David Ross

Dr J-Your photos and plating are looking more delicious all the time. I especially like your idea of using tonkatsu sauce as a accent. I might have to try that. I've only thought of tonkatsu as a sauce for breaded cutlets but now I'm going to try your suggestion of using it as a sauce for other meats. Great idea.

Last night I made a Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Whipped Cream and Crystallized Ginger. Great tasting but it was a testy little tart to make. The dang shortbread crust got stuck in the tart pan and so rather than mess up the whole thing by forcing it out of the tart ring I decided to cut a round out of the middle of the tart. I used Lindt Bittersweet Chocolate, 70% Cacao. As you can see in the photo, the chocolate filling had some air bubbles in it-didn't affect the taste but doesn't give the tart the shiny, smooth look I wanted. The crystallized ginger was a bit old. I think the package of ginger was past its prime. It didn't have that zingy, ginger taste I was expecting. In the end, good concept, only fair execution, excellent taste. Especially with a small glass of Cointreau!

Your baking always looks so delicious. But what makes it REALLY look delectable are your wonderful photos. How do you get them so perfectly clear? What kind of camera are you using and do you set it on digital macro to get such close-up clarity?

My guess is that Las Vegas has a much, much higher concentration of visitors with money to blow than L.A. For it to work in L.A., the places would have to be largely supported by locals. It's not really that way in Vegas. The dining there has become another attraction, along with the shows, the casinos, etc. ← I agree with both of you. I think it's a combination of both money and a steady stream of full dining rooms every night of the week that makes Las Vegas such an attractive city for some of the chefs to open outposts of their namesake restaurants. In Las Vegas, the local diner makes up a very small percentage of the revenue that is brought into the restaurants on the strip. Those restaurants rely on the tourist and convention trade to pack them in every night. That's an advantage most other cities don't have. Another aspect that I think attracts big-name chefs to Las Vegas is the fact that the large casino/resort companies can support these restaurants with a revenue source that other cities don't have-i.e., revenue from gaming. That revenue gives a chef a steady account for ordering foie gras and Wagyu beef. Again, I don't think many other cities have that advantage. So just those two aspects alone I think are what may be factors that attract chefs to Las Vegas. And of course, there may be a bit of wicked, playfulness that influences their personal decision to open in Las Vegas.

I know it's frustrating. If you are interested in attending the events in Las Vegas, just give Bon Appetit a call. I know the operator at the main number can connect you to someone that will make reservations for you for the events-I know because that's how I made my reservations. I got to the website for BA Uncork'd, but then couldn't order tickets online so I just did it the old fashioned way and called.

Sorry you are having trouble getting to the site. The only other suggestion I have is to start with the Bon Appetit main site. On the left is a block called "Events." Click that and it opens a window on all their events. Click "BA Uncork'd" Las Vegas and hopefully it will open for you. I have a couple of open nights when I am in Las Vegas and I am hoping Charlie Trotter's is open by then. Can't wait to try it.

Your impression is somewhat correct-but I'd say that more often than not, the quality stays at a consistently high level at most of the better restaurants even if the namesake chef is not in town. But you do have to choose your restaurants carefully. You'll find many of the chefs are in fact in the kitchen every night-including every restaurant at the Wynn with the exception of Daniel Boulud Brasserie. Chef Julian Serrano is in the kitchen every night at Picasso at Bellagio, and Chef Bryan Ogden is in the kitchens at his Father's restaurant, Bradley Ogden at Caesar's. The list goes on, so if you feel that the meal may be better if "Chef" is in the kitchen, let us know in the Las Vegas forum before you make your reservation. There are lots of eGullet members who are up to the moment in what is going on in Las Vegas and we'll direct you to a restaurant where the "big name" guy is always cooking. An example of your question can be answered by looking at Guy Savoy restaurant in Caesar's Palace. Guy Savoy is obviously not in town that often. But he settles for no less than exceptionally high standards every single night whether he is in the kitchen or not, and he has the executive chefs, sous chefs and pastry chefs to carry through on that goal. His son Frank runs the front of the house and keeps watch to insure his Father's objectives are met. But trust me, I understand your skepticism. There are restaurants in Las Vegas with a "big name" at the top of the menu that don't meet the customers objectives of what a "celebrity chef" restaurant should be. That tends to happen with the chefs whose empires of restaurants, sauces, rubs, cookware, cookbooks and aprons just stretch them so thin that they physically don't have the time to get to Las Vegas as often as they probably should. As a result, the details get lost in a muddle of commercialism and that can be a disastrous mix for any restaurant in the long run.

Try this link for The Palazzo. I am also anxious to try the restaurants at The Palazzo. We have a couple of open nights when we go for the Vegas Uncork'd events in May and one of my choices for dinner is Charlie Trotter's new place at The Palazzo: http://www.palazzolasvegas.com/PINT.aspx?KNC-PAGOOGLESEARCH

I have a sense that some who are serious about dining may have doubts about the authenticity or substance behind the Las Vegas dining scene? Am I right? Whether you've been to Las Vegas or not, I'd like to hear your thoughts on how you perceive the Las Vegas dining scene? Do you view Las Vegas as a top dining destination in the same vein as New York or San Francisco? What are your thoughts? As you may know, I am one of the biggest fans and supporters of the Las Vegas dining community. In support of my argument that Las Vegas deserves a spot in the upper realms of America's top dining destinations, I'm going to be travelling to Las Vegas in May to attend some special culinary events. I'll be reporting back to everyone as to what I find is the 'truth' behind the Las Vegas dining scene. A truth that I hope will bolster my position that Las Vegas deserves to be in the top echelon of America's great restaurant cities. Bon Appetit is sponsoring "Vegas Uncork'd: A Bon Appetit Epicurean Experience" from May 8-11. I attended last year and will be going again this year. My fellow eGullet and Las Vegas dining aficianado, Russell Wong, will also be attending, as will another eGullet friend, John Curtas, the top restaurant and dining journalist in Las Vegas, (and one of the most recognized American food journalists). You may want to check the schedule of events at their website: http://www.bavegasuncorked.com/ I added the subtitle "Experience the 'truth' of Las Vegas dining" to this topic because I encourage serious diners to experience the true substance behind the rhinestone-studded curtains of the Las Vegas dining scene by attending this series of culinary events. I think you will find that there are a number of chefs like Alex Stratta at "Alex" at Wynn, who are passionately yet quietly working behind the scenes every night to elevate Las Vegas to the top levels of America's great dining destinations. While there will be plenty of celebrity chef photo ops, you will also have time in private, intimate settings, to spend personal time with masters like Guy Savoy and Daniel Boulud and listen to them tell us why they have staked their reputations on the success of their Las Vegas restaurants. I am especially excited to attend a private dinner on Thursday, May 8 at Bradley Ogden restaurant in Caesar's Palace-hosted by Alan Richman and Chefs Bradley and Bryan Ogden. Excited because I consider Bradley Ogden and his son Bryan to be two of the top American chefs today-without some of the baggage we often associate with 'celebrity chef' dining rooms. Chef Bradley or his son Bryan are at the stoves in Las Vegas every single night and they have found a number of local producers to supply them with the fruits and vegetables that are an important part of the foundation of their 'market-fresh' cuisine. Now that is what I call the 'truth' behind the Las Vegas dining scene. While there are some restaurants in Las Vegas that are all glitz and glamour yet without any depth of flavor behind the appearance of the food, there are a number of great Las Vegas restaurants that are crafting truthful food for their guests. Do you think dining in Las Vegas is 'true' and worthy of standing in the same company with New York and San Francisco as a top dining destination?

I'm known for not always following standard conventional methods in my recipes-and my recipe for chicken stock probably fits in that category. I don't roast the bones and I don't worry a lot about spending hours skimming the gunk off the top of the stockpot. I chuck a whole dang chicken into a stewpot and let it go. I end up with wonderfully tender and moist chicken meat along with a good chicken stock. For that gelatinous quality we've been talking about, I add chicken wings and chicken or duck feet, along with a pigs foot cut in half. This recipe makes a basic chicken stock. You can further reduce it and use it to make a glace or demi-glace sauce. This recipe for making chicken stock by stewing a whole chicken first came to my attention in a story in Saveur magazine about Chicken Pie Dinners at New England Church Suppers. Apparently this particular method for making chicken stock is something farm cooks used to do years ago-both to make stock and to have cooked chicken meat on hand for making Chicken Pies and Chicken and Dumplings. I changed up the recipe by changing the ratio of herbs and adding the chicken feet and pigs foot. Last year in the Cooking Forum, we had an interesting discussion about the "Classic Glace Recipe" that some of you might find interesting. Our discussions about Escoffier's Glace recipes have somewhat of an application to this discussion today about chicken feet in chicken stock and the reasons for doing so. Here's the link: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=107858 1 whole, large stewing chicken, about 6-8 lbs., thawed 4-5 chicken wings 5-6 chicken or duck feet 1 pigs foot, split in half 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut in chunks 2 large carrots, cut in chunks 3 ribs celery, tops on, cut in chunks 5-6 sprigs curly leaf parsley 1 tbsp. whole black peppercorns 2 sprigs fresh thyme 2 sprigs fresh sage Remove and discard the giblets from the chicken. Place the whole chicken, chicken wings, chicken feet and pigs foot into a large, deep stockpot. I use a stockpot that holds 5 gallons of liquid. Pour in enough water to fully cover the chicken, about 12-14 cups. Add the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, peppercorns, thyme and sage to the stockpot. Cover the stockpot and turn the heat to high. Once the water starts to boil, remove the cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Skim any grey foam that rises to the surface of the water. Continue to simmer the chicken, uncovered, in the stock, for 2 hours or until the chicken meat begins to fall off the bones. Remove the stockpot from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Gently remove the chicken from the stock. Pull the meat off the chicken bones and cover and refrigerate. Discard the skin from the chicken and reserve the bones. Return the chicken bones to the stock and place the stockpot back on the stove. Bring the heat to medium and let the stock simmer for another two hours. Remove the stockpot from the heat and remove the vegetable chunks and chicken bones. Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. I simmer the stock for a couple of more hours to further concentrate the flavors. Let the stock cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate the stock overnight.

Kim one more thing I thought of is the type of dish you are using. Maybe the pros that are reading this thread can chime in on this point-I see you used a glass dish for your Clafoutis? I am wondering if a glass dish can be a factor in the fruit being overly 'wet?' Chef Robuchon advises using a porcelain dish for his Clafoutis. Since I bake mine in a pastry shell, I use a metal tart pan, but you can see in the photo from kbjesq that she used a porcelain dish using my recipe.

Kim you may want to try it with fresh cherries to see the difference in the finished Clafoutis. I think what may have happened is that when the cherries froze they collected little ice particles which in turn became extra cherry juice when you baked the Clafoutis-thus your result of too much juice in ratio to the custard. You may need to just wait until the fresh cherries are ripe in your area sometime in the Summer. Last weekend I made a cherry cobbler using frozen bing cherries and the dessert turned out just fine-but the cherry base for a cobbler is much more forgiving than the cherries baked in a custard for a Clafoutis. I'm thinking Chef Robuchon is right when he suggests that we resist the temptation of making a Clafoutis in the Winter and that we only use fresh cherries in season for our Clafoutis.

As others have mentioned, I just put the chicken feet straight into the stockpot. I buy them fresh at my Asian market. I usually put about 5 or 6 chicken feet into the stockpot for a standard recipe. In other words, take the basic recipe and add 6 chicken feet. I also add one fresh pigs foot, cut in half. The pigs foot also comes from my Asian market. The pigs trotter adds even more rich, sticky collagen to your chicken stock.

I have Chef Robuchon's "Simply French" cookbook (written with Patricia Wells, William Morrow, 1991), in front of me right now. I had to satisfy my own confusion over this Clafoutis in a crust or not in a crust debate and I knew that since my recipe was based on Robuchon's, he'd have the answers I was looking for. After reviewing Chef Robuchon's recipe and comments on Clafoutis, I guess both sides of our crust/no crust discussion could argue their point successfully. Whichever method you choose I don't think you can go wrong. This is a wonderful dessert using any kind of fruit with pits, and then of course it must be served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Here is what Chef Robuchon and Ms. Wells have to say about the issues we have been discussing-fresh vs. frozen cherries, (He only uses fresh), how to reduce the amount of liquid from the cherries, pitted vs. non-pitted cherries and pastry crust vs. no pastry crust. Cherry Clafoutis Clafoutis Aux Cerises "Leave it to Chef Robuchon to come up with a truly stunning, original version of the most classic of all French Clafoutis. Cherries-one of the few truly seasonal fruits left in the world-are delicious but problematical. Their juiciness often gets in the way when cooking, causing tarts and desserts to turn soggy or to overflow. In Jamin's kitchens, the problem is solved two ways. First, the pitted cherries are baked with a touch of Kirsch and sugar, as a way of reducing and thus harnessing the rich flavors of the juice. Then before baking, the cherries are sprinkled with fine crumbs prepared from the trimmed sweet pastry. As with most recipes, this is a simple blueprint. For a more rustic (and traditional) Clafoutis, the dessert may be baked in a porcelain baking dish, without the pastry. Also, cherries are not pitted in the traditional cherry clafoutis, so you may choose to folow suit."

Thanks, I remembered you liked that Clafouti.

I found my Cherry Clafoutis photos. I made this particular Clafoutis last Summer using fresh Bing cherries picked not far from my home in Eastern Washington. From what I am hearing, a traditional Clafoutis isn't baked in a tart shell. But since I got the recipe from Joel Robuchon and I consider him one of the top French chefs of the day, I'll trust that this was his modern adaptation of a classic French dessert. Pastry Shell: Fresh Bing Cherries in Tart Shell: Custard Poured over Cherries in Tart Shell: Baked Cherry Clafoutis dusted with Powdered Sugar:

Maybe I've been calling my dish a Clafouti when it really wasn't? I'll have to check Chef Robuchon's cookbook when I get back home this evening, but I am pretty sure what he calls a clafouti are cherries placed in a tart crust and then the custard poured in and the clafouti baked. What stands out in my mind is that Robuchon mentions that after the pastry dough is formed in the tart pan that you take the pastry trimmings and sprinkle them over the custard so that it sets up as the Clafouti bakes. Now I'm going totally off memory right now as to the specifics of Chef Robuchon's recipe, so I'm not 100% sure that his definition of a Clafouti is one baked in a tart shell. I sure wouldn't argue with Chef Joel Robuchon as to what makes a Clafouti! Clafoutis is a wonderful dessert that somehow doesn't seem to appear on menus as much as it probably should.

Hi Kim. I love making Clafoutis. I'm just sorry I couldn't find a photo of one to post for you. My guess is that maybe you didn't add enough starch to the custard and it is not thickening/setting up properly. It could also be the type of fruit you are using. Fruits that put out a lot of juice like cherries can cause a Clafouti to be too runny. Maybe it needs another egg? You might want to look at Joel Robuchon's Clafoutis recipe in his book, "Simply French" written with Patricia Wells. Chef Robuchon uses bits of leftover pastry dough folded into the custard to help soak up some of the juice of the cherries as his Clafoutis bakes. I use his basic recipe, but I don't add the pastry bits to the custard. Mine seems to set up fine. Here is my recipe. Compare it to the one you are using and let me know what the differences are. Sweet Pastry Crust 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ cup cake flour 1 tbsp. superfine granulated sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 stick unsalted butter, chilled ½ cup Crisco shortening, chilled 1/3 cup ice water In a large bowl, combine the flour, cake flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter, blend in the butter and Crisco. Cut the mixture until the pieces are the size of peas. Using a fork, blend in enough of the ice water so that the dough begins to form a ball. Using your hands, gently form the dough into one ball. Place the dough in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before using. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature. Sprinkle a board with flour. Roll the dough out into a circle large enough to fill the bottom of a tart pan. Spray the bottom and edges of the tart pan with a non-stick oil such as Pam®. Line the tart pan with the dough then trim the edges of the pastry. Filling 1 1/2 pounds cherries, pitted 1/3 cup Kirsch, (cherry liqueur) 3 tbsp. flour ½ tsp. salt 1/4 cup granulated sugar 4 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 1 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream ½ vanilla bean ¼ cup powdered sugar Place the cherries in a bowl. (Do not use a metal bowl as it will react with the cherry liqueur). Add the Kirsch and toss the cherries to coat. Let the cherries macerate in the liqueur at room temperature for at least one hour. Preheat oven to 375°. Add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of the food processor. With the processor running, add the whole eggs, egg yolks, milk, and cream. Cut the vanilla bean in half and add the seeds to the batter mixture. Drain the cherries, reserving the liqueur for another use. Place the cherries in an even layer in the bottom of the tart pan. Pour the batter over the cherries. Bake the clafoutis in the oven until the top is browned and the custard is set, about 45 minutes. Remove the clafoutis from the oven and let it cool completely. Dust the clafoutis with the powdered sugar then cut into wedges and serve. Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Thanks, yes those are thin onion rings on top of the chicken. I'd love to get that recipe for that bleu cheese dressing. Your salad looks delicious. The onion rings have a thin coating of seasoned fry mix rather than the heavy batter you find on most onion rings. It's a different taste than battered onion rings where you have to fight through a mouthful of doughy batter to get to a sometimes soggy onion. The thin coating helps the onion ring to be crispy but still allows for a lot of natural onion flavor to come through. Here is my recipe: Frizzled Onions 4 cups canola or vegetable oil for frying 1 large yellow onion (I use Walla Walla Sweets in season) 2 cups milk 1 cup frying mix (I use Pride of the West fry mix made in Portland) 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. black pepper ½ tsp. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. paprika Heat oil in a heavy stockpot to 375°. Using a mandoline or vegetable slicer, thinly slice onion into rings. Place onion rings into a large bowl and cover with milk. Let the onions soak in the milk while the oil heats. In another bowl, mix together fry mix, salt, black pepper, cayenne and ½ tsp. paprika. Drain onions from milk. Dredge onion rings in seasoned fry mix and shake off excess. Deep-fry onions until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain onion rings on paper towels. Sprinkle with remaining ½ tsp. paprika.

Yes indeed, homemade croutons, although this time I cut the bread into cubes that were a bit too small for my tastes. I start with a good loaf of Italian or French bread-I don't use an artisan style bread because I don't want a bread with big interior air pockets. That doesn't make for solid croutons. I cut the crust off the bread, then cut the bread into good size cubes so that they can soak up all the stuff I'm going to add. I spread the bread cubes on one layer on a cookie sheet. Then I toast the bread cubes in a low oven for about 15 minutes to get them a bit hard. Then I take the croutons out of the oven and put them into a bowl and add salt, pepper, melted butter and a good measure of garlic olive oil. I don't want the croutons soaking wet, but I do want them well-coated with the butter and olive oil. Then I put the croutons back on the cookie sheet and put them back into the oven to brown-about 15 more minutes. Finally, after I bring the croutons out of the oven I put them back in the bowl and toss with a bit more melted butter and olive oil. You end up with these buttery, crispy croutons that are far better than anything you'll buy in the supermarket. By the way, I make garlic olive oil by pouring 1 cup of olive oil into a small dish and then adding 4 crushed cloves of garlic. I let the garlic steep in the olive oil for about two hours before using it. I've read in some older cookbooks where this is a dangerous technique-letting garlic sit in oil can make the oil go rancid. I've never gotten sick off my garlic olive oil so I guess it's ok.

Last night I started with my Caesar Salad, but this time I changed up the recipe and added a garnish of tapenade that I made with Kalamata olives, garlic, oregano, anchovies, black and red pepper. I make the traditional Caesar dressing with coddled egg and anchovy. As you can imagine, I like anchovies. I always use a lot of fresh lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce in the dressing so it cuts through the saltiness of the anchovies: Then my basic rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. This time served with green beans and a basic jus made from stock and the chicken drippings in the rotisserie pan. Sorry, not a great photo but it was late and I needed another glass of wine:

Those ribs are a thing of beauty.

"The Tenth Muse-My Life in Food" by Judith Jones. While I knew Ms. Jones was Julia's editor before I read her book, I never realized how influential she was in bringing so many cookbooks and authors to the attention of America. And I found it quite interesting and satisfying to know that she herself has a love of food and the American kitchen. I think that is probably why so many of the cookbooks she worked on have been so successful-her own love of food and cooking helped to coax the best from the chefs and cooks she worked with. The book reads like a history of American cooking in the last half of the twentieth century. Imagine counting Julia Child, James Beard, Edna Lewis and MFK Fisher among your personal friends. Quite amazing.

I have the 'Pressure Magic' model by Fagor. I'm not sure if they still sell them, but if they do, it's worth the cost. Yes, there is a lot of furor out there over the older models of pressure cookers and using them for deep-frying. From the research I did when I wrote my piece on Fried Chicken for TheMediadrome.com, I found that the Fagor 'Pressure Magic' model was the only one safely certified for pressure cooking/deep frying. I think that the controversy and issue of safety came about because there were home cooks who were using their standard pressure cookers to deep-fry when the cooker was not certified to do so. The basic idea of a pressure cooker is of course to cook foods under the intense pressure of steam. But think of adding the extra pressure of hot, bubbling oil, and steam, all under pressure. If you use a pot not certified to handle that, you would probably be creating the platform for a monumental explosion of steam and fat and chicken all over your kitchen walls. Not to worry though if you use the Fagor 'Pressure Magic' model. I've used it for about 7 years now and never once had an accident. I want to make sure that the lid seals extremely tight onto the pot, so I do regularly clean the rubber seal that fits under the lid and I clean the grease that accumulates under the lid itself. Ultimately what you are trying to create is the same flavor and texture of chicken that the Colonel fried or what you find at the grocery store deli-chicken fried in hot oil first, then finished in a large vat under steam pressure.

You can also find it in the Sporting Goods section of any Walmart store. Hopefully you've got one close by. Go to the aisle where they have wood chips and smokers. You'll find it in a little clear package, looks like pink salt. Barring that, you would probably have to order it online.