Bueno

Watch the current season of Top Chef.

Adored it. Will surely buy the DVD. That final dish of ratatouille totally had Keller written all over it. Completely suitable for the French Laundry's menu. Never have I wanted to eat ratatouille so badly. Had I not read the article above long ago, I would still have pinpointed Keller's food in the film. It's THAT delicious-looking.

Ordered.

That was actually just a typo - but nonetheless: DOH!

I don't eat or drink it, no. It has nothing to do with medical concerns, though. It has lots to do with the fact that it makes things taste like aardvark piss.

Oh, I don't actually take credit for it's creation! Hahah, not that I'm against the idea. You stirred in lemon SEEDS? Isn't the idea to NOT eat the seeds of a lemon? And please excuse my anal nit-picking, but the express is "sleight of hand", not "slide of hand". Pet peeve. Cheers! -Bueno

I pickle garlic all the time. I buy it in those big supermarket econo-tubs and pickle it just as I would my favourite dill pickle recipe. It's bloody delicious. A recent quick-pickle a la minute concoction recently made it to the top of my all-time favourite pickle preps: Seedless white grapes, organic grape tomatoes, thinly sliced shallot, one crushed glove of garlic (removed later) and thinly sliced lemongrass. Quick pickled with white balsamic.

This is something I do all the time, but have never spoken of. Why? Because, well, it's embarrassing. But in the name of good Chow, I shall let you in on my dirty little secret. I take a few store-bought pudding cups (ie. vanilla snack-pak) and empty them into a ramekin. Smooth them out, and top them with raw / demarara / brown sugar, and torch them a la creme brulee (or use the oven broiler). Voila! Instant creme brulee. If like me, you're in Ontario, I suggest using the President's Choice Vanilla Bean pudding as your base. It's very tasty and makes for a very successful creme brulee-esque experience.

I'm working on creating a vegetarian bacon for a rather elaborate plate. This is my idea for the process (try and follow): Using a long, rectangular terrine bold, I'll fill it with store-bought egg whites and steam it. I'll then thinly slice the big regtangular bar with a sandwich slicer so that I'm left with paper-thin, long, rectangular slices of cooked egg white that very closely resemble the fatty part of a bacon strip. I'll lay that on the plate. I'll then create a spice mixture that I feel closely resembles the flavour of bacon (smoked paprika, brown sugar, a bit of cayenne, a bit of hawaiian salt, ground sezchuan pepper, all spice, etc. [lots of 'red' spices]). I'll sprinkle the spice mixture in 'lines' of varying width along the egg white 'fat'. Voila, fake bacon! Should work pretty well, shouldn't it?

I think they appeal to the "healthy eating" phenomenon; but when the wraps are commonly the circumfrence of some crop circles, are they really that much lower in carbs than a couple modest slices of bread? For me, they fail because there is no differentiation of flavour/texture. With a sandwich, you experience the flavours and textures in succession, often thought out before hand. With wraps, it's eating a homogenized 'baby food' version of the flavours. Instead of tasting, the crunch and saltiness of bacon, the richness of egg, the bright freshness of quality greens, and the warm gooeyness of a good cheese and acid/sweet of a summer tomato in a good BLT+egg sandwich (not to mention all the benefits of great bread), you taste eggaconeesegreemato mush. So needless to say (I hope), I too despise the wrap.

Good first episode in my view -- though, I do tire of the "make haute cuisine from the leftovers / pre-chewed food / 7-11 farmer's market" schtick. Hung, Tre, the JG sous.. all 3 have a chance to win, as they should -- they're top-level chefs (the ones actually cooking the food at their big name restaurants). It'd be exciting to see a lesser "darkhorse" come from behind and shock everyone though, as this is supposed to be a mix of drama/reality.

Other than a scale, what actual equipment do you have? Immersion circulator? Vaccum sealer? Anti-griddle?

Thank you, doc! The red I think you're noticing is a smatterin' of smoked paprika - something that routinely finds it's way into my spicing routines when potatoes are involved. Your meal (aka glorious feast) looks exactly that: glorious.

C.Sapidus, Emily: thank you very much!

6oz. Blue Prawn, P4 Potatoes™ and Salmon Tartare to start. (P4 Potatoes = Parmesan & Parsley Parisienne Potatoes) Plated. My pattented P4 Potatoes™ Close-Up 6oz. Blue Prawn Close-Up Salmon Tartare w/ Pita Crisp Et voila.

Shaya: thank you! The fish is Steelhead, as mentioned in that post. As is so often the case, your celebration meal looks absolutely drool-inducing.

DesertCulinary: very cool, and very tasty looking! Far too hot out to spend any time over an oven, and have been meaning to do my take on this after being frequently inspired by other's versions lately. ... actually used Aleppo pepper flakes after the photo (my go-to for carbonara if I don't go with massive amounts of freshly cracked black).

Tonight: Pancetta-Painted Steelhead, Roast Fingerlings, Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction .. garnished with a roasted shallot and thyme spring (thyme in sauce and potatoes also). Steelhead is a tasty fish and I always buy it when I see it (it is actually Rainbow Trout raised in salt-water). Very similar to salmon, but without the pricetag.

White Miso Turbot, Roasted Fingerlings, Asparagus, Balsamic Black Angus Burger, American Cheese, Texas Toast

The most popular salad I'm aware of in fine dining restaurants at the moment is anything involving a slow-cooked / poached / soft egg. Typically with a cured/smoked pork component like bacon, or guanciale, pancetta, or prosciutto. A peppery green like arugula or cress, and hard salty cheese like parm or pecorino, or grana. Dressing usually has a mildly citrus component, or based on tarragon.

The Seasoning Of a Chef The Omnivore's Dilemma The United States Of Arugula Into The Vietnamese Kitchen Heat

THE END OF KATZ'S?! Enormously important food news: Katz's may be closing, with a slight possibility of reopening in a fucking high-rise. The fact that this is even being discussed is a scary thought; let alone if it actually happens. Grub St. is usually pretty responsible with it's reports. The article.

I just thought it was water when I tasted the Lipton flavours.

I had a lovely surprise today when I bit into my Egg McMuffin to discover that it was still somewhat "runny" in the middle. This happens, but is extremely rare. And that pisses me off. It completely changes the sandwich, and actually adds some moisture to the usually obliterated egg component. It was a nice treat that I've grown to appreciate over the years. Sad that they don't come this way by default.

Mike and Ray? Grazor and Chef?