beer. Miller purchases Leine's, price jumps to $9/case and continues upwards to pay for Miller's overhead. Miller introduces Leine's that Leine's never made such as 'Honey Weiss'. Real Leine's fades into the distance. 1960's , same town, Loewenbrau or however you spell it, light and dark on draft, my FAVORITE beers ever. Miller's purchases brand name and makes own beer. COMPLETELY kills the brand in the USA. Even tries to sell it as an import brewed in Canada. 2004, only Light (not Light as in Miller Light but Light as opposite to Dark) is now available on the market again from Germany, no Dark and no draft, brand still dead in the USA. Miller brewing has destroyed more beer than anyone else. about the only thing they have not managed to screw up is orignal 'High Life'. BTW during the 50's and 60's, High Life was touted as a'Light' beer that you drank with meals. Now that the other products are water, it is now a 'heavy' beer. Me, I drink Hofbrau Mai-Bock from Germany now. -Dick

What I suspect has happened is that the Jalapeno has gone the way of the commercial tomatoe, bred for mechanical picking and to look good for sales but devoid of any redeeming features. Most of the Jalapenos found in even the midwest SuperMercardos have no heat. We don't use them anymore and have substituted Serrano, Habeneros and others. I have even found Poblanos with no heat and only mild habeneros which have not been mistaken for other varieties like Peron. -Dick

We have the Kitchenaid which is the 'Audi' of Frozen Dessert Makers since Ferrari does not win at Le Mans anymore! http://proline.kitchenaid.com/counter_top/...aker_detail.asp This is actually a pro machine and is equivalent to the machines used in many restaurants and cooking shows. No pre-freezing is needed and one can regulate the 'over run' as with commercials ice creams. I find no way to do this with the PacoJet. It makes a lot of ice cream and it makes it fast. The ice cream can either be dispensed like soft serve or the whole front comes off to allow the frozen mixture and blades to be removed and the mixture transfered into a vessel for further hardening. -Dick

At 130F and after resting what you will obtain is a piece of veal that is very uniform in structure with no light pink color or 'well done' in my book. At 100F and say a 5# roast or greater with at least a 30 minute rest, you will obtain veal that is slightly pink in the center but the protein matrix will have changed from raw to rare. The meat will be firmer than raw but less than well done. It makes all the difference in the world. Many equate rare to raw because the meat is not cooked and rested correctly. Many have never had a true rare piece of meat. Many years ago Jean Banchet made a Veal Wellington that was cut at table side from a cart. The center was a lovely light pink. If cooked to well done the dish would have been just another roast. -Dick

You can use whatever type of herb rub you like. the most important thing to do is to cook it correctly. It should be lightly browned and the put in a hot oven, about 450F until the internal temp is 100F. Depending on the size of the roast it will need to rest for 30 to 60 minutes to achieve a nice pink rare. -Dick

Moselle, Ruwer and especially Saar wines are often 'Spritzig' and one can not only feel the quality in your mouth but actually see the bubbles in the glass. It should not have a foam or mousse like Champagne but be very subtle. It is a very refreshing quality and implies no fault with the wine. Some Rose wines also possess this quality. Since you didnt specify the grade of the Urzsiger, I would assume a Kabinet wine as the quality is rarely evident in spatlese or above. -Dick

Bershire Pork is an attempt to produce a pork product like one could obtain 40 years ago. Today's pork had been breed for leanness. Much of it in the big chains is now injected with a water/chemical solution that the Pork Industry tells you improves flavor and freshness. In reality it adds water to the weight and profit for the Pork Producer. I don't use it at all. We get our Bershire Pork from a Japanese market where it is very popular with the Japanese for its fat content. It is very good. -Dick

In the 1970's I purchased a case of Bahans Haut-Brion Magnums NV. They turned out quite well and were an excellent purchase. The big houses may have at one time made a NV to get rid of lessor wines from lessor vintages. I know that Bahans vintage is still made but have not seen any other NV. -Dick

I normally poach at least a 1# piece of shashimi grade Maguro rather than yellow fin. I poach in either a veal or chicken stock with herbs and aromatics and chill it off quickly after poaching. I make my own Mayo and and then a rouille and/or aioli to go along with it. The dressing for the salad and potaotes is usually wine vinegar/olive oil. Tuna except for the belly part (Toro) is not a fat fish and will be a little dry. that is probably why most recipes call for canned tuna in oil!-Dick

I'll try it next time I'm in the area, it's not to far from Trout & Grouse! Prime grade 'butcher' type steaks are often overlooked because most people are only are familiar with Good or Choice grade of these cuts. Don't forget Zier's in Wilmette on Ridge just south of Lake. Great Prime beef! -Dick

Contrary to popular opinion on this forum, all tuna is NOT frozen. Browne Trading does not sell frozen tuna. You can call Jamie Wright at 800-944-7848 #4 and ask him. I know a few top Sushi Chefs in Chicago that pride themselves on the fresh tuna that they serve. If you look at fresh unfrozen tuna and compare to the tuna you see for sale in the big chains, you can easily see the lack of gloss in the frozen variety. Some frozen Sashimi grade tuna can be very good but the lower priced stuff is waterlogged. Again, it is the quality of the ingrediant that makes the difference in the cooking and enjoyment. Many cooking techniques are only compensating for so called modern processing methods. Try to brown a typical scallop. It can't be done because the scallops are soaked in a checmical preservative. I suspect that may happen to low priced tuna to keep it 'fresh' longer as well as add weight to the product. The Blue Fin season is just starting and I plan on ordering some top grade Toro from Browne.-Dick

BEST WAY to eat scallops that big and that fresh is with nothing! Just slice thin and eat with some garnishes such as radish sprouts. Hotatagai is what the Japanese call them. -Dick

I have had and frequently used one for a number of years. The only problem is that with the Weber Grill itself you just can't control the temp low enough to slow smoke for a long time. Last weekend we did a pork butt cuban style of about 7#'s. It was done in a little more than 2 hours. Great flavor but not the fall of the bone type. All the chickens we do are on the Rotesserie. We even did a suckling pig of about 20#'s. Only problem we had was that we had to cut the head off the pig to fit it on the spit! -Dick

We get our tuna fresh from Browne Trading. We don't have to 'dry' it. i suspect that what you are purchashing is previously frozen tuna that has been actually frozen in water to add weight to the product. Avoid this stuff or only use it for poaching. -Dick

Perceived rarity, usually has little to do with quality. In my 30+ years of collecting, i have found Yquem and other First Growths to be bad values compared to the lessor classified growths. Especially Lafite, Yquem and the rest. I just recieved my 2001 Sauterne futures, 2 cases of 2001 375ml Suiduraut. My cost was $20 bottle, case price. The 2001 Yquem 375 ml is a lot more and for me does not justify the price difference. My suggestion is to purchase the lessor growths in a better year and forget about the hype. -Dick

Your problen stems from the quality of fresh tuna sold in most grocery stores. This is a low quality product, previously frozen and not suitable for eating uncooked. For this type of tuna, poaching is probably the best method. For tuna that is Sashimi grade and suitable for eating raw, I season, grill until i get a nice surfece and then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Marinate as your ercipe requires or don't, it won't matter as long as you chill it and use withoin 24 hours. Typically marinades that cure are used with white fleshed fish but I suppose you can cure tuna raw, i just haven;t seen it done. Raw tuna is mostly cut up, immersed in a marinade or combind with seasonings and served. Again, what is most important is NOT the method of cooking but the QUALITY of the ingrediant. -Dick

We have lots of wine glasses and typically break about 6 per year due to various reasons at the functions we hold. Some are due to the consequences of a slightly alcohol impaired mind putting the glass on the open tail gate of a Tahoe and closing the tailgate or similar. To try to reduce the breakage at events, when an Internet sale came about, I ordered two 12 glass sets of the O-series. The smaller glass is very easy to use and has a low center of gravity and for casual drinking, I actually prefer it. It is true that the larger is not of use to individuals with small hands but for me presents no problem and has become my generic white wine glass of choice. Breakage has become a concern that we leave the higher end glass for small affairs or when it is just my wife and myself. I think the O-series is a good compromise. So far we haven't had a single broken glass. -Dick

Picked up two sets of fresh Shad Roe (difficult in the midwest) and decided to find a new recipe that avoids the typical bursting that occurs while sauteing in butter. Turned to my old faithful standby Jasper White, 'Cooking from New England'. He has two methods, first is poaching in butter, second is poaching in liquid and then quickly sauteing in butter. I decided to try the butter poaching method and added some fresh morels to accompany the roe. The method worked very well and provided a nice base for a sauce. I will try the other method next time. Of course the real secret is to use exquisitely fresh roe and that's what we had. Simply sublime. Any other methods of preperation anyone cares to relate? -Dick

A friend and I had lunch yesterday at Miramar. The weather was about 78F and many chose to eat outside. Cigar smoking is permitted for outside diners and after 10PM in the bar. We choose to eat inside. We ordered a light Burgundy along with the boulabaise. The stock was flavorful with a good selection of fresh seafood. None of the typical off tastes that requires a return to the kitchen. The aioli was too mild on the toast points but OK for the typical midwestern palate. The atmosphere was nice. Next warm day I am going for lunch outside and good cigar! BTW Gabriel informed me that he has purchased the Mexican Restaurant right around the corner and will be re-opening it. Next stop that way is Carlos. Who knows, maybe Debbie and Carlos are ready to retire? -Dick

Jasper White has an excellent treatise on cleaning fiddleheads and should be adhered to. Jasper soaks and rinses in cold water and removes the chaff, followed by two blanching, in between removing the chaff and then cooking. After cooking inspect each for brown stuff and remove. This process dramatically improves the fiddleheads. -Dick

Despite what others will tell you, Prime Rib is really a Prime Grade Rib Roast. Any other grade is correctly referred to as a 'Standing Rib Roast'. Prime Rib varies from aged to Dry aged and also in marbling. Most beef hangs for 30 days between slaughter and final conmsumption. Real dry aging is done in a very controlled invironment and the methods of aging for a few days is all in the minds of the beholders and offers no objective improvement. Let your budget be your guide. The method of cooking is very simple. Unfortunately many people and cooking magazines would lead you to believe other wise. Brown your meat in a hot oven with whatever seasonings you prefer, reduce temp amd cook until about 100F. LET REST for at LEAST one hour if cooking a whole roast. Very simple but the resting is VERY important. Your meat will not be red raw but will be a pink rare. -Dick

We now use only Falk. No non-stick or aluminum to worry about. The Falk only needs a little fat of any kind and cleans as easily as any non stick or Calafalon. I will NEVER go back to aluminum pots and pans of any type!-Dick

Thanks for the link! Any fish held in that condition will begin to smell of ammonia after a few weeks. We are discussing whether fresh skate should have an amonnia smell. -Dick

Sounds like marketing crap to me! -Dick