budrichard

Julie Sahni, "Classic Indian Cooking". -Dick

I wish I could post a picture of my Japanese Honyaki(no file attachments option), handforged by Kenichi Shiraki from Hitachi White #1 steel with double side mirror finish. Murray Carter acted as the agent in the comissioning of this knife. even though Murray produces knives of this type, I wanted the best from an individual Japanese smith, the kind of item that never gets out of Japan. Since Murray works and lives in Japan, he was good enough to help. The handle is ebony with ivory inserts as is the scabbard. I have been collecting custom knives for 30+ years and I do have a few custom kitchen blades and carving sets. Comparing blades is certainly subjective with the methods that most of use. The Kenichi Honyaki is not much sharper if at all than my commercial Sashimi knife. What it is, is a finely crafted knife forged by a single craftsman in a time honored tradition and that is what i appreciate it for. Since i use so many different blades and look for uniformity when going from blade to blade, i have standardized on Wusthof for most of kitchen blades because the knives are uniformly good, come in a vast array of sizes that i can get to fit my hand and the different types of blades offer the larget selection to choose from that I know of. All of the makers referenced here produce excellent blades. One that i would like to point out in particular is Bob Dozier. His blades are the sharpest non forged knives I have ever used. His D2 steel takes a wicked sharp edge, what I term Dozier Sharp. In fact i will not let anyone else use my Doziers because they are so sharp and the potential for deep cuts is so great when you are not used to a knife as sharp. Bob doesn't list kitchen knves per se on his website http://www.dozierknives.com but talk to Linda his wife and explain what you want and he will let you know of doable. He made me a 9" long carving knife that is flat ground and truly a great roast/turkey knife.-Dick

ANY DOM PERIGNON will be good! Don't worry about the vintage. Each vintage is slightly different and the enjoyment of vintage champagne shoulde be looked at as an opportunity. Long ago we purchased a case of 1962 DOM and until we tasted it, didn't regard it as anything great. It was one of the best Champagne's I have ever tasted. -Dick

First, ANYTHING goes with lobster flown in from Maine! You can't make a bad decision. Second, For lobster of this caliber, the butter will disguise the naturql sea flavor and sweetness of the lobster. The use of butter came about with the proliferation of frozen lobster tails which needed something that would take the edge off the dryness. People have now become habituated to lobster with butter. Steam or boil until just slightly rare in the tail and eat. Sublime, maybe a little lemon. -Dick

Is such a thing possible?!?!?! We order a 100 Winterpoints just before New Years eve every year from Browne Trading and although it does not seem like a lot of oysters, after a couple of days, we do wish for a change! Oyster Poor Boys ala The Acme Oyster House are also a favorite. -Dick

A whole pouched foie would not be pate. A pate of foie is generally derived from foie gras that has been mashed and pushed through a sieve to assure a uniform texture before cooking. It is called pate de foie gras. Someitems black truffle bits or liquid are added along with seasonings. Keeping the charachter/texture of the whole foie is desirable to me and that's what i make. I would be careful ona small piece that does not allow for any heat transfer in that you may wind up with fat anyway. Better to eat sliced and sauted.-Dick

My only varient is to shuck the oysters yourself rather than purchasing bulk, this allows you to use fresh oyster liquor and just heat the oyster rather than cooking. I'm not sure of the comparative results but it is a varient we use when we tire of raw oysters. -Dick

From Pepin 'The Art of cooking Vol 2' page 72: You need a terrine of suitable size, in your case for 12 oz I would just acquire one of those little Al throw away foil containers. I use a La Cruset mold but that is large enough for two foie. Season your foie. Put in terrine with an Al foil cover into your oven preheated to 225F in a bath of warm/hot water. Pepin cooks a whole foie for an hour but since you have a small amount go by temp which Pepin says should be 130F. Cool in your fridge overnight and use. I have used this method many times and it works quite well. Your only problem is the small amount, it is very commen for some of the fat to cook out and surround the foie. I can't tell you how the small amount the you have will work. -Dick

This is my kind of research paper! http://www.confex.com/store/items/ift/jfs66-0196.htm http://www.askthemeatman.com/dry_aged_beef.htm http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/dry-aged-beef.asp http://boboquivaris.com/1_aStory.html The above all mention the need for controlled humidity, sanitation and bacteria control. This seems to be a good ref is you really want to attempt this. http://www.theingredientstore.com/foodpres...ion.pl?read=755 For my part, i paid $8/# for my whole Prime dry aged Rib Roast which seems a small price to me for peace of mind. I certainly would like to dry age my own beef but if you notice the articles tell you to start with high choice or prime to begin with. Since this is an already expensive cut, I let my butcher do the rest.-Dick

UPDATE: Delivered Prime Rib Roast to daughter with seasoning mixture and copy of Pepin's book, 'The Art of Cooking Vol1'. She has thermometer with outside temp continuous reading. She followed the required time and temps with the roast staying in the oven for over an hour after the heat was turned off. Roast was browned nicely, the first three slices on each end yielded the needed well done, medium and rare to satisfy the 10 diners initially( I cut two ribs off the roast because we only had 10 people). The remainder was just a little too rare so I put it back into the oven at 425 for about 10 minutes which yielded some very nice slices. As I had previously stated, it's not the specific paramters that are important but the why. My daughter's range is a Kenmore and I suspect that after it was turned off it does not hold as much heat as my Viking. In this case for daughters range, I would increase the cutoff temp from 75F to say 85F. In any event the Prime Prime Rib was outstanding and the rare people got thier fill plus 'doggie bags'. One has to experience a roast of this type to see the large fat cap and the fat that literally permeates the meat with each bite. The 2.5 weeks of dry aging gave it a nice flavor. BTW, the two rib section I cut off is in my freezer! -Dick

I have never had this problem from either aspect as we would have never took our children to such an establishment until they understood what was required. If I did experience this, I would explain to management that this was ruining my dining and they had a choice, control the other diners with child or I would leave and expect not to pay for what I had orderd. -Dick

Venison is venison and larding using larding needles may help but it will still be venison and not pork which we are just not used to eating. I appreciate it for what it is.-Dick

WASP's. I am Catholic. -Dick

Mayonaise! Be careful though, you will have to start ala hollandaise and cook your yolks without scrambling. I daunting task if you have never doen it before. Add some sum squeesed lemon jouce and a touch of white vinegar to insure the eggs set up an when they start to thicken, introduce your oil along with a little salt and Mayo better than anything you can purchase. -Dick

Don't sear! The crust formed will inhibit moisture transfer into the meat which is what you want to keep it tender. Quite frankly I believe that you are wasting your time by your method. We either slow smoke on a Weber(it can be done) with a dry rub with a whole briket with fat cap or brine with spices and saltpeter for a month and then cook ala corned beef. If you must do it in an oven, I would dry rub for a couple of days, add a little liquid smoke and then put into a braising liquid(beer) and into the oven for a slow cook.-Fat cap, low heat and moisture are the keys to good brisket. I have watched the indigenous people near 'Jake's' Deli on North Av in Milwaukee specifically ask for brisket with the fat on. I tried it and it's really good!-Dick

Again I must disagree on hanging wild game. Hanging is a hold over from when refrigeration was not available and market hunting supplied much of the meat eaten. Since delivery was slow, the aging associated with wild game occured. Some found that the decomposition associated made the game more tender and acquired a specific flavor that was attractive/addicitve. I'm sure that the health problems associated with this era never got documented. I have found no wild game that needs to be hung before being palatable and that includes wild geese that I have been hunting and eating for 30+ years. What i have found is that inattention to strict cleaning, temperature control and storage, lead to wild game that is not palatable. Most of the time when individuals give wild game away, especially venison, it is becuase they have not properly prepared the game and found it inedible. For many years I purchased our farm raised goose for XMAS dinner from a local farmer. Slaughtered two days before XMAS, the goose needed no aging and was ready to go on XMAS day. -Dick

In graduate school, my wife and i purchased Gallo "Hearty Bugundy' at $2/gal because that was all we could afford. I would have hard time spending $65/bottle for anything that said Gallo. In fact I have a hard time spending $65/bottle for anything! -Dick

I will say hello for you Craig. Carlos and Debbie are right up there with the Brennan's proving that a succesful restaurant does not have to be built on chef star quality. Wille , I certainly would like to oblige you with pics and tasting notes but for us and friends that were with us, the dining was only a part of the lunch. Good friends, good wine, stimulating conversation and good food, they all go together- not at the expense of just one. Dick

The essential thing is to braise i.e slow cook in some sort of liquid. The rest is just your preferences. I really don't think the fat adds anything but flavor, the tenderness will come from the slow braising. The overally quality will also depend on how well your nephew gutted and butchered the doe. In reality 'Bambi' is one of the best to shoot. I would rather shoot a young(button buck) male or a young doe than a 12 point buck.-Dick

I seriously doubt that one day would make a diff. I also am suspect of anything that Cook's prints but that's a different subject. Professional aging is done in temperature and humidty controlled environments. There are different odors that could affect your meat in your fridge. I'm not saying it can't be done but I leave the dry aging to my butcher at Zier's in Wilmette, Illinois who has aged our Prime Rib (Prime Prime Rib to some) for 2.5 weeks.-Dick

By plastic bag, I assume the goose was not in any type of shrink wrap. Don't panic, 6 days should be no problem at close to 32F. So maybe turn up/down? your fridge. Go back after Xmas and they will still be selling those fresh geese until they freeze them. Many stores have a sell by date. I picked up a fresh Muscovy duck Saturday and will disassemble it tomorrow, Tuesday. The sell by date is 12/29. No problem. Also saw fresh geese at about $7 something a pound. Just didn't have a use for one this Xmas. Enjoy! -Dick

Craig is right on! Dom is ready to go from the day of release. Needs time is meaningless. In reality my experiences with vintage champagne is that needs time can translate into decreased mousse and eventually bad wine. In this year I trashed two bottles of 1964 Bollinger and a bottle of 1962 Dom. All had lost cork integrity. Never again. In terms of vintage ratings, I have never had a bottle of Dom that wasn't excellent on the day of release. Happy drinking! -Dick

I won't regale you with pictures or detailed tasting notes, suffice it to say that Carlos has maintained high standards for over 20 years in Highwood Illinois. We went for lunch today because 1. Carlos is only open at lunch time around the Holidays and 2. there is no corkage fee on Mondays. I had previously delivered a split of champagne and a 1961 Chateau Beausujour so they could rest. Lunch was a sort of Prix Fixe with alternatives. Opt for the cold and hot Hudson Valley Foie Gras for an additional $8, a delight. Service was the usual impeccable friendly and light hearted. All in all, very enjoyable. -Dick

Winterpoint oysters, harvested 12/26 -27 Dayboat scallop sashimi, scallops fished 12/28 Yellow Tail Sashimi Salmon Caviar Whole turbot with a lobster/champagne sauce Wisconsin Uplands Cheese Company 'Pleasant Ridge Reserve' Farmstead Cheese , aged 17 months Washed down by Taittenger' Blanc De Blanc' 19xx Japanese New Years ale. Sleep....................... Dick

NO, Just cut each slice(80grams) with a knife thats been heated slightly to help cut the lobe. Leave the lobes ice cold whilst cutting, this helps keep the edges neat and also with portioning. Don't season the foie gras prior to cooking.use some maldon salt or similar after cooking and try a pinch of medium ground white pepper after cooking as well.If you season prior to cooking then you run the risk of burning the perrer and imparting a slightly bitter taste to it If you take the viens out prior to searing it. IT WELL dissolve and fall apart on you . Remember de-vein if making a terrine, don't if searin or pan frying. Right on! Good answer! -Dick