kristin_71

Indulge by Claire Clark and Thomas Keller. It is 100 desert recipes from French Laundry. Coming out sometime in October according to Amazon.

Calphalon One has a 10" for around $50 and All Clad has one that runs about $200 for the stainless,$270 for the LTD, $370 for the copper core and the brushed non stick stainless goes for around $200. Le Ceuset has a wok for $180. Williams-Sonoma is a good source. They have a nice selection of cookware in general.

I have a MAC santoku and I love it, along with my other MAC knives I wouldn't use anything else. I bought them only a couple of weeks ago. Octaveman and some others were so helpful when I was deciding. I put alot of money into the chef's knife and went with the pro series chef knife. The instructions that come with the knives suggest that you not use the chef's knife for cutting things like ruttabagas, turnips etc. and that a clever is good for that so I got the clever, paring knife, filet knife and the deba. I paid with a check and got a call from Harold at MAC saying that there was a discount. After explaining that they were for home use and I was not a professional, he threw a cheese knife and the boning knife in for free. Nice company! ETA: I don't know how to post my pictures or if I can, but I have some of my knives.

Boucose in Your Kitchen is either already out or coming out (maybe next weeek if it isn't out yet.) Really looking forward to this.

Target has a 6 pack of those white cotton towels, the shop towels Johnny mentioned for about $6.They are called flour sack towels. I have them at home and use them for everything.(They now come in colors to, so you can color coordinate if you so wish.I only know this cause I work at Target stocking at night til I finish school.) It is much easier to use a side towel rather than grab the potholder, ( which Target has some great silcone potholders and mitts that withstand very high heat.) unless of course it is something coming out of the oven. Always keep a side towel thrown over my shoulder when I am working. Of course they do burn if you get them to close to the flame, as I have done a couple of times, but they are fantastic. Lint free too so they are great for drying glassware.

I am down in Toledo, not far from you Linda and I adore Zingermans!!! The chocholate-cherry bread is heaven. I am going to have to look at a few of these places when I move to furnish my own kitchen cause ususally I just do Williams Sonoma. I already bought my knives, and I will be in the market for some new cookware. I am going to do a combonation of Le Creuset and All Clad.

A friend sent this to me. It is hilarious. I love Gandalf. Lord of the Peeps

I don't know that anyone has mention this one: French Laundry At Home I found Dinergirl thanks to Michael Ruhlman giving her a mention at his blog. It is a really good blog that is fun to read and even maybe play along.

Bogle Old Vine Zin Cline Old Vine Zin, Syrah and Zinfindel Cellar 8 Wild Horse Portocolo Pepperwood Wild Rose white Porcupine Ridge

I couldn't find porcini so I used some portabella and cremini. I really don't think it matters too much because it came out really well. I used some really good olives from the local Middle Eastern market and some nice potatoes. I was trying to cut the potatoes the way it says in the cookbook, but all I did was peel my skin off my fingers. I'm kidding. I cubed them because peeling them the way it says to seemed like I was wasting a good potato.

I made the potato, mushroom and bacon stew and it came out really well, it was so good! I had just gotten some new knives so I was looking forward to using them on a really good recipe and this does not disappoint. It was so easy to use. Really love it!

Cellar 8 is a great wine and is really good with chocolate as is Cline Old Vine Zin if you are looking for something that isn't too expensive.

Any MAC knife. I absolutely love my MAC mighty santoku. Ok, I love my MAC knives period. I went to clean them for the first time before I used them as suggested. I barely made contact with one and now sport a nice cut on my finger. They are the best knives I have ever owned.

ok I have what may constitue a stupid question. Rogan Josh, what is it? I got some from one Indian market and it is a paste with seasoning and some other stuff in it. The other Indian market did not have it, but Penzys sells it, as a spice. So which is it? A spice or a paste? I have a recipe for a lamb braise ( from Daniel Boulud's Braise Cookbook ) and it calls for Rogan Josh. I am figuring he means the spice because he lists Penzys as one of the sources in the back, but I would like to know which is right, for my own personal knowledge.

I am curious as to why you want mutton? Mutton has a very strong taste that in my opinion ruins the dish it is in. Spring lamb is something maybe you should think about instead. I guess it is a matter of taste and what you are familiar with. Being half Middle Eastern, I have only ever used spring lamb for anything. The tongue and kidneys of spring lamb are also wonderful because they are so young and tender.

I think that is true of Japanese knives as a whole. The quality is second to none. My mom has Wustof and while I like them, they do not hold their edge for a long time. I am trying to convince her to buy Japanese instead. I should point out that when I spoke to the guy at MAC and he told me that there was a discount, I quickly explained that I was not a professional cook and that they were for personal use. He gave me two extra knives anyways. Nice company to do business with. I was impressed.

I just placed an order with MAC Knives. I went to their siteMAC Knife Inc and printed out the form etc. I had no idea that they offer a discount to people buying their knives ( I am not sure if this is if you buy direct from them) but I couldn't get it becuase I sent a check. Well I got a phone call from someone there and they are going to throw in two extra knives, a nice cheese knife and a boning knife. I was completely impressed by them. The guy I spoke with even gave me advice on how to cut difficult veggies (rutabagas, turnips) using my chef's knife. I know that I will do business with them again and encourage all I know to do the same. I have posted this same thing in another thread but I wanted to put here. I got a nice selection of knives that wil do more than meet my needs. I put the majority of my money on the Chef's knife, ( 9" very nice) santoku, santoku paring, deba and a filet knife for finer work. Like I said, they have been wonderful and said I will have my new knives this time next week. I cannot wait! Thank you to everyone for their advice.

I just placed an order with MAC Knives. I went to their site MAC Knife Official Site and printed out the form etc. I had no idea that they offer a discount to people buying their knives ( I am not sure if this is if you buy direct from them) but I couldn't get it becuase I sent a check. Well I got a phone call from someone there and they are going to throw in two extra knives, a nice cheese knife and a boning knife. I was completely impressed by them. The guy I spoke with even gave me advice on how to cut difficult veggies (rutabagas, turnips) using my chef's knife. I know that I will do business with them again and encourage all I know to do the same.

I love Le Creuset and would never use anything else for braising. I would suggest instead of using a foil pan as a cover, try parchment paper. The lids that come LeCreuset are actually the best though.

Cooked by Jeff Henderson. Really, really good. Belly of Paris this is of course a classic and well worth reading, but I try not to read it on an empty stomach because I get hungry. I recently finished the audio of Garlic and Sapphires. It was a great way to kill time at work. Cookbook wise I am reading and starting to try the recipes in Happy in the Kitchen. I love this cookbook, it is fantastic.

Hungry Magazine This is a good one. Mostly out of Chicago but really interesting.

Because Food Network owns the rights to A Cooks Tour. If you look at the direction they are going, and Tony spouting off at SoBe last weekend about many of their stars, ( as some were signing books just yards away.) I don't think that a rerun of A Cooks Tour on FN is likely.

Anyone see this at Dr Vino Blog? Go down to the post about wine and organics. Thought it was interesting.

I use one of the dutch ovens for braising and really love it.It goes from the stove to the oven and no matter what I am making, the dish always comes out well. Since it has a 101 year warranty, my mom has promised eme that her Le Creuset is mine when she eventually stops cooking.

We are getting COSTCO in Toledo later this year. There had been some doubts for awhile because of a disagreement over the city's living wage issue. That has been resolved and it is now under construction. Really looking forward to going, but I am going to take the advice of many and try to go during the week or after work when it won't be nearly as busy.