Devilkitty

There's also the Lark a little farther north in West Bloomfield. My experiences there have been excellent. Prix-fixe or a la carte. The web site gives the current menu. Be sure to look at the fine print under the prix-fixe. It might surprise you. (Note: There has recently been a change in the kitchen; Marcus Haight is no longer at the helm. I haven't eaten there under the new chef, but I can't imagine Mr & Mrs Lark allowing standards to slip even slightly.)

Count a fourth voice for Algar's Classical Turkish Cooking. Excellent background material, and the lack of photos doesn't bother me in the slightest. From the way the book's written (especially if one reads the stuff besides the recipes!), I don't seem to have a problem "seeing" plates in my head. Dang it, now I have the taste for walnut tarator...

This is a really good rule of thumb. Wonder why it never occurred to me. I'd love to see something like this here; most people refuse to accept how easy it really is to pack a decent lunch/dinner. Now I guess I'll have to stop by the market on the way home today for some unagi and shiitake to make a couple days' lunches (already have some umeboshi about - the internal equivalent of a cold shower!).

Not jumping on you specifically, Jim, but if I had a truffle for every time I've heard Boyle invoked over pressure cookers or altitude variations in cooking time... This is not an illustration of Boyle's Law. Think about what's changing and what's constant. We have three essential properties to consider: pressure, which is variable; temperature, which is variable; and volume, which is constant. Boyle's Law expresses the relationship between pressure and volume at constant temperature ( P1V1 = P2V2 ). Doesn't fit. Charles' Law does the same thing for volume and temperature at constant pressure. ( V1/T1 = V2/T2 ) Still no good. Pressure's changing, not volume. Gay-Lussac's Law relates temperature and pressure at constant volume. ( P1/T1 = P2/T2 ) Bingo. That's the relationship we are trying to describe. With a little algebra we can roll all three laws into one - called, surprisingly enough, the Combined Gas Law - (P1V1)/T1 = (P2V2)/T2; which is usually taught these days right after Boyle's and Charles' Laws, and right before the Ideal Gas Law (you might remember this one - PV=nRT). Poor Gay-Lussac tends to get skipped over altogether.

I can't answer that, or the Mrs will - oh, wait. I thought the subtitle said who do you do with it. My bad. I love the stuff spread thin on nice, dark gingerbread. Chocolate, hazelnut, and ginger - too bad I'm at the office right now.

...stem, partially seed, and tear up dried chilies without wearing gloves. Once, during the annual Making of the Chili Powder (I give it out during the holidays, y'see) I had just finished four pounds of them - a mix of ancho, guajillo, de arbol, chipotle, and (shudder) piquin - and was suddenly struck with an overpowering urge to use the little idiots' room. and (Those half-dozen beers might have had something to do with that, but I digress...) You can see where this is going, can't you? Talk about shock and awe... It's funny now, but it sure as hell wasn't then!

Beat me to it!

Practice! Seriously, it's easier than you think. Go outside with your skillet (10" is a good size to start with) and a bag of dried beans. Start with a handful or two of beans in the pan and start flipping. When you get the knack of making them turn over en masse, add another handful and repeat. You'll pick it up fairly quickly, though you might feel a right fool while you're doing it. When you get back in the kitchen, start small - a fried egg, toasting spices to go in the mill/mortar, etc. One other thing - once the food is in the air, pay attention to the pan, not the food. The food's got one direction to go, and that's down. If you make sure that the pan is under the food, gravity will take care of the rest.

Knives of such caliber will never perform to their utmost without all the control you can get in the sharpening. Of the two options you list, definitely EdgePro. I bought one a while back when I noticed I wasn't as steady as I used to be on narrow bevels. It's hard to advise further without knowing the blade geometry. Thick or thin; traditional western double-bevel, traditional Japanese, or the seeming hybrid between the two that one finds in Nenox, et al.? All of these require different considerations - the first and last do very well on the EdgePro; traditional Japanese blades are best done on good waterstones due to the single bevel (the EdgePro can do them, but it's cumbersome, and the wide bevel is practically self-jigging anyhow). As for steels, polished is best (round, square, or oval as you prefer), followed closely by one of the F. Dick flat steels, specifically the "Dick 2000," their finest cut. (No connection with the company, just a highly-satisfied EdgePro - and waterstone - owner who once upon a time taught sharpening.)

Not the case, I'm afraid - from the beginning, challengers have always cooked in their specialties, and "cross-cuisine" battles were rather common on the original IC. At least 110 of the 274 regular episodes (that's around 40%), and quite a few of the specials.

Oh, those steels are nice. Reasonable, too. I've been looking for a 14" full polish for a while now that's above RC60.

The "damascus-clad" stuff (Shun, Kasumi, etc. - the 'ooh, pretty' kind of thing one sees in the fancy catalogues) usually has a conventional grind. You ought to try the other kind some time - if you ever hit Michigan you can have a go with mine. The most immediately noticeable difference in use is that the blade doesn't tend to kick out when you're trying to cut straight down; the difference is like trying to take a shaving off the end of a board with an ax and then a chisel. They cut very much like a usuba. If you get comfortable with one then go back to a conventional grind, you'll see just how much you were compensating, especially on precision cuts. It's surprising, and it's the reason I *always* carry my knives visiting when there's even a remote chance I'll get roped into the kitchen - aside from the fact that I know mine are sharp! I'm never going back; though I'll keep a couple of Lamsons around for heavy bones and nostalgia... Glad you appreciated the sharpening comments. I used to finance my restaurant (and foie gras) habit by teaching it fifteen or so years ago - by hand, everything from paring knives to augers to saws. The hardest part was getting past the usual "sharpening is a black art" mentality.

Yep, that was us. It's always nice to be able to give props directly to the kitchen during the meal... I called yesterday to make a reservation for May 1. Same time, same table.

The service was highly professional also - attentive but not annoying. I suppose I ought to note that we had our reservation for 1800; I like to eat early in the service. I also forgot to mention that the bread is terrific: nice crust with a good, dense crumb. I smeared the last of that wonderful aioli on a slice. The frites and the bread alone would be worth the drive. Thanks. Kildee's 5th district. Incumbent in the 11th - western Oakland and a part of northwestern Wayne county - is Thaddeus McCotter.

Your post came through after I left for Lansing No, I was not disappointed. Probably the best food I've ever had in mid-Michigan. I did speak with chef in the bar briefly while we were waiting for our reservation time (got there forty minutes early and figured a bourbon couldn't hurt). The bartender was a pleasant young fellow who now has my simple-and-foolproof recipe for miso soup. Very nice room. I ordered the "foie gras of the day" and a glass of hard cider to start (love cider with foie gras, be it duck or goose). The foie was on a couple of rounds of well-grilled toast, the slight bitterness of the char and the bright fruit relish that accompanied combined well to cut the richness a little, and I found it rather refreshing. The Mrs opted for the ahi tartare, then decided to get an order of frites to share as well. The frites were sublime - herbed, crispy, nicely salted - and accompanied by a truffled aioli that I would have liked to take home a pint of! Entrees: "Bolivian Mac and Cheese" for me. Came out in a cast-iron skillet - a larger portion than I was expecting. (Had the leftovers for lunch on Monday!) I would have preferred a little more garlic, but excellent overall, nicely browned on top, creamy smooth inside. I think this one is replacing tagliatelle alfredo in my list of favorite pasta dishes. The name might be a little unfortunate, as it really doesn't do the dish justice - it's much more sophisticated than "mac and cheese" implies. The Mrs chose a wild sturgeon fillet from the daily menu, seared off nicely and bedded on a mix of new potatoes, baby carrots, and broccolini. The sturgeon was done to a turn (I snuck a bite - I really like sturgeon) and beautifully seasoned. Presentations were all very nice, appropriate to the food in question, and not at all overwrought. Dessert-wise, I opted for an Armagnac, the Mrs for the Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie. I didn't try it as I'm not particularly fond of walnuts, but I can presume it was as good as the rest of the food based upon the look on her face and the "food coma" she claimed to be in throughout the drive home. The check was surprising, considering the quality of the fare. I expected it to be higher. I suppose I'll get that tour eventually, as I will definitely be back. I'd planned on taking the Mrs to the Lark for her birthday (though I wonder at the state of the kitchen after the departure of Marcus Haight), but I may just drive back to Okemos instead. (edited to include the sturgeon details)

Yep, still around. I'm hardly a big party wheel, but I did accept the nomination for US Congress, 11th district.

<snip> As for your Misono, I'm at a loss. Most Japanese knives, in my experience, are either a single bevel with a flat back or double beveled with equal angles on both sides, like western knives. My Hattori, for example, is sharpened like a western knife. I haven't run across one with a primary single bevel and a secondary bevel on the backside. This is just my opinion, but I'd sharpen it like a yanagi-ba or sushi knife -- keep the primary bevel and flatten out the back. You'd sharpen the edge face as normal but only grind the burr off the back side by laying the knife flat on the stone for a pass or two along the stone. But that's just me. Chad I have used Masahiro, Nenox, and Glestain western-style knives for many years now (never used a Misono), and all have similar geometry to what Quinn8it describes. If you take a cross-section of a western blade and turn it so that one side of the "V" is vertical, then put a tiny, tiny front and back bevel on, you can get an idea of this. The back-bevel is ~0.007" wide as the knives come from the maker. (I'm at the office, and I haven't got the knives before me to measure.) I have experienced no problems with edge retention or difficulty in sharpening. I would posit that Quinn8it is sharpening at too small an angle if edge durability is an issue. On blades as thin as are common on this style of knife (for example, my 300mm Nenox cook's is about as thick as a 6" or 8" Wusthof), I would advise against "flattening out" the back. One, because the return on the effort involved would not be sufficient (these aren't hollow on the back like a good Japanese-style knife, and even if you're only taking off ten thousandths or so, it's still a lot of work, especially if you're going for a nice polish); two, if the back-bevel is removed without making a corresponding change in the bevel angle on the *front* of the knife, the durability of the edge will be greatly reduced; three, Nenox and Glestain know what they're doing - if I had seen this geometry first in a lesser knife, I would have been a skeptic as well - it is actually a very intelligent design, as borne out in use.

The Mrs and I will go there occasionally when I don't feel like cooking. I can take or leave the place, and I'd probably leave it - except for the "Barbie Chook 'n' Bacon." Probably one of the more unfortunately named sandwiches on the planet, but I absolutely love it. Extra barbecue sauce on the side, for the usually mediocre fries. (Half the time I don't bother with the fries and just dip chunks of the dark bread into the sauce...)

Bundaberg Ginger Beer. No, let's be a little more emphatic. Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Actually brewed; still a little cloudy from the yeast and bits of ginger. It's from Australia, and it's damned good. There was only one place in my neck of the woods that carried it and - as can probably be surmised from my use of the past tense - they don't any more. I suppose it was just as well that I bought all five cases in the store the last time they had it. I'm now down to half that, and I have no idea what I'm going to do when they're gone. The Mrs wonders why I can't make bourbon last as long... It's also the best morning-after drink I've ever found to mitigate the effects of a night of delightful overindulgence. I once purchased a tarragon-flavored soda from Georgia (that's Georgia in the Caucasus, not south of the Mason-Dixon) in the "international foods" aisle of my local grocer. I think I can say with some certainty that I will not be repeating that little experiment.

The Mrs has made reservations for this Saturday (17th April), since we're going to be in Lansing for the Michigan Libertarian Party convention. Never eaten there, don't know anyone who has, though I have heard good rumblings from the papers. Lest I be accused of not doing my homework, I've prowled their site (an example of how even text-based web sites can be awful, unfortunately), and the menu looks pretty good to me - lots of emphasis on local ingredients and varied preparations. However, as I am loath to solely trust a three-paragraph restaurant review and know how much puffery can be found on a menu, I put it to the Heartland readers: Has anyone eaten at Villegas? Any "must-order-on-first-visit" items? Any real show-stopping (or at least heart-stopping) desserts?

This is starting to sound like the list of punishments from that song in The Mikado. For me it'd have to be all vegan. I suppose I'd really, really like vegan Hell... Even the well-done porterhouse lamented above could be rendered palatable (edible at the very least - it would be reminiscent of my childhood) with enough mustard or HP sauce. Try that with a soy "mayonnaise" and tofurkey sandwich.

Huh - how odd. You are remembering to put on that last extra coat of polyurethane the way the food stylists do - aren't you? Hey, that could solve a lot of problems! Not the least of which is the elimination of the customary "discussion" over who gets to eat them after the photos are done...

Ask and ye shall receive.

Just tell any complainers that you're giving them a head start on flossing.

Trader Joe's Honey Roasted Peanuts, which just barely edge out their dark chocolate pretzels in my book (the pretzels need to be saltier). Not as sweet as most other brands, which usually stir thoughts like "I think there's a peanut in there, but wow, it's like sticking a sugar firehose in my mouth!". I get surprisingly, well, uneasy if my office drawer gets down to one bag... ...and some lovely crumbly-thin Stilton biscuits (that's biscuit in the British sense, of course) I made last weekend. I usually make them with Parmigiano - and they're good - but the Stilton version turned out to be one of those four-ingredient wonders. Maybe I'll try them with Cabrales next.