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I believe Paul Bertolli in Cooking by Hand suggests using tomato leaves in sauce to perk up that fresh tomato flavor. They do have an incredible smell

Wow. That would be a terrible loss.

Look into the Research Chefs Association http://www.culinology.com/

LOL I was surprised by my first Farmer's Market celery, It really does have a nicely salty/mineral flavor with a light bitterness. There is more going on than crunch and bitterness apparently! I was pleasantly surprised

because they are fairly easy to do with out having to understand what makes it an effective component of a dish. Why do you add a sauce to a dish? moisture, mouth feel.. ect. Why do you add a foam to a dish? Doing things with out knowing why leads to poor modernist cuisine. At least outside of NYC where there are a lot of great chefs. That's my take on it anyway.

LOL! I was thinking about some of the Japanese cooking manga when I clicked on this thread http://manga.about.com/od/recommendedreading/tp/cookingmanga.htm

Unfortunately, Santi Santamaria passed away not long ago. That's another experience I kick myself for missing out on. But this particular itinerary emphasizes modernism, which is not really part of the proffer at Can Fabes. I believe the restaurant is still open, but yes I was very sad when I heard the news. I was thinking about the contrast of styles.. both being 3* in the same area Tradition and Modernism. El Raco de Can Fabes (book) was my treasure upon coming home from my stage in San Sebastian. Man can not live on foam alone

Forget Can Roca, go to Can Fabes. Now that is food I crave! What an opportunity! Have fun!!

You can use a lot of oregano in Chimmichurri

So am I the only one that adds a bit of flour to graham/oreo crusts? I find it helps hold everything together for me. Just add it by feel, a tablespoon or two should be fine for a home recipe.

Have you tried calling TCHO, I've never worked with them, but sometimes smaller companies can be responsive and tweak their product to suit you needs.

Blether- My point was to give it a good crust using high heat the way you might with a steak in order to give it texture. I didn't mean to start an equipment battle lol, I'm sure what you have is fine. You can cook a sausage through with out crusting it. Another option would be to use caul fat to wrap them, and then you could add additional flavors before wrapping. I think the pork rind crust upthread is a great one and very creative. Btw, a placha is a griddle with usually a thicker metal than a griddle but pretty much the same thing. Think of the Spanish 'Gambas a la plancha'. Just some ideas.. Re: Wheatgerm, how about making your own Grahm Crackers. This recipe is a good example. http://www.marthastewart.com/282131/homemade-graham-crackers

Why don't you give it texture by giving it a hard sear like on a plancha or black skillet assuming you are going to be doing the cooking.

I want to say, just put it in a casing.. but I'm guessing you have a good reason not too. Avoiding pork maybe or just hard to get in Japan?

Think of it as the 'yolk' of the wheat, It's got the fat and most of the micro-nutrients. I guess that would make the bran the egg shell and egg white the endosperm (white wheat flour). Yep, analogy holds up.

JHeald's advice is really good. Also a cleaner/degreaser spray like Mr.Muscle works miracles, apply after service, then wash. Hydrogen peroxide is great for blood stains.

Didn't he work for Jose Andres? what was the deal there.. you can b.s. to get in a good place but it's hard to stay there with no chops.. PS I don't really watch TC or the other show. Just curious as to if he's really that clueless

He has earned his station, lord knows a the road to become a chef is a hard one, I certainly don't be-grudge him some luxuries. Especially as he does travel quite a bit and chefs and cooks can be crazy about their tools. Some might even say knife nuts, lol.

At least at home, I rub all my skillets with a tsp of oil before putting them away. That way they are ready to go. Temper the pan on med for 3 minutes or so depending on the mass of the pan. It does seem to make any pan stick less and clean easier.

I wouldn't use PX Sherry for Gazpacho. Too sweet IMO, PX is great as a sub for Balsamic. It's much more complex than any but the DOC Balsamics I use this one: http://www.laespanolameats.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LEM&Product_Code=6060

You don't need to dilute citric acid or make a slurry. Just add it in. My read is he wants you to use citric acid (prob for consistency) and is listing lemon juice as an optional substitution. Anytime I read ingredient(XXX) the (XXX) is usually a modifier/substitution. Since its not a modifier ie. Onion (small dice) then it most likely an offered substitution. That's how I read it anyway.

Throwing everything in the pot and reducing is the cheater method. Proportions are a matter of personal taste. I would use verjus and tomato water doing it the traditional way so as not to cook all the aroma out of the tomato water. Make sure to use flavorful overripe tomatoes for the best flavor. I do think that a tomato gastrique might get lost paired with a big steak unless you are going to slice it and do a more modern presentation with multiple sauces ect

I have a book I picked up during my time in the area. I believe you can find it online: Creative Basque Cuisine - Traditional and Modern It is part of a series based on the 'Premios Pil Pil' a kindof Basque food Oscars.. the Editor is J.L. Barrena

It's hard to know with out seeing it. My guess is that as long as the chef getting the dough is experienced and show through is not too much you'll be okay. Be confident, chefs can smell fear I might go up the the person who worked the dough and ask them so how was it .. followed up with I was worried because.. and .. do you have any advice for the future. Show you are interested in their opinion with out being too scared.. And take the following advice with a big pinch of salt. But I have found sometimes, when a chef say's to hurry up! (in the nicest possible way of course) you need to say 'Yes Chef!' and completely ignore them and do the job right. Of course you need to read the situation but in the long run if you are doing something the way he/she taught you.. it's better to put your name on a quality product. (after you clock out first of course). You'll end up with more respect than being the person who hurried and did a half ass job. As always YMMV

Truly a man ahead of your time Now that's a pizza you need an Amarone for