NancyH

We added star anise to our turkey brine this year and were very pleased with the notes it added.

Is the Jade not also a professional model? I thought it was - sorry about that! We are planning a hood (probably a Vent A Hood) for our Bluestar. But if you are getting 18,000 BTU out of the Jade - how can a downdraft be adequate (that's what made me post in the first place - I had thought that we shouldn't even consider a downdraft with big BTUs)? What is UCV/UVC?

I am planning my annual pilgrimage to Destin - so any updates/recommendations would be appreciated. Anyone know if Donut Hole or Pandora's re-opened? If they did - are they any good?

CRUZMISL - I notice that you have a downdraft. We are planning to install a Bluestar cooktop with a 22,000 BTU burner, and hadn't even considered that a downdraft could work with a high BTU stove. How is yours working out and what kind is it?

Horrors! I have such fond memories of this place! One of the best of those happened when I was an NYU student in the early 1980s. Four of us went to have lunch - Heller, Weintraub, Lippman and Rooney. The surly, alte waiter seated us and took our sandwich and drink orders. The drinks came first. A few minutes later, he returned bearing a tray. He placed one sandwich in front of me. One sandwich in front of Lippman. One sandwich in front of Weintraub. Finally, the last sandwich, the last of the items we had requested, in front of Rooney. In a positively Woody Allen-Hannah and Her Sisters moment, he then placed a jar of mayonnaise in front of Rooney. We all burst into peals of laughter - except for Rooney, who didn' understand why he was singled out for the mayo container that he hadn't requested!

I am hardly a food safety expert, but I am Certified in the Safe Food Handling for Occasional Quantity Cooks Program offered by the Ohio State University Extension. Annecros is correct that the bacteria that grow when food is in the danger zone create other toxins that are not destroyed by heating or cooling. That is why once food is "bad", it is bad and can't be recovered. This is different, say, than cross-contaminating a marinade while spreading it on the meat, but then promptly boiling the leftovers to use for a gravy on the cooked meat - it is the combination of time (4 hours or more) and temperature abuse (between 40 and 140) that turns food dangerous and beyond repair. I am sure that the chefs and the other Serv-Safe trained among us can explain it better, but I was taught the 4 hour danger zone rule and I do believe the the axiom I quoted. I would rather throw something questionable out than get sick.

Respectfully, I disagree with those who think this is safe to eat. If the soup cooled below 140 degrees, but stayed above 40 degrees, for more than four hours, it should be pitched - re-boiling it will not undo the damage that four plus hours in the "danger zone" has done. When in doubt, throw it out.

1 gallon bottles of bottled water.

Just returned from Cincinnati Ohio and feeding about 150 people a hot lunch on Saturday; our theme was "Decade-ent". I would like to thank all of you who advised on the risotto. I started with 12 pounds of Carnaroli Rice. I pre-cooked it 2/3-3/4 of the way in 2# batches in my All Clad 6qt chef pan and cooled it on cookie sheets in the fridge, when packed it in ziploc bags. The problem I discovered when I went to finish it was that though the sides of the roaster ovens get as hot as 450 degrees, the bottom only gets to about 200 degrees, so the final cooking was too slow (I did not have time to do a test run in the roaster beforehand). The taste and texture of the finished risotto were wonderful (and it didn't sit on the chafers long enough to turn to glue), but it just took too long to be practical with the equipment that I had (should have brought the AllClad and the Iwatani Stove!). Still, I managed to feed everyone eventually (I also had 47 pounds of brisket on the buffet, and other items). Another adventure in cooking in the books!

We always brine (with sugar) and we always make gravy, and it is always delicious!

This mirrors the advice I was given by several professional chefs here in Cleveland - I am embarking on making 12# of Risotto for 125 people next week using this approach!

Is the handle suitable for lefties? My husband loves the two Shun knives I gave him last year, but they never feel "right" in my hand because I'm a southpaw.

Thank you all again - some very good advice here! I will let you all know how it turned out - the event is the first weekend in December.

Thank you for your suggestions (and do keep them coming!). Alex - I was hoping a professional would chime in! (Not that I don't appreciate all of the other suggestions - but really, how many of us routinely make risotto for over 100 people?) I do have a staff of volunteers who will be helping with finishing it (and re-heating the other food and setting up service). I've made risotto for a crowd before - but never this large a crowd! The theme of the gathering is "Decade-ent" - so I'm planning this to be Oozy-Goozy Three Cheese Risotto. A local chef just offered me Alex's tip about cooling on flat pans - something I hadn't thought of before, but I realized why as soon as I read it! Alex - where do you cook??

You can get the Dexter knives in most Chinatowns and from some restuarant supply stores (SS Kemp here in Cleveland sells them, www.sskemp.com). The Dexter knife is how I became friends with JoMel! Back around 1989, after I attended her cooking classes and fell in love with her cleaver, she offered to let me accompany her on her next trip to Chinatown and she helped me pick it out. We wound up going to see a Chinese movie, "The Story of Qui Ju" and the rest was history!

I am planning to pre-cook the risotto about 85% of the way in advance, and finish it on the site of the party. I am planning to do both the prep and final cooking in an 18qt. electric roaster. I have 2 roasters, if needed. I was hoping to get an idea of how much arborio rice I want to start with, by weight.

I am planning to make risotto for a party of about 150 people, to be served on a lunch buffet with Brisket, Gravy, Noodles, and a small salad bar. How much raw risotto should I start with? How much liquid should I anticipate needing? Thank you all in advance for helping me with this!

Temp-tee was de riguer in my house when I grew up in NY. Now that I live in Cleveland, it can be hard to find. Interestingly, because Kraft now owns Breakstone, there is also a whipped Kraft product - which I was just forced to try at Yom Kippur because I couldn't get any Tempt-tee. Look at the ingredients - they are a little different - and the taste and texture is definitely different. I want my Temp-Tee!! Oh - and are there people who toast fresh bagels? Any cream cheese would melt!

About a year ago, I became very sick while visiting my parents. By evening, I had made an appointment with the doctor for the next day, but had a horrible sore throat and was coughing. My usual home remedy for this would be brandy or Sambucca - so I went into Dad's liquor cabinet. Most of the bottles were more than 10 years old - and I must have tried about 4 or 5 of them - they smelled horrible and tasted worse! The miniature bottles of Sambuca that came from my grandmother were like turpentine! So - I think the answer is - most cordials and sweet liquors will keep for some period of years - but they will "go" at some point - and you'll know it! In fact, I was just served Sambucca at an Indian restaurant last week that was reminiscent of those yucky minis - the bottle was almost empty, and I suspect that they don't sell a lot of it.

Just picked this link up on another e-board. While the news is mostly sad - it was bittersweet to see photos of Finis Shelnutt sticking by Alex Patouts and making beans and rice on the sidewalk using a propane stove. He was so kind to us when we visited NOLA in July! http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/dining/2...i=5070&emc=eta1

Pam - what a great question! Growing up in my house, my mother was descended from Galicians , and my dad from Hungarians. Mom liked hers sweet and with raisens, and dad liked it "salt and pepper" with paprika and no sugar or raisens. Dad's way won, and to this day, zaltz und pfeffer is the only way I ever make it. Raisens - ick!

Do I hear an E-Gullet Dinner in the making? I would be receptive to PMs or e-mails from potential dining companions to join us to sample the BER, Carbonara, and other good stuff. Bob and I will not be available this Friday, but the next BER day is Friday October 7. Since I'll have been feeding 150 people out of a hotel room the weekend before, I'll be more than up for letting Dominic do the cooking then! Please do not post responsively here, but use the PM/Email system.

Just got to fondle a Bluestar last weekend while visiting my parents in NY - and my husband and I fell in love! It is so clean and simple. My friends in Dayton have had one for about a year and they love and recommend it.

Here is a link to a photo from last night of what the carbonara looks like as the dish finally evolved. http://flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/34.../in/set-767860/

Two advantages, from what I've seen. One, it is cheaper. Two, granite tiles you can do yourself. You order the tiles (around here, nobody keeps them in stock) and rent, borrow, or steal a tile saw for a day or two. It's pretty much like any other tiled countertop, except that the tiles are granite. A slab typically needs to be installed by someone else (or three or four people, depending on the size of the slab) and you hope they measured things properly before they cut out the sink. MelissaH ← Are granite tiles "solid surface" enough to undermount a sink?