ChefCarey

Thanks! A couple of weeks, I think...

And I didn't even start at the beginning. See, it was like this...one day in New Orleans _ I was six years old - my mother said we were going to the zoo (she knew I loved the zoo.) Hmmm, first time she had ever packed a bag to go to the zoo. 500 miles and one train ride later were in Evansville, Indiana. And, thus, she left my father. So, I've been at the zoo my whole life...never returned home. (Have been to New Orleans many times, though.) Thanks.

Gee, thanks. It's a mild, unassuming word soft around the edges, good color, with just a hint of tobacco and leather in the finish...

Thanks. Stay tuned. It just gets checkereder.

What size do you wear? We tossed *most* of it...

When I lived in Berkeley (next installment of my story) I had a black cat named Mycroft. Now, I have a black cat named Rasputin. (But, I call him Fatso - don't want him to get too full of himself.)

While there are those who would definitely argue I did not maintain my sanity, I am told some of what I learned is in the offing.

I hope that was a typo because otherwise this story just became a whole lot more sordid than I imagined . ← It's a typo. While my past may have a certain checkered aspect to it, I did draw *some* lines. Besides, they really weren't my type. I think, as I recall, I was going through my Jewish princess phase at the time. That one lasted a few years.

Duke and Priscilla - there's more on the way. If you were in the least entertained by this stuff, better fasten your seatbelts. ← Just one more thing and I'll get out of the way here. My Mercury was *much* niftier than that one! A real pimpmobile. Black, with a red leather interior and a white top. Harrumph.

Duke and Priscilla - there's more on the way. If you were in the least entertained by this stuff, better fasten your seatbelts.

I took a couple of English classes at Earlham after I left the baby casket factory. I liked the place a bunch, and could have gone there, but I wanted out of Richmond bad. Went to IU. Yes, the Miller Cafeteria was one of the very few "restaurants" in Richmond. Right up the street , on Main Street, was/is The JoyAnn Cake Shop. This was my stepfather and uncle's bakery. I did work there some, but there wasn't enough work and I made "relative" wages. Consequently, Bybee and Son... And, yeah, the Quaker culture was just about the only "culture" in Richmond. And I knew the bread and egg dish as "toad-in-the-hole."

Damn, I didn't mean to leave y'all speechless!

Sorry, I don't have time to go through this entire thread, and if someone else has already addressed this, I apologize. You'd better not "think Kraft" if attempting to make any of the classic Italian cream sauces, such as Alfredo. Much to my dismay I discovered one evening that the green cardboard cylinder did not contain a substance that acted like, well, cheese. The dish was Fettucine Alfredo and the scene was the cooking line in a busy restaurant. I had run out of the real deal and sent a dishwasher to a (upscale) nearby grocery to get some "parmesan." The only thing he knew was the Kraft stuff. He returned with a dozen of the green cylinders. We popped them all and dumped them into a couple of inserts for the line. It won't melt folks. It remains granular when added to the cream. It was downright nasty. I had to take the Alfredo off the menu for the evening.

These websites are really helping with my learning curve! Today is 5 hr brisket, more sauce testing, more rub testing. As you can see, I'm taking this from a part test kitchen mode (my other job) and part gung-ho ninja bbq mode-- both of which I specialize in. I'm working at my dad's house for the next few weeks as, it's bigger, cooler, and the smoker is on the same level as the apt (mine is five flights down--and up) It's a sweet apt and the kitchen is 1,000000000 times nicer than mine. For example, right now I have 5 briskets, 2 shoulders, 2 butts,7 lbs chicken thighs, 5 racks of ribs, and a whole chicken divided between the freezer and the fridge- I just couldn't do that at my place. I've decided on a team name Notorious P.I.G. For a while it was in contest with Piggie smalls and Blue state bbq...but it seems most people think it funny and cute, and says a little about me. I'm still looking for teammates, and it's really not as easy as you'd think, most people have real lives and responsibilities other than winning 'cue comps. I think everything will work out though. I'm going to try to post pictures of my setup to give you guys an idea what I'm working with. Please keep the ideas coming tips, techniques anything!!!! ← Hi, Emma, wish you well. I've been cooking barbecue for many decades. I've judged several years at the Memphis in May International Barbecue Contest. I've cooked in it as well. The past few years I've been doing demos for GMC (largest pavillion) at the contest. I doubt seriously if they have it trademarked, but there was team at this year's contest with the name Notorious PIG. You might want to check into it, though.

The trademark name perhaps is a cause of confusion. I've never heard it in that form, but it likely was well-used at one time, particularly in formal specs for ordering from vendors. The "Idaho" part of the name might have been dropped for easier day-to-day verbalization. . .(?) ← Actually, when I order from produce dealers with whom I have a relationship, all I order are "80-count bakers." That gets me a 50-pound box of nicely oval, #1, 10oz. Russet Burbank potatoes.

My fault, I wasn't clear. A decade ago when TFN asked us to shoot a pilot, this was what the production company received for the episodes. I had 50% of the profits from the production company. How's your deal?

When MacDonald's was frying fresh potatoes they could probably have been completely supplied by one kitchen garden-sized plot in southeastern Idaho. Although, actually, a relatively small area in southeastern Idaho is responsible for the majority of commercial Russet production, even if the entire state were wall-to-wall potato farms they could not supply today's MacDonald's needs in just the United States, let alone worldwide. In my most recent book, I, in fact, recommend the Russet Burbank as the best all-round high starch potato. It was developed in Colorado in 1914, has a relatively high specific gravity and is excellent for both baking and frying. You can come on out of that corner. I'm just about fried on the topic, although, not half baked.

Do you work for the "Idaho" Potato Board? The potato is a "Russet" and it don't make no nevermind where it comes from. Oh, and that 275 degrees is not acceptable for restaurant use. Too slow. Speed is essential on the cooking line and there is a wide degree of temperature variation possible on that first cooking, unless of course, one is doing pommes de terre souffle, as I did this week. 375 "kills" the oil too quickly for restaurant use.

Yep, Russet types are what you want to fry. High starch content. Do not attempt the waxy Rose type potatoes. [ Yes, we did all of that. We actually split the batch into 4 small portions. Does the choice of potatoe matter??? ←

A couple of possibilities here. But, only a couple. What quantity of oil did you have relative to the potatoes? We recommend never filling the basket more than half full. You temperature was fine, could even have been 360, but it does drop considerably when you drop the food in. If your volume of potatoes was too great you could actually have been cooking below 200 degrees. The potatoes will absorb tons of oil if this was the case. They will never crisp. Also, did you dry the potatoes before dropping them in the oil? Until the water cooks way the temperature of the outside of the potato cannot rise above 212. Secondly, if you did not allow the oil to come back to temperature after the first batch, the temperature could well have been too low. Same result. When you do this procedure properly, the technique works every time, without fail.

I am in absolute agreement with you. I think you have caught the essence of the meaning of the word "Philistine" with all three of your snob classifications. That being said, it seems to me Mr. Florence has proceeded beyond the pale here. He has sidled right up to and jumped over the fence. Simply because the money is deeper shade of green on the other side. This is only "good" for him. He has several successful books out there - one with the esteemed Sandra Lee, and while I have no idea what TFN is paying now, I know 10 years ago they were paying 25K per show. In other words, he is financially "healthy," "healthier" than well over 99% of the people on the planet. This is just about the working definition of the word "greed," my friend. In the money pit and grabbing with both hands. The reasonable core of his supporters in this decision are basically saying, "Let him get as rich as he can. After all, it's the American way." If that is their belief, I won't take them to task here. Those who think there is some kind of quality food product involved here are just misguided. I've had a number of my graduates work the battery of microwaves in the kitchens at Applebees. To paraphrase Alan Iverson, "Conscience? We're talking about conscience? It's just conscience."

To borrow a word from a former jock turned sports commentator, he "succame" a long time ago.

Maggie tells me we'll be up and running in about a week, Rebecca.

Thanks, Christine. I've already published a couple of cookboks, and am working on two other projects right as I type. Oh, and I will be having a short series here, shortly (when, Maggie?) on The Daily Gullet.

Gee, thanks, Amy!