David Ross

Grilled Skirt Steak, Chimmichurri and a Radish and cucumber Salad-

Great lamb burger and thank you for the compliment. As cooks we all hope to inspire someone to try out our dishes.

Thanks for the kind comments on the burger. I've been perfecting my burgers for about 4 years and I think I'm finally there.

My Caesar Salad with romaine and butter lettuce. The croutons are rough cut off an Italian loaf and then drenched with garlic olive oil and butter and baked til golden. The dressing is old-style with garlic olive oil, dry mustard, Worcestershire, lots of lemon juice, lots of black pepper, a coddled egg, anchovies and a new punch with capers. Oh, and lots of parmesan and asiago.

Lamb Burger seasoned with Ras el Hanout spices, havarti cheese, sliced red onion and a greek yogurt cucumber/dill dressing. A slice of tomato and a lettuce leaf would have added color, but it really wasn't necessary on this whopper. And the important element of a great burger, a properly buttered and toasted brioche bun.

By chance did any of the vendors present some BBQ Mutton?

I have virtually the entire series and they are an indispensible resource for serious cooks. When you read through the Chinese volume you realize how ground-breaking it must have been in the 1960's for American's to read about exotic ingredients like preserved vegetables, black beans and dark soy sauce. These cookbooks are actually more relevant today than they were over 50 years ago.

Today my vote for best tasting fish goes to the 2013 Copper River Salmon. The first fish hit our markets last week and as is always the case, the marketing machines drove the price upwards of $35/lb. for the first catch. I waited until this morning and as luck would have it, my fishmonger gave me the good news that the price dropped $15/lb. overnight. Right now I've got the salmon curing for "Salmon Candy." The recipe can be found here http://forums.egullet.org/topic/142515-cook-off-59-cured-brined-smoked-and-salted-fish/page-2 at our Cured, Brined, Smoked and Salted Fish Cook-Off.

Snake River Farms in Idaho sells incredibly good Wagyu burgers. They're frozen and come in a box of 4 8oz. patties. I've tested them side by side with Choice grade burgers and my own ground burgers from choice cuts. The Waygu burgers beat choice hands down, but I haven compared them to other ground prime beef.

Found some really wonderful Wahoo at the grocery store, served with buttermilk coleslaw, radish, cucumber and avocado cream.

Now this is going to be interesting. I like this concept.

You may want to check the internal temp of the meat to be sure it's thoroughly cooked. I love my Bradley Smoker and use it weekly, but I find that I have to rely on a meat thermometer more than the temp of the smoker/oven. Likewise, a lot of the recipes on the Bradley site call for a specific amount of time for the smoke. I've found those guidelines vary widely and some of their recipes call for way too much smoke and others not enough. So like any slow/smoke cookery it takes experimentation. My first Bradley unit was a floor demo and never worked. The second unit heating element broke after two weeks. But on the very bright side, I found Bradley's customer service fantastic and prompt and they didn't charge me freight on parts. I went direct to them and skirted around the sporting goods store where I bought the unit.

Tonight and tommorrow night it will be fresh Alaskan Halibut. The season has been off to a great start and the fish are white, pure and fresh---and delicious. Tonight simply seared and roasted. Tommorrow night deep-fried and served with chips.

Outstanding Chef.....a tie! David Chang, New York AND Paul Kahan, Chicago.

Is there a lot of PR campaigning that goes on behind the scenes with the Journalism and Media Awards? We all know how influential the press machines are in pushing fims toward Oscar nominations, and no doubt they have a large influence with the voters. To a lesser degree is this an issue that befalls the Beard Awards?

I've never cooked them sous vide so I can't help with that, but I've cooked them in more traditional ways. Veal cheeks are delicious braised low and slow, but don't overdo the cooking and go as far as you would older beef. The cheeks have a looser structure and texture due to the younger age of the animal. As far as sauces go, I try to stay within the general traditions of lighter sauces for veal based on white wine rather than red. But I do think a nice marsala sauce would work and I'd probably go light on the mustard so it doesn't overpower all the other flavors in the dish. Some fresh spring morels would also be nice.

I've probably had mine for over 20 years and the only thing that ever happened is one of the plastic handles came out of the hole it fits in. Superglue fixed that.

I have one of those little plastic pastry molds. Works quite well for all types of savory and sweet filled pastries.

Thank you! Part of the wonder of these cook-offs is that they are timeless and we can regularly revisit each one for discussion and inspiration. Did you brush the dough with egg wash to get that shine?

Wow again, another example of how versatile and delicious this sandwich can be. I especially like your sauce and mayonnaise.

Wow, that's a beautiful Banh Mi. Thank you for the details of the preparation.

Fresh rhubarb pie. Not cut with strawberries to dim the taste of the rhubarb and with just the right amount of sugar to allow the tart flavor of the rhubarb to come through. Sorry I didn't get a shot of a slice of the pie. I absolutely had to dig right in. Actually, I dug in twice and then had a third slice for breakfast this morning.

Boy is that delicious looking. Have you got a specific recipe you use?

I'm feeling pretty confident now in my ability to cook baby octopus in soups, stews and sauces. The key for insuring the octopus is tender is to start with the slow simmer in water/vinegar bath. I prefer octopus over calamari in these braised dishes because of it's stronger and meatier texture. For my latest dish, I started with an old standby recipe for a Thai Red Curry Sauce. I substituted green curry paste for the red and added some minced lemongrass for more punch in flavor. The curry starts with garlic and ginger sauteed in vegetable and toasted sesame oils. Then a small chopped shallot goes into the pan, followed by sliced mushrooms, 1 can of coconut milk, 2-3 tbsp. of green curry paste, soy sauce, lime juice and zest, diced eggplant and the baby octopus. The stew is cooked for about 30 minutes, then just before service I added some chopped fresh mint, basil and cilantro- This is the minced lemongrass. I buy it frozen in a large, flat plastic bag. When I first used it I thought the freezing process would have diluted the flavor but it's nearly as fragrant and flavorful as fresh lemongrass and far easier to use- The baby octopus, simmered for an hour in water diluted with vinegar, (and 2 wine corks)- Served with steamed white rice- Braised Octopus in Thai Green Curry Sauce- A good dish, (the sauce could have been thicker and needed more heat)--almost as good as the Baby Squid in Spicy Tomato Sauce and Pasta. We're into halibut season here in the Pacific Northwest, so I'm thinking the baby octopus would be delicious with halibut and crab in a cioppino.

Superb. Thank you for sharing. We look forward to seeing many more creations.