mynamejoe

Wow. So good I saved it to my hard drive and e-mailed it to a chef I used to work for.

Or, as we used to call it, "Olympia, it is water." I'm with NickN, though. Black Label is the worst.

I'm still using my Johnson and Wales issued knife box, pictured here. It's the Blue plastic thing, second from the top.

Current kit: 11" Global chef knife 10" serrated knife 8" filet knife 5" stiff straight blade boning knife 6" curved flexible and 7" straight flexible boning knife cake spatula braising fork bird's beak paring knife parisienne scoop zester channel knife needlenose pliers knife steel peeler temperature probe

I can imagine that in some places on the internet, a paragraph beginning with this sentence could have gone off in a very strange direction. FG, your welcome; I'll do almost anything to further anyone's enjoyment of charcuterie and cured meats.

FG, I think the reason for the non-uniform slices may be how you're using the knife. The blades on those generally have more flex to them, so while you may have a steady hand, the blade can twist and flex if used improperly. The whole key to getting thin slices with the long, thin knife is to use long continuous strokes utilizing the length of the knife, not short, sawing cuts. Also, let the sharpness of the blade do the work. If you put too much force behind it, the knife will compress the item being cut, again resulting in non-uniform cuts. Even a deli slicer will do this, if you put too much (or varying amounts) of pressure on the feed plate.

Mayo-based is ok to me, but I much prefer warm German potato salad (kartoffelsalat). Traditional German recipes that I've seen consist of basically potatoes, vinegar, onion and chicken stock. I like it better as Torakris describes it, which is kartoffelsalat mit speck. The best I've made was with sliced baby yukon gold potatoes, onions, red wine vinegar and rendered pork fat.

Moskowitz got a James Beard Award. What was the category, food critic least likely to pull their head out of their ass and write knowledgeably about food? No offense, Orik, but she has an agenda when she writes, and it's not always about the food. One can expect her personal likes and dis-likes of a chef to color her reviews, as well as her love of self-aggrandizement. Back to topic, the M.O.A. is, as Orik states, pretty catch-as-catch-can food-wise. Are you looking for lunch spots, dinner spots, or both? How far can you travel? Also, what Wilfrid said. Avoid walleye crusted with anything. Broiled, deep-fried and pan-fried are acceptable, as long as it's more or less just the fish.

Yes, just the flour. Then, proceed to make a roux as you normally would.

Another trick for making dark roux: toast the flour in a low temp oven for a while. If you have a convection oven, make sure you have the option to turn the fan off before you try this.

Budweiser may be the best beer found in trailer parks in the U.S., but that's all the leeway I'm willing to give on that point. Big Man, you have become smaller in my eyes.

A raw sauce is the traditional, authentic Italian method for pizza sauce. If you like the cooked sauce better, use that. If something tastes better to you, to hell with tradition.

Rolling pin works fine and there's nothing evil or wrong about using one. By hand works just as well, it's just a little more fun. Even the thick fingered can do it; if you watch the video clip I posted a link to, you'll notice that the "star" isn't exactly ballerina material!

First, the visual aid: right click and "save target as" if left clicking doesn't work (5.23mb mpg file) First, toss the doughball in flour. Flatten the dough out with your fingertips on a smooth, floured surface (stainless steel, marble or countertop). Place the edge of your left hand on the edge of the flattened dough so the side of the tip of your littlle finger is at the 12:00 position. Place your right fingers so the tips are touching your left little finger, holding your fingers together with only about 1"(2.54cm) of your fingers actually on the dough. Now, use your left hand turn the dough counter-clockwise, keeping your right hand stationary. When your hands get out of each other's way, bring your left hand fingers down onto the dough the same way that you initially placed your right fingers. Then, let your fingers on both hands spread apart and stop when your hands are about 1" apart. For subsequent stretches, you won't need to start with your hands as close together and you'll end up with your hands further apart. Just be sure you are stretching out the edge of the dough between your hands mostly, not stretching across the middle; you'll end up with a nasty thin spot in the middle. Stop when the pizza is either the thickness you want, or when you can't stretch it further. Generally, 1 ounce of pizza equals 1" of pizza. -If you end up with some spots that are thicker than you want, use the finger-spreading technique with your hand directly on the thick spot. -If you watch the video, you'll see the guy pick the dough up and slap it around. This is not a necessary step; more than anything else, he's shaking off excess flour. -Starting out reasonably slow with medium pressure on the dough would probably be a good way to start. -If this feels uncomfortable to you, it may be because I'm left-handed. Just switch which hand is doing what and the direction you rotate the dough. -credit for visual aid: http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/vpn/index.html

tommy, I take it you are interested in learning how to do it by hand, not by rolling pin? I'll post the by hand method, if you want.

Yes, I can. Perhaps the WSJ is building bridges between itself and the everyday surfer. Yours just happens to be a toll bridge.

I've got to ask; how is this relevant to anything posted anywhere on this site? Also regarding this: because others agree with you on this point proves nothing. The fact that I do find John to be a likable person is also neither relevant, nor does it necessarily prove that he's a likable person. Is there any reason why we can't have the common courtesy to keep these kind of things to ourselves?

Tell your arteries to shut the hell up, then. It is some pretty versatile stuff. I'm pretty sure you could baste with it, too. At least on items that have short roasting times.

The last chef I worked for stole that technique from the FL cookbook to use on our banquet menu (we used shrimp). Use a beurre monte as the poaching liquid and be careful it doesn't break while cooking in it.

damn.

I quit stone-cold; it's the only way. and I can see it now, Miss J in a meeting, "my name is Miss J and I have a problem with tahini."

John, while I have never held the position of reliable enemy, I am willing to learn. Please contact me re: compensation, benefits and the structure of my bonus package.

correct link to Rosemary's restaurant: clickkkk Here's the thing. If you think that you have touched upon a moment of magic between you and the chef when sampling a certain dish, you more likely than not can attribute it to a talented (or lucky) line cook. It's all about the execution in a restaurant kitchen. I can come up with the best, most well thought-out menu on this planet, but unless the cooks can execute it during service, whether I'm there or not, it does not matter. In the high-end places, especially, the chef does not work on the line. Given that, I fail to see the benefit of whether he/she is there. Specials, btw, can be called in, or decided upon by a chef de cuisine, sous chef or sometimes even a cook.

But would you go to the lengths of mapping out a strategy (as drrevenue has) of leveraging your way onto that list? I'm guessing no. You're definitely on the spot with there being nothing wrong with enjoying such treatment; I only try to avoid it at times because my friends are almost too generous. They won't even let me buy them a drink later at the neighborhood bar!

Good detective work Tommy. The above part of his post is revealing in light of his complaint. Clearly he invested a lot of effort in building a "VIP" position at this place and was chagrined to discover that he wasn't as "VIP" as he thought he was. Or at least the way he was treated after the fact by the chef/owner conveyed that impression. I'd react strongly if that happened to me. Wouldn't you? No, but only because I would never try to put myself in that position to begin with. By that, I mean this "dining with an agenda" crap. When I go out, I go out to enjoy good food and good company. I'm not seeking to elevate my status as a customer. A pair of restaurants that I frequent happens to be run by a family which includes some friends of mine. I actually have to sneak in the door at times, just so I don't end up having half of what I order comped or have special dishes sent out to me. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that kind of treatment. I do have some sympathy for their food-cost, though. Outside of when I'm in the back cooking, I really don't need my ego stroked that badly to go through what this guy goes through.