Obese-Wan Kenobi

Thanks! I use charcoal for fuel. You can mix in wood for some smokey flavor. I've tried it a few times. I don't know how to say the variety in English. They are probably indigenous trees here. I use it all the time! At least once a week. This Sunday I'll have some family over and I'll snap some shots. Regards!

Hi, I thought some of you might be interested in this backyard Tandoor oven I made at my house. Well, here it is in pictures: Started with a base of firebrick. An inverted clay pot (the biggest one I could find), and cut off the bottom part. Reinforced the pot with fireclay mortar (in case the temps got too much for the pot; so far no cracks). Now I have the pot enclosed in a square housing made of hollow blocks and insulated with perlite and sand (loose). It's important to insulate so the heat you worked so hard to accumulate does not escape. The "bricks" are just for decoration. They're not real bricks. It's all done. It took me and 2 Masons 1 week to complete. Here's the side vent for air (to keep the coals burning) and for cleaning out ashes. The opening to stick the skewers in and cook the food. My skewers and spit. All homemade (machine shopped). A close up of my skewer and spit. Getting the fire started Full blast! 500 degrees Centigrade. Well, hope you can come over for some Tandoor cooking! Regards!

Hi bigbrowncow! Did you have a hard time finding the restaurant type skewers? It was the most frustrating thing for me and I ended have them machine shopped. Oh well, it was a worth it I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Namaste! **Edit bbc, I missed your queries. I'll try to answer them here: - Getting the protein to stick on the kebeb: Are your kebabs flat or round? On flat kebabs, keep the metal and your hand moist while wrapping around the meat. Press firmly, but not hard. Do a once or twice over to make sure the meat is solidly in place. The oven has to be very HOT. This is important. 700-900 F. The hotter the better. You want the metal to sear the meat that is sticking to it almost instantly. It may take some practice, but the important thing is HEAT and kebab shape. - Yes. Buy or have a spit made that can hold a small pig or mutton (why stop at chicken? ) securely, vertically. It will hold a chicken, no problem. You need a spit though. I think it's the only way. - Naan. Sorry, with that much heat, I'm too chicken to stick my hand in there! Regards!

Hi, The books I find I am using, more often than not, are the clearnance ones they have at Borders. Usually $5.98-$7.98. With titles like "The Complete book of Pasta," "Three to four ingredient meals," or "Around the world in 300 meals." Not only are they very economical, the recipes taste good and there are so many! Also, those little Periplus books. They are handy.

Hi Blondelle, For me, watching them cook on TV is very different from actual cooking. I only take classes where I am actually doing everything and being guided by a chef. So I cut, mise en place, cook and eat. As do my other classmates. Also, you get to understand the method more thoroughly as well as learn the techniques, hands on. Regards!

Thanks for the replies! Regards.

In my part of the world SE Asia (third world) my class cost me $300. The teacher was a Japanese chef schooled in Japan and France. The price was for 4 people ($300/ea.), my kitchen, his ingredients, his and my tools. It comprised of 10 4 hr. classes, 6 recipes each class. I'm just curious how much you would pay back home. Thanks!

rjwong, Thanks for the welcome. The fork, I like that! What I thought of it? It was excellent! I missed watching a de la Hoya boxing match so I could eat there. I didn't regret the decision. All 16 courses were very good. But what stood out was the Wagyu marrow for me. It was to die for! Regards!

Hi, I noticed a lot of references to the price. Yes, it's expensive, but this tidbit may be of interest to many of you. When I had dinner there, I struck up a conversation with a server. He mentioned that Robuchon was a non-profit restaurant both for MGM and Joel Robuchon. It's a way to pamper their "whales" (high rollers). If you notice it's a quick hop over from the baccarat pit where all the whales are gambling. Since the VIPs don't pay anyway, the $500 they will comp per person is insignificant to the amount they're gambling. It's a believable story.