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julski

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Posts posted by julski

    Knives in the dishwasher

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Here's an update on my knives four years later!!

    I just cleaned and sharpened them, and I'm surprised to report that the Henckels Four Star 8" chef's knife is good as new - and I can even still read the imprint on the side!! I have had this knife for TWENTY years (I remember because I bought it for my first catering job in 1989) and it's been through the dishwasher on the top rack hundreds of times.

    The one that did not do so well is the Henckels Pro "S" - there is a distinct line of pitting about half an inch below the tang.

    Best Restaurants in Outer Banks?

    in Southeast: Dining

    Posted

    We did hit Bad Bean Taqueria, and were less than impressed... especially when both the husband and I experienced quite extreme gastric distress later that afternoon.

    I knew there was a reason that Bad Bean wasn't on my list, but we were desperately hungry when we arrived Sunday evening and nothing else was open.

    HOWEVER, what a pleasant surprise!! The food quality of regular menu items was on par with Chipotle, but the special was really *special* - softshell crab tacos. A soft taco with a deepfried softshell crab, chipotle sauce, and and a wonderful housemade corn salsa with fresh jalapenos and cilantro.

    With a mango margarita, it really hit the spot. The guacamole was fresh, if not particularly remarkable, and the chips were so-so.

    But I may have to go back for more crab tacos today!!

    http://www.badbeanobx.com/

    Best Restaurants in Outer Banks?

    in Southeast: Dining

    Posted

    We just returned from an outstanding meal at Metropolis in Corolla. It is a tapas restaurant with excellent lists - wine, beer and martini.

    - Currituck (local) asparagus soup with lump crab, garlic breadcrumbs, and white truffle oil

    - Abalone muschoom and goat cheese pizza

    - Shrimp and chorizo with roast red peppers, spring onions, in a cajun cream sauce on spinach tagliatelle

    - seared brown butter poached beef tenderloing with truffled housemade tater tots

    and last, but not at all least

    - Seared foie gras on bacon and rosemary bread puddin with dried cherry syrup

    with 3 beers, cocktail and cognac $105 + tip

    very satisfying.

    it took me ages to find the website, which has not been updated with the new summer 2009 menu (most of our dinner was off the specials board, however)

    http://metropolisobx.com/

    Planting Herbs

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    any idea how to keep cilantro from bolting?

    I barely get enough to use before it goes to seed :)

    And I usually have a spare pot or two of basil going, just snip from the top and you'll have a bush in no time!

    You DON'T make this at home . .

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Sushi is really fun to do at home with a few guests! Roll-your-own and it's fun to come up with interesting combinations. I leave the sashimi to professionals though, and only use cooked fish (shrimp cooked on skewers straightened out, softshell crab), a variety of veg, etc and plenty of nori to get the hang of it.

    I've been craving flash-fried spinach but would never do that at home.

    Roasting Turkey

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I tried icing the breast as well with great results!!

    28-pound fresh killed organic turkey (from Whole Foods)

    I brined for about 16 hours (kosher salt, brown sugar, bay, peppercorns, cloves, etc.)

    5 a.m. removed from brine, rinsed well, iced breast but left the rest to dry

    8 a.m. rubbed with butter, in the cavity went a quartered lemon, several cloves of garlic and a few sprigs of thyme. Put breast-side down on v-rack at 400, scattered trinity beneath (carrots onion celery) + water

    9 a.m. flipped bird, turned oven down to 325, added more water as necessary

    noon - took bird out, took his temp and let him rest

    1 p.m. dinner is served right on time!

    VERY nice !! Excellent flavor. The trinity made for the most delicious gravy I've ever had, but it was a tad salty.

    "Re-imagining" Thanksgiving

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    I have been thinking of reimaging myself, because after volunteering to host this year's thanksgiving dinner, I found out that more in-laws are coming than I anticipated, and now I am having dinner for 20. I will be deviating from a lot of the traditional feast . . . but:

    My house is pretty small (1000 sq ft) and by borrowing folding tables and chairs I could probably seat everyone, though not together. The buffet idea has been bandied about, but a Thanksgiving buffet seems wrong, for some reason. As does balancing a plate on your knees and trying to cut turkey with a fork.

    My husband says to hope for good weather so we can seat some outside (NC), but depending on the weather would make me crazy.

    Ideas?

    Julie

    p.s. I did a 30 pound turkey last year, thanks to my 6-burner stove, so at least THAT is not problem

    Round tomato sandwiches anyone?

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I'm proud to report that we ate the first tomato of the season yesterday--

    there are definite advantages to living in the South!!

    But this one also came from my Earth Box

    https://www.earthbox.com/

    the ones in the ground will take a bit longer, but will produce much more if they don't get the *&^%$# blight.

    Of course I've got gobs of fresh basil to accompany! Yum!!

    Range Hoods & Vents

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted · Edited by julski (log)

    Could it be that your hood can be ducted out it's back(horizontal) or up through the top (vertical), and your choice would affect the CFMs slightly?  Anyhow, yes, it sounds good.

    duh, yeah!

    that's exactly what it is. When I was cleaning it, I noticed the punchout for ducting horizontally. Thanks!!

    Range Hoods & Vents

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    . . . the lab hood has slots for the grease filters, I just have to buy a new pair. The markings on it say:

    C.F.M.

    at .10 WG

    460 Vertical

    440 Horiz

    what the heck does the vertical/horizontal thing mean, I wonder?

    At any rate, the Maximum Suck article leads me to believe this is pretty good!!

    thx-

    Jj

    Range Hoods & Vents

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Dumb question: is it totally out of the question to put a hood over a window? I just tore out a wall in my teeny kitchen and now I have an L-shaped kitchen with windows on both walls. I have a great 6-burner gas stove that I've had under the window with no fan for a couple of years without too much goo, but someone just gave me a 42" stainless hood from a laboratory that has two motors and sucks great. But as I have been researching my renovation, I haven't come across a single instance of a hood over a window. Am I crazy for wanting to put it there?

    - Julie the Librarian

    p.s. how about a show-and-tell forum on kitchen renovations?

    Artwork in Gourmet, Not looking good enough to eat

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted · Edited by julski (log)

    I also wonder if it's popular outside of our rarified circle and whether circulation has grown over the last few years. Anyone know?

    I was researching a cookbook article and looked up the circulation stats--

    Gourmet 975,216

    Food & Wine 943,710

    Cooking Light 1,661,386

    I was surprised :)

    Julie the Librarian

    source: Bacon's Magazine Directory 2005

    Review: Crooks Corner -- Chapel Hill

    in Southeast: Dining

    Posted · Edited by julski (log)

    Get the book! Here's my review from Library Journal

    Neal, Moreton.

    Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes

    from a Life in Cooking.

    Univ. of North Carolina.

    2004. 256p. photogs. index.

    ISBN 0-8078-2913-7. $22.95. COOKERY

    Neal (1950-91) is best remembered as a celebrated innovator of Southern cooking through his two Chapel Hill (NC) restaurants and three cookbooks, most notably Bill Neal's Southern Cooking. A creative chef and food historian, Neal documented ancient recipes and reveled in regional variety and, in doing so, raised Southern cooking's social status. As his former wife and business partner, the author is well qualified to examine Neal's life and his recipes. She organizes the book into three distinct chapters, the first two taking their names from his restaurants. "La Résidence" features French continental cuisine with a Southern twist; "Crook's Corner" offers Lowcountry, Carolina Piedmont, and Cajun dishes; and "At Home" presents family favorites and seasonal dishes. Each chapter has several pages of introduction, and each recipe has a few lines of elaboration on its history or evolution. At first glance, this collection is almost too diverse (where else would Osso Bucco appear in the same pages as Deviled Eggs?), but it functions as an entertaining memoir as well. An essential purchase for research collections in the culinary arts; for public libraries it will have regional interest.

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