chromedome

I think Michael Pollan and similar writers have moved this kind of discussion into the food-related mainstream. If we can keep personalities and "politics, politics" (as opposed to "politics of food" in the macro sense) I'd personally be keen to follow the thread and participate sporadically.

I've just re-read my own from 2005, and it even made *me* tired. Apparently my 2004 blog was the victim of an upgrade somewhere along the way, and is now a broken link...that one was impromptu rather than an "official" food blog, IIRC. As for the extended absence, in my case you could summarize it as "life." Got divorced, opened a couple of restaurants, closed a couple of restaurants, lost a second wife to a heart attack, moved a few times (actually more than a few times) and have more or less stabilized as a freelance writer.

That wire rack with the cod on it is called a "flake" in Newfoundland. My grandfather's house had one behind it, and I remember inspecting the drying cod with great fascination when I was but a sprout. I'll guess that tips the scale in favor of Newfoundland, though I suspect Scandinavians probably dry cod as well. Edited to add: Forgot my longtime rule about not posting a reply without reading the whole thread. Doh... Looking forward to reading your blog, Elsie. I lived in NL when I was in my teens, but haven't been back since '83 (shame on me). Still have lots of family there, and in fact my parents just got back from a visit.

If I'm in a hurry I just nuke the butter to boiling, and then whisk it into the egg yolk mayonnaise-style. Takes 45-60 seconds to heat the butter, depending on your microwave, and the same or less to make the Hollandaise.

I like 'em in a bed of mashed Buttercup or Sweet Dumpling squash. I know it sounds odd, but I find the combination of the sweet squash and the rich egg yolk is just irresistible. The side of bacon or ham can go underneath, in your dish, or just alongside on the plate. It's good, either way.

The USDA's guideline is that two hours total at room temperature (including prep time) is the functional limit. After that, you're living dangerously. (Doffs his "food safety instructor" hat.) Of course that's not taking your ambient temperature into account, but the surface of your food will be in the "danger zone" for a long time before the middle warms appreciably. Seriously, unless you're talking about a steak or a chop -- and not a very thick one at that -- the benefit is minimal. If you want to try it on seriously, get a roast and a bunch of instant-read thermometers and poke them into the meat at 1/2 inch or 1-inch depth increments and see how warm the middle gets within two hours. I know this is one of those bits of orthodoxy that counts as insider, line-cook wisdom, but I'm a skeptic.

I've added it to spice rubs for pork, duck, salmon and other rich meats where I wanted that hint of acidity and fruitiness. It's a pretty non-standard ingredient on something like pulled pork, but I liked the effect.

I'm a bit late to the party, so you probably already know the answer by now, but yes...as you toss and swirl the skin-on cod, its gelatin emulsifies with the olive oil. My paternal family's from Newfoundland, and one of my earliest memories is split cod drying on the flake behind my grandfather's house. We usually at it with boiled potatoes, thinly sliced rings of raw onion (soaked briefly in vinegar) and diced salt pork rendered out to make salty, pungent "scrunchins." The rendered pork fat was spooned over the fish and potatoes. In the 1980s, when I lived in Vancouver, I wandered into a little Portuguese restaurant on Commercial Drive -- essentially the Iberian equivalent of a greasy-spoon diner. I ordered their salt fish and potatoes dinner, just to see how it would compare to what I'd grown up with. It came with thinly-sliced rings of raw onion (red, in this case), but it was sprinkled liberally with black olives and drizzled with olive oil. After a moment's consideration, I was amused by the similarity. The olive oil was certainly healthier than salt pork fat, but added a comparably pungent and rich counterpoint to the fish and potatoes. The black olives provided a salty complement to the potatoes, just as the scrunchins did in my childhood. It was different, but very good. I went back and had it again several times before I moved away.

I'm another of the missing-in-action crew from years ago...ironically I didn't come here because I'd heard of Steve's passing, but because my own wife's unexpected death this month left me with time on my hands of an evening. It was quite a shock to click the link and find this thread. My sympathies to Ellen and PJ...I feel for you, I really do.

Yeah, that's quite the, uh..."product." I've been following it since 2009, when the New York TImes article came out. A grinder for the ol' stand mixer is a pretty good idea.

When I was a young 'un, there was a restaurant that stopped offering all-you-can-eat fish & chips because of me. I've mellowed, in recent years. I don't overthink the buffet. I try small amounts of several things, and go back for the ones that are good. If you eat at the same buffet frequently, I think the "sweet spot" isn't opening time when everything's new: it's the first mass replenishment, after the initial locust-like swarm of regulars. The initial fill often has items prepared ahead and held, while the refills are more often made fresh as needed. That's my experience, anyway...YMMV.

I didn't think the review was in any way out of the ordinary. If anyone was interested, and hadn't been in an Olive Garden before, reading her piece would have laid out what to expect. Period. Plain-vanilla small town review, nothing wrong with it. Sure are a lot of self-styled culinary arbiters on the 'net, though, aren't there?

At my farmer's market I've been using flat freezer packs that work very well. They're gel filled like any other freezer pack, but they are rigid and about 10" X 15." I get them here (Atlantic Canada) at my local dollar store. I cover them with cloth napkins that complement my tablecloth, and use them for my cheesecakes and such.

A "tickle" is a small inlet, and there are plenty of those in Newfoundland. A "tickle ace" is a particular seagull that is palatable enough to be eaten, where most are not. "Bakeapples," or cloudberries, look like a yellow-orange raspberry but with woodier seeds. Instead of tall canes, they grown on tiny plants in the middle of marshy bogs, where biting insects will swarm you in thick clouds. Oh, and you get one berry per plant. Someone gives you bakeapples, you *know* you're loved. Lots of Newfoundlanders have pressure canners, because in the old days it was the only way to put up meat from a moose or other large animal, that didn't involve salting the damn thing. Not that cured meats are bad, by any means, but by spring you'd get pretty tired of it. I still get the occasional jar of moose or seal from relatives back on the Rock. Yeah, lots of old-school recipes out there for game. You ever find yourself in need of a recipe for jellied moose nose, I'm your man.

I generally use meat in mine, though it was meatless this year except for the suet. Either pork or beef is fine, though I'll use game for preference if I've got it. Around here (New Brunswick, Canada) the traditional choice is the neck meat of a deer or moose, though beef neck is considered an adequate replacement if you haven't been hunting.

Easy to grow? Yeah...and the ocean's a trifle damp. Getting them to grow is easy, getting them to stop is a son of a gun. When my father was ready to harvest his first crop, he went back to the friend he'd gotten his first handful of roots from and asked how to prepare them for overwintering. "Prepare them?" his friend snorted. "Dig up every friggin' crumb you can find, and I guarantee you you'll still have twice as much next year." That being said, they're a tall and beautiful perennial - closely related to sunflowers - and if you have the room they're very striking en masse. They are very invasive and should not be planted without some forethought, but can be useful to crowd out a less-desirable weed.

I'm not hard to get along with. If you're better at making jus, I'll have the jus. If you're better at gravy, I'll take the gravy.

I don't know that you could label one or another school the "best," any more than you could name a "best" wine or "best" radio station. It would depend on your own individual criteria. I had excellent instructors at both NAIT in Edmonton, and NSCC in Halifax. I learned a great deal in both schools. NAIT, of course, has a substantial advantage in funding and equipment, as well as (if you're interested in that sort of thing) its tight relationship with Culinary Team Canada. The Dubrulle school in BC, George Brown in Ontario, and the Culinary Institute of Canada in PEI are all well-respected institutions. You'll get a solid education at any of them, and most of the country's other schools as well. Ultimately, your career trajectory will depend more on you as a person than the school you went to. Be responsible and organized; work quickly and well; show a passion for continued learning; be there when you're needed; don't grumble about doing your share of the cleaning...if you do these things consistently, you'll rise to the top in just about any kitchen regardless of where you've trained.

It's been my observation that the route you take to get there is not usually the primary factor. Oh, there may be some career paths that require very specific training/experience to get into, but as a rule it comes down to you and the passion you bring. Most times, you'll need to make it happen for yourself. To pick one example, unless you live in a larger centre there may not be much for charcuterie in your vicinity. If you live and breathe for the glory that is cured pork, then you will probably have to make it happen for yourself. Scrounge or build a smoker, pick up some salt and TCM, cultivate a pig farmer, and - very important - get yourself square with the local health department. Book a table at the local farmer's market, go door to door, harangue any chef in the area who'll let you into his kitchen. Work as much of a day job as you need to pay the bills, and just keep plugging. Sooner or later, you'll make a go of it. Or not. But even failing will teach you a lot, and the next time out you'll have a better idea how to go about it. I started in the industry at 40, after a lifetime in sales. Yes, it's brutally hard. Yes, the money is shite; even - especially - if you have your own restaurant. You do it because, in your heart of hearts, you have to. At the end of the day you may end up doing something else food-related (most of the wholesale reps around here are former chefs/line cooks who wore out on it), and that's fine too. Even if you get out entirely (and you're plenty young enough to put in 8-10 years before doing that), you'll learn a lot of portable skills. Tell me a career where efficiency, accuracy, reliability, planning, and ability to perform under pressure are not valued?

A chef I used to work for had lots of dislikes. He'd frequently stick a spoon into something and say, "Mmmmmm...tastes like crap. Just the way it's supposed to." I'm fortunate to not have many real dislikes: parsnips, cauliflower and avocadoes pretty much are it. If I lived in California that last one would be a bitch, but as it is I'm pretty much good to go. I don't care much for green bell peppers, but that's because they're relatively flavourless compared to red or yellow.

I do a lot of haddock at my diner on the east coast of Canada. I generally season the fish before dipping it, rather than seasoning the batter. That works for me, FWIW.

So...how did you make out?

I haven't been in for a while, and I guess I missed this one while it was live. Did you ever get down my way, Violetfox? FYI, for anyone passing this way...drop me a PM or identify yourself as an eGullet member when you make your reservation, and I'll (a) make a point of being here; and (b) come on out for a chat.

That's the one I got for Christmas from my fiancee. I love this woman. I also got McGee for my birthday, and have picked up several others at Value Village and suchlike outlets. Best bargain-shop acquisitions were Anita Stewart's Canada, New York Times Cookbook, and Alford and Duguid's Home Baking. Total outlay? $15 CDN. God, how I love cheap books. Since my last post, I reckon 23 new ones. I've also opened two restaurants, so I'm damned if I know when I'll have time to read them.

FWIW, Peter, the Newfoundland side of my family does in fact pronounce it "bruise." Of course, each part of Newfoundland is somewhat different, too. Purity's "Hard bread" (not the "sweet bread") is the standard brewis across the Rock, as far as I'm aware. You should find it in Superstore or Sobey's in the seafood section, usually merchandised near the lobster tank. The fish would traditionally be salt cod, aka baccalhao etc. The fish is soaked and then simmered; the brewis is soaked until soft and then gently heated in the same water. Drain both, and serve with scrunchions. Onions in one or another form are ubiquitous, too...fried, raw, or sometimes marinated in a bit of vinegar. Leftover brewis would become dessert with a drizzle of molasses. Of course, brewis was "back-up" food. It was what you fell back on if your potatoes weren't enough to carry you through until spring.