Octaveman

Okay, the first link is to a online retailer that carries Murray Carter knives. His Nakiri is by far the best you can get. His knives are 100% hand made and have the best geometry. The high grade series is clad with stainless and usually have a white steel core. The exposed carbon steel portion is about 3-5mm from the edge so that will be the only place the patina will form. They currently don't have a Nakiri in stock but what they get from Murray changes frequently so check back often or give them a call inquiring about a nakiri. The ideal size is close to 6 sun or 180mm or 7 inches. You can also email him to find out if he has any high grade nakiri's in stock too (get ebony handle with buffalo horn ferrule). He just might. carter.cutlery@verizon.net Murray Carter Some other suggestions include.... Sakon Damascus Kumagoro Tojiro DP Damascus Tojiro DP non damascus All of these knives above are great performers and cannot go wrong with any of them. People who own them speak very highly of these over any others that have been tried and are their respective go-to knives every time. I would highly suggest the Carter though. Mainly because it's hand made and perfect in every way. If you contact Murray and the wait for one of his knives is too long, then get the inexpensive Tojiro DP to tied you over until it's ready. It will be worth it.

The one I'm getting is from Kikuichimonji. Not the same Kikuichi that has a store in New York (or NJ, can't remember). HERE'S a pic. Damascus clad with blue steel #2 core. Oooh, this is going to be fun. I'll get back. Still looking for stainless? how about stainless clad with a carbon steel core?

No problem. While I'm not an afficiando with the Nakiri (actually have my first one arriving tomorrow from Japan) I can most certainly recommend a few for you to look over. First question is how much did you want to spend? Obviously more will get you a wider variety of choices but I can't recommend something without knowing your budget. Oh, and I'm assuming stainless is your main criteria?

I'm actually not sure what you're talking about. Cleaver looking models? You mean Nakiri?

A few. I haven't had any experience with the Ken Onion but I have had the chance to feel the regular 10" chef out and to me was noticably blade heavy. Maybe someone out there who has the KO will chime in about the design. Shun's are really good knives but like any knife made of steel, the edge will start to give way. What knives stay sharper can be largely subjective since you're also at the mercy of your knife skills and how you use them. Coming from using ceramic knives, it wouldn't be prudent to think that the Shun's will mimic the "never needing sharpening" that is pitched with ceramic knives. Ceramic knives have many flaws. Steel bladed knives have flaws too. The biggest one is that they need to be sharpened on occasion. The steel that's used will either make you have to sharpen often or not so often. The steel that's used will either get and hold it's edge longer than other blades or it won't. The steel Shun uses is not a magical steel that keeps it's edge for a very very long time. VG10 is a great stainless steel and WILL stay sharper and for longer than any Euro knife but your style will be a contributing factor to how long that edge will last. I can safely say that the Shun can get sharper that your ceramic knife so no worries there. It will need periodic maintenance to keep it that way, though, but that's just the nature of the beast. It's not a carefree tool. It will need periodic sharpening. Shun's are a really good brand of knives. There are some things about them I don 't care for but that's just me. The VG10 steel they use is top notch giving near carbon steel performance in a stainless. I feel there are better knives out there for cheaper but if the KO design is what you're considering then those knives can't compare as the KO design is definately unique.

Sometimes my choices are determined by how empty the shelves are. If a particular brand is low on stock my assumption is it must be good if the shelf is near empty. Of course this has some flaws as some good stuff may have been just stocked but hey, it's my method damnit. Here's the thing too with stuff like fish sauce, soy sauce, chili sauce, etc. It should taste good to you. There are brands that Kasma recommends and they're a great starting point. But unless you buy 6 bottles of fish sauce and test taste them all chances are you will never realize the subtle differences between them. Given the fact that I don't cook Thai, for example, everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner it takes me at least a month to go through a large bottle of fish sauce. Each time I'll go buy a different brand and use it in my curry or stir fry and given all the other flavors of my dishes, I honestly cannot tell the difference. But if I taste them right out of the bottle side by side, I can tell the difference. But how does this difference translate to the food you cook? If I cooked the same dish with different brands and tasted them side by side, I may or may not be able to tell the difference. What's my point? I don't know. HA. I think in my current sleepy rambling state I'm trying to say it's probably not necessary to worry so much about recommendations and just go with your taste buds. The stuff is certainly cheap enough to do some experimentation with several different products. Buy a few different brands and see for yourself. It's very clear the differences between them when you do side by side tasting. I might as well go home as I'm not being very productive here at work. Hope some of this made sense.

The Emile Henry, Le Crueset tagines that are cooking vessels are just that IMHO. They do not give the "seasoning" that comes with cooking with it. By this I mean that the clay over time will absorb flavors and contribute to the foods' overall yumminess that you can't get if the tagine is glazed or made of metal. A glazed or metal tagine is then just a way to get your food cooked. So, I recommend getting an unglazed tagine if you want to reap the benefits of using one. I have the rifi and use it often for slow cooking foods on the stove. Clay is a fantastic medium for cooking food. A Simmer Mat should be used with it but even still, the food will get hot and cook just fine. Smithy is right about the painted tagines...for serving only. Here is a great webiste that has authentic imported tagines. www.tagines.com

Ditto Catalina Offshore Products. I'm fortunate enough to be able to go pick up fresh stuff whenever I want. Great place, very high quality fish, highly recommend.

Becca, yummy lookin burger. What did you think of the coke brined chicken? Looks great too! Kim, he's an Ebony Ticked Oriental Shorthair. They look very much like an Abby but with a more siamese twist. I used to show him but became too busy to continue. He is very vocal and super loving. My mom had an abby and while intensley independant, he was lots of fun.

Goddess, that's his normal "I'm just sittin here" look. Shaya, for the past few weeks local grocery stores have been competing with 2 for $5 sales going back and forth. I just happen to go in one night and saw these. I grabbed the only two this size. I have another picture with one next to my daughters head...the artichoke is bigger.

Nothing special tonight: bbq'd some chicken and had this HUMONGOUS artichoke. You might not be able to get perspective from the pic but it was 7 inches wide. This was by far the biggest artichoke I've ever eatin and very tasty too. Btw, the cat's name is Rocky and he's the cat who loves corn on the cob that I've mentioned before.

I'd say get the round one. I think it's still big enough to handle just about anything and the color is better. Plus, when you brown foods in the pot, you're not dealing with the sides of the oval that are outside of the burner.

That's what I thought, Gabe. The incorrectly labeled Coq au Vin pot is what threw me.

I know Gabriel. I was just poking fun at the various list price v. Amazon price differences. I already have the 7qt oval and don't really need another piece right now. I also have a Chamba casserole I do smaller braises with. The ones that are really on sale are great deals for sure. I did have one question though I hope someone can answer. The Coq Au Vin 6 qt cocotte that looks the same as the Mussell pot? Is it really that much better than using a standard cocotte for the dish? A $130 savings is pretty substantial. Can this be used for other things as well? What's the purpose behind it's design? thanks

It cracks me up when they have a sale on something and you get 5 cents off or maybe even a dollar.

Aw come on...it's not that big a deal. Just the other day, I put my 5k stone on the counter and honed up one of my chef knives. Literally, three swipes per side and I was done. Once the investment is made in good stones, they will last a very very long time. I've had my stones for over two years now and they show very little signs of wear. I've seen that name, Goldhamster, before. It would be interesting to see them in person.

I’d be glad to although I’ve never used a Garasuki. The Honesuki: a small (150mm), tough, stiff, thick, heavy knife that does a great job of boning chickens. I’ve primarily used a Honesuki for my boning needs until just recently. It did a wonderful job and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it. The tip is really good for getting around small bones and tendon’s. Since it’s stiff it will not yield to pressure like a western boning knife. This knife has plenty of knuckle clearance too that I felt was a big plus over western boning knives. It can go through joints and smaller bones (ribs) with ease. On the negative side, I’ve always felt the Honesuki was a tad too short. The Garasuki: I only know one person that has one and he say it’s definitely different from it’s baby brother, the Honesuki. Heavier, thicker, longer (180-190mm) and taller (spine to edge). He also feels that it will do the job at hand very nicely saying it has a great feel in the hand. It’s essentially just a larger Honesuki. Don’t let the pics on JCK.com fool you…it is considerably larger. A few things found on the internet that were mentioned on another forum… Note #1 Honesuki: for boning poultry Garasuki: for chopping poultry Note #2 The Garasuki knife is a traditional Japanese knife and has no Western counterpart. It originated in specialized chicken restaurants, and is traditionally used for breaking a chicken down into pieces. Due to its thickness and weight, it can also be used for other jobs that require heavy work with a short knife. The Deba: I have a 240mm western Deba and while it does a great job of breaking down a chicken, it is not all that easy to use to bone chickens because it’s so wieldy. I know someone who uses a 165mm western Deba to bone chickens and he says it’s a great knife for that purpose. Since I already feel the honesuki is too small for me I wanted to try something bigger. I took a chance on a traditional 165mm Deba because the smaller western Deba that a friend has is not available and won’t be for a long time. Tojiro actually has two deba’s around the 165mm size…the western style #F-813 and the traditional single-bevel style F-601. The F-601 though is quite light for a Deba weighing less than the Honesuki. I would rule it out based on that alone as you want some heft to the knife. So, you got a short, sturdy, made for boning chickens knife. You have a larger heavier duty knife with the same shape as the smaller one. You got a heavy-duty knife that has a different profile but could be easily used for chickens too. What we have is three knives that will do the same job but are considerably different. This is going to come down to personal preference. If you’ve never used a Honesuki before it’s going to be hard for you to determine if you want a bigger/heavier knife or not. I’ve used a Honesuki for a few years for chickens and just got the Deba shown above. While I enjoy using it, it is heavier than I’m used to so time will tell. I am in the minority with my Deba for boning chickens so I would say go with the Honesuki first if you’re looking for a boning knife. It's my guess you'll love using it. Hope this helped. Bob

Tonight I tried a recipe for Orange Peel Beef that someone on another forum gave me. Came out pretty good but there are a few small changes I would make to suit my tastes. It was accompanied by stir fried baby bok choy in a tasty Chinese white sauce.

Is there any issues with the type of top it has? ie. glass, ceramic or other? Do you think using the total wattage per $1 is a decent way to compare different stoves that make the top five? I ask this because of all the possible variables that may exist with stoves. I haven't started researching stoves yet but if it's anything like trying to buy a digital camera, I'm in trouble. What are some of the determing factors I should rely on when making the purchase? Is it really as simple as overall size, surface material, burner wattage, burner size and burner style? Oh, and cost? In looking at the Miele's (which are quite nice BTW) I really like the double burner thing. My biggest complaint about my current stove is that the burners are not big enough for my pans. I'd like at least one 9-10" burner and if it can't be round, then the oval double burner would work. Thanks again for everyone's input.

How many more do you want? Google has 2,060,000 choices. Unless you go uber specialized in your spice needs, you will find everything you need at what's been mentioned already. Is there a particular spice or shop you're looking for?

I dropped my knife and rather than try to grab it before it fell to the floor, it was all I can do to get my feet out of the way in time. I didn't. A trip to the emergency room and three stitches later across my big toe, I was back home. Never again will I cook in my bare feet.

HA! hey moggi

Oh, another question...is there a price point where I won't be getting any additional value for my money? A $1,500 stove is no better than a $1,000 stove for example. I guess I could total the watts of all the burners and get a price/watt and use that as a comparison tool.

www.thespicehouse.com

http://www.catalinaop.com/Sweet_Shrimp_Amaebi_s/66.htm