jayt90

What about aging? How can there be a biological interaction between wine, ullage, neck glass, O- rings, more glass within, and cellar air? The O-ring system wil stop all interaction, whereas a cork cannot, and has enabled slow maturation since its inception. Maybe the O-rings would age the wine if Nasa's suppliers were available.

The type of duck escapes me. It would be easy to find domesticated mallards, or raise your own as my grandparents did, but I will need to come up to speed on moulards or or mulards.

I have cooked tripe many times from Elizabeth David's classic French peasant recipes, similar to many of the ones here with a slow braise in a casserole or Dutch oven. It is really important to contain all the flavours and smells in the vessel until it reaches the table. The best way is the seal the lid with a circle of pie crust. The steam, when released at table, is phenomenal. A less successful seal can be made with a layer of parchment paper or foil under the lid. Still good!

I did a simple seafood grill for two. with lots left over. I don't have photos because I am digitally challenged, and won't address that problem until film starts to look really gauche. I bought a sack of frozen Newfoundland scallops at Costco, and a pound of Great Lakes Pickerel fillets (no longer available). I had a risotto mix with dried tomatoes, and a package of dried porcini mushrooms, prevoiusly bought at Costco. For desert, I bought strawberries, whipping cream, and Quebec maple syrup. Scallops and fillets were marinated in EVOO and fresh herbs for an hour. There are no fresh herbs, and precious little local produce at Costco, but I had my garden plot. They have tons of EVOO, Lactania butter, Sealtest cream, sea salt, and packaged spices, so they could at least have a few bunches of herbs! Trimmed fillets surrounded the scallops, held by toothpicks, and they were grilled over Quebec Maple coals, while I whipped cream, added maple syrup, and stirred risotto, and partner sliced strawbs and opened OZ riesling (not avail. in Costco in Ont). It was a fine meal, coming in at just under $50. including wine. We decided that Costco has a lot of fine ingredients at decent prices, but always needs some augmentation.

Alice's recipe calls for an earthenware baking dish. Perhaps she has a moist oven, like a French bake oven. You can modify the dish by using a covered earthenware vessel for three hours (providing moist heat), then remove the lid and and expose the outside of the roast for crispness about an hour. It will be moist, and there will be flavoured juices for a sauce.

Scallops wrapped in fillets Serves 4 as Main Dish. This dish integrates fresh herbs with scallops and fresh fish fillets. It can be grilled (BBQ) or pan fried. Serve with risotto and dry riesling or pinot blanc. The recipe was developed for Costco a Go-Go, and reflects the availabilty of spring herbs and pickerel from the Great Lakes. Pam 1 c dry riesling 2 T fresh lemon juice 1 lb pickerel fillets,fresh, or sub. trout, sole, catfish 1 c fresh garden herbs, de-stemmed, chopped 8 fl oz panko crumbs 2 T butter 4 T olive oil salt and pepper 1-1/2 lb Scallops Cut each fillet lengthwise, so they are about 6"x1.5". Place in a bowl to marinate with the scallops, herbs, lemon juice, oil, in the fridge, for 1-2 hours. The herbs that I had available were tarragon, sorrel, savoury and thyme, all of which come up quickly in the spring. The pickerel is available at Costco, but I remember buying it from native Inuit vendors every spring. Wrap a fillet around each scallop, and secure with a toothpick, cutting off excess flesh. If some of the herb mixture comes along, that is OK. Sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper, followed by panko. Pan fry over medium heat in a heated saucepan, with butter, for 3-4 minutes per side. The heat should just barely penetrate the center of the scallops, and you can tell by a finger test. Remove to a platter, and deglaze the pan over higher heat, adding the remaining marinade, herbs, and white wine. Finish the sauce with a pat or two of butter if desired. Serve with risotto, sprinkling a generous amount of sauce around each serving. BBQ ALTERNATIVE: Eliminate the panko (crumbs), and preheat the BBQ to hot, then add a squirt of Pam on the hot grill. Place the scallops on the grill and lower the cover. Grill for 4-6 minutes over low heat. Do not turn over. Remove carefully when they pass the finger test. Keywords: Fish, Main Dish, Seafood, Intermediate ( RG1068 )

Scallops wrapped in fillets Serves 4 as Main Dish. This dish integrates fresh herbs with scallops and fresh fish fillets. It can be grilled (BBQ) or pan fried. Serve with risotto and dry riesling or pinot blanc. The recipe was developed for Costco a Go-Go, and reflects the availabilty of spring herbs and pickerel from the Great Lakes. Pam 1 c dry riesling 2 T fresh lemon juice 1 lb pickerel fillets,fresh, or sub. trout, sole, catfish 1 c fresh garden herbs, de-stemmed, chopped 8 fl oz panko crumbs 2 T butter 4 T olive oil salt and pepper 1-1/2 lb Scallops Cut each fillet lengthwise, so they are about 6"x1.5". Place in a bowl to marinate with the scallops, herbs, lemon juice, oil, in the fridge, for 1-2 hours. The herbs that I had available were tarragon, sorrel, savoury and thyme, all of which come up quickly in the spring. The pickerel is available at Costco, but I remember buying it from native Inuit vendors every spring. Wrap a fillet around each scallop, and secure with a toothpick, cutting off excess flesh. If some of the herb mixture comes along, that is OK. Sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper, followed by panko. Pan fry over medium heat in a heated saucepan, with butter, for 3-4 minutes per side. The heat should just barely penetrate the center of the scallops, and you can tell by a finger test. Remove to a platter, and deglaze the pan over higher heat, adding the remaining marinade, herbs, and white wine. Finish the sauce with a pat or two of butter if desired. Serve with risotto, sprinkling a generous amount of sauce around each serving. BBQ ALTERNATIVE: Eliminate the panko (crumbs), and preheat the BBQ to hot, then add a squirt of Pam on the hot grill. Place the scallops on the grill and lower the cover. Grill for 4-6 minutes over low heat. Do not turn over. Remove carefully when they pass the finger test. Keywords: Fish, Main Dish, Seafood, Intermediate ( RG1068 )

I heard there is one on the upper west side, combined with a Home Depot. And another double decker one in Brooklyn.

Count me in, at Pickering, Ontario. They have frozen scallops reduced this week, and I think I can build around that.I

Your method is worth trying, and I'll certainly do it next time. My reference to false mayo was from a faint memory of my mom's mayo recipes, probably from Joy of Cooking or Adele Davis, showing us how to make a fast 'false mayo' from hard boiled eggs in a blender.

We have not heard from experts like Chad yet, but I would look at the type of sharpening done very carefully. The grindstone should turn slowly, be large, and cooled by water or oil. Many restaurants will ignore these precautions because they use low end pro knives that can be replaced when they can't be sharpened. If you have really good blades, you won't want them to be gouged, at tremendous pressure and heat, just for expedience.

Corks were devised to keep wine for a few years, and worked well. When it was discovered that really good wines could last for many years, with really good corks installed, the wine lore began. But generally, it was thought that the slight interplay of cellar air and neck air would help the wine in slow aging, improving, and preserving. The introduction of Stelvin has changed all that. These stppers are almost impossible to remove with a waiter's corkscrew, and they will allow almost no interplay of cellar air and neck air. The recent introduction of screw caps merely exaggerates this fault. The exceptional wines will not age well. We are left with the cork, for our best wines. There is a slight chance of infection, but the risk is offset by a predictable improvement in good wine after stable aging, before the eventual demise.

I believe that's false mayo, almost like using hard boiled yolks for a fool proof concoction. Not the same flavour as raw yolks.

In its early days, the Keg made sure the plates were consistent by having cooks refer to reference photos before the food went out. There were no chefs, and no special service items. Maybe they have advanced beyond that, now that there are so many well trained professionals available.

I haven't figured out what ice cider is, from the above posts. The Economist is no help, as they want $20 for a reply. I'd rather spend $20 on the real thing, if I can find it at LCBO or the fruit wine farms. So I'm guessing: (1) late harvest apples, shrivelled and botryritised, used in making a sweet concentrated cider; (2) very late harvest apples, botryritised and further assaulted by a layer of ice or freezing rain; (3) Applejack, which has been around since pioneer days. A barrel of mature cider is allowed to freeze over winter, and the concentrated juice (higher in alcohol and sweeter) is removed from the centre of the barrel.

My grad student days in the 70's , I lived in the East Village , and one day while shopping in a supermart spotted small thin white worms in the cod fish trays. I called the health dept., and they reported back to me a couple of days later, confirming it, and fining the store.

Costco is price sensitive to a degree. They compare prices weekly in all departments, and try to beat any competitor. But the basic pricing startegy is cost plus 10-15%, plus membership fee yearly. It pays to watch for price markdowns on end of line items that can't be sent back to the manufacturer. At the moment my local warehouse (Ajax, ON) is selling 7 ounce packages of Porcini (aka cepes) dried and sliced for $6. They introduced them at $15. These fungi have a slight barnyard smell, very intriguing!

I haven't seen the guy with a cart and a bell, but I remember a guy with a step van at Yonge and Lawrence, and another in Scar/Pickering where I am now. They use a large grinding wheel operated electrically. It will heat up and gouge your nice blades much more than a whetstone, or a water cooled grinder. Should be OK for the average set of Henckels from Sears. I wonder what technique Embros usues?

There is also government and dairy association influence: keeping foreign cheese out (or at bay) by quota; restricting non pasteurized milk; allowing Euro names as local (Parmesan, Brie, etc); holding up the price of milk , butter, and milk powder when the surplus could be sent abroad. Some would suggest that the local industry is protected, hence less competitive.

The topic begs the question, "How do P.Q. cheeses compare with French?"

The what flavor? Type of root...

I got my 10" Sabatier chef (carbon steel, bakelite handle) on Canal Street for $10. in 1970. It has been my main blade ever since. In my more ignorant and youthful days, I would split open frozen roasts using a hammer on the spine. After one of these events the handle split into 4 pieces. The blade was fine. When I recovered my senses, I cleaned it up and put the handle back together with crazy glue. I have treated it with much more respect, every day since, and it has repaid me a hundred fold.

I have always felt that shallots were used in traditional French recipes because they are safer, more likely to add the cormish flavour, than onions, which can be substantially stronger and will not break down into a sauce as easily. When sieved, there might be no real difference. In fact onions are hard to control in a quickly made sauce. Better for soups and compotes. If I am making a dish that has to be right, au point, I would lean to the bag of shallots.

You can make your own dashi (Japanese soup stock) with a smoker. Fillets of mackeral, or a large can of tuna (the Costco can) can be salted, pressed to shape, and slow smoked (the wood chips do not have to be strong) until dry and hard. When ready, you take shavings from the block to make an instant soup stock, much better than the granules for sale in the Korean store!

If you are considering mail order or on line ordering, you can't go wrong with Lee Valley Tools, Kanata,Ontario. In this price range you can get a small Japanese utility knife, or larger kitchen knives from Sabattier or Grohmann (Nova Scotia). Or else three Chinese cleavers. The integrity of this firm is well known, and they are mentioned several times in the 'Knife Sharpening Tutorial'.