Chris Amirault

In what ways is it stunning?

Sausage season has arrived, and I just finished a nice batch of hot Italian sausages. I realized that it might be worth documenting a quick tip for cooling the meat that I picked up somewhere around here (snowangel may be the culprit): This is the bowl of ground meat prior to being beaten to form the emulsion, and in order to cool it down, it had to spend an hour or so in the freezer. I punched a hole into the middle of the meat to hasten the cooling, which got it down to a malleable 30F very quickly.

Indeed, there's a discussion of that bar and the whole line here in this Pastry & Baking topic.

Whenever I shop for a handed cooking item, I remember my middle school language classes. Left-handed is "sinester" in Latin, and boy do I feel like I'm bad-handed when looking for most items. Due to blind luck I've found a few left-handed items, though, and I'll bet there are a lot more out there. One item I use regularly is this Lamsonsharp slotted turner, which comes in a lefty version; having that acute edge in the right place makes a big difference. Today, I grabbed this Calphalon citrus zester/twister, which is ambidextrous; you can use the cutting channel from either side. Interestingly, this was clearly designed to work in either hand, but none of the marketing materials indicate that. No one cares about us lefties, so we gotta look out for ourselves! So what else is out there?

Thanks, Sandy, for that material. It's very useful for context. People can criticize whatever they want, of course! But I'd like to suggest that creating uniform hours does, in fact, radically affect the traditions of the market. If RTM management want this to be a quirky, old-school market a la the Boqueria in Barcelona, where customers are supposed to smile when they show up at a shop and it's closed because the owner went home early, that's fine. If they want the customer to have a more regular experience that malls have trained them to have, then that's fine, too. But those are two very different experiences, and I think it's important to acknowledge their deep cultural significance.

It does to me. School walls are rarely festooned with broadsides devoted to founders, board chairs, or anyone else. John Dewey, the founder of the US educational system, might get a pithy sentence here or there, but not part of a wall that might hold, say, children's art work, writing, or recipes. There's no doubt that she's a very well-intentioned and community-minded chef/activist, and I agree with most of this "philosophy." (Seems more like a list of aphorisms to me, I should add.) But whatever her intent or reputation, that painting seems to me to be an exercise in aggrandizement, not education.

Interesting. You wouldn't need to worry about an explosion with a stirred drink. Maybe for shaken drinks you could finish off by stiring the drink with a few CO2 marbles.

I'm wondering about order and technique. Are people just dumping everything together or is there an order? For example, with many pickles, you salt first and then add acid down the road. Also, when and how do you taste for balance?

I'm getting ready for this fall's big cure, and those ends are all curled around the skin, which makes skinning them a pain. I also feel like it's not a waste, really, as the fat would be perfect for seasoning. And fried rice, maw mai fon, noodle dishes... these are the sorts of high-portion dishes that test the size limits of my current wok, so that makes sense to me. Quick, small-portion dishes that benefit from a wok flip I'll still do with the smaller, handled wok.

For years, I've relied upon my very basic 14" Western-style carbon steel wok from Joyce Chen (local Boston Chinese chef from back in the day): It had two wooden handles (the smaller of which I've broken off since this photo was taken two years ago) and a round bottom, and it's great for stovetop work and lesser portions. However, for many tasks, I need something bigger to use on my outdoor propane burner, so I've been on the lookout for a larger hand-hammered carbon steel Cantonese-style wok. Thank you, Chin Enterprises on Harrison Ave in Boston's Chinatown: This 20" behemoth does not have the fine handiwork of the dream-woks Grace Young photographs -- -- but I think it will serve me very well indeed. (The oil coating makes it look lighter than it is; it's not made of aluminum, I'm quite sure.) Obviously, I've got a seasoning project ahead, one that's going to take place on that propane burner. Like Ah Leung, I'll document my approach here. I'm probably going to use the ends of the latest batch of lop yuk for my fat, and I'll grab some chives from the garden. But it's all going to get done on the burner, not in the oven. More soon.

Try this -- and then click on the two months above.

They charge for the courses listed on the website, about a benjamin per.

Barbara Lynch, the Boston chef behind No. 9 Park, The Butcher Shop, B&G Oysters, and Plum Produce (click here for the website charting her empire) has just embarked on a new venture, in the South End neighborhood where her non-No. 9 projects live. Stir is billed as a "demonstration kitchen and cookbook library." It's located in a small storefront on Waltham St, just off Tremont, with a cool, clean kitchen centered around ample room for about 12-20 visitors. On the left as you walk in is a swell collection of quality cookbooks including the latest in hot titles (the most recent El Bulli series, Pork & Sons, a fine selection of cocktail books, and the Au Pied De Cochon cookbook in English, which I considered stealing), and over in the corner, if you're lucky, is Tracy Kim, the woman overseeing the enterprise. Which is... what, exactly? Well, it's something of a center for like-minded people to hang out, learn about cooking, and sit at the elbows of some of Boston's best chefs. Of course, the No. 9 Park gang is featured regularly, with Lynch making several appearances this fall, but it seems that other Boston fixtures will be around as well: Ana Sortun of Oleana held court last week, for example. Given the paucity of space for gawkers in typical restaurant kitchens, it certainly holds promise just for courses. But it's clear that Lynch et al are shooting for more. (For starters, I'd urge them to encourage the throngs waiting in lines at their establishments to check it out -- which would mean evening hours on weekends.) I don't really know of any other places like this. Sure, there are demo kitchens at most Sur Le Table and Williams-Sonoma stores, but none of which I'm aware that are sponsored by a local chef in her own neighborhood. But I may just be ignorant. Are there others out there? What are they like? How do they work? What happens there?

Host, manager, general counsel, and long-time member Dean McCord is retiring after a long volunteer service in the eGullet Society. Much that makes the Society what it is bears the mark of his efforts, insight, and hard work, and for that we all owe him a great debt. We'll still be seeing a lot of him around these parts, advocating for intelligent approaches to pig preparation and for passionately supporting the cuisine he knows and loves. Please share your thoughts and thanks here.

Host, manager, general counsel, and long-time member Dean McCord is retiring after a long volunteer service in the eGullet Society. Much that makes the Society what it is bears the mark of his efforts, insight, and hard work, and for that we all owe him a great debt. You can share your thoughts here in the Member News forum.

Found a bottle of Avation gin at Brix in the South End of Boston, and I've been fiddling around with it. I'm finding that Gary Regan's version of the Bennett Cocktail works very well with this tricky gin. (Click here for a quick discussion of ratios for the cocktail in the Savoy topic.) For a radically different drink, try Dave the Cook's tasty Paradise Regained. ETA: I wondered what a dash of green Chartreuse would do to the Bennett. "Work wonders" is the answer: it's a fine addition.

Our own John Sconzo (docsconz) submits this news -- CA eGullet Society member and Forum Host John Deragon (johnder) was mentioned in the latest issue of American Express's Departures Magazine (September 2007) in a story discussing the resurgence of interest in pre-Prohibition cocktail bitters. On page 192 it reads: Nice work, John!

Shelby, how'd you make it?

That broiler finish sounds smart to me.

Come on, Will. Give us a crumb, man.

You've inspired an eG Cook-Off: click here!

Welcome to the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off! Click here for the Cook-Off index. It's still warm in the hemisphere in which the vast majority of our members reside, and so we turn, again, to a cool dish from down south: ceviche, the marinated seafood dish from Peru. It may be a popular item these days, having made appearances on Top Chef and prompting a Food Traditions & Culture topic here, but I've gotta say that I've never found a solid home recipe. That's too bad, because when they're good -- and the octopus ceviche I had at Ken Oringer's Toro in Boston last weekend was very, very good -- they're transcendent, balancing acid (usually citrus, with some help from vinegar in certain recipes), capiscum heat, salt, allium, and seafood flesh. We've got a topic or two in eG Forums (click here, e.g.) on the subject, but we've a dearth of recipes and techniques. Traditionalists, how do you find the balance in this world of lame limes and flabby fish? Innovators, how do you honor that balance with your yuzu, szechuan peppercorns, and lemongrass? Let's see what you've got!

It's part of my routine to ask guests what they're eating preferences or prohibitions are, and I'd bet it's part of yours, too. I mean, if a vegetarian you love came over for dinner, you'd make adjustments, right? This situation doesn't really seem to be about that; there's more afoot. It seems to me that you have a perfect, and honest, response ready to go: "I've already planned, purchased, and started preparing the meal, so I can't change the menu. But I'll be happy to pick up a rotisserie chicken so that you will have an option." You save face, gracefully dodge this blended-family bullet for now, incur no one's wrath, and can make what you want. If it were me, I'd be sure that chicken got warmed up for a good hour or two in a 350F oven, just to be sure it's cooked through.

This request is from Saj Khan (general member sajkhan). For context, check out this topic. -- CA I am a part time MBA student enrolled at Rutgers University. As part of our curriculum, a group of 6-7 MBA students take part in the Rutgers MBA Team Consulting program where a new or existing business presents a strategic problem for the team to analyze over two semesters. The team that I represent is chartered with getting focus group feedback on the "meal prep" business Easy Meal Prep. The store will begin initial operations as a meal prep business, defined as a service in which customers sign up either online or through the telephone for a bundled meal plan. Meals can be either purchased individually or at a bundled price for 6, 9, or 12 entrées. Customers then have the choice to come into the store to prepare the entrées or for an extra fee have the entrées prepared by the store’s employees. In preparing the entrées , the customer will do much of the assembly while the store provides all of the ingredients properly prepared. Customers have the option to customize their entrées to their individual tastes. For example, customer can avoid the ingredient for salt or other spices or add more/less cheese or sauce or anything else. This gives the customer the experience of creating the meals themselves without having to do all the chopping, shopping or clean-up. 10 to 12 entrées w/side dishes per month will be designed to be frozen, thawed and cooked at the customers home. There will be 3 to 4 weekly entrées that are designed not to be frozen. This “fresh entrée” selection is designed to maximize the flexibility of the model for customers who prefer fresh versus frozen menu items. Please help us by participating in an online survey by clicking here. Thanks!

Fascinating stuff. It makes me want a whole lot more land at my school than I have! I should also admit that I was surprised to see the "Philosophy of Alice Waters" broadside, as it seems inappropriately hagiographic for a school setting. Wouldn't it be more engaging for the kids to develop their own philosophy?