coquus

I was totally wondering why that nuisance AB was in my trusted IC spot the last couple weeks, Food Network, FTW, what-ever, you are dead to me, dead. Good for nothing, sons-of-motherless goats, . . .trails off mumbling to himself.

bourdain you sly dog, you are such a schmoozer.

yeah, and no, sugarella, the scum is supposed to be surface proteins in chicken broth, does fat play a role in clarity, yes as well, probably, seeing as the proteins and the fat both rise to the top, and emulsify together during boiling. i don't really know whether or not this is right, please correct me if i'm wrong. it seems like the case. however, this leaves me with the following dilemma: when making glace i also skim taking all of the remaining fat off as well as more protein, and can attest to the off flavors of that skimmed protein material. i think it doesn't really hurt the final product the less you take off (protein material, not fat), but the protein material definately doesn't do it for me. and gelatin is what if not protein? i suppose that all protein is not created equal, therefore the gelatin which tastes good is different form scum which tastes bad, and the magical application of heat causes the scum to rise forth. cryptic.

you won't be sorry, glad to hear you will have more storage space, this topic was beginning to make me feel claustrophobic.

Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately, we cannot carve out an extra inch on that particular wall. We were able to carve out a needed half inch on the opposite kitchen wall for the base cabinets. The wall with the appliances would only have a single cabinet for the cooktop and oven, using a european cabinet manufacturer for the european appliances is probably more time and cost efficient in this case, since they already make cabinets specifically for that application. If I can avoid the need for any base cabinet on the appliance wall (for example, if I go with the 24" fridge and 30" range) I can use any brand of cabinets. I just meant that use of the euro sized cooking appliances would likely require a euro cabinet. I'll try to post some sample layouts, if I can. That might make it easier to understand the limitations. ← they make cabinets in lots of sizes, with the right spacers, which are generally needed anyway, especially if youe butt up to a corner, you could make it work with what you have, i think.

^ the floor is already grouted (paid for), so i doubt there is an option of carving out more space. it's a tough call, i personally would like to go with more dry storage than either stove or fridge if i was in, say, Brooklyn, but then again not many folks there have as much kitchen stuff and dry goods as I do, i imagine. i like counter space as well, and at 5 by 7, i'm guessing that is what 7'-4'+2'=5' maximum if you have a single bowl sink. i would definately maximize counterspace and go with fewer, smaller appliances.

How about re-wiring the controls on a fry-o-later for use with water which likely wouldn't have hot spots because of high circulation due to convection currents and high recovery, seems more economical to me than having a hundred gallon tank heating, and stirring it, with a 25 pound slate base to heat up as well on start.

I have wanted to ask you this, if you had to work for either of these distinguished CIA alum who both hail from blue collar Buffalo, whom would you choose? I'm sorry Sara, but somebody had to throw a knuckler (I'm also sorry about the baseball reference, but I'm a guy so that's the best I could come up with). For those of you who don't know either of these two, Portale is the creative force who brings you Gotham in NYC, and godfather to the high food movement, and Daniel Leader bakes some of the best bread in North America in the best oven that I know which exists in North America. A simple Google search would tell you more.

Cheers to this topic, Canadians wondering aboot tipping more gets a big yip-yip-yippoo! That said, the biggest tip i've received was twenty bucks from the owners mother when I cooked a meal for her and her husband right before closing time, she is a social worker by day, who said nothing but thank you, of course she had full kitchen access so it wasn't too hard for her. Where I work now, the wait staff has some pretty lean months where a good night definately doesn't pay the weeks bills, so the extra money they earn is more than justified during the hot seasons. I can easily count the tips I've had on both hands in the three years I've worked for three different fine dining establishments, including one in an open kitchen.

Not knowing the recipe you referred to, I would salt cure any large whole peices which you add to the terrine, if your terrine uses sodium nitrate I would cure with sodium nitrate (amount as recommended on the package) for a day and a half, and skip the sear. That said, if you plan on eating it all in a day or two feel free to try it the way you describe. Remember it's all trial and error, so get trialing.

Sara, I think it was very wrong for TFN to have cancelled your show the way they did when it was Cooking LIVE which drew me there in the first place. There was so much good food on that show. I have rarely seen any cooking show which comes close to putting that much good into the world. The PBS crowd, of which I am one, will be very appreciative of your culinary wealth.

The MSDS for Potassium Nitrate says may cause reproductive harm. I have a recipe from my great great grandmother for corned beef in which she used this, oak barrels, water, spices, and lots and lots of time to make corned beef. I'm suspecting that I might try this someday, and furter suspect the time can be reduced with the use of a sodium nitrate curing salt.

More gelatin, that's interesting, I wonder what is behind that? I like the way the Chinese do it, well for chicken anyway. They blanch the bones in water for a minute before adding to the master stock. The scum gets washed away. They have no reverence for this new scum stock and discard it. Now if the Chinese don't care for scum, I guess I don't either.

As for brown rice and wild rice, they both take about 45 to hour to cook properly, but, IMHO, they are worth it. You have to watch them or they become mushy, much like the instant brown(parboiled/dried) variety is. I haven't tried amaranth or millet.

What about on demand hot water heaters? I think that principle would work very smartly for recovery. Talking about making that 1000 dollar cooker really work like it's supposed to. Man, screw that, I'm still against it, but I do like gadgets, oh me. I maybe a bit hypocritical in this because I haven't had the perfected product, but it still doesn't require any real cooking skills. Maybe this is good for the Head Chef's conscience when he knocks off early for the weekend, but I don't think the guy who has to vacuum pack all those single servings of fish thinks sous vide is worth all the trouble. Cut, cut, seal, pack, seal, repeat ad infinitum, all for a the god damned chance to work as a Sous Sous-Vide Chef. And this, I presume, is the future you see so clearly, I'm sorry, it isn't so very fantastic.

Well, I guess I'm not alone since this got split off topic, which is cool, so I'll elaborate. Now it's great that you can cook a single serving of meat in twenty minutes at 50. . .whoa, when did we move to Japan here, 122F, and I can see where this would help you with control in volume, but, in my opinion, for the average chef it's trendy, it is cumbersome, and it lacks in perceived value. I can kind of see how WAWA/7Eleven/The Olive Garden can benefit, but is this really the future of cooking, or is it Food Saver trying to grab greater market share? The microwave oven still kicks it's ass as far as the last thirty years is concerned, in WaWa's book anyway.

Admin: Split from the thread on sous vide recipes. Is anyone sick of this method, do we really need this type of cooking. I hate this method. If you can't cook, try, try again, and you're welcome for the helpful advice. If you think these fancy methods are going to make you a chef you are dead wrong.

It is clear to me that the true ideal (eating) partner would have already been eliminated due to external incompatibilities:The McLaughlin Group voice: You almost lost me when you wouldn't go home with the guy, but then you pulled me back in, amazing.

Yeah, everybody, sorry no photos, I have a digi, but it's all packed away. The salami is still very much edible, and the green stuff didn't change the flavor noticeably after I washed it off. I think I had a little too much fennel flavor, otherwise its great. Thanks Ore, Aidells, it worked out just fine. You know, davebr, someone else might be able to answer your question but as long as you can grow some mold on it within the first week, keeping it in a walk in should work. There is a fundamental difference, and that is that the method discussed here most, with set humidity, higher temps, uses is pretty much fool proof as I understand it. It seems the mold helps control the moisture loss so to avoid the dreaded case hardening.

I think the kosher beef type of salami is usually cooked.

You meant to say increase acidity, right?

I still haven't found anything further out, perhaps the temperature got too high in my room as the furnace was on the fritz and the upstairs got to eighty, damn, I wish they made extra GE remotes for the indoor outdoor thermometer I bought, I can't seem to find any single remote units, but that's another day. I will probably wash the mold off with vinegar and water and re-seed with one of my healthy skins (much as you describe) on Monday since I am busy tomorrow, it seems like alot of scrubbing as the healthy mold was at one point very healthy. If anything other path is discovered in the meantime please don't be shy about posting it. Either way I'll let you know what happens. Jason, I just want to make myself clear that when I said I wished I did it your way, was providing I had any money available, I would make myself a more controlled drying area such as you have in your fridge? contraption.

Thanks much, this makes me wish I did things a little more your way. I had bad salame dreams last night because of this, air pockets and case hardening everywhere.

I have a quick question about my first batch of salami. I don't suppose you have had the experience of the lactobacillus mold (white stuff) turning green. It should be almost done, some of them felt right, but I noticed today that in addition to the white stuff some of them had some mosy greenish mold growth. Have you had the experience of bad mold taking over or is this just another stage in the cycle of the good mold? Aidell's book says to wash off the green mold and re seed it with white mold, but I don't think he meant at this stage after it was already well seeded. I am hoping for a quick answer in case something is wrong, and there is something I can do about it.

Jason, I have a quick question about my first batch of salami. I don't suppose you have had the experience of the lactobacillus mold (white stuff) turning green. It should be almost done, some of them felt right, but I noticed today that in addition to the white stuff some of them had some mosy greenish mold growth. Have you had the experience of bad mold taking over or is this just another stage in the cycle of the good mold? Aidell's book says to wash off the green mold and re seed it with white mold, but I don't think he meant at this stage after it was already well seeded. I am hoping for a quick answer in case something is wrong, and there is something I can do about it so I am going to post this in the other thread too.