jsmeeker

I find it fascinating that Las Vegas is sending a restaurant to New York. The typical move is for restaurants to go from places like New York or Paris to Las Vegas. Such a great feather in the cap of Las Vegas. OF course, I hope the Las Vegas location doesn't slip or falter. (Not that I really think it will). I don't know much about Thai. But I have been to LoS in Las Vegas. Ordered a bunch of stuff. They even gave us the separate northern Thai menu, so we had at least one dish off of that. My only regret was not ordering the sticky rice for dessert.

Oh... I'll also "bully" people of the use of the word/term "BBQ". Grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts, sausages, etc. on your grill is NOT BBQing. It's cooking. It's grilling. It's tasty. But BBQ it is not.

What do I "bully" people about? The use of vodka to make a Martini. Really, I guess I don't care if they make a drink that involves vodka and vermouth and an olive. But I implore them to not call it a Martini. After I am done, I try to sneak them a cocktail made with gin.

Julia Child vs. Rachael Ray. Both were/are Celebrity TV cooks. Both were/are popular. Both female.

By easy to work, are you talking about kneading or stretching/rolling (or both)? I guess they're related, but during kneading you can work through it by force (either by using a modern machine, or using the Julia Child method of beating the dough against a board as though employing a medieval flail against a belligerant Huguenot). Chicago Deep Dish doughs are a joy to work with because you don't want to develop much, if any, gluten. Just mix to incorporate. The result is something like biscuit dough that readily mashes around in a pan. But for regular pizzas you want the gluten development. Hydration is a factor as well. Highly hydrated doughs will be looser and seem to be easier to work, but they can be stickier - and sneakier - contracting over time (especially on an oiled surface). So that 12" round you rolled out may well be 10" by the time you check back on it. Rest is probably the most important factor. Once a dough seems to be working against you, give it the cold shoulder and walk away for 5 minutes. It will relax. Then you can sneak up on it again and impose your will. I think tossing probably came about as a way of coaxing the dough with minimum violence and a maximum of finesse. Although tossed pizzas aren't generally my favorites, the technique does seem sound (and is impressive when performed well). One afternoon I devoted some time to learning this technique. Just as I was starting to see some indications of success, I realized that an 8 foot ceiling just wasn't going to be sufficient. Stretching to shape to make the actual pizza. I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer to mix/knead. Also, a food processor. I've used that before as well.

My issue isn't really with dough sticking to the peel or to my hands. It's just stretching it out evenly without tearing. My standard dough is one that rises for 24 hours in the fridge. I do find that it's easier to work after another day, but not nearly as easy as I would see when watching a real pizza place do it on TV. Dunno if I over mix/knead or under mix/knead. It's just one of the things I kinda struggle with in the the kitchen.

I've done the parchment thing before when rolling the dough out with a rolling pin. But what I really want is to be able to easily work it with just hands.

I'm always on the lookout for a better pizza crust recipe/method. I like to make pizza, but I always seem to have a lot of issues making a dough that is easy to work with.

Do you sear it off in a hot skillet or do you use a blow torch like Blais did?

For Christmas dinner dessert, I made a Tres Leches cake. Did it as a simple sheet cake. Turned out pretty good, except that the batter didn't get spread evenly in the pan. One corner had very little batter, so it was thin and really dry. Thankfully, there was enough to go around that I didn't have to worry about serving that portion.

I watched the burger episode last week. Has anyone tried to make a burger via sous vide?

Last time I bought some, they were 5 for $1 at the local "fancy pants" supermarket (Central Market). They actually have better prices on limes than the standard mega marts. Been a while since I have been one of the nearby ethnic markets lately. Dunno what they are charging these days.

Is there anything in general that is odd about Gordon Ramsey having a place on the strip? No way. If Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy, Joel Robochon, Wolfgang Puck, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Hubert Keller, Jose Andres, Laurent Tourendel, etc. etc. can have one (or more), than so can Gordon. Is it OK if it's a steakhouse? I suppose. Mario has a fantastic one. And I'm told that Wolgang's is top notch, too. Honestly, I think it's great he is going to be on the Strip. But to be frank, I think I would prefer his place to NOT be a steakhouse. And I think another property would be more fitting for him, too. Caesars is the most obvious spot, but *maybe* Planet Hollywood would work.

Just finished watching the first episode. (the pizza one), Kinda interesting. Not so sure what I thought about the pizza he whipped up. Mozzarella spheres seemed awkward. And did injecting CO2 into his dough starter really do anything? Wouldn't those bubbles have deflated while mixing? And what happened with the dehydrated tomatoes you saw him working on? You just him work on them, but he never said anything about them and you never saw them again.

I would add another vote for the "Discovery" menu at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. I'm not looking up the website at the moment, but it ought to be open then. I do know lots of places are closed that time of the year. I've been to Las Vegas at that time of the year the past three years. But on one of those trips, I did go to L'Atelier. If you like it Frenchy, it's a great place.

So The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas opened up earlier this week. Interesting lineup of restaurants. A Greek place? That's a really interesting. A Chinese/Mexican fusion place? I suppose if anyone can make that work, it would be Jose Andres. They too are jumping on the burger craze that is sweeping the dining scene. But from what I've heard so far, it seem to be a contender. In any case, I wish the folks at Cosmo the best of luck. They are really gonna try hard, I think. Gonna try to do things maybe a little differently. Looking forward to checking things out in 2011. Also, it will be the LAST place to open out there for a LONG time. That means we won't see a big collection of restaurants pop up all at once for a LONG time.

I can't throw a pair of dice without hitting a steakhouse in Las Vegas. The pairing of Gordon Ramsey with Paris is an odd combination. It's a decent mid-market Harrah's (err.. I mean Caesars) joint, but really doesn't say "really famous chef" like Bellagio, Wynn, Venetian, Caesars, etc. do. Will people go because of his celebrity? Sure. Just like they flock to Mesa Grill. Will he do better than the top steak joints like Carnevino or Cut? Dunno, Can he get away with something like that in Paris? (the casino.. not the city in France)

I got my 2010 McRib fix a few weeks ago.

Hash House is up and running at the IP. It's been there for several months now. Also, they recently opened a location at the M Resort. Not really my kind of place, though. Typically, I get turned off by a place where the claim to fame is really gigantic portions.

I have a pot of chili simmering away on the stove right now. Used cubed chuck. Ground up some dried anchos (after toasting them in a skillet). Browned the meat. Reserved. Cooked onions, red bell pepper, and garlic. Added in the ground ancho powder, plus some standard commercial chili powder and ground cumin. Cooked that for a few seconds. Added beef back in. Covered with Shiner Bock (this is a beer). Brought to a simmer. Tossed in some tomato puree after about 30 minutes. There was some salt added, but I think I should have salted the beef while cooking it. Still has a long way to go to get the beef nice and tender. Need to thicken it, too. Will do this with masa harina. Will eventually add some tomatoes. I have a canned of whole tomatoes. Will just chop them up with a kinfe. I might ad beans to it. Not sure. When I do add beans, I ad them late in the game, and just from a can.

I've had the Bouchon quiche before. It was great. I love the amount of custard. But I really like any kind of custard. So, for me, it's perfect.

Yikes.. $150. I've wanted a grinder attachement for my KA. I know the KA branded one is wimpy. What else is out there besides this spendy German one?

The Bravo website also notes that Anthony Bourdain will be on TC 8 as a regular guest judge.

I didn't start watching until season 3, so I don't know too much about the season 1 and 2 people, but I have seen some of those people in subsequent TC shows. (Marcel and Stephen) My favorites are going to be Tre, Casey, Richard, and Jen C.

Certainly for Top Chef. Probably for any cooking competition show. And would be a leading candidate for worst in ANY reality genre. And guess what? We get to see MORE of it. Ughh.. It just takes so much away from what could be a good show.