saltedgreens

I too keep a dull inox steel stamped blade for lobster fabrication. I call it my "breaker". It acts like a lightweight cleaver.

I usually try to hire someone however, for stocks, sauces and such, where the presence of the leaf is not important, I either a) use the whole sprigs and strain out/remove with tongs, or b ) put several sprigs into a teabag, then remove after cooking. or, freeze. The leaves will fall off in due time. A very practical and wise method indeed.

For more complex events at home I work in batches. I create my mise en place. I get everything cut and prepped. Then I clean down the kitchen and begin the execution of my plan. Then I clean again. Like the others, I do not let garbage sit around. I wipe my knives constantly. I use the kids bowls to store all of my mise. I have towels for countertops. I just don't like being messy. I'm not always the best at being clean, but I do try.

Tap water.

One word with many wonderful applications.

Parsnips are seriously good.

Farro. Just amazing taste and texture. I'm kinda nuts about it these days.

I'm another that is about to make their own ramen after being inspired by Momofuku.

An essential 130.

I like the above reviews. MacGourmet is good. Great for the home. Many features. If you want flexibility in layout/design Filemaker is also good. Not many features beyond that. I have finally settled with iWork pages for layout/sharing and DEVONthink for search/classification. I don't want features besides a good layout, search, and share features under my design and control. Hope this helps.

I dislike ceramic tools in the kitchen. They can't get as sharp as my other tools that I sharpen myself. I tried a kyocera peeler and it fell apart. I prefer the carbon steel kuhn rikon. It's a harp style which I personally find the easiest to use.

I've ended up getting both. The big one is to enjoy at home. The purchase of the other one was justified by it's ability to be easily transported.

1. Encyclopedia of Fish Cookery. It was my first fish cookery book when I was beginning to be passionate about cooking. I worked in a fish cutting warehouse at the time. 2. Larousse Gastronomique. The bible. 3. On Food and Cooking (initiated by The Cookbook Detective). I love knowing why. Always. It's a passion.

Just Yama-Moto-Yama oolong. It's mobile. I can take it here and there. I can drink it anywhere.

Thanks joesan for the recommendations. I will begin my investigation there.

This is the reason why I keep coming back to eGullet. Pressure cooking stocks. I've so been contemplating goodness of this also. Thanks for the collaborative thought. Any leads on a good pressure cooker?

Duck fat Rendered bacon and fat Garlic and ginger Onion Short grain rice Scallion Sesame oil Soy sauce Brown sugar The above is just a single version of many... It's been great reading all of your posts.

I don't necessarily go by 4-5" lengths. I usually evaluate every stalk. Some have wide, flared bottoms and narrow tops. I portion accordingly. Also, I square it off so that no dice is larger than my intended size. The smaller and less attractive cuts get hidden in the mass of better looking cuts.

Agreed.

I'd love to make ramen noodles. Handmade ramen is difficult to beat in my book.

Thank you.

Thanks for the many thoughtful responses. Many points to consider... Smoke tastes so good with salt.

I know this will seem unnessary, but we've been having a minor debate in my workplace about soaking wood chips for use in smokers. Our thoughts: Cold water takes longer to penetrate to the center while hot water is faster? This is difficult to test due to varying wood densities. Also, would hot penetrate faster on the outside while cold would prevent expansion and penetrate better towards the interior or what? Hot water leaches "smoke flavors" from the wood like tea thus rendering hot water a flavor killer? What temperature water do you soak your chips in and why? I use cold water but some cooks have been challenging my reasoning. I tend to fall back on the idea that it works and that it conserves energy.

I like pre-salting them about 30 minutes before they hit the grill. Crispy skin. Tame the richness with a little grapefruit. Honor it with shiso.

I like the question. Yet, consider all items and not meats alone. It seems that you are asking what the variables are regarding salt and aroma interellations? When are the variables insignificant? Below is a random aside about salt I found interesting: "In some unpublished work, we chose to thermally process (extrude) low and normal salt (NaCl) lots of a cooked cereal base. We then analyzed the volatile profile of the two extruded products by gas chromatography. We found that the low salt formulation contained substantially less volatiles (quantitatively) than the normal salt product. It appears that the salt levels used in extruded cereal products influenced the rate of the Maillard reaction. This observation is important in efforts to manufacture thermally processed low salt foods. It appears that taking the salt out of a food may influence both aroma and taste (saltiness)." -Flavor Chemistry and Technology, Gary Reineccius