Shalmanese

One way I love cooking steaks that's a little bit different is to give them a nice sear on the outside but let them remain essentially raw in the middle. Rest them well and then slice them into thin slices across the grain and get a cast iron pan smoking hot. Drop them in 10 seconds on one side, flip, 10 seconds on the other, into a dipping sauce and then straight into your mouth. The meat gets cooked all the way through to well done but because the time is so short, it's still moist and flavorful. You have to eat standing in your kitchen and it smokes up the house but it's so good it's worth it.

I suggested to Lorna that she should post up the previous menus but they're not exactly hurting for publicity as it is, their next "We're trying to kill you dinner" sold out in 2 hours! As I said to Lorna, my current operating theory is that they're planning to kill all of Seattle, 12 people at a time.

So I just got my new Gyuto and I'm in the market for a steel to keep it honed. One thing that's always puzzled me is if I'm after a stock standard, non-diamond steel, what exactly separates the expensive steels from the budget ones. I've seen steels that cost $70 and steels that come included with a set of $20 knives. As far as I can tell, a steel is just a long rod of metal and I don't see how the expensive ones sharpen your knife better. I can understand paying big bucks for a steel with diamonds in it but that's not what I'm after. One thing I have heard anecdotally is to avoid the ridged steels but again, no reason was given why. Any thoughts?

I don't think they exist yet. Sous vide and deep frying have a lot in common and it seems like the ideal deep fryer could also double as a sous vide machine. Something based on induction heating perhaps for very rapid response and high heat output. There's no reason why it couldn't be done, it's just a matter of doing it.

You know, I really wanted to serve two big pieces of bacon wrapped bacon instead of one, but Mr. Lo thought that it would be way too much food. I just put up another encore event with the same "Kill You" dishes and I think I'm going to give people the option of getting another piece if they so wish...though they better have room for everything else to come! Are you saying You had 12 extra Bacon wrapped Bacon pieces in the kitchen for leftovers? Oh my! Now you've gone and made me jealous.

I would bother with veals feet, just add some commercial powdered gelatine if you really need the texture. You should be concerned about why your stock doesn't gel though, perhaps your technique is missing something.

I totally disagree. Homemade wrappers are a completely different thing from storebought ones. They're thicker and have a certain toothsomeness that's impossible to replicate.

Saffron in Jack Daniels? I've never heard that before.

I totally don't get the love for bone in pork chops, whenever I've cooked them before, the part nearest the bone would always be undercooked and inedibly tough. I've resorted to deboning the chops before I cook them and then using the bones later in soups and stocks but I never cook them bone in anymore. Does anybody cook them bone in and get a decent result? How?

I love this Bang Bang chicken, noodle salad: The recipe is from The Cooks Book, I can't recall it off hand but it's fantastic.

Mmm... Looks great and I have to admit I've been feeling mildly guilty about not piping up till now. I was at the "we're trying to kill you dinner" and it was lovely meeting worm@work and all the other guests there. The space Lorna and Henry have set up is really something special. Warm and inviting from the moment you step in the door, I especially the little water fountain going outside their window. work@work was right about one thing, once the chorizo came out, everyone just dived in. Rich and flavourful, it was a wonderful start to the evening. Bacon wrapped Bacon was clearly the most anticipated dish of the evening and it totally didn't disappoint. I was surprised by how slowly some of the diners were eating theirs, to "savor" it apparently, I don't have that degree of self control. The pork belly was so perfectly tender it just melted away in a river of pig fat, yum. Next was the foie gras custard and I have to step up and admit here that I was the guest who has designs for a foie gras custard swimming pool (with a veal gastrique fountain) for my next mansion. I agree with worm@work that nothing can compare to the gooey texture of simply seared foie gras but I don't think the two can be directly compared. The gastrique was a lovely counterpoint and added the balance necessary to keep this dish from becoming cloying. Duck confit pot pie was just pure comfort food. The confit itself was silky and the gravy was warm and rich. My favourite part of this dish were the tiny chunks of parsnip which added a nice sweet surprise. The crust, made with lard is again, a testament to what can be achieved with a little (ok, a lot) of animal fat. Finally, was the Valrohna cream puffs. I have to admit that at this point in the evening, I was slightly soused on the excellent wine so I don't remember too much about this course but the clear highlight for me was the wine served, a Saracco Moscato d'Asti. It tasted like liquid pear candy going down. The mint ice-cream in the cream puffs was sublime. If I had to make one minor quibble with the whole evening, it was that the chocolate sauce served with the cream puffs was just a tad too much and a tad too intense. I've never been one to enjoy overloading on chocolate and I tend to admire restraint more than excess when it comes to chocolate. Overall, the night was definitely a smashing success, every one of the dishes was a hit, from conception to execution to service. The atmosphere is like no other restaurant you've been to, fun, convivial and unpretentiously casual. And at these prices, Lorna and Henry are practically giving their food away. Book now so in 10 years time, you can tell people you ate at Lorna's before it became famous.

not much

haha!!! I'm sure your not implying that I would have made my own wrappers?? that is what stores are for! ← You've never rolled out your own wrappers? We'll have to organise a dumpling party sometime. Nothing compares to home made wrappers.

Hrmm... Flavourful, tough and without much connective tissue, I'm wondering if it might be a good candidate for making jus a la Ducasse. It seems like you could extract all of the flavor out of the meat without worrying about the toughness.

How did it go? If it was only 6 people as an amuse, I would make them just before you cook them. It shouldn't take more than a minute or two to roll out 6- 12 wontons.

Do you mean consommé? If you're going to hold them for any length of time, make sure to flour them well otherwise they'll stick. I would probably leave them out. The fridge is going to dry the skins out quicker. Alternatively, you can prep them a few days ahead and freeze them on sheet pans. They work just fine from frozen and you can make a double or triple batch and you got a great weeknight meal in just a few minutes.

On the canadian TV show "Chef at Home", he uses bourbon in his homemade extract. Sounds like that would be a great pairing.

Alton Brown had a entire show of good eats on round steaks. He used bottom round but I'm sure they'll work as well with eye round.

I pretty much bought my IB for blending soups. I don't want to be transferring multiple litres of hot liquid all around my kitchen if at all possible.

I've used a wok to get better WiFi reception. Worked like a treat.

That looks SO good... I'm a sucker for radishes and crisp cucumbers. So, what... mandolin sliced? What sort of dressing? Vinegary so it's almost pickled? mmm... *floats off into dreamland* Mandoline sliced; then crisped in ice water in the fridge for an hour or so. I had forgotten this technique and it needs to be resurrected. The veggies become very crisp and juicy. The dressing is a standard type vinaigrette with apple cider vinegar and a little sugar. ← You should try it with some apple as well.

I don't get the problem, do you feel the waiters are trying to push you out? Do you feel uncomfortable sitting a table without food on it? As long as it's clear your table isn't needed (ie: there's lots of empty tables around you), I've been perfectly fine with just paying the cheque and then sitting there drinking tea and talking to friends.

I was going to chime in and say I recalled something from McGee's OFAC that fats don't reach an optimum browning potential until they've broken down somewhat. Restaurants know that you have to mix in a bit of the old fry oil with the fresh stuff otherwise the first few fried things are going to come out overly pale. By rendering fat, you've already cooked them once so they're going to brown better.

Australia also happens to be one of the few markets in the worldf where Starbucks closed a significant number of stores within the first five years of having opened them. I think it was roughly 10 out of 35 that they shut down due to poor levels of revenue. There are dramatic cultural differences between the US and Australia and I think an awareness of the value of locally grown foodstuffs and independent businesses may be among them. ← Am I missing something? Australia has some 32 fast food chains which originated there in addition to all the international chains. KFC alone has about 600 outlets which given the fact that Australia has one of the lowest population densities in the world is pretty interesting. The facts seem to belie these conclusions. ← Sure, there are a lot of fast food chains in Australia. I was talking about mid range chains of which I can barely think of any. Sizzler's was here a few years ago but has all but shut down, I think there are a few Hard Rock cafes and something else but nothing on the level of Ruby Tuesday or TGIF.

100F? That's barely above body temperature!