godito

I'm with everybody. Reduce it to... well to a glaze. It will keep for several months. For every gallon of stock you've got, make a cup or less. There's multiple uses for glazes. I can give you tons of ideas. I always keep some around to add rishness and deeper flavor to sauces, soups and even stocks. We even used to make lobster glaze and "paint" eels with it before cooking them. Good stuff.

We used to go to the Rheinbeck farmer's market every sunday to buy fresh goodies and some killer duck rillette. We would buy several half-pints, and I would buy one for myself, which I would hide for the rest of the week. Of course I don't live near Rheinbeck any more.... maybe I should find something else to hide

when you do mayo, it's important to whisk the egg yolk (without any other liquid... including the egg whites) really well. Make the egg yolks thick and creamy. then add the liquid (lime juice, egg white, water, raspberry juice or whatever you're using) whisk again, and only then start adding the oil. Make sure, though, that whatever the liquid you're adding is, it's not to much, or your mayo will turn... well... thin.

Fat in any meat you slow cook helps tenderize it. So does brining and marinating. But as a general ruloe, you don't want to keep the heat so high and you also don't want to take the brisket out until it's "fork-tender". It takes planning ahead. I know it's not easy, but we used to smoke our briskets for 11 to 12 hours, plus a good 40 minutes of resting time afterwards. You just keep cooking at a lower temperature for longer time.

Me, I don't get ketchup. Not that I don't like it, I just don't find it useful. I can eat it with my hamburger, but I'd rather have a juicy paddy made with enough fat, some good beefsteak tomatoes, a little lettuce, cheese and a nice beer. Ketchup on my fries? nope, not for me. I used to add hetchup to my tomato sauce because I never cooked it enough to accomplich a rich flavour. But the one thing I just can't eat is olives. I try olives every couple of months, becasue I think I should like them, but I just don't. I even tried some "really good" spanish olives last time I was at Zabar's, and I understood why my friends were enjoying them so much; I even got some for my mom (she loves olives) but I didn't like them.

how can you go wrong with bacon? Anything wrapped in bacon just tastes better. I also agree with ther butter. Almost every sauce I make has some butter added at the end, just for the extra richness. Oooh oooh! what about bone marrow!

I agree that the quality of the tuna might have something to do with the problem. But I also agree that the most likely problem is that your pan wasn't hot enough or that your tuna steak was wet. Remember that when you put a wet steak in the pan, first, the water has to evaporate, so the tuna is somewhat steamed, not browned. When cooking in the restaurant (and at home, although I rarely cook tuna at home) I take it out from the fridge a good twenty minutes before I intend to cook it. And then I pat it dry with a towel AND squeeze water out with the back of my knife. While I do taht I heat the pan, and only when it's really hot I add the oil. As for the marinade, it will probably "cook" the tuna steak, but we used to marinate our tuna steaks but we never had that problem. In any case, try adding some sugar (or something high on sugars) to your marinade so that whn you cook the tune, the sugar will caramelize giving it an even better color. Hope all this helps

I was just gonna say that! It was the first thing that came to my head when I read the original post... however, I'm going to say dulce de leche. I just can't live without it.

Keeping with the grape thing, good jellies, juices and even some candy are made to resemble Concord grapes. My real first experience with those was in the Grape Festival they have in Naples, NY. Good stuff. Until then, I had always wondered why fake-grape stuff (like candies) never tasted like real grapes. Now I know. I guess that was a bit off topic, so I will go with things I don't like, and maybe somebody else said it first, but I dislike them so much they deserve a second post! 1. Overcooked and dry meats... particularly fish 2. Adding ketchup to your potatoes without tasting them first. We used to make some Tuscan Potatoes which were boiled, dried and then fried twice (the second time in a garlicky sage-rosemary infused oil) and some customers just went ahead and asked for some ketchup without even tasting them first 3. Hard gnocci made with too much flour 4. Underdressed salads drive me nuts. 5. When spicy food is mild at best I can think of some more but I will stop there for now. Need time to vent

I've done BBQ pulled pork (exact same recipe) for sandwiches as a braise and in the slow cooker. Funny story, we used the slow cooker because we had to go to class and we wanted just wanted to leave the cooker going for when we came back. Well, my friend's landlord was a sweet old lady (92 years old) and had never even heard of a slow cooker. She was affraid the house would catch on fire, so she didn't let him use it. We ended up doing the pulled pork at my place. Anyway, we had more control over the braise because we were there to adjust it as we saw fit. Plus it feels better, I guess. More hands on, plus you have the pan and you get to brown the meat and the veggies. I don't know, I just liked the end result better. However, the slow cooker wins hands down in convenience. It's slower, but that can mean smoother cooking, and you can just forget about it for several hours. I think, if you're looking for the pleasure of cooking, braising is the way to go. I mean, even the flavor of the sloow cooker pulled pork was about the same because of the bbq sauce we used. But the craft gives pleasure... and that's what I like about cooking

Yeah! when I was working at Wish under Chef Reidt, he used to make a fantastic Avocado Vichyssoise. And although he no longer works there, I was able to find his recipe here Also, when working at Agua, in Santiago de Chile, we had an Avocado Relish, which was more of an avocado salad with roasted corn and bell peppers (peeled) and red onions with cilantro, balsamic vinegar, lime juice and olive oil. I might be forgetting some ingredients, but that was the basic idea. In any caso those are two of my favorite preparations.

You don't want to move the steak for a couple of reasons. If you're on a grill, and you want to mark your steak, i fyou move it, the lines will not be even. But I think more importantly, once you put it on a hot pan, it will stick to it. Moving it will cause the meat to tear, affecting presentation and juice preservation. Once the meat is seared, it will detatch itself from the pan. SO, not moving the meat actually helps preserve the juices. As for my burger flipping, I do like daves: one flip and one turn for the presentation. Sometimes I don't even turn it, but always just one flip.

I think we must make a distinction between growing grapes and makig wine. They are both different operations that, in a lot of cases (especially in Napa, it seems) happen in the same property. Which is grate, I'm all about the winemakers knowing how the grapes were grown and harvested. But think of it as if it was beer. Farmes are growing barley, wheat, rice and whatever else and then the distillery is making the beer. Well, back to wine... if you see grapes being grown, then farmers are growing them. Then they are turned into wine in a distillery of sorts. It also happens that grape growers sell their grapes to winemakers. I don't blame them, they get enough money in return to have a good living. Can you blame them? Some grapes are better for eating as-is, some are better for brandy, or jelly or wine. But if you grow them, what are you going to be called if not a farmer And finally, SobaAddict... I totally agree with you. Don't think about the US$100 bottle that you find in the market or the restaurant. Think about the US$4 bottle that I bought the other day to have with lunch. Here, outsede the US, wine can't be that expensive, because we consume a lot more of it. Your wine is as expensive as it is because customers are willing to pay for it. Don't blame the winemakers

you can... well... roast it. Ok, I know, that was bad, but somebody had to make the cheap joke.... I would smoke it it possible. Cure it with salt, sugar and whatever spices you like. Let it marinate overnight, and smoke it at slow heat for several hours until tender. If not possible, do the same cure and oven roast it for less hours at low-ish heat until tender. Cooks.com has many suggestions on sirloin tip roast... hope it helps

I just got a bag of dry marmaon, and I was going to cook it like any other dry pasta, but for some reason I doubted and decided to ask instead. Do I cook it like regular pasta? And when cooked, is it as dry as north african couscous? Can I have some serving suggestions? thanks!

you can use fresh fennel to do an oil. You have two options: 1. Use the fronds, maybe mix with some parsley amd do the same as you would any other herb oil (blanch in boiling water for 10-15 seconds, chill, drain, blend with oil). You will get green oil with the flavor of fennel 2. This one is a bit trickier. Something like majking carrot oil. Juice the fennel, strain, and blend the juice with oil..., it's like making an emulsion. This one will separate easier than the herb oil, and the color will not be as vibrant, but it will work. I recommend the first method. Add a little salt and you can serve it on the plate like that for color and flavor. And don't forget to strain!

When I was first learning to cook in Santiago, during our first class on sauces, the teacher showed up with a box of cornstarch. The first thing he did was to throw it away. He told us we didn't really need it for sauces. All we needed was time. He was right. When you have a suce, you need to skim it often, reduce it until it reaches the right consistency, and, like noholdsbarred said, good old fashioned monte au beurre. Many factors can have this same effect, but adding starch to your sauce alse makes it glossy (gelatin also does this). It gives it a decent shine. I still like the monte a beurre shine better, though. Just feels more authentic to me, I guess.

if you're just looking for one, it has to be refrigeration. Think about life without it. No fridge or freezer at home, no refrigerated cars... your markets would sure look a lot different. Without it, there wouldn't even be a need for a microwave, as there would be nothing that needs to be heated quickly. Even your visits to restaurants wouldn't be the same. I'm also sure that we would be getting sick because of what we are eating more often, and we wouldn't live as long. Hands down, refrigeration wins. Now, I didn't even check, but is refrigeration from this past century? Or from the late 1900s, the first days of cinema and many other amazing inventions

What you said reminds me of something Thomas Keller (and of course Michael Rhulman) wrote in The French Laundry about Hollandaise, and how it used to be a mistery for him.... sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. As for vinagrettes go, mustard just keeps the emulsion estable, you don't even really need it. It justhelps a great deal. Like Kokh said, the biggest advice I can give you is to whisk everything but the oil WELL. We used to mix big batchen in food processor at high speed. Just let it thicken by movement. Specially helpfull when using eggs (as in Cesar dressing) or mustard. Then, still whisking vigorously, add the oil in a gentle stream until you see the misture thicken. If you're using a food processor or blender, you will actualy hear a sound change. As for ratios, like I said, add enough oil to get the consistency you like, but the 3-1 oil to vinegar ratio is a good rule-of-thumb. I also like the tip of adding sugar. It adds depth to the sauce because it contrasts with the acidity..., this is why honey-mustard dressing is soooo good

and don't forget good company and estimulating conversation but I wasn't talking to you alone, but to everybody that has read and will read this topic... good food is what you make of it. I know people who are more interested in presentation, or volume, or speed, rather than the actual flavor of food. btw, if you're wondering, in what I just said, I hve no point

Asia.... K-1 kitchen... Chef Pardus.... man that brings back a lot of memories! Makes me want to go back to school to visit. I'm sure Michael's book will put me in that nostalgic place that only reading, eating some of your mom's cooking or maybe fado can put you...

I think it's good to separate things. 1. your dining experience was bad. I agree. And I honestly believe the restaurant in question is over-hyped. We live in an era where chefs have become good marketers (just tune in to the food network) but they're not that good. You can give it a second chance, I believe everybody deserves one, but I wouldn't count on a better dining experience. It seems to me that the chef made poor choices for the function, and he probably does the same for the everyday menu. 2. "fancy" food has bad rep and I don't believe in it. Like somebody else said on an earlier post, Daniel Boloud is doing the same food as some really good bistros in france. So, then, why does he charge so much? Well, for one, we let him (supply and demand); but also, expenses in NYC are high, importing products form all over and buying from top suppliers isn't cheap. He also has the salaries of a staff of over 50. Bistros ususally are family operations. 3. Home food is usually better than any restaurant food because we cook (with love) for the ones we love AND according to they preferences. When my Mom (still the best cook I know) cooks for us, she won't use olives (My dad and I don't like them), no couliflower (my brother don't like it) and very spicy. Now, I'm a good cook, and I cook at home and professionaly. I love to go out to eat because I get to see what other chefs are doing, and because sometimes they impress me. But they do with ideas. Like you said, I know how to do rissotto and I know how to cook lobster, but the last time I went out to a "fancy" restaurant, I was served a perfectly cooked rissotto with lobster, and I loved it. Simple and good. I guess I'm trying to say that peasant food can also be found in upscale restaurants... in fact some of them are the only ones still serving some of the peasant food from the days of my grandparents (like tripe and head cheese), and they have the time and equipment to do a good job... but don't expect every "fancy" restaurant to be as good as you expect it to be... and don't compare it with home cooking, as they are both two different worlds (I won't go into this as some earlier posts did a great job)

I agree with what you're saying, ChefSwartz, I also find it frustrating as a cook when I get no feedback, or when I know the servers had no idea on the igredients used in the dishes (once a server had no idea what cous cous was and told the costumer it was a type of mexican rice) and also, as a server I got to understand the hard work of being good at it. The big problem with mixing both is the training. You need cooks willing to be servers, unless you know servers that know how to cook and have experience, etc. The problem, then, is that you also need servers with experience. Remember they are your salespelople. They need to know about what's being prepared and how to sell it. They also need to know wines (and wine pairing) and how to sell it. It's not easy and sort of intimidating. You need personality. Now, I believe there are people willing to work with you in your ambicious enterprise, but be sure to train them to do what you need them to do. I wish you the best! And seriously, let me know how it goes. I would also like to show all the cooks how hard it's to sell well and the servers how hard is the kitchen work.... then get to a happy medium and erase that stupid imaginary line between the front and the back.... they're all part of the same team! Let them work together, not against each other!

The days where all I had in my fridge was beer and mustard are long gone, now I have, in my freezer, rabbit heart and lungs... Maybe not that weird, but certainly exciting.

I read somewhere that Charly Trotter often has his staff working in various areas of his operation, and I think it's a great idea. When I was going to school at the CIA, we had three weeks in the back of the house of a restaurant and then three weeks in the front. I would love to work in such an environment if I wans't busy opening up my own place However, it's my experience that you will not find many willing volunteers. Cooks just want to cook, otherwise they'd probably also be working the front... You'll have to spend a great deal of time traing them to sell and maybe to be... well... friendly (I know I know, we cooks are the friendliest bunch... and we could sell seabass as white salmon if we really wanted ) Good luck! let me know how it goes.