oraklet

getting still closer (and the recipes seem to agree on adding liquid). only problem is, i want to serve this for 20 dinner guests as part of a three-course meal. will have to figure out the practical details. any ideas?

"There are rules of composition and that governs what is considered better." (steve p) another problematic, almost platonic, absolute statement. any conclusion based on that sort of premise will be at least partly false, given that the logic is correct.

damn, you're right - they weren't crispy. and yes, i remember now, they were called "fondant". thanx a lot. i'm getting closer, i think. "cooked in the oven in a sealed bag with seasonings a little bit of fat/stock, or alternately braised in oven with some stock." braised in oven with stock probably would give one either "boiled" or dried-out potato. the sealed bag sounds right, though what kind of bag? perhaps a big pan with lid on?

at a restaurant a few weeks ago i was served a preparation of potato that i'd never tried before: very thick (peeled) slices (think a medium-to-big potato, ends cut off and split in two) with the taste and texture of well-baked potato: deep rich taste, almost buttery texture, light golden outside. i would like to make it at home, but i was so occupied with the meal and the company that i never asked how it was done, so now it's up to you, fellow egulleteers. i can imagine several ways to get the result i wish for, but there are problems involved with them all, i think: 1) bake potatoes till allmost finished. peel and slice. finish in oven at high heat. this may dry them out, perhaps, and peeling is problematic? 2) preboil till half finished, peel, slice, finish in oven. same problems as above? 3) peel, slice, bake. again, problems with drying out. perhaps this is a preparation well known to gourmets, with a proper french denomination . anybody got a clue?

time for a confession: i've just bought an old old sabatier cheap on ebay. wooden handle (undamaged), carbon steel, 12" blade. slightly rusted, ever so slightly concave spot on edge, but otherwise in fine shape. i immediatly set out to put a good edge on it, and that's when the problems started: you see, the blade is a little bit bent about 1/3 down the blade so a stone takes off too much in some places and too little in other. to do a good job, i'll have to bend it back. how? (i know, 12" is big. perhaps too big, but it feels all right in the hand. i actually thought it was 10" when i saw it on ebay...)

steve, as usual you are basically right, and as usual you are largely misunderstood. one reason may be the way you state things - the devil is in the detail. for instance, you say "But refined and overly hot do not go together in my opinion" this is the kind of ideas that gets you into trouble. whereas we might partly agree on what is refined, "overly hot" is a matter of (acquired) taste. you will easily see that there is no way for you to decide objectively if a dish is hot to a degree that any raffinement disappears. you might not notice the raffinnement, but an indian might. right?

only drawback with a largeish knife: be careful when cleaning it if your sink is smallish, or you'll damage tip or edge!

another double post. silly me.

i think i'll go get it, then!

i am thinking of buying a (used and therefore very cheap) large non-enameled cast iron pot. will it be a waste of money (i believe that anything involving acidity may be problematic, and this seems to be confirmed by anna n)?

i'm terribly sorry: my first estimate was wrong. i've now counted them, and there were only 32. 20 less than i thought.

now the babylonians, they could cook.

let the cat have it. remember to take at least 5 photos while it meows, rubs its head against your ankles, eats, and cleans itself, and then post it here! (not on tommy's bio, as i'm rarely in that neighborhood)

incidentally, maybe I'm being dense, but why on earth would anyone want *cold* frothed milk on their cappucino? i want you all to know that i certainly wouldn't. but the gadget is dirt cheap, anyway !

but wasn't steve klc's "...smaller versions of the blender with whipping disk in department stores - people are using them to froth milk for espressos and cappuccinos." the right gadget? and dirt cheap, at that.

that's what i've heard from a few pro cooks, too. though they'll boil it down a little more. one italian cook even said that there's so much fraud going on in the balsamico business that you can't really be sure what you get (adding that the amount of "balsamico" on the market should be enough to make anyone suspicious...). based on that advice, my sister tried a reduced industrial brand with some strawberries, and it was delicious.

stamped knives are lighter than forged ones - this makes them easyer to handle for delicate task. besides, the blades being so thin, they need less force to, say, "pre-cut" an onion prior to chopping it. if they are sharp, that is. and they sure can be sharpened if they're forschner/victorinox. (i just bought one for 3$!) my sabatier paring knife is beautiful, but i hardly ever use it.

"Now that we're finding out the general number of books owned within this group, I'd like to know how many actual titles are represented!" (kitwilliams) anything any one of us own will probably be represented in heyjude's and vanessa's collections - with the exception of a few books in finnish, danish, inuit, urdu...? so, an unscientific guess would be around 4000. or perhaps a little more.

as i have absolutely no knowledge of turkish or greek cuisine, i'll refer to my newly acquired "culinary artistry":smile: , with its amazing charts - one of which lines up the typical flavours of countries and regions of the world. according to this, the "flavour profile" of turkey and greece are quite divers. (i haven't got the book here, so can't quote it, sorry)

wellcome EJRothman! you're right, everyone is his own expert when it comes to knife brand, 'long as it's a decent quality. you might consider carbon steel, though, as it tends to sharpen better. but just a bit of advice, most of it learned from e-gullet: "8" Chef's Knife": - make that 10" or make do with your "6.5" Santoku Knife (I like this shape for chopping vegetables)," only larger. "7"-8" offset bread knife (both Wusthof and F. Dick make stamped models for about $30, and Wusthof also makes a forged model but it's expensive and I can't find a good deal)." - do check out the stamped forschner/victorinox, wood handle. they are formidable. "6"-8" filet knife (I am used to a flexible boning knife shape for a filet knife, but Wusthof filet knives aren't tapered like a boning kinfe...Wusthof also make a very expensive 7" "Culi-Prix" filet knife, but this may be over kill...clearly I need the most guidence on this front.)." - i have lived to regret thet i chosed a 6". make that 8". "3"-4" Paring knife" - surprise: make that a cheap stamped one, or rather, 2, one of them beak shape (for peeling etc.) Sharpening steel (I plan on sending my knives out to get sharpened, hopefully I can find a reputable source): - or perhaps a stone. or the spyderco set. once you've learned it, it's much safer than having someone else make a mess of your fine tools. what about a cleaver?

haven't counted, but would be c. 50, mostly used for reference. or let's say 52, cause i just recieved "compl.tech." and "culin.artistr." from amazon. "culinary artistry" is an amazing book. haven't read anything like it before. it's as eye-opening as "masse und macht".

depends on the tempering, i think. the japanese make some very hard carbon steel knives - and on the other hand, my s.s. sabatiers are quite easy to sharpen. (not as easy as my two french carbon steel knives, though.) by the way, most manufacturers of s.s. knives advice against leaving their knives wet for long, saying that they WILL stain.

oh jaymes! and you know, i haven't got the faintest idea of what 99% of all this food is. might as well have been sudanese, for all i know.

tommy, the spyderco is a "knife sharpener for dummies", as long as you can accept the fixed angle they come with (i believe it IS fixed?). i don't think they'll fix notches and hollows, though. only a stone can do that.

Heaven help us. Let's hope the chefs sort it out first. hehe. i can understand your feelings, but please remember that vasari and gombrich have done more for coherent thinking in the visual arts than have michelangelo or klee. not all human sciences stink!