ScoopKW

Paul, you and your friend are welcome to come out to Las Vegas any time and perform a little Henry VIII on one of my mother in law's chickens. We'll even make coq au vin after. I have a easier way -- you're in New York. Some of the best pheasant hunting in the world is in your back yard. Get a hunting license this fall, go upstate, and shoot a few pheasants. Hell, there are even places upstate that will rent you the gun and a dog. Having butchered chickens, shot pheasants (and deer, rabbits, etc.) and pulled a mountain of fish up from the surface, I find it's all the same.

No, it doesn't. Like most people here, I watch Good Eats and Julia Child and occasionally Hubert Keller. That's about it. (Have you noticed Hubert uses the word "nice" about 30 times in an episode, and "really" about 50 times? Try a Hubert drinking game -- drink every time you hear him say, "Really nice." You won't make it through an episode.) I dutifully recorded one or two episodes of every show on Cooking Channel. Here are my opinions: Foodjammers: If you're stoned, and have a lot of power tools lying around, this is the show for you. Galloping Gourmet: This was fun to watch a couple times just to see the 1960s culture. This show is FAR too dated for the 21st Century. I won't be watching it anymore. I'd frankly rather see the Frugal Gourmet. Julia Child: People will be watching her 100 years from now. 'nuff said. French Food at Home: Laura Calder, the host, did a solid Boeuf Bourguignon recipe. But no reason to watch Ms. Calder when I can watch Mrs. Child doing it better. Chuck's Day Off: A Quebec version of "Tyler's Ultimate." Meh. Chinese Made Easy: Ching-He Huang cooks the same recipe three different ways each episode. Then she goes out onto the street and gives her food to construction workers and asks them how they like it. Out of all the "original" shows on Cooking Channel, this one is my favorite. It's a one-note wonder, but I've picked up a couple things from this show. Drink Up: Darryl Robinson is far too cool for his own good. And he's nowhere near as entertaining as Zane Lamprey. Next. Indian Food Made Easy: Basically the same as Chinese Made Easy, except Anjum Anand makes food and gives it to her friends -- then asks them how they like it. Unique Eats: A 30-minute infomercial for various NYC restaurants. Next. Foodcrafters: I am not normally one to pick on someone because of their looks. But I have a solution to the Gulf Oil Spill -- deposit it in Aida Mollencamp's hair. Seriously, she looks like one of those old Everready battery commercials. This is also another infomercial show, highlighting $50 cheesecake and $12 ice cream. David Rocco's Dolce Vita: David lives in Tuscany. And he rubs our noses in it. [Censored] David Rocco. Bill's Food: Bill Granger from Australia makes food that simply does not interest me -- crumbles, sponges, etc. Bring on the Vegemite! Everyday Exotic: Haven't seen an episode yet due to recording conflicts. I'll get to this one soon. Nigella Feasts/Express: Just want I wanted! More Nigella on TV! Rachel Allen: Bake!: Another baking show that doesn't bother with proper measurements. "One and a half cups of this, two cups of that." Next. Two Fat Ladies: I didn't care for this show the first time around. Next. There you have it. Nothing really worth watching, here.

I wouldn't buy an induction anything -- stove, pan, wok, crock, you name it. Start with thick copper pans, lined with something non-reactive, food safe, and heat-stable and go from there.

Tape, and a sharpie. I write the date on everything. Newer stuff is put in the back, and older stuff is pulled from the front. What I'd like to find, is a modular system of storage containers designed to fit in the average freezer.

My favorite AB book is the Les Halles cookbook. Say what you will, the man knows how to write. And Les Halles is my go-to book when I feel like doing something new. Nothin' but love for AB, still. I'll buy a copy.

Las Vegas Latin markets are offering the standard 6 for $1 for Mexican Key Limes.

You have my attention, Dakki. I would like to get my hands on thick copper pans -- 3.0mm or more. With handles that balance the weight of the pan. A heavy pan isn't so heavy when properly balanced. I'd like the handles to be attached in such a way that the area where the handle meets the copper is easy to clean -- try to clean an All-Clad Cop-R-Chef fry pan and you'll know why this is important. I would mostly be interested in saute pans -- 8, 10 and 12 inch. Nice, gentle curve at the sides to allow me to flip and shake my food. If I didn't already have copper cookware, two sizes of sauce pan, and a 10" fry pan as well. As long as the lining is non-reactive and won't melt like tin, I'm happy. I'm happy with stainless. But if you've got some tungsten alloy that does the job, I'm good with that, too. As for the lid, it merely has to be tight fitting as far as I'm concerned. I dislike cleaning copper lids. Personally, I think it would be neat to have pyrex lids. Any time I lid up, it's usually because the pan is going in an oven. It would be cool to be able to see the food through the lid as it braises. What I'd mostly like to see is your idea of pricing. Do you think you'd be able to come in under the current manufacturers?

Christmas pudding -- six months of work (albeit light work for the first 5.75 months). All to say on Xmas day, "All that, for this?"

Other than the "We feed 'em beer and have beautiful girls massage them for two hours a day" schtick I've read, I haven't a clue. I'd love to hear from a Wagyu rancher about diet.

Havana Club rum and a key lime. I'm old school with my Cuba Libres.

At the risk of sounding like a fanboy -- Anthony Bourdain's "Les Halles Cookbook." That will get you through the bulk of the classics, and is VERY light on baking. (Actually, I don't think there are any baked goods or desserts in the book.)

I have two egregious unitaskers -- both Italian. And you can pry them away from my cold, dead hands... 1) A La Pavoni lever-actuated espresso machine. I will never be without this essential piece of equipment. No pumps to break, relatively easy to clean. And once learned, a perfect shot is only minutes away. If it wasn't so late, I'd pull a shot right now. 2) A Nuova Simonelli panini grill. It weighs more than 50 pounds. It often trips my circuit breaker. And there is no substitute. The panini craze will never die out in my house.

It sounds like an oxymoron, but gardening in Las Vegas is a very rewarding experience. I don't bother with composters. Rather, I just dig a hole in my garden, cover it with a trash can lid to keep the pigeons at bay and toss most of my organic waste into the hole. (Large bones don't go in, for instance. They don't break down quickly enough.) When the hole is mostly full, I cover it with dirt and dig a new hole. By the time I return to that spot in the garden, everything has broken down. Right now, I have 50 heads of romaine lettuce popping up, more dill than I can possibly eat (any eGulleteers in Vegas need some dill?), parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram, basil, etc. In a couple months, it will be heirloom tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini. But I like the spring lettuce harvest most of all.

Reducing Guinness will increase its bitterness -- it will also destroy any hop flavor (which isn't much in Guinness to begin with. I would steep chocolate malt* and roasted barley in 150f water for one hour, then strain and simmer to reduce significantly. Then add malt extract (it's sweet) to balance the bitterness and add THAT to the mousse. * Chocolate malt has no chocolate. It's just a variety of malt that we brewers use. Any homebrew supply shop will have all three ingredients. It won't take much -- I'd start with 1 pint of water, four ounces of chocolate malt, one ounce of roasted barley, and maybe an ounce of light malt extract as a starting point. You probably won't even need any Guinness if you do it right. Alternately, you can go with a stronger stout (not more alcoholic, mind you -- ethanol isn't going to do anything here) like Young's or Sam Smith's.

I use mine (and only Wright's Liquid Smoke) for making ersatz lox. I add the liquid smoke to kosher salt, and use that to cure the salmon. I am very happy with the results -- I get pricey lox for the cost of inexpensive salmon fillets.

I have a 100-year old Brazil nut pod in my kitchen. That's about it, unless you want to count the shard of the one, true cross that I use for skewering vegetables....

Heaven is a place where: The lovers are Italian The cooks are French The mechanics are German The police are English The rock bands are American Everything is run by the Swiss Hell is a place where: The lovers are Swiss The cooks are English The mechanics are French The police are American The rock bands are German Everything is run by the Italians (Apologies to the Swiss. That's probably undeserved.)

So my in-laws said they wanted to come over for Easter. "You're going to culinary school," they said. "Make something." "What would you like?" "Turkey." Turkey?!? For Easter?!? You are freakin' kidding me. "Turkey!" OK. You want Easter turkey? I'll give you Easter turkey. I brined the turkey in white stock, heavily salted, with rosemary and a pound of homemade PECAN BRITTLE. (I was out of brown sugar. So I boiled the brine, added the brittle, melted it, and chilled. Then I trussed the brined bird, stuffed the cavity with garlic and an apple, and put it on a spit. I cooked it on a rotisserie outside. Problem was, wind was blowing 40 mph today, so it was very hard to keep the temperature constant. At one point, a gust blew my fire out. So I said, "Screw it," and finished the bird in a convection oven inside. The sugar from the brittle made the turkey skin basically the same as Peking duck skin. (And seeing as my in-laws are from China, this is a good thing.) The skin was super-crispy, and I could easily taste the rosemary and pecans. Best damned turkey I've ever made. I paired it with garlic mash, bread stuffing (all from scratch), and sauce supreme. The only veg was a salad made from romaine from my garden. Not bad. But I'd still prefer ham for Easter.

Excuse my late reply. Why did you walk out of class? I don't see how that is going to do anything in your instructor's mind to improve his/her opinion of you as a student. So you got a dressing down in front of class. So what? That's something I think you had better get used to. Because some chefs have notorious tempers, and everyone makes mistakes. I wish my instructors were more brusque. We have a few slack-asses in class, and I'd like to see them get their asses chewed out. They're holding up the class.

Perhaps. But if I'm standing next to you, I'll wager on "next guy." Also for enthusiasts of certain vegetation... Bacon will never jump the shark -- it's bacon. Best smell in the world -- waking up to the aroma of coffee and bacon. Bacon will never be passé. However, $50/lb. truffle-infused fancy-pants bacon will probably disappear from the food landscape.

Great report. And what an experience! Congratulations!

I'll make sure to mention that next time I talk to them. I know the Reins quite well. I don't think they constitute a chain, though. They've tried to open other restaurants, but it's never worked the way their place on I-84 does.

My mother-in-law had me take her to a newish Asian supermarket on Spring Mountain. So I have an update: SF Las Vegas Supermarket 4801 Spring Mountain Road Las Vegas, NV 89102 (702) 221-8788 This used to be an Albertson's. And the easiest way to find it is to look for the Big Lots! store next door. The only western letters on the large building read Truong Phan (or is it Truong Phat? I don't remember.) This store is larger and brighter than any of the other Las Vegas Asian markets. There is also more room in between the aisles. It's more like an American supermarket in that respect. The produce department is smaller than 168 Market, but the prices and quality are a little better -- at least today when I bought bok choy and sprouts. The fish department is smaller than 168 as well -- and no convenient sashimi packages. For instance, when I went to 168 this morning, in the live tank section, they were offering two grades of dungeness, king crab, lobster, shrimp, a dozen species of fish, three types of clams and oysters. The live section of SF had half the variety, but the exact same prices. Where SF shines is the non-perishables. They have a huge snack aisle, an entire aisle devoted to tea, and another just for spices. Prices are the same as 168 and International Market, or a little less. Based on this initial experience, SF market will be added to my usual rotation. Jones Market and Deli 3389 S Jones Boulevard Las Vegas, NV 89146 (702) 367-4345 This place really deserves more info than I gave it earlier. This is a Russian and Eastern European market, with a smattering of Greek stuff thrown in for good measure. Excellent bread and lavash can be had here for very little money. A good Russian brown bread will set you back three dollars. They also sell Lithuanian 82%-fat butter to go along with the bread. There is a nice selection of 500ml Russian, Polish and Slovakian beers for $2 each. I always buy a few on my way out. There is a good assortment of phyllo, yogurt and goat's milk products here. As mentioned earlier, if you have the dosh, this place has beluga caviar. They also carry osetra and salmon roe, along with some Russian and Greek caviar spreads.

I think it's fortunate that servers' heads bumping into the hams didn't lead to the transfer of some nasty or another. Human hair carries a lot of funk. That's why we get so grossed out by seeing one in our bouillabaisse. I'd be most interested in knowing the temperature and humidity level of that walk in. If there's a way I can make my own proscuitto in Las Vegas, that's a big deal for me. Congratulations on making good salumi. And please flesh out the process a bit. This is something I'm sure a lot of us would like to try.

Go here, and eat meat and drink beer. It's in the Ferry Terminal. As mentioned many times, the best time would be Saturday, when the farmer's market is still going. In addition, Liguria Bakery on 1700 Stockton St. Grab some foccacia. Go here early in the morning. They sell out every day, and then close shop. Buy some foccacia and bring a bottle of wine. Climb nearby Telegraph Hill and watch the wild parrots and check out Coit tower.