jsmeeker

indeed. The technique is great. The flair is really more a about precise, sharp motions done with confidence than silly circus tricks.. I now have more ideas on what to do with mint on Derby Day. I think having a regular series, setup on some place that wasn't YouTube, with RSS feeds for Podcast subscription would be great. As far as video goes, you just need a decent camera, better lighting, and probably better sound. A friendly pro could give you lots of tips. Seriously, I think you have a lot of potential here. I've been on a cocktail kick and have been mostly focusing on "classic" drinks, but watching you makes me want to explore this craft even more.

What a great thread! I just now looked at Alberta Straub's. Good stuff there. I'm going to pass this along to some of my friends. I'll have to check all of the others, too. thanks again

I use McCann' steel cut oats. Sometimes I get the can, sometimes in get them in a box. Just depends on where I happen to be shopping when I need them and what that partiuclar store carries. To cook, I heat up a sauce pan, toss in a pat of butter. Let it foam. Then add in the oats. Toast them for a bit. Add boiling water. Pinch of saly. Reduce to a slow simmer. Simmer maybe 20 minutes. Most of the water will be absorbed or evaporated. I add a little bit of milk (butter milk if I have it) and simmer some more until I get the right texture. I'll typically add in brwon sugar and/or maple syrup. I need to try out some dried fruit in there. I've got some dried cherries kicking around that I could use up.

Since others are recommending the places they shop at, I'll do the same. In Dallas, I go to Ace Mart. I visit the location on Forest Lane at Webb Chapel. http://www.acemart.com/merchant.mv?Screen=STORES

This brings to mind that chapter (or section?) in Fast Food Nation entitled "Mr McDonald's Breasts" or something. Apparently, the chickens that they use to make McDonald's all-white meat nuggets have been bred to have the largest breasts possible. Well, at least in my experience, white meat is heralded as "healthy" (at least compared to other meats) here in the US. Maybe the price might be related to that fact? Because everywhere I turn, I feel like places try to make a big deal of the fact that they use breast meat, but don't say "all dark meat, all the time! Wooooooo!!!!!" Especially places trying to push chicken as a healthy option (like McDonalds and his huge breasts... ) Doesn't matter to me; I've never liked white meat, especially when not from a whole chicken. ← Typical supermarket turkeys have been bred the same way for years. Common culture in the USA is that the breast meat is "the best". The "fat is evil" campaign has a great deal to do with this.

I'd say Padma and Casey looked great, as did Camille (in red). Still, a fun show, and I will say it again, this season was the best. Cheers! ← Lia looks pretty good, too. Too bad we didn't get to see more of her last night. (or during the run of the show) Edit to add: Watched Hung's knife video. That's a very flexible chef's knife he is using.

Out of all the cooking shows that run on my local PBS station, his dishes are consistently the most elaborate in terms of number of ingredients used and number of steps involved. Looks good, but man, there is a lot of work. Certainly not stuff for beginners.

I'm glad I live in the USA and not Japan. What about whole chicken prices in Japan? Do they fall in the middle? I will say I think the pricing in the USA reflects the preference of the consumer. Remember, us foodies are the minority.

I love a Chicago style dog. Except I don't like raw tomatoes. So, when I get them, I ask them to hold 'em.

I've been thinking about this some more, and I think maybe Las Vegas would work. Seems like they have every thing there. High end restaurants. Coffee Shop type places. Buffets. Nightclubs with thumping music. Bars. All under one roof. I was there back in July with some friends. We were in the Venietian, and we wanted to sit down and have some drinks. We were directed to the main casino bar. There was a big band playing. It was loud and crowded. Then, we were directed to a place that was basically a night club. Dance floor. DJ. Loud music. We just wanted a decent place to sit down and have a drink and talk. At the time, we didn't think of hitting the restaurants on "restaurant row" off the casino. But it was kind of late, and they might have been closed anyway Do you think a true cocktail lounge that was all about a quailty cocktail work in Las Vegas?? Not a night club. Not an open place in the middle of a noisy casino. A real cotkail bar/lounge. The best I experiened was at the Wynn at the Parasol Down bar. They made me a nice Negroni.

yeah...I buy stuff from one. Several Cambro containers, some sheet pans, a knife, spreaders, ladles , squeeze bottles, some non-stick skillets, etc. The place I got to is very friendly and helpful to consumers looking for stuff for home kitchens.

But this describes lots of non-chain places, too. Heck, just walk into any GOOD non chain place and you still see all the "safe" choices. Filet mignon. Salmon. etc. Those restaurants are in business for the same reason the chain is. To make money. They aren't going make money by putting a bunch of dishes on the menu that no one wants to eat. Sure, you are far more likely to find the adventuresome stuff at the right non-chain place, but this idea that all non-chain places are bastions of the ultimate cuisine is just nonsense.

I haven't been to Stephen Pyles, but I would guess it would compare more to Abacus than craft, based soley on looking at the menu for SP and having been to Craft twice. Craft has very simply prepared food. There really aren't elaborate, composed dishes with lots of components. If you like a more traditional composed dish, I think you may want to shy away from Craft and got to a place like Abacus. Personally, I think Craft woould work best with a group of 4-6 people who really like food. Since you are staying downtown and don't want to drive, SP has the advantage of being located in the central downtown core of the city. So, it's not far from your hotel. Craft is at the W Hotel, next to the American Airlines Center (sports arena). It's just outside the edge of what is usually considered downtown, but it's not that far either. Abacus is further north, in the Knox-Henderson area.. Just a few miles, though. So, really, not bad. I don't think the original Sonny Bryan's is open for dinner. And yes, it's the type of place that will run out of meat before closing time. Mia's is a basic, local Tex-Mex place. But it's a Dallas institution and the brisket tacos are to die for. An order of them is less than $10. Get a starter, the tacos, a beer or two, and you are out of there for well under $40. can't comment on York Street or Lola, as I haven't diner there. Off the op of my head, I can't recall where Lola is. But York Street is east of downtown a few miles. I believe York Street is what they like to call "chef driven". http://www.guidelive.com/portal/page?_page...L&item_id=14178

and if it's not salt, it's some really sweet sauce.

of course, I've been to plenty of bland, medicore meals at non-chain places. And have had decent, non-bland meals at chains. But yeah, I'm more likely to find something really great at a non-chain place. You just have to weed your way through some bad and medicore places to get to the good ones.

what was up with that? I guess maybe they shot the CIA segments while the school was shutdown for summer break? Maybe someone just flaked out and forgot to turn on the AC and the freezers in advance? I'm still watching, though. I think pretty much all of the contestants are at the level where Top Ched candidates are trying to get to in the career. Chef/Owners, and in many cases, with multiple restaurants.

I tried one in the Rochester area last year and was very disappointed. If there was ever a perfect example of Americanized Asian, P.F. Chang's leads the pack. Even though there are better choices, I'm willing to bet my kids insist on going while out shopping at the mall. I also live in the Capital District and noticed the recent opening on the local news last night. ← Yes that is where I saw the report, on the local news. I as all excited because I love Asian food. But... I had a feeling it was nothing more than Asian fast food and I knew I would find the answers here. Thanks again for the heads up. Oh since I have your attention... Are there any area restaurants (Asian) that you would recommend?? ← It's not fast food. It's a full service, sit down restaurant. "How do you like your Chang Sauce?", the waiter will ask? But the food is very Americanized (really, like a lot of other "ethinic" places, chain or not). IMHO, food qulaity better than OG, but it's about the same level authenticity wise.

I'm pretty sure you would be able to put together a nice meal at the bar at Abacus. The menu has lots of "small plates" in addition to the "big plates" (entrees). Sushi, too. They do a nice job with fish there. Which is great for a place in Dallas, IMHO. Craft? I went shortly after it opened last year. had a nice meal. Was just there a few weeks a go. Food was still good (though not quite as good as the first trip) and service was good. But the place was DEAD. Also, there is no bar at the restaurant. There is a bar attached to the lobby of the hotel, but it's not the same atmosphere as the restaurant, and I am not sure if the same menu for food is offered (but getting a table for one should be a non-issue). Of the two, I would pick Abacus. Dallas has lots of steak joints, so if you like those, you are in luck. I would suggest Nick and Sam's If you want a good, can't miss Tex-Mex, go to Mia's and get the brisket tacos.

You did it because YOU enjoy cooking and baking. Doing it that way gives YOU pleasure. And there is nothing wrong with that.

I was planning on printing up a short menu with the suggested drinks of the evening. This party is ballooning to be a pretty big gathering (I think we are close to 40 now), but I really don't expect everyone will be interested in these types of cocktails. Plus, not everyone that will be there is a drinker (which could lead to a whole 'nother thread... ) I am liking the idea of a Sidecar, too. I have used E&J VSOP brandy myself for them with good results. It's also another triple sec drink. (I love drinks with Cointreau!!) I plan to have access to some sort of juicer and was planning on juicing limes/lemons in advance to make things a little more speedy at the bar. The house DOES have a bar setup in the basment. Plenty of counter space to work, plus I think there is a sink there. The idea of batching them doesn't bother me. In fact, I had the idea of making up a mix of say margaritas (lime juice, tequila and cointreau) and putting it in a pithcer/bottle. Then just shaking them to order for a little bit of show. I think that will be fine and will yield far superior results over using a commerical mix plus Jose Cuervo Gold. I do want to mingle with the people, but am contnet to spend a lot of time behind the bar. I beleive it's in the room with the big TV, so I'd probably be there most of the time anyway. Plus, I'm sure I can train a few people on how to whip up the specialty drinks. again, more great tips! Thanks for them all. Edit to add: I am really liking Andy's idea of "tasting sessions". That actually might work out really well.

every time I have ordered a salad, the dressing has always come in a little packet (it's actually Newman's Own brand). The packet is in a bag with a fork and a napkin. I then dress it myself. this has been my experience for both dine in and to-go.

I'm no chef and I don't really know Vietnamese food and what they have for sweets, but if it were me in that scenario and I felt the need to give them dessert (which isn't wrong IMHO, as I love dessert and like to finish meals with it) I would have done something with the fruit they had access too. Maybe do something with ginger. Or maybe something with a little spicy chilli pepper or something.

I appreciate the tips. For the house drink, it would be cool if it said "Ohio State" in some way. Even if just in color. I'm a big 12 guy (texas tech to be exact), so Big 10 football is something I don't know much about.

hmmm... I dunno. earlier, someone suggested that "blue-collar" towns may not be good. But Cleveland has the Velvet Tango Room. So, all hope is not lost.

In a few weeks, I'll be going to Ohio (Columbus area to be exact) to basically hang out with a bunch of friends, chill out, eat, drink, watch college football, drink, eat, drink. etc. etc. Anyway, I sorta volunteered to make some GOOD cocktails. Something better than Jack and Coke and the like. I'm trying to think of things that are pretty easy to make and don't require "esoteric" ingredients. I'm really trying to turn the willing folks onto GOOD cocktails. I've got some ideas, but really want a fairly solid, limited list of suggested cocktails to make. I think this should make it easier because it will mean buying a fairly limited number of ingredients. One concern I have is stemware. This crowd is typically drink out of large Solo cups. That may work OK if you want a giant quadruple Jack and Coke, but doesn't work well for a true cocktail experience in my opinion. If it were up to me and it was happening where I live, I would just suck it up and rent cocktail glasses and other glassware from a local party supply house. But it's not here in Dallas. I'll still suggest it though, and I have seen disposable cocktail glasses in liquor stores before. I want two, maybe three cocktails that are served up in a cocktail glass. Also, I would like some decent highball type drinks for people that just want a "big" cup/glass with a lot of ice and liquid in it. So, this is what I have been thinking Manhattan -- simple to make. easy to obtain ingredients. no need for fresh juice. If I use something like Maker's or Jim Beam, that can also be used for the whiskey/bourbon and coke crowd. Vermouth and bitters are cheap, so if you have bourbon, making a Manhattan is pretty simple step up. Some sort of sour -- I love sours. Might be my favorite class of cocktails. I am thinking either margartias to get people to try a proper one (with fresh lime juice and GOOD tequila) and Pegu Club as a way to show people that gin is something you should LIKE. Biggest catch here is getting orange bitters. I suppose I could get it locally and send it up there in advance. The advantage of doing margarita and Pegu Club is that they both use a triple sec. I really like drinks with a good triple sec like Cointreau Some sort of good "highball" -- this would be the drink that I COULD serve in the plastic Solo cup. I dunno what to do here. Long Island Ice Tea? They are potent and would be popular for that. Plus, it would mean the need for several liquors, which would in turn open up lots of possibilities for other drinks. A "house" drink -- this would be a bonus points drink, If someone could come up with an appropriate drink for the circumstances (Fall, Ohio State football) that would be really awesome. I don't have a clue as how to proceed here. But again, this is sorta a "bonus" that could go a long way to making the day a little special. So, any help or guidance would be appreciated.