highchef

On my new cooktop, RF is large and high btu, LF is the simmer burner and small. the two back burners are of midrange btu's, one large, one small. continuious grate. I like this one, the last one blew up. twice. ouch.

I don't get the go suck eggs reference either...While I don't eat raw eggs as a rule, I do like them a bit wiggly..is this a bad thing? Is sucking eggs akin to blowing eggs? This could get deep. And dirty. And as our dear departed Zappa put it (since ducky brought him up) "Don't eat the yellow snow!" although that's not an insult, more a cautionary bit of advice.

I second the idea of 'shooters' uplink...more, there are oyster shooters (in shot glasses or oriental style ceramic spoons) and this lovely thing using your crab meatpea crab shooters. I'd use a spicy avacado recipe and modify the crab..it's the structure of the thing that's soo cool and so party time! That makes it easy to eat while you drink...a glass in either hand!

Has anyone put the icecube in the middle of the hamburger patty? I swear I read that somewhere, and I want to say it had something to do with James Beard. I'll have to find On Food and check it out.

WOW! that's cold! Mom needs one of those 714's!

perfect advice.

Yup. That method usually gives a nice texture on the outside too. Okay, on the meatloaf front, here's the big debate... red sauce or brown? ← Gravy please. Everything can be made better with gravy. Even meatloaf. ← but then there's creole sauce. They serve meatloaf with Creole sauce at Threadgills, here is the link to their meatloaf and their creole sauce recipe. The creole sauce is how I make it, and the critical issue with this recipe is the file' powder. I honestly don't think I'd bother making it without it. The meatloaf is good on it's own though, and once I was out of bacon and used chopped up panchetta on top and man it went over the top. good stuff. I made the best hamburgers ever last week, nothing but chuck steak sauce and s&p. I think the cooking technique is key to good burgers. I don't care what you put in them for flavor..hell truffles couldn't save an overcooked hamburger.

My undercabinet lighting- halogen, nice and bright with good color My hot water tap (right on the sink)- makes boiling water for pasta so much faster My sink- undermount and elbow deep, never have problems lifting heavy pots out but I also regularly slug around forty wiggly pounds of boy My microwave mounted undercounter with a deep drawer beneath "Steps" for my spices Electrical outlets every twelve inches or so as Goldie says, this is good. I can't vouch for the stove because I don't have the space for such a lovely thing and have wall units and a separate cooktop. This is because I refused to give up the sinks spot under a window. Amazing that I would give up the stove of my dreams so I could look out the window, sad but true. Could you show us what's on the other side of that east wall? I know you said a hall, but is that the living room with the patio doors? Is it load bearing? If you could tear it out between door openings, you could get a substantial island in there....

The cabinet issue is obviously new ones. to the ceiling, some clear glass. Lose the second entrance to the hall, and move all cabinets down, by that I mean toward the larger entrance. Use the end of the room for the stove/cooktop, but do 6 burners and a large bottom oven/s. That's a galley kitchen from the plans I've drawn, and the 2 cook kitchen comes from the back of the baguette you do for the dining area. Face 1 seat toward the south and another under the window. You do have to raise the window for this, but you'd be able to use the north seats/backs to achor the small half wall that will act as an optional seating area plus work area/buffet area. Keep the sink where it is, add washer. space over washer and corner is perfect work area. snug the refrig. next to the hall entrance at the end of the cabinets, or better yet, build it in to the right angle from the ovens. I look forward to seeing what you do.

I just made maple/oatmeal bread yesterday and didn't have the maple flavoring called for (I also used all ap flour instead of 2 c's of whole wheat, but I sub like that all the time) and used 2 tablespoons of maple syrup instead. It made a beautiful, high rise, just a hint of sweetness type of bread that dissappeared as toast this morning. I also put a teaspoon of cinnammon in there that you can't detect except as a little something.... any way, I think you can sub maple syrup pretty easily.

This link is the archive page to the herb companion magazine's web site. http://www.herbcompanion.com/view.asp?page=archives There are recipes for scented sugars, etc. I'm sure you can substitute your geranium for some of the other recipes. I know there is a rose geranium bath powder in there somewhere...I just use mine for potpourri. There is a place on richters.com that you can order books. There were several just on scented geraniums last time I looked. There is also a q&a page where you may get some more ideas. They have high quality herbs, I've always had good luck ordering from them. funny, cause they're in Canada and I'm in Louisiana!

The nearest WF to me IS Houston. Thanks for the heads up, I'll get some when I go in a couple of weeks. Thanks again, btw how much was it?

well that's 2 of us who can't use the quote function. Someday I'll learn how to post pictures as well. I too am out of my league with the Chinese cooking. I don't live in an area that's condusive to learning either, unfortunatly. I do try it as often as possible in larger cities, but to ask for specifics as to use a particular item...well, I just need a friend there to guide me. Vietnamese resturants and a Thai have opened recently. That helps my taste buds get familiar with the regions initially. The Chinese resturants that have been here for years have helped as well. I do have the Time Life series on the various cuisines of the world and need to break into it again when I have time. I am enjoying the vineagars I have, though, and the spicy/hot vs. sweet/cool have many, many places in the things I cook now. Like the Latin dinner I do with my island friends every 6 months. Lemon grass and Kaffir lime are common ingredients with Thai food. Every thing is connected, and the more I cook, the more I see that. Good vineagar is a gift. I literally, highly reccomend it as a wedding present! (aged basalmic...expensive, and only give it to someone you know loves to cook. It took me years to buy myself that present

isn't there a brownie recipe in the box? I'd try the stuff they've printed for you in that insert...I have several types though, but I think they've got brownies, and a hot chocolate recipe in that pamphlet included. I've done both, and the brownies were absolutely wonderful, ...if the recipes are different (one of the ones I did may have been for the bittersweet, I think it's like 85%, probably less) try them anyway, they usually give 3 or 4 applications for use. None with ingredients are harder to find than the chocolate itself (notwithstanding mailorder). Chocolate is to play with, not die over. In otherwords, use it darlin', use it. edit: the bittersweet is 70% the semi is 62%. The brownie recipe IS in the pamphlet in the box, and so is the mexican style drinking chocolate recipe,. it does call for cinnamon and chili pepper. It is very thick and good. I agree a mole would be ideal for this stuff.

I would just add that ginger is great for fighting nausea, candied ginger is excellent to have on hand just to nibble on. chopped up finely in scones it is wonderful and lots of calories if you use heavy cream. as an aside, when my mom wouldn't eat she was prescribed a pill that is derived from marijuana. it's legal (they took the 'good stuff' out) but expensive and the Dr. would have to prescribe it, but gave her a big case of the munchies....little piles of junk food all day long, and she'd eat regular food pretty well too!!

my oldest is a 40 year balsamic, used sparingly...I like it on perfectly cooked steak (rare). I use a 20 yr. old more often, and it is a wonderful thing...didn't pay near as much, for twice as much. not as syrupy but tasty anyway. I too feel like the slouch in this forum, I only have one asian and have never heard of black vinegar. But considering what's available on the grocer's shelves I guess I've done pretty well. I've mail ordered for most of my stuff and carried many a jar/bottle of good olive oil and vinegar on my lap in a plane. I'm going to A&M next month to drop some kids at camp and plan on doing a 4 day stay in Houston FOOD SHOPPING!! and I'm as excited about it as I've been about anything (except the trip to Ireland a couple of years back). Now I have something else to add to my shopping list...black vinegar. But what do I do with it once I get it???? I don't buy things to look at, I like to play.

..I just got my Balsamic yesterday. 2 really good (20 and 30 year, one will be a wedding gift) one everyday. apple tart organic cherry (homemade) red wine white wine rasberry balsamic...which I'm not yet sure of tarragon (homemade) Wow! this is getting personal! Next you'll be asking about my oils...or God forbid, the chocolate stash. Please don't make me count the chocolates. edit: I forgot the jug of white distilled, but I'm not sure that lives on the same planet as the others.

3 milks. More like a pudding, or a cake soaked in sweet milk. There's lots of recipes out there. I've used one from Foodtv.com and Epicurious.com, they're pretty much the same thing. If you like milky sweet things this is for you...next time I make it, I'm going to add something to cut it a little flavorwise. I'll check the recipes and see which one I like better. Gotta go to the dentist...so it'll be this afternoon. (sweets = dentist?)

Thank you all. My sister has been trying to find it for me at whole foods and Central market. Now I'm thinking she's looking for a Pepperidge Farm look alike.. Not knowing the brand name wasn't helping the search either. You know you're a foodie when you plan a shopping trip to Houston to get some good balsamic and puff pastry! (none of my friends will go unless I go to the Galleria. I need some new friends) I'll just pick up sis in the woodlands and off we will happily go in search of DuFours!

I know it's been discussed, I know how to make it, but I think you can fiind anything in Houston if you look hard enough. I cannot find the brand of all butter Puff pastry however. please help.

that was the bisque recipe I was thinking of earlier. The other would be easier, but I ask again "Is the crawfish searing necessary ?" and I would also add if I get into this (which I have to because I'm going to make another dish from Les Halles soon) why don't I make crawfish butter and use it for both dishes? I like bisque and I've got a ton of tails right now. If I made butter it'd save the mess of pan searing the live bugs, and I could make a large batch and use for seasoning all summer. The butter is made shells and all and well strained. I know my processor couldn't handle crab shells, but crawfish shells ought to be ok. If not, I guess it'll be time for a new one! bisque is also a recipe here for stuffing the heads. It's not as gross as it sounds. It's really the body cavity cleaned out. Very good stuff, well seasoned and sauced. Do check the motor on your food processor if you do the Les Halles version though!

In Folse' book he makes about 3 quarts of bisque with 2 lbs of tails and shellfish stock. 1cup flour for roux (which means 1 cup oil) 2 quarts stock and 1/4 cup tomato sauce. make a roux, throw in trinity 2:1:1 of onion, bellpepper and celery. slowly ladle in stock, add tomato juice and creole seasoning to taste.Add tails. He puts in tarragon and so do I, also add a couple spoons of chopped garlic to the trinity and salt and pepper to taste. I add a tablespoon or 2 of heavy cream in each bowl. I cannot remember where the recipe was that I saw for blending cooked shells and all and straining is. It may be another dish entirely.

if they're alive purge them in salt water for an hour or two before cooking. I like the bisque recipe in the new Folse book, but cannot look it up right now as I have to go get kids. I think a real bisque is made from shells and all, reserving some tail meat for garnish. will fill in the blanks in an hour or 2.

or just go drinking at the foot of the castle on Grassmarket. Man, what a hoot! The surviving member of '2 fat ladies' had a cookbook shop there but I never saw her. I wonder how developed the waterfront is in terms of good resturants. I never go to check on high end seafood resturants as I was strictly the tourist/chaparone. I'd send em to bed, go out for a pint or 2 and see them walk in 5 minutes later. There are too many back staircases in that hotel and It's impossible to keep teenagers locked up at night with THAT kind of night life going on so I pretended not to see them. I am soooo jealous.

We want pictures. ← Uh oh.....too late. Verbal discription..very soft white bread, hellman's mayo thinly spread on both sides and nuked precooked bacon that I usually use for salads doubled layered (its thin) inbetween. nothing else. Thought about cheese but was too lazy to slice and this was all about the bacon anyway. I'm gonna have to start keeping some nice thick sliced stuff around here. Well that's breakfast!