Tsulli1

Didn't see a ICA 2009 thread yet. Anyone see the recent battle "fresh beans"? Thoughts? I enjoyed Joe Bastianich's judging. He seems even meaner than Steingarten.

Celery Root has a very rough, outer surface.

A few thoughts: I thought it was fairly depressing documentary overall. One of the first phrases out of Sirio's mouth was: "I hate this business." Pulling Henry Kissinger aside after lunch for his opinion on the new location of Le Cirque was... interesting. One thing I wasn't clear on, when they talked about "the number 14" was that $14,000 per month for rent at the Bloomberg building? If so, HOLY HIGH RENT BATMAN!

top chef airs on food network in canada? not bravo? ← Speaking of Food Network, does anyone know what the concept is of this new show with Ted Allen on FN? I think its called 'Chopped'. It looked sort of Top Chef-ish from the commercial...

All I'm saying is...this is supposed to be Top Chef, not Top Caterer, not Top Opportunist, not Top Convict, not Top Homemaker, and certainly... not Top Scallop!

How do they go from Chef Grant Achatz to Ex-con Martha Stewart? What's up with that? I got hint of that insider-trading, corrupt, shadiness when she leaned over and winked to Ariane "From one Jersey girl to another."

Never actually been, but I've heard good things about Tank Noodle.

Dunno, but it certainly wasn't a good advertisement for GE Profile products either way.

Didn't one of the contestants question the credentials of the Today Show "judges" to choose the winner? I too wonder whether Kathie Lee's reaction to Jeff's dish is simply a reflection of her unsophisticated taste in food, and not a reflection on Jeff's dish at all... I would be very much surprised to learn that the TC judges would have selected an offensive tasting dish for the "gourmets" of the Today Show. ← It was Jeff who said his food was going to be "judged at 6AM by a group of women with unsophisticated palates." I can't tell due to the magic of editing, but I wonder if the interviews with the contestants are done before or after the competitions.

Keller describes it himself in The French Laundry Cookbook. Except I think bunnies are somewhat cuter than eels. This is very much an individual perspective-based issue. I often go on fishing trips to northern Ontario where we have native Ojibwa guides. I would generalize that they often have more respect and reverence for nature than the average person, as the woods and river provide their livlihoods and have for generations. However ,I have seen (what I consider to be) brutal things happen to fish while they are being dispatched for lunch. Although, I cannot say I've ever seen anything go to waste. I suppose the mere act of killing your food doesn't necessarily create immediate respect for it, but I have to imagine it can contribute to enlightening most individuals. And although I am not a hunter or farmer, I've had numerous arguments with individuals who believe the act of hunting is immoral... yet they love a good burger.

Trying to remember what Morimoto did with Ostrich egg when he went up against Wolfgang Puck on Iron Chef. All I remember is him drawing a circle around it with a sharpie and going at it with a hacksaw. That's entertainment!

Its true, unfortunately we have only a couple of small parks, only 1 China town, only 2 zoo's... ...and a major shortage of arrogant New Yorker's.

"The most difficult knife cut" Brunoise? Apparently this person has never heard of a tourne.

This one has always worked well for me.

Thank you for one of the more entertaining threads in recent memory.

My wife and I went for Valentines day last year and they offered a special blended menu (both seafood and meat/game). Chef Velasquez does a nice job. I believe they also offer an a la carte menu. We enjoyed our meal and the service was great. It surprises me that they would not make substitutions or mix it up on the degustation menus.

You could always freeze it, accumulate enough and sew together a skin suit a la 'Silence of the Lambs' "It rubs the gravy on its skin; It does this whenever its told."

Cracklings can be a nice garnish for salads. Render the fat out and then dry the skin and cut it into a julienne.

http://www.roseschocolatetreasures.com/

I am actually nearing the end of my culinary school program. I'm working on a professional cooking certificate (not a degree) because I already have bachelors and masters degrees in another field. Due to disappointment with the average quality of the education at my school, I would have quit some time ago but recently I have found 1 or 2 great chefs that have taught me a TON during my last two semesters. I think its more about their passion for food and cooking than about their experience in the kitchen. However they both have alot of experience in the kitchen. They are all CEC's at my school but the difference in their dedication to the profession and quality of our education is staggering. Do you have a job? If I were you, I would go out and do everything that you can to get a job (now) at a place that most closely matches your ambitions for the future. Even when I got a degree in business, I never learned more than on the job. The classroom is only a classroom. If you don't have a degree yet, and are working toward an associate's, I would not encourage you to quit. Yes, its a piece of paper, but it can open doors that would otherwise stay closed. Instead I would question what the other student's qualifications/motivations were for providing the critique that he/she did. Yet he/she stuck with it and finished???

Does anyone know about the science of nitrosamines as it relates to cooking bacon? I know that these substances form when bacon is cooked at high temperatures (e.g. in a pan on the burner). I was wondering if cooking it at the lower temp in the oven (such as described above) reduces or inhibits their creation?

Was there 3 weeks ago. I was not impressed with Union. Crush was much better.

Good point. Perhaps it was just regular fluorescent lighting in the display case...

Doesn't a UV light serve this purpose? I recently visited Salumi in Seattle and it looked like their chamber was lit with UV lights to keep the microbes at bay. Edited because I responded to the wrong post initially.

You could always try going through these weasels: http://nyc.tablexchange.com/