coquus

OK, OK, I went out to this hippy place yesterday that was supposed to be having the brick oven working, I saw it happening, but by the time I got my wine, they had packed up all their food and shut down, I even offered to cook as it was obvious the oven was still very hot. Alas, an hour drive later I was back in my humble little burg and literally starving to death, I didn't want pizza, wings, and the mexican dive was shut down, so it was time for some chain restaurat action, and, alas, Applebees is the only choice. Naturally, I had forgotten about this thread until I got there and was handed a menu with a beaming Tyler on it, opened it up to see his new "dishes" up all four of them in a full color two page spread. I looked over the rest of the menu breifly, and to tell you the truth, on sheer attractiveness his dishes were the most appealing, my girl, and my waitress couldn't agree more. I broke a cardinal rule of mine by ordering the chicken and salad as it has no starch, but my ever accommodating (what can I say, she puts up with it and I am forever grateful) went with the pasta one. I don't have to explain them, if you are interested, I pity you, but they were fair, and really reasonably priced which is alot more than I can say for most of the restaurants around here. The salad was pre dressed, with some warm dressing that was so overpowering and oil free I had to really double and triple take to identify that the healthy portion of green stuff was, in fact, all arugula. The chicken, well, the three needles of rosemary on the skin obviously didn't need to be there, but it was cooked to perfection (for a high temp procedure). The pasta was bountiful and also, to a great degree, not bad. It had peas in it, that was interesting however bastardized it may be with red sauce (I don't pretend to know), and despite cream being advertized, it wasn't very noticable, also somewhat of a mixed blessing. All in all, It could have been worse, and aside from an all you can eat riblet feast when, well, along time ago, It was the best of my five or six meals at the imfamous Crapplebee's in my life. Thanks Tyler Florence.

Mikeb19, By the way look at the way this person attacked me personally, you really should know not to kick a dog when he's down. J/K, I'm just pointing to another incedent where this topic gets under our collective skin. Cleanliness is obviously a very personal issue with us. OUCH! If there's ever a statement for not eating at an establishment, that is it! ←

Hey, take it easy, don't take it personally, I was just saying nobody is perfect. Everybody has strong and weak points and that extends to every facet of their professional life. I hear you on having standards bro, and if you knew me you would know that I would not ever blame you for seeking perfection. It's not achievable, nor should it be, however. This, I'm pretty sure, I know.

Hepatitis C is not a food borne illness! ← You are right, but shh, stop yelling, no crime has been committed. I also spelled staphylococcus wrong above. Let's have some more tips for the home cook. Let's see, defrost larger peices of meat in the fridge or submerged in as constantly replenished room temp. water as you can constantly replenish. I don't really stress out about disinfection at home, but I do keep counters, walls, cabinets, fridge, sink, handles, and appliances spotless, and often hit them with some hot soapy rag, rinse with hot water, and wipe up excess water with same damp rag.

The first and third paragraphs are true for the most part from my experience as well. We can fix it by not working with very lazy cooks. Keep in mind that there are many degrees of lazyness and that even you, Mikeb19, are guilty (there is no place for eating off of floors, I don't care how clean). What we can do is be mindful of our own duties. *I edited a post, wow there is alot worth editing in this thread, but for me that isn't really fair to the continuity, but I had a fact wrong, it was the (more common I think?) staphalococcus (sp?) that has become antibiotic resistant, not salmonella. As for the home cook, one common mistake home cooks make is filling their refrigerators too full, the air needs to circulate to keep things cooled properly. Also keep your raw meat in the meat drawer on the very bottom, and keep it clean and sanitized when you can (My drawers and most new ones are like lexan, and completely removable and seamless so it's really easy to clean). It is a good idea to buy a thermometer for your fridge as well and run experiments with it to find out where warm spots are. If you aren't using your freezer much it's probably good to freeze some solid blocks of ice to keep the dead space down to save on electricity, though it's not really a safety issue. Don't put hot liquid into the fridge, unless you are going to go out for a long time and won't be able to bring it down to room temp. As far as making large quantities of dense protein rich stuff, and other liquids (stock, soup, beans, or stew), don't do it too much it's too much of a hassle to cool to room temp. (protein free liquid, this isn't that much of a concern), but if you do make sure it's at least room temp within a couple hours before putting it in the fridge near all your other food by submerging it in an ice water bath and stirring it regularly.

Hey, thank you, this topic has been long dead. My original idea starting it (switched to here from another part forum) was for inaugurating a new section of the website where politics is discussed. After all who controls food safety? Politicians. Our food is kept safe through a set of regulations forged by politicians with the help of their trusted scientist friends. So, ultimately human, and fallible. I don't know why it's so taboo, and the world at large would be better served to know more about how things work. Advice to the home cook, well, what kind of cook are you? Do you cook from the garden, the fridge, the pantry, the freezer, or larder, or a combination? What type of chemicals do you use for cleaning, polishing, disinfecting, degreasing, pest control, unclogging drains? What is the physical layout of your kitchen and pantry. What type of counter tops and flooring is in your kitchen, type of shelving, cabinets, make and model of stove and refrigerator, sink? There are alot of permutations, the kitchen is the most dangerous room in the house. And it's more than making people sick, it poisoning, physically injuring, and burning it's unsuspecting residents and guests every minute of every day, people die here. What better place to die? Oh yeah, yadda-yadda, the arms of a loved one, but this comes a close second.

Hey, that's the one f.d. restaurant I've actually been too. I would say they could have done much worse food wise, and a great atmosphere for a small business meal as well.

These have all recently gone stale for me, same with Yan, and that Scandanvian show. I still would love to see more of Ming, alas, he is never on anymore, thought he has some goofy show on Discovery Home or something. His series for PBS was some of the best ever, it was like a greatest hits all in one show, he always had an awesome guest (Schlow, his parents, Jacques, Gayle Gan, etc.), the building block and like five dishes, now that holds the attention. He was like when the Spinners were let go from Motown. I have also seen most of those in the kitchen with Julia shows, though occasionally I am suprised to find one I haven't seen.

Nearly 100 percent, well it is 100 percent as far as I can tell now that I.C. Japan is off the air. I haven't ever really seen any other food shows on TV here, Ramsay's KN, Made to Order and Opening Soon recently have been on other stations on extended cable which costs about forty more dollars a month.

In the same vein as these fellows, there were a few things that didn't sit well with me as well. The notion that even at the top echelons of celebrity chefdom, one still relys on slaves to make the food. I also haven't had any complaints from my fresh pasta using a little water in place of some egg and durum instead of a.p. flour. Also sopresotta using cooked meat? That doesn't sound like anything I've ever had. I read this book in a couple days, it's definately a good read. He really got me with the Frankie story. I thought for sure his story would turn out differently.

Rochester loses one restaurant (though they aren't lost, just downscaled), and suddenly they have sunk to the level of Buffalo? Please correct me if that's not what you are saying, I always thought Rochester had lots of top notch restaurants.

Yes, I think Rio Bamba is what I am talking about (almost 100%), I haven't been able to find a link for you, and me.

Bump in case the other thread starter was too lazy to check it out. I have heard good things about the Rio, and it should meet your requirements.

I also second the Alpine White Bar, and add Planter's Cheese Balls, they are beautiful things. I really don't think I miss anything else. And a couple I have questions about, man, I'm a huge nerd. Keelber Munch 'ems Necco Wafters-Tart Flavor Lea & Perrin Sweet & Spicy Steak q Williams Lectric Shave Menthol Williams Lectric Shave Ultra

I just got a foodie friend of my parents' collection that I'm sorry to say his family has no need for anymore. I'll let you know what's what when I sit down and sort it out. He was sort of famous in their circle for being really hard to please, but I thought he was always sort of funny about it because that's who he was, a boisterous food lovin' Italian. I'm really sad and happy at the same time, it's sad.

*chuckles*

+7-2=+5 Added Pierre Frainey's Kitchen, Bittersweet by Alice Medrich, Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing, my friend from Savannah brought me Lady and Sons by Paula Deen as a gift, Professional Baking by Wayne Glissen, Cold Buffets, and picked up a short, bread pamphlet style book which I should count. I only paid retail for the Kutas book from the Sausage Maker in the Niagara Food Terminal. I gave up McGee's book and gave my Japanese Country Cookbook reluctantly back to my mother who is on a Japanese kick. I also gave up some old books that weren't food related to make room.

That was funny! ← That's true, she's no longer a TV chef, she's a talk show host starting next week. I say E.V.. sometimes, makes me feel in touch with the people (who are mostly Rachel Ray fans).

I suppose mine aren't that unusual, tong spinning, flipping type stuff. I like to stab dupes using my tongs, sometimes it takes a couple tries.

I think the perfect amount of butter/oil is used when the mushrooms have soaked up all they can, but aren't still bathing when finished. I think four ounces (one stick) should be just about perfect for three pounds of chanterelles. I think maybe more would be needed to saute 3 lbs. or button mushrooms, or porcini. Like you, though, I don't cook like that for myself often, but it's a kinda nice thing to do for the uninitiated. I can't wait to get out into the woods sometime soon, right now I have been too busy painting my house and waiting out the capture of fugitives from justice. I have found some puffballs and agaricus silvestris in some lawn spaces, and they have their merits, but. . .

Hey, good blogging, I especially enjoyed you're pursuit of the chocolate in the buttery flakey packages and the suprising array of choices in said department. Keep the faith.

Ahh, the kitchen plan looks great! You did the right thing not rushing into your reno, its going to be really sunny and bright in there isn't it? I love the pass through, and everything else really, so open, and not that you'll ever sell, ever, but that kitchen has tons of entertainment potential.

I think I've had that mushroom you were talking about (I don't keep notebooks and whatnot), if so, it doesn't (here) live up to the name as far as i'm concerned, it's rather good though. It's the only Lactarius I have had, I found alot of white ones this year, but had trouble distinguishing the species. I think it's high time that I invest in a microscope and some chemicals, maybe next year.

Too much porcini, I think not, one cannot have too much porcini! Well, I would like to disagree to a degree. If you are going out during the season looking for easily identifiable "choice" edibles, and who is to say really, within the few geni that don't have death fatal kill mushrooms, then collecting and eating is not rocket science, but if you are trying to identify every single mushroom. . .

Yes, I am really glad to hear you took a practical idea from his kitchen and put it to use. If I had the space I would totally do that, and I remember thinking "I want that" when I saw it. I do have a 9" sheet pan cabinet (shelf-less) to the left of my stove which is great however thanks to the HD cabinet guy who screwed up a couple of other things so, unfortunatly for him, he's at 0 in my book.