fiftydollars

That actually sounds pretty tasty... could you get me the recipe?

This is how things have operated at the French Laundry for quite some time.

Hydrox Can someone explain why anyone would choose this as a name for a cookie?

I don't like pastry cutters/blenders with wires because they tend to be flimsier than the ones with blades. Most wire cutters are too flexible and don't cute well into cold butter (much less frozen or near-frozen butter).

The government says you should keep it at not less than 140 degrees and I tend to agree.

Can you have a rice machine?

I second that excellent suggestion. Then, if you have some downtime afterward, go across the street to Spec's, on the corner of Columbus and William Saroyan. There is actually not really such an intersection or a Saroyan street, but there is an excellent bar that on most days will have on offer slices of fontina taken from a huge round of cheese, cut with one very cool cheese cutting thing that I have often dreamt of stealing when no one is looking. And of course you should also walk yourself up to Molinari's, across from some church where DiMaggio married Monroe, and marvel at what is, in my rarely humble opinion, the finest Italian deli (left) in San Francisco. The place is effin awesome. I can't say enough awesome things about effin Molinari's. They have at least one, very awesome sandwich, the North Beach special, which has these awesome marinated peppers that just get me excited every effin time I think about them. Sometimes I can just sit, think of Molinari's, and achieve something akin to sexual arousal. I think I should stop now... but do go to Molinari's, please.

I also have an outside suggestion for Dim Sum... The King of King in Oakland. I really like this place. Everyday they have a large freshly barbecued pig hanging behind the counter along with your typical ducks. They have solid dim sum and the service is not shy about offering it.

I never wash my hands.

Fantes calls it a batter dropper.

WD-50 is a great place to eat alone. I called about an hour before our reservation when I realized that, after that wedding the night before, number 2 was not going to be able to make it to dinner and I told them I would be dining alone. When I showed up a couple of minutes late (2 minutes late and partly because I walked right past the place the first time around) they greeted me by name and promptly seated me at a very nice table. To my right was a British gentleman who was as experienced a diner as I have ever encountered. At some point it became apparent that he had dined at just about any top rated restaurant anyone could think of on either side of the Atlantic. We briefly talked about San Francisco restaurants and this somehow led to a shameful admission that he had not been to Per Se. But it wasn’t long before the couple next to him commandeered him and pretty much forced him to spit out endless details about his considerable dining experience. The woman was somewhat obsessed with fashion and with telling people how she is not from New York, but rather the Midwest yet no-one would ever guess (on account of her sophistication, you see). The man with her was obviously wealthy, older, actually sophisticated, and giftedly patient. The British man was astounding in his command of fine dining. I didn’t get to talk to him much once the New Yorkers got a hold of him, but I did overhear some wild details about some mythical restaurants. There was a guy nearing the end his meal at the table next to the man and woman that was a recent CIA graduate and who briefly played the part of the skeptic, asking the British man for details he believed would reveal him as a fraud. The British man quickly won him over and soon he was fielding comments from other, more distant, tables. The dinner was outstanding and the dishes so engaging that I think it would have been a distraction had I actually had a dining partner. I also quite enjoyed being able to breathe in the surroundings and analyze the service and food in greater detail without the distractions inherent to eating at a table with others. I know I would have enjoyed the food just as much no matter what (I still have vivid hallucinations about the egg), but it would certainly have gotten less of my attention. The service was excellent and thanks to their speed on the pour, I was never really alone.

Damn you!! I just lost a perfectly good 5 minutes that I won’t get back… I hear Dewberry also has a site, but his requires a monthly paid membership.

Here is a link to a post wherein Andiesenji explains how she pasteurizes eggs.

You can also buy pasteurized eggs or pasteurize them yourself. There are some discussions around here on the subject.

It’s wrong. I know… But I really like to eat eggs with fried tortillas. I start with enough hot corn oil in a large cast iron pan. I add 2-3 small taco-sized corn tortillas cut into wedges. I fry the tortillas until mostly crisp. Then I add 2 eggs and let the white set slightly before scrambling them into the tortillas.

This Board has started to look a little low on the praise so I will offer up that Thomas Keller is the best autographer in the business. No joke. Who else bothers with calligraphy when autographing books for a hundred or so fans?

I don’t think using salt is a bad idea. I’ve used it before; it worked alright and didn’t scratch the enamel. But I prefer to use barkeeper’s friend or the cleanser sold by LC (it’s ok and a bit milder than barkeeper’s friend, but it’s also at least 5 times more expensive). The website says you should soak especially stubborn stains in a solution of 1tsp of bleach per pint of water, but I generally avoid mixing bleach and cast iron because nothing makes cast iron oxidize faster than contact with bleach. And most of your enameled cast iron will have some exposed iron around the rim, which will rust very quickly if it comes in accidental contact with the bleach and water. Also, I recently noticed that the Le Creuset(USA) website says that ALMOST ALL LC IS DISHWASHER SAFE, which I think is BS. Just click on their recommendations for buyers in other countries… apparently LC becomes less dishwasher safe as you travel the Atlantic toward the UK and then becomes completely unsuitable to machine washing when you cross the equator into Australia. Since I believe it is all the same LC, I believe the changing attitudes toward dishwashing come from the marketing department.

I like Martin Yan a lot, but he’s not the pickiest eater and I’m afraid probably not all that suited to the task of judging food. I mean, have you tried the food at his restaurant(s)? I went to Yan Can in Pleasant Hill, CA… and, uh, No! He can’t. And based on what I ate there last week, he really shouldn’t. The food at his restaurant is abysmal. Not even the steamed rice was any good. It was all terrible… It starts with the menu and rolls steadily downhill from there. Poor menu choices. Bland food. Poorly executed. He’s a hack. I never knew it to watch his show all those years, but he is terrible. There is not one good thing that comes out of his kitchen at the Yan Can. I was shocked.

I hope the investment advisor can afford to be so snobbish. The twee art makes me feel as if I've eaten too many marshmallows, but he was probably looking at 120,000+ on her wall. The woman has MONEY to spend. Maybe his excruciating TASTE can pay his rent. ← At the time this professor (art history) said this, the painting on that wall was worth well over a $Million. His friend said that a woman that would spend that type of money on something like that is just not the type of client he can work with.

Mexican women would just put her to work.

The brine Keller uses also includes a healthy amount of garlic and seasonings, which add a lot more than just moisture and salt to the bird. I will admit that sometimes brining has undesireable consequences such as the occasionally rubbery skin, the added sodium, and the potentially oversalted pan sauce or gravy. But the flavor the brine brings to the roasted chicken is worth it. When it turns out just right the brined bird has crispier skin, moist flavorful meat with a slightly altered texture, and a deep mahogany color; all of which I like even though I also rarely bother to brine my chickens.

What temp do you smoke at? Man, I'm going to have to get me one of those bullets. Ian ← I shoot for exactly 232 degrees... But I settle on anything within about 10 degrees.

A professor once told us a story about an investment advisor friend who met a client at her home and immediately told her he couldn’t work with her. She had a Thomas Kinkade original on display in her living room.

Is this a typo or did u really mean the skin is disgusting???! The skin comes out crispy and wonderful. Usually I make the simple roast chicken as well with no brining. Mainly because I never think about it ahead of time. Elie ← I often use language in bizarre and unintelligible ways. What I mean is that the skin is disgustingly good. It’s some of the best chicken skin I’ve had. It hardly gets any better. I need to re-examine my use of that word in print. In my speech, I usually offer that as praise while I eat, wild-eyed, intermittently rubbing my hands together maniacally with apparent and embarrassing joy. My use of the term does not translate well into print.

Great picture. That brined roast chicken is awesome, it packs a whole lot of flavor and the skin is just absolutely disgusting. I love it! I also like the really simple roast chicken and his instructions to be sure to carve the chicken and eat the oysters immediately. They are both awesome roast chicken recipes. I do the simple one about once a week. It’s my idea of a hobby.