dano1

Pot au feu-trim and weight in terrine after cooking. Slice like meatloaf. Clarify broth(consomme). Great for utilizing various kitchen skills. hth, danny

never heard of a sac in lobster heads-softshells yeah. I've seperated, split, and otherwise mutilated a few of them. FWIW, of course ;), danny

sorry if i wasn't clear. I remove the guts(includes legs et al-they rip right out) and use that for the base of the sauce. shells go back into the freeze for bisque or other shellfish stock. The base will be a dark, muddy looking stock-do not skim the fat. Flavor is intense lobster, mount with butter and you're done. If your looking for that reddish color, include the shells, add tomato product, berr and pass a few times. A berr mixer is large wand blender. For pulverizing and blending. I make ~5-10gal(20-40lb lobster bodies) at a time and reduce to maybe 1/4 volume or more-depends. Not quite sure who fatguy is referring to about nonsense but ya heard it from me...;) hth, danny

sweat out celery, onion, leek in butter. add broccoli(better yet seperate stalks, peel, and sweat out out first)add florets and chicken stock, season, bring to boil, simmer until done. Puree, pass, bring up and add dairy if wanted. Pass again if you want, whisk in shredded cheddar.. hth, danny

funny, i use EVO for almost all applications.Of course filling the fryer with 40lbs of EVOO might not be the best idea......don't own a santuko though :)

Sold as lobster bodies wholesale-heads with all the stuff. 40lb/case in my area. hth, danny

heads is where the "good stuff" is. I make a lobster stock that totally goes against the grain-but thats how i learned and its damn good. Remove the guts out of the heads(this is what we're using), don't worry about dead mans fingers here. Brown off in plenty of canola and whole butter. Kick in some fennel. brown, add fish stock. cook out. Pass, pushing through a chinois, reduce. Do not skim-you want that fat in the stock. For a bisque, i'll use the shells also and berr as part of the process. hth, danny

there was a very good webiste out 8 or so years ago on this stule. Search google for "plambic" or "biohazard" found it http://www.liddil.com/beer/index.html good info. Good luck, danny

there are no shortcuts and it won't be a true lambic-a good approximation though if you do it right ;). Pick up a copy of Classic Beer Style Series #3 Lambic, by Guinard and go from there(not sure if still in print). You will have to mash to do it right-with wheat in your grain bill. keep the stuff away from your other brew too to avoid cross contamination. You will need to innoculate with some nasty critters to effect the flavor profile. I've got a framboise i forgot about in the garage i need to blend ...:). hth, danny

arrowroot is the first thing i grab for a simple jus lie. hth, danny

at the moment i'm about as broke as i've ever been-and eating better and healthier than at any time in the past. Do not discount mark downs on meats. i get veal cutlet, chops, etc in nitro flushed packs at 1/2 off marked down a day before the sell by date. Remember the sell by date isn't an expiration date-much like dairy products, etc. fish and poultry i'd distance myself from, but your nose is your guide. Remember the smell test, this is used in every kitchen-i won't go into detail. If you think "discount" meats are worse than that last piece of sole at the restaurant, think again. Recipes are guidelines, look at whats in season(cheap) for produce. Get to know your local purveyors and use them. In my area a local market sells USDA Prime ribeye for 5.99/lb every couple of weeks. Thats cheaper than i can buy choice at wholesale-not to mention they break down to my specs(no trim loss). Buy at your local restaurant supply house or club in bulk. Invest in a vacpack machine and use it. hth, danny

dang, ah guess am a bubba too......makes me feel proud dano

you used 8lb of bones for 4gal of liquid???Was this stock or water? This may be the problem. danny

just got done baking off yesterday. Crumb was good, not too much height 1-1.5" on baguettes. Baked half free on a sheet and couched the other half, then baked on a sheet. not much difference for me in shape, rise. The 2-3 hour rise from cooler in the recipe is understated-took me a good 5+ at 75f to get there. My dough was too wet-need to adjust now that i know what i'm looking for. also need to reline my oven deck with tiles to give me some more oven spring. I'll let ya know next time around. danny

just got the book and i'm gonna give it a try today/tomorrow. let you know how it turns out for me. danny

best bet for stuffed chix breast is to pop in the freezer after stuffing and forming-just make sure to enclose filling all the way(note a couple of tears in your chix won't kill you, just do you best) . Many people advise egg wash to close but its not needed and messy. After almost frozen, dredge, and pop back in the freeze-this will set up your cheese so it doesn't run at the first sign of heat. If possible, blanch in a deep fryer, into the oven until you see just a hint of your filling(cheese, butter, etc) pooling on your sheet. Sautee or pan fry will work ok but you will be moving the product and can cause the "package" to open if not careful-finish in oven. I've done a couple of thousand stuffed with you name it. Make sure you season your chix! and keep at or near freezing before blanching/browning off. this can be done ahead of time and held under reefer or frozen again-key is to keep that filling cold. hth, danny

your pounding between layers of plastic wrap or in a ziplock bag right?

i've used them both, no difference to me as long as they don't go to the dishpit ;). Dang thats a lot of $$ though, what size? I pay about $40 here locally at a restaurant supply house for a "bouillon strainer". As long as the mesh is same size save the bucks. hth, danny

there really aren't any tricks in the kitchen to fix something that doesn't taste right. You could add a pinch or 2 of sugar to mask the flavor but garbage in, garbage out. Sure you might make it passable for someone else-but you know it ain't right. Thats thinking like a chef. And yes, utilization of all product is what its about. You did good. And knowing when to say when and discard is a good thing too:). I've seen many so called "chefs" try to foist something on its last legs-or worse-just to turn the product. hth, danny

You need a vinegar "mother". You can find them at your local winemaking and homebrewing supply store. Runs about 5bucks for either a red or a white mother. You mentioned a winemaker's store so he should have it. Sounds like he was talking about adding a homemade vinegar to your wine also-all commercial stuff is pasteurized, killing anything that may be in it. You can order online from various suppliers too but shipping's gonna run you more than the product probably. Let me know if you want some online suppliers but i'd hit the yellow pages. hth, danny

i've found some pretty nasty stuff in fresh ahi and sword-the worms kinda leave a "melting hole" where they've burrowed through the muscle. This is either cut out and discarded-if possible-or loin returned to fish dude. I've cured quite a few lbs of farmed salmon and every now and then i run across the same telltale holes after curing. Never found the culprits as i'm sure the salt did it's work on them ;). They hit the dumpster btw if you were wondering.... danny

Actually, here in Kali i won't due to liablity issues. Had people trial for a couple of hours but thats it. Better off paying at least min wage and not worry about if or when something happens and they are not on payroll. Part time chef is kind of an oxymoron. If its your passion it tends to take all of your waking-and sleeping-time. There are many facets to this business that can fulfill your needs though. hth, danny

freeze it. hth, danny

ranchera or skirt. hth, danny

grill it. Over coals best, a grill pan will do. hth, danny