jsmeeker

eat it? Give it to friends to eat? Mix it into coffee of chocolate ice cream, then eat it?

these little "Bisquettes" that the Bradley smokers use. Are they only made/sold by Bradley, or do third party companies make them?

most of the recipes for The Last Word call for equal parts gin, lime juice, Chartreuse, and maraschino. Edit: oops. I missed this in the bottom of the original post.

yup. It aired. I checked my Tivo this morning and I had an entry for the show on Now Playing. I selected it to make sure that's what was actually recorded, and sure it enough, it was. a new episode where Ann made mussels, a simple green salad, plus a warm fennel and grapefruit salad. Good episode. May be one of my favorite ones so far.

Yesterday, I had a really nice peach dessert. Part of it was a peach upside down cake. The other part was mini fried peach pies (my server also referred them to empenadas). Here is a pic of the dessert. You can see them in the upper right hand corner. I would guess that a lot of people that grew up in the South have had fried fruit pies. Some sort of dough, fruit filling, deep fried, then coated with a sweet glaze that sets up a bit to be "crunchy" So, help me re-create these at home. What kind of dough should I use? For the fruit filling, should I prepare the fruit in anyway before filling, or would nice ripe sweet peaches be OK on their own without any additional work? How about the glaze? Is it as simple as some powdered sugar, water, and maybe some lemon juice?

Had lunch at Fearing's on a HOT Saturday afternoon in Dallas. Started off with a cocktail. Several tequila based drinks on the small cocktail menu. This is the one I went with. La Paloma Tequila Cazadores Reposado House-Made Grapefruit Syrup, Grapefruit Flavored Soda I didn't want anything "hot and spicy", so I decided on this. Crab Salad with Avocado, Sweet Pepper Confit, Shaved Fennel and Smoked Carrot Cumin Vinaigrette Nice way to start. A good amount of sweet crab meat. Our waiter highly recommended this dish, so he was pleased when I ordered it. Coriander Crusted Georges Bank Sea Scallops on Coconut Rice Cake with Asian Greens and Spicy Watermelon Broth Scallops were sweet and were cooked well. The watermelon broth added a nice flavor element to them. I wasn't sure what to make of the rice cake, though. That was only so so. The greens were pretty tasty, though. The cocktail was to be my only one for the meal, so I needed some additional liquid refreshment. What better to order in Texas in the Summer? Iced Tea I like the iced tea service here. They do it right. BIG glass. Carafe of more tea. Tall and slender, so it doesn't really take up too much space. "Garnishes" brought on a tray. I always like to see simple syrup with iced tea. It mixes in oh so quickly with a proper long handled iced tea spoon. Why not go for my favorite summer fruit for dessert?? Peach Duo Upside down peach cake and mini fried peach pies with vanilla ice cream Once again, dessert here at Fearing's are great! I really liked this.

I was watching some show on Food Network this morning ( I think it was Jamie Oliver's show) and while it was on,the flashed up one of those big graphic promos for a new episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" airing on Sunday. I think that's a good sign.

I wouldn't use an electric sharpener on good knives. If you already have one, just use the final stage and pretend the first stage doesn't even exist. I'm all for learning to sharpen your own knives. If the price tag doesn't scare you off, the Edge Pro Apex is a great system. For a smaller outlay the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 is hard to beat. It comes with slots for 15 and 20 degree (per side) angles, which matches up nicely with most commercially available knives. Shuns, Macs, Globals, et al, come from the factory with 15-16 degree edge angles, so the Sharpmaker will work just fine on them. Even less expensive (and more rewarding) is learning to sharpen by hand. It really isn't that hard. It just takes a little practice. A good starting point is the King 1000/6000 combination stone. Oh, and a good book that covers sharpening might be nice, too If you are interested in maintaining your own knives, start with the sharpening gear and learn on your Forschners. The results may surprise you. You might find that you don't lust after the high dollar stuff quite so much. And if you do eventually get a Mac, you'll have the sharpening experience to take good care of it. Take care, Chad ← Thanks, Chad. I have no knife sharpener now. (just a steel) You pretty much confirmed what I suspected. I think the three stage electic Chef's Choice can cost in the $100 range, and it seems the Apex is in that same ballpark. I have a good idea on what my next kitchen gadget will be and what my next book purchase will be.

None of them will be contestants when they do the live Today show segment. The entire series is in the can, including the winner reveal epsiode, before the first episode airs. At least that's the way it worked with Season 4. With season 3, thy did the reveal live. So, I suppose at that point there were still three contestants left. But before that, everyone else had been eliminated before the first episode aired.

Does anybody have fond memories of Bennigans from the distant past? I've talked to other people about this, and it seems many people really liked going there. But in the past. And they all pretty much agree it has slid downhill a great deal since those fond memories. Did you watch your favorite sports team here? Did you go there all the time with co-worker friends for happy hour? Any GOOD stories?

All that is well and good, but the restaurants you went to may have had a slightly different demand. ← That's quite possibly true. (really, I'm sure it is) Still, I just have it stuck in my head that a bar's primary purpose is for drinking. Anyway, it's an interesting policy. Is it unique to Batali joints? Something common in NYC?

getting coupons from fast food restaurants has been going on for a long time. Even small local places do it. At least, i've seen them in my junk mail. Recently, I got a coupon for a free burrito, order of tacos, or burrito bowl from a nearby Chipotle. I kept that one and plan on using it soon. It will be interesting to see them adjust the "Dollar Menu". Will they make it the "Buck FIfty" menu? Or will they simply remove the double cheeseburger from the Dollar Menu and put it on the regular menu wit h a price bump? You are right that some will be mad. But don't forget all the people who get mad when a store or restaurant holds the price on something, but cuts the size. There are plenty of people who would simple prefer to get the same the (size, quality, etc) and just pay the extra money to do so.

By seat at the bar, do you mean at a table in the bar area or a seat/stool at the ACTUAL bar? Isn't an actual bar, even if it's in a restaurant, primarily for drinking? Also, bar seating is typically "first come first served". If they don't want the bar to be a place for drinkers, why not simply have a long communal table for solo diners or people who just want to show up? ← in New York, dining at the ACTUAL bar is very common. from what I've seen, much more so than any other American city. its a way for people to get around having to plan all of their meals weeks or months in advance. at all Batali restaurants besides Del Posto, diners are prioritized over drinkers at the bar. as someone who can't plan meals weeks in advance...I obviously like this. Lupa has a long communal table. its mainly occupied by couples and groups and the waits for it can be hours long, just like for the other tables. ← Over the past many years, I have traveled a lot for work, with a lot of that being solo travel. So, I've spent a lot of time having meals at bars. for the most part, I am more comfortable dining there solo as opposed to a table. Still, the thought of a bartender kicking someone out who is enjoying a cocktail or a glass of wine just so I can eat mortifies me. Really, I would never expect it to happen. Even if it WOULD benefit me (and there have been cases where the bar was full and I just couldn't sit down), it would make me feel really weird.

at this very moment, a bottle of Anchor Summer Beer.

ahh.. so, I did miss it!! thanks for pointing it out.

I did the over night air dry thing 'cause Cook's Illustrated told me to. They usually do a good job of actually testing various methods, so I generally trust their advice. As mentioned in my method (well, it's really CI's) , I AM brining mine, so the skin is wet. I am not sure I could dry it well enough with paper towels. Certainly not as dry as it's going to get with a long air dry in the fridge. When my chicken comes out, the skin is very tacky. And I get killer results with crisp skin. But back to TK's method really quick. The link a few posts back shows a recipe that lists butter in the ingredients. Yet nowhere does he call for it's use. In fact, he says that he DOESN'T use it, but suggests you can. Reading further, I thought it would be used to make the sauce for the bird. But it's not. Am I missing something? Or should that recipe list the butter as optional, as it does with the thyme?

that's why I'm surprised we don't see the "details" here. It's so unlike other shows on Food Network. I would think that a show would have a lot of input from higher levels in the network and that they would inist on more specifics. I wonder what kind of feedback they get from normal viewers? It would be interesting to see.

next time I cook a whole chicken, I am going to have to give TK's version a whirl. My mormal go-to method is to brine it, spatchcock it, dry it in the fridge overnight, then high heat roast it.

Thanks to the economy, is this a sign of things to come, as the article suggests? I'm more worried about the local mom & pop restaurants and try to give them my business when I can afford it. ← That's a fair question. I don't know what the restaurant scene is like where you live, but in the Dallas area, it's been getting very bad lately. Lots of closures. Small local places. Places that are part of larger restaurant groups, but not really "chains" in the coventional sense. This just adds onto it, especially since they are based here in the Dallas area. But Mike has a valid point. This chain isn't exactly what a lot of people would describe as "good". We all know how competitive the industry is. It can be tough to survive even in the best of times if you can't keep up, adapt to changes, deliver good food and service, etc.

By seat at the bar, do you mean at a table in the bar area or a seat/stool at the ACTUAL bar? Isn't an actual bar, even if it's in a restaurant, primarily for drinking? Also, bar seating is typically "first come first served". If they don't want the bar to be a place for drinkers, why not simply have a long communal table for solo diners or people who just want to show up?

ah... thanks! good idea on caramelizing the onions first. I actually did that for some tacos I made over the weekend. Maybe I could roast some poblanos, too. Something else I did for my tacos. Oh, and you are not alone in liking pineapple on pizza. I like too.

I've made pizzas at home many times. I've used a few different dough recipes for the crust, but when it comes to topping it, I've kept really static. And pretty "traditional" Always Muir Glenn canned sauce. Pepperoni slices. Mozzarella cheese. frequently, some parmesan. Maybe some sliced mushrooms. But that's it. It's never been different from a typical pepperoni pizza from a local pizzeria. But it was time to experiment. Change things up a bit. Because I love Mexican food, I decided a "mexican" pizza might be good. I wanted to keep the crust the same, making the focus on the toppings. First, I needed a sauce. I still wanted a tomato sauce, but it needed to have a Mexican slant to it instead of an Italian one. After some thinking, I thought a red enchilada sauce might be the ticket. So, I went to a enchilada sauce I had made before. It came from one of Rick Bayless's books. Called for canned fire roasted tomatoes, dried guajillo chiles, some garlic. a bit of cumin. salt. Run it through a blender until smooth as you can get it. Stain. Cook in a sauce pot with some olive oil. I cooked this down thicker than I would have if I were actually using it to make enchiladas. I think it turned out pretty well, actually. Seemed to be the "right" consistency. And it had a nice kick to it. now that I had the sauce down, I thought up toppings. I like meat on my pizzas, so I decided to use fresh Mexican chorizo. Browned in a skillet, then set it aside. Another thing I think that is important in pizza is to keep it simple with the toppings. Too many is no good. So, I figured I would just do the chorizo and cheese. For the cheese, I thought the Chihuahua type cheese would be really good. So, that's what I went with. My standard dough, my "enchilada" sauce, the chorizo, and the Chihuahua cheese. I think it turned out great! So, help me expand the varieties I can make here. I have dough left, and plenty of sauce. For now, I'll keep the sauce the same (though there is plenty of room for change when I make my next batch by using different chilies and spices). What other toppings? What would be good for a meat? Some leftover carne asada? Would you suggest different cheeses? I am thinking I could finish with queso añejo after it came out of the oven, just prior to serving. What if I wanted to add some "veg" to it? I guess onions should work. I like 'shrooms on my pizza when I make it "traditional", so what would be a good type of mushroom to use here? I'm Looking forward to the ideas people have.

SushiSamba wasn't opened long. I wonder if The Grill on the Alley will be next to go. Five Guys in the Galleria is now OPEN. Not sure exact date, but it was open whan I was in the mall on Sunday.

This book sounds great! I should pick up a copy. Thanks for providing an experpt and for indulging us in this extensive Q&A session. I've been "conflicted" about which way to go with knives. Stick to the Foerschners I've been using (I have a chef's knife, boning knife, and paring knife from them) or go for the really sweet looking Shun or a nice MAC knife? The way it seems to me is that you can't talk knives without talking about eqipment to sharpen and maintain them. A seemingly easy to use auotmatic electric sharpener or a fancy manual one. If I stick with the restaurant supply store Forschners, is an easy to use Chef's Choice electric sharpener OK? I would assume it would destroy a pricey Shun or MAC were I to buy one of those knives. Would a fancy manual sharpener (like the Edge Pro Apex) couple with a ceramic "steel" be overkill for the Forschners? If I ever did spring for the Shun or a MAC, I would probably keep the Forschers. No reason to get rid of them. I like them alot. So, the question is, if I think I might get a Shun or MAC in the future, should I spring for the Apex and a ceramic "steel" now and use them on the Forschners?

My only peel is metal. It works well most of the time, I too do plenty of test shakes as I build the pizza, picking up the edges and tossing more flour or semolina underneath if it sticks. But I am thinking. a wood peel would be better for the unccoked pizza, saving the metal peel for removing the baked pizza off the stone. I will add that I have used parchment paper under the dough before, then slid the peel under the parchment. I would trim off as much excess paper before sliding it into the oven and onto the stone. In a really hot oven, the exposed edges of the paper would char. But that's it. The paper that was actually touching dough was OK. I didn't see any adveres effects. This is the method I used when making a very thin crust pizza. I.e. rolled out very flat and thin as opposed to hand tossed dough that yields the thicker edge.