David Ross

I would like to think that in a perfect world that your suggestion of recruiting and training butchers in the traditional meat cutting trade would be ideal. But I doubt that will ever happen in America. I don't think we can ever break the economic reality of today's supermarket meat cases-it is cheaper to hire someone to unpack boxes of beef and put them in a meat case. At best, many of the people employed at the mass markets in the US-aka WalMart, unpack cases of meat in the back room, repack it, price it and put it in a case out on the floor of the store. They don't do much actual cutting of meat. For those of us serious cooks and anyone serious about the beef we eat, I think we have to be resigned to taking a bit more time, effort and maybe drive a bit further to seek out a reliable butcher or good meat counter within the supermarket. But you do have an interesting point and one that I think would be quite profitable-a traditional butcher who markets their shop much like a fine wine shop. It would a 'Beef Sommelier' if you will-someone who can choose beef at its peak of flavor from properly fed cattle and cut the meat to draw the greatest flavor out of each cut. That is something that would certainly sell in the U.S., albeit in a high-income demographic that would support that type of butcher shop.

Confusing yes. Another part of the confusing issue of supermarket beef vs. butcher shop beef is the side issue of which breed of cattle produces better beef. Where I live one of the supermarkets sells only 'Certified Hereford Beef.' About 5 years ago they ran an ad campaign with a cowboy on a horse herding some herefords in a pasture North of Spokane. They claimed that all the beef sold in their local supermarkets came from "their own ranch of hereford cattle." Well the 20 or 30 hereford's in the commercial probably didn't supply them with a fraction of the beef needed to supply their stores because a few months later, the slogan was changed to remove the 'home-grown' claim and now stands as "we only sell Certified Hereford Beef." But they only sell the Certified Hereford at the meat and seafood counter. The stuff that is pre-packaged in the meat cases isn't 'Certified Hereford.' There is an Albertson's supermarket a block away that sells the regular meat case stuff, 'organic' beef from Colorado and then a small corner of the meat case sells 'Pure-Bred Certified Black Angus' beef. The Angus is only graded choice, nothing further down on the chain of meat grades. Last Fall I was the emcee for a wild game and beef cooking event in Portland, Oregon. I worked with a new beef production company in Eastern Oregon and a chef in Portland who only cooks with their meat. The gentleman representing the beef producers told me that it wasn't so much the breed of the cattle-they run a mix of Angus and Hereford-but how the animals are raised. In their case the animals graze on grass and alfalfa pastures and are kept on the pastures longer than most cattle. They want the cattle to fatten up on pastures as long as possible before they send them off to finish up in the feedlot. Right now most of their beef is going straight to the restaurant trade and isn't offered in supermarkets. You are right, the best tack on this discussion is to find a reliable butcher or meat counter and if what you put on the plate is to your tastes, keep going back to that person for your meat.

Thanks for the insight. It is interesting to me to note that while we are thousands of miles apart, many of the issues that we face in America regarding the issue of Supermarket Beef vs. Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe beef are the same issues you mention are happening in London. Yes, certain pockets of the US have good ethnic markets who have good meat counters. Some areas of our country may have many good local butchers, and yes, we do have cities that have good meat counters within the supermarket. A few lucky cities have upscale markets selling prime beef. But I think overall, there are far fewer butcher shops in America than there were say 50 years ago, and probably even 10 years ago. I don't have facts to back it up, but from what I read and see in the media, the old-fashioned butcher shop trade continues to shrink away. Sadly, I think that the trend of family-owned butcher shops and seafood markets closing has been felt the most in mid-size and smaller American cities. I agree with you that two of the main factors are the cost of doing business and the lack of demand. Another factor is that younger generations of the families who owned these businesses are not interested in continuing in the family tradition of cutting meat. This is exactly the same scenario facing many traditional family farms-younger generations are leaving the farm for college and not returning after they graduate. They can make more money in a professional position than baling hay. The metro area of Spokane where I live is upwards of 300,000 people but we only have 1, count it 1, fresh seafood market. This is an old-fashioned seafood market. The man who owned the market and ran it with his wife for many years retired last year. Their kids and grandkids had no interest in continuing in the family business. Thankfully, a young man stepped in and saved the market and he has actually expanded the business. But the business probably wouldn't survive on its own by just selling seafood. A large percentage of the revenue from the shop come from the sale of wine because the markup on wine is greater than the margin of profit on seafood. We do have a very good Mexican market in Spokane that has a fresh meat counter that I just discovered. I'll be visiting them often in the future. But we only have 1 traditional butcher shop. And remember, this is Eastern Washington and cattle are one of our biggest sources of revenue. This is the West where beef is supposed to be king. The butcher shops has three locations in the area. What is interesting is that one of their shops is attached to the seafood market I mentioned above. The location is not great. The shops are located in an old strip mall that is tucked back behind some fast food restaurants off a main street. If you didn't know they were there you'd drive right by and you'd be in the parking lot of a large supermarket. I guess that is the trend in my area-the old-fashioned way of life and how we used to shop for food has faded into the past. The butcher, the fishmonger and the baker have morphed into a one-stop shopping center under one roof. My original argument about Supermarket Beef vs. Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe Beef is really more than a disccussion about a bad Porterhouse and a good New York Strip Loin. For me it's also about a loss of a way of life and the old days of shopping at small, family-owned shops for the fixins for dinner. But what is also interesting in this discussion about supermarket beef and butcher shop beef is that I have found that there is a trend in America to get back to our roots in terms of our food and how it is raised, marketed and bought by consumers. I think that is a good thing. Farmer's markets seem to be much more popular than they were 20 years ago and have actually boomed in my area. And if the meat counter at one of our supermarkets is selling pure-bred Angus beef steaks cut by hand, good. I won't buy steaks in a plastic package that have been transported 2,500 miles anymore. I'll take the time to see the one butcher shop in town and work on really building a personal relationship with them. They are only about 5 miles from my home so I have been stupid not to visit them more. I still have some questions though. Do any of you have a preference for meat from a certain breed of cattle? Is it just a ploy of the Beef Marketing Council to trick consumers into thinking Angus beef is the best? Is it justification to raise the price of certified Angus beef by a couple of dollars per pound over the average per pound price of beef? The main breed of choice of ranchers years ago in the Northwest was the Hereford because they were suited to grazing on the vast, dry rangelands in the Eastern part of Oregon and Washington. My Grandfather raised mainly Herefords and then a few Black Angus. My Great Uncle only raised Shorthorns. We always called them Shorthorns for 'beef' because in those days, a lot of Shorthorns were raised as dairy cows. My cousins raised a mix of different breeds-Hereford, Black and Red Angus and shorthorns. I think most of the beef in the basic supermarket case are cross-bred steers to keep the per pound price down. You can find pure-bred Angus beef in the supermarket, but I think most consumers pass it by since it is more expensive. Another downfall for supermarket beef vs. butcher shop beef. What do you think?

Very, very nice. Did you add any mushrooms or anything else to the crab and linguine? It looks delicious.

I so agree with you. I also believe that we are moving back to raising animals and fruits and vegetables like our forefathers did in the days before the mega-producers. I have some distant cousins who have continued the cattle ranching tradition in our family. They own and operate one of the largest feedlot operations in Eastern Oregon and Washington. Earlier this year my Mother and Father visited them and my 3rd cousin mentioned that at the time they had 80,000 head of cattle in their feedlots. Imagine that many cattle feeding at one time. While they are mass-producers of beef, I give my cousins kudos for preserving a measure of integrity in terms of the ranchers they work with who supply their feedlots with cattle and for the care they take to insure the animals come to them healthy and properly fed and raised humanely. They carry that ethic into the feedlot. To their credit, they have a large contract with Whole Foods Markets and as you know, Whole Foods has stringent standards for the beef that they sell in the market. Whole Foods wouldn't even think about signing a contract with a meat distributor who didn't provide them with the high-quality beef that their customers demand. While not all the cattle that are in the feedlot are fed to the standards of Whole Foods, they are all treated and fed properly. I so miss my Maternal Grandfather's favorite meat-roast pork with a thick layer of cracklin fat. The only thing close to that pork roast today is the pork belly that I have to go to the Asian market for. It's the only pork I can get with that extra thick layer of fat. I do think we are moving toward getting back to our roots in agriculture. It has unfortunately taken scares, and deaths, over tainted spinach and undercooked and infectious hamburger to force many to realize that. I sure won't be buying anymore pre-packaged individual steaks anymore I can guarantee you that. Everytime I think about that bad Porterhouse I realize how important it is to stop and take a few moments to consider the food one is buying. The hand-cut Strip Loin steak was so much better.

I haven't been to London for about 15 years, but when I was there I seem to remember many small traditional butcher shops. Are you finding the tradition of English butchers is withering away? It is getting harder and harder for us to find traditional butchers in America. Also, is Lidgate butchers still in London? I remember that was one of the butcher shops I visited and they had a large selection of traditional meat pies.

I think this is a good discussion. While I started with the topic of supermarket steak vs. old-fashioned butcher shop steak, certainly the issue of the breed of cattle and the way the cattle are fed comes into play in this discussion. I've heard a lot of talk lately about the grass-fed/grass-finished issue as opposed to the old method of grass-fed/corn-finished cattle. It all seems to be a part of a move on the part of ranchers, retailers and the general public to take back some control of our beef supply from the mega-factory beef production companies. And it seems to be paying off in the availability of better quality steaks in the market. The porterhouse I cooked that turned out so bad was an example of beef from the mass-market distributor. I think it was a steak that came from a mixed-breed steer that wasn't given a proper diet, probably processed before the steer was finished fattening up-or after the steer was past his prime. The steak was probably cut, gassed, packaged and transported miles from where the animal was born. That isn't to say that this type of processing doesn't deliver a good steak, but I think it is more susceptible to giving consumers poorer quality beef than the old-fashioned way of raising cattle. The delicious strip steak I showed in the photo above is an example of a local producer selling beef to a market that cuts choice quality steaks from whole strip loins. That's the old-fashioned way. When I was a kid my Grandfather and Great Uncle raised both Shorthorns and Hereford cattle in Prineville, Oregon in the central part of the state. They had small operations and those were the days when many ranchers had small feedlots on their own farms. The cattle spent the winter feasting on the alfalfa we had baled the previous summer. In spring the cattle fed on a fresh crop of alfalfa in lowland pastures on the ranch. and then spent the summer's high up in the mountains of Eastern Oregon grazing on federal lands. They didn't take the cattle off their pasture lands and ship them to a huge feedlot miles away. Many of the ranchers had their own small feedlots where they fattened their cattle before they were shipped off for processing. As ranching moved into the 70's, my Great Uncle could no longer afford to run his own feedlot so that is when he started to ship his cattle to a commerical feedlot and the feedlot then sent the finished cattle on to a processing plant. From what I remember that is about the time we saw the mega-feedlot/production houses take over. Fast forward to today and here we are, cattle ranching is coming back to its roots. Many small operations are getting back to the methods of raising and feeding cattle that my family used decades ago. And so it seems to go with our beef today, and our spinach, our radishes and our chickens. If we buy quality products that are raised properly and fed a proper diet, we should have a tasty New York Strip Loin on our dinner plate.

Last night I did a Lemon Pound Cake that I served with fresh local raspberries and blackberries that were soaked in Orange Curacao and Chambord Liquers overnight. The Pound Cake was more 'pudding-like' in texture than a basic pound cake-probably because I doused the cake with more of the orange curacao!

Anna-thank you so much for the info. I totally agree with all of your points and I really appreciate your insight. I've often thought of doing my own butchering. I consider myself a pretty informed foodie and knowledgeable about a lot of products, including beef. My family has a history in the cattle business and I know how to cook meat. But I had not really devoted the time and energy I should have in the past when buying steaks. I have heard all of the press that locally raised, grass-fed beef raised naturally results in better a better steak. i just never took the time I should have to see if that was true. Now I know it is. The bad porterhouse I cooked was due to rushing to fast through the meat case at a supermarket that didn't have a meat counter staffed with a human being. I selected a poor steak that was more pink than red, I didn't examine the fat marbling to insure there was a good ratio of fat in the meat, and I didn't examine the label closely enough to check on the grade of the steak. After opening up the garbage sack in 102 heat yesterday afternoon and examing the label from the porterhouse package, I realized it was a poor grade-select and the steak was at its 'best before this date' age. So I rushed to buy a porterhouse without making sure it was really fresh, thick, marbled and at least 'choice' grade. The 10% added solution injected into the steak didn't help. I think I answered my original question of 'supermarket beef vs. ye olde butcher shoppe' with a little test I did yesterday. I still bought a steak at a supermarket, but this market has a butcher counter with trained butchers. They buy local beef and cut the steaks by hand. They only sell choice grade and will order prime grade on request. Their steaks are as thick or thin as you would like them, and the meat is not injected with preservative solutions. So I learned my lesson and in the future I will always buy steaks from this particular store or buy it at the source from a local farmer and cut the meat myself. Don't stop commenting here even though I think I solved my steak dilemma. I'm still interested in your thoughts. Here are a few photos: This is the Strip Loin Steak I bought from the meat counter. Thick and with plenty of marbling, graded USDA 'Choice.' The steak is seasoned with olive oil, cracked black pepper and a dusting of Cajun seasoning just before searing in a cast iron skillet. This is the steak after cooking. I seared it on high heat in the cast iron skillet for 4 minutes per side, then into a 550 degree oven for another 2 minutes per side. I let it rest on a wire rack for about 3-4 minutes before serving. The finished Strip Loin Steak.

I used stuff I had on hand to make dessert last night-brownies, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and maraschino cherries. It turned out to be one of the best desserts of late. I broke the brownies into big chunks and sprinkled them around a couple of scoops of Tillamook vanilla bean ice cream. I drizzled some warm milk chocolate sauce on the ice cream and brownies and topped the sundae with a couple of maraschino cherries. Very good on a hot summer evening.

It has been extremely hot in the Pacific Northwest, particularly East of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, all through Idaho and into Montana. Hot. I didn't want to cook much, so I made my version of Caesar Salad. I do it the old-fashioned way by making my own croutons and putting both anchovies and raw egg in my dressing. For dessert I concocted a sort of brownie 'sundae.' I made brownies the other night so I broke up the leftover brownies into chunks. I used Tillamook dairy vanilla bean ice cream and drizzled the ice cream and brownie chunks with milk chocolate sauce. Oh yeah, and a couple of delicious maraschino cherries. I love maraschino cherries. May not be 'gourmet' but I sure like them.

They are wild purple huckleberries and they grow in the mountains just outside Spokane. You only have to drive about 30 minutes out of town to start to get into the huckleberry bushes. The Lamb company in Ellensburg labels its products as 'Superior Farms' and is right alongside the I-90 freeway just West of town. I checked out their website and they say they sell to retail, but I rarely see it in Spokane.

Here is the recipe for the Huckleberry Compote. It goes well with lamb because like lamb, it is a bit sweet. Yet the berries are tart enough to cut through the richness of lamb. And the exotic fragrance of the berries also is a nice accent to the sweet smell of lamb. You could substitute blackberries for the huckleberries and I think it would be just as good. Just close your eyes and imagine some lambs out in the pasture feasting on wild blackberries. A pretty photo I am sure, but a scene that makes me want to take one of the buggers into the kitchen and cook him! Huckleberry Compote ¼ cup red wine 1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar ¾ cup sugar 1 ½ cups huckleberries 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 1/8 tsp. cinnamon Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to gently boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the compote until it thickens, about 40 minutes. The compote is best if you let it cool in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight and let it thicken further. Heat the chilled compote over low heat before serving it with lamb.

I hear everyone's pain in not being able to get local lamb, and the generally high cost of lamb. I live only a couple of hours drive from one of the prime lamb ranching areas in the Northwest, Ellensburg, Washington, home to Ellensburg Lamb. Unfortunately, we rarely if ever see Ellensburg lamb in our markets or even at the many farmer's markets here in Eastern Washington. Part of the reason our local lamb in Montana and Washington is rarely found in local markets is because the lambs raised for meat, (not wool), are raised for the restaurant and food service trade. Lots of our restaurants serve local lamb, yet we can't find it in our markets. I agree with those who have said it is a matter of supply and demand and the economics of farming lamb. I've read studies where the American taste for lamb is far below the average per person consumption of lamb in other countries. As such, I imagine that it is cheaper for the ranchers and processors to sell large numbers of lambs for the food industry rather than sell a few lambs to local markets. I regularly buy fresh Aussie lamb at Costco. They always have racks, chops and boneless leg roasts. I find the quality very good. My biggest issue with Australian or New Zealand lamb is that the racks seem to be very small compared to a big fatty American rack of lamb. Lamb is my favorite meat hands down. I love the sweet flavor and juicy tenderness that comes from the chops of a rack of lamb. I did not come to appreciate lamb for many, many years. My Grandfather was part of the lamb industry in Twin Falls, Idaho. Idaho was once the land of lamb with vast expanses of the plains in Southern Idaho crowded with herds of lamb. Grandpa sold lamb pelts, not just wool, the whole damn hide (pelt) with the wool still attached. I'll never forget that musty, hot smell of fresh lamb pelts stacked in the warehouse in Summer-it was really off-putting. One of my Grandfather's lady friends once cooked a leg of mutton for our lunch. Good God, imagine an old ram stewed in tomato sauce for hours. It smelled worse than the pelts in the warehouse and tasted very, very bad. That's why it wasn't until I got into my late 30's that I appreciated the flavor of Spring lamb. I think my favorite meal is rack of lamb with any type of potatoes and a nice huckleberry compote that I make in the late Summer.

Do you find any difference between meat you buy at the supermarket vs. meat you buy at a local butcher shop? The other day I bought a Porterhouse Steak at a local supermarket. My first sign that I shouldn't have put the steak in my cart was the fact that it was more 'pink' than 'red' in color. (The redder the meat tends to mean it is fresher). The second clue that I failed to take seriously was that the steak had been injected with 'a 10% solution.' Markets and meat distributors regularly inject their meats with solutions so that they will have more staying power while sitting in a meat case. I was so crazy about having a charred porterhouse off the grill that I lowered my standards for a great steak and bought this hapless piece of meat. Well-I built the perfect charcoal fire in my Weber and slapped the steak on the grill. The end result was awful. I only grilled the steak a few minutes on each side, hoping for a medium-rare finished piece of meat. It didn't get the classic black char I want on grilled steaks, it was rubbery and the color of the meat was grey. Grey in part because it was over-cooked. But I often find that supermarket meats that are low grade and injected with a 'solution' tend to be grey when cooked. It seems that the 'grey' color comes from the injected solution. My guess is because the solution has a lot of salt in it. Oversalted raw meats tend to turn grey when cooked. But like everyone I don't always have the time, money or even think to stop at the butcher shop. I tend to go straight to the meat case in the supermarket and put a steak in my cart without really taking the time to look it over first. On occasion I will buy a whole tenderloin or strip loin and butcher it myself. I can buy the whole cuts as choice grade and cut the steaks to my own personal preference-that means thick as in a 2" New York cut from the strip loin. I don't do it much because it is a bit hard to swallow paying upwards of $75 bucks for a huge piece of meat. Actually, if you buy a whole tenderloin and cut it yourself it is much cheaper than buying individual steaks. I can find a whole tenderloin at Costco for about $8.99 a pound versus $12.99 a pound for individually cut steaks. But two steaks for $18 bucks is still easier to handle than a huge tenderloin for $75. I know, stupid reasoning. While the whole cuts are packaged in plastic and still have the dreaded 'solution' added, they seem to produce a finished steak with better results than the aforementioned lone Porterhouse I bought. The ultimate steak experience for me is to drive about an hour East to North Idaho to an old fashioned butcher shop in Couer d'Alene. 'Tim' the butcher actually offers both choice and prime cuts of steak. And he only buys local beef that is raised naturally. Tim's steaks give me the results that I am looking for when they are grilled-charred black on the outside, medium-rare on the inside and incredibly juicy and tender. It is certainly worth the drive and the cost. Do you buy steaks at your supermarket? Do your supermarket steaks grill up the way you want them to? Do you ever buy steaks at an old fashioned butcher shop? Are they better than supermarket steaks? Is it worth the extra cost to buy a naturally raised steak from a local butcher?

Yes, how unfortunate that we weren't raised to suck shrimp-heads! Seriously. I have to buy head-on frozen shrimp at my Asian market. If I am on a trip to Portland or Seattle I can buy them live. In addition to sucking all that good goo out of the head, head-on prawns make a delicious base for Shrimp Bisque. I saute them with aromatics and then stab the heads with a wooden spoon to break all that head flavor into the base for the Bisque.

Actually I've only been as far 'East' as Hawaii, so I haven't even set foot in any country in Asia, although someday I plan to take a train trip into the far reaches of China. Wing Lei is a great experience whether you go alone or with a group. I'm pretty serious about my dining experiences at this level, so if I did go with a group, I would make sure it was a group of people who had an appreciation and respect for Chinese cuisine like I do. For example, I would not want to go with a group of friends who were expecting to be served 'combination' plates of Egg Foo Young, Fried Shrimp and Fried Rice. As far as when you go with a group eating 'family style,' yes, there is that opportunity. In fact, about half of the table have a lazy Susan in the center where the dishes are placed, allowing each member of the dining party to serve themselves just like you are used to in your home. On the other hand, some dishes are served already 'plated' and served just to one person. For example, if there is a party of six and each person has ordered their own entree without an intention of sharing, it would be served solely to them. In the end though, Wing Lei will cater to your specific needs and tastes in how you prefer the dishes be served.

This isn't an unusual mojito recipe by any means; I mostly just choose ingredients carefully and make sure not to make it too sweet. 2 oz añejo rum (I use Appleton V/X) 1/2 oz fresh lime juice scant 1 tsp demerara sugar 6-8 spearmint leaves Lemon Hart 151 Demerara rum soda water garnish: mint sprig Place mint leaves in the bottom of a sturdy mixing glass (or shaker). Add sugar and lime juice. Muddle the leaves gently against the bottom/side of glass; the goal is to squeeze out some essence, and let the rough sugar abrade the leaves a bit, but not to shred them. Add the rum and stir briefly to combine. Remove the mint leaves. Add ice to shaker/glass and shake for ~10 seconds. Strain into chilled collins-style glass. Add ice cubes -- the bigger the better. Drop in one of the squeezed-out lime shells. Top with an ounce or so of soda water. Float a couple of teaspoons of Demerara 151 on the top by pouring over the back of a spoon. Add a mint sprig and straw; enjoy. Actually, the size glasses we have are perfect for making this a 1.5x recipe (3 oz rum, 3/4 oz lime juice, 1.5 tsp sugar, etc.), but the standard size drink is what I have listed. I've found prefer the añejo rums to silver/white (unaged), however, be careful, as "gold" rums contain sugar and would make this way, way too sweet. Rather than using generic soda water, it might be worthwhile experimenting with one of the Dry Soda products for a flavor twist, though it's possible the flavors would be overwhelmed by the rum and lime. If trying those, though, I'd reduce the granulated sugar a bit. I think any sort of other normally-sweetened soda would be too much. [edit: fixed typos] ← Thanks for the recipe. Would it get off-track if I added a few fresh blackberries or blueberries to the Mojito? If I add berries should I muddle them a bit with the mint or put the berries in whole at the last minute? I had a really good Blueberry Mojito at Spago in Las Vegas one summer that was really great. I think a Mojito might be good with some barbecued meats.

YUM!!! that is so right up my alley!!! wattecetti your food looks wonderful and your commentary made me laugh!!! last night we started with TallDrinkOfWater's special mojitos- these aren't your ordinary sweet drinks! then he made spicy shrimp with chorizo, grilled broccoli and a nice salad ← Could we be so fortunate to have the Mojito recipe? It's going to be really, really hot this weekend and I bet a cool Mojito is going to be in order!

Great recommendations. Thank you. Mark also suggested that given my background, I should approach High Noon or one of the other production companies with my idea. My local PBS station has been very good to me, unfortunately, like PBS national, they don't have much of a budget to produce a local cooking show. I have a good relationship with my local ABC affiliate, KXLY-TV Spokane and they should have some ideas of production companies. It's been a long journey since MasterChef on PBS and trying to crack into the world of cooking on TV. The local people in Seattle and Spokane have seen my work and have directed me to contact national production companies. I do, and usually don't get much response. If I have gotten a response it's been the 'Dear John' type of letter. That old adage is really true-for every one opportunity that comes your way, you get about 50 rejection letters. I'll look into the avenues you and Mark suggested. Thanks for the tips and I'll start a new thread chronicling my journey. Thanks again.

Wow, Mark and I must have ESP. I've been thinking about entering the season 4 competition of Next Food Network Star myself and was getting ready to get everyone's thoughts. I'm struggling with my desire to get into the competition with my issue about the 'commercial' aspects of the show. I'm a serious foodie and cook and I see myself as a serious teacher, not a tv personality. My style is more suited to PBS or Discovery Channel than Food Network. I certainly don't see myself as having the 'tv look' or that shtick type of personality that some 'tv hosts' have, er-selling cars or talking about the best ice cream in America. So on the one hand I don't want to 'dumb down' by personal thoughts about cooking shows on television by entering into a competition on Food Network. On the other hand I could look at it in terms of being a person who could bring a dose of seriousness about cooking back to Food Network. I totally understand the commercial reasons for why they have certain programs, but shouldn't they also balance that out with more serious programs that teach people how to cook and appreciate food ala Rick Stein's show about cooking in Great Britain on BBC America? I've done a 'reality' type of cooking competition on PBS called 'MasterChef USA' where I placed in the top three. I've gone on to do lots of food writing and about 30 cooking segments on local television. Don't know if I'd have to do a demo tape for Food Network or if one of my other tapes would suffice as an entry. I'd prefer to go direct to Food Network to pitch a show idea, but they don't accept ideas off the street-they only accept a 'pitch' for a show from a production company. I figure this might be my best chance to get a show. Or at least see if I can even get a foot in the door and show them I might be a talent of interest. I haven't checked out the website to look at the call for entries and the deadlines and commitments involved. I'll think about it. My idea may not sustain a full show over the long term. Maybe it wouldn't even appeal to the Food Network's mass audience. My concept would be something along the lines of The Pacific Northwest Kitchen with David Ross. Your comments are welcome.

We eat a lot of razor clams here in the Pacific Northwest. They are delicious. I find the best way to eat them is simply fried and served with lemon wedges and tartar sauce. I soak the clams in milk first, then dip them in seasoned flour or store-bought fry mix. I saute them clams in a hot skillet with a mix of both butter and olive oil. Sear them for only about a minute or so on each side to brown the coating and they are done. If you cook them too long they will be so rubbery you can't hardly cut them with a knife. The texture of razor clams is a bit chewy, even if they are cooked perfectly, but that's what I like about them. Lots of meaty clam flavor.

Tonight I actually had leftovers that turned out really good. I had some 'Posole' in the freezer. I made it with grilled pork tenderloin and yellow hominy as the main ingredients in the soup. It really froze well. Then tonight I made some steamed rice and added all sorts of Mexican spices and finished the rice with diced tomato and green onions. Not bad for leftovers.

Definately try Alex. If you met Chef Alex Stratta without having seen the dining room or tasting his food, you would never imagine that he is one of the top chefs in Las Vegas. Probably America for that matter. When I was in Las Vegas in May, I went to a private winemaker's lunch at Alex. As we descended the stairs that have been described as 'out of the movie Hello Dolly' and entered into the dining room, there was Chef Stratta, meeting the guests with crystal flutes of champagne. He is soft-spoken and unassuming. Chef Stratta simply said "welcome to 'Alex,' I hope you like the lunch we have planned for you today." He was almost surprised when I asked him to sign my menu. I got the sense that he was surprised that someone would think highly enough of him to even ask for an autograph, yet he appeared to be quite pleased that I asked. Of course, he gracefully signed my menu and shook my hand and quipped "welcome to Las Vegas." The staff at our lunch was hand-picked since it was a special event, but I would imagine that any of the staff at Alex for dinner would match the seamless service we found at lunch. Just imagine having a very expensive meal and wonderful wines in a very sumptuous, almost ornate room, yet with service that is so friendly you can't believe you aren't in a more casual setting. They make you feel that special and relaxed at Alex. If you aren't a 'foodie,' I am sure they would gently describe to you what the difference is between 'white' and 'green' asparagus and what cheese they used to make the 'white asparagus gratin.' We actually had the delicious gratin as an accompaniment to one of our entrees at lunch. Alex gets plenty of press and good reviews, but since Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon have moved into town, Alex tends to get put on a tier under their French counterparts. I would disagree with anyone who would say Alex isn't as 'good' as Savoy or Robuchon. It's just a different style of cooking in a different type of setting, but every bit as good in my opinion and in many ways, not as stuffy or formal as Savoy or Robuchon. Try Alex. I doubt you will be disappointed. And since this is the Wing Lei thread, Alex is only a few steps to the right and down the foyer from Wing Lei. Dinner at Wing Lei on Friday. Dinner at Alex on Saturday.

Good Lord those prawns and dumplings look very delicious. Fly some over to me please! Very nice.