Octaveman

Thanks Joe for the tip. Hard to go down much further than the $18-$25 cost on the Paderno link I referenced but you never know I guess. There's a TJ a few miles from our house so I'll check them out. Homegoods is a little further away but if I find myself in the area I'll be sure to check it out.

I recently did some asking around and looking around on the internet for a good omelette pan. The majority of the restuarant quality pans appear to be pretty much the same. I mean, how many ways can you make an aluminum non-stick frying pan? I considered DeBuyer Choc, Paderno by World Cuisine, Swiss Diamond, Scanpan as well as just going back to the local Asian shops to pick up a $10 pan. Problem with the latter is while inexpensive and disposable they are incredibly cheaply made. The last two I bought both warped within a month and wouldn't sit flat on the burner. People seem to be so focused on the non-stick coating but forget about the basic pan quality which can vary with price. At 4mm thick they should be sturdy. So, while I do subscribe to the buy cheap philosophy for non-stick pans I won't be going THAT cheap anymore. I will be giving the Paderno a try and see how that goes. Below is the least costly place I found for them. I would also like to try the DeBuyer Choc pans some day too as I LOVE my black steel pan. http://www.culinarykitchenware.com/non-stick-cookware-3/aluminum-non-stick-frying-pan.html http://www.debuyer.com/product.php?id=69&cat=22&background=orange2

Awesome, Marlene, good to hear you're enjoying it. In my experiences with Japanese knives of varying brands, quality and price I have not found any issue with using them on hard veggies or Pineapple. As long as you don't use it like a machete you should be fine. There are two general things with a knife that would cause it to chip: 1) extremely acute sharpening angle and 2) a blade with high hardness. The hardness of the UX10 is around 59-60 I believe which means it's not SO hard that it is prone to chipping like many other Japanese knives at HRC 62 and higher. The stock angle that Misono puts on the UX10 I think is not so acute that you have to baby the knife either. These two things (lower HRC and strong edge) really do make for a well rounded knife you could do most anything with. I have knives in the HRC 64-66 range and sharpened very thin at the edge and the only thing I worry about is hitting bone on something. I've use them on pineapple, squash, chocolate and even half frozen meat with no ill effects. If chips do occur they are so small that I have to look REAL close and at the right angle to see them. Even then the edge is still intact and usable there's no need to freak out and get the knife sharpened. Bottom line is you have a workhorse of a knife, Marlene, don't be afraid to use it. Test it's abilities and it's limits. You will be very pleasantly surprised. Cheers, Bob

I believe this guy (his name is So) lives in Australia. Don't know where exactly but it's closer than the states. Send him an email and see if he sharpens other peoples knives. http://www.japan-tool.com/

Hmmm, I don't think it's repairable. Usage all these years put stress on the tang and probably just gave way. I say send it in and see what they say. Got nothing to lose at this point.

Went to Tommy's last night. It was the Veal Marsala that rocked my boat, not the Veal Picatta.

for the money, it's not worth it. then there's the issue of not getting it all off and you'll be eating stuff you wouldn't want to. You got two years out of a non-stick pan. That's good. go buy another one.

Of course, my knives but other than them...probably my woks and cast iron frying pans.

This is just a quick write-up on a visit I had a short while ago at Tommy's Italian Resturant and Deli on 2nd Street in El Cajon. http://www.tommysitalianrestaurantanddeli.com It's a nice little place with indoor and patio seating. We first went on Valentine's Day and sat on the patio. They had a guitar player out there and was playing some really good stuff. My wife and I both thought it greatly added to the embiance and gave him a nice tip at the end of our meal. The second time I went there was to pick up some deli meat and cheese and stayed for a quick pasta meal with the kids. The food both times I thought was excellent. On Valentines Day I had the Veal Picatta and not only was the portion pretty sizable it came out piping hot as if it only took 30 seconds from frying pan to table. The flavor was rich and not too runny like I've had at other places. The veal was not breaded and was very tender. I despise when restaurants bread their veal. Makes me think they're trying to hide something. The second time I went with my kids we just had some basic pasta dishes that again were delicious and lots of it as well. The service was also very good and the waiter did a very good job of understanding our questions and was never unsure of his responses. Service was very attentive as well. All in all each experience has been positive and will most definately go back. Matter of fact, we drive by it every day to pick up our kids and we've been trying to find the time to go. I'll try to get pictures next time. Good stuff.

I've tried tubs of peeled garlic and those vaccum packed bags of garlic and each time I keep coming back to buying whole garlic. It's been a year or two since I've used either pre-peeled product so things might be different but I doubt it. I also could've have used something other than Christopher Ranch at the time. The flavor was off for me and I had a hard time getting used to it. I'm also trying to remember if I had issues with the quality of the product as well other than flavor. Fresh garlic seems to have a snap to it when I mince it. The PPG seemed rubbery IIRC. Maybe brand is a significant factor here. At any rate, I always buy the 3lb. bag of garlic that Costco sells that I believe is from Christopher Ranch. I keep it in a deep drawer and pull out bulbs as needed. It only takes a minute to peel and mince plus the cloves are often quite huge so I'll end up only using one for my meal.

this is my favorite video breaking down a yellowtail with a deba then finishing off with a yanagiba. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ijoxvyD6E

Yup, I'm with Chris. I also use a ginger grater when I want pulp. Then I don't care if skin gets pulped.

I've heard nothing but good things on the Hon Kasumi knives at EE. I say go for it.

This is where I get mine. Very nice beans and wide variety. http://www.arizonavanilla.com/

I agree with Tuesday Morning. I've seen some nice stuff there.

Yeah, it's rare (no pun) that I put anything on top of my steak. If I do it's sauteed shrooms. Nine times out of ten it's salt/pepper and oregano then grilled.

Just deserved to be quoted.

Do nothing. It's happened to a few bottles of mine too. Not all brands do this either. I store my bottles in the pantry

Care to share the secret? How about the Mongolian Beef recipe Marlene mentioned? Cheers Percy Well, not sure how much of a secret it really is but the tips I was given were new to me and made a noticable difference for the better. I posted the recipe not too far down from the original post. What was changed/added was to first marinate the meat in 7-up overnight first then again in the marinade. I made two batches on back-to-back Saturdays and 99 Ranch had the same exact quality meat each time. The 7-up marinating made a HUGE difference to the tenderness of the meat. When I made it the first Saturday, the meat was tasty but terribly chewy. It was the complete opposite the following time using the 7-up. For example, if you wanted to make this for a Saturday, marinate in 7-up overnight on Thursday then again with the rest of the ingredients overnight on Friday. Change the marinade, don't add the rest of the ingredients to the 7-up. I hope I made that clear when I posted the recipe. The second thing was to add fruit...Kiwi and pear to the marinade. The kiwi and pear I think have some enzyme that helps to tenderize and add a real nice flavor to the meat. The third change was to use honey instead of sugar. Be sure to get at LEAST 4-5 pounds because a) there's not much meat on those ribs and b) you will eat your weight in Kalbi it's so good. It's so easy and it's become a favorite at my house. Edited to add link to Mongolian Beef recipe. http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1952.html

That's me for ya...always keeping them wanting more. Here it is.... Ingredients: 7-up 4-5 lbs korean style short ribs (aka Flanken I think) 3 cups lite soy sauce 1/3 cup of honey 10 cloves garlic crushed 2 Tbls grated ginger (pulp and juice) 6 green onions loosely chopped 1/4 cup sesame oil 1/4 cup sesame seeds 1 large brown Asian pear, smashed 2 Kiwi's, skinned and crushed First, marinate the meat submerged in the 7-up over night. This is to tenderize the meat. Second, combine rest of the ingredients and marinate the meat again over night. Squish fruit in your hands to get the pulp and juice into the concoction. Third, cook quickly over VERY hot coals or gas grill. Eat with slivered green onions, soy bean paste, ball of rice inside a lettuce leaf like a lettuce wrap. I got tired of making the lettuce wraps and just started mackin down on the meat by itself.

Thanks Marlene. It was certainly the best version I've made to date. My wife had to fight me for the last few pieces.

Made some Kalbi (Korean BBQ ribs) the other night. Was given some tips on how to make the meat super tender and for extra flavoring in the marinade. I must say it was the best I've had. Bag of ribs in marinade Grilling on super hot grill with added oil for extra flamage. When all done. I started eating the meat this way then gave it up to eat it off the bone. Much better that way I thought.

Do NOT take it to the mall knife shop. They will ruin your knife. Send to either of the places below. Both these places do them by hand on whetstones. They specialize in Japanese knives. http://japaneseknifesharpening.com/ http://www.epicureanedge.com/shopcontent.asp?type=sharpening

They can damage blades if you're careless with how you put them on and take them off. Always lift off edge side first and always put on spine side first. You're edges will not be affected. As Andiesenji said, slight magnetization will not harm the blade. There is a very nice magnetic knife rack that has no steel bars running across them that might scratch your blades. Very strong and very attractive. I have one of these too. http://benchcrafted.com/ edited to fix url.

The J.K. Adams Kangaroo blocks are very nice. I have the large one and it fits quite a bit of stuff. https://www.jkadams.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi...dd=action&key=H