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Hmmm, maybe I enjoy the content of the pictures and how they relate the food and the culture rather than the technical aspects of the pictures.

I've been wanting to eat his food for a while, Have you made anything from it yet? I'll nominate 2 books that I don't actually own but think have great pics: Thai Street Food by David Thompson and Oaxaca al Gusto by Diana Kennedy.

sweet potatoes and beets come to mind as good choices. LOL I remember frying sweet potatoes with out drying them and watching them turn into shrinky dinks Turned into a good size for an amuse bouche not so great for chips though!

I fillet it like taking the skin off of a fish yellow side down on the cutting board, and with a sharp flexible knife like a boning knife, take off as much of the white as you can. Doesn't have to be perfect myer's aren't that pithy anyway.

Most Peterson books that aren't topic-specific are excellent for this. He's quite a teacher. I recently picked up a secondhand copy of his Essentials of Cooking, and I'd recommend it to anyone ready to graduate past Bittman or Joy of Cooking. It teaches how to cook, not how to make dishes--there's not a single recipe in the whole book. And probably the most beginner-friendly of any of his books (I have several) but useful for the advanced cook as well. That's one of the ones I learned on Way back in the day!

FCI's Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine. Its easy to read and understand, with great and clear pictures. Cooking by James Peterson is another winner and will grow with you I LOVE Adv Bread and Pastry BUT would NOT recommend it for anyone other than Pro's and Very adv Amateurs. Gisslen Professional Baking is a better start. Heck I wouldn't recommend AB&P unless you are fairly competent with the concepts in Gisslen's ProBaking

If you are just putting in the lemon peel you shouldn't be adding any salt even w/o blanching. I make preserved lemon aioli all the time some time with preserved lemon puree, sometimes with brunoise of preserved lemon. It's always with home made PL's and have never had it break for any reason other than rushing too much and no using good technique. After all you are filleting the PL and removing the white and pulp right? The yellow shouldn't hold enough salt to cause a problem??? I am not saying salt won't break the emulsion but you shouldn't have enough salt on the PL to cause a problem even if you use excess salt in the curing process.

Do you do anything to the lemons before using them in the aioli? Do you make them yourself or buy them? Yes, I do blanch the brunoise preserved lemon very quickly. Regarding salt content, I also curing them entirely surrounded by salt with only a little bit of lemon juice. I am 100% sure that lemon or curing technique is not your problem. One thing that I've noticed is that olive oil does not maintain emulsions as well as oils with less solids, though I have no scientific evidence to back that up. You should not be using olive oil in a basic aioli anyhow. I would stick to grapeseed oil or canola and drizzle VERY slowly for the first bit of oil and then speed up as the emulsion gets going. Mayonaisse technique is your problem here, not ingredients. I agree that it is probably the oil. When I want that olive oil flavor I'll add it just at the end where it will have the biggest flavor impact. Most of the French olive oils are pretty mild that would have been used traditionally for aioli anyway. I use sunflower or grapeseed oil as they make a very stable emultion. You can always add the preserved lemon after the emultion is formed. I was always taught to fillet the preserved lemon once they were cured and store covered with oil.

Exactly. So regional classes are out, but what about a good bread-baking class? The San Francisco Baking Institute Is prolly the top baking school on the west coast. http://sfbi.com/weekend_workshops.html

Sure, Ben Ford of Ford's Filling Station uses the pizza roller for his flatbreads. You should be able to do it with other doughs as well.. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Flatbread-with-Shrimp-and-White-Bean-Hummus-351889 ps.. they freeze great par cooked for quick meals

I have learned a lot from this thread and make a pretty good Harissa know but I was wondering about the version from moulin mahjoub. It is really nice and I would love to make something similar. Any Ideas on how to go about it? Arturo

If you have access to a good coffee shop with knowledgeable sales people just ask for a low acid coffee, it is a common question and they should have recommendations. A good Central American for example are usually lower in acid as opposed to a Kenyan which are excellent but often have a brighter acidity.

I'm sure your correct about homoginization and all that. Except that this was a tested recipe that did work. Since he is the chef and the technique is novel it makes sense for the OP to test the recipe and if it works or not at least you learn something. Even if its that he doesn't know a thing about pastry.

ROFLMAO!! I love that southern politeness. You have to be able to read tea leaves sometimes.

And it tastes even better at 3$ per lb wholesale Most of the time I love it seared crusty in a black pan to mid rare but One of the older post mentioned tartare, Hanger makes excellent Beef Tartare.

Prolly use Black Cardamom which has an incredibly smokey aroma. Easy peasy.

I don't know whether it is proper to link to another forum here, so i won't, but ChowHound has a very passionate thread on this subject. Of course if you like it do what ever you want (unless you have to serve it to a Russian). Personally I find the history of dishes very fascinating and try to respect tradition with out being tied down by it.

That IS what family meal is all about. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a restaurant not making any money isn't going to spend a lot on feeding their employees. When you have that high caliber of cooks, the meals should be simple to tasty with a premium placed on good technique. Of course good high quality scraps and left overs you have a better chance at a good family meal.

I would put my money that the blended onion is what you don't like. It can bump up the 'meatyness' of the beef but also acts as a tenderizer and can sometimes lead to a mushy texture. Aki and Alex use it in their burger blend as was mentioned in 'Ideas in Food'. Personally light, soft and juicy are all positives. Sounds like a good basic recipe, imo it could use some other things to add flavor. No, you can't change it but you are allowed to have an opinion! (as long as you don't share it)

"panada: Paste of water and flour or bread, used for forcemeats" Usually i mix the bread and milk beforehand. I try to use quite a bit, it helps with a feeling of lightness. The eggs help with binding with the mixed in garnishes. I find they are for fragile with out the eggs. Plus It helps make them taste like meatballs and not a round overcooked hamburger. Personally - usually I bake them, then i can freeze or refrigerate them fully cooked and fry/braise.

Enjoy! To be honest i'm not the biggest raisin fan either. I'd sub dried currants or dice up some dried fig

Join the Research Chefs Association and start networking.

I will post my grandmothers recipe since she getting older, but was a great cook. I'll admit I haven't made it, but I have eaten it . This a pretty much a direct translation from her notes. Capriotada 7 cups water 3 tomatillos (yellowish) 1 green onion 2 cinnamon sticks 4 cloves 1 ¼ box brown sugar / 5 small Piloncillo Almonds Raisins French bread (10 small or 4 long) ; Day old. Parmesan / Romano/ Queso seco Boil first six ingredients for 60 minutes. Strain. Soak almonds in water for 10 minutes, slip off skins with a towel and slice in half. Butter a baking dish. Slice and layer bread, almonds, raisins, dry cheese. Pour liquid over the bread. Bake in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes uncovered. Notes: Traditionally served during lent. ** I've always thought the inclusion of tomatillos was interesting since they are related to the gooseberry but seem to be mostly used in savory preparations. The recipe is pretty old or course feel free to modify as you will, i love the hand peeling and slicing of the almonds myself. ;^)

If you wash your sink after, spray with a sanitizer solution and let it air dry you should be fine.

I don't drink soda's at all really Except for the occasional mixed drink. I have to say it was quite a revelation to me when i went down to Panama for some work. The rum and cokes were great, and it's not the Ron Abuelo that is anything special. It took me a while to figure it out, but it was the coke with real sugar just paired soooo much better than what you usually get in the states, with the sugar based rum. Keep in mind that not all Mexican Cokes are made with sugar, some combine sugar and HFCS. It all depends on where it's bottled.