tim

Not sure, is it Five Easy Pieces after the tomato omelette bit? ← Actually the chicken salad was not served but, held "between your knees!" A new oldie: Unforgetable turkey legs (or some large roasted bone, it doesn't matter), lasciviously consumed, open mouth and lots of tongue with "Momma"! Tim

Reef, It would also be appropriate to fry it with a beer batter. Serve with brandy whatever! Tim

Hi, I think that you can stick your original Saran in the freezer for awhile. When removed, it can be easily unrolled. Saran really messed up with its customers. First, cheaper wrap in a red box; they finally switched to a blue box. Then, that god awful cutter instead of the metal serrated finger cutting edge; they returned to the old edge. Call that 800 number and you always get a free coupon and the claim that 'none of our other customers have complained. Yeah, and pigs can fly! Tim

Hi, A few years ago I saw an internet listing for a line of cookware that used spot welded handles. The listing included an inflated list of the particular benefits of their cookware including the statement that the spot welded handles eliminate those pesky rivets dropping into your food. I wonder how Demeyere manages to weld with their multi-ply construction. Tim

Jeff, I have no experience with Paper Mart Packaging Store but they have a large selection and pretty good prices. http://www.papermart.com/index/index_retail_box_favor.htm Tiim

As many of you know, Jacques Pepin is a class act in every respect. My Son approached him on the street just to express his Father's admiration. They went to Jacques' office at the FCI and talked for about an hour. Jacques directed most of the conversation about my Son's film business. The experience only increased my admiration for Jacques. Tim

I worked as a guest chef for Charlie Trotter and he is all business, to a fault. He has absolutely no sense of humor and very limited interpersonal skills. We were from the same University and he could have cared less. During the first seating, including the kitchen table, he blew up after finding some pepper brunoise sitting out. He turned bright red, tossed the pan into the trash and stared down the two garde manger chefs, but never raised his voice. The team building talk about excellence was somewhat contrived and painful to watch. Nevertheless, his message gets across. I also know from experience that Mario Batali can consume some serious (volume and cost) wine and can also walk (stagger) out of a restaurant without paying for the empty bottles. Five bottles. His only tip for the waitress was some pathetic pawing. Tim Tim

Gas-Ex!

Steve, We used this technique for about twenty years on a daily basis with our children. Even now, cooking together is an important part of our Holidays, more important than the meals. Results? They eat everything, know how to cook and two are in the restaurant business. Tim

Hi, You should try some of the restaurants around Albert Lea and Austin. Tim

Hi, Whole Foods seems more intent on supporting their bottom line and polishing their inflated egos than actually dealing with local farmers. Tim

I agree about the deconstructed duck. This allows for rare breast, leg/thigh confit, stock, cracklins, soup and pate. Jacques Pepin also has a good set of instructions. A whole duck may be properly cooked by steaming for about an hour to begin the rendering process. Refrigerate for a day and finish in an oven. It is less messy this way and does promote fat flow. Tim

Hi, In his book, "Sauces", James Peterson says that acid should not be added until the hollandaise is finished. Adding the acid at the beginning tends to cook the eggs prematurely resulting in a heavier sauce. I use Peterson's technique of cooking the egg yolk/water over direct high heat to make a fully cooked sabayon before adding butter and flavoring. Once mastered, this technique is reliable, very fast and really impresses your friends, especially experienced cooks. Tim

I have had microwave convection ovens for 25 years. For 22 years we had a GE countertop model that was a fine microwave but more useful as a convection oven for heating and warming. We did not use it for roasting simply because it was not self-cleaning. The broiling feature was not very effective and the temperature was not very even, therefore we did not bake in the oven. We now have a Dacor microwave/convection which performs much more effectively. Very even heat permits baking and it is also useful for drying herbs and stuff. The broiling is much more effective than the GE. We do not roast only because of the lack of self-cleaning. It also holds a whole roasting pan which really helps when you need a 150 degree oven to hold dinner for 45 minutes. I never could bring myself to combination cook, something about nuking fresh food spooks me. Tim

Hi, Thanks to Derek's common sense and some weight comparisons, I realize that the de buyer Inoxcuivre (or Inocuvre) has 3 layer cladding with an Aluminum core. The disc base is definitely conductive and I have no idea what it has inside, probably more aluminum. It is really strange given the de Buyer catalog descriptions. I'm still guessing that it was a prototype. Now I have two negatives, that hot handle and copper skin on the outside. Still a remarkable pan at a give-away price. Tim

Derek, That is an interesting point about the edge of the pan and I agree that it looks like a three layer pan. de Buyer claims that the Inocuivre line has 2mm copper with a 0.5mm stainless lining. This is a one quart pan and weighs 1 pound 13 ounces. The heft is definitely much greater than an aluminum pan. The pan is also quite nose heavy, even with its rather heavy handle. I would love to show the pan to Sam. Alas, he does not respond to emails. Tim

Hi, I assumed that the "melted fennel" sauce served over chicken was melted with acetone! Tim

Sam, I have remeasured the de Buyer Inoxcuivre pan and it definately has 2.5mm cladding. Hopefully, you can read the thickness in the picture on this link showing a micrometer measurement (0.104") of the pan. I also remeasured the base of the pan with two rulers and a sight line. The pan appears to have a total base thickness of 5.56mm. Hopefully you can read the thickness in the picture on this link showing the sightline measurement (0.22') on the pan. The following links show the pan and a picture showing the added disc bottom. Under use we find the handle transmits way too much heat. There is no vent at the base of the handle which holds the heat. Other than that, it is wonderful. Yes, it does exist and may be the only one. Not bad for $29.95. Tim

Melissa, You might ask about frozen cranberries. My local grocer freezes a large supply at the end of the season. Tim

Hi, I have been a Penzey's customer going back to the 1970's. Their quality has always been top notch and the prices are much better than a supermarket. When they began opening stores, they carefully selected locations that were inexpensive and in improving neighborhoods. They were equally careful with staff selection and training in Brookfield, WI. To this day, their staff members are helpful and informed. They no longer train in Brookfield and many have not met Bill, that may be an advantage. There are wonderful stories about the Penzey family businesses. Just go into the Spice House in Evanston, IL and ask about Penzey's Catalog - If you whisper to a new employee, you might get an earful. Tim

Thank you for asking. The skin came out tasty and crispy, the best ever. Nothing tasted too salty at all. And the breast meat came out OK, but it really could have been more moist. ← Verv, Cook's Illustrated developed a recipe for dry brined turkey that addressed the dry breast problem. They recommended holding the turkey breast down over two ziploc bags of ice with a small ziploc bag of ice in the cavity for about 30 minutes, just prior to roasting. This cooled the breast meat to 55 degrees while the thighs/legs warmed to about 70 degrees. This worked very well for me. One hour breast down at 400 degrees followed by one hour breast up at 350. The breast ended about 165 and the leg/thighs were close to 175. Tim

Hi, I am running out of sources for caul fat. The only source that carries caul fat was Paulina Market. My son purchased two pounds and it turned out to be thinly sliced skeletal fat. We called and they explained that they could not get REAL caul fat. It is also not available from Niman at this time. Years ago, I went to my local slaughter house and asked for pig diaphragms. Now, I am told that they cannot sell the diaphragm to me, but they don't know why. Does anyone know of regulatory problems with selling pig diaphragms? Are their local slaughter houses or butchers that break down pigs in St. Louis, Chicago or in between? Thanks for your advice. Tim

Hi, I freeze demi-glace in mason jars or cambro containers. About 30 minutes in hot water or 5 minutes in a microwave and you are ready to cook. Hong Kong Dave hit the nail on the head with his comment about the increased surface area of frozen demi-glas cubes. I also make too much stock and wouldn't have room for bags of cubes. Tim

Hi, I would trim the fat and silver skin and prior to air aging for two days. With a piece of meat without a fat cap or bones, you will have to roast on high heat. Don't worry about the Coscto label, it will be delicious. The chain and fat trimmings will make wonderful hamburgers. Tim

Reef, Gelato is significantly different from ice cream. As I understand it: 1. It is made from whole milk, not cream (Northern Italy uses some cream) resulting in a butterfat content as low as 4%. In the US it cannot be labeled as ice cream which requires 12% (I think) butterfat. 2. It is very dense with little overrun, or air churned into the mix. Actually much less air is incorporated than premium US ice creams. They use either slow churning (I use a Donvier) or a paddle that incorporates almost no air. 3. It is made with lots of egg yolks, maybe twice as much as US custard. 4. It is served at about 25 degrees, compared to 15 degrees with ice cream. 5. Flavors are added by infusing. They do not use flavor syrups. The warm temp, high density, emulsified yolks and low fat allow for a creamy texture that melts almost instantly. That accounts for the flavor burst in your mouth from a tiny spoonful. I hope that this helps. There may be some experts out there. Tim