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I'm sure you know this already but the book 'Let's eat France' has a nice couple pages on these including this blurb which might be of interest

I haven't seen the new Frantzen book yet, but it looks really good. Now Serving Los Angeles is carrying it and I've been thinking about picking it up. I thought the Relae Cookbook by Christian Puglisi was really good. Noma is a little out there for me, I do like the fermentation book though -very good and clearly written

Maybe get some whole chickens, separate out the legs / thighs but leave the breasts attached to the bone that way you can slow roast them on the bone then carve off the bone after resting. How about doing something with Mortadella ? it doesn't get more fine textured than that! Cube and skewer, brush on some HP sauce (make your own mortadella if you want to go all out -actually not that hard!) Pork loin IDK I wouldn't do it if I couldn't do some kind of yogurt/onion/spices type marinade with it. I guess you could do it Cuban style (just google cuban pork loin) nothing challenging or spicy there, personally I prefer pork butt for this but it is common to do with the loin

The cut at the end of the loin is properly called the 'Pluma'. I think it's more that American butchers are doing what ever they want lol. Presa is a seprate cut as well. You have to scroll down a bit but the link below compares the 3 cuts.. https://nafood.com/spanish-iberico-pork/

I thought the secreto was in between the shoulder and belly like a pork skirt steak? At least according to Charcutería..

From my sleuthing looks like the picture was taken when he did the BBC show 'One pair of eyes' in 1973 that picture was taken at a press reception. That's as far as I got though!

Picking up some books outside of Now Serving in Chinatown Los Angeles! The top one is the fancy Gestura spoon

Hah! 75 is considered pretty cool here a good portion of the year here is southern California and I imagine most of the Southwest United States. You just have to factor in AC into your costs and refrigerated displays?

I just took a look at their menu. wOw. The creativity, beautiful plating & really reasonable prices. amazing

Bienvenidos Umar, I was a practicante at M.Berasategui many (many) years ago! You are lucky there is a very tight knit Chef community there in Spain. If you have any questions or something to share, just jump in and ask!

@weinoo what are the little 'packages' on their soup? a pasta of some sort.. Looks great!

That's such a terrible idea. So, when I'm braising 80lbs of bone in short ribs for hours at a time I do... what?! Don't forget I have a full case of brined pork bellies that need to be braised, cooled, pressed, then portioned out. Or that case of Kabocha that needs to be roasted because I'm making 20 quarts of pumpkin soup to last me 3 days??

Maybe I'll go see it when it's raining, so I can say that's why my face is wet. lol

The 'roux' creates tenderness by pre-gelatinizing some of the flour and not activating the gluten too much. You could do it for a cookie but I don't think eliminates the need for egg. When you replace egg in a pastry / cookie you need to replace all its functions in that recipe. Please someone correct me if i'm wrong here.

I did try to give a serious answer and be respectful of the original dish with my suggestion but I do see both sides of it because internationally and especially in Asia most of what they 'know' about American food they learn from the American chain restaurants that are all over the biggest cities like Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut ect. So it's not too surprising that our rep is one of culinary excess. OTOH There is more to the American food than fast food and we don't need to lean into stereotype just for laughs.

An alternative solution to the towel https://www.webstaurantstore.com/san-jamar-cbm1016-saf-t-grip-board-mate-16-x-10-white-cutting-board-mat/511CBM1016.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjw--GFBhDeARIsACH_kda3yZa3jDSHgZzwc2MkhzgD0ucSRbqoo8flZoKlepL8MA8OuVKYKWoaAlt7EALw_wcB Sani Tuff is pretty good but they tend to warp easily with heat if you like to wash in a washing machine be warned. You can always get it back into shape but is annoying

I use Combi's professionally and don't think there is a 'killer app' for one. Really they are great because they do whole a lot of things 10% better, easier & more efficient & repeatable.

Hah! My first thought was 'don't mess with one of my favorite dishes' I lived just a couple years in my early teens in Japan (Tsukimino Jr high & Zama High!) and that was and is a comforting favorite! I think what you really want is something that a) can be made in a similar manner to the Oyakodon (saute) and b) be brothy enough to seep into the rice a little. why not do a like a succotash topped with crab in a tomato-y broth & do the egg the same as kind of a reference back to the chicken & egg bowl top with maybe a cajun remoulade & some green onions! mm mmm!!

Once you get used to using them they can be a lifesaver. Fast, neat and easy to use.

Had a doctor recommend Niacin (not -no flush) for cholesterol, it's one of the more well researched vitamins seems to be good for blood pressure as well but always do your own research. It has worked well for me.

I would use a pastry bag and give it a few hard raps on the counter to settle things

Vegetable tart or Kabocha and Cauliflower Tart (with béchamel). These kind of tarts are usually thinner & these are taller like a quiche but I think this would be a proper name

Thats fantastic, what an experience. I lived in Spain for 6 months doing my 'practica' after culinary school. I love it. There are some good Spanish cookbooks but nothing as good as 'Let's eat France!'

Just picked up Let's eat France! Have to say I'm pretty impressed, great design, artwork and information at least on cost blush

I think its a smart way of competing economically imo, it should help out there food cost and take some of the pressure off of labor %. Honestly I'm surprised more Chef's haven't copied Passard. If you have the creativity and skill to pull it off, it's a smart move. Sure will be curious how this plays out with his dining public!